The ATHENA of Henderson County award committee recently hosted the Women’s Leadership Breakfast — an opportunity to explore a variety of aspects of leadership development and inspiration.

ATHENA International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to support and encourage women leaders who will create a balance in voices of leadership worldwide. Speakers at the Henderson County’s Women’s Leadership Breakfast shared some inspiring stories about their own personal journey toward success based on ATHENA’s eight basic principles:

• Live Authentically
• Learn Constantly
• Advocate Fiercely
• Act Courageously
• Foster Collaboration
• Build Relationships
• Give Back
• Celebrate

The breakfast began with women leaders of sponsor businesses Stuller Power Solutions and Relocate828 with a partnership with Cascades Mountain Resort welcoming the amazing women leaders who chose to attend the breakfast, saying that these female leaders are all “warrior women.”

Stacy Fields, co-owner of Raspberry Fields and Mini Batch Bakery, chose the principles Live Authentically and Advocate Fiercely for her talk, saying that these are ATHENA’s attributes that spoke to her the loudest. 

Fields said that women often receive so many mixed messages in their life. One lie she said that they are often told is that they have to gain accomplishments to feel valued. “Success does not dictate your value,” she said. 

An important consideration that Fields said to make is choosing a way out of your bubble by choosing to surround yourself with people that advocate for you. 

When someone thinks about their goals, Fields said that it’s even more important to think about the ‘why’ behind them. “That motive is your light, and your authenticity lies in your true pursuit,” she said.

Another thing that Fields said that women often do is to overanalyze and apologize too often. “Why did I say that?” is a question that often comes into Fields’ mind as well as into the minds of others. “Why did I apologize?” is another.

“Teach your daughters to stand up for themselves and never apologize for who they are,” Fields said. “They can then be a force for others to do the same. It’s easy to be your own advocate when you’re aligned with your authenticity.”

Attendees had an opportunity to discuss Fields’ talk, and share thoughts, feelings, and inspiration from the speech as well as from descriptions of ATHENA’s eight basic principles set at each place on every table.

Adriana Chavela, Executive Director at Hola Carolina, shared her connection to ATHENA’s attribute of Advocate Fiercly during her journey toward success.

Chavela relocated to Henderson County as an adult from after a terrifying experience being kidnapped in Mexico for $200. Her parents chose the area for their retirement because it is a “beautiful, amazing place full of opportunity,” and she chose to join them to avoid more bad experiences.

When Chavela arrived here in WNC, she said that she spoke no English at all. She began attending Blue Ridge Community College while knowing zero English. Eventually, through the Literacy Connection, she was able to learn English after years of “stubbornly refusing” to do so, because she said she would not be able to interact with her her community otherwise.

She began to dream of Hola Carolina — an organization with a mission to build bridges between cultures, embrace diversity, and create more economically vibrant communities. She said that the Latino community is full of hard-working and good people, and that this magazine and programs could help with her mission.

With this idea and only $200 in her savings account, Chavela said that she printed a media kit and started knocking on doors. “I had a belief that this was the right thing to do,” Chavela said. “Advocating for myself was the tool that got me to where I am now.”

Closing out the ceremony, Pauline Carpenter, Regional Director of Operations for Resource Corporation of America, said that her advice for women is to claim celebration and joy. “Celebrate your life with exuberance and optimism,” she said.