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Over Coffee
While having coffee and conversation with Penny Smith at SaVa Café in Apollo Beach I was immediately aware I was talking with a smart woman on a winning mission.
Having come to America from North Hampton, England in 1986, her accent is a combination of perfect diction and perfect pitch: things I, who speak with a blend of Jersey Shore and the Ozark mountains of Tennessee, immediately wished I could imitate.
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| PENNY SMITH |
But we weren’t there to talk about accents, or the past. As always, “Over Coffee” is about what’s on South County residents’ minds and Penny’s mind was on her new position as president of the South Shore Chapter of the American Business Woman’s Association.
As she takes the helm at ABWA this month her foremost goal is to see that more women take advantage of the opportunities joining this organization can afford.
She says she’s always wanted to belong to ABWA, but her regional manager’s job kept her on the road until she moved to South County from Seattle in 2006.
Now she and her husband John own the franchise of three H & R Block offices: Apollo Beach, Ruskin and Sun City Center, and at last Penny says she can not only belong to ABWA, but also assist in its leadership.
“The position of vice president was open when I got here,” she said as we sat at a table for two among groups who regularly assemble to share SaVa’s full-bodied house blend during short breaks from business – or while holding business meetings. “The members asked me if I would take it (the vice presidency) and I did. Then this year, I was elected president.”
Although Penny and John are also active in the Ruskin Chamber of Commerce and the South Shore Business Association, Penny says she is going to make growing ABWA’s membership a priority.
“Women don’t realize how much we have to offer,” she said, describing the various programs, scholarships, seminars and networking opportunities the association presents. “I want to reach out to working, professional women busy in their careers and bring them in.”
Her goal for the year is 50 members. The chapter has recently grown from a handful to 34 members. “This year’s goal is Promise to Deliver, and when the new board met, we put it (the goal) on a scroll and promised to deliver meaningful programs.”
A series of professional development programs is loosely planned, probably for Saturday mornings, she said. The type of subjects that will be given will be dealing with Different Kinds of People and Hiring Good People.
“These are just a couple of examples,” she said. “I really don’t know exactly what seminars we’ll have, but I do know that many women have no place to learn about these things and they’ll be free to members and we’ll only charge a nominal fee for nonmembers who want to come.”
Penny has had ABWA business cards made up with her email and the chapter’s Web site,
www.southshoreabwa.com, which she hands out each time she delivers one of her H & R Block business cards. She has also engaged one of the group’s members, Nicole Vikhlyantsev, to keep the chapter’s Web site up to date.
The meeting place has also changed recently, from Apollo Beach to the Freedom Plaza Club on the corner of American Eagle and Upper Creek drives in Sun City Center. The group meets the third Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m.
“We have dinner with our meeting, so we need to have a call first so we know how much food to reserve,” she explained.
So whether you’re a banker, lawyer, teacher, clerk, construction worker, animal trainer or circus performer, if you’re a woman and you have a career, Penny Smith is looking for you.
To find out more, log onto the Web site,
www.southshoreabwa.com, or email
her at psmith@hrblock.com.
*Perhaps you have something you’d like to share. Or maybe you’d rather tell the community about your favorite charity or cause: or sound off about something you think needs change. That’s what “Over Coffee” is about. It really doesn’t matter whether we actually drink any coffee or not (although I probably will). It’s what you have to say that’s important. E-mail me any time and suggest a meeting place. No matter what’s going on, I’m usually available to share just one more cup. Or maybe you’d like to tune into the new radio show I’m hosting, “The Uncensored Reporter.” It’s available across the country on both AM and FM radio but so far I haven’t found out the call numbers for our area so I just direct everyone to HYPERLINK “http://www.themicroeffect.com” www.themicroeffect.com on their computers Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-to-4 p.m. It’s a call-in show so maybe you’ve got some ideas or comments you’d like to share on the air. Just click on “Listen Live” and give it a whirl.
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Observer News staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The Observer News does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.
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Comments
Andrea Sellers
18 Aug 2008, 13:45
Congratulations Penny, great article and always a great smile! It's going to be a great year for ABWA with your leadership and your great board!
Toni Huggins
13 Aug 2008, 14:00
Fantastic article and great way to get the word out about ABWA!! By the way, your picture is beautiful, Penny!!
Justina Horvath
09 Aug 2008, 10:36
Very impressive Penny.
Justina
Justina Horvath
09 Aug 2008, 10:36
Very impressive Penny.
Justina
Lynn Amos
07 Aug 2008, 19:34
I'm very excited about the ABWA South Shore Chapter. I recently joined and I encourage business women in the area to join us. This will be "the" organization to be a part of in 2008-2009 along with the South Shore Business Association. Congratulations Penny!
Nicole Vikhlyantsev
07 Aug 2008, 10:05
Congratulations, Penny on your new role and your vision!
N.
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