ConnectFest Niagara was the ultimate networking and learning event presented by Constant Contact and us here at PRowl Communications.
This is my chair....
If you are wondering what 'this is my chair' means - you obviously missed Neil Thornton's presentation on Impact, Presence and Influence. If you've seen Neil speak before, you know he is a dynamic speaker, and he didn't disappoint at ConnectFest Niagara. I told people to expect dancing in their seats - well, no dancing but he did have everyone up on their chairs - quite the perspective!
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Paul Copcutt spoke of personal branding and Brett Meadows gave new light to social media, and as for me -- I sort of spoke about Connecting in a Digital World. I think the only two points I made were to collect twitter handles when networking and the story about my blog and goats... - note to self - don't be sick the day of your big event!
I think the highlight of the day, over and above the awesome-ness (is that a word?) of the speakers, was all the connections being made. I had a great time watching when we started playing cards. Not literally playing cards, but I did have everyone moving around the room in a card game of sorts to make new connections. There was a lot of time for networking and getting to meet the various businesses and people in attendance.
Anne Day of Company of Women, as the emcee kept the day on track and improvised as needed. She provided the commentary needed to move the day forward smoothly and in sync.
The various networking organizations present enjoyed a steady flow of people to their tables. They offered information about their group as well as information about their members in many cases.
The purpose was to educate business on the power and value of networking and how to do it better, and to introduce business to the various networking groups in Niagara. I think both were accomplished very successfully.
A special thank you to John & Rebecca Clark and their team at the Riverstone Event Centre for having everything exactly as required and for being super responsive in anything extra needed throughout the day. Hospitality extraordinaire! Also special thanks to members of my small networking group, Clients and Cocktails, and a friend for helping to make the day run smoothly - Andy Harris, Tom Liszt, Mark Dobrindt. You made my day easier!
A huge thank you to our speakers for the value they brought to the event for the attendees. I would have to write a book with all the comments I heard throughout the day for each of the talks offered. Everyone took something away from each presentation -- in some cases there were quite a few 'ah ha' moments!
...networking genius
...staple of Niagara events for networking going forward.
And finally to our sponsors - THANK YOU! Bringing an event of this calibre to the business community free of charge can only be done with the help of the local business community who provide their support in the background.
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