Four successful women business owners from around Connecticut received $4,000 in grants from Linda McMahon at a recent event, "Women Making History", co-sponsored by Ladies Who Launch and Unleash Your Voice. There were 130 people at the sold-out event, according to Kathy McShane, director of Ladies Who Launch.
McMahon, of Greenwich, who was the keynote speaker at the event, has been widely recognized as one of the country's top female business executives. She co-founded WWE with her husband and served as the company's CEO. She helped grow WWE from a modest, 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 700 employees in offices worldwide.
Grant Recipients at "Women Making History" included:
- Katherine Dickson, Madison, Conn. CEO and Founder of Guapa Films; a company that focuses on issues that face the women in the Latin community and are not found in the main stream media. www.guapafilms.com
- Teri Gaberman, Weston, Conn. CEO and Founder of Berni & Mercer Friends for Life a not-for-profit organization that educates encourages and comforts children with life threatening illnesses at all stages of their journey. www.berniandmurcer.com
Andrea Greene, Southport, Conn. President and Founder of Connecticut Cookie Company where every single cookie and treat is made from scratch, using the best ingredients and Andrea's grandma's vanilla. http://www.CTCOCO.com
"At Ladies Who Launch our mission is to make entrepreneurship available to all women by offering them resources to help them start and grow their businesses," said McShane. "Bringing Linda McMahon into this event really added value and attracted more women entrepreneurs. She is committed to helping small companies and was a dynamic speaker and a real fireball. We applaud Linda and her foundation for wanting to be a part of this effort."
"This opportunity really appealed to us as another way to show our commitment to helping women," said Allyson Spellman, CEO of Unleash Your Voice. "We've coached hundreds of women to stop settling for less and start living without limits. And working with Linda McMahon made perfect sense. This event is designed to celebrate women who are currently making history by creating their own legacy through their business. It will be an inspiring night to recognize their accomplishments."