Thankfully the 2021 Bloom Conference, an all women’s conference, was able to happen over the weekend. However, it looked a little different than normal.
The Bloom Conference is an annual event, with this being the 27th year Harding has hosted it. The theme this year: Influence.
The Bloom Conference was previously called WINGS Conference, but they decided to change the name in 2018. Last year’s conference, right before the start of the pandemic, was a memorable time that those in attendance loved.
With hundreds of women in attendance, no masks, and no social distancing, why wouldn’t you love it?
So how did this year look different?
“This year, it is different because we can’t have people coming in from the outside,” said Anessa Westbrook.
Only Harding Faculty, Staff, and Students were allowed to attend in person. Everyone else had to attend through zoom or facebook live.
Thankfully the experience was just as memorable as past conferences. Speakers from across the country like Jana Rucker, Alicia Williamson, Brandi Moody, Debb Houston (and more) spoke at the event either in person or through zoom.
They were able to encourage women to use their platforms to influence those around them in a godly way.
“Jesus is the brand that the world needs most. And guess what? You don’t have a choice, you’re always influencing one way or another,” said Jana Rucker.
Thankfully around 250 women were able to attend with the audience coming from a wide variety of places. Just to name a few, they had people from Ohio, Iowa, Maryland, Albania, Antigua and South Africa.
In the future, the goal will be to have a strong attendance in person, while still being able to reach those around the world. Figuring out what that looks like before next year’s conference, with the theme Unveiled, will be the next challenge
Written by: Sarah Hickerson
