Bomb threat interrupts NWA Business Women’s Conference, Celia Swanson receives top award
by September 13, 2016 11:48 am 531 views
Attendees of the NWA Business Women’s Conference stand outside the convention center in Rogers after being evacuated due to a bomb threat.
A “non-specific” bomb threat against the John Q. Hammons Convention Center Rogers evacuated the estimated 1,350 attending the NWA Business Women’s Conference on Tuesday morning (Sept. 13).
Krista Khone, vice president of special projects and leadership at the Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce, interrupted morning motivational speaker, Colette Carlson in the middle of her speech and asked that the audience of 1,350 people be evacuated, because of a phone call threat made against the building.
A Rogers police officer said he couldn’t immediately tell if the caller was male or female; and that the threat was not specifically against the women’s conference.
Attendees, made up mostly of women, waited outside for about an hour while the Bentonville Police Department brought in their bomb-sniffing dog to search the building. Keith Foster, spokesman for the Rogers Police Department, said no threat was found and the building was declared secure for the crowd to return to the conference.
“It’s one of those things where you could ignore it, but the times we live in, you take everything serious until you prove that it’s not,” Foster said.
The conference, in its 18th year, returned to its schedule and will continue as normal throughout the afternoon, Khone said.
“In my 17 years (hosting the event), I’ve never seen anything like this,” Khone said. “We appreciate the Embassy and John Q Hammons for handling it so quickly and so professionally. They just did a great job. It was a no-call. We did what we had to do to keep everybody safe.”
The event continued with breakout sessions including “It’s Just Life: Debunking the Work/Life Balance Myth,” “The CBAs of Dream Building”, “Women’s Defense and Trail/Home Safety”, “Truths Female Leaders Need to Know” and “Real Talk: A Conversation with Laura Phillips (with Walmart)”.
Celia Swanson was presented as the 2016 Athena Woman of the Year. The leadership award is given to an individual who is honored for professional excellence, community service and for actively assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.
Toni Barger Bahn was given the NWA Young Woman of the Year award, which is presented annually to an emerging leader who has shown a commitment to professional excellence and a dedication to improving the quality of life in Northwest Arkansas through community service.
Cary Lohrenz, the first female F-14 Tomcat Fighter Pilot in the U.S. Navy, was scheduled to give the keynote at the close of the event. Mercy Northwest Arkansas is the founding sponsor of the event. Walmart is the presenting sponsor.