Girls and women from all over Clayton County pressed through the rain to be inspired, empowered and motivated at the 3^rd Annual For Girls Only Conference and Social Butterflies, Inc. did not fail them. With Mrs. Sharon Varner-Halback as the hostess, the girls stayed inspired through her encouraging and humorous words, along with her spontaneous door prize giveaways. Ms. Carolyn Marshall encouraged parents through an original poem entitled, “Parents Don’t Lose Your Glue!”. All of the parents and teachers could relate. If anyone was unhappy, they became elated while Mt. Zion Primary School’s Step Team did their routine to the song “Happy” by Pharell.

Each year, Social Butterflies, Inc. recognizes a special woman in the community for her hard work and dedication to supporting girls and women. This year, the recognition was awarded to Solicitor General Tasha Mosley. Social Butterflies, Inc. honored Ms. Mosley by awarding her The Presidential Service Award signed by President Barack Obama. As Ms. Mosley tried to contain her excitement, she encouraged the mothers to continue to keep their daughters active in the Social Butterflies Mentoring Program and continue to bring them to the For Girls Only Conference.  “Activities such as this conference, will keep your daughters out of my office, the courtroom and especially jail”, said Ms. Mosely.

Next on our agenda was none other than Georgia Power Engineer, Shar’ron Russell. Ms. Russell inspired the girls and women to be Simply a Lady. She taught the girls an acronym to remember as she spoke on each word. L is for Leadership. Ladies are always leaders wherever they go.  A is for Attitude. Having a positive attitude will take you a long way in life. D is for Determination. No matter what happens in your life, be determined to succeed.  Y is for Yourself. There is no better person to be you than you, so always be yourself. Ms. Russell challenged the girls with a dare, a double dare and a double dog dare to be successful in life. The speaker received a standing ovation and the audience was overjoyed by her inspiration. 

The next hour consisted of eight phenomenal workshops: (1) Mountain Move! Math & Science for Girls presented by Tonya Pugh; (2) Paige Martin Books & Art Doll Making Workshop presented by Paige Martin; (3) 2 Cute 2 Fight presented by Lieutenant Nicole Rabel, City of Riverdale Police Department; (4) Increasing Self Esteem presented by Sharon Lee;  (5) “I CHANGED OR TRANSFORMED MY LIFE: HOW DO YOU MEASURE?” presented by Trimona B. Lomax, Personal Trainer; (6) College Prep Seminar  presented by  Doretha White; (7) “Mothers Be Good To Your Daughters” Anger Management presented by Michelle Graves and Carolyn Marshall; and (8) Girls, Literacy & Colleges presented by Dr. Genola Johnson.

During the intermission, several girls had their caricatures drawn, by author and illustrator Vincent Wolf. To conclude the conference, girls were surprised by the appearance of Atlanta Dreams basketball player, Matee Ajavon. Matee spoke to the girls about her career as a basketball player in the WNBA. Girls asked plenty of questions and were inspired by the words shared. Before departing, girls took a photograph with Matee and received signed autographs and t-shirts. Lastly, Natalie White, director of ticket sales and services gave each person in attendance two free tickets to the first Atlanta Dream game of the season, so we can cheer on Matee Ajavon #10. As promised, the For Girls Only Conference was a jammed-packed day filled with encouragement, motivation and inspiration for girls and women of all ages. Save the date for the 4^th Annual For Girls Only Conference, Saturday, April 25, 2015 @ Mundy’s Mill High School.