We are a 501c non-profit group dedicated to creating an inclusive, education-based environment where women in the Colorado Food, Wine and Hospitality industries can flourish and grow. It is time to gather and galvanize to not only celebrate the successful foundation built for us in Colorado, but also to brainstorm ways to better serve ourselves and our female community going forward.

Our cultural narrative tells us that women experience little issue in the workforce. It tells us that women's organizations and events are unnecessary and patronizing. It tells us that when we ask for more money, more respect, or more time to thrive, we are wasting our breath. It tells us that when we gather it is because we are weak and in need of a boundary from men in order to pat ourselves on the back. It tells us that women who came before us already fought the important battles and that true equality will find us in time...and all of that drives us to compete with one another instead of lifting each other up.

But that narrative can be rewritten. In our historically male-dominant industries, it is imperative that we come together to create communities of support and assistance, not competition. In the Guild, we have agreed to mentor one another and lift each other up; to give attention and advice instead of gossip; and to move forward with more transparency, more collaboration, and a higher degree of respect for what women in the Colorado Food, Wine and Hospitality industries go through on a daily basis.

If we haven't said it enough to our members, THANK YOU. More than ever, we are convinced that something great can come out of our combined efforts.