Beyond Balance, a conference w/ 400 women and their allies

We were overwhelmed by the attendance, energy, and engaging content at Beyond Balance - a women’s leadership conference - held on March 5th with 400 women and their allies in attendance at the Dalton, GA convention center. Women from flooring manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retail, as well as non-profits, trade associations and trade media from across the country and even a few international guests had an impactful day of learning, sharing, and connecting all around the theme of moving from work life balance to work life harmony. The Beyond Balance conference featured compelling speakers, dynamic breakout sessions and most importantly, comradery, as women from across the industry gathered to share their stories and empower each other.

Special thank you to our dynamic keynote speaker Tara Renze for sharing her message and book Be Who You Came To Be and challenging everyone to chase their butterfly goals! One of the biggest “ah-ha” moments for the group came in keynote speaker Tara Renze’s address. She noted that “mistakes are when you do something twice. The first time, it’s a lesson,” giving the sold-out audience a strong message to have courage, try new things and work towards finding fulfillment, not just on “being happy.” As she said, “you have permission to not always be happy.”

Thank you to Shaw Industries Group, Inc. WiN associate resource group for co-hosting the event with WIFI, and for Brenda Knowles and Susan Farris for the opening message about standing up for others so that they can be seen and heard!

And thank you to our closing panelists: Marissa McCoy from Shaw, Whitney LeGate from Mannington, Torrence Ford from Shaw, and Emily Finkell from Engineered Floors, and moderator Amy Rush-Imber, Floor Covering Weekly for giving useful tips on finding fulliment, using foxhole friends, being mindful of commitments, and being true to your passions and to people in your life.

Women in the Floorcovering Industry (WIFI) and Shaw’s Women’s Innovation Network (WiN) came together for a powerful and empowering day full of networking, collaboration and inspiration.

See you out there!