Back in “the” day, I helped my parents run a nursery school in our hometown. That was, for me, about 13 years ago. Other than my 4 year-old nephew that was probably the last time I had any major interaction with kids . . . until today.

Today, I attended a Lunch ‘n Learn at the Henry James Middle School in Simsbury, Connecticut. Folks from the local Chamber were brought in to sit with four groups of kids and talk about their career experiences. The event was pretty cut and dry: we sit down with a group of kids during their lunch time (about 20 minutes) and talk about ourselves and impart any wisdom on choosing a career path, what it’s like in the real world and, well, you get the idea.

My tables went like this:
1) ALL GIRLS: The first group I chose was all girls. I’d forgotten what it was like in middle school - girls to the right, boys to the left. This goes for walking down the hall, dances, lunches and anything that requires mingling. This table was a group of talkative friends who all knew exactly what they wanted to be in life (as of today) and were not shy about asking questions. They picked up handwritten questions from the bucket on the table (an excellent idea for ice breakers) and also chimed in with their own. This group was more interested in where I went to college than my career path but for the most part they seemed to be engaged with talking about both their career interests and mine. Easy first group!

2) ALL GIRLS AGAIN: This group had a variety of quiets and talkies. I enjoyed this conversation as well because these girls really wanted to know things about how my day went and why I do what I do. These girls were great about talking about their interests: actress, writer, nurse, dancer, forensic scientist (although this girl was a bit embarrassed by this choice for some reason), psychologist and child advocate. Lots of “my mom” or someone that has influenced their life was dropped in reference to why they are choosing what they are choosing. You really do forget how much of an impact you have on the young minds around you until you hear them talk about their own future.

3) ALL BOYS: Oh boy. This group was a small group because as they said, “we just don’t have that many friends.” These guys were not exactly speech-barren but they didn’t really offer up too much to say, except for the jokesters of the bunch who gave me fake answers to questions. I kept it casual with these guys and tried to ask questions about what they like. Lots of answers included “boring” and shrugs of shoulders. I also tried to be as unintimidating as possible, being a girl, but who knows if I succeeded or not. Hanging with the boys is a complete 180 from girls. And hanging with a mix was a bigger switch . . .

4) THE MIX: My last group was 4 girls and 3 boys. This is the bunch of jokesters that I would’ve hung out with in school. You have to be thick-skinned and sharp-tongued to sit at this table. There was no keeping on topic or keeping serious at any minute. They were humoring me because I was at the table but, other than that, they can pretty much make a good time all on their own. Good stuff.

In general the questions were along these areas: “why do you do what you do? how did you choose this line of work? where did you go to college/what did you major in?” The best question came from one of the cards on the table: “what has been your best and worst experience in your career?” That was a tough one to do on the fly. And, I’m kicking myself a bit because I didn’t have enough stories. I shared a few but I wish I had a few more that would’ve kept them engaged more. Well, maybe next year.

All in all, I really enjoyed this event. It was casual and free form. The kids that sat with me hopefully enjoyed the conversation and if I was able to impart anything, I hope it was the one philosophy that I live by: Whatever you do, choose something you love that plays on your strengths. If it starts to be something you hate, take the best parts of what you’ve learned and get something better.

Thanks for the day kids - that was a much needed break!

It’s not about “how” can I get successful but “how successful can I get?”

This week I attended two girl power networking events, both discovered while rummaging through MeetUp.com. Although hosted in the organizer’s home, each event was very different. The first was The Professional Women’s Lunchtime Collaborative in Springfield, Mass., a small group of business indies who gather once a month with a purpose. Each month a member takes the wheel and presents a project or challenge for the group to nosh on. I like this approach. We bring our lunches, get to know each other in small bits and do our best to stay on topic.

The second event was a wine and chocolate half-social, half-networking evening. About 20 gals and one unsuspecting guy (don’t worry, we went easy on him) gathered in a very cozy fireplaced family room. The group is the Western Mass. sect of eWomenNetwork. This is atypical of their monthly meet ups which are usually a paid-speaker-dinner event. The flow of this event was possibly too casual, as discussions drifted here and there, but I didn’t mind. We kept topics to 90% business and the ideas flowed plenty regarding marketing, staying motivated and looking for new avenues to grow business.

Both events confirmed a gut feeling that I’ve had for several months now: women are itchy. Today’s professional women are energetic, smart and eager to suss out new opportunities. We’re competitive and supportive all at once. Business networking has really grown up and we all recognize the value in creating communities that have direct and indirect impact on our business.

I believe the focus for women succeeding in business is finally shifting from isolated big strides to a multitude of smaller but more effective leaps. In the early days of my career I worked with several women who were still living in the residuals of vigilante feminists. Don’t misunderstand me here – I am a huge proponent of competition and empowerment. I also believe competition is at its best when it coexists with mutual respect and support.

With the long-time career women I encountered in the 1990s, fear of not getting ahead was the driver and an expectation of suppression was a natural response. They were still “fighting the good fight” but their fight was not of 1970s and 1980s solidarity. Their fight had moved from “the man” to protecting their hard won territory against the younger women who were looking for mentorship and empowerment. It was a weird time. My views of this time were possibly skewed because I was green and new to office politics but I doubt this is the case since I see a definite change these days.

We are beyond the 1990s confusion of “every woman for herself while pretending to stick together.” Today, it’s not an either/or situation. In the U.S., it’s not about conquering territory and making a claim anymore. Now is the time for action where the focus is not reaction but impact.

The opportunities now open to everyone in business is causing an itch. I can literally see it in people at the networking events – they’re jumping out of their skins. The breadth of opportunity is immense. It’s not about “how” can I get successful but “how successful can I get?” Moms take time off to hang with their kids and then they float into business whenever the opportunity strikes. I met a woman the other night who quit her job last summer and is just now thinking about getting another one, if the right one comes along. The organizer of the eWomenNetwork group home schools her six kids, yet finds time to help build a community of professionals who are focused on motivating and philanthropic business practice.

Man or woman in business, it’s time to scratch that itch. I want 2008 to be defined by action. Your actions should result in success for your business and for others in your community. Big or small, the actions we take to improve the business environment for others will always have great rewards for our own growth and success.

Yesterday I attended a Hasbro vendor fair at their Pawtucket, Rhode Island headquarters. If you think hanging out all day at the birthplace of Mr. Potato Head is all candy canes, pumpkin pie and green apple licorice . . . Yahtzee! You’re right.

The purpose of the fair is to connect freelancers (writers like me, product and package designers, molders, illustrators, photographers, etc.) with in-house Hasbroites. I have been doing some work with excellent copywriter Kara Parlin at the East Longmeadow, Mass. location and was really psyched to attend this one-day only event. I invited my graphic design co-hort, Amanda Bedard of Spielman Design. Amanda does incredible work and she’s a networking hound like me so it was a perfect fit.

First things first, I need to give some major props to our organizer, Susan Algeo. Susan has more energy than Spiderman on speed and could give lessons on how to keep an event ticking while dealing with 800 interruptions, competition with the buzz of daily life at headquarters and a four-hour window to ensure a productive day for 50+ folks who have traveled as far as Portland, Oregon. At one point, I caught Susan attempting to fill up a plate for lunch and told her that I had a question for her when she was done. Nonsense! We chatted while she tried to eat and then, of course, also took care of a few more interruptions along the way. Along with a catalog of all vendors, a fab hot lunch, an afternoon snack of kettle corn, access to the discounted Hasbro boutique (Christmas for my nephew is done!), we also received either Scrabble or Yahtzee! as a parting gift. It was better than spending the day in Candy Land.

Talking with the Hasbroites was really refreshing. These people love what they do. I talked with copywriter Danielle Slawsby who has great war stories from the dotcom days and is working on some cool web stuff for Hasbro, Joanna Kalafarski who manages packaging and product copy and was kind enough to let me bend her ear while I could tell she was swamped with work, Art Director Kathleen Murray who apparently loves pop culture more than me (although I think it might be a tie) and Design Director Melissa Mips who began with Hasbro at the East Longmeadow branch and seems to know just about everyone in Hasbro’s extensive network of past and current employees. I also met tons of designers like a kid (I think he was older than 12 but I’ll still call him a kid) who designs GI Joe and a guy who’s worked on Play-Doh for ions.

Equally cool was hanging with the other vendors. Here’s a list of my favs:

Fuszion - Killer design company located in Virginia. Rick and Jeff let me babble on about branding and marketing so I loved them even more. How can you go wrong with a name like Fuszion? These guys have awesome years ahead of them.

Smith Design - Mr. and Mrs. Smith are green-concerned packaging and product designers out of New Jersey. Their daughter Jenna, an ex-Silicon Valley girl, represented the fam and did a great job of showcasing their excellent work.

Gary Leveille, Berkshire Creative - Gary is a fellow writer who has quite an extensive list of experience in the biz. He had some great writer-to-writer advice for me which I will keep to myself.

Smartshape Design - Did you know Cleveland is really just an old ‘burb of Connecticut? These guys did - they know everything! Smartshape are innovative engineers who can also hook clients up with tooling and manufacturing. Smart.

Gary & Maggie Houston, A Printer’s Film Service, inc. - Gary and Maggie are a husband and wife duo who met in Providence, RI and worked for Hasbro “back in the day” and now live in North Carolina. Spunk doesn’t begin to describe them.

Philip Hatter, Thistledown Puppets - You have not seen puppets until you’ve met Philip and his puppet posse. His work is incredible and his love for puppet theater really shows in his designs. I kept meaning to ask him why he went with the name Thistledown versus a play on Mad Hatter. For another day.

Pumpkin Pie - Jennifer and Sheridan specialize in branding, logos and package design. They practice what they preach and have done some of the best branding for their own company that I’ve seen in a long time.

Adam Gillespie, Night Light Graphics - Adam is an extremely talented illustrator and graphic designer of cool other worlds. He has a very bright future ahead of him.

Floating Pear Productions - Digital animation experts, Floating Pear were our neighbors and Hasbro’s too since they are based out of Providence, RI. Co-founder Dee Boyd’s bubbly personality and their cool mug give-aways kept the traffic flowing our way. Thanks Dee!

And last but absolutely not least . . .

The Linnett Sisters - A long-forgotten ’50s pop band? Nope. Two creative New Hampshire gals, Katie and Patti, daughters of illustrator Charles Linnett (also an ex-Hasbroite) and owners of Linnett Studios. The Linnett Sisters are talented illustrators and innovative package and product designers.

All in all a great networking event. I’m sure Susan will be looking for feedback on how to make the day better and I really only have one suggestion:

The Catalog - The catalog of vendors was not distributed to Hasbroites unless they strolled down to the event. I would flip this entirely. Why not offer up an electronic catalog teaser to those groups (Design, Creative, etc.) one week ahead of time? In the teaser, I would allow the vendors a quick promo paragraph and also a chance for them to say which Hasbro projects (or types of projects) they’d like to work on.

Life gets in the way - meetings, sick days, unexpected work issues - if someone isn’t able to meet with the vendors on the day we’re there or from the 10-2 time frame, it’s possible that Hasbro staff might want to meet with vendors before or after the event. I say promote the folks who are traveling to Pawtucket, RI as much as possible. There was a lot of talent hanging out in that Hasbro hallway. Keeping us a secret is like telling kids about this great movie where funky fighting, car-morphing machines attempt to destroy the world versus showing them this.

Either way, I’ll be back again next year. To those vendors who declined to attend because they considered it a Trivial Pursuit: you’ll be Sorry! next year if you Boggle an opportunity to Connect Four hours with folks that could move you along in The Game of Life. And let’s not forget the kettle corn. That’s worth the trip to Pawtucket alone.

Borough Clock Fund II reached its $200,000 goal!

The July 29th Games on the Green event, to benefit restoration of the Stonington Borough Clock and Tower in Stonington, Conn., was a huge success for both fundraising and fun raising.

It was really exciting to be a part of an event that brought together volunteer efforts from the community at large, from residents and local restaurants to businesses outside the immediate community like Enfield, Conn. cabinet maker Rome Polaski, Big Y, Jonathan Edwards Winery and the Lebanon Lions Club.

The day’s highlights included cool kids’ games that were the envy of all the adults like potato sack races and tug of war, a nailbiting croquet tournament, tons of belly-filling treats, fabulous raffle prizes such as Front of the Line passes for Borough hotspots and an olde tyme seranade by local barbershop troupe, the SeaNotes. We had expected about 15 SeaNotes and 24 showed up for the event! The media didn’t disappoint as well and included The New London Day, the Westerly Sun and Fox 61 News at 10:00. We were only on Fox for a millisecond which is a bit disappointing considering co-chair Kate Love gave a great interview but, hey, I’m just happy I was able to entice them enough to show up!

The biggest hiccups of the day included rocks in the bubble machine and a round of croquet that ran quite a bit longer than the players would have liked (next year we’ll do lightening rounds). Other than that, the whole event was just as the event committee had hoped - a fun, relaxing Sunday afternoon filled with friendly competition and a step back in time to the casual gatherings that draws a community together at the town green.

Heading into the event, the committee had raised $197,000. During our event, we had a crowd of both day long participants and passersby that reached about 150 people, but those folks helped raise over $2,000! One of the biggest compliments we received was from an anonymous donor who was unable to stay for the festivities but offered to provide the remaining funds needed to help us reach our goal. This donor hoped that by closing the gap on the final monies required through this event that it would encourage more celebrations of this kind in the future. It worked. We’re already gearing up for next year’s event.

Thank you anonymous donor and all the folks that helped us celebrate on Sunday. Your support has saved a treasured Connecticut landmark and has sparked a tradition - old-fashioned fun that breathes new life into community spirit!