We chat a little bit about Stacey Abrams Speech last night in the Democratic’s response to the President’s State of the Union address, you can hear her speech HERE. It’s soooo good, do yourself a favor and listen to this bold, compassionate and spiritually intelligent woman share about her vision for the United States! She starts off her speech with mentioning a “Happy Lunar New Year!” The feminine is definitely rising again! In honor of the New Moon, we listen to Shana’s music clip of her ‘Water Chant’ from her Bulgarian Women’s Choir. It paired well with Theresa’s little share about her water blessing ceremony on the New Moon earlier this week and another audio clip we wanted to share from a WINGS episode about water protectors. She shares to inspire us all to think about the water and to remember that it’s our job to protect the waters.
Our guests today all know each other, they are all successful business owners in Kingston NY (where we live). They are also mothers, community builders and helping to shape our fast growing town. We sat down to talk to them about running a business in a city that is experiencing a lot of change economically and demographically. They share their philosophy on “competition” and setting boundaries with the people they work with. These women are:
Jen Donovan, owner of Le Shag which opened in 2005. She is a Kingston native, born and raised and claimed a stake in Kingston long before the boutiques and trendy restaurants arrived. After working as a colorist locally, in NYC, on and off Broadway, in photoshoots and film she decided to open her own ‘industrial-style salon.” Last year she partnered with Glo Spa in Woodstock, NY and and is excited to have recently launched Glo Express in Kingston, NY.
Maria Philippis, the owner of 2 restaurants, Boitsons (2010) and KOVO (2015). She is a single mother, building owner and event planner. She has always been focused on inclusivity with other businesses in uptown, going out of her way to connect with everyone in her community, allowing her high end restaurant to be a community space for various activities in the area.
Elenie Loizou, co-owner of Dietz Stadium Diner (1061). She took over the diner from her family 11 years ago. Elenie grew up in the Kingston area, she is also the mother of 5 (2 sets of twins, just take that in), and she is very active in the community. She is currently the President of KUBA (Kingston Uptown Business Association), director of the Greek and Sunday school of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, president of the Hellenic Women’s Club, Board member of People’s Place, and the list is long… like really… long.
The point is these women are A C T I V E and IN C L U S I V E and in the #nomatterwhatclub. No matter how many businesses are opening around them, no matter what competition is encroaching, using competition to actually thrive, no matter how young their children are, no matter how stressful their days might get, their morals, integrity, and serenity all are in tact. It’s incredible to watch because we know them, and this is why we have them on today, we know that you are all multi-taskers and community oriented and we wanted to not only highlight these women but also give you a boost of inspiration!
Self care? Who’s got the time?!?!?! It feels like that a bit, but we’re making sure we check in on ourselves and give ourself even the tiniest bit so that we don’t go too far off the rails. It is the year of the Pig, so we’ve got lots of enthusiasm to do all the amazing work we are set to do!!!
Today’s show was engineered by Manuel Blas of Radio Kingston, www.radiokingston.org.
We heard music from Shana Falana, http://www.shanafalana.com/, and audio from the film, RBG, https://www.rbgmovie.com
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