A Look Back at the Past Three Years of All About the Girls!

A Look Back at the Past Three Years of All About the Girls!

The highly anticipated yearly women’s empowerment event, #AllAboutTheGirls, will return to the Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton for its fourth installment this May!

The event was created in 2015 when Ideas in Motion Media’s Jenny Craig-Brown and CEO Chris Mahlmann decided they wanted to showcase some of the incredible, strong, talented women of the region.

“This idea came up in a meeting one day and as soon as I got ahold of that idea, I took it and ran with it,” explained Craig-Brown, “The women I know are amazing, inspirational and extremely hard workers and why wouldn’t we want to put some of them in the spotlight? I couldn’t be happier that the idea worked.”

The first year kicked off at Industrial Revolution with a few of the region’s leading ladies including Blair Milo (previous Mayor of the City of La Porte), Erin Parker (La Porte High School), Heather Ennis (NWI Forum), Celina Wealtherwax (MACC), Darlene Cohn (D. Cohn Communications), Norma Williams (Excellence by Design) and Shellie Dell (Crossroads Chamber of Commerce) discussing positivity in media. This inaugural year was the perfect kickoff to so much more to come.

After that first years strong showing, the following year’s attendance more than doubled, as hundreds of strong women from the region came out to be in the presence of influential power-driven women who were chosen to be a part.

During that second year, Ideas in Motion Media based the event around the subject “Dear Me: Advice to a Younger You” that allowed the 2016 speakers to give a bit of advice to their younger selves. This subject matter was discussed in a video format via the Lady Lifers and then presented by the years 8 amazing women: Jenn Brown (Lakeside Wealth), Michelle Andres (Group 7even), Marie Foster (Purdue University Northwest), Sue Reed (Crossroads Chamber of Commerce), Kim Ramsey (Showmen Supplies, Inc.), Maura Durham (Duneland Chamber of Commerce), Denise Carpenter (Northshore Health Centers) and Jeanne Sommer (Century 21 Alliance Group).

Last year’s theme, “You’re Welcome World,” celebrated the women who served and uplifted their community. The highlighted eight were; Melissa Huffman (Director of Sales and Marketing for Residences of Deer Creek), Marissa McDermott (Circuit Court Judge for Lake County), Jennifer Sanders (Manager of the Northwest Indiana Breast Care Center at Methodist Hospital), Stacey Kellogg (Regional Manager of Community Relations for Porter Regional Hospital and La Porte Hospital), Donna Flanigan (Owner of Flanigan’s Bulk Mail Service and Founder of Scatter Kindness) Cathy Brown-Brown (Valpo Velvet Ice Cream), and Candace Arvin (Director of Marketing and Business Development for Jacob’s Ladder Pediatric Rehab Center).

#AllAboutTheGirls 2018 will take place on Thursday, May 17th at 6pm. Tickets for the event are currently available for purchase on Eventbrite, this year’s speakers announced so far on the All About the Girls Part 4 Facebook event page.

Judy Kukelka
Judy is a mother of three very active boys. She has worked in the Senior Living industry for over 11 years and is currently the Business Development Specialist for StoryPoint Chesterton. She enjoys hiking at the Dunes, cheering her boys on from the sideline and volunteering with the youth group at church.

Amy Frets
As Director of Communications for Mayor Stahura and the City of Whiting, Amy Frets oversees all marketing, public relations, web, and social media. She also assists in city event planning and is working on the Mascot Hall of Fame project - an interactive children's’ attraction coming soon to Whiting.

Erika Lubeznik
Erika Lubeznik is a Development Officer for Purdue University Northwest. Having graduated from PNW in 2012 with her Bachelors in Human Resources she has had various roles within the University. She resides in Porter County with her husband and two dogs.

Amy Blaker
I am the new Director of Development and Community Relations for Habitat for Humanity of NWI. Currently, I serve on the Board of Directors for Meals on Wheels of NWI and actively volunteer with the Munster Junior Women’s Club. I like to think of myself as a big cheerleader for the Region because I think this is a great community to live and work in. I am really dedicated to any projects that inprove the quality of life in NWI.

Kathleen Szot
Senior Manager, Customer Communications & Marketing