More than 100 women left the Garner Chamber of Commerce Spring Women in Business Luncheon feeling energized and empowered by the inspiring message of one of the region’s most respected business leaders. The meeting, sponsored by Progress Energy and hosted at the Grand Marquise Ballroom, featured Sepi Asefnia, founder and president of SEPI Engineering and Construction. The May 27 event included a time of business networking before being seated for an exquisite meal provided by Unforgettable Food Affairs.

Sepi Asefnia gave her audience an inside look into life as a successful businesswoman. Born in Iran and living in America during the Iranian Revolution, Sepi recalled that life in the country that was her home had changed forever, and that she could not return. As a young high school graduate, Sepi had the insight to know that doing nothing was not an option; so she enrolled at N.C. State and continues to move forward in her personal and professional life.

Pushed to prove herself in the business world, Sepi chose to continue pursuing the necessary credentials through education in order to earn a position in the business game. Sepi’s success far exceeds merely finding acceptance in a typically male profession. With 60 employees and offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, SEPI Engineering & Construction is a leading engineering, surveying planning, environmental and construction management firm providing services to private- and public-sector clients across the South-east.

Comparing the business world to storybook heroines, Sepi commented that if you look at women in fairy tales, most of the time she has been wronged by another woman. And all too often, the response to this misfortune is not to better herself or seek to improve her situation, but rather to live out life in a sort of holding pattern while waiting to be rescued. Sepi remarked on this unbalanced view by observing that all women are not awaiting a rescuer. According to Sepi, we need to be telling different stories.

Hers is a powerful story. It is a story of a woman from, in her words, “not the most popular country in the world” becoming a regional leader in a world typically reserved for men.

Event sponsors included Progress Energy, The Grand Marquise Ballroom, Forest Hills Florist and Alossi Renewal Spa.