Program designed to help women make connections
Bank president to share tips/advice on networking

The WNY chapter of the American Business Women's Association Express Network will hold its kickoff meeting of the year at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 2 in the Millennium Hotel.

The dinner program, featuring Kathy Kiesel Flemming as speaker, will focus on "Power Networking - How it Can Benefit You and Your Business."

Flemming, president and CEO of Waterford Village Bank, notes that networking has contributed significantly to her ability to create the first new community commercial bank in New York in 70 years. She believes that networking can transform the way women do business.

"Whether you are a young professional just beginning your career or you are reaching retirement and focusing on the next stage of your life, networking can be the key to your success," said Flemming.

"Power networking is much more than simply collecting business cards. It's about identifying ways in which you connect one person with another in a meaningful way, whether or not it results in immediate business for yourself. Each connection you make in life moves to another, and it eventually builds business for all of us," she said.

"Express Network gives women an opportunity to meet savvy, career-minded, professional women who share the same values and drive," said Eileen Herr, a member of the women's business group, who has headed two businesses over the course of her career.

"It also provides an important link for education and professional growth," she said.

Flemming, a Buffalo native, returned to Clarence after a successful 25-year banking career in St. Louis.

With the opening of Waterford Village Bank in February 2007, she is believed to be the only woman in the U.S. to start and operate two de novo banks, meaning banks that have been in operation for five years or less.

She graduated magna cum laude from Southern University in Charleston, S.C., with a bachelor's degree in business management and has a master's in business administration from Fontbonne University in St. Louis.

Registration for the Express Network meeting is $20, which includes dinner at the Millennium Hotel, Walden Avenue at the I-90, Cheektowaga.

Networking will take place from 5:30 to 6 p.m., followed by the program.

To register, contact chapter president Trish Cwiklinski at 693-0006, ext. 30, or e-mail her at tcwiklinski@calamar.com. Or contact Eileen Herr, who is organizing the kickoff event, at 688-1027.

The mission of the American Business Women's Association is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and to provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support and national recognition. More information can be found at www.abwa. org.

This month, Waterford Village Bank is joining community bankers throughout the nation to celebrate Community Banking Month. Offering a full range of financial services to families and private banking customers, small and medium-size business owners, and professional athletes, the bank at 8411 Main St. is expected to move into its new 6,700-square-foot bank this summer. Most recently, Waterford Village Bank was selected by Business First as one of Buffalo's Best Places to Work.

For information on the Express Network and other Community Banking Month activities, contact Eileen Buzzard at 639-2000 or e-mail her at ebuzzard@waterfordvillagebank. com.