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02/28/2018 07:30 AMGeorge Smith likes being a conduit to connect people, whether it’s business to business, business to community, or community to business. George says supporting local businesses helps the community in more ways than one.
“I find value in helping people that way because when they do need something and think of you; it keeps you in the forefront, and when it comes to me needing business, I know that they’ll think of me,” George says.
George’s positive approach isn’t going unnoticed. He recently was named the Member of the Year for his networking group Business Network International (BNI) North Haven. The group meets every Tuesday morning at 7:15 a.m. at the Corinthian Masonic Lodge at 30 Church Street.
“Each year the leadership chooses somebody that gives a little bit extra to the group,” George says, “The group in itself is great; everybody is very giving.”
George says the motto of the group is “givers gain,” and that if someone in the group works to help everybody else, the help comes back. He says it was an honor to be recognized by the group, which includes a number of North Haven residents and business owners, all with the goal of helping members increase each other’s business.
“So through a series of 60-second ‘commercials’ and the ability to have a 10-minute slot every six or eight months or so, you get to educate the members as to how to best help you,” George says.
Since joining BNI about three years ago, George has connected with many businesses in the area, not only for himself, but to let them know the BNI group exists and could be beneficial for those business representatives to have a presence at the group’s meetings. He likes helping from a business standpoint because he says many owners of local businesses are also residents of the community they serve.
“I’d much rather give my money to that person versus a Walmart or a conglomerate,” George says.
George works for Right Way Communications, a sales and marketing company, where he spends half of his time managing day-to-day activities in the office and the other half in the field doing direct sales for the products the company represents, such as Comcast/Xfinity.
He says he spends more time at the Moonrise Café than anywhere else in town, calling it his “haunt.” He’ll go there to get coffee and talk to locals there, adding that it’s the kind of place where the chief of police comes through every once in a while and many older residents come in and read.
In his hometown of East Haven, George is involved in the community through the Democratic Town Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, a community clean up group called Clean UP East Haven, and the Foxon Recreation League.
The reason why he’s so involved is because he wants to give back to the community. He’s lived in East Haven 28 years, with his kids going through the school system and playing sports in the town.
“At some point you have to give back because I know a lot of people were there when I was raising my kids…Now it’s time for me to give back,” George says.
He lives with his wife, Annie, and has two kids, Morgan and Adam. Both of his kids are doing post-graduate work, and while his daughter Morgan is still in the area, his son is in Portland, Oregon currently.
“I got lucky, I’ve got good kids. Despite everything I did, they turned out alright,” George says with a laugh.