Connections MADE: Meet & Eat

Description

Looking for a lunch hour that’s anything but ordinary? Join us for Connections MADE: Meet & Eat, where great food meets even greater connections! This isn’t just another networking event – it’s your chance to build relationships, enjoy a delicious meal, and walk away with inspiration for both your business and your personal growth.

Connections MADE: Meet & Eat is the Mason Deerfield Chamber's signature networking event, featuring lunch from a rotating member restaurant or venue. Members have a chance to introduce themselves and their businesses, connect with new faces, and strengthen their personal and professional networks.

Each event showcases a featured speaker, or panel of speakers, sharing their unique business journeys and valuable insights. In 2025, we will shine a spotlight on the 2024 Gems of Excellence winners, celebrating the best of the MADE region and highlighting the achievements that make our community thrive. Don’t miss out on this enriching experience!
 

April's Featured Speakers

April's event will feature nominees and winners from the 2024 Gems of Excellence Annual Awards Night.
 

David Charpentier Charp Enterprises Garnet Nominee	Joe Schroeder Mason City Schools Excellence in Education	Jen Winter Bed Bug Solutions Esprit de Corps Pink Diamond Nominee

David Charpentier
Charp Enterprises

David Charpentier has a passion for helping people lead successful and fulfilled lives. David believes the greater the understanding of self, the more success a person has leading, being part of a group and thriving in relationships at work and home. David brings a wealth of experience to his work as a certified Executive Life Coach and Enneagram teacher and trainer in the narrative tradition.
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David’s unique background inspires his results-oriented, passionate, approach. With a BA in History and Secondary Education and a minor in Military Science, David pursued a career in the United States Army where he served for six years on active duty as a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Officer. David held leadership roles both as a subject matter expert advising senior leaders and leading large and diverse teams. He is a graduate of the US Army Ranger School, the Army’s Elite Light Infantry Training course. David went on to transition successfully into Corporate America where he worked in sales and operations for Fortune 500 companies – selling, implementing and managing multi-million-dollar deals. This unique ability to understand a customer’s needs and motivations and his specialty in helping sales teams unlock their potential drove David’s success.
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David resides in Deerfield Township with his wife Susan and their four children. David is the Past Commander of Joe Barr American Legion Post 194. He volunteered on the committee to build the Veterans Park in Deerfield Township, is the President of the Mason Touchdown Club, serves on the Mason City Schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and District Safety Committee. He is a Lead on MADE CDC Mason Mile Project and serves on the MADE Chamber Government Executive Committee.
 

Joe Schroeder
Mason City Schools

Joe Schroeder has been a resident of Mason, OH since 2004. He has been married to his wife, Rahlaunda (Roe), for 32 years. Rahlaunda previously worked at the Mason Early Childhood Center in the Child Nutrition department and is now a test proctor at Warren County Career Center. They have two children: Allison, 20, an MHS alumna and a junior at the University of Cincinnati, and Brandon, 24, an MHS alumnus and a Financial Analyst at Medpace.
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Joe enjoys several hobbies, including playing baseball, coaching and jumping with the Comet Skippers, fishing, and tackling DIY home projects. His passion for these activities reflects his active and engaged lifestyle.
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Professionally, Joe has built a diverse and impactful career. Since January 2023, he has served as the Experiential Learning Program Coordinator at Mason High School, where he provides students with valuable career experience opportunities, such as site visits, job shadowing, internships, and interactions with career speakers. Before this, from July 2020 to January 2023, he was the Director for Community Growth at Warren County Community Services, where he created an employment services program to support clients in their career development and job search efforts. Joe also led the Emergency Services operations for WCCS during this time.
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Earlier in his career, from November 2018 to June 2020, Joe was the Director of the High School Workforce Initiative at United Way of Warren County. In this role, he worked closely with employers to create internship opportunities and career pathways for high school graduates, fostering connections between students and potential employers. His career began with a long tenure at Procter and Gamble, where he served from June 1997 to November 2018. In his final role there, Joe was the Global Marketing Brand ROI leader, heading the innovation and application of research capabilities to optimize media and trade plans for the company.
 

Jen Winter
Bed Bug Solutions

Prior to owning Bed Bug Solutions and Solutions Plus Pest Control, Jen worked in the hotel & hospitality industry for 17 years.  Jen met her husband Mark over bed bugs, she was a hotel manager, and he was her exterminator.  With his knowledge of the pest control industry, her background in taking care of customers and a need in the Greater Cincinnati area for a company that specialized in bed bug extermination, Bed Bug Solutions was born in 2014.  Mark and Jen have since added their Solutions Plus Pest Control division and have expanded into Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina and Montana.  Jen is passionate about her business and her community.  She has been a Mason resident since 2001 and raised her 21-year-old twins in the Mason City School District.  She is an empty nester living with her husband, Mark and their 3 dogs, but lives next door to her stepdaughter, son-in-law and two bonus granddaughters.  Jen, along with her husband Mark, also created the Angel Alley in downtown Mason to remember kids in Mason that have passed on too soon.  Bed Bug Solutions was nominated for Business of the Year in 2023, Jen was nominated for Businesswoman of the Year in 2024, and Jen & Mark were awarded with the Esprit de Corps Award at the Gems of Excellence in 2024 for their contributions to the Mason Mile.