The largest and oldest women’s conference in Utah, the Northern Utah Women’s Conference, is being held on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the Ogden City Marriott.

The Northern Utah Women’s Conference is in its 34th year, and invites all women to attend. The primary goal of the conference is to enhance women’s awareness and skills that lead to enhancing experiences in their careers, schools, homes and communities.

Keynote speaker, author and certified life and relationships coach Val Baldwin is scheduled to share her ideas on how to achieve successful relationships.

The conference will cover many issues, including fun activities, financial advising, environmental friendliness, stress relief, belly dancing and cooking fun foods.

“The conference makes for an enjoyable afternoon for women from all walks of life. No doubt students especially would be specifically interested in the stress relief workshop,” said Sylvia LeMons-Liddle, Women’s Conference board member of West Point, Utah.

The Women’s Conference was founded by a small group of women in 1975, during a time when women’s voices and opinions were not freely heard or accepted.

Committee historian Alice Hirai of Ogden, told the story of the third women’s conference in 1978, where former congresswomen Bella Abzug was the keynote speaker.

“Abzug had to be escorted to the podium to address the women because a threat had been made on her life by a man that was outside the doors of where the conference was being held. She addressed the crowd as if nothing was wrong, and nothing out of the ordinary did occur,” Hirai said.

This was the first time a threat had been made on someone’s life at a Women’s Conference. Nevertheless, as women’s views and voices became more accepted in America, the conference gradually switched from being viewed as a militant organization, to being more community minded.

This year’s women’s conference is something women of all ages are invited to enjoy, and according to Hirai, the conference makes for an enjoyable mother-daughter event.

To register for the conference, or for additional information, visit www.northernutahwomen.

taylorwhite@yahoo.com



Copyright Brigham Young University 3 Mar 2009