We had wanted to enhance our association magazine and had been talking about that for months.

Trade associations have a history of running successful publications. The AARP publishes AARP and the Magazine and the Society of Human Resource Management has HR Magazine. We have a statewide audience we can tap.

We are thrilled to have the Governor as our keynote speaker. She recognizes the importance of paying tribute to women who are dedicated to superior professional standards in Michigan. Throughout these 10 years, we have honored many highly accomplished women.

This first edition came together much smoother than I thought it would. This really has been seamless.

It's so hard, it's almost the impossible - not talking about anything. I don't abide well to gag orders. I'm a talker. I think it's a beautiful trait when people are not micro-managing every corner of their life.

I keep talking about how dialogue between different fields is important, so why not do this?