Clanking Around the Bases for Charity
Turn a Career Break into a Career Boost
Diversity Drive: In the Fast Lane
Reinvention Rocks at Chamber Fair
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Kathleen McGinn Spring were prepared for the
August 20, 2003 issue of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Nominations Please
PSE&G is accepting applications for its 2003
Recognizing
Excellence in Volunteerism grant programs. Competitive grants are
available for qualified nonprofit organizations where PSE&G employees
volunteer.
Up to 17 grants will be awarded this year, ranging from $1,000 to
$10,000. An independent panel from the business and non-profit
communities
will review all applications. Awards will be based on overall service,
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Last year’s grants were awarded to organizations such as the March
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Non-profits with PSE&G employees on their rosters of volunteers are
invited to submit a nomination. For more information call
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Top Of PageClanking Around the Bases for Charity
Integra is putting a whole new face on the charity
softball
game. When Integra takes the field for its “Fourth Almost Annual
Charity Softball Game” its opponents will be wearing full suits
of armor.
Robyn Dormer, director of graphics for the life science company
based at 311 Enterprise Drive, is in charge of the “almost
annual”
event. In the past, she recruited radio station WPST to play in the
softball game, but this year the radio station found itself without
a team. And so Dormer was left without an opponent for the charity
game, which has raised as much as $4,200 for the Brain Injury
Association
of New Jersey.
Dormer says her first thought was to fill visitors’ jerseys with
stars.
She signed up actor Brian O’Halloran, who appeared in the film Clerks.
Then she went to see a friend’s performance in New Jersey Renaissance
Kingdom. Based in Somerset, and performing in West Orange, the acting
troupe recreates a day in the life of a Renaissance village. As soon
as she saw the troupe, she knew she had a better idea for the softball
event. She asked if the Renaissance players — armor and all —
would play Integra’s team in its charity classic. They readily agreed.
Joining the Renaissance Kingdom and O’Halloran are John Mozes of WPST,
Boomer, that rascally Trenton Thunder mascot, and Sparkee, the mascot
of the Somerset Patriots’ baseball team. Dormer has not yet seen
Sparkee,
but says he is a dog-like character.
A music group, the Zone, two of whose members live in Ewing, will
be on hand to provide live music throughout the game, which begins
at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 20, at Community Park Field No. 2 in
Plainsboro at Scotts Corner Road, off Dey Road.
Integra employees will sell their home-baked goods at the game, and
there will be games for children and for adults.
Dormer says she has lost track of how much time she is spending
organizing
the event, but she does say that she has been at it since June.
Integra
administration is generous is giving employees time to work on the
event, and it comes at a relatively slow time for the business.
“Spring
and fall are our busy times,” says Dormer. “Summer is a little
more quiet.”
Dormer expects that this year’s event, featuring an armor-clad
opposing
team, will raise more money than any of the company’s previous
fundraisers.
But one burning question remains. Will baseball players decked out
in steel and iron mesh be able to swing a bat?
“We’ll see,” says Dormer.
Top Of PageTurn a Career Break into a Career Boost
What’s My Line? Not only is this the name of one of
the most popular game shows in television history, but it is also
a real-life question aimed with unnerving frequency at legions of
well-educated women. Trained to be attorneys or analysts or animal
trainers, many answer “mom” to the ubiquitous question, at
least for a time. For others the honest answer is “caregiver to
my mom.” Other popular answers include “career changer”
and “novice business owner.”
Few women walk a straight line. Yet nearly all women need to keep
an eye on long-term career prospects, even while pushing a stroller
or helping an elderly relative learn to pilot a walker.
Melissa Wahl, executive director of the National Association
of Female Executives (NAFE), was surprised to find herself deviating
from the straight-and-narrow career path, and wandering off into an
alley that was anathema to bright, fast-trackers of her generation.
A producer for television game shows, including To Tell the Truth
and What’s My Line, Wahl shocked even herself by opting to stay at
home after the birth of her first child.
“I was a real women’s libber,” says Wahl. “Deciding to
stay at home with my child was a 360 degree turn. I had always said
`I’m going to have my child and get right back to work.’” Held
hostage by the unparalleled strength of a baby’s smile and outreached
arms, Wahl parked her career. But she kept herself revved up for the
day when she was ready to merge into the fast lane once again.
On Wednesday, August 20, at 5:30 p.m., Wahl speaks to the Central
Jersey Women’s Network on “Maximizing Your Connections to Stand
Out in a Crowd.” The dinner meeting takes place at the Wyndham
Mount Laurel. The cost is $32. Call 908-281-9234 for more information.
A graduate of New York University, where she studied communications,
Wahl is a California native who has lived in New York City since she
was five. Providing evidence that no trace of the west coast remains
in her life, Wahl proclaims, “I don’t drive.” In an example
of keeping an eye out for every eventually, however, she says she
has a driver’s license, and is careful to keep it current. “It’s
great I.D.,” she says, “and I would never pass the test
again.”
Landing game show jobs right out of college, Wahl enjoyed the
excitement,
despite the pressure cooker working conditions. “We had
presidents,
including Jimmy Carter, on What’s My Line?” she says. “We
had astronauts, fashion designers, actors. We would do five shows
in one day, starting at dawn and working right through.” She was
a judge on Sale of the Century. “I did all the research,”
she recalls. “When a contestant gave an answer, they turned to
me, and asked `Is this answer acceptable?’ It was a lot of
pressure.”
And a lot of fun.
Walking away was not something she planned, but after the birth of
her first son, who is now 24, walk away she did. Six years later,
she had another son. By the time her second child was born, computers
were in broad use. “We had used IBM Selectrics,” she says
of the state of the world during her game show period.
Seeking to re-enter the working world, Wahl contacted a former
colleague,
and asked for a crash computer course. She learned enough so that
she could add “computer literate” to her resume.
“Trying to re-enter the workforce is tricky,” she says.
Television
game shows had decamped for the West Coast, so going back to her old
career niche was not a possibility. Rather than think in terms of
industries, she thought in terms of her skills. Writing popped up
right away as an area of strength. When she spotted a job working
for NAFE’s magazine, Executive Female, in the New York Times, she
applied, attracted in part by the flexible hours if offered. It turned
out that the hours were pretty much full time, but that was okay.
Just as she had been hooked by her first baby, she was soon hooked
by her new job.
After publishing NAFE’s magazine, something she still does, she became
fascinated by NAFE’s far-flung chapters, and started NAFE Networks,
of which the Central Jersey Women’s Network is a part. Then, after
a stint at another women’s organization, she was asked to become
executive
director of NAFE, which is now a part of WorkingMother Media,
publisher
of Working Mother magazine.
Wahl admits that re-entering the workforce — as so many women
do for so many reasons — does tend to set a career back for a
time. But reentry can lead to even greater career heights, if it is
done wisely. Lessons from Wahl’s experience show how to merge back
in smoothly:
Maintain industry ties. An ongoing work friendship wasWahl’s ticket to insight into just what computer skills werenecessary,and to instruction in the basics.No matter how enthralling it is to watch a baby grow — and itcan be plenty enthralling, not to mention exhausting — make timefor lunches, phone chats, E-mails, and even weekends away with formercolleagues. They will know all about trends, the rise and fall ofimportant players, and the hottest new must-have technology tools.Burn no bridges. The fact that Wahl left NAFE for a timeto work for another women’s organization, and then was invited backto head up the association, speaks volumes on the importance ofleavinga job — for whatever reason — with the utmost grace.Inventory transferable skills. Ready to get back to work,Wahl no longer thought of herself as a game show producer, or evenas a television producer. She let her old titles — and her oldindustry — go. Way ahead of her time, she thought of herself asa collection of skills. Transferable skills.Be open to new possibilities. Wahl identified writingas one of her most important core skills, yet when an opportunityto move into association management came along, she welcomed it.Actually,she went one step further, and created an opening for herself in afield in which she had no formal training or experience.A break from work can easily be a career buster, but it canalso be a career booster, as Wahl’s experience demonstrates. For her,the answer to What’s My Line? has changed a few times, but the answerto Are You Loving Your Work? has remained constant.Top Of PageDiversity Drive: In the Fast LaneDSR Motorsports Inc. has formed anAfrican-American-ownedrace team destined to compete in National Association of Stock CarRacing (NASCAR). It begins a national tour in Trenton at the newPenningtonVillage Plaza on Friday and Saturday, August 22 and 23, from 3-8 p.m.Pennington Village Plaza is located at 359 Pennington Avenue, Trenton.The mobile exhibit will feature a show car, racing simulator, freefood, music, giveaways, and DSR employment opportunities. Forinformationcall 609-977-4789.DSR plans to enter community-based teams into both Busch and Nextellevel races in 2004 with the team will racing out of the NorthernVA area.”DSR was formed with the interest of improving diversity in autoracing and attracting a wide variety of new people, both fans andparticipants, to the sport,” says DSR president Jus JamesHoagland,”The catalyst for the team has all along been our desire toincreasethe presence of people of color in this ever-evolving, popular sport.DSR’s strategy includes a multi-city and racing capital tour to exposethe many minority market segments that have not been properly exposedto the sport of auto racing.”Top Of PageReinvention Rocks at Chamber FairNothing is static. Not even a business community. Atheme at this year’s Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce BusinessTrade Fair and U.S. 1 Technology Showcase is change.”People are reinventing themselves,” says Joanne Meehan,who is organizing the fair for the Chamber. “The Princeton economyis good,” she says, “with a lot of new businesses.” Anumber of the new businesses exhibiting at the fair are fledglingslaunched by men and women who worked for some of the area’s largestemployers not all that long ago.Taking its theme from the spirit of these intrepid entrepreneurs,the annual fair’s logo reads “New Ideas, New Products, NewBusiness,New Services.”The event takes place on Thursday, August 28, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,at the Westin hotel in Forrestal Village. Throughout the day, thereare workshops, question and answer sessions, and talks, includingthe U.S. 1 Technology Showcase keynote speech by Edward Felten,director of Princeton University’s Secure Internet Programming Lab.Felten speaks at 3 p.m.At 11 a.m. representatives from the College of New Jersey SmallBusinessDevelopment Center take questions from people eager to learn abouthow to start a small business and from business owners looking forways to move their enterprises to the next level. At noon, HerbGreenberg and Patrick Sweeney of Caliper interviewPrinceton-areabusiness owners during a live Nassau Broadcasting program. After lunch(the only event for which there is a fee — $35), the PrincetonWork Life Alliance, led by Barbara Kaplan of AmericanRe, talksabout low-cost, and even no-cost, ways in which employers cancompensatetheir employees.Throughout the day, area eateries keep fair attendees refreshed.Breakfast,starting at 10 a.m., features food from Chambers Walk, Panera, MainStreet, and the Westin. Then at 2 p.m., the Rusty Scupper, under thesupervision of new manager, Kelly Campbell, serves sorbet andfresh fruit. As the day begins to wind down, after 3 p.m., River HorseBrewery and Triumph Brewery host a beer tasting. The beer isaccompaniedby appetizers from Amalfi’s and from the Conference Center at theNew Jersey Hospital Association.Interwoven among the talks and the tastings are exhibits by more than100 businesses. Some, like A-1 Limousine, Eden W.E.R.C.s, McCarterTheater, and the Nassau Inn, have been household names in thePrincetonarea for years. Others are brand new, and a quick glance at thenewcomersreveals a trend.Service is in. There are some tasks that simply can not be exportedto India or Ireland. Among the new businesses are bed and breakfasts,errand services, and a handyman operation. The Chamber’s Joanne Meehanis especially knowledgeable about the last. Called Call Pat 4 Help,it is owned by her husband, Pat Meehan.Until late last March, Pat was doing SEC regulatorycompliance work for Equitable. Then the company was purchased by AXA,and he was out of a job. Given outplacement at Lee Hecht Harrison,Pat immediately buckled down and looked for a new job. But, says hiswife, “the people at Lee Hecht Harrison kept saying `you may geta new job, but only expect to keep it for two years.’”Faced with this discouraging prospect, the 56-year-old decided togo with plan B. “He had wanted to start a handyman business whenhe retired, at 60,” says Joanne. Moving the timetable up, hedecidedto start right away.The biggest hurdle was procuring business insurance. “No one wantsto insure someone who’s climbing around on ladders,” she says.Persevering, Pat did obtain the insurance, from Commerce Bank.His next step was incorporating. “He did it all over the Internetin less than a day,” says his wife. “He got all the tax IDnumbers on the Internet. I came home, and he held up a piece of paper.`Look, I’m incorporated!’ he said.”In the first days of his new business, Pat has been busy installingceiling fans. He also fixes sump pumps, installs garage door openers,power washes houses and decks, repairs screens and sprinklers, doesyard work, and more.Business prospects look good. The Meehans live in Cranbury, surroundedby new developments, some for seniors. “People moving in don’tknow how to do anything,” says Joanne. And even if they do, it’sa good bet that few want to spend weekends fiddling with sump pumpsor dragging wet leaves out from under bushes.”Pat got signs made for his truck,” says Joanne. Soonthereafter,he pulled into Home Depot for supplies and was promptly propositionedby a harried homeowner. “He wanted him to do three things,”she laughs.Who knew that reinvention would be the most important skill 21stcenturyman could possess? The ability to switch from complex research, numbercrunching, and office politics to sump pump repair is not part ofany curriculum taught from kindergarten through grad school. Yetgatheringthe courage to make such a leap can do more than keep household cashflow healthy.”Pat has never been happier,” says his wife as she spendsthe last hectic days before the trade fair filling booths withcorporaterefugees excited about starting life anew as entrepreneurs.Top Of PageCorporate AngelsBristol-Myers Squibb has given a $6,500 grant to the GirlScouts of Delaware-Raritan to educate girls about the various typesof mental illness. The grant provides a mechanism for Girl Scoutsat various age levels to complete specific activities that willincreasetheir awareness and understanding of serious mental illness.This program was developed by Princeton Service Unit Director KimSteinnagel with the support of her Cadette Girl Scout troop. Itincludesnine level-appropriate program boxes for troop leaders, complete withsupplies to support the delivery of the program.Each of the program boxes will consist of posters, brain models,informationalvideos on mental illness, hands-on activities, games, resource lists,informational pamphlets and books, copies of the patch program, anda leader’s guide.With studies showing that girls are seven times more likely than boysto be depressed and twice as likely to attempt suicide, the GirlScoutsof Delaware-Raritan say that this program could not have beendevelopedat a more critical time.Once the pilot workshops and program boxes have been tested, theMentalHealth Awareness Patch program may be distributed to many of the over300 other Girl Scout councils around the country.The community projects committee of the Mercer County BarAssociation is conducting a Backpack Fundraiser. The committeeis collecting cash for the purchase of backpacks and school supplies.The filled backpacks will be distributed to children in the communitywho do not have proper school supplies for the start of the upcomingschool year.Anyone who would like to help out with the effort is asked to call609-585-6200.In mid-July Dow Jones hosted 35 students, ages 14 to 16,from the Princeton Community House. Company representatives spoketo the youngsters about how technology fits into the everydayoperationsof the corporation. There was a demonstration of how reporters sendtheir stories from around the world to Dow Jones’ South Brunswickoffice and of how computers are used throughout the organization.The Princeton Community House, founded in 1969 by a group ofundergraduates,exists to address the needs and inequities that exist in the JohnWitherspoon community. It exists as a mechanism for community serviceand as a place for the sharing of ideas and the airing of challengesin a place where needs are understood and valued.Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey , making aconnection between good health and the ability to read well, isworkingto improve literacy through a variety of school, community, andworkplaceliteracy programs. To date, Horizon has established health literacyprograms with two Boys and Girls Clubs, partnered with CumberlandCounty College to establish a leadership program to literacymentoring,and co-sponsored the Governor’s Book Club, a program established byGovernor McGreevey in conjunction with Scholastic Books.Princeton Insurance Company has completed a drive tocollectuseful items for U.S. soldiers stationed abroad. Organized byPrinceton’sEmployee Activities Committee, collections were accepted under theguidelines of the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey’s”Qualityof Life” program.Rider University students and staff have raised $11,814.41 forWomanspace, a Trenton-based non-profit agency that providescomprehensiveservices to individuals and families affected by domestic and sexualviolence.Led by Vince Meyers, EHM NJ K-12 Architects co-produced”Build and Believe,” a youth mentoring program withMentorPowerInc. and also gave financial support. The Nassau Street-basedarchitecturalfirm used to be known as E. Harvey Meyers, Architects, but has changedits name to EHM NJ K-12 Architects.In this program, which utilized Mercer County College’s Auto CADcenter,a dozen students, one from Lawrence High and the rest from TrentonHigh, participated in an architectural project and received a $400stipend. They had to design and build a model of a warehouse and alsocreate an original design for Trenton Central High School. Thestudentsalso learned public speaking, critical evaluation, and long-termthinking.MentorPower (formerly NJEnvironmentors) works with underserved highschool students, helping them to be active stewards of their lives,communities, and environment, says Maureen J. Quinn, director.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
