The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce dedicated its March Executive Luncheon series to “Women of Influence.”
The event marked the 15th time the Chamber selected its Businesswoman of the Year, presented annually to “recognize a woman in the workplace for her hard work, dedication, and passion both professionally and personally.”
Kathleen Ferguson, Senior Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager with Bank of America, announced Wendy Perry, co-founder of Katalis, a company to foster leadership in any organization, as the honoree for 2025.
“She is someone who has shown exceptional leadership, both in the corporate sector and in her community. She has worked diligently to create opportunities for others, providing guidance, mentorship, and support to those who aspire to make a difference. Her journey has been marked by hard work, perseverance and passion for service,” said Ferguson.
Perry, former Board President of the Columbia County Chamber, was equally surprised and grateful for the honor.
“It’s no secret that I’ve worked hard my whole life, but in service of other people. I really do have a heart for people and a heart for leadership,” she said. “My primary goal has always been to first glorify God and honor my parents and my family. Anything that I do, I always try to leave a positive impact wherever I go, and to just love anybody that I come in contact with, and so so many of you in this room are friends that I didn’t know I needed.”
Perry and her husband Mike spent more than 20 years in the military, serving abroad and stateside, before settling in Columbia County after they retired. They developed Katalis “To equip leaders with the confidence, awareness, and relationship building skill required to transform organizational culture and unleash the full potential of the people that make business possible.”
She told ABD that being selected for this honor can serve as encouragement for any woman who questions if she can succeed.
“You can do anything,” she advised. “To women who think that they don’t have anything to offer or anything to contribute, everything that God has placed in you, there’s a purpose for it. I love that the speaker said to let your flame shine. And I want to encourage any woman to let her light shine.”
Perry was referring to keynote speaker Tara Heaton, CEO and Founder of En Pointe Communication.
Heaton told the story of her journey to help her young daughter who, at age 12, was stricken with a virus that resulted in a neuro cognitive disorder that causes her to have seizures.
During her search for answers to help her daughter, Heaton learned one of her greatest strengths is something often seen as a negative character trait for women; the ability to feel a broad range of deep emotions.
She said the truth, in fact, is that emotions give women the ability to analyze their feelings and exhorted women to not shy away from using that ability.
“When we work to hide or suppress or, even worse, run from our emotions, it is not serving our work. It is not serving our communities, and most of all, it is not serving our relationship. Emotions are our superpower,” she said. “Everyone, male and female, we were born with a plan inside us. It’s right at that intersection of heart and soul, and it’s there to remind us do not let society norms or expectations or the stress of life or the heartache throw sand on our plan.”
Perry joined a list of notable women previously honored by the Chamber. She said she will spend her year in the spotlight to serve.
“I hope to represent well, to continue to serve the community,” she said. “I’m a trustee for the Board of Education Foundation. So, I want to continue to do that. Find other ways that I can continue to serve. My husband and I are in ministry for marriages and families, so I just hope I can do that and serve well.”
