Thursday, December 15, 2016

HNG Meeting December 16, 2016; Agenda: Open Forum Discussion

Hello Everyone,

We are in the winter months, so 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 an Open Forum Discussion. The facilitator for this week will be Emilia Gordon. 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, we will conduct an Open Forum Discussion on Various Topics.

One of the team members, namely, Pat Rosenthal, had an excellent suggestion to make the meeting more festive for the coming holidays, i.e., we come to the meeting wearing a holiday tie or hat/scarf, a piece of jewelry or funny socks, etc. The idea being that it can be turned into an ice breaker or a help to make you a more memorable candidate beyond the qualifications.

If you would like to bring any special food, i.e., cookies, cupcakes, or any baked item that would be nice also.

Open Forum Discussion on Various Topics and Networking:

Quote From the Internet:
"....networking is about being genuine and authentic, building trust and relationships, and seeing how you can help others."
Suggested topics:
* Positive attitude:
Emotion and mindset
Getting motivated / started in the morning
What to do to get motivated
* Recruiters: one-night-stand types versus long-term relationship ones
* Interview questions (what about experiences with video interviews?)
* Other income
eBay
Survival jobs: contract / part / full time (can a survival job open an unexpected door?)
* Communicating effectively:
Value statement as presented by Bill Lippincott
Elevator speech: 10, 15, 30, and 60 second speech

Recap of HNG Meeting of December 2, 2016


Our 180th meeting had 21 people, this is 2 less than the previous meeting; four signed the New Member list. Gil Krispien was our facilitator. There were four introduction speeches.

We had a speaker, Kristen Beyer, who talked about "Weathering job transitions. Preserving your future."
The following was discussed:
Learn ways to preserve your future during a job transition
* Face uncertainties while managing expenses and reducing liabilities
* Protect your investments against volatile market conditions
* Utilize tax tactics and protection to plan for the future

A poll was taken to determine whether to have a Yankee Swap at the December 16th HNG meeting. The result was five in favor of having it and ten to not have it, so no Yankee Swap this year.

Schedule for HNG Meetings:

January 6, 2017 HNG Summary for 2016

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. CVS 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:
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net
Pat Rosenthal pat.rosenthal@gmail.com
Bill Wilson bill@williamjwilson.com

Thursday, December 1, 2016

HNG: Weathering job transitions. Preserving your future

Hello Everyone,
We are in the winter months, so 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, Kristen Beyer. 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 and 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, Kristen will talk about "Weathering job transitions. Preserving your future."

Weathering job transitions. Preserving your future

Learn ways to preserve your future during a job transition
* Face uncertainties while managing expenses and reducing liabilities
* Protect your investments against volatile market conditions
* Utilize tax tactics and protection to plan for the future

Kristen Beyer

Kristen Beyer is a Financial Advisor with Ameriprise Financial and specializes in Comprehensive Financial Planning, Asset Management, Retirement Planning
and Estate Planning. She has been with Ameriprise for 17 years. You can find out more at http://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/kristen.k.beyer/

Recap of HNG Meeting of November 18, 2016


Our 179th meeting had 23 people, this is 14 less than the previous meeting; seven signed the New Member list. Ronaldo Lu was our facilitator. There were seven introduction speeches.

One landing:
John Belger Started November 28th at Bruker in Billerica as a Head, Order to Cash Business Process Owner; was out 3 months

We had a speaker, Robert Gaughan, who talked about "If you have to pay for your own Health Insurance – maybe I can help…"
The following was discussed:
* Review the rules/process of enrolling/disenrolling from Health Insurance in Massachusetts
* Go over the Health Insurance carriers in Massachusetts that meet the "Minimal Creditable Coverage" requirements
* Discuss how all plans are "structured" and what you should focus on
* Subsidies - what's available and how to determine if you can qualify
* Penalties if you do not have Health Insurance
* "ObamaCare" - how does it relate
* Other insurance needs - Medicare, Dental, "Supplemental, Life and Long-term Care

Schedule for HNG Meetings:


December 16, 2916 TBD

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. CVS 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:
Emilia Gordon emiliagne@gmail.com
Gil Krispien g.krispien@verizon.net
Ronaldo Lu ronaldo.lu@comcast.net
Pat Rosenthal pat.rosenthal@gmail.com
Bill Wilson bill@williamjwilson.com