40 OVER 40 Women’s Gala

40 OVER 40 Campaign Stories
Written By Jessica Yates

This is a pretty emotional post to share. It’s hard to even have words to describe the incredible night this was. When I launched the studio in 2021, the 40 OVER 40 Campaign launched with it. I set out to photograph 40 women over the age of 40. It was a tall task. I don’t know if you have taken many photos of women, but it tends to be the demographic that runs from the camera quicker than anyone else. I knew I wanted to have a celebration at the end of the campaign to honor the women that were willing to share their story.

On February 11, 2023, nearly 200 women gathered at The Diamond Room in Springfield, MO to support each other. The dress code was formal because I wanted women to have a reason to get dolled up and go out with their girlfriends. Women showed up in limos, with cars decked out in decorations and brought so much excitement to the night. This night would not have been possible without the help of some amazing people surrounding me. I’ll never be able to fully express my gratitude to my husband, parents, sister-in-law, cousin (who flew in from IA), family friend (came in from KC), and the sponsors/vendors that made this night happen. ❤️ Full discloser-I’m getting vulnerable in this post. Thank you for joining me in this space as I recap the 40 OVER 40 Campaign ❤️

Sponsors

Kimmy Ann Events

The Diamond Room

Simply Delicious Catering
Dan Boever Golf
Essential Yoga Studio
The Breast Center
Wil Fischer Companies

My dear and precious friend Erica Turner with Turner Creative captured the night beautifully for me.


The 40 OVER 40 Campaign told the stories of 40 brave women with Jessica Yates Studio.

These women taught me so much. There were 35 out of 40 women in attendance for the gala. They are STRONG, beautiful, giving, inspiring, and it was an honor to photograph each woman. They were vulnerable in sharing their stories and advice. As a mom of two little kids with a business, I sat across from so many of them that reminded me, “It goes so fast. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect. Embrace the chaos.”

Every story is different. It’s easy to sit across from someone that is fighting cancer, or that has survived abuse, and think that you don’t have a story. We aren’t here to compare stories and see who’s is the worst. For me, up until December 2022, I had not had anything life altering happen. What I didn’t realize was by working with each of these women, I was being prepared for the darkest season of my life so far. I had 40 women that spoke into my life. Ironically, I was advocating for women to share their story all while my own story was starting to unfold.

Only a hand full of people know the circumstances that surrounded this event. Personally it was such a dark time in my family’s life. But just like the women continued to tell me they did, we just had to put one foot in front of the other. Professionally, this event was everything I dreamed of. This event is proof that grief and joy can co-exist. As we are coming up on 2 years since this event, I feel like it’s fitting to share my heart.

Before I proceed, I did ask my husband’s permission to share this. It’s raw and vulnerable for both of us. It’s our story together. The day I opened up registration for the gala, my husband started having panic attacks. He had started experiencing anxiety a few months before but it had seemed to level out, until that day. Full blown panic attacks that crippled him and our family. This led to months of debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, other personal things we were dealing with, all while I was planning the gala. I took on a caretaker role that I obviously was not anticipating when I set out to host a 200 person event. He was hurting so bad and I hurt for him. Countless doctors appointments, losing weight like crazy, sleepless nights, other personal pieces and more panic attacks left our little family broken. We were naive to how anxiety actually works. We thought it would just go away. We were so wrong. We had no idea that almost two years later it would still be part of our life-praise God it’s so much better. This has opened our eyes up to many hurting people and for that I am thankful.

When I say our families rallied around us and carried us, I mean it. We have never felt more supported and loved than we did through this time. A couple weeks before the event, I was desperately trying to finish up the beautiful magazine when the panic attacks started back up. This led to 5 days of back-to-back panic attacks. I would design a page in the magazine, then sit through a panic attack with Chad-rinse and repeat. We didn’t sleep for days and we found ourselves at Burrell Rapid Access. This was a whole experience in itself that I can’t think back on for very long. We got little help and carried on.

The days got closer to the event and everything continued to come together. It was getting real, exciting, and nerve wracking. I just wanted these amazing women to feel honored, valued and celebrated. I have never planned an event. Turns out-there is WAY more that goes into throwing a gala than I realized 🤪 I had big aspirations for this one and thankfully had the right people around to bring that vision to life. I still am still sad about the circumstances that surrounded this gala, however, it gave me a whole new perspective and appreciation for the women in the campaign.

I stood in the room once everything was ready and took it all in. I could not believe it actually came together. Kimmy, who is an incredibly talented wedding planner, brought everything together perfectly. I literally could not have thrown this gala without her. We had days of setup that I look back on with joy because it was with people I love so much. We laughed, we cried and we worked hard. This event was beautiful, emotional, inspiring and something I look back on and still wonder how it actually happened. I don’t write this blog post to get sympathy or to take away from what this night was about. But a I continue to advocate that women speak up and share what they have walked through, I kept feeling the nudge to do the same. We have no idea what someone is walking through. We have no idea what has shaped someone.

I am a different person than I was two years ago. Thankfully, day-by-day, we are healing. But we can’t underestimate what a valley does to someone. Healing takes time. This probably isn’t super professional to say, but here I am. After this event, I had to rest. Emotionally and physically. I needed to spend time with my kids who had been shuffled around for months. I needed to heal and get healthy. I disconnected from my business for a while which is something I didn’t even do when I had my kids.

I share part of my story, our story, in hopes that someone will be encouraged. Life kicks your butt sometimes. It’s hard. And the thing I hear over and over from women on why they share their story is, “so other women don’t feel alone.” So here I am, doing something that does not come natural to me, sharing some of my pain. If you made it to this point, thank you for reading. Now that I have shared that personally I was a bit of a wreck during this, I want to share the incredibly beautiful pieces of this event ✨

The most important piece of the event for me was the portraits of all 40 women. Each printed with a quote from them. All inspiring and full of wisdom. Kimmy had the vision for lounge seating and it created such an intimate space. All of the rentals were from Branson Party Rentals and completed the space perfectly.

Patti with Simply Delicious Catering created the most amazing charcuterie board and even designed 40/40. She is absolutely amazing and I am so thankful she was part of this event.

We gathered for prayer with my amazing friend Julie Higgins before the doors opened. This group supported and rallied behind this event like it was their own.

One of my favorite parts was seeing all of the women come in. Sparkles galore and so many smiles. They got a chance to take a photo on the red carpet then look at the amazing raffle items donated by amazing people.

Everyone got a chance to walk through the gallery of photos. It was so fun watching the women find their photo and grab photos in-front of it!

Julie Higgins was such a crucial part of this gala. This woman is amazing. She came alongside to help, give guidance and help calm my nerves. The first time I spoke on a microphone? 3 hours before the picture below 🤪. I had to take my heels off because I was afraid I would pass out. I have so much respect for those of you host events AND speak in front of crowds. However, looking across the sea of women, I was honored they chose to spend the evening there. I figured, if 40 women can share their story, I can use a microphone.

Jodi Garvin from Convoy Women spoke to the room about our worth. I am beyond thankful she was willing to be part of the evening.

I managed to hold in my emotions until this moment. The campaign participants were invited to the front of the room for a round of applause. This got me very choked up as the song “Write Your Story” played. So much life lived was represented in these women.

This was such a sweet time chatting with three of the amazing women from the campaign. They were vulnerable about the the pain they have walked through and offered encouragement for every woman in the room. Sharing your story brings authenticity and shows that you are a real person. It opens up a conversation that you may not have had the chance to have before. Beth, Mindy and Rebecca-thank you for your bravery to do this.

Although there was so much personal pain surrounding this event, it didn’t take away from the magic that happened on February 11, 2023. This night was a true celebration for women and the stories they have. And you know what? My husband was able to be part of the evening without a single anxiety or panic attack. It was a beautiful celebration together.

I announced The Worthy Campaign at this Gala. My hope had been to complete it and host another beautiful event in 2024. However, it’s taken these two years for my family to recover and heal so I wasn’t able to plan a 2024 event. There are amazing women in this campaign and I can’t wait for when we do get to celebrate them. There are a few more spots to join another inspiring group of women. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the 40 women that participated in the 40 OVER 40 Campaign and to the women in The Worthy Campaign. I am so thankful for this community of women that have said yes to doing something for themselves and sharing their stories. Thank you, thank you, thank you for following along with this journey to empower women ❤️

I am so thankful for this incredibly beautiful video Noah Beyer with Beyer Creative created to recap the evening. I get goosebumps every-time I watch it!

Jessica Yates
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