Rosie to debut Wise Women event

Rosie, a networking group for female business leaders, owners or aspiring founders, is launching a new event.

Leadership Springfield, which assumed management of the group late last year, plans to kick off the transfer and introduce an annual event in celebration of Woman’s History Month. The event is a table discussion titled 100 Wise Women, officials say. There will be tables of 10 women, each led by a table host.

The 100 Wise Women table hosts are:

• Logan Aguirre of 417 Magazine;
• Casey Chasteen of the Law Offices of Randy L. Smith LLC;
• Debbie Dodge of Hall Ansley PC;
• Jena Holtberg-Benge of John Deere Reman;
• Monica Horton of Lenica Consulting Group LLC and Springfield City Council;
• Morey Mechlin, a community volunteer;
• Zora Mulligan of Missouri State University;
• Francine Pratt of Prosper Springfield;
• Krisi Schell of SRC Holdings Corp.;
• Kai Sutton of the Springfield NAACP;
• Shurita Thomas-Tate of the Springfield Public Schools Board of Education and MSU; and
• Regina Waters of Drury University.

Waters, a professor emeritus with Drury, said that Rosie is a “gem of the community” and when you put “curious, smart and engaged women in a room together, it’s amazing to walk out of that room and see the things that emerge from that.”

The event is focused on leadership and the traits of iconic women. Modeled after the Jefferson Dinner concept of talking and discussing one topic to a small group of people, the concept includes eating and drinking together while building connections with everyone at the table, not just one individual.

Carrie Richardson, executive director of Leadership Springfield, said it was designed to have strong and supported conversation, a technique used throughout history.

The event is scheduled March 30 at Relics Event Center.

With over 1,000 members since its launch  in 2016, Rosie’s legacy is intended to be continued by Leadership Springfield, Richardson said.

Leadership Springfield is a program used for leadership development and creates community opportunities for business professionals and students. There is vision of creating the next generation of leaders for the area.

“We knew Rosie was a strong advocate for women and with us having closely aligned missions to inspire and develop a reason to locally serve, it made sense to get a partner company that allowed that expansion for women,” Richardson said.

Richardson said Leadership Springfield is committed to keeping Rosie membership free for professional development.

“We want to continue to build on that and increase program opportunities for members to connect,” she said.