The Ivy League Comes to Atlanta

By Larry Block
Southeast Bureau Chief (The Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida)

Greeting from the South. Today I want to introduce you to a networking and social group that I have been affiliated with for the past 5 years. Originally created by Mike Eastman 11 years ago, shortly after he moved to Atlanta, Team Ivy is comprised of alums from all the Ivy League and Seven Sister Colleges as well as elite schools nationwide. They refer to it as the Ivy League Plus schools. A partial list of eligible schools includes: Brown, Cornell, John Hopkins, Princeton, Wellesley, Bucknell, MIT, Smith, Wharton, Colgate, Duke, Emory, Mt. Holyoke, Stanford, Yale, Tulane, Vassar, Penn, Colombia and Harvard. The group was originally created as a way to network professionally but has reaped many social benefits as well. Mike, himself, met his wife, Jill indirectly through this group.

Although most of the Ivy League schools are located in the Northeast, the South has proven to be one of the top relocation areas for some of these elite schools. With over 2,000 members in the southeast, Team Ivy has proven over the last 11 years to be a great resource for developing and maintaining both business and social contacts.

The primary purpose of TEAM IVY is to network and socialize with fellow business Ivy grads and friends of Ivy, refer business leads to each other, and possibly even learn something…

Team Ivy holds many different events throughout the year with their biggest event being the annual Polo party held every October in Alpharetta, which annually draws a crowd of over 500 members. A list of regular events include an After Work Social Hour at Park Tavern - every second Wednesday of the month from 7:00 - 9:30 pm. usually at Park Tavern, a Networking breakfast meeting held the third Wednesday of each month at Maggianos in Buckhead, a dinner program called Tables for Eight where people meet at various restaurants around Atlanta, day hikes, hang gliding, horseback riding excursions and even a Martini night held a couple of times a year. More information on all of their various activities can be found at www.teamivy.com.

In addition to social and networking events, in 2009 Team Ivy will begin a scholarship program and a lunchtime series dedicated to addressing the needs of fellow alums navigating the job market in today’s tough economic times. To get additional information or upcoming event information contact Mike Eastman at mike@teamivy.com.

As a regular attendee at the monthly breakfast event, this group is regularly attended by 10 -15 members with another 10 or so first time visitors each month. Recently Team Ivy moved from the Windy Hill Athletic Club to their present location Maggiano’s and as a result the attendance has increased. This group has a much greater influence on business to business rather than business to consumer opportunities. There are several regular members of this group who specialize in start up capital, angel investing and working with existing businesses to ensure success.
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The Ivy League Comes to Atlanta