It’s time to get this party started...It’s time to launch the I Love Madison Show! Host Neil Mathweg explains how the idea for the “I love Madison Show” came from talking with local business owners and realizing that it was hard for people moving into the city to connect. Additionally, Neil talks about how hard it is for “trailing spouses,” the spouse who may not be working or is a stay at home mom, to connect to the local community. The purpose of “I love Madison” is to provide information on events, ways to connect, places to eat and needs in the community! Meet me in Madison I love Madison is more than just a podcast! Each month leaders from the community will host an event called Connect Madison. This 90-minute event is designed to connect people to each other and to the needs of the community. Attendees will have 30 minutes to network, followed by 30 minutes of talks based on the idea of “lifestyle.” After the lifestyle talks, there will be topic tables where community members can go to get more information on a particular subject or interest. The goal is to launch Connect Madison in January of 2018! Learn from a local: The insider’s guide With the goal of connection in mind, the I Love Madison team is working hard to put out as much content as possible to help you get connected! Besides the podcast and the I love Madison blog, There will be an Insider's Guide to Madison that will help keep you in the know. At the moment there are 13 contributors who are working to add content to The Insider's Guide. The show breakdown Each week The I Love Madison podcast will be broken up into three or four segments, each with a different purpose. Chris Reese from American Family Insurance will interview people who moved to Madison within the last 5 years, to ask about their transition into the community, the struggles they had in connecting or finding information and where they have gotten plugged-in. Chris Sorensen from Realty Executives will host the “Meet-up of the Week,” a segment dedicated to highlighting interest groups that meet around the city. Neil Mathweg from Realty Executives will interview a community influencer, someone who is well-connected in Madison and can help other people to help people get connected. These could be politicians, radio hosts, restaurants owners, event coordinators, etc. The game of magnets There are tons of fun things planned for the I love Madison Show, including the game of magnets! There will be magnets with a number and the I Love Madison logo all over town. If you see one of those magnets you can take a picture of it and post to social media. This will “ register” that magnet under your name, and put you in the running to win several prizes. Neil Mathweg is planning to host several Instagram takeovers a few times a month to feature local products, interview foodies and feature the beer of the week and where to find it, among other things. If you are interested in contributing to the I Love Madison podcast as a guest, wish to host a topic table at Connect Madison or know of someone the show should feature, contact Neil Mathweg! Outline of This Episode [1:00] Welcome from Neil Mathweg [2:45] It’s hard to get connected in a new town [3:30] What is Connect Madison? [6:45] The insider's guide [7:45] How the show will run each week [8:30] Meetup of the week: groups you should know about [10:00] The Game of Magnets #MadisonGOM [11:45] Instagram take-overs planned [13:30] How you can contribute to the I Love Madison Show [14:00] Show Sponsors Resources & People Mentioned Chris Reese - American Family Insurance Chris Sorenson - Realty Executives Kelly Roettger - Unikern Studio Abbey Weltland - Fairway Mortgage Connect With Neil facebook.com/ilovemadisonshow.com instagram.com/ilovemadisonshow twitter.com/neilmathweg linkedin.com/in/neilmathweg