Albany Chamber hosts annual Propel event for third year

ALBANY – About 100 women in business gathered Wednesday to network, learn strategies and talk about being a woman in the workplace at the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Propel Summit. 

This annual women-centered business event was spearheaded by former Albany Chamber CEO Barbara Rivera Holmes in 2023 as a way to remove barriers and elevate local women in the business sector. Smith Wilson, a local attorney who became the chamber’s board chair in January, said the event has become a staple because it promotes the overall mission of the chamber to support business leaders, while amplifying female business leaders. 

“These professionals are mothers, wives … and there’s a lot that goes on in our daily lives, so this is just an opportunity for all of us to come together and focus on … empowerment, connecting with other female professionals … find ways that we can better ourselves,” Wilson said.

Jay Houston, the Albany Chamber’s director of talent initiatives and communications, said Propel was created by women and for women to have a space to build connections and have conversations that move them forward.

“We are better together,” Houston said. “I hope that when we wrap up today, that you’re able to walk away with new friends … new people in your community of Albany, which is the city that we love and the city where we live … where we grow.”

She shared statistics that report women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and in Georgia, women-owned businesses account for more than 42% of small businesses. 

“We’re not just participating in the economy, we are shaping the economy,” Houston said. “The work that you do, whether that work is in your home or in your community or in your career, it matters. You matter.”

The event, which took place at the Merry Acres Event Center, lasted from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and featured breakout sessions from Ashburn-based Asa Med Spa and Asa Healthcare Solutions, a panel session with regional female leaders and a keynote address from Tanisha Shavez Johnson, an education and work force coordinator with Georgia Power.

Tracy Edwards, the owner and founder of Asa Healthcare Solutions, hosted a breakout session on overcoming imposter syndrome, a psychological phenomenon characterized by persistent self-doubt and belief that one is not competent or deserving of their achievements.

Edwards said imposter syndrome impacts women predominantly, especially women of color or women who are first-generation educated. 

Asa Elevates, a branch of Edwards’ business, began hosting its first ElevateHER Program, designed to help women develop their leadership skills. Edwards emphasized the importance of women supporting women in their ventures and growth.

The luncheon’s panel featured Jana Dyke, CEO of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission; Ashley Miller, executive director of the Ashburn-Turner County Chamber of Commerce, and Tonita McKnight, a business consultant with the University of Georgia Small Business  Development Center in Albany. 

The three talked about opportunities for growth in southwest Georgia and how women can lead that growth. 

“We’re known for our plantations … our farms … there’s opportunities for agritourism … for agribusiness as well as opportunities for women entrepreneurs to really take advantage of those,” McKnight said. 

She said Albany’s downtown is flourishing with women-owned businesses

Miller said southwest Georgia’s push for regionalism and collaboration across county lines – especially among its female leaders – makes it stand out.

“We don’t see each other so much as competitors but as we’re all in the same bus trying to go in the same direction,” she said.

Miller said southwest Georgia’s proximity to Florida and Atlanta positions it to be a logistics and distribution hub. 

“That’s not really something I think women see themselves in … it’s more male-dominated,” she said. “But it doesn’t have to be. I mean, y’all plan birthday parties for your kids, right? Do you leave it to your husbands or do y’all do it? That’s logistics and planning, right? So, we have it. We can move into those fields.”

Keynote speaker Johnson, a south Georgia native from Enigma, shared her story of success, overcoming challenges from her childhood and navigating leadership roles as a female.

“I truly believe women are chosen to be unstoppable,” she told the crowd. “We are not fragile, but we come with a force. Own that force.”

In attendance at Propel 2025, was the Albany Chamber’s youngest member, 21-year-old Trinity Mallard. Mallard is a Lee County native who launched her business, Fashionably Fitted by Trin, in late 2023 at just 19 years old. 

What started as a small, local “trucker hat bar” where customers designed their own hats with patches, has grown into a multi-faceted southeastern business. Mallard has traveled across the southeast with her business, she sells products in multiple storefronts across the region and has created an Albany-based event space where people can host parties, bridal showers and more. 

Mallard had a small booth at the back of the Propel event. It was laid out with scarves, jewelry and other colorful statement pieces. Mallard spent any free moment during the event talking with new customers. 

She said as a young businesswoman in southwest Georgia, events like Propel have been crucial to growing her business. 

“This event really has helped me and spoke to me about finding who you are as a person and don’t be scared of what might come your way,” Mallard said. “Face your fears, step out of the comfort zone, step into confidence.”