Financial Women International Convenes for Final Conference, Oct. 3-5 in California

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

FINANCIAL WOMEN INTERNATIONAL CONVENES

FOR FINAL CONFERENCE, OCT. 3-5 IN CALIFORNIA

Roseville, Minnesota (9/29/09) – Financial Women International’s 87th Annual Conference, Oct. 3-5, 2009, in Newport Beach, California, will be a cause for celebration — and for sadness.

The event is the final conference for FWI, the nation’s longest-standing professional development association for women in banking and financial services. Members from around the nation will gather one last time to network and to learn under the theme “Discover, Develop, Deliver.”

Following the Disney® Team Experience – a unique program that encourages groups to focus on critical team success factors – the group will convene to hear:

 Liz Cornish, author of the leadership book Hit the Ground Running, kicking off the conference with Beyond Skills and Smarts: Standing Out in the New Economy.

 Executive coach Libby Gill, sharing her knowledge on Creating High-Passion Teams: Maintaining a Culture of Excellence & Engagement.

 Economist Jeff Thredgold with his expert viewpoint Myths & Mystery: A 2010 U.S. Economic Outlook; and

 Mimi Donaldson with a positive sendoff titled Tactics to Triumph in Troubled Times.

Attendees will also participate in FWI’s exclusive Paragon Circle™ workshop Hit the Ground Running, based on Liz Cornish’s book of the same name.

“The important work our members have done, and the progress we’ve made decade by decade, will leave a lasting legacy. The women of FWI will continue to be experienced advocates, mentors and leaders for our industry,” said FWI President Melissa Curzon, chief executive of Triumph Solutions Inc. in Mission Viejo, California.

“But although we have much to celebrate, it will be a bittersweet farewell for many lifelong friends that will no longer meet regularly,” Curzon added.

Founded in 1921 as the National Association for Bank Women, the Association had 27,000 members in the United States, Canada and Russia 20 years ago. Faced with the same challenges as many other professional membership organizations, FWI took many steps over the years to pare expenses yet maintain high standards for professional development and recruit new members. Since 2004, the Association has been member-led, with no full-time paid staff members. In 2007, an ambitious rebranding and marketing campaign aimed to attract members in the 25- to 40-age group.

Last spring, with the escalating economic conditions, steady decline in membership and decrease in member participation, the FWI Board of Directors made the decision to close the Association at the end of 2009.

In just a few months this year, FWI invested more than $146,000 in its members via the Career Development Expense Reimbursement program, covering up to $1,000 in expenses per member for continuing education needs including college tuition, professional licensing fees, career coaching, resume-writing assistance, job-related software, and registration fees for the annual conference.

For more information, visit www.fwi.org or call 1-866-236-2007.

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