Noreen McKenzie has been busy this month. Apart from her day job as a Financial Advisor and as the newly-elected vice-president of Network Ireland, she has been looking ahead and checking out venues for next year’s Network conference which will be held in Galway.
For that event, bringing together members of 15 branches from across Ireland, as is tradition, she will be the host, and will bring the major event to the city late next year.
She is hopeful that the event next year will be one that can be held in relative normality, but she is very keen that some aspects of lockdown culture be retained.
“We are hoping that we will be able to have an in-person event in 2021, but most certainly by 2022. But I am determined that we will be trying to maintain an element of virtual attendance when we go back to normality, so that the facility will be open to people in other branches to feel part of an event even thought they might not be there.
“The technological advances which allow virtual events to take place are a real positive that is coming from the entire Covid area. When people return to their branches and meet in person again, they will still have the capabilities to attend and watch virtually and benefit from the wonderful content that Network Ireland branches around the country create for our members,” she said.
More hybrid networking
“There will be a lot more of a hybrid nature to all events in all walks of life post Covid. This will be a living legacy that will last. No longer will you have to physically be in a place to avail of a conference or a concert or a play,” she said.
Married to Martin, and Mum to Lauren aged 11 and Ava aged 8, Noreen works as a Financial Advisor with Sherry FitzGerald Financial Services based in Forster Street, Galway.
Having worked in this role for over 20 years in various Sales and Management Roles and also as Volunteer Manager in a Voluntary Organisation, she has vast cross sector knowledge in both sales and training.
As President of Network Galway in 2017, Noreen collaborated and worked with a varied number of organisations to increase awareness of the benefits of Networking.
Over the years, she has freely given her time to voluntary organisations such as The Down Syndrome Centre having organised and managed the Buy My Dress Fundraiser in Galway for four years, Voices for Down Syndrome, Make-A-Wish Foundation, ACT for Meningitis raising awareness and fundraising on their behalf.
“I am really looking forward to it, to bring the conference back west of the Shannon. It has been a while since we had a Galway branch president. Since I joined Network I have noticed that no matter how much time you gave, you get back more out of it. From a personal development point of view, it has been great. I joined in 2015 and I stepped onto the committee as an events co-ordinator, and later became Galway Branch President in 2017.”
Delivering on member benefits
Noreen feels that from adversity in 2020, the camaraderie and support that lockdown engendered showed the real benefits of the membership of Network.
“The difficulty of 2020 brought out the best in Network from my point of view, because we were really able to deliver on the member benefits which had always been there. One of these benefits was that you were allowed to attend any Network event anywhere in the country, so pre Covid, of you were based in Galway, it would have been hard to travel to West Cork or Kilkenny or some place for an event.
“In 2020, when it all became virtual, that benefit became a real benefit for members in that they could access up to 15 events every month from the comfort of their own homes. From that point of view, members were getting really good content, be it all virtual across the 15 branches.”
She said that the Mentoring for Success programme came into its own and across all levels of business.
“The social media and direct marketing mentors were very busy last year with businesses keen to pivot to online when their stories and office closed. They all had to relook at their businesses. People who had not been online had to do so, and those who had already been online had to shape up their offering.
“In this environment too, the Network members excelled in helping each other. The women came out to support and collaborate with each other. A lot of the networks ran coffee chats even on an informal basis. At these, there was a wealth of experience that was being offered to people across all branches.
“Another issue that we found too was that in Covid, some people’s businesses were actually thriving, so we had to be sensitive about this when there were people whose livelihoods had been lost, so there was all of that as well.
“Some people were feelling guilty about their success, so from both sides we were supporting and collaborating with the members across a variety of issues.
“We also made sure that members were aware of the supports that were out there for businesses impacted by the pandemic. We had members who came on board and offered their services and advice as to what help was out there and this was invaluable in helping members get going again.”
Noreen says that there were many members who benefited from the social interaction of the informal coffee chats.
“There were people who were not comfortable with the Zoom side of things and they struggled, but found they got the social interaction through the more informal networking events that we started to do last year.
“The coffee chats and catchups replaced the breakfast and lunch events that we used to hold pre-Covid in Galway,” she said, adding that members get real fulfilment from being part of a collaborative organisation.
“The more you get involved, the more you get addicted to it. It has never been like another job or like work to me, because it has always been so enjoyable.You are meeting people at all stages of careers, from your solo entrepreneur to your CEO of a company with 2,000 employees. I encourage people to step forward and to get out of our own way and follow our dreams,” she said.
This is something that drives Noreen. She is keen that female employees and entrepreneurs and businesswomen should sample the camaraderie and mentoring that is available through Network.
“I have a keen interest in personal development and believe that every single day offers us opportunities for learning, and it is in embracing these opportunities, that we continue to grow and evolve as human beings,” she said, adding that the theme for International Women’s Day 2021 on Monday March 8 is “Choose to Challenge”. “Network Ireland will be celebrating the “Power of Network Ireland” on that day with a virtual event with all proceeds going to Focus Ireland. We will be delighted to see you all there.”
It could change your life.
