We are excited to announce the recipients of the 2018 Lillie Knox Investment Awards! The Lillie Knox Investment Award is a cash prize of up to $20,000, exclusively available to WBCS Women's Business Enterprises, to help further business growth. This year was especially exciting—the amount available for each request was increased, which resulted in triple the number of applications from 2017.
The winners were announced on November 6th, at the 2018 Harvesting Partnerships event.
Tracy Southers Parker, President, WordPlay PR and Marketing
- Wordplay PR & Marketing is full-service public relations firm and became certified as a WBE in 2015. Tracy is now an active member of the WBCS and has served as a sponsor, volunteer, and committee member for several events. She plans to use the $2,500 award to update the WordPlay PR and Marketing website and add new functionality. She will also purchase new software for webinars, branding elements, and marketing materials to be used as her business grows a new “Marketing Academy” division.
Chanel Davis, CEO, Davis Davis and Harmon, LLC.
- Davis Davis and Harmon, LLC. is a sales and tax consulting firm, and has attended and sponsored numerous Council events, committees and raffle fundraisers since becoming certified as a WBE in 2017. Chanel also hosts a podcast that features dynamic women entrepreneurs and the stories of their journeys. She will use the $10,000 award for further development of their certificate management software, which will create a new stream of income for the company.
Renee Gilmore, President, Fireman’s Paving Contractors
- Fireman’s Paving Contractors is owned and operated by FireFighter wife Renee Gilmore. Renee has been actively involved with the Council since becoming certified in 2016. She served on the Gala Committees in 2017 and 2018, which provided her the connection with SCM Texas Instruments. She is now an approved contractor and was awarded her first project this year! Fireman’s Paving Contractors is a full-service paving company, and plan to use the $15,000 award to purchase new equipment—a Ride-On System for Line Striping. This will allow them to potentially double their production and increase overall efficiency.
Congratulations ladies! Stay tuned as we will be following up on their continued success in 2019.
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(L-R Debbie Hurst, Chanel Davis, Tracy Southers Parker, Renee Gilmore, Cheryl Stevens, Pamela Bryant)
Lillie Knox was a vital part of the history and current success of the Women's Business Council - Southwest (WBCS) and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The Lillie Knox Investment Award was established in 2005 to memorialize Lillie for her support of Women's Business Enterprises (WBEs) through her commitment, passion, and determination to increase opportunities for female entrepreneurs.
The Lillie Knox Investment Award is funded solely by member donations. The number of awards distributed, and the amount of each award are determined by the total fund available as well as the merits of requests in each application. If you are interested in donating towards the 2019 fund, please contact us here and mention the Lillie Knox Fund.
