When organizers for Lewis-Clark State College’s sixth annual Women’s Leadership Conference chose to focus on “Healthy Leadership: Women Finding Balance,” the community took notice.
The event, set for March 3 on the Lewiston campus, sold out three weeks in advance.
“I think that speaks to women wanting something like this, and … how the theme speaks to so many women,” LCSC professor and conference chairperson Amy Canfield said.
The theme resonated with local businesswoman and philanthropist Laynie McClain Eldridge, who will deliver the keynote talk, “How to Go From Burnout to Balance.”
Many in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley know McClain Eldridge as the president of the Gina Quesenberry Foundation, which she founded in memory of her mother to assist valley residents diagnosed with breast cancer. McClain Eldridge was open about her own breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in 2020, which included a double mastectomy and complete hysterectomy.
“Through that process I have learned a lot about myself — that there’s a different way to live,” she said.
Her focus on health took on a more holistic approach, incorporating massage, acupuncture, reiki and hyperbaric chamber therapy.
“I think one of the biggest things for me right now is meditation and breathing,” she said.
Starting the day with intention and gratitude, she explained, can help build toward the balance many people seek.
“And that’s going to set up the day for success,” she said. “You have to kind of control your day, or your day is going to control you.”
Paying attention to how anxiety affects people’s minds and bodies is critical to protecting their health, McClain Eldridge said. Ignoring those effects is a path to disease.
“And it will start with a whisper, but if you don't listen it will begin to yell,” she said.
While the Women’s Leadership Conference is sold out, a limited number of tickets are still available, at gqfoundation.org, for the March 11 Gina Quesenberry Wine Fest fundraiser at the Clearwater River Casino & Lodge.
