Empowerment Summit: Women encouraged to ‘blaze forward’ and ‘bring your best self’

Thursday’s (Sept. 26) Women’s Empowerment Summit presented by Kimberly-Clark and hosted by the local chapter of NextUp was attended by more than 630. The event held in Rogers featured several speakers including Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond.

Drummond said when she was asked to speak on navigating a balance between work and family she thought, “Wow did they call the wrong person.” She said women have a heavy load to lift and balance. She said her time is a challenge as a mother to five, soon-to-be-grandmother to one, wife to Ladd, business owner, food network star shooting her 39th season, and authoring her ninth cookbook.

“I think you have to just blaze forward whether you can achieve balance or not. A few years ago, I figured out the art of saying ’No’ to some things so I could say ‘Yes’ to other things,” she said.

Growing up in Bartlesville, Okla., she said all she wanted to do after high school was to ditch the small town of 35,000 people. She moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of California at Los Angeles to major in journalism and gerontology. She hoped to attend law school in 1991 and move to Chicago.

“I was all set to move to Chicago, but I made a pit stop by Bartlesville to see my family when I met Ladd, this handsome cowboy that I fell in love with and married,” she said.

Ladd Drummond is a rancher and the couple settled near Pawhuska, Okla., population of 3,500. After 10 years, which was in 2006, Drummond began a lifestyle blog on what it was like to find bobcats in the trash can, see animals mating, and deal with all the manure – so much manure. About a year later, she started adding recipes and talking about food. She became known as “The Pioneer Woman.”

‘GIVE ME PLATES AND BOWLS’
By 2009, she wrote her first cookbook and taught herself photography. In 2011, her show on the Food Network premiered and she began writing children’s books. In 2015, she drew the attention of Walmart which launched a line of her cookware and kitchen essentials under the Pioneer Woman brand.

“My line at Walmart is such a joy for me and it’s been one of my favorite things that I have done throughout my career. I grew up in Bartlesville and I get Walmart. I don’t care about purses or cars, but give me plates and bowls,” she said.

In true Pioneer Woman fashion, she made a family-favorite chocolate sheath cake during her presentation and shared it with the crowd. Drummond joked that she knows she’s got a following.

“There are Swifties and way, way, way down here there’s me. Several years ago when our daughter Paige played competitive soccer we traveled all over to games and during one game a guy was looking at me. I figured he recognized me, it happens sometimes. He came up after the game and got a selfie with me saying his wife was going to be so jealous. Then he waved goodbye and then said, ’Tell Garth hi.’”

She opened The Mercantile, a restaurant and retail store in Pawhuska in 2016. Since then the couple has opened The Boarding House, a bed and breakfast in town as well as Charlie’s Ice Cream shop and P-town pizzeria. Drummond said despite her popularity and brand success, she still had plenty of insecurities.

“I just blame it on being a middle child and being a redhead,” she said.

‘LEAD OTHERS’
Also speaking in the first session was Charu Thomas, CEO and founder of Bentonville-based Ox, a growing human-centered innovation business. Thomas said her career path also was not linear. As an engineer, she saw herself in academia and spent time in research. But it was only after taking part in entrepreneurial endeavors through her alma mater Georgia Tech she began to see her future differently.

“I wondered if I could do it too. It wasn’t always easy. There were lots of ‘no’s’ from 200 investors until I got one yes,” Thomas said.

Thomas is now focused on human-centered automation in wearable technology that directs frontline operators through software intelligence. She said the business powers billions of dollars of revenue for Fortune 500 customers across the supply chain, third-party logistics and retail.

Ox technology customers include Walmart, Google and Newell Brands. Thomas said the software technology can be deployed in 12 weeks and crosses language barriers. Thomas is seen as a trailblazer in her field and has raised $16.2 million in venture funding.

Tamara Fenske, chief supply chain officer at Kimberly Clark, told the crowd to trust their experiences when they are asked to do something new. She said success is often determined by one’s own confidence and fortitude.

“Be unapologetic, bring your best self, and then lead others to do their best,” Fenske said.