Insight on Business

CONNECTIONS BY JENNIFER HOGELAND Mid-Day multi-tasking Women make connections over lunch From left, Traci Powell, Casee Meach, Brenda Leopold and Maria Rangle network before the June 15 Mid-Day Women’s Alliance meeting at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton. Mid-Day Women’s Alliance membership hovers around 90; membership is open to all women – working, at home or retired. Guests of current members are welcome to attend a meeting or two to see if the group fits their networking needs. “If you want to find a group with representation from all segments of the community, Mid-Day Women’s Alliance is it,” says member Robyn Gruner. The Mid-Day Women’s Alliance A LinkedIn event request indicated just over 20 women would be attending the June 15 Mid-Day Women’s Alliance meeting. But the chatter heard while walking toward the MacIntosh room within the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton suggested the group was much larger. The social media tool is a new way for the women’s organization to accept RSVPs to meetings as well as spread the word about the group. On this day over 80 ladies came to network over lunch. These monthly meetings cover personal 26 | INSIGHT • Augus t 2011 and professional development topics, and oſten include speaker presentations. The aſternoon’s speaker, Kathi Seifert, was partially responsible for drawing out a crowd for her talk, “Dare meets over the noon hour on the third Wednesday of the month. “The mid- day meetings are best because for so many women when they leave work, their feet don’t hit the ground,” says Barb Sexsmith, co-president of Mid- Day Women’s Alliance in the Fox Cities. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m. “The best investment you can make is in yourself.” – Barb Sexsmith, co-president of Mid-Day Women’s Alliance in the Fox Cities to be a Leader,” in which she shared her own experiences with leadership. Seifert gave each attendee a giſt: a coin with the words “the harder you work the luckier you are.” The meeting runs from noon to 1 p.m. Pre-registered attendees pay $10 for the meeting and lunch; the cost is $15 at the door. Attendees check in and connect with the friendly or familiar www. insightonbusiness .com U P F R O N T JENNIFER HOGELAND

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