July at VenuesNow means Women of Influence, the awards program begun in 2007 to salute professional women for their contributions to the live event industry. As we introduce the honorees for 2019, it gives us a chance to look back at the names (and numbers) that are part of this proud tradition. 53 Women of Influence honorees, including the six featured in this issue. 5 Members of the first class in 2007: Donna Dowless, Robyn Williams, Carol Wallace, Kim Bedier and Barbara “Mother” Hubbard. 3 Smallest classes, from 2009 through 2013. 6 Largest class, 2019 1 Editors’ pick, Mel Raines in this year’s class. Readers have long cast the votes for Women of Influence, but we decided we wanted to get in on the fun! We’ll continue to do so in the coming years, so this number will be going up. 2015 The only year that each honoree was associated with a particular… Continue Reading Opening Number: Women of Influence