LaToyia Dennis Hosts 2019 Motivated Moms Retreat
LaToyia Dennis hosts 2019 Motivated Moms Retreat. (Las Colinas, TX)
© 2019 Miss Ari Photography
Few things come as close to perfection as the sight of black woman genuinely showing up for other black women.
Over the weekend entrepreneur, author, blogger and Motivated Mom - LaToyia Dean-Dennis hosted the 2019 Motivated Moms Retreat at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas.
With sponsorship from Prudential, BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, Comerica Bank and a host of others, Dennis and her team were able to create a weekend packed with inspiring speakers, life and wellness tips and financial practice workshops - all while encouraging an environment of retreat and relaxation.
Both deserving and impactful moms from around the country convened in Las Colinas for the entire weekend to share stories of temporary defeat, heartbreak and inevitable triumph. Women from various walks of life, with different religious beliefs, political affiliations and career goals all sat together, studied together, cried together and found common ground. All are mothers. All have felt defeated. All have overcome.
The weekend began with A Conversation with Malinda Williams. The beautiful and talented Williams, best known for her role in the Showtime Series Soul Food, shared with the audience her secrets on remaining youthful, vibrant and relevant in a Hollywood that hasn’t always done its best to preserve the careers of black women.
“There came moments when I would read scripts and think that I’d found the silver-lining” said Williams. “I was being qualified.”
Rose Rock, mother of comedian Chris Rock attended the entire weekend-long event, participating and encouraging the group of women. Rock was honored with the Motivated Mom of the Year Award.
Saturday evening’s guest speaker was a special treat for the audience. Actor and motivational speaker Dondre’ Whitfield had a heart-to-heart chat with attendees about the mother-to-son dynamic.
“When you enable a boy you disable a man,” said Whitfield.
The conversations and narratives shared throughout the weekend never took on directive tones, but moreso of sincere love and encouragement.
Actor Flex Alexander served as a panelist and guest DJ for the weekend’s Converse & Cocktail Dress Soiree.
For Dennis, planning the retreat was a welcomed challenge. Still celebrating recent success from her first publication, Hatch Leap Soar, Dennis was determined to make this event even more successful than last year.
The very transparent businesswoman, wife and mother wanted nothing more than for the women in attendance to know her journey and to realize their full potential. She ended the event sharing a recent conversation she had with her therapist.
“Get off the stage,” recalls Dennis. “She told me to get off of the stage - to stop performing so that people will like me.”
