Category Archives: Storytelling

My #WomenLeadGVL Story

Strong and determined women have inspired me since childhood. From my wife, mom,  and my grandmother (see 7 Things I learned from my Grandmother) to two of the  most impactful bosses of my career, I’ve personally learned and grown through the mentorship and guidance of women. Regrettably, until lately I have not given much back.

My company Beer and Napkins started with the philosophy of diverse ideas, diverse environment, and diverse people. Yet our board of advisors was made up of close friends and colleagues… and they were all men. This imbalance was painfully apparent after I shared our company with a colleague and she pointed out the lack of a diversity on our board. Furthermore, after coming across a New York Times article by Sheryl Sandberg and her call to action for men “It’s time for men and women alike to join forces in championing gender parity”, my genuineness was challenged. Did I really believe in a diverse group? Though we touted diversity I was not living it! The profound awareness of my inattentiveness to inequities prompted a drive to lead by example. After deep reflection, my business partner Tony Miller and I assessed our current situation and realized we needed to take action.

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Sheryl’s #leanintogether inspired me to use our resources, talents, and Beer and Napkins platform to support women in leadership and entrepreneurship. #WomenLeadGVL was born. It was a way of locally honoring women who have contributed to our growth.  We took few key actions to set in motion our vison.

  • Our #WomenLeadGVL initiative was started to support and encourage women in leadership and entrepreneurship through meetups, events, and other projects.
  • We diversified our board adding two talented women agreed to become part of our organization. Both Pamela Wood Browne and Veronica Schoell have enriched our organization with ideas and support as we grew. They have embraced our #WomenLeadGVL initiative and progressively moving our organization forward.
  • Started a video campaign for #WomenLeadGVL. Here are a few inspirational words from Greenville SC women entrepreneurs and leaders:

June McCreight, COO of Coba Enterprise Management

https://www.facebook.com/BeerNapkins/posts/940076262720355

Amy Roe, Fountain Inn Chamber of Commerce

https://www.facebook.com/BeerNapkins/posts/939000449494603

 Jordana Megonigal, Publisher of Business Black Box

https://www.facebook.com/BeerNapkins/posts/935223486538966

Kimberly Carroll, Director of Unusual Circumstances English for Life

https://www.facebook.com/BeerNapkins/posts/934214186639896

Veronical Schoell, Business Coach and Leader in the upstate automotive industry

https://www.facebook.com/BeerNapkins/posts/933734806687834

This is just a start and we have much more to do! Women have worked hard for their current place in leadership positions, equal pay, and entrepreneurship. On this Labor Day and the future, I ask you to reflect on all the women who have contributed to your growth in your career and life and I challenge all men and women to use their resources, talents, and skills to support women’s personal growth, leadership, and entrepreneurship. We encourage you to use our #WomenLead__ and replace the last three letters with your community and spread the encouragement.

Phillip A. McCreight, MHRD, SHRM-SCP
Founder
Beer and Napkins, LLC
M 864-430-0903
[email protected]
www.beerandnapkins.com
Have Ideas for Engaging Women in Leadership and Entrepreneurship share here https://beerandnapkins.imaginethat.io/womenleadgvl  #WomenLeadGVL

CAKE&WHISKEY: A #WomenLeadGVL idea mixer

Wednesday, August 12th 6:30 pm  at Human Technologies, Inc. 105 North Spring Street
Greenville, SC 29601

As part of our #WomenLeadGVL initiative we will be having a dynamic collaboration withCake and Whiskey Greenville Group!  Ashley Clark and Veera Gaul will be sharing their entrepreneurial story and how they started Cake in Whiskey in Greenville!  And yes cake and whiskey will be served! Heavy hors d’oeuvres and craft beer will also by available.

Ashley Clark is a 2012 graduate of Clemson University and the co-owner/operator of Kilwins Chocolates, Fudge & Ice Cream in downtown Greenville, SC. In addition to running the business, Ashley is very active in the community. She serves as the Co-Chair of Downtown Greenville Holiday Happening, volunteers as a Girls on the Run SoleMate, is an Area Organizer for CAKE&WHISKEY. She is also an Associate Commissioner with Greenville Count Soil & Water Conservation District and is the Area Chairman for Ducks Unlimited. Ashley is married to Landon Clark, who is Manager of Production at the store. Together, they enjoy volunteering at The White Horse Academy, a residential treatment center for boys age 13 to 17. There they coordinate special events, care for the organic garden, and teach a weekly class on personal finance. When she isn’t working or volunteering, Ashley enjoys spending time with her two black Labrador Retrievers, Dex and Mac.

Veera Gaul is a trained chef whose passion for food led her into the hospitality business and further into higher education at Johnson & Wales University — known for its culinary and hospitality programs. She began at JWU as a graduate student and went on to be a faculty member, assistant dean, vice president of operations for the Providence campus and Provost overseeing all academic programs and faculty. Veera is a “people-person” who had responsibility for an $87M instructional budget and over 500 full time faculty over four campuses across 6 colleges and schools.

She left JWU in March of 2013 and decided to join her husband Joe Gaul, in his entrepreneurial venture. Together, they own Oil & Vinegar a “culinary gift shop” concept in Downtown Greenville that brings together specialty olive oils, vinegars and a wide range of international foods and ceramics in a Mediterranean-style store.

She co-chairs Downtown Greenville Holiday Happening, is the Area organizer for CAKE&WHISKEY, and volunteers with Loaves & Fishes.

Our board members Pam Wood Browne and Veronica Schoell will also be sharing our crowdsourced ideas for engaging Women in Leadership and Entrepreneurshiphttps://beerandnapkins.imaginethat.io/womenleadgvl

This event is a celebration of Women Leaders and Entrepreneurs but open to all guests.

Thanks to our Sponsors Human Technologies, Inc., Six and Twenty Distillery, and Birds Fly South Ale Project. 

Parking is availabe near HTI for $5 or the Riverstreet Parking Garage

For more information contact Phil McCreight or Tony Miller 

Challenge of the Week: Take Initiative

 

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 Challenge of the Week: Take Initiative 

“Taking initiative pays off. It is harder to visualize someone as a leader if she is always waiting to be told what to do.” Lean In-Sheryl Sandberg

Challenge: Take a BOLD step and make your ideas happen. REPEAT!

Share your ideas here to help encourage women to make their ideas happen Imagine That: #WomenLeadGVL

Community, Ideas, and Jobs: The Impact of Craft Beer in the Upstate

It’s been a few years since I realized the importance of the emerging craft beer industry. I knew something was up in my 2009 blog post Take a Step Forward with a Step Back, however I didn’t fully realize how locally important the industry would be in building community, innovation, and economic development in the upstate.

Brook Bristow , Executive Director of the South Carolina Brewers Guild shared with me the staggering economic impact of the South Carolina craft beer industry,  “The latest economic numbers indicated that South Carolina sees about a $254M economic impact from craft beer, with about 3,000 jobs directly attributable to it. With the new survey results and the additional taproom sales from existing breweries, that number should now sit around $275M.”  Greenville News has also spotlighted  the boom in Beer tourism in Carolinas.

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Photo courtesy of Anders Adermark https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmbellman/

On a personal note, our Beer and Napkins organization has benefited significantly from the community and third place that the craft beer industry has provided.  From Growler Haus in Anderson, Community Tap, and Brewery 85 in Greenville, we have met amazing people and groups who are continually brewing ideas.  A great example is from one of our first pitch sessions from David Thorton and Even Skjervold of SouthYeast Labs,   a company that locally sources brewer’s yeast for use in beer, wine, mead, cider and liquor.   Additionally the numerous home-brewing organization such as Just Brew It Anderson and Clemson Brew Crew have been a breeding ground for a number of innovations and business ideas.   Examples such as these are just a drop in the barrel of companies and organizations starting and thriving due to the community and ideas this industry is providing.

We at Beer and Napkins feel that the SC craft beer industry is not just self-serving  but provides the social lubricant  and ecosystem for continued innovation in South Carolina. We are very appreciative of the local brewers, brewpubs, and the advocacy of Brook and the SC Brewer’s Guild. Beer and Napkins is thankful to be part of this evolution.

On March the 19th we will celebrate  the industries’ journey with our BeerStory event. Brook will be our featured presenter and we will also hear storypitches and samples from three  local start-up breweries Carolina Bauernhaus Ales, Birds Fly South Ale Project, and 13 Stripes.

Please join us at Openworks March 19th at 6:30pm for a taste and inspiration. Signup here to get your tickets BeerStory: Evolution of SC Beer

We will be using #BandN_BeerStory and #scbeer during this event