Story by James Leigh
Photos by Donald Cross
What started as a group of local women who breakfasted together as a way to connect has grown into an organization created to help uplift and create more opportunities for women in Hot Springs.
The Hot Springs Women's Leadership Alliance grew out of this group that wanted to help professional women network.
"We were officially organized in March (2023)," Sarah Hutzel, one of the co-chairs of the organization, said. "Our first luncheon wasn't until May (2023), which is really when we started being active in the community. For me, I'm Senior Vice President of commercial lending here, but I don't get to meet other women. ... How do I get to know more of the women in leadership roles who maybe aren't coming to some of those network opportunities?"
Hutzel said the group of women decided they wanted to expand this into the community.
"We were like, 'Well, how do we grow this?'" she recalled. "And so that's when we decided to formalize into a 501(c)(3), to put the luncheon together, to give it a platform and a space to meet and network and to just get to know each other a little bit more and help pave the way for some other women and help bring them up a little bit. We've all had mentors, whether it's been male or female, in our lives, but we want to do that for other women in this community as well."
The idea for the group grew out of a need for a way for women to interact and connect.
"In many instances, men in leadership have multiple opportunities to connect together, whether it's on the golf course, whether it's them getting together for breakfast or lunch," Mary Zunick, the organization's other co-chair, said. "But that's not always a mixed group. There aren't always women included in those opportunities, so we decided we would do our own. We'll open our own door. We'll connect with each other and build each other up. We can't wait for somebody else to invite us. If we're not going to be invited to the table, we'll just make our own."
The monthly luncheon is open to members and nonmembers, and guests are brought in that fit within the group's objectives.
"We've had -- and this is an estimate -- between 250 and 300 different women come to our luncheons, because it is not limited to just members only," Hutzel said. "We do want to have more women in the community come get connected, so as long as they pay for their luncheon, which is paid directly to the Arlington. We get nothing off of that, and I think that's important because we are intentional and very sincere when we want to try to get more women to come that we're not profiting off that."
The group recently completed its Women's Leadership Academy in partnership with National Park College, and 21 completed the training, which included a course on how to serve on a board of directors.
"There are a lot of women who want to get plugged in, but serving on a board is intimidating to them," Hutzel said. "And if you've never served on one and you don't know what to expect, it's easy to shy away from that. This course kind of talked about the different types of boards that you have, the different governance of what's required, why you maybe should or should not serve on a board."
Another benefit of the organization is helping to create opportunities for other women to get involved, Zunick said.
"If you look at some of the rooms of people in leadership within our community, there aren't enough females sitting around the table," she said. "There aren't enough women from diverse backgrounds sitting around the table, so that's a very important aspect of this organization is connecting people who are not currently connected."
While the group is geared toward women in leadership, Zunick said that is not limited to "a CEO of a company."
"There are a lot of women in our community that strengthen our community because of their volunteer activities," she said. "There are leaders on nonprofit boards that have a profound impact within our community, or they're leaders in their churches. But sometimes when we're looking at community leaders, ... they maybe aren't front-of-mind."
The alliance is starting its mentorship program, Hutzel said.
"We're actively sending out surveys right now for people who want to either be a mentor or a mentee," she said. "We've got a committee that's working to structure those: What are you looking to get out of this mentorship? Is it you need networking? Is it professionalism? Is it more you have experience in HR, and I have it in this, and maybe we can have a mutual, beneficial mentorship between them. So we're trying to be intentional in those matches to make sure that it's a good outcome."
For more information about the Hot Springs Women's Leadership Alliance, visit https://hswomenleaders.org.
Members of the Hot Springs Women's Leadership Alliance Board of Directors consists of Co-Chair Sarah Hutzel, Co-Chair Mary Zunick, Vice Chair Ashely Thompson, Vice Chair Mechele McNary, Treasurer Stephanie Heffer, Secretary Aundrea Crary, Sondra Thomas, Kimberly Anderson, Jordan Horner, Yolanda Hunter and Ashley Campbell.
The Hot Springs Women's Leadership Alliance Board of Directors discusses the future of the organization, including speakers at future luncheons, during a recent meeting at Arvest Bank.
Members of the Hot Springs Women's Leadership Alliance participate in a roundtable event at National Park College earlier this year. The event discussed some of the obstacles and challenges women face when it comes to entering or advancing into leadership roles. (Submitted photo)
Jackie Arrison introduces Joyce Littleton Craft, center, and Dr. Sally Carder at a Hot Springs Women's Leadership Alliance luncheon last year. The two women discussed being trailblazers in education. (Submitted photo)
Members of the Hot Springs Women's Leadership Alliance listen to the guest speaker during one of their luncheons earlier this year. (Submitted photo)
Members of the Hot Springs Women's Leadership Alliance attended the Women's Leadership Symposium in Little Rock earlier this year. The organization was created to help women advance and take on more leadership roles in the community. (Submitted photo)