By Paula McMillan, CPA/PFS, CFP, CGMA
It was great to see 28 women come together to get to know each other in the shared pursuit of exploring topics important to women and financial empowerment! With endless possibilities, we are going to have good times, learn a lot, and build some amazing friendships!
As I write this, we are reaching out to those who indicated an interest in being on the Steering Committee via the survey form. If you haven’t expressed interest, but want to take part, please let me know at [email protected].
Our next meeting will be Thursday, February 22, 2018, at 6:00 pm at 324 W. Wendover Avenue, Ste. 140. (You will receive a registration link in the next few days.) It will be a book club format where we will be discussing the book Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich by Jason Zweig. Please note that while it is great if you can read the book, do not feel compelled to do so if you are having a busy month! Come with or without reading it! A brief book summary will be provided at the beginning of the meeting for your reflection and any comments you may want to share.
Note: We will NOT be having the presentation format meeting in February to allow time for the Steering Committee to assemble and establish the docket for the remaining meetings of 2018. If you would be willing and interested in presenting on any related topics, please let me know your topic and the best month for you.
For those who were there and those who couldn’t be but plan to join us for future meetings, below is a summary of what was proposed at our initial meeting (subject to change by the Steering Committee):
- Mission: Establish meaningful, sustainable, personal and professional relationships with a circle of women who care about each other and share an appreciation for the foundational role strong financial planning and governance play in reaching one’s goals and aspirations for herself and her community.
- Financially (With Strong Social Bent)- Centric Meetings: Host two meetings monthly to explore a given topic. At the initial meeting, we brainstormed topics for the Steering Committee to use in establishing the slate of presenters, books and venues. Based on the results of the post-meeting surveys, the two meetings per month will be:
- Presentation Over Lunch: Second Thursday of the month from 12:00-1:00 pm – lunch with a 40-minute presentation
- Book Club: Fourth Thursday of every month from 6:00-7:30 pm – casual social and book discussion
- Social-Only Meetings: Two planned, recurring annual social events, with group members posting impromptu events on our Connect community to let everyone in our group know about a particular event. If it is an event the member would like other members to meet up somewhere to attend together, they can make it known where and when in the post for a great opportunity to get to know other group members better. Otherwise, it would be assumed that we are all on our own if we wish to attend and thank you for letting us know about it.
More photos from our event:
Paula is a senior financial advisor with Stearns Financial Group in Greensboro. She participates in various advocacy groups designed to empower women to learn more about their finances through Stearns Financial Group, Financial Focus for Women, and Family Wealth Advisors Council. She can be reached at [email protected].