Slowing Economy Speeds Up Schmoozing; McEnroe Impresses, Appalls Fans
A funny thing is happening in this economic slowdown. More people are attending professional events. NAIOP’s May 3 Night at the Fights, OC United Way’s May 8 real estate industry luncheon, last week’s Harvard Business School Association of OC’s Entrepreneurs Conference and this Wednesday’s Orange County Business Journal Women in Business Awards luncheon all report record attendance or record-fast registration. You might think interest would wane as dollars and deals get harder to come by, but many people now have more need to network and job hunt. Event organizers also seem to be getting smarter about how to attract crowds, with the Internet helping to get the word out. “Corporate sponsorships have softened, however, attendance and our mailing list have grown,” says Doner’s Billy Fried, who launched the Digital Orange County get-togethers last August. Fried notices a more serious attitude among the 100-plus persons who attend the monthly mixers at Cowboy in Corona del Mar: “People now are inclined to give out their business numbers and not their home numbers” Entrepreneur.com’s Tom Davin explaining revisions in dot-com terminology: “B2C to means ‘back to corporate.’ B2B means ‘back to banking'” It had to happen: Anaheim gun shop Arm USA advertises an “Anti-Rolling Blackout Sale” on rifles, handguns, safes and ammo Outreach: Former GOP Assembly speaker-turned-consultant Curt Pringle is hosting a $1,000-a-plate luncheon at the Doubletree Hotel Irvine Spectrum today for former Dem Assembly speaker-turned-LA mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa The Business Journal jinx: In his first three appearances following Yoko Ito-Peterson’s May 7 story about his popularity in Japan, Anaheim Angels pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa gave up five runs in four innings, lost a game and blew two saves Supe Todd Spitzer’s chief of staff, Paul Hernandez, is leaving to join Lockheed Martin as manager of West Coast constituent relations; he’ll try to sell government entities on the company’s IT services As Anaheim-based LBO firm Unique Partners continues trying to raise $125 million, it does so without one of its founding partners. Dan Lubeck, instrumental in the company’s first $40 million of investments, said he recently split from John Makoff and Scott Harman to set up his own investment firm … Mixed reviews for John McEnroe at the recent Success Magazine senior tennis tourney at Newport Beach Tennis Club. He won the event, drew the biggest crowds and entertained at a banquet where he signed autographs and auctioned off a personal tennis lesson and other items that raised $2,500 for the Kinship Center. But he also did his usual ranting at umpires and fans, left the fundraiser early and offended some dinner guests by using casual profanity in the presence of foster kids.
