Women TIES founder, Tracy Higginbotham, has been an entrepreneur for thirteen years as President of Five Star Events, a special event management company specializing in the execution, planning and coordination of events for corporations, organizations, and individuals. Five Star Events also specializes in planning and management of diverse events for women owned businesses.

For nine years, Higginbotham was president of WBOC,a networking and support organization for women business owners in Syracuse. She helped grow it from 8 members to 130 members when she stepped down in 2005. In this role her passion and dedication in promoting women entrepreneurship grew and sparked her interest in creating Women TIES where she could connect women entrepreneurs regionally. Two and a half years after starting Women TIES, she was inspired to grow Women TIES and is currently promoting women entrepreneurs all over New York State.

Her dedication to supporting women entrepreneurship for ten years was recognized by the Small Business Administration in 2005 when she received the Region II "Women Owned Business Champion Award." The Women Business Champion award is given to someone for their significant contributions as an outstanding small business person and for dedicated support of small business.

Higginbotham is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and post graduate studies in Business Management.

Higginbotham is a columnist for the Syracuse Post Standard and Empire Monthly; Board member of the Upstate Women's Business Center in Utica; Past-Chair of the 40 Below Emerging Entrepreneurs Program; Past Public Relations Co-Chair of the Women's Fund of Central New York; and Past Emcee for three years at Syracuse University's WISE Conference.

She is a guest speaker at local colleges including Syracuse University, Le Moyne College, Onondaga Community College, and Oswego State University; guest speaker regarding entrepreneurial issues on local television and radio stations; and guest speaker on a wide range of business topics for local chambers of commerce and business organizations.

Higginbotham has received numerous awards including: SUNY Oswego Alumni Association Community Service Award, 40 Under 40 Award, Women in Business Award, 25 Women in Leadership Award, and the SBA District 2 Women Owned Business Champion Award.

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