Women’s History Month Lunch-and-Learn, Other Events to Celebrate Storytellers
In conjunction with the 2023 Women’s History Month theme of “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” special emphasis program POWER has several events planned for the month—including a lunch-and-learn featuring two women who are leaders in telling the Exchange story.
The lunch-and-learn, scheduled for Central Time March 16, will feature Sandi Lute, senior vice president, Brand Marketing, in conversation with Julie Mitchell, vice president, Marketing Customer Engagement.
Lute will share her experiences growing up in an Air Force family and her nearly 40 years with the Exchange, where she has championed the Exchange brand.
Lute started her career in 1982 as a cashier for the Hawaii Area Exchange. In 1986, Lute was promoted to Visual Merchandiser at the Hickam Air Force Base Exchange and has received a series of promotions ever since. In 1991, she transferred to Dallas headquarters, after a promotion to Illustrator, Visual Marketing Division, Sales Directorate.
In 2016, she was promoted to Chief of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs and in 2017 was promoted to vice president, Marketing Customer Engagement. She was named to her current position in October 2021.
Mitchell began her Exchange career in 2011 as a direct marketing copywriter. Since then, she has held a variety of communication positions, including corporate communication writer/editor, public relations specialist, senior public relations manager and chief of public affairs. Mitchell was named vice president, marketing customer engagement, in December 2021.
POWER (Promote Opportunities for Women by Effecting Results) will have other activities during Women’s History Month, which is March 1-31. The group will kick off the commemoration March 1 with “Women in History,” a collection of fun facts that will appear in the EEODI Monthly Digest.
During the week of March 6-10, POWER will introduce a Peer Empowerment Series to help celebrate International Women’s Day, which is March 8. EEODI will send out the event details, asking associates to submit stories or compliments about peers who helped empower them. The submissions will be posted on the Exchange’s social media platforms. Use the hashtag #EXCHANGEIWD2023 in your submissions.
During the week of March 13-17, POWER and EEODI will send out daily motivational quotes from famous women in a Quote of the Day series. The next week (March 20-24), there will be a trivia contest. The winners (one from each region) will receive the book “Dare to Lead” by Brene Brown. Watch your Exchange email for messages from both series. Winners of the trivia contest will be announced March 29.
POWER’s Executive Champions are Karen Cardin, Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer, and Ronny Rexrode, Western Region Senior Vice President. Sedric Thomas, Financial Operations Manager, is Program Manager and Jeannie Hall, Senior Corporate Policy Specialist, is Assistant Program Manager.
To learn more about POWER and other Exchange special emphasis programs, visit the Exchange HUB here. If you’d like to join a special emphasis program, click here to join.
To learn more about Women’s History Month, click here.
