Jennifer Sharpe
I’m making a valiant effort to grow my fingernails for The Journal Record’s Woman of the Year gala event.
Get tips, people have suggested – I don’t have the patience for that. It’s just not my style.
Use press-on nails? I absolutely have taken advantage of this for other events, but never when I’m part of a hosting team. Those pesky fakes tend to fall off at the most inopportune moments, and I’ve got a lot of hands to shake.
I cannot wait to congratulate this year’s 50 Making a Difference honorees on Oct. 20 and name this year’s overall Woman of the Year winner.
I feel like I already know all these amazing women. As special projects editor, making the commemorative magazine for the event has been my world for the past 6-8 weeks. Our team and I have spent hours editing profiles and proofing pages, staring at photos, sacrificing a fingernail or two – so I feel closely connected with our honorees even though I will be meeting several in person for the first time on Oct. 20.
These women are worth of our honor and recognition. They are simply incredible.
I have said that before, I will say it this year and I will say it in years to come – because our event is about just that, finding the women in our state who are making a difference in what they do in their careers and their community involvement. Their achievements are incredible.
Our program is in its 42nd year. The legacy is overwhelming to think about.
(Even more profound, The Journal Record celebrates its 120-year anniversary in 2023! We are older than statehood!)
Our keynote speaker and 2016 Woman of the Year, Susan Agel, will be talking about the importance of leaving a legacy in her speech on that Thursday night.
Our program is also about mentorship, and we are delighted this year to offer a live, in-person idea exchange and networking opportunity for current and past honorees and those they mentor. Our 24th annual Woman of the Year Forum will be held from 9-10:30 a.m. on Oct. 20 at Oklahoma City Community College. We have a panel of experts lined up and I am excited to hear their insights.
The Woman of the Year event is supported by Presenting Sponsor Cigna; Partner Sponsors Cox Business and Delta Dental; Reception Sponsor Bank of Oklahoma; Entertainment Sponsor AT&T; Gold Sponsors Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma and Tinker Federal Credit Union; Forum Sponsors ClearSight LASIK 43 Vision, Continental Resources, HoganTaylor, Oklahoma City Community College, and Oklahoma Natural Gas.
There’s still time for you to join us at the gala; tickets are available until Oct. 13.
If you are a current or past honoree, or a protégé of one of our honorees, you are also invited to our free forum.
If you cannot join us in person, our Woman of the Year program magazine, recognizing the 50 Making a Difference honorees, will be inserted in The Journal Record’s Oct. 21 edition and also will be available online. Be sure to follow online and in print to see who is named the 2022 Woman of the Year.
I’ll see you on Oct. 20, even if my fingernails are only 1/8-inch long.
Jennifer Sharpe is special projects editor for The Journal Record.
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