Thank you and welcome to WIBN Philadelphia. Today, WIBN Philly sits at over 230 members and firmly holds the spot as the largest WIBN Chapter in the country. Our successful relaunch would not have been possible without the support and dedication of the WIBN board and other members who contributed to our events and initiatives. Just as each of us joined wrestling for different reasons, we each came to WIBN for different reasons as well. Whether it was to share your passion for the sport, grow your business, network for career opportunities, or recruit talented professionals, WIBN wants to support you through the resources and events we provide.

Philadelphia, the crossroad between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, connects these two powerhouse wrestling states via its bridges over the Delaware. WIBN Philly will serve to connect the wrestling community not just physically but across different generations - those who finished competition years ago and those just ending their athletic careers to begin their professional journeys. WIBN stands ready to connect employees with employers, businesses with clients, mentors with mentees, and wrestlers seeking to socialize and cheer on their preferred program. As we create events, community impact, and opportunities, all from the community are welcome to join and participate in our network.

The board that came together to relaunch our WIBN Chapter is filled with passion, talent, and energy. I want to thank each of them for their hard work and diligence in our successful relaunch. However, we aren’t done yet. While our board is committed to driving the growth and success of WIBN Philadelphia, we will always welcome support from all members. If you would like to get involved in any events, initiatives, or committees, please contact Michael Nichter or Evan Botwin. To meet the rest of the board, click here.

-Jake Hunter
WIBN Philadelphia Chairman

Members of the WIBN Philadelphia Board at Summit 1

WIBN Priorities:

Career Center

One priority of WIBN Philly is to become a hub connecting job seekers with employers. For those looking for career opportunities or looking to recruit, we are expanding membership and job openings on our Job Board. This expansion will make the job board the first place a WIBN member looks when recruiting or seeking a new position. Since the Job Board is a crucial part of this mission, we have made the first posting per year free for every WIBN member. The $50 fee to post will be refunded and post approved by the close of the next business day.

Networking

Another key focus of our chapter is to foster business-to-business exchange of leads, opportunities and cross selling. Our members are encouraged to seek out the network when customer or provider opportunities arise, and keep business flowing within the WIBN Philly business community backed by those who love our sport. We will be hosting events for business card and info exchange shortly and encourage all of our members to attend! Our next event is the WIBN-Philadelphia Virtual Career Fair on May 19th.

Impact

During our relaunch we have kept an eye out for opportunities to impact the local wrestling community. Below are three opportunities we would like to highlight.
Offering two new Scholarships that will be awarded to two high school student athletes - one male & one female. The initial scholarships will provide $1000.00 per athlete to be used for their next phase in life be it a 4-year college, a 2-year college, technical school or the military. Click here for more details and to apply. Before you apply please read the details and have all requirements ready for submission. For questions please email Anthony Stagliano.

Connecting local student-athletes with mentors and contacts. So far we have connected nine college athletes to members of our network for guidance and internships.

Supporting local programs in the Philadelphia area. Below Michael Medrow, Events Co-Chair, and Michael Nichter, Membership Co-Chair assist in a gear donation from West Chester Henderson to Beat the Streets Philadelphia.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE UPDATES:

The re-launch of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Wrestlers In Business Network has 230+ members in just over 4 months, making WIBN-PHL now the largest of the WIBN National Chapters in the country! Our members include men and women from around the Delaware Valley and Greater Philadelphia Region, in 20+ industries, with various ties back to the great sport of wrestling. We intend to keep it growing over the summer months as well through planned career fairs, business networking and social events. Thank you to our early adopters, and welcome new members!
"Sponsor a Buddy" - we will be reaching out in advance of our next few events and encouraging members to bring someone along who might benefit from joining WIBN alongside you! Talk us up!
Young Professional/Student-Athlete Membership is FREE when you upload a Resume. We can also help create and refine resumes as requested.

Existing Chapter Members: If you would like to receive a WIBN Philly Chapter T-Shirt Please click to fill out this Form.

Family Membership Offer (New Members Only) - Add additional family members at a significantly reduced cost.
WIBN membership diversity and inclusion is a focus and concentration as we continue to expand our reach. Men and women of varying backgrounds are always invited and encouraged to join our network to help create a true Philly-style melting pot reflective of the area itself. Outreach through 'Beat The Streets' and other local programs will help drive inclusion as a staple virtue of our Chapter.

Events Committee Update

To kick off the resurgence of the WIBN-Philadelphia Chapter, three important events were held in the first quarter of 2021. Summit 1, Summit 2, and an interview with Olympic Men's Freestyle Team Head Coach Bill Zadick were each planned and executed by our industrious and motivated WIBN Board.

Summit 1 came together as a platform to provide competition opportunities for the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center athletes. Working with Coach Brandon Slay, the Events Committee utilized local resources while organizing a world class wrestling event.

The event featured some of the top high school wrestlers in the nation, many of whom are local to the Philadelphia region. Following the high school competition, a line-up of U23 athletes took to the mat. With many college programs shut down for the ‘20-21 season, this was a chance for these athletes to showcase their skills. Among this group of competitors was the very first all-female wrestling match in Delaware Valley University history. Board member Leigh Jaynes was instrumental in setting up that match.

Following the U23s, the PRTC Senior Level athletes took on a field of top level wrestlers from across the nation. The highlight of the evening was PRTC’s David McFadden taking out Penn State’s Vincenzo Joseph in dominating fashion.

Summit 2, although similar in structure to Summit 1, focused more on the U23 level. Leading off with some of the top middle school athletes in the country, Summit 2 featured a couple of nationally ranked high school female match ups. The U23 portion was loosely set up as a dual between the PRTC and the New Jersey Regional Training Center. Match by match statistics would show that the PRTC won by a wide margin.

In a virtual call set up by WIBN National, Men’s Freestyle Head Coach Bill Zadick shared his thoughts on the upcoming freestyle season. World renowned announcer, Jason Bryant emceed the event. The call was led off by an interview with one of our younger members of WIBN-Philadelphia. Kylee McGuigan discussed why she joined WIBN and the challenges she faces finding new employment while graduating during a pandemic.

Coach Zadick talked about how difficult it was for his athletes to train through a pandemic, what he was looking for in regards to the Olympic Team Trials, and his thoughts on Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.

Moving forward, on May 19th, WIBN-Philadelphia will be hosting a Virtual Career Fair. This event will feature informational and Q&A sessions with several experts in various fields. The list of companies represented include Google, Red Hat, and US Bank. Registration for the Virtual Career Fair can be found here:

WIBN Sponsorship Opportunities

In the few short months since the relaunch of WIBN-PHL and amidst obvious logistical challenges, our Chapter has held several outstanding events that have provided great opportunities for businesses and individuals to promote their brand, mission or cause.

We were able to raise money to fund our events and scholarships with the support of 27 sponsors from diverse fields: Finance, Law, Logistics, Construction, Painting, Plumbing and the skilled trades, Real Estate, Medicine, Universities, Wrestling Clubs, the list goes on. The funds we raised enabled us to fully cover the events and further impact the community via scholarships and support of other non-profit organizations.

In addition, we had members and families that had no business to promote and simply wished to contribute in support of our mission.

We have witnessed the impact of the event sponsorships firsthand. On numerous occasions we have seen members receive referrals and earn new business as a direct result of the promotion and connections they made via WIBN-PHL sponsorship. Many of these sponsors have also successfully used our Job Board as a recruiting tool.

Moving forward, we are open to hearing from anyone that wishes to support the chapter in any fashion, be it through sponsorship, a donation, or an act of service. Event and General Sponsorship packages are available. Please contact Brett Canna brett_canna@yahoo.com for details.

May Newsletter