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WBG Connects is going virtual, we're holding our meetings on Zoom. Please check out the events calendar and register for upcoming Zoom meetings.

We are business women, meeting to share interests, experiences and insights. A WBG Connects meeting is an opportunity to learn, expand your network of business contacts, find inspiration & qualities to develop and to share your expertise with others.

Hello WBG Members -Past & Present & Future-

During these continuing uncertain times, we invite you to join us for the WBG Connects Monthly Zoom Breakfast Meeting.

We hope you'll join us to Network, provide Support and Hear from our fabulous Speaker on Friday, August 14th at 8:00 AM sharp!

Grab your mug of coffee or cup of tea and Sign in to Zoom!

Presenter: Aicha Kelley - "Navigating Seniors Through COVID 19"

If you are not a member please contact treasurer@wbgconnects.com to receive the contact info to join the zoom meeting.

Aicha Kelley
Assistant Director of Programming,
The Needham Center at the Heights

will speak on the topic:

Navigating Seniors Through COVID 19

Aicha Kelley attended high school at Hampden Academy in Maine. She moved to Boston for college at Northeastern University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in African American Literature.

After working years in the restaurant and hospitality industry with her husband, they moved out of Boston to raise their family.

Aicha began teaching creative writing at the Walpole Recreation Department and soon she began running a music and arts festival,

which was the start of her love of programming!

After 15 years there, she accepted a job at the Needham Aging Services, where she quadrupled the program offerings within 18 months and was promoted to her current position as Assistant Director of Programming and Transportation Services.

The Needham Center at the Heights

300 Hillside Ave,

Needham Heights, MA 02494

(781) 455-7555
akelley@needhamma.gov

COFFEE CONNECTS – After a long hiatus we will be gathering once again to do small group networking.

On Thursday, August 20^th at 8 a.m. we will meet outside at Whole Foods Market in Wellesley.

Wear your mask initially and we will be seated 6 feet apart.

Please contact Valerie Gaines by phone or text at 508-561-5780 or email atpeacereiki@gmail.com by Tuesday, August 18 if you can join us.

Last minute is okay too, but we need to give a number of Whole Foods in advance so they can prepare for us.

Given the COVID guidelines, the space may be limited. So please reach out to us as soon as you know you will be attending.

Previous WBG Connects events

WBG Connects General Meeting:

February 14, 2020

Breakfast Meeting: Friday January 10th from 8:00AM – 9:30AM
Location: Wellesley Community Center (219 Washington St., Wellesley)
Presenter: Hélène Vincent

After a debilitating accident in 2016, Hélène Vincent, a Boston millennial left her corporate job and ran for Elected Office. Over the next 18 months, she knocked on 13,758 constituent doors, raised over $85,000 and came in 3rd place in a crowded field. She also experienced firsthand the extra difficulties facing women candidates. Come hear from her experience about why so many women have decided to run for office, what their experience is like and what we can do to help them.

WBG CONNECTS GENERAL MEETING
January 10, 2020

Breakfast Meeting: Friday January 10th from 8:00AM – 9:30AM
Location: Wellesley Community Center (219 Washington St., Wellesley)
Presenter: Marian Ryan, Middlesex District Attorney

We are excited to announce our speaker, Marian Ryan, Middlesex District Attorney.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan is an accomplished trial and appellate prosecutor, an acknowledged leader in the battle against the opioid crisis, an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform, and a creative, collaborative innovator in developing crime prevention programs.

She has created within the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office a robust juvenile and young adult diversion program, a drug diversion option and a restorative justice initiative and helped build a Conviction Integrity Unit. Under her leadership, the Office implemented the practice of not requesting cash bail in low-level non-violent offenses to avoid the impact of pretrial detention. Her support of these efforts is important because of its improbability.

She has successfully prosecuted many of Middlesex County’s most complex and violent cases and herself been the victim of a brutal attack. Yet, from those experiences, she has developed a deep understanding of how to best protect the public safety and administer justice with compassion and fairness.

WBG CONNECTS GENERAL MEETING
December 13, 2019

Breakfast Meeting: 8:00AM – 9:30AM
Location: Wellesley Community Center (219 Washington St., Wellesley)

Holiday Networking Breakfast

Presented by: Members & Guests

Join members and guests for a holiday networking breakfast. Be sure to bring plenty of business cards and holiday cheer.

So we know to expect you please click here to register.

For complete membership and registration information, visit www.wbgconnects.com/join-now. Dues are $275 per year.

WBG Connects General Meeting

November 8, 2019

Breakfast Meeting: 8:00AM – 9:30AM
Location: Wellesley Community Center (219 Washington St., Wellesley)

Join us for our annual fundraising breakfast! This year our organization will be supporting "Centre Street Food Pantry." Come and hear more about this new organization from Amy Less, President. Don't forget your checkbook or credit card.

Amy Less is President of the Board at the Centre Street Food Pantry and is responsible for the oversight of the organization. Centre Street Food Pantry's mission is to provide families within our community with consistent access to nutritious food in a dignified and sensitive environment. As many as 90 families shop each time we are open and more than 20 new families come to us each month. Our shoppers are from Newton, Brighton, Watertown, Waltham, Needham, Wellesley, West Roxbury and Brookline. Come learn about food insecurity in our community and how you can help.

So we know to expect you please click here to register.

But wait there's more ......
WBG Connects Member, Susana Brown has coordinated a Centre Street Food Pantry Tour and Shelf Stocking Event:

Date: Wednesday, October 30 from Noon - 1:30 PM
Place: Centre Street Food Pantry, 11 Homer Street, Entrance on, Furber Ln, Newton Centre, MA
For more information and to RSVP please contact Susana at 617-877-4092 or email susanacbrown@gmail.com

For complete membership and registration information, visit www.wbgconnects.com/join-now. Dues are $275 per year.

October 11th, 2019 WBG General Meeting

October 11th, 2019

Networking 8:00am to 8:30am

Program 8:30am to 9:30am

Wellesley Community Center

219 Washington St
Wellesley , MA 02481

Are You Losing Business Because of Poor Phone Skills?

Did you know it costs over $200 just to get the phone to ring? The phones are often your first point of contact with your business. This is typically where a first-impression is formed. This quick interaction, can either make-or-break a sale. Don’t give clients or prospects a reason to call someone else!

Our speaker is Image and Brand Expert Lisa Shorr of Shorr Success. Join us for an enlightening and interactive discussion demonstrating key strategies on how to answer the phone consistently, while sounding confident and engaging building strong relationships.

This is one event you don’t want to miss, the growth of your business depends on it! Click here to Register today!

Staples Studio – Customer, Communities, Connections

Friday, September 13th 2019

Breakfast Meeting – 8:30AM – 10AM
Location: Wellesley Community Center (219 Washington St., Wellesley)

Join Colette Desmond Fearnley to learn how Staples, a trusted advisor of their customers, has built strong communities over the past three years in their existing coworking spaces.

Presently the Staples Studios are entering the next phase that includes state-of-the-art Podcast Studios in partnership with major media consultants. In addition, Staples communities can communicate with their customers in a whole new way via podcasting. Podcasting is easy and simple! You have a monologue or a conversation with a co-host about a matter that is important to your community and share it over the internet.

Staples’ first showcase for the Coworking, Podcasting and Spotlight Studio is located on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton and the next to expand will be the Spotlight Studios in Danvers and Norwood. Coming soon thereafter will be Co-working, Podcasting and Spotlight Studios in Needham, Government Center, Cambridge and Somerville.

Let us know to expect you by clicking here to register.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Catalysts, Challenges and Rewards: Women Running and Serving on Local Boards.

Presented by: Dr. Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson

Dr. Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson is the interim director for the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMass Boston, and interim graduate program director for the Gender Leadership and Public Policy (GLPP) graduate certificate program.

In prior academic and administrative roles at the Heller School, Nsiah-Jefferson headed efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and was the concentration head for Women and Gender Studies for the Master’s in Public Policy Program. She has also served as affiliate faculty with the Health, Science, Society and Policy Program, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Program, and the African and Afro-American Studies Department with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Brandeis University.

Dr. Nsiah-Jefferson’s research interests relate to the simultaneous intersections between aspects of social difference and identity, and forms of systematic oppression, at micro and macro levels, and their impacts on various social outcomes.

Let us know to expect you by registering here

The Grommet's mission is to level the playing field to help the best products win — and help innovative small businesses to succeed. While most companies are only concerned with getting you to buy what they’re selling, they’re focused on bringing you things worth buying.

The Grommet was founded to launch undiscovered products and help them succeed. Since 2008, The Grommet has launched more than 3,000 products in 16 categories, including many that are now household names, including FitBit, Food Should Taste Good, GoldieBlox, IdeaPaint, Lovepop, OtterBox, PopSockets, SimpliSafe, SodaStream, and S’well, among others. Every weekday The Grommet reveals a new, undiscovered product and shares the story behind each one through a written story, video, and photography—as well as where the idea came from, where it’s made, and how it’s produced. Only 3% of the products reviewed by our Discovery team are selected for launch. For more information, visit http://thegrommet.com

Please let us know you're coming by clicking here to register.

Join WBG Connects on Friday, February 8th and hear from SPARK Kindness, Inc. SPARK is a non-profit organization with an innovative approach to bullying and violence prevention. SPARK stands for “Successful Positive Authentic Resilient Kids” and has the mission of supporting kind and empowered youth & communities.

Christine Fortune Guthery is the Founder/President/Executive Director of SPARK Kindness, Inc. SPARK is a non-profit organization with an innovative approach to bullying and violence prevention. SPARK stands for “Successful Positive Authentic Resilient Kids” and has the mission of supporting kind and empowered youth & communities. SPARK (formerly known as the Natick Parents against Bullying & Cyberbullying) has over 2,600 parent members. Since 2010, the organization has conducted dozens of programs on bullying prevention and promoting kindness and resiliency to parents, schools, and community organizations. SPARK works to strengthen collaboration between parents and schools so that young people flourish.

In 2011, the group founded the Natick/Metrowest Anti-Bullying Coalition (ABC). The Natick/Metrowest ABC is a group of over 60 organizations working together to end bullying. In 2013, the Natick Anti-Bullying Coalition received the Martin T. Meehan Award for Educational Leadership (along with the Natick Public Schools), presented by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

Going forward, the mission of SPARK Kindness is to:
*Provide programs and resources to youth, families, schools & communities to support raising KIND and EMPOWERED youth.
*Assist communities in building their own Anti-Bullying Coalitions as well as other community supports, such as parent program series.

When encouraged, kindness spreads like wildfire and can create positive change in a community. Let’s SPARK a kindness revolution together! Click Here to Register

NEXT WBG CONNECTS GENERAL MEETING
December 14th, 2018
Breakfast Meeting – 7:15AM – 9AM
Location: Wellesley Community Center (219 Washington St., Wellesley)

Join us for our annual fundraising breakfast. This year our organization will be supporting "Horizons for Homeless Children." Come and hear more about this fine organization from Kathie Carroll Day, Managing Director and Deanna Dwyer, Director of Marketing & Communications. Don't forget your checkbook or credit card.

Click here to Register Today.

Horizons for Homeless Children
Homeless children have twice the rate of learning disabilities and three times the rate of emotional-behavioral disorders than children who are housed. For parents, homelessness is a traumatic experience that leaves them feeling very disempowered.
At Horizons, we provide high-quality early education and opportunities for play so children can keep up with their peers. We support their families and help them reclaim that power, so they’re able to get their families on a path to future success.

Ice Cream Social!

May 29, 2018

What better way to ease back into the work week after a holiday weekend? Betsy, Linda and Katelyn met at Volente Farms to test out their ice cream stand that just opened for the season. We enjoyed our treats outside at a picnic table sharing funny stories and learning more about one another. There is nothing a little sunshine, ice cream and good company can't fix!

Picnic at The Falls

We had a lovely afternoon lunch by the Charles River on a beautiful day. Conversation was personal and a great opportunity to get to know fellow WBG members in a more intimate setting. We all agreed more events outdoors would be a lovely addition to our calendar for members and guests.

Run To Home Base Fundraiser

May 01, 2018

Join me at
The Candy Bar, 20 Church Street, Wellesley, MA 02482
Thursday, May 17, 2018
6-8 pm

And let’s Shop for a Cause!

A portion of the evening’s proceeds will be donated to Run to Home Base.

If you are unable to join us for this evening,
Donations may be made directly to
http://www.runtohomebase.org/2018RuntoHomeBase/PattiMcGlynn

On July 28, I will be running my 6th Run to Home Base with the McGlynn, Clinton & Hall For Vets team. This is a run organized by the Red Sox Foundation, in conjuction with Mass General Hospital. All the money raised will go to help our service men and women treating PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and other war related injuries. Please help us in supporting this important cause. Any donation possible is appreciated. Thank you!

http://www.runtohomebase.org/2018RuntoHomeBase/PattiMcGlynn

(click "donate" next to my name)

See you on May 17th!
Patti McGlynn

For additional details, contact Patti: pmcglynn@mchinsure.com

Let's Do Coffee!

Apr 27, 2018

This morning's topic: "What are you doing to Spring Clean in your business? Share new ideas, practices and habits you are implementing to reboot and improve. Diane is making organization a priority through a new part time role she has taken on at an accounting firm in Needham. Kristen has set goals regarding her networking to strategically cover the state of MA and be accessible to her entire client base. Katelyn is getting creative on a give away for new clients to make her stand out and add a personal touch. Another great morning with WBG members to kick start our Friday. See you next month!

Wine Tasting Event

Apr 21, 2018

What a perfect way to welcome the spring- FINALLY!

Patty, Maruta, Katelyn and a guest met at the Wine & Provisions Shop in Sherborn to enjoy a complimentary wine tasting. We enjoyed sampling and learning about the unique selections of wines carried and the background of the family vineyards they come from. Following our wine tasting we headed into the pub at the Heritage to have some lunch together. We all left full, happy and with wine cabinets to stock!

Revolving Luncheon

Apr 20, 2018

Seven of us enjoyed lunch at The Local and traded networking tips. Two standouts: (1) "Butt in Chair" -- a commitment to sit down and make telephone calls, both cold calls and renewing connections; and (2) flyer from local realtor highlighting recent sales in the neighborhood and including a recipe appealed to WBG member; it was the recipe which saved this flyer from the circular file and made a positive impression. Others spoke strongly about the importance of getting to know people and making human connections, without regard to a specific sale or networking goal, under the umbrella of "you never know." We left feeling motivated and, with warming temps, cautiously hopeful about spring!

Welcome to WBG!

Apr 20, 2018

A big welcome to newest WBG member, Aimee Berrent! Aimee attended two General Meetings and has completed the application process via our website. We are excited to have a professional in the appraising business join us. While Aimee is eager to attend the upcoming events she is also open to meeting individually. Take a moment to introduce yourselves, her profile has been added to our directory: https://bit.ly/2qMxrdM

"A Matter of Brilliance is a professional jewelry appraisal company serving the needs of jewelry consumers, estate planners, attorneys, insurance companies and professional organizers. I provide comprehensive written appraisals. All work is done in front of you, while you watch."

~Aimee Berrent, A Matter of Brilliance

WBG Revolving Lunch

Apr 19, 2018

Table for four, please! We had a lovely time at Paparazzi in Wellesley to meet for our April Luncheon. Diane, Jackie, Cindy and Katelyn discussed the question provided "What is your best practice in networking?". Here's what we learned from each other:

-Follow up Email

-Set up an individual meeting to learn more

-Learn about them personally, not just professionally

-Connect on LinkedIn

-Organize business cards

-Write notes on business card

If you would like to participate in Revolving Luncheons please contact info@wbgconnects.com

General Meeting

Apr 13, 2018

This morning's meeting was well attended and featured a wonderful speaker! We welcomed 3 new members to WBG, keep an eye out for our newsletter or see their profiles on our member directory. Our speaker, Mary Z. Connaughton, is the Director of Government Transparency & Director of Finance and Administration at Pioneer Institute. Her dialog surrounding her work with our government was educational, eye opening, and directly relates to each of us as MA residence. Learn more: https://pioneerinstitute.org/

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Membership

Heather Hersee

President

Aya Metwally

Treasurer

Diane Patriarca

Women's Business Group Connects