Lipgloss and Leadership Business Summit coming back with a boom this Saturday

PALMER — Now into its third year, the Lipgloss and Leadership Business Summit is returning to the Glenn Massay Theater this Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eight women from the community will get on stage and tell the story of how they took their dream of a business and shaped it into a reality. Local businesses and food trucks — nearly all run by women — will also be intermixed with the event for a vendor market and Food Truck Rally.Lipgloss and Leadership Business Summit founder, Tammy Gray said this will be a day celebrating and showcasing these women’s talent.

“We’ve figured out what our voice is,” Gray said.

Gray drew inspiration from TED Talks when she was coming up with the idea. She refers to this movement as “storytelling for businesses.” When the event first started, it was more of a vendor expo with some speakers. The second year switched things around, with the speakers as the center and the vendors complementing them. With the third event around the corner, Gray felt that her original vision was coming to life.

“We’re evolving. We’re growing over time,” Gray said.

Gillian Moon went to the summit last year. She is an independent associate for Legal Shield, an American corporation that sells legal service products through multi-level marketing in the United States and Canada. She was immediately inspired by what she saw.

“I got to see so many interesting and powerful women,” Moon said.

Moon moved to the Mat-Su from Ketchikan with no connections. She felt alone and disconnected from this community that seemed “so spread out.” After getting in touch with Gray, Moon formed valuable connections and started to feel more at home in this foreign, yet increasingly friendly land. Moon has gotten acclimated to the community. She even participated in the Untold Stories live storytelling event in Palmer last year.

“Now, I’ve got to turn off my phone to get some rest,” she laughed.

She hasn’t given any presentations at the Business Summit yet, but she is still going to attend this event where she will be surrounded by savvy women in a safe place for expression and growth.

“Everybody has a story behind their eyes,” Moon said.

Gray has interwoven with the assorted stories of successful women in her community. She said they share a common thread, “not letting the dream die, the tools needed and how to prosper moving forward.” Those are the themes to expect at the Lipgloss and Leadership Business Summit. Gray has big plans for this movement. Ultimately, she hopes this event grows in magnitude, embedding in the minds and calendars of the community so people expect this event to come around and plan for it like they do for Colony Days or the Alaska State Fair. Down the road, she also hopes to implement this event with high schools and write scholarships for seniors. Lastly, she envisions this event growing to the point where it’s self-sustaining enough to support not only high school seniors, but also the local non-profits- adding to the overarching narrative of successful women adding to their community.

“Everyone involved with our network has a story to tell,” Gray said.

Among the vendors will be another successful women, Kelly Marre. She will be spearheading the booth for ‘Be the Match’ so people can register to donate bone marrow for transplants. She encouraged everyone to come and save a life by swabbing their cheek. She said this event has far reaching “ripple effects” in the community.

“I think the people that are coming are dynamic forces,” Marre said.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com/e/lipgloss-leadership-business-summit-tickets-39237807338

This event is centered on women but men are still encouraged to come.

“They won’t get flogged,” Marre joked.