Calendar of Events

All professional meetings begin at 11:30 in the Captain’s Table dining room at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin. Plentiful parking is available on site. Guests are welcome!

Networking & Registration 11:30 a.m.
Lunch 11:45 a.m. SHARP!
Program Noon – 1:00 p.m.

Advance registration and pre-payment is required. Members $20, guests $30, students $12.

September 16, 2009
Keeping the News Good with Janet Piraino
Janet Piraino, chief of staff for the mayor of Madison, shares her experience working with politicians the likes of Russ Feingold, Tom Barrett, and (of course) Mayor Dave, working in city government, operating when budgets are tight, and tips and techniques for generating good news during hard times.

October 21, 2009
BRAND AS PROMISE: Unleashing the full power of your organization
with Allen Veak of Makin’ HEY! Communications and Alan Bergstrom of Brand Fundamentals
We’ve all heard the counsel that a brand is more than a name, logo or slogan. But, how do you translate and manage your brand so that all parts of the organization are delivering what your brand promises? When all employees know, understand and live the brand, customers will be attracted to your brand because of what is stands for and what it delivers, not merely because it has a familiar name, catchy logo, or clever slogan.

November 18, 2009
Presenting Yourself! with Mollye Barrett and Amy Lynn Schereck
Mollye Barrett of ClearPath, LLC pairs up with Amy Lynn Schereck, a Madison-based wedding/editorial/commercial/event photographer. Learn about the advantages of a good publicity photo (and have an opportunity to have one taken at the event) and the elements of a good on-line portfolio.

December 16, 2009
Managing your Time with Michael W. Allen, PhD
Take a break from the holiday rush. Join us for a bit of Holiday Cheer and learn time management tools and techniques from Michael Allen, time management guru and product manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific.

January 20, 2010
Rebuilding with Everyone Onboard with Anne M. Smith
No organization large or small is immune to change. And communicating a major organizational change takes an enormous amount of planning and preparation — from identifying the goals to be achieved to creating the actual messages and tactics that will be most effective. When General Casualty was bought by global insurance provider QBE, communications manager Anne Smith and her team developed and implemented a comprehensive plan to communicate with employees, agents, policyholders and the media. Her presentation will cover the planning that went into this change and share specific ideas and lessons learned that will be helpful in planning for your organizationn’s next big change.

February 17, 2010
Interacting Online without Giving Away Your Life with Linda Pruss, CISSP
Linda Pruss, Security Engineer from the Office of Campus Information Security at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, presents the basics of internet security, identity protection, and good online business practices including how to use social networking tools (facebook, twitter, etc.) and browse securely.

March 17, 2010
How to Communicate on a Topic No One Wants to Talk About with Melanie Ramey
There are several things people don’t want to talk about….or even think about and one of them is end of life, especially their own. Who can blame them? The idea is not to talk about end of life but living life as long as it lasts. How this concept is communicated is what makes the difference in how people accept changes in their health and in the health of those they care about.

FRIDAY, April 16, 2010
Catching Attention in a World of Shrinking Media with Gordon Mayer
Yes, we’re meeting on Friday! A special day for a very special guest. The Community Media Workshop trains people working to tell their stories to the media, tips sensitive journalists to the importance of these stories, and tries to create better relationships between the media and the diverse communities which make up Chicago and the Midwest. Gordon will present information about the kinds of training his group does, tips for catching media attention, tips for great press releases, the shift to online media, as well as PR and media relations.

May 19, 2010
Balancing your World with Andrea Kivolowitz
Andrea Kivolowitz, an Intuitive Business and Life Coach who works with people of all ages and backgrounds, presents on work-life balance and harmony. Join us on a journey into clarity, empowerment, and personal growth. Designed to enhance communication and connection you will gain a fresh perspective and a new way of seeing challenges both personal and professional.

June 16, 2010
Summer Social
Start your summer off right, spend an evening with colleagues. Stay tuned for further details!

Stay in touch and we hope to see you at our next meeting.