Each year, the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce hosts a Women’s Leadership Breakfast organized by the Empower Her committee. This event offers perspectives on leadership from the recent ATHENA Award winner and other community business women.

On Tuesday, September 17, the Women’s Leadership Breakfast was held at Kenmure Country Club, featuring the 2024 ATHENA Award winner Anna Conner. Katrina McGuire, Monica Rousseau, and Rhonderia Waters also spoke about their business and leadership journeys. Each woman shared stories of overcoming adversity, personal challenges, and the importance of self-care while emphasizing the resilience and perseverance of women in leadership positions.

Conner shared her unconventional journey to leadership, beginning as a 22-year-old single mother earning $5 per hour at multiple jobs. She had to leave Hendersonville to find work in a larger city. She found an entry-level secretary position at an insurance brokerage, and progressively earned a managing position at that firm. She returned to Hendersonville, and with her family, slowly began managing multiple rental properties priced at reduced fair-market values. 

It was her personally-invested work in the transformation of Alpine Woods, a notoriously-dangerous mobile home park that was becoming a public health concern, into Conner Creek, a community with 60 homes full of happy and supported residents, that led to her receiving the ATHENA Award.

As a real estate agent, Conner and her team have the privilege of introducing new people to Henderson County. She is proud of the female leadership in the area, and said mentorship of other women lifts them up and inspires them on their journey.

“Leadership isn’t about fitting into a mold,” Conner said. “It’s about stepping into your power and using your influence to create change. If you cultivate your confidence, your communication with others, your emotional intelligence, your resilience, and your mentorship, you can continue to rise and inspire the women that come after you to even greater opportunities.”

Conner joined McGuire, Rousseau, and Waters at a table for a panel discussion hosted by Roxanna Pepper. She began by encouraging a round of her signature “I look good, I feel good, and I am good” statements from all attendees.

Panelists shared their own personal journeys toward leadership, many sharing struggles of challenging or unconventional beginnings. They discussed the challenges of maintaining self care and work/life balance throughout their careers, and the challenges they face as women in their business, mainly in male-dominated fields. 

With an overall theme of embracing authenticity and speaking their mind, the panelists agree that women leaders can have a positive impact not only in their workplace, but in lifting the community as a whole.