Join Women2Women as we kick off our 7th year of programming. On this night, in partnership with the Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club, we will welcome iconic athlete, sports and social advocate, author, and Emmy award-winning television commentator, Kathrine Switzer. She was the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon - still a men's-only event in those days.
Sports history changed in 1967 when Switzer officially registered and finished that famous race. Switzer's entry created a worldwide uproar when the race director attacked her mid-stride and tried to tear off her bib numbers and remove her from the event, because she was a woman. The photo of this incident flashed around the globe and became one of Time-Life's "100 Photos that Changed the World."
Sometimes the worst thing in your life can inspire you to action, and sometimes that action can change the world.
Radicalized by the incident, Switzer campaigned for sports equality for women, and created opportunities for them. Kathrine will challenge you to "become the hero in your own life." This enlightening address will empower men and women alike to re-examine their lives, especially the negatives, and make changes; to develop a sense of vision, and be a part of social history by 'giving back'. She is a visionary who has changed the world, continues to do so to this day and shows her audience how they, too, can make a positive and lasting impact on the world, or simply in their own lives.
Before Kathrine's presentation - take the opportunity to meet with our sponsors, network with friends and enjoy delicious food and drink. Following the program, Kathrine will be signing copies of her books (available for sale).
Switzer is an Emmy award-winning TV commentator and has covered the Olympic Games, World and National Championships as well as hundreds of other events including the New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and every televised edition of the Boston Marathon (36 consecutive years!).
She is also a lively and entertaining appearing on Oprah, Tonight, Today, Good Morning America, Nightline, and features on CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, MSNBC, ESPN, CBC, BBC, France3, and all the major daily newspapers and magazines in the countries she visits. A media standout, however, was being the program-opening interview in “MAKERS: Women Who Make America”, the 3-hour PBS-AOL documentary on the women’s movement that first aired in 2012 and continues today as a precedent-setting global series.
Tuesday Oct 10, 2017
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
DoubleTree by Hilton Reading
701 Penn Street
Reading, PA 19602
$50/person (includes hors d'oeuvres)
Bethany Kirkner, Director of Events
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