Cyndi ONeill-Dady’s networking group celebrates its anniversary October 13 with a Clothes For Kids fundraiser open to the whole community
By Mill Creek View Staff
Cyndi ONeill-Dady never meant to start a networking group. Seventeen years ago she was a single mom who had just finished homeschooling her kids, making the rounds of chambers and luncheons and noticing how often she walked back out without knowing the people she had sat beside. She wanted a room where nobody left a stranger.
That room became Exceptional Connections, founded August 11, 2009. On Tuesday, October 13, the group celebrates its 17th anniversary at Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse in Lynnwood, where it meets on the second Tuesday of every month. This year ONeill-Dady has reserved a second banquet room so the party can double as the Clothes For Kids Make an Impact Fundraiser, and the whole community is invited.
A room where everyone is known
At an Exceptional Connections luncheon, everyone gets a turn. Every person stands up, every meeting, and says who they are, what they do, and who they help. Nobody slips out unknown.
“We all need to be seen, heard, and witnessed,” ONeill-Dady says. “You don’t have to be perfect. You’re just real. That’s why I tell people you can’t hide at Exceptional Connections, because we want to know what you do.”
Newcomers can drop in with no pressure to join, and the ones who stay find garden parties, coffee dates, and friendships that outlast any referral.
“We’re in business for ourselves, but we don’t have to be by ourselves,” she says. “We have the opportunity to not just be in competition with each other, but to collaborate and celebrate one another.”
Her philosophy fits on one line: “Imagine viewing every chance encounter as a connection that could change the course of your life. I treat every relationship as sacred.”
Rooms worth coming back to
Rachael Barclay had spoken in plenty of rooms as a hospitality executive. July’s luncheon, where she was the spotlight speaker, was her first time in front of one as the owner of something she built herself. In a blog post afterward, titled “The Rooms Worth Coming Back To,” she described the nerves that come with that, and a room that met her with real questions, honest answers, and people who stayed to keep talking. She had never come across a group where everyone gives a commercial every meeting, she wrote, and she could see what it had done for the people in the room.
We have felt the same thing. Seventeen years of care show in that room, built up one luncheon at a time, and you notice it before the first plate arrives.
Her post closed with a note to the founder: “thank you for building something worth walking into.” On October 13 she will be back as one of three panelists, with Molly Klipp and Laurie Thibert, for a discussion moderated by ONeill-Dady on where artificial intelligence meets relational intelligence.
The Mill Creek connection
Mill Creek is well represented in the room.
Mill Creek resident Marcelle Allen, the social media trainer behind Dreamosity and co-founder of LAF Tech, was named the group’s 2024 Champion of Engagement for attending more events than anyone else, then its 2025 Champion Community Builder for bringing the most guests.
Victoria Johnston, owner of Right at Home in-home care and assistance and a longtime Mill Creek View advertiser, is a Champion Connector and one of this year’s anniversary swag sponsors. We are grateful for the support she gives this paper and this community.
Most of our staff have attended several Exceptional Connections events, and we will be in the room on October 13. We believe in what this group is doing, and we hope you will join us.
Clothes For Kids
Exceptional Connections has supported Clothes For Kids since 2015. “I didn’t want to just create a networking group that was self-serving,” ONeill-Dady says. “Kids are near and dear to my heart.”
Clothes For Kids is an independent Snohomish County nonprofit, transforming lives since 1984, led by Executive Director Cassie Morey from its store in Lynnwood. Any student in Snohomish County who qualifies for the free lunch program can pick out a full wardrobe with their family, new socks and underwear included, at no cost. Thousands do every school year.
“The beautiful thing,” ONeill-Dady says, “is they can shop without a cash register.”
The group passes a cup at every meeting, runs sock, underwear, and coat drives, and sends volunteers to sort donations. “Every year there are more children, not less,” she says. “It’s not about the clothes. It’s about how it makes the kids feel. Not being bullied, not being teased, having something new. It’s for the kids and the families to know somebody cares.”
Why two rooms
Two years ago the fundraising goal was $500. This year it is $1,700, a hundred dollars for every year of Exceptional Connections, and at the September meeting 19 members raised their hands to pledge $100 each in raffle tickets before the doors were even open to the public. Hence the second room. “This is not something closed to the Exceptional Connections community,” she says. “We’re opening it up. Come join us. Come be a part of something bigger than yourself.”
Local businesses donate gift baskets and certificates, guests buy raffle tickets, and every raffle dollar goes directly to Clothes For Kids. Everyone goes home with a swag bag. Look for this issue in yours.
She calls the day “a conscious act of kindness.”
“It’s been 17 years,” she says, “and we’re just getting started.”
How to get involved
Join the celebration Tuesday, October 13 at Fogo de Chão, 18602 Alderwood Mall Pkwy., Suite 1110, in Lynnwood, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring cash or a check for raffle tickets.
To reserve a seat, donate a gift basket, gift certificate, or coaching session valued at $50 or more, or become a swag sponsor, contact Cyndi ONeill-Dady at 425-346-8895 or Cyndi@ExceptionalConnections.com.
Visit a regular meeting, second Tuesday of every month at Fogo de Chão in Lynnwood. Details at ExceptionalConnections.com.
Give directly to Clothes For Kids at clothesforkids.org, drop off new socks and underwear or gently used clothing at 16725 52nd Ave. W, Suite B, Lynnwood, or volunteer. Call 425-741-6500.
