First United Bank hosted its Women in Entrepreneurship Leadership Conference last week at the bank’s corporate office in Durant.
The annual event is to celebrate and support women entrepreneurs and female business leaders across the region. First United Bank and the Southeastern John Massey School of Business partnered to provide inspiration, practical tools and meaningful networking for attendees.
Melissa Perrin, First United Bank chief culture officer, said the conference is the result of a vision to have an annual event for women to come together to make connections and build relationships.
“To be inspired, be encouraged, almost like a personal growth to be able to continue to learn and grow together,” Perrin said. “This is our third-annual women’s event and we have lots of great sponsors with this event that help put this on and I’m just really proud that First United and the community is working together to lift up our women and encourage them and help them in all of the things that they’re out doing in our community and in their businesses.”
The speakers were Becky Hicks, director of learning and growth at First United, and Julie Griffin was the keynote speaker.
“Both of them will be here just encouraging our women and sharing their testimonies and a story and a word of encouragement to just help lift up everybody that’s in attendance,” Perrin said.
The conference was a great opportunity for networking, according to Perrin.
“It’s a time to get to know each other,” Perrin said, before the conference began.
“You know, you think in a town the size of Durant, you maybe already know each other, but we get so busy with our families and our hobbies and our work that we fail to take time to stop and connect with each other and so this will be a great networking event.
“I had someone tell me one time it’s hard to be a resource for others if you aren’t well resourced and I think of this event as a time to help us slow down and pour into ourselves so that we can then pour into other people.”
