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So "KNOW it ALL" Niagara was voted the Best Networking Organization of 2010 by Canadian Networker magazine.

My question is "Why?"

After all, there's BNI - who's founder "wrote the book" on Word of Mouth marketing.

There are countless Chambers of Commerce that qualify.

The Small Business Club Niagara and others like it are well-established groups that offer networking.

What makes "KNOW it ALL" Niagara so special?

Well, in a nutshell, it's the vision of the founder Carrie Matthews that makes "KNOW it ALL" Niagara the networking dynamo it is.

The quality of networking events is pretty good. Groups are generally small so you get to meet everyone and spend more 1-on-1 time with them. I have personally found that the relationships built through "KNOW it ALL" Niagara have been stronger and have led to quality referrals from the linkers.

In addition to the events, there's Carrie herself, who worked at the West Lincoln Chamber of Commerce for years before embarking on the "KNOW it ALL" Niagara journey. From the outset she planned to make KIAN a better type of organization for business owners by providing a variety of marketing vehicles for her linkers. Little things like "Linker Minutes" - allowing you to send two marketing messages to the rest of the group EVERY MONTH at no additional cost. The local chambers charge for this service as does the Small Business Club.

There are many things that make "KNOW it ALL" Niagara stand above the networking organization crowd. It's fun, personable and effective networking - when you use the system provided. Just as with any group, if you can't work the system, it won't work for you. For example, I can't make the Business After 5s provided by the various Chambers. Consequently being a Chamber member doesn't really provide much networking benefit for me. If you don't use the Linker Minutes or attend meetings or provide Carrie flyers so she can market your business for you then her system won't work and you won't benefit.

However, the fact that "KNOW it ALL" Niagara keeps growing - even counting the Niagara Falls Chamber as a Linker - is a testament to its effectiveness. That's why it was voted the Best Networking Organization in 2010. Here's looking to the future successes of Carrie and "KNOW it ALL" Niagara!

Addictions Ontario in partnership with The Niagara Addiction Treatment System held their Recovery Awareness Breakfast on September 8 at the St. Catharines Golf & Country Club, as part of their provincial Recovery Campaign.

Kathie Scott, Executive Director of Community Addiction Services of Niagara welcomed an enthusiastic crowd to enjoy food and fellowship and to celebrate addiction recovery. Diane Doneff, founding Director of Women’s Addiction Recovery Mediation, shared her own personal recovery journey.

Diane’s personal journey started 30 years ago when she found a program and people who believed in her until she could trust herself to live a sober life, one day at a time.  Diane was given the tools and processes by which to heal her past wounds. For the past 20 years, Diane has felt privileged to share these tools and processes while supporting other women and their families in their journeys of recovery through WARM.

Norma Medulun, President of Addictions Ontario presented Diane with the 2010 Community Achievement Award in recognition of Diane’s commitment and outstanding service to the field of addiction recovery.

For more information call Claire Duthie at 905-871-9195 – extension 822 or claire.d@warmniagara.org

I'm the first to admit I don't eat as well as I could.

So, I'm really happy to welcome Craig Bowman, Registered Holistic Nutritionist to The Niagara Health Guide!

Craig offers 100% guaranteed customized nutritional programs for a variety of conditions, including cancer support, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis, to name a few. There is a wealth of evidence to support his claims that changes to lifestyle via diet, nutrition and exercise can halt the progression of many diseases and bring people back to a healthy state.

We are also fortunate that Craig has allowed us to add his articles to The Niagara Health Guide article database and these will be added over the coming weeks.

If you're in need of nutritional support, you owe it to yourself to contact Craig today at Road to Recovery Natural Health.

. . . is worth nothing unless you do something with it. Now. Immediately.

It's easy to have good ideas. That's why it's important to do something with them. There's no shortage of good ideas. There is a shortage of people who can turn those ideas into reality.

I've heard it said that whether you think you CAN or think you can't, you're right. Your mind will act upon your thoughts and your actions will reflect your attitude.

So, it only makes sense to eliminate the "C" word from your vocabulary. In case you don't remember it, the "C" word is CAN'T.

How do you do this? Simply rephrase your thoughts to something more positive and embrace the possibilities.

"I can't get more customers." --> "I'm working on getting more customers."

"I can't get my head around this issue." --> "I haven't figured out how to solve this issue, but I'm working on it."

"I can't understand my teenager." --> "I need to improve my relationship with my teenager."

Okay - I'm not a therapist ; ) but you get the idea.

Remove the negativity and the absolutism of the "C" word and you'll be amazed what you CAN do.