31 Dec 2017 Maumelle chamber names Woman of the Year

The Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce highlights the talented, entrepreneurial and hard-working women "each year in the Maumelle area. 

The chamber hosts an annual Celebrating Business Women event, which is a great opportunity to network, socialize and meet many female business leaders. The 2017 event was themed “Business ARTworking” and included a fun and relaxed cake decorating demonstration. 

The program included an awards presentation to nominated female business leaders in the area, which showcases the outstanding talents and resources in the community. 

The Woman of the Year Award was presented to Connie Raley, owner of MGC Kids. She has owned and operated Maumelle Gymnastics and Cheer (now MGC Kids) for 32 years. She started her business with the dream of having a recreational facility for children to learn the art of gymnastics. That dream has grown from a few panel mats and one instructor at the community center to a 17,000-square-foot facility with 48 employees. 

Her favorite quote is, "They don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care." “She works hard for her staff to be profoundly productive and have a balanced lifestyle,” said chamber executive director Alicia Gillen. “In addition to her career, she is also actively involved with many non-profits. These include Counting on Each Other, Special Olympics of Arkansas, Relay for Life, the Maumelle 5K and local schools.” 

"Talk about the most giving, caring and compassionate woman," wrote Audra Allen, MGC Kids office manager. "Connie embodies all that you hope for in a ‘boss lady.’ She doesn’t make decisions based on what she wants, instead, she thinks about how her decision would affect her employees."

For more information about the chamber and its programs, contact Gillen at 501.851.9700 or [email protected].