Strictly Business at Caprice Bistro, January 6, 2010

After I left the Downtowner's Meet & Mingle I walked to 10 Market Street to Caprice Bistro. Upstairs in the fabulous sofa bar was this week's Big Talker FM Strictly Business

The first folks I saw were Sea-Comm Media producer and photographer Paige Freeman, Attorney Walter Skinner of Williams Mullen and Elaine Huston of Pre-Paid Legal.

I also met Mike LaBruno of All-Brite residential and commercial pressure washing and Ken and Gina Schiess. Ken's a financial planner with HdVest and Gina is a programmer and IT manager.

Sea-Comm Media Salesman Supreme Derek Sellers and Suzy Boyko, a teacher with the Friends School of Wilmington.

Paige had help from Dana Webb with the raffle drawings (the non profit beneficiary was Wilmington Downtown, Inc.). Big Talker morning show host Curtis Wright was at the mike.


Robert Smith of Bob King Motors, Elaine Huston, and Paul Whitehouse of Lopermedia.


Here's another shot of Paul.


Dana Webb, an instructor at Cape Fear Community College with video guy Robert Moody.


Curtis gives a drawing prize to James Arnold of South-Eastern Commercial Services.


Scott Ball of Coastal Document Systems. That's Rick Huston of UFirst Financial in the background along with David Merrill.


Associate Director Lee Anne Haggerty of Wilmington Downtown, Inc.


Ronnie Anderson, a Relationship Banker with RBC Bank.


Steve Haughey of Worldwide Express, Anna Schraff of Boys & Girls Homes of NC, and James Arnold.

Anna Schraff and Kathyrn Rakes of Hibiske Insurance Group.

David Merrill and Lee Anne Haggerty.


Dr. Rhett King of King Chiropractic LLC and Kyle Myers of All-Brite Pressure Washing.

Walter Skinner and Mark Evans of Green Cleaning Technicians.


Scott Ball, Kathryn Raykes, and Shelley DeAntonio, Operations and Technology for Century 21 Sweyer.

Shelly and Jerry Ellis of eTelecom.

Joe Abate, Program Director for Cape Fear River Watch and Devin Wilson of Pura Soul Photography.

Newcomer to the area performing artist Susan Savia.



And, just as I was leaving, Mike and Joan Loch of Crescent Moon came up the stairs.



Next week's Strictly Business networking event will be at Antonio's Pizza and Pasta Restaurant in Leland, starting at 5PM.

Strictly Business - Caprice Bistro - 12-09-09

It was back to Caprice Bistro for The Big Talker FM's Strictly Business last night. It may have been windy outside, but upstairs at Caprice's Sofa Bar it was, er, strictly business. Well, and good food (salmon, lamb, and rabbit!), good cheer, lots of drawing prizes, and a whole lotta business connecting.

As always, a select local nonprofit organization was the beneficient of the drawing ticket sales and this week it was Wilmington Downtown, Inc. Below is WDI's Executive Director John Hinnant, holding an enticing stream of tickets.

These guys were nice enough to turn for a photo: Paul Whitehouse of Lopermedia, Steve Haughey of Worldwide Express, and Robert Johnson of Cafe, Inc. Robert's wife has recently accepted a 14-month assignment in the U.K. so they're about to move - and he can't get a work visa so perhaps he'll spend his time searching for places like Caprice Bistro.


Sea-Comm Media's Paige Freeman and Derek Sellers.

Tyler Wooden, Kim Osborne, and Jacob Fox, all with Deltacom.


Randy Brashears of Vista Products.

Here's Kim Osborne again, this time with Shari Watters, also of Deltacom.

Paige Freeman.

Graphic designer Steve Rivenbark and Copywriter Allison Pflumm, collaborators at Pflummingo.

Mark Johnson of Buff Masters Car Wash and Detail Center, and Jerry Ellis of Telco.

Joe Morcos and Michael Snyder, both from Sea-Comm Media and Steve West from N2 Publishing.

Shannon Rippy of Mott Landscaping.

Gene Merrit is an appraiser and developer, and a key factor in downtown Wilmington progress and development.

Curtis Wright, Big Talker FM's morning guy and host of the Strictly Business events with Scott Ball of Coastal Document Systems.


Talking "strictly business" are Randy Brashears and Paul Whitehouse in the background, and Sea-Comm Media's Max Deutsch with John Hinnant in the foreground.

Robert and Paige Freeman, brother and sister.


Shelly Shaplin of Rx Express Marketing and her husband Paul Shaplin of Power Home Technologies security systems.

Bob Martin of Bob King Motors.

Another group scene just before the second round of raffle drawings.

Paige and Curtis doing the raffle drawings (Well, actually Paige is waving. Notice that Curtis is holding a copy of The Passion Test, which I gave away along with a gift certificate for a free pass to our Passion Test Workshop this weekend at the Holiday Inn Express on Van Campen - phew, talk about a shameless plug!). Christine Giampetro of Green Cleaning Technicians looks on.

Another shot of Christine of GCT.

Curtis announces the winner of the Business Spotlight on The Big Talker FM, Greg Robinson of Lookout Blinds.

Mark Evans of Green Cleaning Technicians and Ayres Burgess of Jubilee Snooze and Cruise.

Derek, Christine, and Max.

John Hinnant with Pat Moity, who with her husband Chef Thierry Moity, is the owner of Caprice Bistro. John told me that Caprice Bistro is his and his wife's premier "date night" spot.

Thanks again for the good turnout and thanks to Pat and Thierry for hosting such a fine event.