On behalf of the Wrestlers in Business Network (WIBN) national board members, I am thrilled to share that the 2019-2020 year is off to a terrific start. Many new chapters are being established across the country including those in the following cities: Indianapolis (IN), Minneapolis (MN), Allentown (PA), Reading (PA), Pittsburgh (PA), Detroit (MI) and Grand Junction (CO). I encourage WIBN members living in these areas to contact me if interested in serving on the local chapter board so I may introduce you to the business leaders organizing the chapters.

Also, we have been working on finalizing a WIBN “playbook” that will be disseminated to all chapter leaders in early September. This playbook includes all the tried and proven strategies along (with all supporting documentation, standard operating procedures, etc.) that our most active chapters have implemented to grow membership and facilitate compelling networking events. I want to thank each of the chapter leaders who contributed to the establishment of the playbook.  

I’d also like to extend a heartfelt thanks to WIBN Founder Aaron Grossman for his incredibly compelling and inspirational keynote speech at our annual NWCA Convention in Ft Lauderdale on August 2. Aaron delivered a terrific speech centered around the importance of resiliency, triumphing over tragedy, and many other critical skills learned through wrestling that translate very well in the business community. I want to encourage those WIBN members who speak professionally to let us know if you are interested in delivering a keynote address at one of our future conventions. Also, please share if you know of any wrestling alumni who have an inspirational message they can convey to our membership. 

In closing, I believe that WIBN is in a perfect position to sustain explosive growth in the 2019/20 year. To do so, we need everyone’s help to identify business associates you may have in other cities who would help us establish a new chapter. Just send them our way. In the meantime, please remember to do the following as you organize your WIBN chapter events for the upcoming year: 

• Forward your event schedules to the NWCA office (c/o Tom Fallis at tfallis@nwca.cc), so we can update your web pages.

• Our NWCA/WIBN database contains 40,000+ records, and we are happy to leverage these contacts via our “geo-filter” to help you promote chapter events and membership.

• Let us know if we can help you secure a keynote speaker for your next event (our list of professional speakers is growing every week). 

The 2019-20 year is shaping up to be a terrific opportunity for WIBN chapter expansion. Please don’t hesitate to let me know how we can support any local chapter initiatives.