California Conference

Aliy and Allen were in Huntington Beach, southern California this past week for a Verizon Wireless Conference. The WOW ~ Women of Wireless ~ gathering was a two day event that brought together 350 of the best, brightest and most enthusiast women Verizon employees from California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Alaska. (Photo on left: Allen, Pepsi LaMar, Aliy and Irwin Siongco.)

The conference was headlined by Tami Erwin, the Executive Vice President for Verizon Operations and one incredible person. Tami had the stage just before Aliy. She centered her talk on the concept that women must often break the mold that we are cast into, yet simultaneously retain our personal strengths and beliefs. There is no position a woman can not reach - but expect to work hard, stumble and get right back up again!


Aliy sharing who exactly she is.

Aliy got on the stage next. First and foremost she explained WHY she was there? A Dog Musher? In California? At a business conference? Seriously? So, after a few "icebreaker" minutes, Aliy opened up and told her very authentic story of how she became one of the most talented, successful women in the state of Alaska. "...work hard, a few stumbles but get right back up again!" Sound familiar?

The topic of Aliy's talk was: Personal Branding ~ What's makes your Brand?
Aliy first needed 45 minutes to share WHO exactly she is before sharing her thoughts about maintaining her brand. The final 10 minutes of Aliy's presentation focused on what she considered most important in maintaining her image and brand.
So... if you don't know WHO ALIY IS ... here you go.
This is directly from Aliy's presentation:

- Authentic, Strong and Honorable: The concept of 'being true to yourself' should go hand and hand with being true to your community and fans. I am truthful about who I am. I can imagine nothing worse than living a lie. I know that not everyone will appreciate me or my dog mushing lifestyle. But - take me or leave me - I am incredibly proud of who I am.

- Positive and Inspirational: I try to be positive. Absolutely everyone has problems and hurdles in their life. There is no reason I need to add to the negative when a positive view can be so much more helpful. In my life (as with all of us), I have many challenges. I find that I can more easily overcome these obstacles when I smile. So, when in doubt... smile!

- Stay relevant and current. Yet always be ready to evolve: This is the most challenging concept for me. Our society expects instant gratification and constant communication. The fact that I try to retain my personal touch in my brand makes it nearly impossible for me to to correspond with everyone. The SPK Dog Log is a helpful tool but it even has its challenges.

- I am personally responsible to maintain my image and brand: This statement is by far the most important part of who I am. I determine my future by my actions today. I take this seriously. I am fortunate that I believe in who I am. I enjoy upholding my values, my brand and thus, my self.
But, I also need to remember that EVERYTHING MATTERS! Whenever I forget this concept, some small force will remind me. Just prior to leaving for California I received this letter (below) from a young fan who ironically, lives in California. Once again, EVERYTHING MATTERS.

This is the letter: