It was an idea whose time had definitely come.
The United Way Women’s Legacy Council decided to hold an event for and about women in leadership and soon found they had a sell-out on their hands.
Billed as “Women Who Rule Savannah,” Tuesday’s luncheon and panel discussion at the Westin Savannah Harbor featured five local leaders from government, the medical field, business, education and the judicial system who make a difference in the community, both through example and advocacy.
Mary Chatman, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer of Memorial University Medical Center, developed her leadership skills as a nursing assistant while still in school in another state.
“I watched how management interacted with the NA’s,” she said. “I saw the good and the bad, the respect and the lack of it. When I confronted a manager who was taking advantage of a 62-year-old assistant, she said wasn’t particularly happy. I told her I had been taught to treat all people with respect, especially those in your charge.
“After all, the same person working for you today may someday be your boss,” she said.
“Wouldn’t you know, 10 years later, I was her boss.”
Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson nodded and added she learned the same lesson from one of her early mentors, the late Superior Court Judge Eugene Gadsden.
“He told me to remember that the people you meet going up the ladder are the same people you’ll see going down,” she said.
Brynn Grant looked at the tough times as important moments in shaping the person and leader she is today.
Suddenly finding herself a single mother with three children — one a sick newborn — could have sent her entire life and career into a tailspin. Instead, it helped shape the leader she is today.
“Those times I struggled the most, I learned the most,” said the chief operating officer of the Savannah Economic Development Authority and vice president of the World Trade Center Savannah.
One of the things Grant learned was that she is passionate about improving her community, something she works toward everyday in economic development.
Kathy Love could identify.
“At 26, I found myself divorced with two children, no job and no education,” she said. “I knew I had to support those children and I knew I couldn’t do it without an education.”
“I didn’t know how I was going to do, I just knew I had to.”
That was a few degrees ago — a Bachelor of Science in computer science, a master’s in business administration, a specialist’s in education leadership and a doctorate in education.
Today, Love is president of Savannah Technical College, widely credited with taking the school through a period of rapid growth and solidifying ties with area business and industry.
Living the Golden Rule
Judge Louisa Abbot, who has served on the bench of Chatham County Superior Court since October 2000, learned her leadership lessons early.
“I think I was 13 when my mother said, ‘Sweetie, find something you love to do and never depend on a man to support you.’ I took those words to heart and never looked back,” she said.
A graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, Abbot is currently president of the Council of Superior Court Judges. She is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and was the first woman president of the Rotary Club of Savannah.
When panel moderator Mary Anne Hogan, principal of St. Vincent’s Academy, asked the group what inspires them every day to raise the bar, Abbot quickly referred to a Golden Rule plaque that sits on her desk.
“Every person, no matter why they are in front of me, is entitled to be treated with respect,” she said. “It would be so easy to become coldhearted and cynical in my job, so I try every day to treat people the way they would want to be treated.”
Jackson said her inspiration comes from the people she serves.
“It’s not always easy to know if you’re going in the right direction, but I get lots of feedback,” the mayor said, laughing. “And I have friends who tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear.
“I like to think I might be making a difference, and that’s inspiration enough for me.”
Chatman doesn’t have to look far for her inspiration.
“At Memorial, we have a team of 4,000 people who — in the midst of challenges — are doing the right things for the right reasons,” she said. “And that means people are leaving our hospital to see another sunset with their families.”
Grant’s inspiration just comes naturally.
“I’m an idealist,” she said. “I truly believe we can achieve our goals, I truly believe we can attract that industry or help that local company. I truly believe we can be the best city in the world.
“It’s sometimes my greatest strength and sometimes it comes back to kick me, but it’s just who I am.”
The brainchild of legacy council chairwoman Connie Farmer Ray, Tuesday’s luncheon and panel is already slated to become an annual event, according to United Way spokeswoman Lisa Clark.
Proceeds from this year’s event will be used to provide CAT bus passes and transportation assistance for low-income women who do not have a car or other means to access services in the community.
ABOUT THE COUNCIL
The United Way Women’s Legacy Council was founded to mobilize women to become powerful philanthropists through leadership, fundraising and advocacy. By leveraging skills, relationships and resources in support of the United Way of the Coastal Empire, they make a profound difference in the lives of women, said legacy council chair Connie Farmer Ray.