Musgrave’s host our Christmas Jingle Mingle
B4b brought the curtain down on 2018 with a bang at its Christmas networking event on Tuesday 4th Dec. The event was hosted by Musgrave Marketplace and our members were treated to a lavish array of food & drink while Ballymun crooner Hazel Peters belted out the Christmas hits (until wannabe rapper Martin Eastwood abruptly stormed the stage!) Musgrave’s really pulled out all the stops and we can’t thank the two Brian’s Teehan and Staunton enough.
The formalities kicked off with our 6’4 elf and chairman Robert Murphy welcoming everybody and providing a quick review of the year. It really has been some year with several thousands of euro in business being done between our members and beyond, over 30 paid up members and nearly 200 people registering for our events.
Our guest speaker for the evening was Tracey McCann, a truly inspirational young woman. At the age of 8 Tracey was struck down with a very rare condition that resulted in her losing the ability to talk and the use of her arms. This has not prevented Tracey from doing the things she loves; hill-walking, running and travelling the world. You could hear a pin drop as Tracey as shared her journey from insecurity and uncertainty to becoming a life-coach, inspirational speaker and best selling author on Amazon.
We were delighted to welcome Sarah Bourne a mentor with Coderdojo Ballymun to speak about the ‘Dojo’ that runs every Saturday from the Child & Family Resource Centre in Shangan. They get over 20 local kids (or ninja’s as they prefer to be called) turning up every Saturday morning to learn all about coding. The Dojo is volunteer lead and Sarah said they would be delighted to hear from our members interested in becoming a mentor.
Next and most importantly it was time to get down to the reason why we were all there – some good old fashioned N E T W O R K I N G! Our resident networking champion Maureen Byrne orchestrated the networking by handcuffing people together. Ok, so this didn’t really happen but helped by props provided by Martin Eastwood the reindeer hats spoke with the Santa hats and there was a great buzz in the room as everybody mingled, finding out about one another’s business and swapping business cards.
Before the meeting closed Robert acknowledged the hard work and dedication of the steering committee during the year, in particular facilitator Catherine Whelan and Secretary Liam Barry who make these network meetings happen. Ever the modest professional, Catherine was mortified at being singled out for praise and instead commended the members for making B4b what it is and highlighted the excellent value for money B4b gives its members. On that note she encouraged each and every member to spread the good word about B4b so that we can go from strength to strength n 2019. With those poignant words ringing in our little elf ears it was back to the nibbles, wine and the craic!
During the evening there was a raffle for a lovely hamper supplied by Musgrave’s that was won by Sabrina Voit of The Digital Witch. Well done Sabrina!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Membership is a bargain at only €50 for the year. Here’s what one of our members had to say about B4b:
Thank you and all the organisers for such a great event, I really enjoyed the evening.
Just to say a big thanks to B4b for all the support and referrals I received throughout this year. More than a third of my 2018 revenue has come from either working directly with other B4b businesses or from referrals from B4b members to outside businesses. I can honestly say that being part of the B4b network has certainly boosted my business and I look forward to a great 2019!
Marian McCullough, AOS Training
If you are interested in learning more about B4b contact Catherine Whelan on info@b4b.ie
