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The Gannon University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) along with over 150 planning committee members on Friday, Sept. 25 held a press conference for the Third Annual Women In Leadership Development Conference (W.I.L.D.) "Life's a Journey -- We Survive," at the Bayfront Convention Center.

The W.I.L.D. 2010 Conference will take place Friday, March 26, 2010 at the Bayfront Convention Center and will feature three speakers in entrepreneurship, leadership and wellness.

Knowledge, energy and passion will come alive this year with the 2010 triumvirate W.I.L.D. chairs to include: Shari Robinson, and Connie Bootz of Forte Marketing; and Colleen Moore Mezler, Moore Research Services, Inc. Each year the W.I.L.D. chairperson must meet the criteria of being community-minded, applying W.I.L.D. tasks to an annual schedule, and owning a business. These three insightful community leaders share all of these attributes and have been with the W.I.L.D. conference since its inception.

Forte Marketing is a full-service advertising agency located in Erie, while Moore Research Services is a nationally recognized full-service market and opinion research company. Past W.I.L.D. chairpersons included Leah E. Humphries (2008) and Renee Vaught (2009).

Vaught will also be taking on a new role this year. She will serve as the W.I.L.D. Volunteer Coordinator for both sponsorship and vendors. As the Conference continues to grow this position becomes more essential.

The W.I.L.D. mission is to empower professional and entrepreneurial women with knowledge, energy and passion. Last year, Vaught expanded the W.I.L.D. mission to enhance the Erie community's philanthropy. She had created and donated a W.I.L.D. 2009 pin for the public to purchase. The monies raised benefitted Nurturing Hearts. Shawnta Pulliam (CEO) started Nurturing Hearts with a mission to provide supportive leadership and life skills that will furnish and prepare at risk and underprivileged girls between the ages of 10-18, for a bright and prosperous future, according to the website. This year's chairs are also planning on doing something to benefit a non-profit community organization.

Leadership, wellness and entrepreneurship are the three speaker presentation topics. The dynamic father/daughter duo of Larry and Meagan Johnson from the Johnson Training Group will be a must see at W.I.L.D., www.johnsontraininggroup.com/. Eat, Drink and Be Gorgeous author Esther Blum will share tons of tips on healthy eating, living and relationships, http://www.eatdrinkandbegorgeous.com/. Blum will deliver the wellness topic while the entrepreneurship speaker is a W.I.L.D. surprise and will be announced at a later date.

Join the Gannon SBDC at the 2010 W.I.L.D. to learn about daily survival tactics that can be applied to work and daily life. Cost for the 2010 W.I.L.D. conference is $125 (through Dec. 31, 2009); $150 (from Jan. 1-March 12, 2010); and $200 (from March 13-26, 2010).

The Gannon SBDC has helped Northwestern Pennsylvania's most successful businesses set the pace for more than a quarter of a century. The Gannon SBDC professionals work confidentially with entrepreneurs in Erie, Crawford, Mercer and Warren counties to help businesses maintain a competitive edge. The consultants can help new or existing business owners set goals, develop new products and services, gather sophisticated information about a specific industry or find new global markets. The Gannon SBDC Consultants have many areas of expertise that include financial, marketing, international and environmental at no charge for these services.

The Gannon SBDC is part of a statewide network of 18 centers and more than 80 community outreach offices and a national network of more than 1,100 centers. The Gannon SBDC also can enlist Gannon University faculty and graduate students for applied research and support.

Funding support and resources are provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Department of Community and Economic Development; through a cooperative agreement with the U. S. Small Business Administration, and through support from Gannon University. All services are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Special arrangements for persons with disabilities can be made by calling (814) 871-7232.

All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.