Local professionals from several different industries gathered at Atlanta Tech Park in Peachtree Corners on March 19 for the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce’s Thursday-morning networking event, Coffee Connections.
The morning networking events are held at least twice a month, typically toward the end of the month following the Thursday Thought Leaders series. The next casual meet-and-greet, free to members and guests, is on March 26 at 8:30 a.m.
Beth Coffey, executive director of the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber, said select Coffee Connections Spotlight editions feature guest speakers, including leaders of metro Atlanta nonprofits and attorneys. In the past, the chamber has hosted Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King.
The hour-long gatherings encourage attendees to converse with one another, introduce themselves to the group, and see how they and their businesses can help someone in the room.
New SWGC board chair
Andrew Hajduk, elected earlier this month as board chair of the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber, said his marketing production company, Vox-pop-uli, joined the nonprofit business association two and a half years ago.
“We got very involved from the get-go because we made some really great connections in this room,” Hajduk said. “I do truly love this community … I think it’s a great opportunity for us to build this thing and create more business awareness for everybody.”
Coffey said the chamber’s website will be updated soon to reflect the successor to outgoing SWGC Board Chair Bill Diehl, attorney at Peachtree Corners-based Thompson, O’Brien, Kemp & Nasuti.
Hajduk said his company has been in Peachtree Corners for 21 years, but joined the local chamber after the COVID-19 pandemic, a move that helped his business grow. He started a “phenomenal” partnership with the City of Peachtree Corners and met the president of Tandem Bank’s Gwinnett Market.
The Peachtree Corners Town Green features the Vox Stage, a community hub for live music, events, and movies sponsored by the local marketing firm.
“The best connection that I made here was the connection with my banker … relationships are always tough for small businesses,” Hajduk said. “He’s actually the one who led us to the acquisition that we made a year ago that was transformational when we bought another apparel company.”
Gwinnett-based sports teams
Vox-pop-uli is one of two member of the chamber’s Chairman’s Circle, the highest level of membership available to businesses and professionals in Berkeley Lake, Norcross, and Peachtree Corners.
The other Chairman’s Circle member is the Gwinnett Stripers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves that plays at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville.
Hajduk said he has brought his employees and clients to Gwinnett Stripers‘ games, which are less expensive than an outing at Truist Field. He’s also looking to go to an Atlanta Gladiators minor-league hockey game at Gas South Arena.
While Hajduk and his business are relatively new to the chamber, Vox-pop-uli has been in the community for a couple of decades.
“We made a strategic decision that we were going to get more involved with business here in Gwinnett and Atlanta,” he said. “I think Gwinnett is better than anything with all the businesses that are here … I don’t know why it took me so long to see it.”
Instead of hopping on airplanes and traveling the country, Hajduk said his company doubled down on developing connections locally.
“I wanted to be interested before I was interesting,” he said. “I was just super engaged because I wanted to see the chamber grow, and because of that, they came to me and asked if I would be interested in doing this.”