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WILKES-BARRE — Bill Corcoran Jr. understands that there’s power in numbers. He also is finding greater numbers in POWER!
Corcoran is president of the networking group Wilkes-Barre POWER!, which stands for Professionals Organized and Working to Enrich the Region.
Founded in 2002, the group’s monthly meetings provide opportunities for networking, community and civic improvement, professional and leadership development and advancement.
Not only did POWER! see a 100 percent increase in new members year-over-year for 2018 — it now has about 350 members — the group raised $3,500 in donations for community causes through efforts to support an area nonprofit at each month’s gathering.
Groups that have benefited include Big Brothers Big Sisters, Adopt a Single Mom Project, McGlynn Learning Center, Domestic Violence Service Center, Little Eric’s Foundation, NEPA Inclusive and Paint Pittston Pink.
Each month, POWER! holds its networking meeting at a new venue in Luzerne County. Past venues have included Rikasa, Jonathans, Bettelli’s, Westmoreland Club, Jasmine, The Woodlands, River Grille, North Slope Brewing Company, King’s Pizza, Oyster Restaurant at Genetti’s and most recently Isabella Restaurant and Bar.
Corcoran, 29, serves as a sales executive at Corcoran Printing, his family’s Wilkes-Barre based business. We spoke with him about the growth and evolution of POWER!, his own career and his outlook on the region.
Q: Who is POWER! for? Who is the target membership audience?
A: A lot of people think it’s just for young professionals, but it’s not. It’s for anybody of all ages.
One of the other misconceptions is that you have to be a salesperson to go to a networking event, and that’s totally false. You can be anybody who’s looking to better yourself, whether you want to just get out and socialize more, or get some sound business advice, there’s tons and tons of benefits.
We have professionals of all ages and all different types of businesses. We have sales professionals, we have business owners, dental hygienists, dentists, insurance agents, pretty much everything under the sun.
Q: What is your professional background?
A: I’m a 2011 Penn State grad, and I studied public relations. After graduation I worked for Verizon Wireless for about a year. I was more retail sales, and I wanted to get into outside sales. An opportunity came up to join my family’s business and I came on board with my dad, and I’ve been with Corcoran Printing since 2012.
Q: And how did you join this group?
A: Six or seven years ago a friend of mine was on the POWER! board and invited me to check out the events.
I hardly knew anybody there, but I was young and new in my career, and I thought this could only help me. I started making some really good connections and some good friends along the way.
I would tell others who expressed an interest, “what’s the worst that could happen? You’re going to have fun and you’re going to meet some great people.”
So for a few years I just went to all of the events as a member. There was some transition on the board, and in 2014-15 they asked me to join the board. I did, and about two years ago I became president.
Q: Networking obviously is a goal, but POWER! is about more than that, isn’t it?
A: We want to continue to showcase the Wilkes-Barre area, to show everybody that it’s a great place to live, a great place to work, to meet people, tons of great restaurants and venues and a lot of businesses that do great things in this area that people don’t know exist.
We also want to continue to add new members, to give back to the community in any way that we can. We added 20 members at our most recent event.
Q: Back to your personal experience, quickly … why did you return to the area after college? I ask because there are many young people who don’t.
A: I have deep roots here in Wilkes-Barre and in the community. Corcoran Printing has been in business since 1940, and I always kind of imagined that somewhere along the line I’d be part of the business. I worked there part-time growing up, a little bit in high school and throughout college.
Sometimes the area gets a bad rap. There are so many good things going on, and my involvement with POWER! is part of my personal mission to make the area a really great place to be.
Q: Is POWER’s focus on combining networking and charitable donations new?
A: I think maybe in years past there may have been a little bit of that, but not very much.
Last year we partnered up with a different nonprofit each month, organizing some sort of basket raffle or 50/50 to benefit them at the meetings. We raised several thousand dollars.
Q: How did the idea come about?
A: It was actually a request from our members. We’re constantly asking for feedback — what can POWER! do better, to better serve the members and make the events better and serve the community better. That was one of the things that a lot of the members suggested.
Now we almost have a waiting list for groups to focus on.
Q: Any additional advice for those who might like to attend?
A: People who are not in sales kind of shy away from going to a networking event. I want people to understand it’s not just for sales.
Maybe you’re looking to find a new job, it’s a perfect place to meet people who may be hiring.
You may find your next employee if you’re looking to hire somebody. You may be looking to get out of your own shell for personal reasons.
There’s so much room for personal and professional development in our group and I want people to know that.
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For more information on POWER! events visit https://www.facebook.com/gwbyp/.
