As part of Women’s History Month, Cloud Goddess Enterprises and the Mancos Public Library celebrated the “wonder women” of Mancos.
Throughout the evening, attendees heard stories from the town’s “most remarkable women leaders,” as told by event organizer Victoria Peterson and Mancos Public Library’s Margaret “Midge” Kirk. The duo were inspired by the journeys of the women, challenges they overcame and the positive change they’ve ushered into the community.
“What we wanted to do was really celebrate women and celebrate what they do in our community,” Peterson told The Journal. “There are a lot of times women are very quiet about what they do, but they’re making a really big impact.”
The free event took place on March 30. More than 75 people attended, making it standing room only.
While gathering names of women to honor before the event, Peterson said she realized most of the businesses in downtown Mancos are owned by women.
“We just started and the list started growing, growing, growing and we were like, ‘Well, we have to stop,’ so we had to randomly pull names out of a hat, but we have future plans and we’re excited,” Peterson said. “All of a sudden it was standing room only in the library. People were peeking over shelves and it was pretty amazing.”
Emily Hutcheson-Brown, Connie Fox, Chelsea Lunders, Gloria Thatch-Woody, Ewa Bell, Tami Graham, Victoria Peterson Lewis, Katie Wall, Rosie Carter, Marilyn Kroeker, Sarah Syverson, TJ Zack and Kathy Hands were all honored at the event.
The women were gifted with plaques.
“All of the women’s stories had some things in common: love and devotion to community. Their journeys have been filled with challenges overcome and positive change ignited. These powerhouses are true role models,” Peterson said on Instagram after the event. “Personally, I was so inspired by all of the stories of resilience and leadership. I learned a lot about women I thought I knew, their stories and strength have touched me to the core. This Mancos Celebration of Women Leaders was a wonderful opportunity to connect with many amazing women and also to discover the potential for leadership within ourselves.”
Peterson hopes the event will be held again in the near future.
“I was so honored to be able to be part of this and to celebrate all the women at the last minute,” Peterson said. “The whole community is really excited to support its women.”
Peterson is the owner of Cloud Goddess Enterprises, which helps women promote their businesses. It is something that she has been doing for 20 years.
“That is always in my whole career, working with technology and helping people become unafraid to do these things and teach them that they can do it, and that is the best thing in the world,” she said.
