Special Olympics Champion Loretta Claiborne Keynote Speaker at 2011 BWF in Hartford, CT Oct. 18

Oct. 4, 2011 - PRLog -- Special Olympics International Hall of Famer, Loretta Claiborne, will be one of two keynote speakers at the 29th annual 2011 Business Women’s Forum® (BWF®) (www.2011bwf.com) October 18 in Hartford, Connecticut. Award-winning television actress and Special Olympics advocate, Susan Saint James, will introduce Ms. Claiborne to the BWF attendees. Connie Podesta, radio and television personality, and author of “10 Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd”, will be the second keynote speaker at the 2011 Business Women's Forum to be held at the Connecticut Convention Center from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

“Power, Passion, Purpose” will be the inspiring theme of Connecticut’s largest and longest-running full-day annual conference for women. The 2011 BWF is anticipated to attract over 700 business people from throughout New England and New York.

Celebrating 29 years of success in 2011, The Business Women's Forum (BWF®), is a program of the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Waterbury, CT, and led by 35 female executives dedicated to the professional and personal growth of working women. The BWF® is sponsored annually by the U.S. Small Business Administration and supported by numerous Connecticut-based companies. “During the past 28 years,” explained Lynn Ward, president and CEO of the Waterbury Regional Chamber, and a BFW® director, “The BWF® has generated in excess of $140,000 in scholarship funds for female Post University students to pursue a business education. The 2011 BWF® will feature workshops on the topics of leadership, public speaking, financial fraud, interviewing skills, career reinvention, social media and women’s health. For 29 years, the mission of the non-profit BWF® is our continual commitment to equality of opportunity and advancement for women in business.”

Chairperson of the 2011 BWF®, Barbara White, and marketing professional with Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, CT, commented, “We are extremely excited to be welcoming Ms. Claiborne to our event. We are most certain that her remarkable life story and notable international acclaim is certain to inspire, and highly motivate, 2011 BWF attendees.”

Lynn Ward added that, “For 28 years the BWF® has provided an unprecedented number of attendees with access to phenomenal speakers, networking opportunities and diverse training during the course of one day. Each year, the BWF® has featured such prominent, high-profile keynote speakers like Loretta Claiborne as well as Paula Abdul, Robin Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Jamie Lee Curtis, Suze Orman, Jane Seymour, Chris Madden, Ann Curry, Jack Ford, and Faith Popcorn.”    

Susan Saint James, Special Olympics advocate and Emmy Award-winning TV actress is best known for her role as a mom on “Kate & Allie”, the crime-fighting spouse on “McMillan & Wife” with Rock Hudson, and as a young career woman in “The Name of the Game”. Ms. Saint James is a dedicated friend of the Special Olympics, and she will introduce Special Olympics Champion Loretta Claiborne to the 2011 BWF conference.

Internationally-renowned Loretta Claiborne was born partially blind and intellectually challenged, and unable to walk or talk until the age of 4. A person with an intellectual disability, Ms. Claiborne eventually began to run and went on to complete 26 marathons and placing twice among the Top 100 women in the Boston Marathon. She also went on to carry the torch in the International Special Olympics, plus win dozens of medals. Currently, she holds the women’s record in her age group for running 5,000 meters in 17 minutes. It is scheduled that Ms. Claiborne will be inducted into the Women in Sports Hall of Fame and Special Olympics Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.

Among the many accomplishments and honors Loretta Claiborne has received is that she was the first person with an intellectual disability to receive two honorary doctorate degrees. The first was from Quinnipiac University in 1995, and he second was from Villanova University in 2003. In 1996, she was honored with ESPN’s ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. In 2000, her notable life of achievement was recounted in Walt Disney Productions’ “The Loretta Claiborne Story”, and her extraordinary life was documented in the biography “In Her Stride-The Loretta Claiborne Story”.  

Ms. Claiborne has also achieved a 4th degree black belt in karate. She learned to communicate in four languages and she is becoming fluent in American Sign Language. She has spoken before the U.S. Congress plus hundreds of other groups and organizations around the world. In 1995, Ms. Claiborne introduced President Bill Clinton at the Special Olympics World Summer Games; and she appeared twice as a guest on television’s former “Oprah Winfrey Show”. One of Ms. Claiborne’s most memorable moments was presenting the eulogy for a devoted friend and founder of the Special Olympics, Mrs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

In addition to Loretta Claiborne, TV/radio personality, board certified therapist, and a top-rated professional keynote speaker across the United States, Connie Podesta, will present a second keynote address at the 2011 BWF. Ms. Podesta is an executive career/life coach and one of the industry’s leading experts in sales strategies, leadership development, relationships, and change. Author of “10 Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd: How to Out-Think and Out-Perform the Competition”, Ms. Podesta is known to deliver high-energy presentations that creatively combine laugh-out-loud humor with compelling insights.

Presenting partners of the 2011 BWF are Comcast Business Class and the Hartford Business Journal. Post University and Webster Bank are star sponsors.

Tickets are $175/person, which includes continental-style buffet breakfast, lunch, eight workshops, speakers, and the closing wine and cheese reception with raffles and prizes. Tickets can be obtained by visiting www.2011bwf.com, and participants can join in discussions on www.facebook.com/2011bwf, and www.twitter.com/2011bwf.