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Over the weekend, Church Emerge Outreach Ministries and The Christian Social Group Woman Emerge held its third annual Strength of a Woman Conference at Great Wolf Lodge. During the event, many people walked away with homeowner down payment assistance, scholarships and giveaways totaling close to $30,000.

The Empowerment event, or commonly known as the S.O.W Sista Gathering, has grown in popularity because of its information, multifaceted panels and giveaways in cash prizes and resources. The conference opened up this year to not only women but to the entire family. Men, women, boys, girls and entire immediate families filled the room to over 200 strong.

“S.O.W. 3.0 is an inspirational and empowering event that seeks to bring people together for a greater purpose. Attendees had the opportunity to learn, grow, and be inspired by the conference’s diverse and inclusive agenda. It was an event that everyone in the room benefited from. It was an amazing day of blessings, collaboration and connection,” conference host and Church Emerge Outreach Ministries overseer Denise Mosley said.

The main objective of this year’s conference was to offer a unique mix of topics including leadership, communication, entrepreneurship and personal development. It also featured a marketplace of vendors and resources to help attendees reach their professional and personal goals.  One of the many highlights of the event was a mother of five who received one of the last tickets to the event because another attendee could not attend due to an unexpected obligation and didn’t want the ticket to go to waste. She reached out wanting to bless someone and gave her ticket to local resident Shae Patrick.

Patrick’s was announced as one of the winners of the real estate scholarships sponsored by The Grace Group owned by Valrica Grace.

“I recently moved to Kentucky after my husband passed. I wanted to be a broker, so I was taking accounting classes and started at MLS in Atlanta for my real estate license. My husband died in a car accident, and I stopped everything. I couldn’t go on. I moved out of state to start a new life, but my father got sick and I came back to be with him,” Patrick said.

“I was out at the hospital scrolling on Facebook, and I saw a post about the upcoming SOW 3.0 conference. I never thought I would win, but then I saw my sister comment on the post asking if there happened to be more tickets, so I decided to ask. My father was released the same day, and I was in the car on the highway when I got a message saying that I could come because I was the recipient of the ticket that was donated. I was trying to talk myself out of going but something told me don’t decline.”

Patrick said two days before the conference she received terrible news, her father and husband’s favorite cousin died.

“I am a daddy’s girl so this new broke me. The morning of the conference I had nothing to wear. I was going through the few clothes I left here because my life was in Kentucky, but nothing worked. Twenty minutes passed and I sat at the end of the bed and said, ‘God, if I’m supposed to go make a way’,” Patrick said. “A sudden thought hit me and I thought of a jumpsuit I had, I’d never worn. I picked it up off the floor, put it on and was surprised it fit because I got it years ago and came to the event.”

Patrick, a mother of five boys, said she has had a hard time raising them and the awards came just in time.

“I did not know my name was called until I was about to leave but something told me to go back to the table with the information about scholarships and homeowner down payment assistance — that’s when I found out they were looking for me. I was put in that room at that conference by God with all those amazing people for a reason,” Patrick said.