Good afternoon Ms. Thomas, I was given your name and email address by Nicole Priester. She recommended that I contact you to request a "Welcome Letter" from Gov. Haley for the 8th Annual  Circle of Influence Leadership Summit program booklet. The Leadership Summit will be held Jan. 21-22, 2016, at the Medallion Conference Center in Columbia.  Include in the email below is basic information regarding the event in my request to Ms. Priester. The 2016 Leadership Summit theme is:  "Education: Access, Quality, Equity".  A host of renowned speakers will be featured at the Leadership Summit and the 2016 Trailblazer Leadership Award will be presented to an outstanding woman leader who has served as an inspiration to other women during her career. The 2016 Trailblazer Leadership Award will be presented to Capt. Estelle T. Young, Columbia Police Department (retired).

We are working to complete the Summit program booklet by Jan. 15th and would appreciate your reply prior to that date. Thank you for your assistance. Please let me know if you require additional information.

Wendy C. Brawley

CEO & Publisher

IMARA Woman Magazine

P.O. Box 11321

Columbia, SC 29211

(O) (803) 252-0647 x 303

(F) (803) 252-0752

www.imarawoman.com

Wendy,

Thank you for extending an invitation to Governor Haley to attend IMARA Community Foundation will host the 8^th Annual Circle of Influence Leadership Summit on January 21-22, 2016 at the Medallion Conference Center in Columbia. Governor Haley appreciates your kind consideration, but regrettably the Governor’s schedule on those dates will not permit for her to attend. That week is extremely busy for Governor Haley with the start of the legislative session as well as the Governor’s State of the State address. Thank you for thinking of Governor Haley, and best wishes on a wonderful event. If you would like a welcome letter from Governor Haley to be included in an event program, please email Katherine Thomas at: Katherine.Thomas@admin.sc.gov.

Thanks,

Nicole

Nicole Priester

Scheduler | Office of Governor Nikki Haley

NicolePriester@gov.sc.gov

Dear Ms. Priester:

I was given your name to extend our invitation to Governor Haley to be the featured speaker at our upcoming Leadership Summit. IMARA Woman magazine, a lifestyle and personal-growth magazine for women, and the IMARA Community Foundation will host the 8th Annual Circle of Influence Leadership Summit, Jan. 21-22, 2016, at the Medallion Conference Center in Columbia, SC. The women who attend the Leadership Summit hold a variety of leadership positions--from educators, business owners and elected officials, to doctors, single heads of household and faith leaders.  The Leadership Summit is a forum for women leaders from across South Carolina to develop alliances while fostering tools and strategies to help guide greater successes in their respective leadership roles. In addition to the women leaders who attend the Circle of Influence Leadership Summit, we have also expanded our circle to include a select number of female student leaders from local historically black colleges and universities. We would be honored to have Gov. Haley as our featured speaker on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 at 3:30pm for the Leadership Summit General Session. If the Governor is able to accept our invitation, we are willing to make adjustments in our schedule to accommodate her availability on either Jan. 21 or Jan. 22, 2016. I have included a copy of the 2014 Leadership Summit Schedule at a Glance to give you a better idea of the content of the Summit.

Our group of women leaders is dedicated to helping move South Carolina forward and we would benefit significantly from hearing the Governor's leadership perspective. We look forward to your response to our invitation.  

Please feel free to contact me at (803) 252-0647 ext. 303, or via email at wbrawley@imarawoman.com, should you or the Governor have any questions regarding the Leadership Summit.

Sincerely,

Wendy C. Brawley

CEO & Publisher

IMARA Woman Magazine

P.O. Box 11321

Columbia, SC 29211

(O) (803) 252-0647 x 303

(F) (803) 252-0752

www.imarawoman.com