Volume 1, Issue 9 August 1, 2006

Empowering
Women
To succeed in business personally &
professionally through Networking &
education while building key relationships &
having fun!

T h e P o w e r o f P o s s i b i l i t y
F r o m o u r P r e s i d e n t — K a t h y H a r d t k e

What does possibility this gift to the world. well as create the suc-
mean to you? What cess we are looking to
opportunities does achieve. This is the
possibility give you on side of us that with all
your path to success? of our ‘school of life’
Life is filled with infi- that we have received
nite possibility and on our journey we
each of us has been have now come to a
I N S I D E TH I S given very special and turning point. This is
I S S U E : unique gifts that we the stage of imple-
have to offer the menting this into our
WLN Success Story 2 world. The beauty of career choice regard-
these gifts is that they less of whether we are
August Presentation 2 are innately who we starting a new busi-
are, who we have al- The beauty in this is… ness, taking an exist-
The Power of Possibility ways been and who we this is the very soul of ing business to a new
2
continued have been directed, who we are as women level, in the stage of
taught and molded that is looking for planning a new busi-
July’s Photo Collage 3 into throughout our ness or at such a seed-
more. This is the
entire lives to come to deeply passionate part ling level of 'who am I'
July’s Presentation Sen.
Pamela Althoff
4 this very perfect mo- of ourselves that is fed and 'what do I want to
ment in time to begin into the work we do. do next'.
Member Spotlight
4 to unveil this part of This is the gift we have
Cassie Augustine
ourselves and offer to give to the world as Continued on page 2
Calendar of Events 5

M e m b e r s h i p P e r k
Meet the Board &
Ambassadors 6 A u g u s t H i g h l i g h t
T o v i e w a l l o f t h e p e r k s
a v a i l a b l e v i s i t A B W A ’ s w e b s i t e
a t w w w . a b w a . o r g

Advertising Discount!

ABWA members! Receive 20 percent off our lowest ad-

vertising rates for Women in Business® magazine. Be
sure to mention this offer to receive this special members-
only discount
Call (816) 361-6621 or email cbell@abwa.org to request
a media kit.
V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 9 Page 2

W L N S u c c e s s S t o r y

"In a Nick of Time!" have her! I am currently the President of this new group, Crystal Clear Toast-
masters. We meet every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at Nick's Pizza
& Pub on Pyott Rd in Crystal Lake. The relationships built here at the WLN
I started a Toastmas-
extend farther than the business we build and the monthly meetings we
ters group in
attend! To learn more contact—Terri Williams, Nick's Pizza and Pub.
April. On June 28th
we needed 2 more
members by midnight
to have our goal of 20 to be recognized as a
real Toastmasters group. We were working
frantically to fill these spots contacting every-
one we knew and because of the relation-
ships I developed at the WLN, we were able
to fill both spots, one of these spots was
filled by one of our WLN members, Mary
Anne Muscat with AUS Financial. Mary Ann
joined on pure faith and we were excited to

A u g u s t S p e a k e r — G l o r i a K a t z
T a k i n g t h e W O R K o u t o f N e t w o r k i n g
Be sure not miss out on August’s meeting!!! Gloria Katz will be telling us how to take the WORK out of Networking!

Whether you’re new to networking or a seasoned expert you’re sure to gain valuable information from this presentation. The
presentation will cover the ins and outs of building business contacts including:
~How to feel comfortable in a room filled with strangers.
~How to enter and exit conversation groups.
~The principles of networking.
~Networking Groups vs. Leads Groups
~How to network with your competition.
~How to find networking connections.
~Networking etiquette.

T h e P o w e r o f P o s s i b i l i t y
F r o m o u r P r e s i d e n t — K a t h y H a r d t k e — C o n t i n u e d

Never before, have women
had so many ‘possibilities’ in
career as well as in life. We
have the power of choice for
anything we choose to do.
Many of us are taking our
passion into an entrepreneu-
rial career or on the path of
corporate, schooling, achiev-
ing degrees, raising a family
or even several different
paths at the same time. The
power is in the first stage of
believing it is possible.
Whatever our possibility is, The world is truly your oys-
we are strong, we are ambi- ter…start dreaming. Begin
tious, and we are successful with all the possibilities you
all because we have possibil- can conjure up…then think
ity which gives us choice and bigger or not…it’s your
freedom like never before. choice, it’s your possibility!
What are your passions?
Who are you?
Who do you want to be?
What do you want to do?
What feeds you?
V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 9 Page 3
 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 9 Page 4

J u l y P r e s e n t a t i o n — S e n a t o r P a m e l a A l t h o f f
C o n n e c t t h e d o t s … . o h m y g o o d n e s s h o w d i d I
g e t m y s e l f h e r e ?

person that left the meeting

without absorbing the passion
and sincerity that was so gra-
ciously shared with the group.
Pam also shared several
quotes and recommended the
book—”Making Peace With My
Work”.
Pam states:
“…..I love my job...but love it even
more as it gives me the opportunity
to encourage other females of all
ages to reach for the impossi-
ble….we need to nurture each
other and I am sooo looking for-
ward to getting to know all of you

As many of you know, July’s Presenta-

tion by Senator Pamela Althoff was both
inspirational and enlightening. We (the
WLN Board) would like to extend a very
special Thank You!!

Pam shared three very personal stories

with us. All of which were very inspira-
tional and touching….from teachers and
counselors to dealing with the loss of
loved ones…...there was not a single

M e m b e r S p o t L i g h t
C a s s i e A u g u s t i n e
My passion for real estates goes back many years, I have wanted to invest in real estate since I was a child. I found myself after my
divorce wanting to start buying investment properties as a business for rental income as well as for my future. This is what eventu-
ally brought me into the mortgage business. I had such a passion for this market and for helping people that I decided to help peo-
ple and educate them on the mortgage process. I have built my career on helping people who have less then perfect credit to ob-
tain their own mortgage, I also have a program that helps people who are in a hardship situation to recover for it, and this system
allows homeowners to save their home when they normally would not be able to. I pride myself on offering the best customer ser-
vice that I can. This is the core of my business.
My perfect client just has a few qualities; they are willing to be educated on the mortgage process, they are aware of their history
with their creditors and they are willing to learn to make their situation a better one. I pride myself on helping clients to understand
the entire process.
I feel that I have an edge on my competition. The company I work for Barclay Butler Financial Inc. located in East Dundee has nu-
merous lenders at my disposal. I spend hours each week learning each of their programs. This
allows me to accommodate almost any situation. I like to sit down with my clients and explain
what program they fit in and why and what the next step is, I help them plan on how to get into the
best program there is. This is something that helps me to rise above the competition.
Stress is always a factor in today’s high pace life style that most of us have. Between trying to
build careers and find time for family and friends life can get overwhelming very easily. For me I
know that I have to schedule time for things, it is sometimes difficult to balance work and home
life especially since I work out of my home. If I let myself I could work from morning to night. I
make a point to schedule time for my family and friends the work will always be there. I also find
that if I make time to exercise my day goes much smoother and I am more relaxed and can tackle
my day. When I make the time for the things that matter in life then things just seem to fall into
place.
If you would like to fin out more please contact Cassie—847-878-0718.
 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 9 Page 5

August 2006
Are you a member of a women’s networking
or support group that is not listed? If
so—please email me and we will add to
next month’s news letter.
Ginger Imes—gimes@dspins.com

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 11:00 APW 2 8:15 MCPWG 3 4 5

Scramble Monthly Meeting

6 7 8 7:30 Crystal 9 5:30 WLN 10 11 12

Clear Toastmas- Monthly Meeting Gwynne
ter Meeting Knutson
7 : 3 0 W I M
Meridith
M e e t i n g Hutchens
Laura
13 14 15 Selby 16 17 18 19
1 1 : 3 0
W I M M C
C h p t r
M o M t g Susan Lee

20 21 6:30 WLN 22 7:30 Crystal 23 24 25 26

Board Meeting Clear Toastmas-
ter Meeting

27 28 29 30 31
Lee
Laskonis

Schedule of Events

• 8/09/2006—Women’s Leadership Network Monthly Meeting: Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiono, 1524 South Randall Road, Algonquin.
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. $35 Call to reserve 847-489-5053

• 8/21/2006—Women’s Leadership Network Board Meeting: Irish Currough, Algonquin Commons, Algonquin. 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

• 8/01/2006—Alliance of Professional Women Networking Luncheon: Bonefish Grill in the Algonquin Commons. 11:00 am to 1:00
pm. Call Theresa to reserve 847-658-5300

• 8/02/2006—McHenry Cook Professional Women’s Group meeting: E’s Bakery 9541 Ackman Road, Lake in the Hills. 8:15 am to
9:15 am. No reservation required. Www.mcpwg.com

• 8/15/2006—Women in Management McHenry County monthly meeting: Bull Valley Country Club, Woodstock. 11:30 am to 1:30
pm. 815-363-2693

• 8/10/2006—Women in Management McHenry County Group Mentoring. Panera Bread, Route 14, Crystal Lake. 7:30 am
No RSVP required.

• 8/08 & 08/22/2006—Crystal Clear Toastmasters meetings (2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month). Nick’s Pizza & Pub, 856 Pyott
Road, Crystal Lake. 7:30 am to 8:30 am. Call Terri Williams 847-854-7775
 President: Kathy Hardtke
American Home Mortgage
847-489-5053

President Elect: Anne Ward

Monthly meetings are located at: Creative Core
847-854-1111
Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiono
1524 South Randall Road
Algonquin, IL 60102
VP of Membership: Pat Kolodziej
2nd Wednesday of each month PK Tax Services
5:30 pm — 7:30 pm 847-608-6451

If you should have any questions please

contact one of the board members listed or
visit us on the web.
VP of Finance: Sandra Larkin
Lost & Found Life Coach
815-301-5802

New Members—July:
VP of Programs: Kris Freeman
Jennifer Pereyra Wellness Coordinator, Juice Plus Body Talk Practitioner
Lisa Stamos McHenry County Woman, Inc. 847-975-9406

VP of Marketing: Ginger Imes

DS&P Insurance Services
Ambassadors: 847-485-2408

Ambassador of Membership: Siree Sandberg

Ambassador for Visitor Welcoming: Norine Wiebmer
Ambassador of Events: Carol Palframan
Ambassador of Programs: Terri Williams VP of Administration: Robin Braga
Ambassador of Marketing: Debra Hanlon Silpada Designs
Ambassador of Events: Mary Anne Muscat 847-961-5526
Ambassador of Membership: Lisa Davidson
Ambassador of Visitor Welcoming: Gwynne Knutson

*Are you interested in becoming an Ambassador? If so,

please contact Anne Ward. VP of Events: Kim Gaxiola
AG Edwards
815-338-2550