February 25, 2021 BPW/WA was 100 years old.
Cheers to 100 Years!

 
Other BPW Local Websites:
   bpweastside.com
Learn More about BPW

BPW Empowers Women Personally, Professionally and Politically.

At our Annual Meeting in Everett on May 20, 2023 we elected a new BPW/WA President – Rosalind Scott. We wish her the best of luck and another excellent year for BPW/WA along with her new executive staff.

BPW/WA President’s Message Spring 2023

 

Now as we enter spring BPWWA should be focusing on MOVE’ing forward and ELEVATE’ing our presence as we have spent time throughout the year identifying what we believe Washington State Business and Professional Women to be. An organization with such rich history, founded on improving work and life balance for women, should continue to provide an avenue for women to help women.

Not to be repetitive, but to reaffirm, we have identified our MISSION to support a sisterhood among women; achieve equity in the workplace; and create connections without business or industry boundaries, and our VISION to be the leading advocate for women through leadership opportunities, legislative knowledge and career support, and to help all women achieve equity. We discussed that in order to sustain such a rich organization, we needed to be focused on our recruitment, and identified that all women are welcomed and women over 35 years old are more likely to join. Let’s reach out to these women, none of us is getting any younger and VITALIZE’ing BPWWA trumps all at this time.

Part of our vitalization can begin with attending our Washington State Business and Professional Women State Annual Meeting at Hotel Indigo in Everett May 19-20th. We have created an educational fun event for all to enjoy and participate. So mark your calendars now and plan to partake in the festivities. Let’s reconnect with women from across the state.

I believe we are still grappling with what we provide as an organization. Mary Sweet of BPW Eastside very eloquently wrote “If …networking, I would be better off joining …Chamber of Commerce; if pursing opportunities for social and /or service activities, I would join Soroptimists; if active politically,..join League of Women Voters. I’m not sure what niche BPW provides.” All of the locals provide philanthropic activities and networking; some provide a form of mentoring; on the state level legislative issues are presented and addressed; and yet we have struggled to identify what we will brand and market ourselves as. As President, I believe we can be relevant, but we need to listen to the Gen X’ers and younger people we know, and take heed in what they have to say and offer. We identified through our strategizing process with Christine Rose that younger women want to make a difference and how do we assist and how do we present BPW to “outside” world?

The Executive Committee is also asking who is going to carry on this torch. It is evident our emphasis on the local level needs to begin with recruiting members and grooming officers who then can contribute on the state level. (But again, that cannot be our only focus). Such a small pool of members is keen to serve in these much-needed state positions. I am asking for you to consider being a part of the Board of Directors or Executive Team on the state or local level and be creative with job sharing your position. I personally believe that the state should help concentrate funds for recruitment on local level. These recruitment activities need to begin now.

In addition, much discussion has been given to how we have maintained decorum within our meetings in the past with Bylaws and Roberts Rules, but now some of that may be passe and we need to create an environment where members want to attend and participate, whether it is volunteering or learning something educational, and not be bogged down with rules. I am by no means saying “No Rules” or that we should bypass the Board of Directors, but asking do we need to be so structured. In this day and age of technology should we not be able to find a way to vote electronically that is transparent, fair, and accommodating to people’s schedules? Sylvia Valine, Mary Sweet, and Nancy Sorensen met to create the ability for us to move into the 21st Century with changes in our Bylaws. Speaking personally, not as the president of your state organization, issues with the current proposal do exist, and yet, I believe that, by all means, conversations regarding changes should take place to work out the kinks so we can move forward. Please read the article on the report from the Bylaws Change Task Force.

So as I MOVE (Mobilize, Organize, Vitalize, and Elevate) on to the Annual Meeting, please
consider what I have written, and try to offer something to our wonderful organization. BPW WA has women with a plethora of talents, and we WANT you!

Best Personal Wishes

Patty Slagle
BPW/WA President 2022-2023

See the 2023 Spring WBW Newsletter for more information on BPW… [Read More]


BPW Young Careerist

The Virginia Allan Young Careerist program is a signature BPW program that recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of successful individuals. More… 

BPW Woman Of The Year

The BPW Woman of The Year program acknowledges the individuals who have made a difference in their commuities and have helped women advance in business. More… 

Individual Development

Each year BPW WA chooses a book to study that will empower the participants to develop and strengthen thier business skills, both personally and professionally. More… 


“I joined BPW after attending a few meetings.”

“I was new to the community and new to my job so this was a way to meet new people. I immediately enjoyed networking with the ladies and was very intrigued by how they were balancing families, work and volunteering in the community. I wanted to be just like them as I grew older and advanced in my career!”

“BPW offered so many workshops on leadership skills, professional growth, and personal development that I took advantage of them to support the mission of empowering working women to achieve their full potential and build successful workplaces.”

– BPW member Trini Mayo

“I am glad I joined BPW”

“I joined BPW so I could connect with other women who owned their own business. I have gotten a lot of great information on how to enhance and grow my business while having fun with a group of dedicated, powerful, and diverse women.”

– BPW Member Connie Richter

“I originally came to meetings to just get out of the house…”

“…and listen to speakers that gave me a different perspective and to broaden my horizons locally. I soon found out that BPW is more than just a once a month meeting with good food and entertainment. It is about people helping each other professionally in their business or career and personally with so many diverse members as a knowledge base. BPW also helped to enlighten me politically. I am proud to say I worked hard to support and pass the Family Leave Act and Equal Pay for Equal Worth. BPW has given me the leadership training and self esteem to become a Sr. Manager within a 3, 000 employee company.”

– BPW Member Sylvia Valine

Find Out What’s Happening in BPW

There is a local meeting near you. Find out where…