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High-class pens going on show

For some people, status is a fancy car. For others, it's a fancy house.

Then there are the pen afficionados. They think nothing of spending $500, $700, $900 and up on what we have been told are really really nice fountain pens. The kind you use to write the checks that buy the fancy pens. Those folks and, no doubt, a few rubberneckers, we'll be on hand today, Saturday and Sunday for the annual Triangle Pen Show.

More than 100 exhibitors from throughout the United States, Europe and the Pacific Rim will be at the Embassy Suites Hotel at 201 Harrison Oaks Blvd. in Cary for the event. You'll be able to buy, sell, trade and window shop for vintage and new pens.

Hours are 1 to 7 p.m. today, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. There will be a vintage pen auction Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Workshops on fountain pen repair and selecting pens to enhance your writing are also planned.

For a list of the events, go www.raleighpenshow.com. Admission is $10 a person or $15 a couple and is good for all three days. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Fountain pens will be given as door prizes daily. They include the Diamond Back, worth $850 and donated by Franklin-Christoph of Raleigh.

MEETINGS

C.H.A.T. TOASTMASTERS MEETING: 8 a.m. Saturdays, Room 17, Olin T. Binkley Baptist Church, U.S. 15-501 and Willow Road, Chapel Hill. Contact: Allen Wold, adjwold@nc.rr.com.

COLONIAL JOB SEEKERS -- PROFESSIONALS IN TRANSITION EMPLOYMENT NETWORK GROUP: 8:30 to 11 a.m. Mondays, Colonial Baptist Church, 6051 Tryon Road, Cary. Contact: www.colonial.org/jobseekers.

SCORE: Free consultations offered by the Service Corps of Retired Executives in partnership with the Small Business Association, 9 a.m. to noon Monday-Friday, Century Post Office Building, Salisbury and Martin streets, Suite 306, Raleigh. SCORE also manages offices in Morrisville, 4-7 p.m., Wednesday at the Chamber of Commerce; Cary, 5-8 p.m., Thursday at Western Wake Technical Community College; and in Louisburg, 4-7 p.m., Thursday at the Northern Wake Tech campus. To make an appointment, call 856-4739. SCORE Orange and Chatham counties: 1:30 -4:30 p.m, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, 104 S. Estes Drive, Chapel Hill. Appointment: Call 968-6894 or 967-7075.

TRIANGLE BUSINESS EXCHANGE: networking group, noon on the first and third Mondays each month, JC's Bar & Grill in Cary; noon on second and fourth Tuesdays at Devil's Ridge Golf Club in Holly Springs; noon on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at Golden Corral in Fuquay-Varina. Reservations: www.trianglebusinessexchange.com.

CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYST NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY: annual golf tournament and meeting. The golf tournament begins at noon Tuesday, a reception begins at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and a presentation by Jeff Diermeier, chief executive officer of CFA Institute, at 6 p.m. Members free, nonmembers $40. Registration: 676-3577.

GREATER TRIANGLE CHAPTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL FACILITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, RBC Center, Raleigh. Mike Anderson of Primex Wireless on "GPS Synchronized Wireless Systems." Members $20, nonmembers $40. Reservations: 606-1262 or www.ifmatriangle.org.

CAPITAL CITY TOASTMASTERS: 7 a.m. Thursdays, BB&T Building, 434 Fayetteville St., Conference Room 2320, Raleigh. Contact: www.capitalcitytoastmasters.net or harry.mccracken@crbusa.com.

CARY REFERRAL MADNESS: Business Network International, 8:30 a.m. Thursdays, Hope Community Church, Room 2060 A&B, 821 Buck Jones Road, Raleigh. Contact: Rebecca McAndrew, 271-8877 or rebeccasgreathomes@hotmail.com.