The third annual Women’s Leadership Conference hosted by the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce nearly doubled in size in 2017 with more than 300 women attending the event on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The Conference was designed to inspire and encourage women of all ages and career levels. The event offered an opportunity for women to develop skills for both their work and personal lives. The event was held at the Stoney Creek Hotel & Convention Center in Rothschild.
“I look forward to the Conference every year and growing the connections that I’ve made in previous years.” said Lora Bladow, realtor with RE/MAX Excel. “There isn’t a lot of access to training programs like this in the region.”

The event offered a variety of perspectives and strategies on personal and professional development and featured keynote speaker Theresa Rose. Rose is a TEDx presenter and award-winning author and offered a presentation titled ‘Finding Your Mojo: Ditch the Stress and Rediscover Your Bliss.’ Kristen Brown was also a keynote speaker at the event and shared ‘The Happy Hour Effect: Five Key Commitments for Work/Life Success.’ Brown is the author of two bestsellers, The Best Worst Thing and The Happy Hour Effect. Jami Kaiser of Marshfield Clinic and Erika Van De Yacht of footlocker.com/Eastbay teamed up on another keynote presentation, titled ‘Leading from Heart to Finish.’ The duo discussed the development of emotional intelligence skills. Melissa Langbehn, WAOW Newsline 9 anchor, and Mona Fox, marketing manager at Ameriprise Financial – Cornerstone Advisors and conference planning committee member, served as co-masters of ceremonies at the Conference.

The presenting sponsor for the 2017 Women’s Leadership Conference presenting sponsor was Peoples State Bank, the silver sponsor was Associated Bank and the bronze sponsors were Floorology, Prosper Wealth Management and WAOW Newsline 9.

For those interested in additional leadership development opportunities through the Chamber, registration is open for the 2017-2018 Leadership Excellence program. Leadership Excellence is a Chamber program led by Ray Mickevicius and includes 12 sessions totaling almost 100 hours. Applications for the session which begins in September are due by May 12. For more information on the program, contact Sharon Baumann at 715-845-6231 or sbaumann@wausauchamber.com or visit the Chamber’s site.