Women’s History Month: Grit, Grace & Resilience
March is Women’s History Month, and the recent Milano Cortina Olympic Games may be remembered as a turning point for the visibility and influence of women’s sports.
The poised 36-year-old U.S. women’s hockey team captain, Hilary Knight, who has scored the most Olympic goals (15) and points (33) of any male or female U.S. hockey player, has been influential in her messaging about the importance of putting women’s sports on an equal footing (or skate) as men’s sports.
In the same year the injured Knight led the U.S. women’s team to its third Olympic gold medal (1998, 2018, and 2026), the U.S. men’s hockey team also won its third gold medal after a much longer span (1960, 1980, and 2026). During the latter’s celebration at the closing of the Games and after the women’s win, a distasteful joke was directed at the women’s hockey team.
When asked for her response to the joke during a press conference, Knight stated that it was not her responsibility to comment on someone else’s inappropriate behavior. Instead, she said,
“I think this is a really good learning point to focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in industry. Women aren’t less than. Our achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.”
Congratulations to the U.S. women’s hockey team, which has medalled in all eight of its Olympic appearances. Kudos to Knight for using her platform to champion women in sports and in general, and well wishes for a happy retirement from the Olympic Games.
For more examples of female role models who emerged from this year’s Milano Cortina Games, my latest article highlights three other extraordinary female U.S. athletes who exemplified grit, grace, and resilience we can all emulate.
NEW ON THE BLOG
What the Olympics Taught Us About Grit, Grace, & Resilience
I watched the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games expecting to witness superhuman athletic feats resulting in gold medals. While that happened, what inspired me most was the mental fortitude and individual achievements of three female U.S. athletes: Lindsey Vonn, Alysa Liu, and Chloe Kim. Their exceptional attitudes–more than their athletic prowess–transformed them into role models of grit, grace, and resilience with an enduring legacy irrespective of medalling.
3 Professional Lessons From Journalism
As technology accelerates and attention becomes the internet’s most contested resource, professionals must adapt how they work and communicate. Christopher Saul of Mid Bay News recently provided guidance to aspiring young journalists at Niceville High School that applies beyond the newsroom. His three recommendations focus on strategies and skills essential to success in any profession.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Baird Dental Business Concepts
Dental practice management consultant, coach, and speaker, Sandy Baird, MBA, presented Essential Leadership Skills for Today’s Dental Leaders to the Tennessee Dental Association (TDA)’s Fourth District Dental Society study club on February 20, 2026. This seminar is tailored for dentists seeking to sharpen their leadership skills and improve their practices’ overall performance while navigating the dual demands of being both clinicians and business owners.
To transition your dental practice from surviving to thriving, visit Sandy’s website to select a combination of seminars and dental practice consulting services customized to your dental practice or study group. Partnering with Dr. Laura Schwindt, DDS, Sandy has also created a one-day burnout-prevention workshop that provides 6 continuing education (CE) credits, specifically designed for dentists.
Frame Gallery Gifts & Art
Frame Gallery’s first art exhibition of 2026, Seen & Unseen: Landscapes of Presence & Memory, opened on February 20 with a reception celebrating two artists, Carole Forêt and Linda Kerlin, whose works offer distinct, yet complementary ways of interpreting experience through paint and mixed media. The exhibit features luminous landscapes and still life works by Forêt and “richly layered abstract paintings [that] create a thoughtful dialogue between representation and abstraction” by Kerlin. The exhibit is open through March 21, 2026, with art for sale at Frame Gallery in Sewanee, Tennessee, and online.
Kate Munsch
Talented photojournalist Kate Munsch recently covered the story of Grandma Peggy, one of USA Today’s 2026 Women of the Year. Peggy Winckowski hosts a weekly “Wednesday Breakfast Club” in her South St. Louis home for the teen friends of her grandson, Sam, who was killed by a drunk driver at the age of 15. He had suggested that his grandmother could cook a better breakfast than the diner he and his friends frequented on late-school-start Wednesdays. After his death, the breakfast tradition “became a source of collective healing, as students continued gathering to support one another”—and Grandma Peggy. You can read Grandma Peggy’s story and view Kate's moving breakfast club photos here.
Renee Broxson Fine Art
This playful, abstract painting presents a curious pup with red glasses to remind everyone that perspective changes everything.
Clear Vision, Big Ears is an original acrylic mixed-media painting by Renee Broxson measuring 18” x 24” on canvas.
JC’s Gourmet
Heading into the busy spring break season on the Florida Panhandle, JC’s Gourmet is expanding its restaurant partnerships along scenic Coastal Highway 30A. New businesses, including Turbo Coffee in Seagrove Beach, Palms 30A at the Hub in Watersound, and Shelby’s Bar and Grill in Santa Rosa Beach, will be offering select JC’s Gourmet appetizers starting this spring. Be sure to follow JC’s Gourmet on social or visit the company’s website to stay up-to-date.
Sewanee Children’s Center (SCC)
Sewanee Children’s Center has launched a Giving Tree fundraising campaign to equip its new outdoor classroom, where student curiosity is sparked through nature, observation, and creative play. Donors can select a ‘heart’ representing a category of tools and materials that help children learn outdoors, connect with their environment, and build confidence through exploration. Supporters’ contributions are allocated to their chosen category to support the SCC’s outdoor education program.
Dog-Harmony
READing Paws Program at Fort Walton Beach Public Library
Dog-Harmony launched a new READing Paws Partnership this year with the Fort Walton Beach Library that takes place on the first Saturday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Children, ages 4 to 12, who are either learning to read or able to read, can experience one-on-one reading with an evaluated therapy dog in 20-minute sessions to improve literacy skills. Parents must remain with their children. Register for the next session this Saturday, March 7, here.
Dog-Harmony’s Therapy Dog Program Expansion in Niceville
Life Media Group’s Bay Life publication featured our recent article, Thanks to Dog-Harmony, More Tails Are Wagging in Niceville, on the front page of their February publication.
Learn about the expansion of the nonprofit’s therapy dog program north of the Choctawhatchee Bay and the mental health and child literacy benefits that therapy dogs provide by reading the article here.
Emerald Coast Public Relations Foundation
Emerald Coast Public Relations Foundation (ECPRF) will award three $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors from high schools in the Northwest Florida counties of Okaloosa, Walton, and Santa Rosa who plan to pursue a college degree in public relations, communication, marketing, or journalism.
The 2026 college scholarships are sponsored by: Sherry Harlow, APR; Eglin Federal Credit Union; and Linda Evanchyk, Carr, Riggs & Ingram, and Pitell Law Firm.
ECPRF invites residents of Northwest Florida counties to share its college scholarship opportunities with high school seniors interested in public relations and encourages them to apply by the March 16, 2026, deadline.
THE ELEVATED EXPERIENCE
A curated collection of upcoming events with our talented clients, partners, and friends
May the examples of grit, grace, and resilience we celebrate this month continue to inspire the ways we build stronger communities and support one another’s work.
As always, thank you for being part of the Elevated News community.
