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April Happy Hour

April Happy Hour
The Rail Yard - 1212 E. 6th St.
Thursday, April 18th, 5:30 -7:30 pm

With April comes great outdoor temperatures, which means it's a perfect time to hit up one of Little Rock's newest establishments, The Rail Yard.  The Rail Yard is a beer garden in the East Village district with yard games, food trucks, a large draft beer selection, and a full bar.  They've also got a big indoor space in case the weather isn't cooperating.  





Volunteers Needed!
FIS FinTech Accelerator Startup Ambassadors


For the fourth year, the Venture Center, in partnership with FIS, will run a 12-week accelerator program for financial technology-based startup companies.  They are currently selecting 10 companies out of 225 applications from all over the US and 31 other countries.  They arrive on April 30th.  

CLR has once again agreed to provide "ambassadors" to these 10 companies.  Here's how it will work: we'll assign 1 or 2 people to each of the startups. You'll need to make an introductory phone call to your assigned startup prior to their arrival.  We're working on a mixer event so you can meet your startup once they arrive.  After that, we just ask that you be their occasional guide for the 12 weeks they're in town - show them the Little Rock that you know and love.  Answer questions about what to do while they're here and give them advice about how they can spend their free time.  Basically, help us make their time memorable so that they'll want to stick around once the accelerator program is over.  

No knowledge of the financial or technology sectors is necessary, we're just looking for people who know how to explore and enjoy all that the Little Rock region has to offer.  

CLICK HERE to apply.

Last year's cohort of companies with Mayor Stodola and VC staff

A Message from the Chair
You meet that new professional at the happy hour and you exchange business cards. They say "Let's meet up". What now?  Many people ask often how to navigate setting up a meeting with a new contact after networking events. Here are my tips on how to succeed on the FOLLOW UP.
 
1. Send an email to the person asking their next availability. Remember, we are all busy professionals with jobs, families, etc., so make sure to give that person a chance to schedule a time that fits both of your schedules. I usually aim at giving a two-week window of opportunity.

2. Select a mutually accessible place. Depending on your meeting, you want to make sure that you are selecting a place that you both can get to pretty easily given where each of you work and the time of day you're meeting up.

3. Be prepared. Nothing is more awkward than having a follow - up meeting where you sit down and no one has anything to talk about! This is your opportunity to get to know the other person and why they are at networking events as well.

4. Send another follow-up email. Did you get coffee? Good! Now make sure and send one more follow-up and thank them for their time.
 
Of course, these tips are more for a professional follow-up.
If you are just making friends, there is no need to be so formal. Just shoot a text and meet up at the next CLR Happy Hour!
 
As always, Create Little Rock are great and laid-back opportunities for you to connect with other professionals in town.

See you soon!

Rhonna
Other Things Going On Around Town
Arkansas Travelers Baseball


It's opening weekend for your Arkansas Travelers! CLICK HERE for a full Travs schedule.  If you've never been to a game, check out the beer garden for the best atmosphere in the Dickey-Stephens Park!
Little Rock Rangers Soccer


Our minor league soccer team, the Little Rock Rangers, have already kicked off at War Memorial Stadium.  CLICK HERE for a full schedule!

Museum of Discovery Presents:
Science After Dark


Each month, the Museum of Discovery picks a different theme for their Science After Dark adult night.  This month's theme is Game of Thrones.  Enjoy craft beer, cocktails, and pizza while exploring the themed demonstrations and permanent exhibits.  CLICK HERE for details.

Little Rock Live Music

Date
Band
Venue
Cost (advance/day
of)
Fri, April 12 Elizabeth Cook & Will Hoge Stickyz
 $20
Sat, April 13 Big Dam Horns Four Quarter Bar $7
Wed, April 24 Phosphorescent Rev Room $20
Thurs, April 25 Adam Carroll White Water Tavern $20
Fri, April 26 Boom Kinetic Rev Room
 $10
Tues, May 7 Boombox Rev Room $15-18





Get Involved: Join A Committee
Looking to get involved? Create Little Rock has 4  committees you can join.  Learn about them below, and email the committee chair to get on the list.  Committee meeting schedules are determined by each of the committee chairs.

Be501 Committee:
Be501.com  was conceived by the Economic Development Committee of Create Little Rock's Think Big Little Rock initiative.  It's designed to be a 1-stop shop for things to do in the Little Rock Region.  It's in its beta phase while we build up a committee of volunteers to regularly contribute upcoming events and activities to the site.  The Be501 committee is chaired by Kody Robinson, CLR's Communications Chairman. If you'd like to be an influencer, email Kody and join his committee.  

Talent Development Committee: 
Responsible for selecting speakers for our Unplugged Speaker Series, organizing the Get on Board program, and facilitating Serve the Rock and Crew at the Zoo.
Chaired by  Brian Kutsch.
 
Land in the Rock Committee: 
Organizes and implements  our annual Land in the Rock summer program designed to entertain interns, law clerks, and medical residents who are here for the summer and demonstrate to them what Little Rock has to offer.  These events are also for young professionals who have recently moved to Little Rock.  To see last summer's schedule, visit our Land in the Rock page. 
Chaired by Jared Landrum and Devin Bates.

PopUp in the Rock Committee:
Organizes and implements our annual PopUp in the Rock project in partnership with studioMAIN.  To learn more about PopUp, visit our PopUp in the Rock page.  
Chaired by Jennifer Hoss.
Create Little Rock
An Initiative of the Little Rock Regional Chamber
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