Art, Wine, Networking… and Armor

I was one of many that attended the well-attended Art, Wine, and Networking event on June 20 at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester. Someone from the museum came up to me and asked me if I had ever been there before and I replied, “I’ve never even heard of it before. I guess that means ‘mission accomplished’ for you!”

It was a lot of fun (OK, I like networking events!) and I ran into several people mentioned in my last blog. Of course, Peter Caputa was there, the mastermind behind the evening. He and his company, WhizSpark, are destined for great things. But the very first guy I ran into, standing outside the front door next to a Jaguar (or was it a Ja-gew-wah), was Rick Roberge of Dave Kurlan & Associates. This guy is simply everywhere! More on him and Dave Kurlan later.

Once inside, I was (of course) drawn to the food, which was top drawer. Amanda Graves of Amanda Cooks, Inc. was the main caterer and boy can she cook! And if that wasn’t enough, newcomers Cheryl Maloney and Kim Anger of Blue Hydrangea Bake Shop were handing out the sweets (I tried to keep my networking close to their table). They’ve just started their business recently so the best of luck to them.

My business consultant, Roy Sequeira of Sequeira Consulting, was there working the crowd. He’s usually the tallest guy there so he’s easy to spot. If you are in need of help in your business, Roy’s your man. He’s one of the smartest people I know. He introduced me to Lindsy Parker of Lindsy Parker Media. You wouldn’t normally hear the word “shy” and her name mentioned in the same sentence. We hit it off quite well and have plans to get together to see where our companies can help each other.

Kenneth Perry of Intergration, Inc. and I had a little “geek” chat. His company specializes in software development and EDI consulting and is based in Connecticut. While in geek mode, I decided to say hi to Larry Altobelli of Allatar Hardware and Software Solutions. After a sushi break, I had a conversation with Leo Manning of Kenai Computer Forensics, the “Gil Grissom” of PCs. Talk about geekspeak!

Before turning into a real digit-head, I decided to venture over to some of the sponsors’ tables. I had a very short chat with Nancy Fredrickson of Edward Jones. (I had a longer talk with her a few days later when I picked up the gift basket I won!) Did you know that she started business on September 10, 2001? (the day before… well, you know). Ace photographer Jay Groccia of Onsite Studios and I were asking a very competent Neil Anastas of New Look Auto Detail a lot of questions. If you saw the Jag in front, that was his work. By the way, I won the $25 discount from them although I probably wasn’t the only one.

The I-Gotta-Sing Guy, John Abbondanza of Vision Care Specialists, sang a selection from La Boheme exclusively for Chris Tzellas of Corridor Nine and then a short ditty to all to announce one of the raffle prizes. John is a fascinating guy. Get him talking about behavorial optometry, his specialty. You won’t be sorry.

I had a nice conversation with Kristen who works for a real estate attorney. A sharp gal but didn’t get her particulars because she didn’t have a business card to give me, which is how I remember all this stuff. Kristen, if you’re reading this, send me that email you promised!

Did you see the photographic artwork at the end of the hall? It was by Robert Balogh and his photographs were very compelling. Check out his work and upcoming shows at his website. His wife, Rita Coco of Rita Coco Consulting, was by his side and networking her own gig, which is performance, training and marketing consulting.

Someone I didn’t meet but had a nice impact: The basket I won was put together by Sharon Kuchenbecker of Express Yourself. It was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the wine paraphernalia will be very useful. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll go and have some cheese and crackers right now.

Finally, I saw some of the very same people the following morning at the Dave Kurlan sales seminar. Dave has sales down to a science! His 2-hour seminar was just the very tip of the iceberg and it made me hunger for more. If you’ve never talked to Rick Roberge about the Dave Kurlan sales program, do it. I’ve ordered Dave’s book and I’m meeting with a Kurlan associate next month to talk more about the program.

And now, off subject…

Does anyone know a good bass player? Call me! More on that in the coming weeks.