Women with Passion and Purpose
presents their Seventh annual conference
The Power of Gratitude – Take What You Need and Leave Some for Others
Saturday, April 26, 2025
9am – 1:30pm
Registration at 8am.
Buffet Lunch Included
Carmen’s Banquet Centre
1520 Stone Church Rd E,
Hamilton, ON L8W 3P9
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wppticketsales@gmail.com
Sponsorship Opportunities coming soon!
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“A well organized day with a welcome relaxed feeling with lots of energy and love in the room. There was a dynamic, diverse group of speakers who were passionate about their stories and faith. We loved the casual atmosphere and theme of the day and the encouragement of leaving your footprint no matter how big or small. Panel discussion and group participation was very inspiring.”
“We loved the diversity of faith represented although would like to hear more about their beliefs.”
ROSITA HALL – EMCEE
Rosita’s favorite quote is: Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela
Rosita’s greatest joy comes from inspiring others to rise up and hold on during changing and challenging times. She loves providing practical solutions and takes great pride in seeing participants blossom into the best version of themselves.
She is obsessed about learning something new each day and reading books or articles that challenge everything she thought she knew. She says its her secret weapon and it is one of the ways that helps her to sustain resiliency in her life!
She believes we each have an innate ability to overcome the sucker punches life throws at us at any given time if we; commit to challenging ourselves intellectually each day, prioritize our health, maintain a resilient mindset, laugh like no one’s watching, and create authentically rich connections!
2025 Keynote Speaker
Sharon Gallant
Sharon is an accomplished high-performance triathlete with over 20 years of racing experience, including participation in several world championship events, such as Ironman Hawaii twice and the upcoming Half Ironman World Championships in New Zealand this December. Her journey to success, however, was not without significant challenges. As a young girl of 13, Sharon’s family unit collapsed when her parents began to struggle with drug addiction. By the time she was 16, she was parentless, living in poverty, had dropped out of school, was in an unhealthy relationship, and had a child on the way.
Despite facing immense obstacles, Sharon’s unwavering commitment to creating a better life for her daughter led her to a successful career in financial services. During this time, she learned two crucial lessons that would drive her future success. First, she discovered that successful people set goals, and there is a model for goal setting that anyone can learn to create meaningful change in their lives. Second, after she began running at 26, she realized the direct links between setting a goal for a 5K run and setting life goals. The more she embraced these lessons, the more her purpose began to shift.
As Sharon transformed her life, she developed a deep desire to help young girls become strong women by combining the power of sport with a goal-setting framework. In 2009, at the age of 32, she left her career and founded the Fit Active Beautiful Foundation (FAB). FAB uses running to teach and inspire young girls living in lower-income neighborhoods, helping them develop the skills and confidence to lead empowered lives. The program is free and provides each girl with running shoes, a training shirt, transportation, entry into all program events, and a goal-setting journal. FAB participants finish the program with the powerful knowledge that they are capable of more than they ever thought possible and with the skills to make empowered decisions.
In 2021, Sharon started I Defy Coaching, where she works one-on-one with women to help them achieve their athletic goals. Sharon feels most engaged, passionate, and committed when supporting others in pursuing their goals. Whether working with women or young girls, her sweet spot is helping them discover a deeper capacity within themselves through sport and using that powerful knowledge to dream big and live big.
Marianne Bird
Marianne fell in love with the sport of running 50 years ago. She learned early on she was really good at it and won many races back in public school. She started running competitively at age 9 for the Mississauga Track and Field Club and continued competing to age 18. She was named Athlete of the Year in grade 8 and her favourite races were the 400m 800m and 4×400 relay and cross country. She was part of a powerhouse team that held All Ontario Records for the 4X400 where Marianne was their starter and Silken Laumenn (an Olympic Canadian Rower, now) as the anchor. Gratitude comes to mind for her when she thinks back to the many incredible coaches, teammates, parents who all encouraged her to keep going and never quit. Running still has a huge impact on the woman she is today. She is grateful it’s helped build confidence, grit and tenacity, and keeps her driven in many areas of life and business. She feels gratitude and love in the stillness of nature while enjoying early morning runs and believes it has allowed her mind, body and spirit to stay health, lean and full of zest and youthful.
She loves this quote … “I don’t run to add days to my life, I run to add life to my days.”
Carolyne Rashford
Carolyne has been connecting with audiences for over 20 years. Through storytelling, Carolyne conveys messages of gratitude, hope and empowerment. Carolyne draws from her life experiences as a first generation immigrant, a first responder, a community builder and life-long volunteer, to connect with her audience.
Carolyne believes that connecting to one’s unique gifts allows each of us to find where we flourish.
Carolyne and her husband Dave are the proud parents of three young adults, Sanyu, Ttisa and Miika. Carolyne believes this to be her highest accomplishment.
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WOMEN WITH PASSION & PURPOSE
presents their Seventh annual conference
The Power of Gratitude - Take What You Need and Leave Some for Others
Saturday April 26, 2025
9:00am – 1:30pm
Carmen's Banquet Centre
1520 Stone Church Rd E,
Hamilton, ON L8W 3P9
Registration at 8:00 am