Call for 2015 Green Drinks Hosts!

Green Drinks is an international organization that brings together groups of people on a monthly basis to network, share stories and support local businesses.  Started in 1989 in London by two green design colleagues the concept quickly went global and there are now 613 chapters worldwide.

SBC established a Central Sierra Nevada Chapter in 2012, begining with only a few participants and growing to our largest event of over 80 participants!  Green Drinks is a place where people learn about innovative business ideas and local success stories, and it’s a great way to network and support the amazing businesses we have in Tuolumne and Calaveras County. The meetings make for interesting interactions and you come away with new links, connections, ideas…and a good feeling!

Going into its fourth year, the Sierra Nevada Chapter organizer (the SBC Sonora office) is coordinating another great year of Green Drink events.  Hosting an event is easy and a great way to showcase your business. Each month the group meets at a different location, usually at a local business (the host). SBC does all of the publicity and logistics – though we do recommend the host send the announcement to their own email contact list to help spread the word. The host is responsible for light refreshments and a beverage. The event lasts about an hour a half (6:00 p.m. to 7:3o p.m.).

In 2014 Central Sierra Chapter opened at a wonderful farm to table enterprise – Outer Aisle in Murphys. Everyone was inspired by the enthusiasm the proprietors (Eric and Christine Taylor) have for their farm, the fresh produce they sell and supply to their restaurant, which just turned one and is a ‘hot spot’ in Calaveras County.

During the year other events included visiting a local holistic practitioner (Murphys Wellness Center), a sustainable garden landscape designer (Bel Giardino), one of our prestigious local art galleries (Aloft Gallery which showcased their energy savings from a recent lighting efficiency upgrade), and our world-renown rafting company – OARS. The season closed with a friendly (and very fun) cook-off competition using spices from our local purveyor – Spice Tin.

You can see from the descriptions that being a host offers a myriad of opportunities to network and make new contacts for your business. If you’d like to be part of the 2015 program, or be on the mailing list to receive event notices, contact Emily Dondero (edondero@sierrabusiness.org; 209.532.7200) or Brenda Gillarde (bgillarde@sierrabusiness.org; 925.788.7742).