Syracuse Woman Magazine Networking Event At Koto Restaurant

How could things get much better than this? As I’ve reduced the number of official networking opportunities I can participate in not only did I get to go to another one sponsored by Syracuse Woman Magazine but at one of my favorite restaurants, Koto Restaurant on Erie Blvd. I wasn’t sure what the night would bring but hey, it was Wednesday and I had nothing else going on.

The restaurant gave up a whole hibachi section to this event and that was a good thing because it’s the best attended event I’ve ever been to representing the magazine. Farah Jadran, the magazine editor, said they’d had 3 events that had more people but those were special events, all of which I missed, so I’m glad I didn’t miss this one as it was the 2nd anniversary of the magazine. I have been to 5 of these now, with the last one being at Anthony’s Pasta Bar.

Things started off well because of the free food. Actually, for me there was only one item I would eat, and it was tested first by Niko Tamurian of local sports, a dish of chicken nuggets in what was described as a sweet chili sauce that’s not on their normal menu. It was wonderful, and I had many of them and lamented that it’s not on the menu because I’d definitely order that as an entree. Early on I also ran into my buddy Todd Engel @Toddengel, lawyer extraordinaire, and Sally Fedrizzi @vagabondSal, travel tours for women maven.

Later on I got to talk to and meet a lot of new people which included a guy who sells local media marketing on cellphones, a guy who has an interesting business where they set up large inflatable screens for both indoor and outdoor events that you can have TV, videos, or presentations on, a lady who looked great in a red and black sweater dress (can’t remember her name) and a Ph.D. aerospace engineering professor at Syracuse University who also loves ballroom dancing; talk about an eclectic group. The event also had a raffle to raise money for a local Aids charity; I didn’t win.

The event lasted about 2 hours, raised around $300 for the charity, and I decided to stick around for dinner, which I shared with Jake Tanner @roundedco (though I’m not sure if that’s actually him or the company he works at), and I had my traditional salmon teriyaki while he had a couple of things, one of which is known as the King Kong sushi dish; I wasn’t eating that either.

All in all it was another great networking event, and as the Ph.D. professor said, if you’re a single guy in business looking to meet women, the ratio is close to 25:1; what more could you want? 🙂