Bring It On: Green Drinks Chapters Battle for World’s Biggest Green Cocktail Party
Paul McGinniss
It’s never been about the number of people, getting credit for beating somebody else in business, or winning a game for Margaret Lydecker, founder of Green Drinks NYC. It’s all about being true to herself and bringing disconnected people together to talk about the state of the world and finding ways to lead a more sustainable life, while at the same time not cutting back on the good times. But, like other genuine and passionate people who don’t set out to be famous, Margaret nevertheless finds herself at the center of a magnificent chain of energy that has spiraled out across the world.
Last fall, Margaret thought that she could rest on her laurels after hosting the biggest Green Drinks International gathering since the founding of Green Drinks in London in 1989. Almost 1,000 people showed up at her Green Drinks NYC Holiday Party back in December- a record number for the international organization which now has regular gatherings at chapters on every continent and in over 200 cities around the globe.
Sorry, New York. Damien Melotte in Melbourne, Australia recently emailed Margaret to tell her that 1,817 people came to the Green Drinks Melbourne bash that just took place on February 15. Melotte, who chairs an organization called ecoresonance.org, signed off his email to Margaret by asking her to “bring it on.” I recently had brunch with Margaret at a coffee shop in Union Square and wasn’t surprised to find out that she’s planning on putting her party hat back on, fighting back, and showing the folks down under that New York City has no intention of bowing down.
As a major part of her green battle plan, Margaret told me that she just opened up the first official Green Drinks Chapter Office anywhere in the world. Located between Chinatown and Little Italy in New York City, her officemates include Deep Green Living and YRG Sustainability Consultants. Margaret has also hired an assistant, Sarah Butsch, to help launch a top secret project that will surely get her back to being the Queen of Green and show Mr. Melotte that she’s not one to rest on her green laurels. “Green Drinks International Phenomena- that’s what I call it,” Margaret says. “It’s not Green Drinks International Corporation. One thousand people. Two thousand. I love what they’re doing in Melbourne, Munich, South Africa, and Beijing. It’s all about sharing and spreading the positive energy that’s coming out of this. It’s a fabulously healthy competition we have going. It’s all about bringing it on.”
If you’re not on her list already, make sure to email Margaret at nycgreendrinks@gmail.com and come to her next Green Drinks NYC event. Let’s show Melbourne what we’re made of!
Comment by josef on 28 February 2008:
greendrinks in NYC has become something of a joke. what was once a nice way to get together with friends in the field and talk up project collaborations and such has turned into a pretentious, expensive, and impersonal see-and-be-seen event.
charging $10 at the door is a great way to keep the real grassroots folks (those of us actually making a difference around the city and in the field) at home. now it’s all real estate developers, consultants, and venture capitalists looking for how to cash in on this “green thing.” sorry to say, the size of the crowd is no indication of the power or importance of the event.
Comment by Paul McGinniss on 2 March 2008:
Dear Josef
I am sorry that you feel that way. In my experiences I have not found Green Drinks NYC to be at all pretentious or impersonal. And I certainly do not find that it is “all real estate developers, consultants and venture capitalists looking to cash in on the green thing” either. I find that it is usually a mix of friendly people and it is easy to meet and talk with them. I also do not find that charging $10 at the door is exorbitant for NYC especially considering there are usually drink specials that help minimize that initial entrance charge. (It costs more than that to go to a movie) My article was meant to be a bit of fun and to promote a healthy competition between the Melbourne and NYC chapters of Green Drinks. I hope none of the smaller Green Drinks chapters take offense as I never meant to imply that the large size of the crowd was an indication of the importance of any green drinks event. On the other hand, just because the popularity of Green Drinks NYC (and Melbourne) has grown to such an extent does not mean that they are hollow seen and be seen events. Margaret Lydecker is 100% genuine and I applaud her efforts.
Comment by Margaret on 2 March 2008:
Josef- Thanks for your response. I too am sorry you feel that way. It is true Green Drinks has grown over the years, but that is not without a lot of hard work and countless hours with no pay. Managing a growing list of 8000+ is nearly impossible to do without some income to cover costs (website, newsletter, etc) and our $10 has always been a suggested donation, not a requirement, for the very purpose of being inclusive to the community. If you have suggestions on how we can improve our monthly events, I would love to hear them, and in fact encourage people to send ideas but it is far from pretentious. This is an event to build bridges, to open communication and collaboration and make change happen. Because it might not be happening to you, does not mean its not happening to hundreds of other people. There is a lot of love and effort going into these events. Thanks ~ Margaret
p.s. Do you know of any eco-friendly venues in Manhattan that can accommodate 400+ people that serve drinks under $5?
Comment by Jonathan A. Schein on 2 March 2008:
Dear Josef:
What an unusual take on this networking event. From the times I’ve attended GreenDrinksNYC the one common thread throughout all of it has been the ability to meet like-minded enterprising individuals. I believe the purpose is for entrepreneurial as well established business professionals to connect in an open and friendly forum. And based on the people I’ve met and connected with, the idea that $10 is a prohibitive factor, especially in New York, hasn’t even been mentioned.
Green is the most important movement of our lifetime, but it isn’t free. There is nothing like GreenDrinksNYC and I think Margaret has tapped into a vein that will only continue to grow.
Sincerely,
Jonathan
Comment by Ben Jervey on 3 March 2008:
reply to Josef-
While I can certainly relate to your claim that it has gotten a bit less personal, I think it’s important to realize the greater significance of so many people from so many fields.
If we do hope to make a difference (and who doesn’t?), then grassroots environmentalists and right-minded (and I mean well-intending, not politically “right”) corporate crusaders alike need to be able to meet and partner and work together on solutions.
I am curious–how long have you been a regular at GD-NYC? I have to say, while there’s a bit of me that does feel nostalgic for the smaller, more personal GD-NYCs of a couple years back, but it’s nothing if not obvious that we’re creating much more of an impact now.
As for the $10–it’s just a suggested donation. I’ll openly admit that I generally don’t pay because I’m an embarrassingly poor freelancer, and I do tend to arrive thirsty!
I, for one, look forward to the next GD-NYC, whatever the size, knowing that I’ll meet some good folks with great intentions and that we’ll hopefully find a way to make a difference.
-Ben