History of NAWBO-SA

In September 1996, San Antonio business women Dixie Kingston and Lynn Weirich attended a national NAWBO conference as part of their affiliation as brokers of MassMutual, a national corporate sponsor at that time.  At the conference, they met Patricia Stout, NAWBO member at large from San Antonio. 

Impressed by the national organization, Pat, Lynn, and Dixie networked with other women business owners in San Antonio to determine the level of interest in forming a local chapter. Invitations to attend informational meetings were mailed to more than 400 women business owners in the area.  Several expressed interest in joining NAWBO, and in December 1996, the national organization was informed of intent to form a San Antonio chapter.  

That same month, prominent business woman Caryn Hasslocher hosted a gathering at the Tower of the Americas, to which presidents and members of other women’s organizations were invited. Additional interest was generated, and a steering committee was formed.

By early 1997, 30 members from San Antonio had joined the national association, fulfilling the minimum requirement for chapter formation.

Since its formation, NAWBO-San Antonio has been recognized as one of the leading chapters in the nation. In June 2006, the National Association awarded the San Antonio Chapter its distinguished Gold Award for Best Practices in membership, mentoring, and corporate partner support. In 2007, San Antonio was awarded the Guardian/NAWBO Diversity Award for its numerous diversity initiatives, including Leadership Development, the President’s Advisory Council, and the Women on Boards (WOB) Certification Initiative. In 2012 under Patsy Foxworth's leadership NAWBO-SA was awarded the North Chamber Athena Award for Organizational Leadership. 

Today, NAWBO-San Antonio continues to thrive as a valuable resource for women entrepreneurs to learn and grow with their peers.