MOOSE JAW — Four community leaders are returning as the executive officers of the Business Women of Moose Jaw (BWMJ) to provide stability for the fledgling organization as it continues to grow.
The organization recently announced that Crystal Froese, Kelly Carty, Tara Johanna Manninen and Donna MacQuarrie-Bye will remain on the executive team for the 2025-26 year. The foursome will stay in the same positions they’ve held since January, with Froese as president, Carty as vice-president, Manninen as secretary and MacQuarrie-Bye as treasurer.
“I’m really excited. We’ve got a great executive,” Froese said, while highlighting the strengths of each woman. “It’s quite the dynamic group of women leading. And we’re just looking to add more members to our team so we can do more creative things.”
The president said she wanted to continue leading the group for continuity purposes, considering the organization restarted in January — the PRISM awards also returned this year — and has been slowly gaining momentum since then. She noted that the other three women submitted their names for similar reasons.
Continuing, Froese said continuity of leadership is important because the BWMJ suffered during the pandemic and lost many members. So, it is “reigniting everything back up again,” while the executive is full of ideas and excited to pursue them.
One idea is teaming up with the Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan on a project this fall, after the provincial organization approached the BWMJ about doing something, Froese said. The Moose Jaw group is exploring what that initiative could look like, while it is excited that a women-focused business that’s been around for decades wants to work together.
“They’ve got provincial-wide membership and they’ve got lots of really great programming for women, so we’re pretty excited to see what that’s going to look like,” she remarked.
Meanwhile, the BWMJ executive is creating a list of speakers who can present during the monthly meetings, including members and their activities as non-profits or entrepreneurs, said Froese. Other speakers could include women from across Saskatchewan who work in the military and health care.
“We’re quite the cross-section of members, and it’s a really unique group of members,” she continued, noting she has been with the group for years and has met many interesting women she otherwise wouldn’t have.
Some notable women that Froese has met at the meetings include Carty, who used to lead the Tunnels of Moose Jaw; community artist Carly Jaye Smith; and Maj. Amanda Maki from 15 Wing Airbase
Furthermore, the group is seeing more interest from women at 15 Wing, which the BWMJ president thought was excellent, while she was also pleased that more agricultural-based women were starting to attend.
Networking with others, forming connections and relationships, attending meetings — and eating good food — and learning from speakers are some facets of the Business Women of Moose Jaw that Froese said she appreciates.
The executive president added that these hour-long monthly meetings allow businesswomen to take time for themselves and engage in some “self-care,” while learning something new during the meetings.
Visit the Business Women of Moose Jaw’s Facebook page and other social media pages for more information about the group.
