I had a great time today at the SCWomenLead event, where I served on a panel of elected women (that’s me in the red). I also had the honor of sharing lunch with our Lt. Governor Pamela Evette , who is about as down-to-earth and authentic as you can get. We talked about everything from our shared Polish immigrant history to the value of a community college education to reasons we’re proud of SC to the importance of women in positions of leadership. Then, she spoke to the group about serving as a woman in government. One of the things she said that truly stood out to me was this: “No matter where we sit in positions of leadership, small girls are always watching us, watching us to see what we can do, what we should do, what we can be.” Representation matters. There were no small girls there today, but there were several young women, including two from Simpsonville who raised their hands and waved when I said I was from Simpsonville City Council. And I hope the message they, and all the other women there, took from today was simple: yes, you can. As I said in my comments, you can be the person who complains, or you can be the person who steps up to be the change and make a difference.