OWIT Celebrates 1st Year

October 14, 2011 marked the first-year anniversary for the Arkansas chapter of the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT), a professional organization designed to promote women doing business internationally by providing networking opportunities, export education and global business contacts.  OWIT’s Arkansas chapter hosted many of the International board members from as far as Geneva, Switzerland and as close as Bentonville, AR.

OWIT just recently celebrated its 20th anniversary as a national organization which held its first national conference in Washington D.C.   Today, OWIT is recognized worldwide for building ongoing trade relationships within and between global communities. OWIT’s organization serves in more than 20 countries within all continents around the globe.

Angela Hofmann, President of OWIT and Arkansas native, hosted the members of the board for an evening with Chef Dane of La Petit Bistro to kick off the weekend.  The intimate and flavorful evening gave the ladies a chance to reunite with their current members from various chapters worldwide.

Friday’s luncheon, hosted by the Arkansas World Trade Center (AWTC), gave the OWIT Arkansas chapter the opportunity to have a one-on-one session with guest speaker Luby Ismail.  Ismail, the founder and president of Connecting Cultures, a professional service providing presentations and training on communication and work in diverse and multicultural environments, presented her speech on “Cultural Competency”.  As a Muslim woman with multiple sclerosis, Ismail spoke about overcoming general bias in the work world and the ways culture plays a major part in everyday encounters.  Ismail says that “every encounter is a cultural encounter.  Understanding this is the only way you will reach full potential to build bridges and lead businesses that help improve our world.”

The first anniversary celebration of OWIT served as an evening of dinner and entertainment for over fifty of its international members.  The event was hosted at the beautiful Compton Gardens and dinner was provided by Catering Concepts of Bentonville, AR.  Luby Ismail returned as the guest speaker, and was followed by music from the T. Maechelle quartet.  The evening was a great way to end a successful year for OWIT, and served as a wonderful networking experience for each of the members in attendance.