In late 2007, Matt Criswell had become frustrated with the networking groups available to him in State College. After failing to find a better solution, Matt decided to start his own group based on input from several local business colleagues and in February 2008, Happy Valley Networking was born.
Membership
- Membership is available to businesses located in the State College area that do business in and around central PA.
- Membership in the group will be limited to one member per business category.
Admission
- Prospective members may attend up to 2 meetings at no cost.
- The president or vice president must approve prospective members.
- New members must be approved by a 2/3 vote of current members.
Obligations
- Members are obligated to share their knowledge and expertise along with leads and referrals to the other members of the group.
- Members are asked to invite potential members.
- Members are asked to suggest and/or invite guest speakers for the group.
- Maintain high standards of integrity in business conduct.
Attendance Responsibility
- Whenever possible, the president or vice president should be contacted regarding an absence prior to a meeting.
- Membership for members absent at 3 or more consecutive meetings will be subject to review by HVN officers and may result in loss of membership.
- 5 or more absences per year may result in the loss of membership.
- Members are asked to be on time for the meeting and to stay for the entire meeting unless other arrangements are made with an officer.
- Each business may assign multiple representatives so that a secondary representative may attend meetings in the absence of the primary member.
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- Multiple representatives from any member business may attend meetings, however, only one vote may be cast per member business in voting situations.
Membership Fees
- Membership fees are $100 per year.
- Non-Profit organizations receive a 20% discount on membership fees.
- Membership fees cover guest meals, website design & hosting, advertising costs, insurance, and other expenses.
- At least 75% of all membership fees will be invested back into the group.
- Members may be called upon to contribute additional funds to cover the cost of special events, additional advertising, etc.
Meetings
- 2 meetings per month on the first and third Wednesdays.
- 60 minutes - see agenda below.
Meeting Agenda
- Welcome
- If there are guests:
- Member introductions
- Guest introductions
- 50/50 sales
- Minutes review & approval
- New business
- Old business
- Chair reports
- Truths & rumors or word on the street
- Speaker/workshop
- Miscellaneous
- 50/50 winner (must still be present)