The Henderson-Henderson County Chamber of Commerce will combine the power of face-to-face networking with the irresistible allure of free food when it launches “4^th Friday,” a lunch for chamber members held on the fourth Friday of every month and designed to give participants the chance to connect and tell each other about their businesses.

   Both admission and food at “4^th Friday” lunches will be free to chamber members.

   “We’re launching the  '4^th Friday' networking luncheons because many of our members have expressed an interest in more networking opportunities," said Janet Hortin, an executive at JD Byrider in Henderson and vice chairwoman of the chamber's Membership Committee.  "We’re very excited about this new event.”

   Future “4^th Friday” networking lunches will be held at various locations around Henderson County and will be catered by restaurants who are members of the chamber. Reservations are encouraged and can be made by contacting the chamber at 826-9531 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The reservation deadline is at noon the Thursday before every “4^th Friday.” 

   The format for “4^th Friday” is simple. The first 20-25 minutes of the one-hour lunches will be devoted to unstructured social time to give the patrons the chance to eat. The rest of the time will be spent allowing participants to gather in small groups and present to each other brief summaries of their firm’s products or services. Each small group will stay together for a few minutes, and then participants will be asked to change tables, form new small groups and start the “pitch” process over again. Groups will continue to rotate until everyone has heard every pitch or the hour is up, whichever comes first.