2010 Most Influential Women Honoree: Donna Coppock

It took several years working in accounting for Donna Coppock to realize she was miserable in the field she’d chosen.

Coppock earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Missouri State University and spent 16 years in the field, working as a corporate controller, accountant and purchasing clerk for different companies.

Finally, she made the choice to leave accounting behind.

“For me, accounting was a proficiency but definitely not my passion and I found myself dreading going to work each day,” Coppock says. “I knew it was time to re-evaluate.”

Coppock asked herself what she believed she had to be able to say at the end of her life to ensure she had no regrets. She came up with these goals: to be a good Christian, wife, mother and friend and to make a difference in someone’s life.

She has found a niche in professional speaking and corporate training.

“By choice, I work almost exclusively with The Great Game of Business,” delivering training to businesses from all over the country, educating them in the open-book management philosophy,” she says. “I truly believe that the employee empowerment and engagement tools that we teach have the power to change businesses, communities and our country for the better.”

Coppock points out that making the right career choice didn’t make the list when she was evaluating her passions.

“I have purposefully not pursued a high-powered, high-profile career even though once I transitioned to public speaking, I certainly could have done so successfully,” she says.

The influence of a woman she met in her teens has helped guide Coppock’s efforts to make a difference for others. When she was 13 years old, Coppock moved with her family from Houston, Texas, to Nacogdoches, Texas, when her father was called to be minister of a church there.

Coppock says she felt lost in a new town, new school and new church. But a woman who was a member of her father’s congregation illustrated the importance of mentoring by making time to talk to the young girl.

“She made me feel special, cared for,” Coppock says. “She made me believe that maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be all right. Just maybe, I would be able to find my place in the new world in which I found myself. She made a difference.”

Coppock vowed to do the same thing if the opportunity presented itself. When she was in her late 20s, she was able to play the role of mentor to the first of several women who have crossed her path through the years.

“Mentoring is my passion,” Coppock says. “I have started several mentoring ministries in my local church and delivered seminars on mentoring.”

Coppock also reached others through five years as the lead female chaplain at Christenson Transportation through Marketplace Ministries. Though that role ended in May, Coppock started a new endeavor in June, when she was sworn in as a volunteer for Court Appointed Special Advocates.

“I’ve never aspired to change the whole world,” Coppock says. “I just want to positively influence my little corner of it.”[[In-content Ad]]