The Edmond Sun

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July 2, 2009

Inaugural Women’s Leadership Conference announces keynote speaker

EDMOND — The Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Network Council is planning its inaugural Women’s Leadership Conference. The conference will be presented by Edmond Medical Center on Nov. 13 in the University of Central Oklahoma Nigh University Center.

Cindi Broaddus, also known as Dr. Phil McGraw’s sister-in-law and author of “A Random Act,” will be the keynote speaker discussing her life journey and the tragic assault that changed her life forever.

The conference’s theme is “Women Helping Women.” The conference will start with a main session, followed by two breakout sessions and concluding with Broaddus during lunch.

“The purpose of the Women’s Leadership Conference is to encourage, support, praise and unite the women of Edmond and the surrounding areas,” said Angie Johnson, co-chairwoman of the Women’s Network Council and banking officer, cash management at Coppermark Bank. “With remarkable speakers and valuable networking, the conference will provide the resources needed to help women continue to grow and succeed.”

Broaddus didn’t realize that her life was about to be forever altered as she sat in the passenger seat of a car on a lonely highway, speeding toward the airport in the early morning hours of June 5, 2001.

The sister-in-law of Dr. Phil McGraw, a single mother of three and a delighted new grandmother, she was thinking only of her imminent, well-earned vacation when a gallon jar filled with sulfuric acid, tossed from an overpass by an unknown assailant, came crashing through the windshield. In a heartbeat, Cindi was showered with glass and flesh-eating liquid, leaving her blinded, screaming in agony and burned almost beyond recognition. When she reached the hospital, the attending doctors gave her little better than a 30 percent chance of survival.

But Broaddus did survive and after years of excruciating recuperation and seemingly endless sessions of skin grafts and reconstructive surgery she emerged from her ordeal in many ways stronger than she ever had been. She will impart that wisdom and strength to attendees at the Edmond conference.

Broaddus serves on the board for the Dr. Phil Foundation.

Sponsorships are now available for the Women’s Leadership Conference. For information about the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce, visit its Web site at www.edmondchamber.com or call 341-2808.

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