Like anyone who has planned and sweated over an upcoming event that they were throwing...I worried about people showing up and that the event would go as planned. I needn't have been concerned...tonight's Grand Opening event for our new Club E Office was a smashing success!
After listening to so-called Club E insiders tell me point blank that few would show for a downtown Phoenix event on a Saturday night, I was mildly concerned that they might be right. You see, my dear friend, Sue Malone, our featured speaker, had asked for my help to give her a forum to air her concerns that two idiots in the SBA hierarchy were trying to sabotage the best (and only) programs that actually helped start-up and expanding entrepreneurs like Club E menbers. Sue travels 51 weeks a year and in a very short time, these morons who are trying to block Sue's efforts to continue the Patriot Express and Community Express loans would be bullying their way to remove the program that Sue Malone had not only pioneered but single handedly made a great success. Saturday, August 21st was the most convenient time for Sue to fly into town and be our featured speaker to coordinate her mission with our Grand Opening of our new CEO....and we both accomplished our goals in a spectacular fashion tonight!
I had other reasons to pick the timing for our event. Two candidates for public office that I personally endorse and who represented the entrepreneurial mindset that each could bring to separate government offices, if elected...face the primaries only three days from now. Sue Malone, LeAnn Hull, Bill Montgomery and Club E aligned their forces and tonight, Club Entrepreneur hosted over 200 bright, optimistic and earnest entrepreneurs from literally every age group and walk of life. Sue, America's largest SBA lender, LeAnn Hull, a Congressional candidate and Bill Montgomery, the hopeful for the Maricopa County Attorney's position, all came together to present in front of Club E tonight...and did a fantastic job in getting their messages across. To a one, the message resonated from all three..."The only salvation for America, lies within it's entrepreneurs."
We started the event with an invitation-only roundable discussion between Sue and what turned out to be an astounding 45 Club E members that gave up their Saturday afternoon to ask questions and hear from Sue about her concerns of losing the coveted SBA programs that help our country's entrepreneurs. Sonia Graham, co-manager of the CE with her husband Jim, recorded the engaging and often emotional conversations between us all for future posting and circulation. The message was powerful, "Entrepreneurs need help with financing and these programs (Community Express and Patriot Express) are one answer that needs to remain."
At 5 PM, people began to stream in. I was fortunate enough to be befriended by several other networking group leaders that supported our guest speakers and had thrown their marketing muscle to help Club E reach it's goal of having a solid 200 attendees for our Grand Opening kickoff event. I thank each of my friends like Austin Feldman, who aided our cause with a spectacular turn out of loyal Club E members and a host of newcomers to the ranks.
The event was catered by our own, Janet Williams, who provided a feast for all of us from the main course to the delicious desserts. Janet is a "banker by day, caterer by night" member of Club E, who is itching to become a full time entrepreneur and we are helping her achieve that dream through Club E. In turn, we enjoy the greatest food of any networking group out there. Thank you, Janet!
Two new Club E members, Mike and Kelly Porter, manned the video recorders and taped the entire presentation of our speakers as well as assorted footage of the group and our spectacular new headquartwrs. We'll be editing that footage and posting it soon to our sites and future video emails to our membership. Thank you Mike and Kelly for your support!
The message to me was clear tonight...despite the many challenges we have had as an organization that had lost it's former home in Tempe to our landlord's foreclosure of our building, despite the reshuffling of our core team because of relocations and other life decisions, despite the constant challenge of too little resources for too many obligations and despite the need to work tirelessly to fight all the odds of running a business in America today....Club Entrepreneur is alive and well and leads the way for small business and entrepreneurial activity in the Phoenix Metroplitan area.
I am proud to be associated with all of you who support Club E and our wonderful country by being who you all are...the backbone of America..."The Entrepreneur!"
Thank you and good night,
Peter J. Burns, III
Founder
Club Entrepreneur
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Peter Burns
About Me
- Peter J. Burns III
- Beginning at age 19, I've started over 100 businesses. Educated at UVa. and Harvard Business School's OPM Program, I was raised back East (New Canaan, Nantucket, Sanibel) and am now in the "Wild West" of Phoenix, Arizona. My greatest venture to date is the establishing of this country's first College of Entrepreneurship. Along the way, I launched the University Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (available for student-inspired start-ups) and now what promises to be the world's largest entrepreneurial organization-Club Entrepreneur.