Women in the Pet Industry Network Announces Conference Speakers and Woman of the Year Award Finalists

Women in the Pet Industry Network (WIPIN), the industry-leading organization focused on women entrepreneurs who want to grow their pet businesses, has selected 22 speakers for its The Start of Something Big! Conference & Awards Show, Aug. 23-25, 2013 in Portland. The networking group has also named the 25 finalists for its first annual Woman of the Year Award competition, and will be announcing the winners at a ceremony held in conjunction with the conference on Aug. 24.

Confirmed speakers include Mike Linville of Black Dog Studios, Kristen Levine of Fetching Communications & PetPR.com, Beke Lubeach of Dog Bone Marketing Solutions, Yvonne DiVita of BlogPaws, and Rose Hamilton of Pet360, among many others. In addition to the general and breakout sessions, The Start of Something Big! will also feature an expert panel discussion with some of the industry’s leading public relations and marketing professionals. The full list of speakers and their topics are available here.

The Woman of the Year Awards were designed to recognize the industry’s leading businesswomen in five different categories, including Solopreneur, Entrepreneur, Corporation, Advocate and Rising Star. A panel of four independent judges selected five finalists from each category, and one winner will be selected from each category and one overall Pet Industry Woman of the Year will be selected from the 25 finalists at this year’s show. The finalists in each category are listed at http://womeninthepetindustry.com/2013-wipin-award-finalists/.

Registration for The Start of Something Big! Conference & Awards Show is still open online at http://womeninthepetindustry.com/conference/#register. Registration for the three-day conference is $299 for members and $499 for non-members. Pet professionals can become a member of WIPIN for just $97 annually. Individuals who would like to join WIPIN and attend the conference can save $103.

WIPIN is a membership networking organization providing a forum for women whose careers specialize in the pet industry. Headquartered near Portland, WIPIN includes representatives from the many career paths that exist within the pet industry, including groomers, kennels, pet store operators, trainers, breeders and animal welfare organizations.

For more information or to register for The Start of Something Big! Conference & Awards Show, please visit www.womeninthepetindustry.com/conference/.