Ladies honored at 50 Most Influential Women Awards
In an age of burn books and mean girls, women lifting other women up and commemorating their achievements is an earth-shaking gust of fresh air.
What Would The “Mean Girls” Burn Book Say About You? http://t.co/vX9yIo768R — Gossip Press (@Gossippress) June 10, 2015
Watching this tonight! Never gets old! #meangirls pic.twitter.com/sXZMZ3Wru9 — Lucy’s Boutique (@lucys_boutique) June 5, 2015
Late in May, a group of women gathered at the Hilton Charlotte Center City to just celebrate each other and their accomplishments. It was basically the first meeting of The League of Extraordinary Ladies.
The Mecklenburg Times hosted the 50 Most Influential Women Awards recognizing Charlotteans who have made their mark professionally and philanthropically.
Congrats to all of the nominees for @TheMeckTimes #50MIW! Thank you for your many contributions to #CLT
— Mayor of Charlotte (@CLTMayor) May 29, 2015
The 2015 class of the 50 Most Influential Women is a cross-section of Charlotte as a whole with educators, business women, lawyers and other local heavy-hitters represented. Some of the honorees were:
Woman of the Year: Dianne Chipps Bailey
Employer: Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson
Position: Attorney
Accomplishments: Leader of her firm’s nonprofit organizations and foundations practice group, founding director of the Women’s Impact Fund (which has given more than $3.7 million to 49 nonprofit organizations since 2003), incoming chair of Discovery Place, Inc., president-elect of Women Executives, recently named to N.C. Center for Nonprofits’ CEO Advisory Council.
Congrats to our own @Dianne_C_Bailey, named the 2015 Woman of the Year by @TheMeckTimes! #rbhlaw #50MIW pic.twitter.com/NzdAR18PQM
— Robinson Bradshaw (@rbhlaw) May 30, 2015
Employer: Shannon L. Vandiver, PLLC
Position: Attorney
Accomplishments: her practice focuses on litigation and motorsports law, currently the 2015-2016 Vice Chair of the Sports & Entertainment Law Section of the NC Bar Association (next year she’ll chair the section), incoming president of the Junior League of Charlotte.
Employer: Girls on the Run/Red Boot Coalition
Position: Founder
Accomplishments: Founded Girls on the Run in 1996 in Charlotte, four-time Ironman triathlete and Red Boat Coalition Founder.
Other notable honorees:
Ann Clark, CMS Superintendent; Jill Dineen, Classroom Central Executive Director; Robin Emmons, Sow Much Good Founder; and Toni Freeman, Mint Museum COO.
Congratulations to all @50MIWAwards Charlotte's Most Influential Women including our ED Jill Dineen, @TheMeckTimes pic.twitter.com/7lcPvSmvCO
— Classroom Central (@classrmcentral) May 30, 2015
So, why do we care?
These ladies are the gold standard that we as millennials (man or woman) should be aiming for.
A little advice from Vandiver: “If your job isn’t something you love, you can volunteer somewhere you love and that can lead to something bigger.”
Basically, if you want to be like Mike (or Caitlyn, or just your best “you”), you have to eat your Wheaties. In this case, your Wheaties are actually volunteer opportunities.
Each woman honored is multifaceted in the ways they contribute to Charlotte. They all have taken on leadership roles both in their careers and the community.
Ladies, let’s grab coffee sometime. Teach me your ways because I want to be just like you when I grow up.
Photo by Rob Lahser / Charlotte Observer.
This story was originally published June 16, 2015 at 9:00 PM.