INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
No, clearly not. I can drive any piece of equipment we own, any truck, backhoes, track hoe, mini-excavator; I’m looking out the window at the backhoe right now. My dad raised me like the son he wanted me to be. But here is what makes me effective. It’s my story. I’m real. It’s my business. When those elected officials in Washington DC make decisions that affect my business, they’re going to hear from me. When I go to Washington seven, eight times a year, I am not lobbying on behalf of the industry, I am advocating on behalf of my own business. But it is a huge bonus to advocate on behalf of the other member companies of ACA Connects as well!
because she’s coming at us right now. She’s not quitting. My coffee cup even says, ‘Nope, not today Satan’. There is something I heard from a fellow female panelist last year at ANGA COM: ‘My wish for the future of women in this industry is that we never have to have panels like this again.’ I thought that was profound. I talk at WICT events sometimes and I just tell them: Girls, you know, you’ve got to take off your apron; take your balls out of your purse and roll. We have just as much intellect. We have just as much to contribute to the conversation. All the while we’re cooking the supper, birthing the babies and changing the beds. Can we have it all? The short answer is YES! The long answer is HELL YES! We’ve been doing it all this time! What makes us think we can’t have it all? Because we’re having to do it all, whether we want to do it or not. I had to do it all. There wasn’t anyone else. Probably couldn’t delegate it to anybody else if I wanted to - my OCD would kick in! This panelist said she was looking forward to a time where men and women can exchange ideas, banter back and forth, show true and honest respect for one another. I said, sis, I won’t live to see that day. But you might! So whenever I take my last breath and pass my well-lit torch to the next gal down, keep it burning! I don’t want to be a man. I like being the one that makes the chicken and dumplings at Thanksgiving. I like being the one that makes my mother’s cornbread dressing. I love being the one that’s making my grandmother’s fresh orange cake at Christmas. That’s my definition of HAVING IT ALL! This has been a privilege. Thank you very much Patty. My goodness. Well, as long as people are talking about me, they’re giving somebody else a break.
It’s a WIN-WIN!
You were on your way to the White House when I met you in Washington. I admit I was a bit dazzled by that. When I met you, I had already been to D.C. two or three times that year. We advocate for light touch regulation, policies and legislation so that we are allowed to run our business as we see fit. We are not the long arm of the law out there providing a service on behalf of the government. We own it. It’s ours. At the end of the day, I’m the one that decides what BOYCOM’s going to do. I’ve got a great team. It does take a village, but I will tell you that I have been able to assert myself in these rooms. When you walk into the room and are able to tell your own story, and the elected officials can see that what I have to say is valid, relevant and that I have personal experience in whatever it is I’m telling them, that makes for a story in D.C. When the constituent themselves walks into that congressional office, they sit up and take notice, because we’re the ones voting for them back home. Is it easier now being a woman in this industry? I don’t pay any attention to that. I can honestly tell you that I haven’t had the luxury of even thinking about it. What you do is you get up in the morning, and your feet hit the floor. Satan goes, oh, dear God, she’s awake. Get ready,
Volume 48 No.2 MAY 2026
51
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