ROAR Women's Symposium Marks 10 Years Empowering Alamance County Leaders

Ten years in, the Alamance Chamber's ROAR Women's Symposium filled the Alliance Convention Center in Burlington with a full-day program that moved between national keynote addresses and locally grounded fireside conversations, marking a decade of the region's signature women's leadership conference.

Lisa Sun, founder and CEO of Gravitas and author of "Gravitas: The 8 Strengths That Redefine Confidence," delivered the noon keynote on March 27. Sun's appearance at the podium was followed by an afternoon meet-and-greet and book signing, giving attendees direct access to a speaker whose framework centers on redefining confidence across professional contexts.

Reagan C. Gural, President and CEO of the Alamance Chamber, opened the day. The morning program ran through short talks and panel discussions before Sun headlined at midday. Fireside chat sessions featured Dr. Jean Rattigan Rohr, Kathy Hykes and Tracey Grazyer in conversations built around belonging and legacy-building — the kind of community-specific dialogue that distinguishes ROAR from a generic professional development conference. A poetry reflection and networking lunch were also woven into the schedule.

The "Sock Market" vendor marketplace gave Burlington-area entrepreneurs a captive audience of engaged professionals. That commercial dimension has become a consistent feature of the event: regional small businesses get direct exposure while attendees have a built-in reason to browse between sessions. For local commerce, it represents one of the more efficient concentrations of motivated buyers and networkers available in Alamance County on any given day.

A conference reaching its tenth consecutive year in a market the size of Burlington is not incidental. It reflects sustained organizational investment from the Alamance Chamber and reliable demand from local professionals who continue to show up for in-person development. What started as a single-day gathering has become one of the more durable fixtures on the county's civic calendar.