Eight accomplished professional businesspeople and trainers will host concurrent morning and afternoon workshops during the 2012 Business Women’s Forum – (BWF®) November 1st in Hartford, Connecticut. The business development-focused workshops will be conducted on topics of leadership, employee engagement, effective networking, managing international workforce, sales, marketing, social media, and customer service excellence. The 30th annual Business Women’s Forum will also feature three motivational speakers: Chris Dailey, UCONN Women’s Basketball Associate Head Coach, who will speak at 8:30 a.m. during the opening breakfast session; Dennis Snow, a customer services expert, speaker and trainer, will speak at 9:30 a.m.; and Elizabeth Vargas, award-winning anchor of ABC-TV’s “20/20” newsmagazine, who will be the event’s luncheon keynote speaker at 12:15 p.m.
The BWF is Connecticut’s largest and longest-running full-day annual conference of speakers and workshops for women. Celebrating 30 years of notable success in 2012, the Business Women’s Forum (www.2012bwf.com) is a program of the non-profit Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Waterbury, Conn. The thriving organization is led by female executives dedicated to the professional and personal growth of working women. Sponsored annually by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the BWF is supported by numerous Connecticut-based companies.
“Winning Strategies for Business Professionals is the theme of the 2012 BWF conference,” stated Lynn Ward, president and CEO of the Waterbury Regional Chamber, and a BFW director. ”We anticipate more than 700 businesspeople from throughout New England will attend the full day of motivational speakers, the eight professional development workshops, networking, and a closing wine and cheese reception with raffle and door prizes.” The 2012 BWF will be held at the Connecticut Convention Center, 100 Columbus Avenue in Hartford, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At 10:30 a.m. BWF participants will be able to choose from four concurrent workshops. “Critical Traits and Strategies for Leaders” will be presented by Andrea Lanese, MBA, a human resources management and corporate human resources specialist. Ms. Lanese stated, “This workshop will help new and aspiring leaders be more effective in today’s rapidly-changing global marketplace. Participants will learn about the characteristics and traits of effective leaders, the role of an organization’s leader, and a leader’s competencies. They will complete assessment exercises and discuss strategies for achieving results as a leader.”
“Engaging Employees for High Performance During Turbulent Times” will be presented by an award-winning organizational development and training consultant, Rob Toller, MS. He will help participants learn how to engage and focus their staffs to excel in daily work challenges; concepts for employee motivation; and essentials of healthy employee dialogue to foster positive participation and a focused commitment to results. They will also learn of tools to handle conflict and build employee trust and accountability to prepare them to lead their employees effectively through difficult times.
Post University Director of Communications Kelly Stratmore will lead the morning workshop “To Ring or to Ping: Using Your Communications Toolbox More Effectively”. Ms. Stratmore stated, “This workshop will help participants focus on identifying target audiences, crafting their messages to each audience, and choosing the best approach for delivering that message to each audience using various social media vehicles, emails and letters.
“Developing Your Competitive Edge” will be the focus of the morning workshop with Karen Hinds, Workplace Success Group Founder and CEO. She will help participants learn how to be strategic in their approach to advancement; develop the right mindset to sustain themselves personally and professionally; and how to build strategic alliances with internal and external audiences
Bob Dickson, president of Dale Carnegie Training of Western Connecticut will present “Is Your NET Really WORK’ing?” at 2 p.m. He will help participants understand how to ‘step out of their comfort zones to create sales opportunities and potential, and create lasting impressions.” Mr. Dickson will also discuss six ways to create new business opportunities, building networking rapports, and the success of projecting positive images.
Also in the afternoon, Tracy Knolfa of High Impact Training will present “Managing Today’s International Workforce”. She will educate participants on learning the differences between generations to help employees work effectively together and with others. Ms. Knolfa will provide keys for understanding the characteristics of each generation with specific strategies to effectively manage and motivate employees from their unique perspectives.
MTV-Made Coach, women’s and team life coach, and motivational speaker Jaclyn Vocell will present “The Drive of Your Life” to help participants “envision what they want to be personally and professionally. She will help participants realize their direction and what or who is driving them; their value and to stop riding shotgun; driving their life with a purpose; and five steps for leading their life.
In addition to being a morning motivational speaker to the entire November 1 BWF audience, customer service expert, Dennis Snow will conduct a “Leading a Culture of Service Excellence” workshop in the afternoon. He will focus on how to develop and execute an organization-wide service excellence strategy to meet client and customer demands in today’s competitive market. Based on the leadership principles he learned and presented during his 20-years with Walt Disney World, this presentation highlights specific leadership behaviors that bring a service strategy to life and how to ‘hardwire’ service excellence into an organization’s culture.
Entry into the 2012 BWF is $175/person and includes breakfast, lunch, eight workshops, speakers, and the closing reception with raffles and prizes. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.2012bwf.com, or calling the Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce at 203-757-0701.