WORTH Their Weight In Gold
My daughter Evelyn is a feisty four-year old with an attitude that is both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Approximately 32 times a day she proclaims, “I can do it myself!”, refusing help from her exasperated parents. The biggest frustration in dealing with this behaviour is knowing she gets her stubbornness from me.
When I first had the idea to start an association for women of recreation, tourism and hospitality, I probably sounded a bit like Evelyn. I spent much of my maternity leave organizing events, trying to do it all myself with a baby in tow. I didn’t have a board of directors or a business number. I didn’t have connections or committees. Heck, I didn’t even have a plan. We are only where we are today thanks to the time, energy and dedication of women (and men!) who said, “how can I help”?
WORTH is a small grassroots association, but our growth and achievements are worth bragging about. We have reached thousands of women in the province through our events, webinars and speaking engagements. We have made gains (and adversaries!) through our research and advocacy efforts. We have elevated and empowered nearly 100 women through our mentorship program and reached many more through our resource guides and newsletter. We can’t do any of this ourselves. We can’t do it without you, the women and allies of WORTH who come to our events and share our resources. We definitely can’t do it without partners who sponsor our cause and donate to our efforts. Partners like Accent Inns/Hotel Zed, our first Leadership Circle Member. Hear more from Mandy Farmer, President and CEO here in our Women of WORTH interview to learn more.
Trina Notman, the hotel group’s VP of Marketing and Communications, called out misogynist behaviour at the BC Tourism and Hospitality Conference. She used her voice to demand accountability with organizers, her network and the media. Trina shared, “after speaking with scores of women in the weeks after the conference, hearing many stories of what women go through in the workplace, I know much more needs to be done to lift up women in our industry. We have an association of women already doing this work and they are not being properly funded by our industry. This is an opportunity to be champions for change and support their good work.”
Every day I watch my daughter use her voice, protesting when she sees any injustice. She yells, “that’s not fair!”, and demands I make things right, even if it's ensuring the quantity of ice cream is evenly split between her bowl and her brother’s. I hope she continues to use her voice like my friend Trina did this Spring.
As we approach our fourth birthday, instead of trying to do it ourselves like a stubborn, pig-tailed, wild child, we are speaking up and asking for support.
Here’s how:
We are welcoming Sloan Vereecken, Clea Cosmann and Donneil McNab to our Board of Directors and expanding our volunteer committees. Visit our volunteer page on the website to get involved.
We are building an Advisory Board with industry experts (like Trina!) to support our growth and direction.
We are working with industry associations like TOTA, BCHA and go2HR to extend our reach and affect change.
We are building our capacity through fundraisers like Yes Shef in August and an online auction in June...stay tuned!
You know the people in your life who are worth their weight in gold? I’m lucky to work with them every day to make this industry better. Thank you to women of WORTH (and Evelyn) who remind us to use our voice… or even throw a full blown tantrum in order to make things fair.
If you’re wondering “how can I help?”, send me a note at joanna@worthassociation.com
Everyone is welcome in our effort to educate, elevate and empower.