ASHLAND — Melinda Huntley pulled out a large fairytale book, the cover emblazoned with the words, “Once upon a time.”
As Huntley, the executive director of the Ohio Travel Association, read from the book, it became clear she wasn’t telling any ordinary fairytale.
She shared about her journey to empowerment through stories with 277 women at the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce’s Celebrating Women in the Workplace luncheon Thursday.
“We all have stories to tell,” Huntley said. “Your story is important.”
Different kinds of stories
Her speech took the audience through a history of the classic Brothers Grimm fairytales. Huntley said the versions told today — where women wait for princes to save them — weren’t the original versions.
In fact, she said, some of the stories originally gave women more agency. But when the Brothers Grimm collected the tales, they were changed, and then passed down.
Huntley’s take: Those tales diminish the roles of women in ways other cultures’ stories don’t.
She pointed to the stories of Indigenous cultures as an example.
“Many indigenous cultures were and still are matriarchal societies,” Huntley said. “Women are and were consulted for decision making and to initiate action. They lead. This power and respect is reflected in the stories that these cultures heard growing up.”
Huntley suggested all people have an innate “feminine” and “masculine” energy. The feminine side centers on intuition and nurturing, while masculine energy is more goal-oriented.
Stories and, therefore, societies, can either embrace that feminine side or not. Huntley said in Western culture, many women play more masculine games in order to achieve success.
But again — other cultures take different approaches. One that Huntley spoke about was the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, an “international alliance of indigenous female elders that focuses on issues such as the environment, internationalism and human rights.”
Huntley ended her speech with a meditation for all the women in the room so they could get in touch with their intuition.
“I view our present day as an exciting and difficult point in history,” Huntley said. “What will we accept? What will we support?”
Leading in life
Emily Grimm, the Chamber’s vice president of membership and marketing, suggested Huntley as a speaker. She had heard Huntley give a shorter speech and lead a meditation at a previous event.
Grimm said the meditation was the only moment in her day where she had taken a pause. She said she wanted to give the women in attendance a chance to have that same pause, so they could continue serving themselves and their community well.
Thursday’s luncheon was the first Celebrating Women in the Workplace event Bethel Chapel employees Lydia Lopez, Karen Hetrick and Maddie Shonkwiler had attended.
Lopez said the event offered a chance to build relationships with other women who work in Ashland County. Shonkwiler said she appreciated the chance for all the women in the county to come together.
In Grimm’s eyes, Huntley’s speech was powerful. She said everyone can relate to the stories of the Disney princesses and fairytales Huntley mentioned, but she also appreciated the deeper message: that all women can be strong leaders in their own lives.
