They are artists, educators, engineers and financial services professionals. They are leaders, legislators and entrepreneurs. They are women.
The Women's Business Day Luncheon, celebrating the 2004 "30 Visionaries: Women to Watch," will be at noon today at the Little America Hotel. The event highlights 30 Utah women who have excelled or achieved in their respective fields, demonstrating insight and a trail-blazing instinct.
"These are women who see beyond the common and the ordinary, to bring long-lasting change in an industry or profession," said Jan Hemming, president of the National Association of Women Business Owners Salt Lake Chapter.
The 2004 class was selected by the Women's Business Center of the Salt Lake Chamber, the Salt Lake Chapter of NAWBO and Utah Business magazine.
"These are really bigger-picture people, who are looking over the whole community as opposed to just their own specific business," said Nancy Mitchell, executive director of the Women's Business Center. "This is a broader-thinking group. They are women who have foresight, who have created something no one else has. With these women, it's more than just filling a niche."
Just look at the examples, Hemming said.
Like Lois Johnson. Now the owner of United Security Financial, Johnson said she was frustrated seeing deserving people turned down for mortgage loans.
"I was a loan officer, and with most of my customers I didn't have any problems getting their loans approved," Johnson said. "Or, if I couldn't get them approved, I'd work with them to the point where they could get approved. But I saw too many people come in who were turned away. Their loans were being declined, and that didn't need to happen. But because I could only work on my files — I wasn't in charge, it was someone else's company — there wasn't anything I could do about it. So I felt . . . I needed to start my own company."
Johnson founded United Security Financial in 1988 and now serves clients from coast to coast. She declined to estimate how many clients the company has served but called its closing rate "phenomenal."
Being the president of a mortgage banking company is one thing. But being an African-American female president of a mortgage banking company is another, according to Johnson.
"When you say 'president,' people expect a man," she said. "Certainly they don't expect to see an African-American female. I don't know any African-Americans here in Utah who are presidents of mortgage banking companies, whether it's their own, or working as president for an out-of-state company."
Johnson remains dedicated to serving all people, regardless of status or race. And with the growth of United Security Financial, her reach is expanding.
"I'm not saying that everyone should have a loan that comes through the door," she said. "But everyone deserves the chance."
Women like Johnson are cutting the trail, said Hemming. Their example has contributed to the stunning percentage growth in women-owned businesses in the state, which now leads the nation.
"There's a multiplier effect that takes place when women see other women succeed in business," Hemming said. "I call it the success factor. Success breeds more success. And these are women who dare to do the impossible or difficult.
"In my opinion, it's Robert Frost's 'Road Less Traveled.' These are not paint-by-number women. These are women who get beyond the discouraging moments and see their dream realized."
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com