The Jefferson County Growth Association (JCGA) is working to connect women in business.
The association started the JCGA Businesswomen’s Group of Jefferson County in September 2021 and is looking for more people to attend its quarterly breakfast meetings, JCGA executive director Sharon Floyd said.
Floyd said the meeting always features a female speaker, who typically shares an uplifting message.
The group’s chair, Kami Kimes, 52, of Hillsboro said it charges no membership fees and there’s no admission fee to meetings.
She said the JCGA and sponsors cover the cost of every event.
“In networking, you’re usually paying for stuff all the time, and you have to become a member,” she said. “I wanted (this group) to be open to every woman.”
Kimes, an account executive for Hillsboro Title Co., said about 40 people have typically attended meetings.
“We would love to get it bigger,” she said. “My end goal is a place for women to come to share their failures or to come in and feel inspired, or just learn from each other.”
Kimes said she feels energized and inspired after every meeting.
“When you leave there, you just can’t help smiling because you feel so good about yourself, as a woman, as a businessperson. You just feel like you can take on the world,” she said.
Real estate agent Kim Sebaugh, 60, of Hillsboro said she started attending the meetings after Kimes’ invitation and has enjoyed the speakers.
“I get confidence listening to what some of these other ladies have persevered through,” she said.
Even though Sebaugh works in a female-dominated field, she said she likes being able to network with other women.
“I think our minds think more alike sometimes,” she said.
Also, she said, she likes how the group focuses on the local area.
“We have the women’s council for Realtors, but that covers like St. Louis and St. Charles and frankly, I’m so busy that I don’t really have the time to be a part of that because most of their functions are up in the St. Louis area,” she said.
Kimes said Floyd asked her to chair the group.
“It’s sharing knowledge and helping women,” she said. “We’re supporting each other and giving each other a backbone to be heard and learning from each other.”
Floyd said the idea for the group came from Dan Govero, the Growth Association’s president.
“He has been thinking about this for years, how can he bring more awareness to the businesswomen in our community,” she said. “We basically want this to be a means of networking for future entrepreneurs, for sharing their stories, how they’ve succeeded and where they are today.”
Floyd said sometimes she feels like the group is like a support group.
“I think it’s women leaning on women,” she said. “I think women are more emotional than men.”
Both Floyd and Kimes said men will not be turned away at the door, but the meetings are not geared for a co-ed audience.
“Women share more personally with each other, and challenges and needs and wants with each other when it’s a group of women,” Kimes said.
Kimes said the next meeting will be held from 8-10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at Villa Antonio Winery, 3660 Linhorst Road, in Hillsboro.
“We have everyone from single moms to successful business owners. There is a place for everyone,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what your profession is, if you’re a mom, if you’re a business owner, it doesn’t matter,” she said.
She said the October speaker will be Cynthia Kirkpatrick, a senior adviser at Moneta, an investment group in St. Louis.
Kimes said anyone interested in attending should RSVP at jcgamo.org/businesswomen-group.
