These boots were made for bossin'
WRC celebrates 30 years of women helping women

When her husband lost his job in 1962, 32-year-old Norma Yaeger exchanged her cookbook for a textbook and enrolled herself in Horn-blower & Weeks, Inc. stockbroker training program. The first woman trainee, she demanded and received equal pay for equal work and became the first woman to graduate, and thus the first woman stockbroker allowed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Yaeger’s story exemplifies the theme of this year’s National Women’s History Month: “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business.” Yaeger is one of many compelling trailblazers credited with inspiring women and men alike to ignore the glass ceiling, which, as Michael Jor-dan recently reminded us, is just the roof.

What started as International Women’s Day in 1911 has since blossomed to include the entire month of March. Be- yond highlighting powerful women throughout history, Women’s History Month provides a plat- form to get local women involved, says Ashley Dickson, marketing and development director of Durango’s Women’s Resource Center.
This year’s theme presents the perfect opportunity to raise awareness about wage inequality affecting athletes, actresses and accountants alike, says Dickson. As of 2016, the median annual pay for a woman who holds a full-time, year-round job is $40,742, while the median annual pay for a man who holds the same is $51,212. That is, overall, women in the United States are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to men. So the WRC took the message to the streets of down- town Durango, organizing a march last Friday, since “marches are so hot this year.”
“‘It’s great making less money for equal work’ – said no woman ever,” read one of the signs.
But this antiquated wage gap isn’t stopping ladies from raising the roof. Currently, there are 14.6 million women- owned and equally owned firms in the United States, with California boasting 1.2 million of those. Meanwhile, La Plata County celebrates more than 1,000 women-owned or -managed businesses. From gear shops to architecture firms, these female-fronted productions are blazing trails for the next generation of go-getters.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover in this community,” says Dickson. “There are telecommuting CFO’s walking around the farmers market in rainboots, and you wouldn’t even know it.”

Purple rainboots, that is, for some of these bad-ass, Prince-loving pioneers. Co-founder, owner and editor of

the Durango Telegraph, Missy Votel is one such character walking amongst us. On Thurs., March 9, Votel and three other trailblazing women will receive distinctive honors at the WRC’s Extraordinary Woman Awards Dinner.

“She’s the most reluctant award winner we’ve ever had,” says Dickson of Votel, adding that there are only a handful of tickets left for the gala, and no one should miss Votel’s reluctant acceptance speech.

Besides Votel, Kerry Siggins, CEO of Stoneage Waterblast Tools, and Gail Aalund, First Vice President Investments and Certified Financial Advisor for Wells Fargo Advisors, will also be recognized by the WRC. The event marks the 30th anniversary for the WRC.

Thirty years ago, a group of local women saw an increase in the number of widowed, single and divorcing women in La Plata County. A rural community, Durango didn’t yet have the infrastructure to provide resources to help these women navigate their hardships, whether that involved finding support for domestic abuse or help in re-entering the job market. So these vanguards founded the WRC.

“When you’re in crisis, it’s super overwhelming,” says Dickson. “We guide you to the resources you need to get on the path to economic self-sufficiency. Our center is open-door, so you don’t need to make an appointment.”

Since 1987, the WRC has grown from assisting 200 women annually to over 1,500, providing the largest and most-up-to-date resource database in the county. These days, it’s so much more than a crisis organization.

“Over the past 10 years, we’ve realized women have other needs in our community,” says Dickson.

That is, social, economic and professional needs that relate to a woman’s role at work, at home, and in the community.

“Being a woman, you are constantly confronted with self-imposed doubt,” says Dickson. “We are, after all, professional second-guessers.”

In light of these needs, the WRC launched the Professional Development Coaching Program. For $25, a woman can fill out an application explaining why she thinks she’s a good candidate for receiving one-on-one coaching. Whether it’s about how to get a raise, being happier in the workplace, or becoming a stronger communicator, the reasons for

bettering oneself are endless.
If her application is accepted, the applicant is offered a reduced $150 rate that includes six weeks of customized coaching from a certified professional. The purpose is to help her understand her learning and communication styles so she can formulate goals and implement action steps that lead to success and, ultimately, a balanced life. The program welcomes all echelons of businesswomen, from entry levels to executives – and even those not yet in business.

“Everyone needs a coach,” said Bill Gates during a recent Ted Talk. “We all need people who will give us feedback; that’s how we improve.”

For Cathy Wake-man, owner of Animas Trading Co., coaching was exactly what she needed to combat being burnt out in retail, an industry she fell into over 20 years ago, thanks to the Grateful Dead. (According to Wakeman, we’d be surprised how many wholesalers got their start selling goods in the parking lots of Dead shows).

In the mid-’80s, Wakeman moved to Colorado from California to see the Dead play at Red Rocks with her now-husband. After migrating to Durango, Wakeman started working for the former owner of ATC, when the brick-and- mortar store on Main Ave was a Grateful Dead-themed business.

A self-taught businesswoman, Wakeman served as manager for 14 years and then bought the company 10 years ago. To keep up with the times, she started traveling to find other styles to fit the Durango mountain-lifestyle niche, which she says includes everything from festival-friendly attire to costumes that accommodate a community that loves dressing up.

“I beg to differ that we’re still the worst-dressed,” she adds.

Over the past decade, she’s built relationships with vendors across Southeast Asia and Nepal. Each year, she travels abroad to buy clothes and wares directly from these sources, many of whom she now considers great friends. By not going through wholesalers, Wakeman is able to keep her prices affordable. Because you can take the girl out of the festival but you can’t take the festival out of the girl, Wakeman is revving up her vending game with plans to sell at festivals so she can be around the music that brings her so much joy. She credits her employees and stellar manager with this opportunity. A magnet for college-aged girls, ATC’s employees are more than workers to Wakeman; they’re her friends, and many come back to visit long after their stints at ATC.
“I really encourage them to follow their dreams when they’re out of college, to take a risk, to go see the world,” says Wakeman. “(Travel) opens your eyes to just how good we have it here.”
Because she values her employee relationships, Wakeman felt the need to get some guidance on how to be a better manager and not shy away from being the boss. She was also feeling stressed about competing with the internet and box stores coming to Durango (also a member of Local First’s board of directors, Wakeman believes wholeheartedly in the importance of shopping locally).