Downtowners Meet & Mingle - March 3, 2010

Each month Front Street Brewery at 9 N. Front Street in Wilmington, NC hosts the Downtowners Meet&Mingle for people who live, work, do business or just love Downtown Wilmington. The event runs from 5-6:30PM with free appetizers and a cash bar.

Shannan Bowen of StarNews Media and Front Street Brewery's Ellie Craig.




Early arrivals Joan and Mike Loch of Crescent Moon Gallery in The Cotton Exchange.

Sawgrass, a gift shop on Market Street had this display of wares.


Shannan and Joan.

Wilmington Downtowners Meet & Mingle - 2-3-2010

There was a lot going on at the monthly Wilmington Downtowners Meet & Mingle, which is held on the first Wednesday of every month in the Beam Room on the 3rd floor of Front Street Brewery, 9 N Front Street, Wilmington, NC from 5-6:30PM.

This monthly business networking occasion as always is host to people who live, work and do business in downtown Wilmington, but this month there were two other attractions, a casual job-seekers and hiring managers meeting and an fortuitous gathering of some of the key figures in of the Cape Fear Roller Girls. More about both below.

When I first walked in I spoke with Jamie and Matt Warzel, below. Matt is the president of MJW Careers and it was Matt who organized a casual meeting place for hiring managers and job seekers. While I was there I saw several hiring managers and a bunch of job seekers (each group identified easily by color-coded name tags).


I also met Yvonne Sewall, who is visiting Wilmington for a month, considering relocation. Yvone is the founder of Max's Kansas City Project, a (currently) NYC-located nonprofit that provides emergency funding to artists in need. The organization is named after Max's Kansas City, an iconic New York restaurant/bar/club habituated by artists, actors and musicians in the 60s.


Here's Yvonne again with Front Street Brewery's Marketing Manager Ellie Craig.


Architect Gordon Hall (check out his projects at this site), Whats ON Wilmington founder Ranald Totten, and Kelsey Lingerfelt. Kelsey by day works in marketing for New Hanover Regional Medical Center - but she's a woman with another life (see below).


Kelsey is also in charge of marketing for and a skater with the Cape Fear Roller Girls, Wilmington's official Flat Track Roller Derby team. Check out the website http://www.capefearrollergirls.com/ buy the t-shirt, go to practices and cheer 'em on.

OK, so below (real names and official, registered FTRD names) are Vanessa Keen/Dee Spies, Kelsey Lingerfelt/Psycho Delic, Brooke Kuehner/Windy Hitty, and their coach, Dave Kuehner/The Warden.


Non-Roller Girl and non-job seekers, Joey Malott and Kyle Kisers, both interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Crowd shot.


The career seekers end of the room with David Merrill of Hertz Rentals on the right. David was one of the hiring managers in attendance.


When I was on my way out I spoke with Jenn Beddoe, who has recently started offering tutoring services via Jenn the Teacher and is co-owner of Glynne's Soaps with Gayle Tabor, on the right.

See you next month at Front Street Brewery at the Downtowner's Meet & Mingle on March 3rd.

Wilmington Downtowners Meet & Mingle

The construction on North Front Street in downtown Wilmington may have started this week, but that minor detail doesn't put a stop to business, and that surely showed at two networking events Wednesday evening. The first I attended, the Wilmington Downtowners Meet & Mingle, held in the spacious Beam Room on the third floor of Front Street Brewery had the best attendance this monthly event has ever enjoyed. Apparently people are taking to heart the new slogan, "Do It Downtown!"

Two of the first people I saw were Matt Warzel of MJW Careers, an outplacement and career coaching company and David Merrill of Hertz Local, David is also the keeper of the Wilmington Networking Event Calendar.


Doug and Margi Erickson, proprietors of the C. W. Worth House B&B with yoga instructor Diane Brann.

Joan Loch of Crescent Moon, a handcrafted art glass store in The Cotton Exchange, and Doug Erickson.
Shannan Bowen, Social Media and Breaking News reporter for The Wilmington Star-News and Star-News Online with Joan Loch.


Crescent Moon's Mike Loch and Ray Baca of Ray Baca Photography and The River Room.

Front Street Brewery Marketing Manager Ellie Craig with Wilmington newcomers (just moved from San Francisco) event planner Katey Dennett of OneRedEvent and web designer Bob Tait of 910ZEN.

The Moxie girls! Djenana Ninkovic and Cynthia Lee of Moxie Floral Design Studios.


Video producer and television marketer Robert Moody of Moody Media.

Gayle Tabor and Jenn Beddoe of Glynnes Soaps, Wilmington's hometown handmade soap company that continues to garner national attention from such social media giants as Chris Brogan.


Ultra smooth designer Brooke Foreman of RightLeft Studio and Shannan Bowen.

Shannan showing her Twitter jewelry.



Front Street Brewery General Manager Charles Scott.



So in case you haven't seen it yet, here's the physical rep of the new slogan:



Wilmington Downtowners Meet & Mingle is the first Wednesday of every month at 5PM. See you in February!

Wilmington Downtowners Meet and Mingle at Front Street Brewery 12/2/09

Wednesday this week I went to three Wilmington area business networking events before my weekly mastermind call. The first event was the Wilmington Downtowner's Meet & Mingle, which is held the first Wednesday of each month on the third floor of Front Street Brewery from 5-6:30PM.

Below Shannan Bowen of the Star News (left) and Ellie Craig of Front Street Brewery (right) listen as Joan Loch of Crescent Moon glass gallery in the Cotton Exchange talks about locally produced glass art.

Ellie Craig is Front Street Brewery's Marketing Director. She introduced me to Carrie Egerton, FSB's new Community Outreach Marketing associate.

Here's a better photo of Shannan, who covers Social Media and Breaking News for the Star News.

Nick Arbia of ADT and Mike Eakins of WWAY TV3.

Joan Loch talking with Richard Davis, the owner of Browncoat Pub & Theatre, Wilmington and actually North Carolina's only non-profit location that serves alcohol. All profits benefit the arts.

Some folks from Edge of Urge clothing boutique talk with Jenn Beddoes of Glynne Soaps.


Susan Seltzer of Wrightsville Builders and Joan Loch.

Here's another shot of Joan - the reflection of the flash on the monitor looks like an appropriate holiday star.

Ana Ribeiro of the Star News.

Carrie on the left, Jenn in the background, Brooke Foreman of Right Left Studios and Gayle Tabor of Glynne's Soaps.

Good guy Jim Ware of the Star News.

These are the folks from Edge of Urge, located at 18 Market Street (between Kilwin's chocolates and the dog boutique). Manager Jessica Young and Merchandising and Sales guy Dustin Slemp.

Doug and Marg Erickson of C.W. Worth House (an historic district bed and breakfast).

Shannan and Brooke.

Thanks again Front Street Brewery, as usual this was a very nice event and it's good to have a regular event with a downtown theme.

For those interested in business networking in the greater Wilmington area, be sure to check David Merrill's Wilmington Networking Events calendar regularly.