Remarks from Peg Weir, 2010-11 Past-President2010 Inauguration of Officers
June 8, 2010
DACOR Bacon House WELCOME Welcome to the 2010-11 EWG installation of officers at the DACOR Bacon House. Good afternoon Ladies, Gentlemen, Special Guests, Friends and most importantly our Families. Thank you all for coming.
Welcome and thank you to all of the past-Presidents who are here to share in this very special event--Marylouise Uhlig, Maria Vickers, Kathy Gugulis, Virginia Robinson, Helen Holt, Anna Dixon, Mary Mathews, Nancy Steorts. You are truly a positive circle of influence to the Presidents that follow you and to the entire EWG organization.
Welcome to all of our sponsors – Long Term Care Partners, Deloitte, HP, and the Kinney Group.
Welcome to our special guest and speaker, Martha Johnson.
Thank you to EWG Program Committee co-chairs --Kathleen Bartholomew and Lesia Banks for this fine venue and program.
REMARKS FROM 2010-11 PAST PRESIDENT
Last year we said, as Executive Women in Government, we have a higher calling and responsibility as LEADERS!
We must do the right things as role models, mentors, advocates, and decision makers – this is our responsibility as leaders – in order to create true cultural change. Cultural changes are dynamic, significant and long lasting, but clearly not easy.
We had an amazing year! We celebrated EWG’s 35th Anniversary with a Gala on the Potomac. What a magical evening! We celebrated the establishment of EWG -- its mission and many accomplishments. The EWG founders were change agents and so are we.
Last year, I promised that we would build on the strong foundation of EWG in the areas of training and development, mentoring, and networking. AND we would engage more members in all of these areas.
In March, we held the Annual Summit and Training Conference with this year’s theme of “Her-story….Writing Women Back into History”! Under past-President Marylouise Uhlig’s leadership this Summit surpassed all others and was again sold out. Summit Chair Marylouise and Chris Tirpak co-chair thank you so much for all of your efforts.
With so many experienced SES managers retiring, we said EWG must play a more important role in succession planning. Mentoring is one of my passions and with the Mentorship Program committee – Vice President Paula Farrell and the Status of Women co-Chairs Mary Josie Blanchard and Vicki Allums , we formalized EWG’s Mentorship Program into 4 parts: Flash Mentoring, SES Preparation Workshops, the Mentor-Protégé Program and Transitions.
I want to bring to your attention the new Mentor-Protégé Program!! It was launched this week beginning with the application process. The program consists of an orientation, guest speakers, and 3 different Mentor-Protégé matches. This is very exciting – while we will focus on EWG members first, we are opening the applications to non-member GS-15s and GS-14s. To ensure each mentoring experience is maximized, only 20 proteges will be accepted in each class. There is no other such program in government! This is yet another EWG first!
As promised we took the first steps to revamp the EWG website. Carolyn Cole, Secretary and Board liaison took the lead in bringing about numerous changes in our website to make it a better communications tool for our members. There are now “members only” pages! The first phase, the most difficult one, has been completed. More enhancements are planned.
Another change was to provide multi-year membership opportunities – you can now be a lifetime member or choose a 2-year or 5-year membership at a discounted rate. Knowing how much I love EWG, I signed up immediately for the lifetime membership! And you can too!!
I want to announce one of our latest benefits. We just signed an agreement with Excelsior College. Annette Jeffes, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management for Excelsior College is with us today. Excelsior will offer online classes and programs at a special discount to EWG members, their spouses and domestic partners. This agreement will be effective June 15th! Please stay tuned for more details on this arrangement.
The most significant change this year, was the establishment of a Corporate Advisory Board. Our corporate sponsors will help us to carry out cultural change. We will be able to offer our members and others expanded opportunities and benefits. EWG and our Sponsors will leverage our strengths, differences, and similarities as public (government) and private entities. This major change will help solidify a successful EWG future!
Yes, we did accomplish many, many things this year and set the stage for continuing EWG’s progress. I am so excited about working with Elizabeth Cotsworth and the new Board. A long-time member of EWG, Elizabeth is an accomplished leader with nearly 37 years in government, Presidential Rank award winner (2 times), wife to Martin Wagner, and Mother to 3 lovely young ladies (daughters). We (EWG) are in good hands! Very good hands! Our future is very bright!
In closing, let me quote Marylouise Uhlig from this year’s Summit – “Our constitution’s vision of a more perfect union is only possible because of the tireless efforts of all of you….”
This is who we are as Executive Women in Government – leaders (tirelessly) changing culture.
I would now like to recognize the 2009-2010 EWG Board of Directors and Committee leadership with a token of my appreciation for their hard work and dedication. On this charm bracelet the crystals signify the clarity of our (EWG’s) vision and the pearls signify the “pearls of wisdom” we share with each other.
Thank you all so very much!
- Margaret (Peg) Weir, EWG Past-President 2010-11
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