The fine art of networking can bring together business endeavors as diverse as promotional sales, medical care and corporate training. And fostering those connections is the goal of the Council for Working Women, a program of the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“We believe that today you will meet someone or learn something that you didn’t know before you came here,” chairman Louise Coleman told more than 100 women who gathered for a mini-conference in early April at the Joliet Junior College Renaissance Center Campus in Joliet.
Coleman, superintendent of Joliet Elementary School District 86, said the council fills a gap by striving to “advance the interests of women engaged in business, professions and service organizations.”
“It’s not that we felt a lack,” she said, “but we know there is a majority of men in most (business) workshops. . . . The good old boys club does exist. We don’t have that for women.
“We don’t exclude men,” said Coleman, who said there are usually a few men at their meetings. “This is an opportunity to share ideas.”
“There are some unique issues (for women),” according to Vickie Speckman of Kankakee, sales manager for Kelly Temporary Services in Joliet. When the chamber formed the Council for Working Women in January 1997, “the response was overwhelming,” said Speckman, its former chairman. The group now numbers more than 200 members.
“Everybody feels involved and feels included,” she said.
The council usually meets on the first Monday of the month, often at Harrah’s River Casino in Joliet. Annual dues are $25 for chamber of commerce members, $40 for non-members.
Participants share ideas as easily as they share business cards. Judi Mack of Manhattan used her expertise as president of Productivity Techniques Inc., a marketing, training and communications firm, to coach fellow members on the finer points of making presentations.
Since public speaking ranks right up there with death on the public’s list of fears, Mack teamed up with Susan Linn, director of the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, who offered tips on overcoming stage fright.
Counselor Diane Kjos, who teaches at Governors State University in University Park and maintains a private practice in New Lenox, outlined the strategies of win-win negotiations for the group.
“It’s just such a positive organization,” said Barb Markham of Go Promotions.
Markham, who lives in Mokena and sells items such as pencils and watches to organizations that want to promote their message or reward their employees, found a new customer.
“I met (Marianne Pasik) and I’m going to call her,” she said.
Pasik, director of community relations for Deerbrook Care Centre in Joliet, said she’s been searching for ways “to get my message out” on the center’s rehabilitation services and nursing care.
Clarice Boswell of Shorewood, coordinator of the Access to College Initiative at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, said the networking opportunities help her with her job of seeking grants and sponsorships so that low-income students can afford higher education.
Denise Horn of Joliet finds the council itself educational.
“There’s so much great stuff to learn,” said Horn, an independent living coordinator for the Will-Grundy Center for Independent Living.
Laurie Scordo of Lockport was just going full time with her business, Laurel Gifts, when she joined the council last year.
“I enjoy the social part, talking to other women, the opportunity to network for my business,” Scordo said.
Introducing two friends she brought to a recent gathering showed Scordo how much her circle of acquaintances has grown thanks to the group.
“I realized how many people I know,” she said.
Debi Schorie, a graphic designer from Joliet, had a similar experience.
“I’ve met just a lot of people,” said Schorie, who puts out the council’s newsletter. “The women are so supportive.”
Besides the monthly meeting, where attendance averages about 125, according to Coleman, the council reaches beyond the boundaries of the business community to mentor women seeking a foothold in that world and to aid displaced homemakers. Members help to stock the “Dress for Success” program, a closet of professional-style clothing — suits, blouses, dresses, shoes, purses, accessories — through which low-income job-seekers can find outfits for their interviews and jobs.
Andrea Bizzell, program director of the Displaced Homemakers/Single Parent Program in Joliet, said the council helps the agency’s clients prepare for interviews and for the first days on the job.
“They can get up to six outfits,” Bizzell explained, or they can just take a few items, “even if it’s just a shirt to go with a suit.”
With incomes ranging from “low to none,” many of the more than 260 women served by Displaced Homemakers don’t have and can’t afford to buy the kind of serious business clothing that makes a good impression on an interview, Bizzell said.
“The only way we can afford our clothing is the donations,” she said.
So in its monthly newsletter, the council reminds its members to think of “Dress for Success” when they’re weeding out their wardrobes.
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For more information on the Council of Working Women, call 815-727-5371.
