Celebrities, variety of products attract women to She Expo

Shirley McMasters looks at sample makeup in a mirror at the Chattanooga Convention Center during the She Expo on Saturday, July 25, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Celebrity Leigh Anne Tuohy was the expo's guest star on Saturday.
Shirley McMasters looks at sample makeup in a mirror at the Chattanooga Convention Center during the She Expo on Saturday, July 25, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Celebrity Leigh Anne Tuohy was the expo's guest star on Saturday.

Women can take over the world, according to Leigh Anne Tuohy.

Tuohy, the real-life mother of "The Blind Side" book and movie, spoke Saturday at She: An Expo for Women, an annual event produced by the Times Free Press.

"We're list makers, we're task driven, we're do-ers, we have a heart," Tuohy said. "I'm a first class, grade-A, bad word. But, deep down, I got a heart. And I think that describes a lot of women."

When she talks to other women, she urges them to speak their minds. She has to tell her husband to put money in the Salvation Army basket or take an angel off the Angel Tree.

She Expo

WHEN: Today from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.WHERE: Chattanooga Convention Center.TICKETS: Are $5,children under 5 free.

"He's not going to go in and say, 'Hey, you wanna go serve at the soup kitchen tonight?'" Tuohy said. "That's rare. If there's a guy that does it, good for them. But mostly there's a woman behind him going, 'Let's do this.'"

Today, Tabatha Coffey of Bravo's "Tabatha Takes Over" will sign books at 2:30 and speak at 4 p.m. Besides celebrity speakers, visitors can browse around 150 booths at the expo, with products ranging from flooring to massage booths to moonshine cakes.

Meagan Pritchard owns Sweet Beginnings 4D Ultrasounds. She knew there wouldn't be a lot of pregnant women at the expo, but she wanted to get in the public eye.

"I wanted to brand myself," Pritchard, at her first expo, said. "Just wanted people to see my name, my logo and see what we do."

Linda Dotson, Shirley McMasters and Kathleen McMullen came for a girls day.

"We love it," Dotson said. "There's so much to offer."

"And things we get in trouble doing," McMasters added with a laugh. "We got our fingers done and our faces done."

McMullen appreciates booths offering house siding and gutter treatments, but she wants to see more women-specific products.

"If we're going to a She Expo," she said, "it needs to be all women."

"We need more pampering," McMasters chuckled.

Contact staff writer Evan Hoopfer at ehoopfer@times freepress.com or twitter.com/EvanHoopfer or 423-757-6731.

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