Group Gets Down to Business

The Northeast Cobb Business Association (NCBA) is a local business networking group that has been helping its members to achieve professional success since 2005.

NCBA has grown to 75 members who meet monthly for the purpose of sharing strategic introductions, high-quality referrals and best business practices.

NCBA luncheon meetings are the third Wednesday of every month at Piedmont Baptist Church located at 570 Piedmont Road in Marietta. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Lunch is $15 for members and $20 for guests. Attendees can expect speakers, a great lunch and networking.

February's luncheon meeting included guest speakers Renaldo Leonard and Sharon Ricketts of Woople. They demonstrated a technique called The "9" Square Grid to help business owners learn to collapse confrontation, align and agree, and turn walls into bridges.

Woople provides simple eLearning for your organization. Woople offers virtual training by industry experts at a fraction of the cost of live seminars or on-site consulting.

Amidst the relaxed professional atmosphere, door prizes and interactive speakers make each luncheon fun.

Thursday Morning Networking takes places every Thursday at the Piedmont Baptist Church, 7:30 a.m. This networking opportunity is free. It's a great way to grow your business. Everyone is invited to attend.

Alive After Five events are usually one of the last Thursday evenings of the month. All are invited. Bring your business cards! Alive After Five events are free.

The group's objective is to promote business, serve our community and schools, and act as a conduit between the local business community and local, state and federal government.

"The better our schools are, the better business is in the area. We truly believe in "giving back" to our schools and community," states the NCBA website.

The group, in partnership with Piedmont Church and the Cobb County School District, is holding the second annual Northeast Cobb Community Egg Drop on April 23. Kids will marvel at the helicopter as 50,000 of eggs are dropped onto the Sprayberry High School football field. There will be free photos with the East Bunny, fun, food, games, activities and, of course, the egg hunt. Proceeds from the event will benefit Sprayberry High School.

NCBA does not serve as a political action group. However, the governmental affairs committee plays a vital role in keeping members up to date on issues affecting business in Northeast Cobb.

New business owners can find all the necessary services within this group to start, set-up and be successful in business. It also provides opportunities for members to work together on business projects.

NCBA has created a new program that will allow member-to-member discounts. Members will be issued identification cards that they can present to other member businesses to get the discount. Members can present their discounts on the group's website; a project in progress that will take about 30 days to launch.

15 board members and two student representatives make up NCBA: Frank Wigington, President and owner of Frank Wigington Landscape Co., Inc.; Carrie Cox, Vice President and owner of Challise & Company Salon & Spa; Steve Crowley, Director and Community Pastor of Piedmont Church; Cheryl Hungerford, Director and representing the Cobb County School District; Silvia Williams, Director and franchise owner of The UPS Store; Ashley Thomas, Secretary and representing Liberty Mutual; Kim Lawrence, Treasurer and owner of Accounting Services of Kim Lawrence, Inc; Renee Simons, Director and owner of The Simons Companies; Eden Leo, Past President and representing Keller Williams; Jay Street, Director and owner of Great Oak Enterprises, Inc.; Rick Sands, Director and owner of ARS Inc.; David Poteet, Director and owner of Poteet Productions; Reece LeFevre, Director and franchise owner of Jiffy Lube; Chuck Martin, Director and owner of Arylessence, Inc.; Glenn Fell, Director and owner of Flex Imaging; Kelli Ashwell, Sprayberry High School Student Representative, and Nick Barker, Kell High School Student Representative.

Membership is $75 a year. For more information, call 678-229-2893.