We were informed and entertained by Elizabeth Hanselman's two-minute speech during our most recent luncheon! She won our Spotlight Award drawing at our May luncheon. Here is a summary of what she had to say:
"To put it simply, GAWN changed my life! I had recently relocated from the Big Apple and was trying to start a Massage Therapy practice when I attended my first meeting in January of 1995. There was this red-headed fellow who I assumed must either be connected to the restaurant or married to one of the other members. However, Robert Hanselman was the very first male member of GAWN and very much single!
At the April meeting, Robert finally got the courage to approach me, we traded business cards and… the rest is history – we got married a little over a year later. I guess you can say I got the most from networking!
Fast-forward several years and we both stopped attending meetings until I was selected to be the Program Director of Jeff Galloway’s Run/Walk/Run Training in Gainesville in the Fall of 2010. At that point I re-joined GAWN with the idea of guiding people to better fitness through a Program that easily fits into most people’s lifestyle, provides accountability, and produces results while having fun.
The Run/Walk/Run approach is particularly empowering for women over 50 who often sell themselves short and are discouraged from their full potential by senseless fitness fads and misleading information! In 2017 I added a Walking Only group to Gainesville Galloway for those who cannot or should not run but want to participate in run/walk events and get out in the fresh air with other like-minded and encouraging people.
What I like about GAWN is the friendly atmosphere, the opportunity to showcase my business with a table-top display and the range of topics presented. However, the members of GAWN are the best part of every luncheon.
Besides GAWN, I am also a member of the Writes’ Alliance of Gainesville (WAG) and have written my first novel (about running, of course) and am pursuing both an agent for the book and studying how to edit and proofread so I can help other writers.
As for advice to anyone starting out is Network! Network! Network! Meeting people not only increases your “bottom line” but also enhances you as an individual. Everyone has something of value to bring to the table…and unless you’re willing to meet and mingle, you may very well miss out on something, or someone, special."
Elizabeth Hanselman
Gainesville Galloway Program Director
352-214-6836
gainesvillerunwalkrun@gmail.com
