Evento emPower

Ft Wayne EmPower Breakfast

February 25 at 7:00 AM

25 years of bringing people together!

Why We Are Different

Focused on You: From Featured Speakers to table conversations, many people have a chance to speak at an emPower Breakfast. Experts, Sponsors, regular attendees ... and You! We try to give everyone a chance to share their stories...

An Intimate Event: We aren’t looking for hundreds to attend - our events feel like you could meet everyone if you tried.

Non-commercial: The emPower Breakfast does not promote any specific product, the presentations are not sales pitches. Our monthly event is non-membership and public; focused on fun and relationship building.

We finish on time: We pace our event quickly, so there’s never a dull moment!

Register now for the February emPower Breakfast! Featuring Marshall White - Founder and CEO of Unity Performing Arts Foundation

Featured Speaker

Marshall White

Rising With Purpose

Marshall A. White is the distinguished Founder and CEO of Unity Performing Arts Foundation in Fort Wayne, IN, where he also serves as the Director and Life Coach for the Voices of Unity Youth Choir. Since its establishment in July 2000, UNITY has been committed to cultivating character, artistry, and leadership in young people through various performing arts disciplines, including choral music, dance, drama, and more. Under White's leadership, the Voices of Unity Youth Choir has garnered widespread acclaim. It has earned the prestigious World Grand Champion title twice and secured six gold medals at the World Choir Games in 2010, 2012, 2014, and, most recently, in Auckland, New Zealand, in July 2024. The choir also completed a four-country European tour in 2016, highlighted by an exceptional performance at the Vatican. White's leadership has led to performances alongside renowned artists and at esteemed events, establishing the choir's reputation on both national and international stages. He attended Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, and studied electronic technology and vocal and music theory. He received direct training from the late jazz pianist Willie Pickens at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. White's visionary leadership has been recognized with numerous awards, and he was recently awarded the 2024 People of the Year recognition by the Fort Wayne Magazine. He is also a dedicated family man, married Cynthia White in 1994, and has three children and a stepson.
Marshall White
A Virtual or Fractional CIO helps companies bridge the gap between IT and business strategy—without the cost of a full-time executive. At VCIO Global, we provide hands-on leadership to evaluate your technology stack, plan for growth, improve security, and guide digital transformation. Our expertise with Microsoft ERP platforms like Dynamics 365 and NAV means we can optimize your core business systems while helping you adopt modern tools like cloud, AI, and analytics. Whether you’re scaling up, streamlining, or just trying to make IT work better—we focus on driving real business outcomes, such as increasing revenue, reducing operational costs, improving efficiency, and enabling smarter lead generation. Take the two-minute Technology Readiness Assessment on our website.
Based in Indiana, Sandler by Wilcox & Associates | Indiana stands as a pillar of business development and sales success, transcending the narrow scope of typical training offerings. As your chosen Sandler Training Center, we pledge to be more than a conventional service provider; we are your ally in propelling sales performance to new levels. Rooted in the esteemed Sandler Selling System, our approach to sales has successfully empowered over 50k businesses globally. This foundational methodology equips your team with strategic advice, instilling a mindset designed to conquer challenges, enhance skill sets, and foster substantial growth.
Perfect Steel Solutions provides expert metal & shingle roofing, in-house metal roof manufacturing, and 24/7 emergency services in the areas surrounding Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and Western Ohio.

Sponsors

Ft Wayne Area Director

Joy

Joy Gray

Area Director of the Ft Wayne EmPower Breakfast

As a passionate leader, Joy’s focus has always been on helping others. As a student of learning, Joy is always challenging the status quo. She brings to the emPower Breakfast networking company a rich background of proven expertise in event management and marketing, while providing an excellent client experience. Joy ensures that emPower Breakfast events find the right partners for mutually beneficial relationships. Through her passionate, client-centric focus, Joy ensures that all clients know that we consider their success to be an integral part of our own, and that going the extra mile on their behalf is the rule, and not the exception. If there is one thing Joy has proven throughout her diverse career, it's that her skills transcend industries. Joy has worked for big companies and has also started her own. She helped successfully navigate the political campaign of the former lieutenant governor of Florida, and helped turn a high-performance boat company into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. From a personal perspective, Joy never stops pursuing her passion for helping the people who need it the most, particularly our veterans and children in need. She has worked tirelessly to raise millions of dollars for charity. As a mother of two and a Nana of 2 young boys, Joy makes it her mission to always stay connected and available for her family.Joy invites you to join her at your closest emPower Breakfast event!

Venue

The Pearl Event Center

228 W Main St, Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Ft Wayne, IN

Breakfast Schedule

07:00 AM to 07:15 AM
Networking
07:15 AM to 07:30 AM
Featured Sponsors
07:30 AM to 07:45 AM
Lightning Talks
07:45 AM to 08:00 AM
Table Introductions
08:00 AM to 08:20 AM
Featured Speaker
08:20 AM to 08:30 AM
Door Prizes
08:30 AM to 09:00 AM
Networking

Come to this event!

REGISTER

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emPower Breakfast

Your Local Small Business Networking Event

The emPower Breakfast is a down-to-earth, convenient way for small business owners and operators to network with each other and connect with larger businesses and agencies in the community.

Interested in being a sponsor?

SPONSOR

Sponsor your local emPower breakfast

Promote Your Business to a Wider Audience

Your business can benefit by becoming a sponsor. In return for your investment, your business will be promoted on this website, in emails, and at the breakfast itself. Plus, training for you and your team!

Benefits to You
  • Showcase presentation for your company at one breakfast per year
  • Multiple Marketing Impressions on our website, newsletter, Breakfast Day slider, Breakfast agenda handout, Shout Outs on Breakfast Day
  • Access to database of attendees
  • You have industry exclusivity for Sponsorships
  • Attendees are encouraged to call you first for services/products
  • Business Builder Online: Over 130 online training lessons in 30+ courses for you and your team
  • Monthly National Sponsor Webinars
  • Quarterly Local Sponsor Soirees

On the month you are assigned to showcase (present) your company:

  • You will meet each attendee as they check in
  • You can bring flyers, business cards, or advertising material
  • A representative from your company will have 5 minutes at the podium
emPower Breakfast

Be a sponsor!

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SPEAKER

Speak at the emPower breakfast

Promote Your Business to a Wider Audience

There are two options for speaking at an emPower Breakfast event:

Featured Speakers

Being a featured speaker provided the business or individual to shine for 15 minutes. You want to follow similar guidelines as a 3-minute speaker. You need to make sure you provide good information that is relevant to most attendees on a topic that you are a thought leader on. Here you can bring a presentation and use the A/V system.

NOTE: Filling out the form places you into the queue to be a speaker. You will be notified of the month and day when you will be assigned. Use the Message field to make any special requests: Month, AV, etc.

Share Your Business With a 3-Minute Presentation At No Cost

Each month, there are opportunities to tell the group a little more about yourself by doing a 3-minute presentation on you and your business.

This is more than just an elevator speech – it’s an opportunity to share more information about who you are, what you do, and how you can help any of the people attending the emPower Breakfast.

Be a speaker!

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