Dear Fellow Queens,
I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long. While my worker bees have taken over in keeping you informed, I’ve been busy flying all over the country trying to make Maxim available to you at your local stores. Well, my wings have gotten tired and it wasn’t until I took a detour on to a personal flight and mission to upstate New York for one of the most buzz worthy weekends I’ve had in a really long time, that I was able to refuel and refocus on the sweetest part of my job – staying in touch with the women of Maxim.
During my personal time away, I participated in the Sterling Institute’s Women’s Weekend. After all the flying and buzzing going on at Maxim and in my personal life, I was feeling a little drained and in need of inspiration. To be honest, my main goal in attending was to work on my ongoing flight of finding a Killer King Bee to create a long term healthy relationship with, but instead what I got out of the weekend was surprisingly quite the opposite – a re-connection and dedication to my power as a woman and the women around me. In doing so, I’ve re-rooted my perspective in many different aspects of my life from the type of King Bee I’m looking for, to my work at Maxim and to my dedication to empowering other women through the power of sharing.
In doing so, I will be blogging more often to the very community I respect and value so much, with a special focus on women who are using their feminine power to build community and make a difference in the world.
Ironically enough, the first phone call I got the first day I stepped back in to the office and set this new intention was from Lisa Elifritz, an inspiring woman who after the unfortunate passing of her 20 year old daughter has made it her mission to educate others about the fatal illness her daughter contracted – Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). From the stories Lisa has told me, Amy was a vibrant outgoing young woman embracing her journey in a life that ended too soon, but Amy’s spirit will stay alive through the lives her mother is saving in educating other women about this harmful illness.
On Sat.,Oct.16, the day Amy would have turned 21, the Elifritz family is hosting a celebration of Amy’s life and a silent auction to kick off their fundraising campaign for TSS Awareness. The auction will include items contributed by Miss America 2009 Katie Stam, and many local businesses. My favorite auction piece is the painting seen in the main image for this blog piece and painted by artist Anne Marie Rhodes in memory of Amy. Her inspiration is as follows as noted on Anne Marie’s own inspirational blog:
“Before I began on it I asked Amy’s mother to sum up what she’d like for me to portray in one word. Her response…innocence. She also mentioned to me that at Amy’s burial they had all of her 125 friends send balloons up in the air with messages to Amy. That is the moment that I recreated….The balloons are painted white representing the innocence of someone so young. As each balloon transcends into Heaven, they will connect Amy with all those who loved her forever.” –Anne Marie
You can bid on Anne-Marie’s painting at
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=233&uid=135138886526784#!/group.php?gid=135138886526784
Maxim thanks and acknowledges these strong women for their dedication to other women and looks forward to honoring the spirit of other women who use their fierce feminine power. For more information on what Maxim defines as a fierce woman, click here and if you know of any fierce women you want us to feature on our blog, please email us with their story at info@maximhy.com
Yours Truly,
The Queen Bee