by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
After a lengthy hiatus, Cowford-ites are gathering once again. This time, it’s under new leadership.
Dubbed the Cowford Professional Network, it is a resurgence of the original Cowford Social Club for young professionals that disbanded when its founder, Carolyn Cantrell, left the area.
“Although many of the people who founded this new group were affiliated with Cowford Club, it is a distinct group,” said Regina Sooey, president of the Cowford Network and a realtor with Watson Realty. “We decided we had so much fun before and we really enjoyed what it brought to us and the city. Everyone wanted to get Thursday nights going again.”
The reunited group will continue their tradition of Thursday night happy hours and no membership dues. They’ll hold their first social Thursday at the Adam’s Mark Hotel.
“Jacksonville is very much a just-show-up kind of town,” said Sooey. “I’ll be happy to have 50-100 at the first event.”
Since the idea was initially conceived over two years ago, the organization has attracted a number of white collar folks looking to meet new people. Their e-mail list is hovering around 850 members.
“We’re focusing more on professionals getting together, networking, making social connections,” she said. “We want to emphasize doing business more. It’s a great opportunity to gain recruiting leads, job leads or make friends. It’s for people just out of college or who have switched careers or changed their marital status. But we don’t exclude anyone.”
Sooey hopes to evolve the organization into more than networking around drinking and eating. Road trips, evenings at the symphony or outdoor excursions are other things she would like to add to the mix in the future.
“I’ve got to get people into the free, easy events first before I can talk them into camping, hiking or going to Sea World,” she explained.
With the input of Cowford’s recently formed board of directors, Sooey wants to set the group’s agenda democratically and perpetuate the longevity of the organization, regardless of how often the leadership changes.
Events will rotate around town to accommodate members geographically dispersed.
“Since Jacksonville is so spread out, we’re going to move the happy hours around town,” she said. “We’re going to do things in Riverside, Mandarin, maybe once a month at the beach. They’ll be hip, classy places with happy hour pricing and hors d’oeuvres.”
“To make us a world class city, we need more movers and shakers who can contribute to Jacksonville growing in the future,” she added. “My friends from out-of-town would complain that there’s nothing to do here. We want to change that.”