'Playing golf is a good way to get to know a client better -- as men have known for a long time,' said Maureen Henegan of New Rochelle, N.Y., president of Henegan Construction. Roberta Strasburg, senior tax manager of Anchin, Block & Anchin, LLP, accountants; and a Scarsdale resident agreed, 'Golf definitely leads to business discussions. More women should take advantage of it.'
And recent golf outings hosted by the Professional Women in Construction have helped more women avail themselves of the opportunity to strengthen or create business alliances on the links. The women were speaking at the most recent all-day event, held June 19 at Elmwood Country Club in White Plains, N.Y. The outing included a brunch, a day of golf (or tennis), a cocktail party and dinner. Sponsors of the cocktail party are Altus Metal & Marble Maintenance; American Pipe & Tank Lining Co.; Flag Waterproofing & Restoration; Frederic R. Harris, Inc.; Northeast Structural Steel; Lucidity Awards & Signage; NTX Interiors; TDX Construction Corp.; and the NYC District Council of Carpenters.
'The popularity of these outings has grown enormously since we inaugurated them in the mid-1990s and the number of women participants has at least tripled,' PWC President Lenore Janis said. 'We usually offer a choice of golf or tennis, and more and more women are opting for golf.' The outings are the brainchild of Theresa Vigilante, PWC's executive vice president and ongoing chairperson of the events.
The formula for success is simple:, pleasure leads to business. Denise Burke of Long Island, who works for Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc., investment managers with a large practice in White Plains says, 'Golf offers an occasion to humanize a working relationship. Two or three holes into the game and the stress just melts away.'
Charles Vaccaro, president of Midtown Contracting Corp. and a Yorktown Heights resident put it well when he said, 'It generates business discussions -- you'll remember people from a golf course.
Paul Moretti, vice president of Testwell Laboratories of Ossining and an Ossining resident says, 'Everyone has a great golf story to discuss. It leads to business.'
Many of'the women started taking to the fairways in recent years, for business and pleasure.
Lea Pi- with American Pipe & Tank Lining Co., Inc. of New York City began playing six years ago and said she finds the results highly positive. 'When you have a client on the golf course for five or six hours, you bond with them. And it's not competitive the way contact sports are,' she notes, adding that she has booked a spot at PWC's next two day outing, July 16 and 17 at Grossinger's and Concord's Monster or International Golf courses.
Joanne Williams, CPA and CFE, with Grassi & Co., which has offices in Lake Success and White Plains, arrived in time to network over cocktails. She says, 'I plan to take golf lessons. I find that as a woman there are missed opportunities if you don't play golf. It's a must.'
Perhaps Eileen Hicky-Hulme, president of H&H Building Consultants, Inc., sums it up best, 'Playing a golf game is a lot more lasting than swapping cards at a networking event. Women should have just as much fun as men making money.'
For reservations to the Catskill outing on July 16 and 17, including a night at The Raleigh Hotel and your choice of a golf or an R&R package, call (212) 687-0610. Founded in 1980, Professional Women in Construction presents more than 15 events annually.
This year's events are funded, in part, by the following corporate sponsors: The Chase Manhattan Bank; Henegan Construction; Goetz Fitzpatrick Most & Bruckman LLP; LCOR; Peckar & Abramson, PC; The Port Authority of NY & NJ; RocSoc Marketing; Slattery Skanska; Tishman Realty & Construction; and Turner Construction. The associate sponsors are ACC Construction; Altus Metal & Marble Maintenance; Ava Shypula Consulting; Cauldwell Wingate; Communication Research [Consultants; Egg Electric; Hazardous Elimination Corp..; Testwell Laboratories; The Mann Report; New York Construction News; NY Real Estate Journal; Real Estate New York and Real Estate Weekly.
