Murfreesboro, Tenn., April 26, 2015– The Third Annual Empowering Women Event is set for Saturday, April 30 from 10 AM until noon at Sportscom in their meeting room. The event is hosted by State Representative Bryan Terry with Co-Host Representative Dawn White. The event is free and open to the public, any anyone can attend.
Started by Dr. Bryan Terry in 2014, the women’s event showcases an array of women speakers who goal is to inspire, motivate, and teach others on how they can get involved at the local or state levels. This year, the featured speakers are Tennessee Republican Majority Floor Leader Sheila Butt, Chamber of Commerce Vice-President of Operations Stephanie Brackman, and MTSU College Republican President Jami Averwater. In years past, Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell, and National Right Women/ Right Now advocate Sher Valenzuela have been the featured speakers.
Rep. Terry said that he was inspired to host the event through his training in self governance, as well as the GOP’s Right Women/ Right Now initiative. “Self governance is using one’s Constitutional authority as a citizen to direct and enact action in government, while the Right Women/ Right Now initiative is the National GOP initiative to recruit and support Republican women to run for office, ” stated Rep. Terry.
The agenda will include tips for how citizens can get involved at the local and state levels. One will learn how to be more effective in voicing concerns and persuading elected officials on issues or legislation including the opportunity to interact with elected officials. It is expected that several local candidates running for office will be in attendance.
The event has been successful and previous attendees have produced significant impact at the state level when working with Dr. Terry on issues. “Last year, a local woman and I worked to make changes in the school textbook adoption process. We were successful in having the Department of Education revamp their process. This year, I co-sponsored bipartisan legislation with a previous attendee to set up a task force for asthma and environmental impact. In addition, I worked with a local woman to change a child custody venue law that had previously had a negative impact on Rutherford County courts,” explained Rep. Terry.
“It is important for people to know that they do have a voice and that they can make a difference. Whether running for office or having positive interactions with elected officials, we can enact change. We, as a community, are very fortunate to have strong women like Dawn White and Sheila Butt who are supportive of not only this event, but helping citizens have a voice. I look forward to helping more folks make a difference this year and beyond,” said Rep. Terry.
