Candidate Price Offers ‘Niagara Networking Wednesdays’ To Help You Network!

 

Residents of Niagara Falls have heard the name Willie A. Price as the African American Republican, running for one of the 2 City Council seats in November. Very few know that I am also the owner of two businesses, a Property Inspections and Management Training Company and a Motivation Speaking and Training company.

Those who have met me in the community and during the petition process have also had the opportunity to learn a little more about me and my efforts to make the city of Niagara Falls a better place for ALL of its residents.

Every week before I leave my home in the LaSalle community, I reread my Candidacy Announcement which was published in all of the local papers. I do this as a reminder and to make sure that I remain on course and stay true to my words and goals for the city of Niagara Falls. I have three main areas that I will try to be addressed.

1) Fiscal Accountability: Moving the city in the direction of operating more like a business and away from the current “Casino & Spend” mentality in City Hall.

2) Community Development and Housing Rehabilitation: Using more than 20+ years of Property: Inspections, Management & Landlord training experience to help revitalize community neighborhoods and housing.

3) Economic Development: Working with, supporting and promoting small and local businesses in the area. Helping them find resources that will help with their success and growth and hopefully their success will lead to future employment of city residents and the hope of attracting large corporations.         

This brings me to the purpose of this article.

For my business I have often found myself traveling to Buffalo (1st Fridays), Rochester (True Networking Thursdays) and Toronto (First Fridays Toronto) and even as far as Cleveland, Atlanta and Dallas to attend various Business Networking receptions and conferences.  The one thing all of these receptions have in common is that they all provided a setting for businesses to meet, share and exchange ideas to help them succeed. These social networking receptions have allowed some businesses to connect for joint projects and have led to referrals for contracts and other projects.   

I began to think how businesses in the city of Niagara Falls and Niagara County could benefit from such an activity. I began to think of ways to do something similar in the city of Niagara Falls and how beneficial these receptions would be with connecting local businesses in the city and the surrounding area. I took various aspects from the various networking receptions and created the outline for the “Niagara Networking Wednesday” (N.N.W.) reception. A business networking event for businesses located in the city and surrounding area. I took the idea to the management of Sammy’s Pizzeria, where I have performed my housing seminars and they were receptive to the idea of hosting a monthly business networking reception at their location.

The business networking reception is open to all businesses in the area: small, large, entrepreneurs and new business owners. The reception will feature 3 highlights: Networking, Business introductions and Business Activities:

1) Networking: The main purpose of the reception is for businesses to network with other businesses and hopefully make a connection that could lead to joint projects or a possible referral.

2) Business Introduction: The first night, every business will have the opportunity to present themselves and their business in a 1 minute elevator speech. After the first reception this activity will be only for new or first-time visitors to the reception.

3) Business Activities: This is the time when all businesses will have the opportunity to do a 1 minute commercial or presentation about their business and any special events, opportunities or promotions they may have coming up.        

The first reception will be held September 9, 2015 at Sammy’s Pizzeria, from 6:00-8:00pm. There will be a total of eight receptions: September – December, 2015 and March – June 2016. Admission to the reception is $10 and will include food and non-alcoholic beverages. There is also a Membership to the “Niagara Networking Wednesday” reception group of $60.00 (Your $10 admission will be applied from the night you join.) and includes admission to the “December Holiday Reception”.

Vendors or information tables will be available for every reception except the “December Holiday Reception”.  For vendor information contact: WillieAPrice@aol.com