Happy Hour Club Launching Saint John Chapter
SAINT JOHN – A new is event is aiming to help women in Saint John make meanful connections, minus all the awkward things that typically come with networking.
Happy Hour Club hosts two-hour events, typically from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., a few times a year for women to get together to network and celebrate their achievements. Its new Saint John chapter will be hosting its first event next month.
The club got its start back in January 2018 when founder Courtney Larking moved to Fredericton from Nova Scotia. She was looking for a way to meet and network with other women in her new city.
“I just couldn’t seem to find a group that existed that I didn’t have to pay membership to or have to be a CEO or anything like that. I just felt like I wanted to make connections with women and hear about the great things they were doing, just have that sense of community,” says Larkin.
“From my background in Halifax where I worked and lived I’ve done a lot of event planning so I thought I could plan a little event and maybe a handful of women would come.”
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After several successful events in Fredericton, there was strong interest to start Happy Hour Club chapters in Moncton and Saint John. The Moncton chapter launched back in September and the Saint John chapter will have its first event on November 7 at Gahan House Port City.
Happy Hour Club events are ticketed, which includes two complimentary drinks for attendees. A few days prior to the event, attendees receive an email detailing where everything is when they arrive.
“Everything from ‘Turn left to get your glass’ and ‘go right for door prizes,'” says Larkin. “Because I know what it’s like to going to an event and you show up and you’re, ‘I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do. I’m just going to get a glass of wine and hide in the corner.’ “
The reason for the thorough communication is to help relieve some of the stress and awkwardness that’s typical for networking events.
“We try to make it so you never feel that way. We give you every little detail upfront. When you get there, you are greeted by our team and our team is also in the room of the event and they’ve studied the whole guest list,” says Larkin. “When you arrive you’re like, ‘Hi, I’m Courtney.’ and they like, Courtney, yes! I know you work at this company, let me help you introduce you to people.’ It makes you much more welcome.”
Tickets to the first Saint John event are already 60 per cent sold. Larkin says she expects the event to sell out and that all women are welcome to attend.
“The events are for all women. Whether you’re a lawyer, a dentist, work for a not-for-profit. You might be a stay-at-home mom, a new grad, literally everything and anything,” says Larkin.
“At our events, we typically see people from 18 right up to 85. It’s really incredible because I don’t think there’s ever been an event that really captures that age range. It’s an opportunity to come out and truly make meaningful connections with other women in the city.”