The First Women's Business NetWorking Community is Still Going Strong

When we think of the business community today it is hard to imagine it not having powerful intelligent women as part of it; however, almost 60 years ago women were an oddity in the workplace.  Then we went to war and women stepped in to replace the men who had become soldiers.  Women were finally recognized for the benefits they brought to the workplace.  Women also realized how fulfilling it was to make this sort of contribution.  When the men came home from the war and women were expected to put their aprons back on and pick up the iron again, they had a different desire.

Hilary A. Bufton Jr. recognized the loss in the workplace when the men came back to work and decided to create an organization to support women who wanted to continue working.  On Sept. 22, 1949 with the help of three businesswomen in Kansas City he founded the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) www.abwa.org.

Their mission is “To bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and to provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support and national recognition.”

Today, the ABWA is a strong national organization with three different levels of membership.  Their different levels run from $50-$100 per year.  Benefits include Business Development Training, Networking and their exclusive Women in Business Magazine.

I attended the monthly meeting of the Open Chapter from the Express Network Division.  The members have the opportunity to set up booth space around the room so the attendees can come and learn more about their businesses.  I was impressed at the quality of the displays the women had put together for this event and how professionally everyone presented.

The format for the evening was informal networking, followed by announcements, dinner, a guest speaker and then more networking.  I was impressed by most of the people I networked with.  They seemed to have a real sense of what the other person is looking for versus what they can get.  I saw several people exchanging business cards with referrals and ideas on them.  Overall, the event was very professionally run and I believe they stick true to the mission of the organization.

The guest speaker for the evening was Jeff Klein of Klein Creative www.kleincreative.tv. He discussed how to better target your commercial for improved networking results.  The attendees really enjoyed the information and the opportunity to immediately put to practice what was taught.

The ABWA has made such an impact on the community of working women that in 1983 President Ronald Regan proclaimed their founding day of September 22 as American Business Women’s Day. Mr. Bufton Jr. would be so proud to see the impact his organization is having on growing our nation.

---

Contact Kenda-Le Pernin at KendaLeP@TheNationalNetWorker.com or Post a Comment on TNNW Blog.