#EWC16

So a couple of weeks ago I hosted the Eminent Women Conference 2016 with the theme “Break Out”.

When the convener of the conference, Njideka Raleke-Obiora contacted me to be the emcee, I was super excited. Just one look at the caliber of ladies who were headlining the conference and I told Njideka I was in.

Yours truly on the microphone

When I introduced myself as the host of the day, I noticed some of the participants were looking at me like, who is this one sef? But in no time I had them all up on their feet playing one game or another and got them prepped for the speakers. One task they had to accomplish very early on in the conference was to describe themselves with an adjective that begins with the first letter of their name. I gave them an example; I told them that I would like to be addressed as “Diligent Dawan” throughout the conference. The ladies loved it and we started hearing names like, “Charming Chioma”, “Blessed Belinda”, “Extraordinary Esther” etc.

Cross section of participants

It was a very informative, educative and entertaining experience for me. In between my hosting duties, I found time to listen to the women who shared their Break Out experiences. From Inyang Sami- Orungbe (Partner Averti Professionals) who spoke about the need for women to see each other as sisters and build synergies between each other to the visionary Tope Olagbegi (CEO Sixth Sense Interiors) a serial entrepreneur from as far back as her days in UNILAG where she sold lingerie, to the philanthropist Chinyere Anokwuru (Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos state on Women Ethnic groups, Mobilization and Empowerment) whose grass to grace story brought tears to our eyes, #EWC16 was a hit back to back.

Panel discussion. L-R: Chinyere Anokwuru, Bisi Soji-Oyawoye, Inyang Sami-Orungbe, Tope Olagbegi and Njideka Raleke-Obiora

Want to know the best part of this conference? Wait for it…….. There were twelve, yes twelve women from various fields of endeavor to train participants free of charge in the following areas: Makeup, fashion and style, bookkeeping for small businesses, etiquette and poise, photography, marketing, social media, baking, brand communication etc.

According to the convener, Njideka Raleke-Obiora, she did not want a conference where women would come, listen to feel-good, motivational speeches only to return to the status-quo once they got home. The trainings were designed to empower the participants in whatever area of their choosing and connect them to a mentor in that field.

Question and answer time

Many thanks to Njideka and all the exceptional women who made this year’s conference a reality. I am grateful for the valuable connections I made that day. As I told the participants, I look forward to another Eminent Women Conference in 2017, God-willing.

I’m rolling with the big-wigs. Mom look at how we made it. lol

PS: There was a hair-raising musical performance from Tarrah

WHAT NYSC HAS JOINED TOGETHER LET NO MAN PUT ASUNDER

It is always a thing of immense joy to receive a phone call out of the blues from a long time buddy inquiring about your service for his wedding. More surprising is the fact that the about-to-be-celebrated union had its humble beginnings at the N.Y.S.C Camp at Ikare-Akoko in Ondo State in 2008. I fondly recall how this couple were quite an item in camp back then.

Saturday February 1^st was indeed a joyous day for the Adekeye and Ihimekpen families as their children, Bunmi and Ofure tied the knot at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Gbaja, Surulere before proceeding to the Fountain Multipurpose Hall, Super Plaza, Akerele Road, Opposite Havana Hospital Surulere in Lagos for the reception.

It was my job to conduct a memorable wedding reception and that I did with much gusto. Perhaps I was buoyed by the fact that it was more or less a reunion for the 2008 Batch ‘B’ Corps Members. The high point for me was when I called on the mothers of the bride and the groom to perform a little task. Wow! I was impressed and even the guests agreed with me as the applause was deafening.

At our meeting, Bunmi and Ofure informed me that the Chairman of the day was Jesus Christ. The guests were visibly surprised when after a very elaborate introduction, I enjoined the guests to welcome the Chairman in the person of Jesus Christ. I bet they had expected to see a flesh and blood business mogul strolling into the arena.

There was great music from the DeeJay and I had a hard time telling who the better dancer was between Ofure and Bunmi, they both ‘skelewu-ed’ and ‘limpopo-ed’ gracefully. There was also lots to eat and drink for all the guests. Judging by the number of calls for my complimentary card, I sure nailed this wedding.

Grooms, Gloves and Nostalgia

Feels like forever since I blogged. In fact I feel so ashamed at my behavior these last few months. At the beginning of 2013 I started this blog and planned to put up at least one post every month. Here I am with the year lurching fast towards a close and I can’t confidently say I stayed true to the plan. So much for planning *sigh*
To my avid readers and fans and supporters and followers and commenters, you guys have been so wonderful and thanks for sticking around and not giving up on me especially during my self-imposed hiatus.
I’ve still got all these stories I so wanna share with you guys. A whole lot of them! *sigh again*. Lord give me strength to stay focused, IJN. Amennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Before then let me tell you what I’ve been up to these last few months. So I started emcee-ing as a business venture though I’ve been doing it for family, friends, friends of friends and whoever was interested in using my services. But I joined Toastmasters International and discovered I could take emcee-ing to a whole new, professional level.
In the subsequent months, I will be sharing with you tips on how to choose your emcee, especially for weddings, how to relate with your prospective emcee, things to consider when shopping for an emcee as well as posts and pictures of the different events/weddings I’ve emceed these past months.
Basically what makes an event memorable to you and your guests is the EXPERIENCE. After all the drama and razzmatazz of planning and attending an event wears off, the idea is for you and your guests to come away feeling like you just had a magical conversation with an OLD FRIEND.
Speaking of old friends, while typing this post I was sitting in the company of some old friends from Warri whom I grew up with. And the gist came up about grooms who put on silk gloves or any kind of gloves for that matter in this age and time. EPIC FAIL. I was going to say “who still does that”? Then I remembered a bbm display picture I came across recently of a groom and best man dressed in orange coloured suits and lacey gloves to boot. And then the days when as a flower girl of page boy at a wedding, part of your duties involved cutting up shimmering gift wraps into tiny bits to serve as confetti. How time flies, sobbing a la Nkiru Sylvanus. Someone once said that “there’s nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child”. Oh I want to be a child again! To prance and dance without a care in the world. Those idyllic days of ignorance and bliss.
Ha! Here I am waxing lyrical, dreaming of a time gone by. It’s exactly 25 days to Christmas and I looooooooove Christmas. There’s something enchanted about the season.
Compliments of the season!