To those of you who persevered through the traffic and parking
hassles to make it to the event, we truly appreciated your taking
the time to join us to mark a significant milestone for
Professionelle. We had a room full of positive, thoughtful and
engaging women who were easy to talk to, and from what we could
tell were having in-depth conversations and making real
connections. We had a blast, and we hope you did, too!
Judging from the photos Gretchen kindly took, it certainly looks
like you did...
The Sanderson Art Gallery on Parnell Road made a
lovely, bright space. Its three interconnecting areas worked
perfectly when Hannah Ockelford, Professionelle member and TV One
reporter, turned up with her cameraman, as arranged. Hannah was
able to set up in the far space and conduct one-on-one interviews
with members who wanted to contribute thoughts on women and
flexibility at work.
Hannah is working on a story about women's approach to their
careers and has already interviewed Galia. Our event was a great
opportunity for her to fill out the story. We will let you know
when the story screens.
One of the distinctive things about Professionelle is
you - the mix of interesting and positive women who make
up our members. The event was a microcosm of our membership (795 of
you as we write, by the way). The two groups photographed below
make the point:
Here we have, in no particular order:
- a barrister
- an academic
- an executive search consultant and
- a Liontamer! (aka a lawyer working for a fund manager of
capital-protected investments).
And this group contains another interesting mix of:
- a senior HR professional from the public sector
- a private banker
- an IT consultant (originally from Israel)
- another senior HR professional, this time from the private
sector.
Of course we took the opportunity to say a few words. Kerri, the
gallery representative (see below), kicked us off with a brief
introduction to Jane Mitchell, the artist whose work is currently
being featured at Sanderson. Sarah then gave a short retrospective
on how Professionelle had come to be, the highlights of our first
year and some of the biggest lessons we've learned along the way.
Those ranged from networking to optimism to the way Google rankings
and keywords work. Speaking of which, we're #1 on page 1 for
"professional women" in Google's global pages, an achievement we're
very chuffed about!
Galia followed on next, drawing a picture of our plans and next
steps, in particular the ways we are trying to make a difference to
professional working women in New Zealand. Our plans include a
book, in-depth research on what works, corporate work and
specialised workshops for our many members who are self-employed or
work in small organisations.
Galia also thanked the many people who have supported us this
year, including our clients, and those who've given us access to
new networks, and to the latest research materials.
After we'd spoken, we felt we could get into chatting, working
through the mounds of fresh sushi, and relaxing properly with wine
in hand! (See right for Galia doing just that...). There was also
the seriously chocolately birthday cake to pass around!
We were thrilled the next day to receive wonderful feedback from
our guests telling us how much they had enjoyed the evening. The
following message especially touched us:
Galia, Sarah, congratulations!
Last night was extraordinary!
And I will tell you why:
Because of the people,
interesting, positive, professional women.
It was so easy to start a conversation.
One of the great things was that these were all individuals that
you have some connection to. So it really felt like an evening in
your living room, rather than an organised networking event.
It's actually great that you don't work through corporates who
send groups of women to the event, but rather have individual women
who are there because being there means something to them.
Because of the environment,
Not a convention hall in a hotel, not a bar. An art gallery. And
active participation from the gallery representative.
Because of the spirit,
Your energy and entrepreneurship are inspiring.
I know, the word inspiring is overused. But still, there is
something about meeting people who have a certain flair about them,
and when you spend time around them, some of it sticks to you and
makes a little change in your thoughts. Isn't that inspiration? You
both have it, and you definitely have it as a team.
Thanks to you both, and don't stop!
We don't intend to!
Thanks again to all of you who came to share the evening. We
hope you'll find the going-home presents useful and, for those who
took away slices of chocolate cake, we hope partners, children and
flatmates all helped you share the calorific load!
Sarah and Galia
© Professionelle Ltd 2008