By Ron Weddington, Staff Writer for Beaver County Business
It’s a curious thing about Beaver County. For all our history of building bridges, mills, and pipelines, we’ve never been particularly shy about networking. The old-timers did it at Rotary breakfasts and lodge halls. Today we do it over coffee at Panera, on LinkedIn, or by way of Slack channels that never quite sleep. The impulse is the same: find somebody who knows somebody who can help you get something done.
What has changed is the speed and the formality. A handshake at the Elks Lodge used to be enough. Now, the groups have names, logos, calendars, and in some cases, dues. They operate with varying degrees of earnestness—some are all business, others look suspiciously like social hours with a tax write-off—but they testify to a truth about Beaver County: people here want to connect.
Networking, like so much else in this county, is equal parts survival and tradition. A plant shuts down, a startup opens, a new business model takes hold—and suddenly the people you used to see on the factory floor are showing up at Chamber mixers, learning how to pitch, swap cards, and schedule follow-ups. It’s not always pretty. Not every elevator pitch belongs in an elevator. But it does reflect a county trying to invent its next act while still borrowing a few habits from the last one.
If you wander through enough of these gatherings, you’ll see the familiar cast. The young entrepreneur balancing two phones and a cup of coffee. The seasoned banker taking mental attendance, tallying who’s serious and who’s killing time. The nonprofit director angling for introductions. The PR professional practicing the smile that says, “I’ll remember your name even if I forget your business.”
None of this is unique to Beaver County, of course, but here it has a particularly local flavor. Maybe it’s the fact that everybody’s two or three connections removed from everybody else. Or maybe it’s the stubborn optimism of a place that has lived through too many obituaries and still insists on writing a prologue. Either way, the county’s networking scene is alive and kicking—and, for those who make the rounds, occasionally rewarding.
Sidebar: Networking Groups in Beaver County
- Beaver County Chamber of Commerce: The mothership. Regular mixers, policy breakfasts, and ribbon cuttings. If you’re serious about business here, you eventually find yourself under its tent.
- BNI (Business Network International) Chapters: Structured, almost ritualistic networking. Weekly meetings, required referrals, and a system designed for accountability. Suits who like structure thrive here.
- Rotary Clubs: Networking with a service bent. Longstanding civic groups where community projects and professional connections overlap. Less transactional, more about roots and reputation.
- Young Professionals of Beaver County: Geared toward under-40s who want both career traction and a social outlet. Expect happy hours mixed with leadership workshops.
- Women’s Business Network: Supportive circles for women entrepreneurs and professionals. The emphasis is on shared experience, mentoring, and practical advice.
- Ad-hoc Meetups and Coffee Groups: The informal fringe—groups that gather at Panera or Starbucks, operating more on momentum than bylaws. Connections are looser, but sometimes that’s where the good leads happen.
