As a senior member of the Detroit-Windsor Chapter of EWI ^®, I would like to take this opportunity to share some of my thoughts with you.

I joined EWI in June 1977 as a representative for the firm of Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company, with whom I have spent 27 wonderful and rewarding years. Within my EWI membership, I held various chapter board positions and in 1983 became Chapter President. My incentive to join EWI was professional development and the business and social contacts it could afford me and my firm. It has, and remains, one of the most worthwhile organizations I have had the pleasure of being a member.

I attended my first Annual Meeting in 1979 and have only missed a few over these past years. The opening night reception has always been very meaningful to me, the opportunity to renew friendships established over the years.  The presentation of colors and national anthems at the Opening Breakfast still gives me "goose Bumps" and was especially meaningful at the meeting in Nashville following "911". At the conclusion of each annual meeting, the adrenalin workout" has once again been activated and I return to my firm armed with updated information and technology tools and the confidence that "I can make a difference."

Over the years, I have carefully stored in my memory bank 10 key ways that EWI has influenced my business and personal development to think and perform "outside the box"

Flexibility and efficiency sharing

Reality of the changing business community and the exploration of its resources

Impact and integration with other firms

Exploring topics of interest, practical learning, management by exception and outsourcing

Networking - an invaluable asset of this organization and the key to its success

Disaster and crisis management strategies

Support administration and retention

How to increase business products and services

Influence - your own, on the end result

Professional Development

Thank you, the membership, and especially Kay Douglas, for cultivating and stimulating my thoughts for this article.

.written by Shirl Williams after attending LCAM 2003 Denver, Colorado

My involvement with the Detroit-Windsor Chapter of EWI^® has driven home the point that the more successful your relationships are, the more successful your business is. EWI has really helped me develop strong relationships with other professional women and inspired me to step up my professional image and my personal and professional goals. My firm is successful, thanks in no small part to our affiliation with the women of the Detroit-Windsor Chapter of Executive Women International.