“Girls rock!”
That’s how Jackson State University President Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers summed up the Women Entrepreneurs Day Awards Luncheon Wednesday, in welcoming the women of distinction who were honored at the event to the JSU campus.
It quickly became the event’s theme.
“I, too, believe girls rock!” enthused Hinds County Board of Supervisors President Peggy Hobson Calhoun. She presented Meyers with a proclamation by the county commending the university for the Global Entrepreneurship Week Conference that began Monday.
Meyers, in turn, commended Dr. Mary M. White, interim vice president of institutional advancement and chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Professional Development that hosted the three-day conference.
Dr. Kimberly Hilliard, executive director of Community Engagement, said that this is the sixth year of the international celebration and that the women who were selected for their achievements will have a global impact. They will be recognized by the Kauffman Foundation which cosponsored the event.
The award winners, announced by Tamica Smith Jeuitt, presiding, included:
Innovator Award: Dr. Cindy Ayers-Elliott, owner of Foot Print Farms LLC
Mentor Award: Carla Cleveland Kirkland, CEO, The Kirkland Group
Inspirational Award: Patty Patterson, Entrepreneur, Repurposed Projects
Visionary Award: Gailya Porter, Porter Insurance Agency
Creativity Award: Kathy Y. Times, owner, WhereToGo411.com/Yellow Brick Media Concepts
The award winners were cheered by the crowd at Ballroom A of the Student Center, but the most cheers and laughter award must go to Jill Conner Browne, the featured speaker and bestselling author of nine Sweet Potato Queens books. She was introduced by Dr. Juanita Sims Doty, chair, Juanita Sims Doty Foundation.
Browne, 62, known for her humor and occasional bawdiness, had attendees rolling in the aisles recounting when she was young woman, in order to get credit, a woman had to have a male’s signature. Wondering out loud why a male member was required, she said it didn’t matter back then whether the male member belonged to a husband, father, brother, cousin or what not, only that there be one involved in signing up for credit.
Browne told how she became “The Sweet Potato Queen,” emphasis on “the,” and noted that her annual parade, the Zippity Doo Dah® Parade in Fondren, raises funds for the Friends of Children’s Hospital. For more, see: https://www.sweetpotatoqueens.com/
White called the success of the conference “phenomenal.”
She said that she’s already planning next year’s event, adding, “Girls rock!”
