What we are sharing here is not new, but if you are a business owner , especially a 21st century business owner who embraces online convenience, you’ll want to know about this service.
If you’re a corporation, an LLC (Limited Liability Company), a Limited Liability Partnership, New Hampshire Investment Trust, Consumer Cooperative or a Cooperative Marketing and Rural Electrification Association, then you know that you have to file an annual report with the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office every year.
And a few months before the April 1 deadline for filing that report, you know you can expect to get a paper notice in the mail, reminding you to file that report.
Laurie Harrigan tells us her office mails out over 70,000 of these notices annually. You can do the math and see that this is a bit of an expense.
Since 2003, the SOS has offered online registration and, now, in the midst of summer, when things are a little quieter, why not take a moment and click over to the SOS website and register to receive your reminder online.
Convenient? You bet. It’s also one of the little things we do in New Hampshire that helps our businesses be efficient and modern. For that, people notice, as our business friendly scores are consistently high in a variety of polls.
Greenerpalooza V has come and gone, much like the last notes of a Santana set, who, by the way, rocked a capacity crowd at the Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion last night as the centerpiece to our annual summer celebration of all things good and green in the Granite State.
As you know, New Hampshire was chosen by CNBC last week as the Best State to Live In in the nation last week. That’s no surprise to those of us who get to call here home, but when you think about it, there is a reason why we are the envy of 49 other states and much of that has to do with with our environment. For the most part, it’s clean and fresh, in no small part because so many people are committed to keeping it that way.
Every summer, Greenerpalooza gets to celebrate that, by giving green a venue at Meadowbrook, on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, and with a backdrop of music by a performer who upholds the cause. Santana was this year’s entertainer and a spot-on choice, given his work with Project Sole, which distributes shoes to people who need them and his commitment to the environment and sustainability.
The event gives us a chance to highlight a growing segment of our economy — businesses that help us all become more green. More than a dozen gathered in the eco-village, greeting concert goers and offering tips on everything from energy efficiency to environmentally friendly hair care products.
We honored the Greenerpalooza Green Business of the Year, which is R.C. Brayshaw and Company of Warner, a printer that celebrated its 33rd anniversary a couple of week ago.
“The company recognizes the value and importance of written words on printed materials we hold in our hands,” said Christopher Way, interim director of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, a co-sponsor of the event with Public Service of New Hampshire. “It is mindful of about limiting landfill waste and using chemicals and it has earned certification from the Forest Stewardship Council for its practices. R.C. Brayshaw is a company that understands what it takes to protect the environment.”
That sense of protection, said Jim Newcomb, vice president at R.C. Brayshaw and Company, has been a foundation of the business since Richard and Fran Brayshaw opened it in 1979.
“When they first started at the old (Waterloo) train station, they were told they could actually put their chemicals down the drain and right into the Warner River,” he said. “Richard Brayshaw had a vision for the environment and he decided not to do that and invested in holding tanks that would hold the chemicals for two weeks, when he would empty them.”
Green before green was cool, R.C. Brayshaw has consistently pursued the most environmentally friendly initiatives, including being a Forest Stewardship Council printer, installing energy efficient lighting in all facilities, recycling all paper waste, plates and even press chemistry. All company stationary is produced on 100 percent postconsumer waste paper as well.
“We are truly honored to receive this award and we will continue to be a role model for green initiatives with our clients and within our community,” Newcomb said.
Speaking of stewards, the Department of Environmental Services has been a watchdog for New Hampshire’s environmental resources for the past 25 years and Greenerpalooza was the perfect place to recognize its silver anniversary.
http://youtu.be/YVH8edRgKlo
“The work that we have accomplished for the people of New Hampshire has not just been our work, but the work of all of us together,” said DES Commissioner Thomas Burack. “We firmly believe that a healthy environment and a strong economy go hand in hand in New Hampshire.”
We can’t calculate the greenbacks it takes to keep New Hampshire green and that’s why what we have is priceless.
Thanks to everyone who helps to keep it green and beautiful.
No matter if you are away for a few hours, a few days or, god forbid, a few years, there’s something nice about running into someone from your world when you are half a world away from home.
So it is here at the Farnborough International Airshow. We are about 3,000 miles away from home and today, it was pretty much like Old Home Day here at our booth.
Sam Campagna and Susan Siegel with the very cool holograph at the Albany International booth this week.
We started the morning with a nice chat at the Albany International booth with Sam Campagna and Susan Siegal. The booth is pretty neat, with a holograph of AI’s use of advanced composite components. They caught us up on construction of the new plant in Rochester (it’s going well) and how business has been this week at Farnborough.
(Sam told us there were times when there was a line of people waiting to speak with the team here about AI’s products and their applications. That’s the kind of information we like to hear.)
A few minutes after that, Jim Geary, the vice president of sales for New Hampshire Ball Bearings in Peterborough circled back to say hello. While NHBB does not have a booth here, Jim was walking around the show to connect and make connections, which, weeks, months or years from now will turn out to be minutes well spent here in England.
Jim wasn’t gone for 10 minutes when Michael Hanrahan, president of Hitchiner Manufacturing in Milford popped in for a few minutes. He, too, spared a few minutes between appointments to connect with us and tell us that business for his company is growing busier.
And as we manned our corner at the airshow, we were amazed at the people, in their travels down the aisles, who stopped and shared their New Hampshire moments – the British man who went to UNH, the woman from India conducting research for her doctorate who visited the Lakes Region while studying in Boston, the Alabama official whose brother lives in Concord, the caterer who remembers stopping at a New Hampshire rest area (and OK, the liquor store) enroute to summer camp in Maine.
What do these connections have to do with being at an international airshow? It’s an obvious, if not fond and nostalgic way to begin a conversation and talk to people from all over the world about the things that are special about New Hampshire. It has been a good way to introduce our colleagues sharing the booth to these new connections and who knows? Maybe one of these folks will want to come back and bring his or her business here.
Back to our booth, the two gentlemen who were politely waiting for their boss to finish a meeting a few steps away said they had never been to New Hampshire, but know the story from the movie What About Bob (when Lake Winnipesaukee, for purposes of filming it, was “moved” to Virginia).
Their boss, however, was very familiar with the Granite State.
“My wife and I honeymooned in Sugar Hill 36 years ago,” said Gov. Robert F. McDonnell of Virginia. “We have many fond memories of New Hampshire.”
We don’t have much swag to give away, but we gave the him a magnet for his refrigerator, which reads ‘Live Free or Die.’
It also invites him to expand his company to New Hampshire.
Three thousand miles from and five hours ahead of New Hampshire, the Farnborough International Air Show is open for the second day. Noisy and exciting, the trade show is a global showcase for the aerospace industry and the Granite State is a part of it all.
Thanks to a State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant, Corfin Industries of Salem and EPTAM Plastics of Northfield are joined by other aerospace and defense companies from Maine and Vermont in our own Best of New England booth and, may we say, holding our own with the presence of larger states who are touting their industries.
At the opening ceremony Monday in front of the US Pavilion, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sanchez spoke of the critical importance of aviation to the economy, noting that it contributed $86 billion in export sales to the US economy and a positive trade balance of $47 billion.
For our two manufacturers joining us on this trade mission, Farnborough is a chance for them to connect and make connections globally, which will lead to orders for their products and services, keep their companies strong and their businesses reaching new heights.
The sun is out today in Farnborough. The morning’s shift of airplanes and preparation for aerial displays is drowning out conversation.
It’s a pretty good day.
Throughout the day, we’re posting updates and photos on our Facebook page.
We left New Hampshire this afternoon on our way to Old Hampshire for the next week, enroute to England and the Farnborough Airshow.
Held in even-numbered years — the Paris Airshow is held the other years — Farnborough is also an international trade show, bringing together the aerospace industry. This is where suppliers and manufacturers come together to get the next great thing off the ground and into the air. There is always a buzz at Farnborough because of the announcements big companies, like Boeing and BAE, make this week.
This year, New Hampshire will be represented at the show, as part of the Best of New England booth, which we share with Vermont and Maine and several aerospace-related businesses from the region, including the Granite State. This is our chance to tell the rest of the world about the companies here that contribute to the aviation industry.
Our participation in the show is made possible by a State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant awarded to the Office of International Commerce.
There will be much to show and tell you over the next week, so be sure to check back, especially if you’re in the aerospace sector.
