Middle

What started out as five co-founders has become a group of 25 or more attending weekly meetings.

By Melissa Gibson

In 2021, a group of five businessmen and women began talking about what they might change within their networking group in Hendricks County, most notably, they were paying their dues to a corporate office in Tennessee.

“We were asking ourselves, ‘Why are we sending money to another town, rather than just found our own company and keep those funds for local use?’, said co-founder Sydney Brothers.

There was a chapter in Brownsburg and a chapter in Plainfield but when the five got together, they decided to join forces and launch their own, county-wide networking group called Pro Networking Now.

Another typical networking ‘rule’ is some of the stipulations in which a business network incorporated (BNI) operates. For example, dues are expensive and membership is extremely exclusive. Attendance is mandatory because others would like to have your spot in the group.

“I sell wine with Wine Tasting with Traveling Vineyard,” Brothers said. “In a BNI, I would attend an event and there would be no other wine people there. I’d also pay hundreds of dollars to join the group. Instead, we felt like it made more sense to operate on a modest budget; membership for the year is $150, there’s no exclusivity and you don’t have to have perfect attendance.”

Clearly, the more members attend, the better they stay in the public eye and are able to learn things through the networking group, but the five co-founders chose to create a database as well.

When someone asks for a wine vendor, the seeker might get Brothers name along with another in the county – and that’s okay.

Teresa Rode is a small business accountant and led the former chapter in Plainfield. Samuel Lowe is a financial advisor with Edward Jones. Tony Doster is a franchise coach with Targeted Direction and Christine Bivens does cooking classes through Epicure.

Participating in a networking group helps share your company, but also continues to educate about business ownership.

Whether in the Plainfield Chapter or Brownsburg Chapter, each member was attending a weekly networking session. When the five decided to join together, they also chose to rotate locations out of convenience for all involved.

In just a few short weeks, the group has grown to over 25 members.

“We meet on the first and third Thursday in Plainfield and the second and fourth Wednesday in Brownsburg,” Brothers said. “If there’s a fifth week in the month, we choose a social location for dinner and drinks.”

A typical meeting includes introductions, small business briefs (a 60 second elevator speech for new members), a business spotlight or educational piece, announcements and an inspirational thought for the evening.

“Having a networking group is like saying we have

Sue Ann Emmons shares details about her business at a networking meeting.

each other’s back,” Brothers said. “When I see someone online, asking for a referral on an accountant, I’m going to throw out Teresa Rode’s name. Plus, the more involvement you have in the community, the more your business grows. You want to always keep your business in the front and center of a community.”

When COVID closed many business doors, these five and many others had someone to lean on during the crisis.

“We worked together figuring out things we could do to help each other, what kind of support the other needed and all of us survived due to having this support,” Brothers said. “Without support, you can flounder and I think during COVID, it really helped us learn to pivot and come up with other ways to reach people and continue to grow despite the circumstances.”

They also want to give back to the community they love. Pro Networking Now has chosen Rock Steady Boxing in Brownsburg as their philanthropy, meaning any funds they have at the end of the year, they’ll give back to the organization doing more good.

At 6 p.m. April 26, the group will meet for their social at Arni’s in Brownsburg and the restaurant has agreed to do a dine-to-donate fundraiser for Rock Steady Boxing throughout the day.

“I’m going to be there during the lunch hour so we can raise those funds for Rock Steady and also so I can invite people to our social that evening for free pizza, a free drink and networking. Everything we buy throughout the evening will have a percentage go back to Rock Steady and that way, we’re giving back and it’s a nice collaboration for everyone,” Brothers said.

Feel free to drop in on an upcoming meeting or social to find out more. Meetings are typically held at Brownsburg Elevate office on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 10 a.m. or at Plainfield’s Wings Etc. on the first and third Thursday of the month at 4:30 p.m.

A calendar of events is posted on their website at https:// pronetworkingnow.com.

Jean Renk, Government and Community Relations Manager, shared some of the community activities that Duke Energy and the Duke Energy Foundation are engaged in Hendricks County since the beginning of the year.

“As I have said many times, we is proud to support our communities and neighbors,” Renk explained. “Duke Energy is successful when our communities are strong.”

● Duke Energy is the sponsor of the 2022 Hendricks County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Update series. This series connects Hendricks County businesses with the Hendricks County legislative delegation to discuss legislation with direct impact to businesses. ● Quaker Qualifier, Elementary Robotics Competition, Plainfield – Duke Energy sponsored a VEX IQ student robotics competition hosted by Brentwood Elementary School at Plainfield High School. The competition had over 30 student teams from the Indianapolis surrounding area. ● Avon Education Foundation – $10,000. Funds will support the purchase of build-it-yourself, program-it-yourself smart speakers that teach kids how to code, while also learning about artificial intelligence. ● Brownsburg Education Foundation – $10,000. Funds will be used to purchase classroom supplies and materials for students enrolled in Brownsburg High School’s Project Lead the Way classes, which provide hands-on learning opportunities in engineering, computer science and biomedical science. ● The Duke Energy Foundation delivered STEM Activity kits to Danville and Mill Creek Elementary schools. The STEM kits provide teachers with materials and teaching aids to complement and expand upon their STEM curriculum. ● The Duke Energy Foundation provided Central Elementary School with a $2,345 grant to grow the Robotics program from two active teams to five active teams during the season. Through this grant, they are now able to provide enough equipment to support additional teams as well as smaller groups to create more hands on time for each student with their robot. ● Faced with an unbudgeted technology need to provide additional security to forensic interviews, Susie’s Place was provided a $5,000 Duke Energy Foundation grant. Susie’s Place is a child advocacy center serving children of abuse in Hendricks, Monroe, and Vigo counties. The grant prompted other corporate foundations to also award additional grants to fill the funding gap. ● The Duke Energy Foundation provided a $5,000 grant to the Plainfield Youth Assistance Program to support extra-curricular activities for struggling or at-risk students served through the program. The funds will support healthy lifestyle skills including fitness training. ● The Duke Energy Foundation granted $5,000 to the Imagination Lab to provide students attending a free 2022 summer camp a Curiosity Kit to continue their hands-on learning journey at home. ● Danville Pee Wee Baseball League – Duke Energy is a 2022 sponsor of the Danville Pee Wee League.

Downtown Danville Partnership Debuts Paddy’s on the Square

The Downtown Danville Partnership celebrated St. Patricks Day with a new event. Above: Town Council President David Winters delivered the opening address while a bagpiper stood by. Below: Council President Winters initiated the first “pouring o’ the green” in the town’s fountain.

Evening activities included a pub crawl with stops at Two Guys Pizza, Central Normal Tap, Court House Grounds, Frank’s Place, and the Kickstand Bar & Grill. Participants could hear live music and take part in trivia contest, scavenger hunt and other games.

Below: The Republican’s Rovering Reporter, Holly, posted for a Paddy’s on the Square photo op. Her ancesters originated a little ways north of Ireland.

Participants in the Paddy’s on the Square 5k Run/ Walk stopped for a picture. Left to right: Owen Allison, Michelle Allison, Evee Allison, Missy Hockaday, Riley Hockaday.