NAWBO-OC

In December 1990, Sandy Sutton, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s District Director, decided that it was time for Orange County’s women’s business community to join the ranks of NAWBO. Sandy reached out to 10 prominent business women and challenged them to find a core group of 30 to qualify as a NAWBO chapter. It took less than 2 months to find and unite women who were ready, willing and able to form a chapter.

In February, 1991, the chapter received its certification from National, and Nita Busby was elected the first president of the fledgling Orange County chapter. Nita was followed by Presidents Linda Pinson, Judee Slack, Rachel Owens and Karen Herb. The efforts of these ladies laid the foundation for one of the most vibrant chapters in the country.

Many of our programs, such as Remarkable Women Awards, dinner meetings, educational seminars and business and community development events have been adopted successfully by other chapters. In 1999 and 2001, NAWBO National awarded Orange County their “Healthy Chapter” award. Several Orange County members have also been honored by National with individual awards. The chapter’s growth rate and retention are among the highest in the country, and although this is not a concrete measure of success, nearly everyone who visits our monthly dinner meetings comments on the huge amount of energy they feel in the room. This all leads us to believe that we must be doing something right.