Best Kept secret - Massachusetts One Stop Career Centers

Hello Everyone, 
Surprise! We are in the winter months, clearly demonstrated by the too many snow storms, if the Hopkinton schools are cancelled on the day of our meeting then we do not meet; however, if there is a delay, then we do meet. Even if the schools are not closed, if the weather is bad, it is best to stay home then risk an accident.

The agenda for this Friday's Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) meeting will be featured by speaker, Lee-Ann Johnson. The facilitator for this week will be Gil Krispien. We will devote the first hour to the following agenda: Welcome, Landings, Announcements, New Member Intros, and Needs & Leads. Important Note: Please make a serious, concerted effort to arrive before 10:00 AM. We are going to start the meeting on time at 10:00 AM. In the second hour, Lee-Ann will talk about "Best Kept Secret - Massachusetts One Stop Career Centers."

Best Kept secret - Massachusetts One Stop Career Centers

Being unemployed is a challenging time and the Career Centers are here to help. This is an opportunity to stop and assess your skills and career path. Many jobseekers realize they may need training and the career center can assist you with guidance and funding. On the Job Training is another alternative that can help you get a foot in the door at an employer. Let us help you find your next job

Lee-Ann Johnson

Lee-Ann Johnson is a Career Center Manager at Employment and Training Resources in Framingham. She has been with the organization for 11 years in various roles. She has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. She is passionate about providing jobseekers the individual assistance, guidance, encouragement and support they need during the transition to their next job. 

Recap of HNG Meeting of February 6, 2015:

Our 139th meeting had 13 people, this is nineteen less than the previous meeting; four signed the New Member list. William Lam was our facilitator. There were four introduction speeches. 

We reviewed the Goals / New Year's Resolutions made at our January 2, 2015 meeting. Only William Lam, Jeff Beauchaine, and myself listed what we had specified as our goals at the January 2nd meeting, and we met not only the two required goals, but others as well.

Of the eighteen people who attended the January 2nd meeting, only three returned to discuss whether their goals were achieved. This was a significant disappointment, and it is unlikely this exercise will be repeated.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

February 20, 2015 Lee-Ann Johnson "Best Kept secret - Massachusetts One Stop Career Centers"
March 6, 2015 Stephen Gaughan "Medical Insurance Options"

General Information 

The networking group meets in Hopkinton, at St. John the Evangelist Church parish hall. The meeting occurs, from 10 to 12 noon, and will meet the first and third Friday of the month. The parish hall has a capacity for 250 people and there is plenty of parking spaces in the parking lot and on the street. Around the perimeter of the parish hall are rooms to allow us to have focused network groups or for any other purpose we need. We chose the first and third Friday to allow everyone to attend the Acton Networking Group or any other networking group, if they wanted, on the Friday we do not meet.

We will maintain our close affiliation with Acton Networkers by using the same list-server to share information between the groups. Any e-mails specific to the Hopkinton Networking Group (HNG) will be indicated in the subject line either by "Hopkinton Networking Group" or "HNG"; this way anyone attending these meetings will know the e-mail is intended for them.

We will follow the following agenda items:
* Welcome
* Landings (with doughnuts)
* Announcements
* New member introductions
* Needs and Leads
* Speaker(s), Workshop, or Focus Group
* Cleanup

For those new members who give their introductions, this is what we would like to know:
* Name
* Skills and Value Statement
* Where have you been?
* Where are you going?
* Your title
* Your target companies
* Geography of search
* Name and e-mail address

If anyone wants to join our team, please let one of us know; we could always use the extra help and input for ideas.

Directions:

Take Rt. 495 North/South and get off Exit 21A. Go through three traffic lights. Colella's Supermarket is on the right at the third traffic light. The first street after the third traffic light is Church Street, take a right turn. The church is on the right. Go around to the left of the parking lot and go into the side entrance of the parish hall.

Depending upon where you live, perhaps you may want to use Mapquest for a more direct route. The address of the church is:
St. John the Evangelist
20 Church Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748

Regards,
Hopkinton Networkers Group (HNG) Coordinators: 
Sheri Ablaza sheriablaza@gmail.com
Grace Carcich gracec814@gmail.com 
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com 
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net 
William Lam wmlam508@yahoo.com 
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net