After our spring and summer hiatus, the Milwaukee City Group reunited on October 10, 2012 for a social roundtable forum at Water Buffalo in Milwaukee’s trendy Third Ward. Much to our delight, several LMA Midwest Board members gratefully ventured in to join the discussion on how best to bring value to the Milwaukee City Group moving forward. We welcomed many new faces to the group and leveraged the diverse perspective - ranging from coordinators on up to directors - as to what benefits each local professional seeks from LMA, how best to connect with non-members, and which educational and networking concepts are of most interest to our group in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and beyond.
Many agreed that the demands of modestly-sized marketing teams within Wisconsin’s firms often make it difficult to get away from the office. We seek to better accommodate this rising issue by leveraging web casts of other city groups when available, setting a consistent forum schedule for the year, launching free lunch ‘n learn sessions and offering a variety of casual post-work networking opportunities.
Interest and excitement were at an all-time high on this sunny October afternoon. For the first time in years, members and non-members stepped forward, anxiously volunteering to get involved and help further this important effort. Together, we will implement a steering committee to help plan and generate additional value-adds for the Milwaukee City Group. Progress is rapidly brewing in Milwaukee!
Don't be fooled, it wasn't all serious talk. After all, it was a social! Aside from the fabulous appetizers and cocktails we also caught up on recent personal news. Congratulations to Pete Smith and his wife on the arrival of their second daughter! And let it be known, our Chicago guests admitted that Milwaukee has amazingly delicious food! So true.
The voice of Milwaukee-area legal marketers was heard, and we especially thank the Board of Directors for joining us in-person and everyone from the City Group who contributed to this successful forum. If you were unable to join us but have suggestions for 2013 Milwaukee initiatives, please contact me directly. As always, I greatly appreciate hearing from you. Thank you to all who help continue the success of the Milwaukee City Group. We look forward to a professionally enriching 2013.
Pagette K. Fischer is marketing project manager for Foley & Lardner LLP. She served on the 2011 LMA Midwest Board of Directors as member-at-large-city group liaison and is vice-chair, programs - Milwaukee. She can be reached at pkfischer@foley.com.