NETWORKING, from Page 18

members of the local business community. The last City Business Casual attracted representatives from a wide spectrum of organizations including Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI)and the Go Green Conference.

“[At City Business Casual,] I get to hear about new programs in Seattle,” said Sherman Wilkins, senior project manager for Seattle Jobs Initiative. “I also hear about what direction the city is going in, and I get to talk about what we do at SJI.”

After several years of consistent attendance and visible results, other cities have started to take notice of City Business Casual. The most recent instance of City Business Casual attracted City of Tacoma’s Community and Economic Development Department administrators Christine Clifford and Cala Dralley. who aim to launch something similar.

“I haven’t seen anything I wouldn’t want to duplicate,” Clifford said. “I think it makes sense to have city officials here — not front and center but available to answer questions. Something we always talk about in Tacoma is purposeful networking, and this is a good example of that.”

With a purpose and structure similar City Business Casual, the Film + Music Happy Hour aims to connect media professionals from the Greater Seattle area.

“Film + Music Happy Hours are an opportunity for leaders in the film music and interactive industry to meet one another and ideally produce business together,” said Office of Film and Music director James Keblas. “It’s an opportunity for everyone to understand the breadth and depth of these industries in the Seattle region.” Currently in its fourth year of existence,

the Film + Music Happy Hour takes place on the last Wednesday of every month at Spitfire, 2219 Fourth Ave., in Belltown. According to Keblas, the event attracts an average of 200 people every month.

In its earlier years, the Film + Music Happy Hour had a similar format to City Business Casual in that it was exclusively a networking event. The format has recently shifted: The first 90 minutes of the Film + Music Happy Hour are dedicated to networking, and the event now ends with a presentation from a guest speaker.

Past guest speakers have included FusionSpark Media founder Russell Sparkman and Filter Marketing director Lisa Weeks.

According to Keblas, the Office of Film + Music ask their presenters to give insight into what it takes to be successful.

“Every month we have quite a few folks come up to us and tell us that they met someone, then followed up after,” Keblas said. “We’ve had musicians score gigs, actors get gigs, producers meet one another. There are many examples of those kinds of things happening at our event.”

This month’s Film + Music Happy Hour is scheduled for next Wednesday, April 25.

The next City Business Casual event takes place May 10 at the Mayflower Park Hotel, 405 Olive Way; environmentally sound business practices will be the event’s focus.

“The Office of Economic Development and the Office of Film + Music make businesses a priority,” Zaugg Black said. “We feel that one of the best things government can do is serve as a facilitator role to connect businesses and people together. Our networking events achieve this.”