MCCC Golf Outing Supports Local Businesswomen

Picture the scene—three business owners are interested in making a deal, so they head off to the local golf course to play 18 and talk matters over. The first owner steps up to the tee and drives a beautiful, arching shot straight down the fairway. “Nice shot,” says a second owner. “Thanks,” she replies.

If you weren’t picturing a woman as part of this golf outing, that’s exactly the perception a room full of business owners at the were attempting to change on Thursday, June 2, during the .

The yearly event, organized by (MCCC), aims to bring businesswoman and entrepreneurs together to support and inspire others to join their ranks. The symposium does this by organizing efforts, making philanthropic donations to programs and teaching women the skills of golf, a business pastime.

“Today's really a time to celebrate the power of female leaders in the workforce, and in our community,” said MCCC President Karen Stout, to a gathering of over a hundred women in a pre-scramble brunch. “And [MCCC] has an exceptional opportunity to influence women and to provide resources that support their personal and career success. Your participation today helps us to make those dreams a reality."

Stout went on to highlight a number of key programs within the college. One was the Women Owned Business Network, a program that provides women entrepreneurs with practical information and resources to help establish their business.

However, Stout also said that some initiatives were in danger, such as the New Choices/New Opportunities program. New Choices works to support career development for lower income single parents, displaced homemakers, pregnant women and the unemployed, but might face a total cut of state funds.

“While we know this program is facing public funding challenges, it’s your private philanthropic investment that will keep this program alive,” Stout said.

Harrisburg and its lawmakers did not turn a deaf ear to the event, however, as Representative Kate Harper (R-61) was honored at the event with the annual Leading Woman Award. Harper was part of the original group of “Founding Mothers” for MCCC’s “Starting a Successful Woman-Owned Business” program, and has continued to lend her support to the institution.

Harper was adamant that Pennsylvania needs women to make the jump into business ownership.

“Pennsylvania’s startup rate is abysmally low—that’s why it’s so great to be in a room full of women who are doing things,” said Harper. “A lot of people have a good idea or a passion for doing something, but that does not a successful entrepreneur make. It’s the ability to write a business plan, talk to the banker, talk to your suppliers, talk to your customers, so it’s not only the creative work of starting a company, but the routine of making it move.”

Harper then handed the podium over to Keynote Speaker Lynn M. Utter, President and COO of Knoll North America, an internationally known furniture design company based in Montgomery County. Utter used her company’s history as an example of how a lady entrepreneur drove success.

“Knoll was founded, essentially by a woman,” Utter said, noting that while the original couple of Hans Knoll and Florence Schust formed the company, it was the latter who drove innovation. “She very quickly said, ‘Hans, what your family [of furniture makers] does is nice, but I want the world’s best.’”

Utter then retold how Schust moved the company in East Greenville to have access to Pennsylvania Dutch craftsmen, viewed as some of the world’s best. Knoll’s headquarters still exists there today.

Utter also discussed how many businesswomen fall out of the “corporate pipeline.”

“Women are half the talent ... if you look at honors students in most colleges, business schools in particular, most are women,” said Utter. “But roughly 40 percent of middle management in corporate America is women, and by the time you get to the CEO, CFO, and boardrooms, it’s down to 15 percent women.”

Utter reasoned that she believes most women are pushed or pulled out of the pipeline, either by feeling like an outsider in the culture, or by feeling the pressure of domestic responsibilities.

After the brunch, the women then split into two groups. An experienced troupe hit the links for an 18-hole scramble, while the more novice received lessons from professional golfers.

Afterward, a short reception was held, when the winners of the friendly competition were honored. Attendees slowly dispersed, each with, hopefully, a few extra business pointers and an improved short game for the next business meeting on the links.