The expo is set from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Choctaw Blue Ribbon Downs banquet hall and will feature over 30 vendors, free massages, door prizes, a fashion show, and free lunch.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to win a trip for two to the new Renaissance Hotel in Tulsa. Admission to the expo, which is hosted by Your TIMES, the Sequoyah Business and Professional Women, and the Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce, is free.
Lorie L. Robertson, a sales manager and senior national account manager for Clear Channel Outdoor in Fort Smith, Ark., is the special guest speaker for the upcoming event. She is expected to speak at 12:15 p.m.
Robertson will speak about her own battle against breast cancer and how she has joined the battle on others' behalf by donating her time and speaking on behalf of cancer victims for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization. Robertson is also one of the organizers of the Paint the Park Pink, which will be held Oct. 27 at Creekmore Park in fort Smith. For information on the fundraiser contact Robertson at lorieforthecure@yahoo.com or megan@komenozark.org.
The theme of this year's Women's Expo is breast cancer awareness, and October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Robertson said one of her greatest accomplishments is leading a fundraising effort for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure that secured over $12,000 to fight breast cancer.
Robertson is also the silent auction chair for the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House Bootscooter's Ball in 2007; a Wine and Roses volunteer and Mercy Classic volunteer for the Charter Member Young Women's Support Group; treasurer of the Greater Fort Smith Advertising Club from 1998 to 2000 and 2007-8; and current member of the Business and Professional Women of Fort Smith; as well as a variety of other accomplishments.
Robertson has been employed with Clear Channel since October 2000.
Before her work at Clear Channel Outdoor, she was the vice president of client services for Advertising Plus Inc. in Fort Smith from November 1996 to March 2000. From October 1989 to October 1996, she was the marketing coordinator and assistant administrator for Baird, Kurtz & Dobson, Certified Public Accountants in Fort Smith.
Her education background includes attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where she was an honors student in business administration and marketing. She achieved 61 credit hours and had a 3.85 grade-point average and was on the Chancellor's List and Dean's List.
Robertson's strengths, she said, include having a successful sales and fundraising track record, being able to identify prospects and convert research to selling and promotional materials, and having business and accounting knowledge critical to making sound decisions.
Her skills include managing employees and volunteers, developing and implementing marketing and advertising plans, preparing and monitoring budgets, and event planning and coordinating.
Robertson's accomplishments at Clear Channel Outdoor include leading a sales team to consistent increases in revenue, amounting to 14.17 percent revenue growth over three years. At her current job, she has also developed a national sales system, with revenue that grew from $0 in 2000 to exceed $1 million in 2003. Her 2007 year-to-date national sales are up 13 percent from the previous year.
