Networking and AI education for local businesses
By Lauren Tam
The Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce continued its focus on business education in August with two programs designed to help local professionals strengthen relationships and prepare for a rapidly changing business environment.
On Aug. 5, Lauren Tam of Tilted Logic Systems, LLC presented “Networking with Purpose,” an interactive workshop focused on moving beyond simply collecting business cards and instead building meaningful, long-term professional relationships.
Tam compared networking to growing a garden: relationships must first be planted, then watered and nurtured before they can produce results. Attendees explored different networking environments, including mixers, speed networking, chamber and community events, structured referral groups and one-to-one meetings.
The workshop also introduced the CONNECT approach to relationship building: Cultivate Conversations, Offer Value, Nurture Relationships, Never Expect Instant Results, Educate, Create Opportunities and Track Relationships. Participants were encouraged to become more intentional about following up, providing value and helping their referral partners understand who they serve and what an ideal referral looks like.
The Chamber continued its educational programming on Aug. 12 with a Lunch and Learn, featuring Joshua Aguirre, founder of Cressio. He provided attendees with a look at the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence.
Aguirre demonstrated how AI has progressed beyond simple chat-based tools and can now be used to create autonomous agents capable of performing business tasks. During the live presentation, attendees saw examples of AI being used to help schedule appointments, organize organizational knowledge, build customized software and automate business workflows.
The discussion also addressed the importance of keeping humans involved in critical decisions, protecting business and personal data, understanding the limitations of AI, and establishing appropriate safeguards as businesses adopt the technology.
Aguirre encouraged business owners to think beyond simply asking, “How can I use AI?” and instead consider where technology could solve specific problems, save time or improve existing processes. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of thoughtful implementation and maintaining human judgment as AI capabilities continue to advance.
Both programs reflected the Eastern Plains Chamber’s commitment to providing local businesses with practical education, connections and resources. Whether the topic is strengthening relationships or navigating emerging technology, the goal remains the same: helping businesses throughout the Eastern Plains community become stronger, more informed and better prepared for the future.
For more information on the chamber, visit https://www.easternplainschamber.com/
