Cathy Berggren, Executive Director of the Real Life Center with Wanda Cronic-Howell, Owner and Dealer of Cronic Automotive Group
Businesswomen from Fayette, Coweta, and Spalding counties were hosted by the Cronic Automotive Group for an evening of “good, clean fun” and two area non-profit groups were the beneficiaries.
The two charities were The Real Life Center in Fayette County and Turning the Tide Ministry at Griffin’s First United Methodist Church. They each received major cash donations, as well as basketfuls of washing pods.
“This was a fun evening for some very good causes,” said Wanda Cronic-Howell, the dealer at the three Cronic stores who hosted the event in the Cronic Nissan showroom. “We are proud to have been associated with these two causes.”
The attendees were members of one of three organizations – the McIntosh Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association, the Iris Chapter of the ABWA, and the Business Women of Fayette and Coweta. The price of admission was a voluntary monetary donation to the charities or clothes washing pods. At the event, Maria Hall with Ignite Business Coaching also presented a program on networking.
Howell, a long-time active member with the pair of local ABWA chapters, as well as the Business Women of Fayette and Coweta, said that the Cronic Automotive Group “sponsors these Ladies Night Out events on a regular basis because we feel that it is important to host fun evenings for professional women so they can meet in a relaxed atmosphere.”
In the past, Cronic has sponsored fashion shows, speakers, and other networking events. These informal evenings are complementary and usually feature a light supper and door prizes, as well as the program.
“At Cronic, we have always been aware of our responsibility to give back to this community which has been so good to our family business,” Mrs. Howell said.
The Real Life Center in Fayette County is aimed at helping families in stressful situations. It uses a holistic approach to assist individuals and families to better themselves now and build a better future. It is sponsored by the Dogwood Church in Peachtree City.
Ashley from Ashley’s Blessed Brownies brought samples to share with Maria C. Hall of Ignite Business Solutions
The Turning the Tide ministry is a project of Griffin’s First United Methodist Church which combats one of the key problems of the homeless – clean clothes. This ministry provides volunteers who distribute detergent pods on Friday nights at a local laundromat as well as a light supper to the people who bring their clothes.
“Cronic has been in Griffin since my parents, Freda and J. A. Cronic, started the first dealership in 1975,” Mrs. Howell said. “I was just in college then and I came down to serve soft drinks at the Grand Opening. It was very exciting.”
There are now three Cronic dealerships, Mrs. Howell noted, but they are all committed offering quality products at fair prices — the same values instilled by her parents when they started the business.
The ABWA McIntosh Chapter (Peachtree City), ABWA Iris Chapter (Griffin) and Business Women of Fayette and Coweta (www.bwfcc.org) all have monthly meetings with speakers, networking, and opportunities for women in business.
“The meetings are an excellent opportunity for business women to meet in an informal setting and discuss items of common concern,” said Mrs. Howell. “I have long been a member of all of these groups. They have helped me in my professional life.”
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