2012 Keynote for ISU's Women and Work Conference

This is an event that has been held at Idaho State University for the past eleven years.  For the twelve annual conference, they have selected yours truly, to be the keynote speaker!  I am very honored and excited!  I didn't really expect anything out of the show, I just thought it would be a fun and exciting experience....but it has allowed the community to get excited about a local resident that did something out of the norm.  I am very happy that it made me be more in the "public eye" or stand out a bit-so opportunities like this would present themselves.  I think its awesome that Idaho State University has had such a successful conference to promote and support the women who want to pursue this type of work.  This conference is provided for women involved with or interested in nontraditional occupations. It provides an exceptional source of information through workshops, speakers, networking, and exposure to local training and education resources.  I am glad to be able to take part in helping the next generation decide if they want to become part of the STEM workforce.  (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathmatics).  As the keynote, I have to come up with a 20 to 25 minute speech about my first hand experience of working in a trade that is still a predominately male field.  I need to entice and excite them for what they are about to encounter for the day.  After my "pep talk" the audience gets 15 minute question and answer.  I have until March to make myself sound good.  I am also going to be working on putting together a booth for the hands on workshop....this will take some thought of how I can make it interactive and not make all the other vendors angry if I have saws or sanders going off the whole time! 

The event will be held in March on the campus of Idaho State University in the Pond Student Union Building.  It will be $20 for general public and $10 for ISU students.  I was even told that there is a traditional "fashion show" at the end of the day......might have to go shopping for some new Carharrts!