The Greater Green Bay Chamber presented Bridget Krage O’Connor, owner and principal of O’Connor Connective, its Business Person of the Year Award at the 2018 Business Recognition Luncheon in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on June 5.
The award recognizes a local business leader who has demonstrated achievement in ownership or management of a small business, or who has made significant contributions to the small-business environment in Greater Green Bay.
A grateful O’Connor told a crowd of over 500 in the Grand Ballroom of the KI Convention Center that the support of the community is integral to the growth of small businesses such as O’Connor Connective, now in its sixth year as a strategic marketing communications consultancy.
“One of the things we do at O’Connor Connective is to help organizations communicate their story. But there is a story happening in our community that I think is important for you to know,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor is the fifth woman to be named Business Person of the Year in the 30-year history of the Greater Green Bay Chamber’s Business Recognition Luncheon. She was proud to note that the City of De Pere’s Business Improvement District (BID) has more than 70 women business owners.
“We are here. And we are the engine behind small businesses on the Main Avenues and Broadways of this community with restaurants, stores, galleries and consulting businesses like mine,” O’Connor said. “I encourage you to take notice – frequent our businesses and consider these women business owners for your next business engagement.”
As a longtime champion for the advancement of woman-led organizations in the region, O’Connor presented four ways her fellow entrepreneurs can help woman businesses in Greater Green Bay grow:
- Encourage them to join the Greater Green Bay Chamber.
- Encourage them to join your corporate board. Inviting them to the decision-making table will help them and help you.
- Frequent their businesses – hire them to help you grow yours.
- Nominate them for awards to gain business recognition!
Since O’Connor founded the company in 2013, O’Connor Connective has been honored twice by the Greater Green Bay Chamber at the Business Recognition Luncheon. O’Connor Connective received the Entrepreneurial Award in 2015.
O’Connor thanked her team at O’Connor Connective after accepting the Business Person of the Year Award from Greater Green Bay Chamber President Laurie Radke. “They are the rock – the inspiration – and the motivation for our company to continue to make great things happen for our clients and our community,” O’Connor said.
For more information on the 2018 Business Recognition Luncheon and awards, click here.