Leslie Sturgeon

President, women inspiring women

By Holly Bedard
NH Mirror Staff

As Leslie Sturgeon sat down at her desk on a recent morning, one of her favorite songs popped into her head.

“What would I do today, if I were brave ...” singer Jana Stanfield’s voice echoed.

NH Mirror/Holly Bedard

Sturgeon doesn’t need to ask these kinds of questions, though. She’s too busy making things happen.

Most recently, Sturgeon created Women Inspiring Women, a Lakes Region networking group that just celebrated its one-year anniversary.

The group is something Sturgeon, who lives in Bristol, said has been missing in the area. She had wanted to be a part of one since starting her own business, Office Options, in 1989. (She opened a second division, Association Solutions, in 2007.)

Sturgeon also had been very involved in the community as a member and six-year president of the Meredith Altrusa Club and a Meredith Chamber of Commerce board member, among other area groups. Still, nothing quite fit what she was looking for.

“I have always dreamt of starting my own association geared just for women with more networking, socializing and supporting of one another,” she said. “WIW was a natural fit for me because I had a lot of business, leadership and association management experience.”

There was a great response to WIW right from the beginning. However, Sturgeon said the anniversary party last month was truly her big moment – especially as she looked around at all the smiling faces before her.

“The anniversary represented a culmination of hard work, sacrifice, dedication and all that other great stuff,” she said. “Women are realizing that it isn’t selfish to want to create a better life and to go for it, that they can still have their families and their careers while being true to themselves and their own personal needs.”

Sturgeon is constantly thinking about the needs of others – and not just on a business level. She makes a point of setting aside one day a month for a girls’ day out, as she drives a close friend to her chemotherapy sessions in Lebanon.

“She is definitely an inspiration to me,” Sturgeon said.

And Sturgeon’s friends are there to reciprocate for her, whether it’s help with planning or printed materials for a WIW event or supporting her guilty pleasures of fountain Diet Pepsi and cake with buttercream frosting.

To Sturgeon, these connections mean the world. From her fiancé, Ken Canaway, to her many friends throughout the state, Sturgeon said she knows the importance of positive relationships with people who support your dreams.

“Positive, strong, inspiring friendships and business relationships have been formed amongst the members and attendees of WIW. Women like to support women they know and like,” she said. “I have discovered that many WIW members get together socially as well. This is huge to me.”

To further her cause, Sturgeon is expanding WIW to the Concord area this fall.

She said this will make it easier for women who are traveling from as far as Manchester and Concord to attend programs and events.

“It is important for us to reach out to all women, to bring them all together, to support and inspire one another,” Sturgeon said. ”Our state is blossoming with amazing women and it’s time we told our stories and shared our uniqueness.”

For more information about Women Inspiring Women, visit www.wiwnh.com.