Teenage Entrepreneur Speaks at Character Program

The Orangeburg County Character Community will host its 21st Annual Fifth Grade Distinguished Character Recognition Program on Thursday, February 2nd.

The event will be held from 9:30 am to 11:30 am at the Jonas T. Kennedy Center at Claflin University. We are looking for general public. Mask required.

This year’s keynote speaker is Columbia’s Gabby Goodwin, who provides inspirational and motivational messages.

Gabby is the CEO of Confidence. This company was founded by her mother and sells GaBBy Bows. GaBBy Bows are the first patented, anti-slip, double-faced, double-snap barrettes.

Gabby, a 7-year-old business owner, sells barrettes through her online store and fulfills orders across the United States and 13 countries.

At age 15, Gabby expanded her company by launching plant-based hair care products and opening The Confidence Salon for women.

The company has grown into a global brand with Confidence products sold in retail and beauty stores in the United States, Canada and South Africa.

Her entrepreneurial spirit has earned her many notable accolades. In 2015, Gabby was named South Carolina Young Entrepreneur of the Year. She was named her 2018 She’s a Black Enterprise Teenpreneur.

The company has been recognized by the SCORE Foundation as an Outstanding Diverse Business of the Year and in 2022 was named South Carolina’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the US Small Business Administration.

“I want to help young girls feel inspired to follow their dreams and achieve their goals with confidence,” Gaby said.

Under the Confidence brand, Gabby has launched a mentorship program to teach young girls how to become entrepreneurs. Over 50 girls and their mothers have signed up for mentoring and started their own businesses.

“This marks the 21st year that we have brought together fifth graders from across Orangeburg County to recognize those who demonstrate outstanding character,” said Candice Berry Vaughan, Executive Director of Orangeburg County’s Character Community. says.

Each school chose winners who embodied good character and wrote essays about the personality traits they felt were most important.

Participating schools include Orangeburg County School District Elementary Schools, Felton Institute Charter Schools, and Orangeburg Preparatory Schools.

“Over the years, our students have listened to and worked on inspiring messages from local and nationally recognized presenters. We can learn from the famous speakers of our generation the problems of character not only when we are young, but when we are old,” said Berry-Vaughn.

“Our children are growing up in a world where everything around them leaves no room for an increasingly strong personality. I believe confidence is the most important trait a child can have. Travel is a great example of how children can be reminded of why character building at an early age is so important.