LEAN IN ELEVATES WOMEN ’ S VOICES
The Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress held its 2nd annual Lean In conference March 8 at the Bridge View Center , expanding on last year ’ s success .
Lean In is centered upon women and passing the strength and wisdom of current women in leadership to those who will succeed them , and to help women to ensure their seat at the table . Michelle Perdue , founder and president of Spead- To-Advance Communications in Minneapolis , was the keynote speaker .
GOPIP specifically chose the date to coincide with International Women ’ s Day . This is a day of celebration , as women have fought to be treated equally at work , at home and in their communities . According to GOPIP Executive Director Marc Roe , the sophomore outing for an event like this is crucial , but the team knocked it out of the park .
“ The year no . 2 is always the make-or-break and we worked our tails off for it , we changed a couple of things from the first year ,” Roe said . “ The goal is to keep it fresh and to keep it relevant . And as a result of that , we did increase attendance year-over-year , which is the one thing that you want to make sure you ’ re doing .”
Changes included decreasing the amount of walking around that needed to be done in the Bridge View Center between conference events . There were also nine breakout sessions throughout the course of the day . Another addition was a men ’ s track , as GOPIP had noticed from the previous year that there were many male attendees .
Planning is already underway for next year .
14 GOPIP Investor Directory 2024-25