Hearing the personal stories from six of our own Athena Sisters at our February meeting caused me to reflect upon why I am a member of Athena. The women who are part of our organization are accomplished, inspiring and ready to help other women achieve their professional and personal goals. While we may have different views and opinions on many topics, we are still connected by our founding Purposes : promote the acceptance of women in business, the professions and the other positions of responsibility; encourage the expansion of career opportunities for women; encourage women to pursue careers in business and the professions by disseminating information and conducting educational seminars; improve the status of women generally; and do all other acts and things and carry on and conduct all other activities necessary, suitable, convenient, useful or expedient in connection with or incidental to accomplishing any of the purposes set forth herein to the full extent permitted by the laws of the State of Florida. The Purposes on which our Founding Members established our organization have become a guiding force for me on a daily basis and I hope that they do for you as well.

With the foundation of our organization in mind, at our March meeting, two proposed Bylaw Amendments will be presented after a thoughtful and inclusive process by our Bylaws Committee and feedback from our membership. A separate email noticing the meeting went out on February 19th with all details. Additionally at the meeting, after the vote, Susan Leisner and Yvonne Fry have agreed to provide an update on the Hillsborough County Commission on the Status of Women of which Athena is well represented with 6 of the 15 members. Thank you to each of our members for the service you provide on this important Commission.

How appropriate to spotlight Shannon Beveal Reid, one of our new members this year, as she was one of the speakers this month. Shannon holds her BA from Duke University in Economics and Political Science and her MBA from Columbia Business School in Finance and Entrepreneurship. She was a Parliamentary Hansard Scholar at the London School of Economics. She started in New York and Atlanta as a VP with Goldman Sachs and for the last seven years has held a variety of leadership roles at Raymond James Financial. In 2012 she was one of only three women selected as part of the first Senior Leadership Development Class at Raymond James which was created to recognize and develop young leaders at the firm. Shannon is a member of 85 Broads, a leading professional women’s networking organization committed to the economic empowerment of women globally. Locally she is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Tampa and an Alumna of Leadership Tampa. Welcome Shannon!