COVINGTON, Ga. - Covington/Newton County Chamber of Commerce will host its third annual Think Thrive Women’s Expo Thursday, Aug. 15.

Think Thrive will be at held at The Reserve at Hendricks, located at 1149 Hendrick St., Covington, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The women's expo will bring together local successful women for a night of exhibitors, motivational speakers and networking. 

“We wanted a chance to bring women together to celebrate our successes,” Debbie Harper, interim CNCCC president said.

Beginning at 5 p.m., women-owned businesses can exhibit their items and promote their company in the lower level of The Reserve at Hendricks. Following the exhibition, dinner, catered by Oxford College’s Bon Appetit, will be served.

Lee Thomas, deputy commissioner at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, will join this year's women's expo as the keynote speaker. An Atlanta native, she graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in radio/TV/film, Georgia State University with a master’s degree in film studies and attended the Tisch School of the Arts Doctoral Program at New York University.

Thomas worked as a project manager for the Georgia Film and Videotape Office in 1996, and in 1998, was promoted to a locational specialist for the office. She became the director of the film division in 2010 after 12 years of  finding locations for film and television projects.

Harper included a new portion to this year’s women's expo with the idea of future women-owned businesses in Newton County.

Eastside High School Sophomore Gracie Wilbanks, FFA student, will have a Q&A session during the women's expo to discuss her sugar scrub business. She sells sugar scrub, made from lavender grown in her garden, to help fund a FFA trip to Italy.

“We have some strong, young ladies in our community that are going to do good things,” Harper said.

Lisa Baker, CNCCC program director, stated the event is for women who are “having a career, running the family, running the household and doing it all with a smile on [their] face.”

Baker added, “Sometimes it’s nice to talk to women who have all been through it.”

Think Thrive tickets are $50 for members and $65 for non-members and can be purchased through CNCCC’s website. For more information, contact Lisa Baker via email, lbaker@newtonchamber.com, or via phone, 770-786-7510.