Great Dames’ Powerful Conversations returns with a talk with Rush Group’s founder

Great Dames has thrived in its pivot from in-person events to virtual events: Founder Sharon Kelly Hake told Technical.ly in May 2020 that attendance had quadrupled in those first two months of COVID-19 pandemic life.

It’s keeping the momentum going with this month’s Virtual Powerful Conversations event featuring Rush Group founder, chair and CEO Andra Rush.

The Michigan-based Rush Group of companies includes Dakkota Integrated Systems, Rush Trucking Corporation and Rush Supply Chain Management. It is one of the largest Native American woman-owned businesses in the United States.

According to her bio, Rush launched her first company, Rush Trucking, with one van and two pickup trucks in 1984, using $5,000 borrowed from her parents, $3,000 in savings, and credit cards. Just five years later, the company was nominated by the Detroit 3 automakers for Corporation of the Year as an outstanding supplier-partner.

Rush will speak on the Indigenous mindset that we are all born with obligations to serve past, present and future generations, in contrast to the self-centered “I have rights” mindset.

The event will be held on Friday, Jan. 22, from noon to 1 p.m. on Zoom. Tickets are available for members and non-members of the Great Dames Circle. Non-members will receive access with a minimum $10 donation to the Great Dames Action Fund, which provides scholarships, programs and seed grants to women and girls in the region.