FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- 5th Engineer Battalion, 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade sponsored the 2012 Women's History Month observance, which focused on women's empowerment, held at Abrams Theater here, March 28.
Capt. Kyle Taylor, chaplain, 5th EN Bn., 4th MEB, provided the invocation to open of the event.
". . . We truly need a woman's touch in our lives, and in every area of society in order for things to work the way they should, in order for us to be successful, in order for us to succeed in the areas . . .," said Taylor.
Following the chaplain's words, the guest speaker was introduced by host Lt. Col. Chris McGowan, commander, 5th EN Bn., 4th MEB.
During his introduction, McGowan admitted he was "a little bit biased" when it comes to the event's guest speaker, Mrs. Shara McGowan, who doubles as his wife. Shara is a former U.S. Army officer and is currently a special agent for the FBI.
Shara is a mom of three children, my best friend and an amazing team mate, said McGowan.
Sharing experiences of formal and informal education from her childhood, as a former military woman, and as a member of the FBI, Shara explained how it all helped to empower her throughout her life.
"We were an American middle class family because of what my mom did," said Shara.
"My mom was a mold breaker, I didn't think about it at the time but she was," said Shara. "She showed me that a woman could be a professional and could also be a wonderful mother and supportive wife, all at the same time."
"You all, the women in this room, you're just like my mom, you're breaking the mold," said Shara, "Being a part of this very male-dominated organization, you are inspiring other women and your children to not have any limits on what they can do with their lives."
Lastly, Shara told us that upon graduating West Point, she was stationed in Germany as a platoon leader to an all-male platoon in an engineering company.
The Army told me I could be in charge but I couldn't do the job, and what a message that was, said Shara.
A standing ovation met Shara as she concluded her speech and thanked everyone for the honor to share her experiences with them on this special day.
One of those in the standing ovation is also a female engineer.
Staff Sgt. Heather Ordonec, operations sergeant and equal opportunity representative, 55th Engineer Company, 5th EN Bn., 4th MEB, said she related to the guest speaker.
"Sixteen years ago when I joined the Army, I was one of the first females in the military occupational specialty Mrs. McGowan was talking about," said Ordonec, "and it's been a long road I can tell you that much."
Ordonec went on to describe the main challenge she experienced.
"My battle buddies, the males, I mean you go into a platoon, like she said, you really have to know what you're talking about, and not be afraid to step up and say 'hey, I'm not going to take your crap,'" said Ordonec.
To wrap up the day's celebration, the McGowan's completed a benediction with a small cake and then invited all in attendance to have a piece of the much larger celebratory cake.
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