First 'Pink Slip Party' fuels networking, hope and fun

A teacher and education expert who is plugged into using all the "21st Century skills" to keep on top of situations, Brendan Murphy was as ready as anybody could be when the bad news arrived.

The McHenry man, 40, was working from home on his computer for the online educational company GlobalScholar, but he also was keeping up with the latest Twitter posting from Laura Fitton, a social networking microblogger in Boston who was organizing a "Pink Slip Party" there as a networking tool for people who had lost their jobs.

"They called me up and told me I was being let go, and she was doing the pink slip stuff on the other side of the screen, literally at the same time," Murphy says. Naturally, he figured he'd organize a Pink Slip Party in the suburbs.

Murphy, who grew up in Wheeling and taught in Kentucky and North Chicago, generated a buzz with the people who follow his postings at http://twitter.com/dendari.

Armed with cookies, pop and a sense of adventure, he and his family ventured into the McHenry Township office Friday evening to host McHenry's first Pink Slip Party.

The first woman to walk through the door is obviously looking for something - just not a job.

"I'm here for a Scrabble game," she says before departing for the right room.

But the next guest couldn't be better.

"I come here as an employer," says Kenneth Duffy, general manager of Northwest Wood Products in Harvard. "I'm hoping to find some good guys."

Duffy wants to hire five experienced drivers with the Class A licenses that allow them to drive semi-trucks. He spends more than an hour at the party, meets a truck driver who doesn't have the right license, and leaves his card urging any qualified drivers to call him at (815) 648-2406.

Duffy says he's glad he came because he got some leads on drivers from Libertyville's Peter Waitzman, a financial associate for Thrivent Financial, and, "I also know some people who might be interested in his services."

That's exactly how a Pink Slip Party works best.

"Networking is key," says Linda Kvidera-Murphy, Brendan's wife. She grew up in Cary and used to be in management for a luxury homebuilder, until she left to stay home with their boys Ian, 4, and Berkley, 2. Now she's working out of their home.

"I do a little reupholstering, furniture refinishing, some interior design," Kvidera-Murphy says.

Talking with unemployed Dennis Bonfazi is how she finds out about the Oddfellows' annual pig roast Saturday in Richmond, where she runs into a lot of old friends and has a good time.

Good, old-fashioned face-to-face networking is how Bonfazi operates. His eyes widen and his mouth opens when he is welcomed to the Pink Slip Party.

"I had no idea that is what it's called," admits Bonfazi, whose wife told him it was a "job fair" and for whom the term "pink slip" conjures up a different crowd.

With his ponytail, beard and spider-web tattoo on his elbow, Bonfazi smiles at Murphy in his tie and jacket.

"I'd say we've got a diverse type here," Bonfazi says to the man who has a master's degree in elementary education from Northwestern University. "My dad drove a truck, and I'm Italian, OK? So you know where this is going,"

Unfortunately, Bonfazi doesn't have the right license to grab a job with Northwest Wood Products. But he's open to any job.

"I'm good to do anything. You want to wrestle?" asks Bonfazi, who adds that he has a third-degree black belt in martial arts. "For a 50-year-old man, I'm in very good shape."

His motorcycle jacket sports a beer mug logo for the "Stumbling Idiots."

"Right now, it's just a shirt - before, it was a lifestyle," says Bonfazi, who has a 16-year-old daughter and is very involved in the Oddfellows charity (www.benhurlodge870il.org). He's writing personal thank-you notes to the people at Dominick's in Buffalo Grove, Meijer in McHenry and others who helped with the pig roast.

The first Pink Slip Party comes to a close and "nobody actually found a job," Brendan Murphy says. "But I think a few good connections were made."

"I got some leads," Bonfazi says Monday, as he heads off to pursue them.

Murphy, too, has a lead on a possible new job.

"Everything I have learned over the last year has gotten me excited about education again," Murphy e-mails. "I just hope I can get through this dead spot right now and start teaching again either in the summer or fall."

In the meantime, watch Twitter for news of the next Pink Slip Party.