T-R PHOTO BY SUSANNA MEYER The Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce launched a new morning networking event called Caffeinated Conversations on Friday morning, and the Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown hosted the event which went from 8 to 9:30 a.m. On the left, Chamber Membership Director Sarah Smith and Workforce Director Kyle Hall stand beside ARL Executive Director Rachel Buchanan and other event attendees, Jordan Pope, back, Peggy Hannam, front left, and Erika Melchor, right.

A new Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce event called Caffeinated Conversations launched on Friday morning, and it caters to individuals who like to do their networking bright and early.

The gathering was held at the Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown from 8 to 9:30 a.m. and people could come and go as they pleased, chatting with other attendees while enjoying free Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and pastries. Caffeinated Conversations is open to all employees of any Chamber member business or organization, and it has a similar feel to Business After Hours.

“We just wanted to kind of switch it up. Our Business After Hours (events) are very popular, and doing those in the evenings, not everyone is able to attend those, so we decided to bring back a morning event to get more people involved, so hopefully they’ll be successful,” Chamber Membership Director Sarah Smith said. “It’s another way for our members to connect with one another.”

Similar to Business After Hours, the chamber plans to host a Caffeinated Conversations event once a month, and they already have events scheduled out to the end of the year and beyond.

Chamber businesses and organizations are able to choose a month to host the event, and ARL Executive Director Rachel Buchanan said they decided to host for August because they have their Draws for Paws fundraiser coming up two weeks from Saturday.

Buchanan lived in Marshalltown about a decade ago, and after being away for a while, she recently moved back to run the ARL last December. She really wanted to branch out and make some connections, and Caffeinated Conversations seemed like the perfect way to do that.

“(The ARL is) a community-based organization, in terms of, our focus is to help the community, but because we’re nonprofit, we also can’t operate without support from the community,” Buchanan said. “We can’t do what we do without support from the community, so connections in the community are super important for us.”

While the first rendition of Caffeinated Conversations didn’t draw huge crowds, Smith and the rest of the chamber are hoping that as the word gets out and as the events keep coming, more and more people will stop by, grab a coffee and indulge in some conversation with fellow chamber members.

The next Caffeinated Conversations event is being held from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Sept. 20 at Home Federal Savings Bank, located at 303 W. Main St., and it is open to all employees of Chamber businesses or organizations.

For more information about the ARL fundraiser coming up at the end of the month, visit https://business.marshalltown.org/community-events/Details/draws-for-paws-fundraiser-for-arl