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Posts Tagged ‘Charlie Sherman’

Green Scene Night an Excellent Pitch for Recycling

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Blankets from bottles – talk about a home run for the environment and for a local Manchester charity.

Portsmouth-based sustainable apparel manufacturer EARTHTEC will be converting all of the recycled bottles collected at next Thursday’s New Hampshire Fisher Cats/Erie SeaWolves game at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium to blankets which will be donated to New Horizons for New Hampshire, Inc.

This initiative will be part of “Green Scene Night” at the ballpark, a collaborative effort between the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, Public Service of New Hampshire, EARTHTEC, the Student Conservation Association and WTPL. “Green Scene” is a popular Public Service of New Hampshire sponsored radio segment that covers a variety of environmental topics on the “New Hampshire Today Show With Jack Heath.”

“It’s one thing to have PSAs on a video board encouraging people to take action, but it’s quite another to engage over 5,000 people in a fun and collaborative way,” said New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Communications & Legislative Director Steve Boucher. “What better feeling than to know that the empty bottle you’re throwing away is going to be used to create a product that will provide warmth to the homeless this fall and winter?”

Turning recyclables into clothing is nothing new for EARTHTEC which develops apparel from cutting-edge recycled or renewable fabrics like recycled PET (plastic water bottles), organic cotton, and natural wool. Their EARTH 360 Program is designed to capture plastic bottles and other #1 plastic at sporting events, concerts, conferences, schools, etc. to then process them into flake, then fiber, then yarn, then fabric, and finally back into apparel and accessories.  With extensive experience in the garment industry, the EARTHTEC team is innovating with the combination of emerging textiles, fresh designs, and smart manufacturing techniques.

“We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate to people the very real value of taking items that would typically be discarded and turning them into something very useful,” said EARTHTEC CEO Dennis Randall. “This isn’t just good for the environment, it also stimulates the economy and creates jobs.”

In an evening that will feature music from “green” artists on the public address system and scenes from movies about the environment on the video board, fans will be encouraged to throw their plastic bottles into special EARTHTEC containers or hand their recyclables to a team of Student Conservation Association volunteers. Fisher Cats officials estimate that on an average game night, approximately 1,000-1,500 plastic bottles are thrown away.

“This is an incredibly exciting night for us and we’re pleased to do our part to reduce waste and encourage recycling,” said Fisher Cats President Rick Brenner. “To the best of my knowledge, this might be one of the first attempts to turn recyclable items collected at a stadium and turn them into products that directly impact a local community. Hopefully, this will turn into a tradition and grow each and every year.”

Public Service of New Hampshire Economic and Community Development Manager Pat McDermott will not only be hosting 25 clients at the event, he’ll also have the honor of throwing out the first pitch – appropriately enough, a baseball fashioned of rolled up EARTHTEC socks.

“The Fisher Cats and our other partners have really gone all out to make this a truly ‘green’ night,” McDermott said. “It’s these little touches that will hopefully resonate and stick with folks so that they’ll understand that recycling and energy efficiency aren’t a one night thing, but a lifestyle choice that benefits all.”

At the conclusion of the game, EARTHTEC will collect and transport all of the recyclables which will then ultimately be turned over in the form of blankets to the New Horizons staff. New Horizons is an adult homeless shelter, a soup kitchen and a food pantry and also operates Angie’s, a homelike residence for women experiencing homelessness.

“These blankets are welcomed and will definitely come in handy for our clients,” said New Horizons for New Hampshire, Inc. Executive Director Charlie Sherman. “We thank all of the ‘Green Scene Night’ partners in advance for their generosity and commend them for their commitment to the community.”

For tickets to “Green Scene Night,” visit www.nhfishercats.com.

Winners Celebrated at 8th Business Excellence Awards

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

It was a real pleasure for the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development to be a sponsor of last night’s New Hampshire Business Review “Business Excellence Awards” at Southern New Hampshire University. This was a great celebration of New Hampshire’s  best and brightest companies and the good folks at NHBR were rewarded for their hard work with a packed room.

Special congrats are in order for “No Bull Business Blog” guest blogger Dr. Russ Ouellette of Sojourn Partners who was recognized with an award in the “Business Services” category. Way to go Russ!!

Here’s a recap of last night’s festivities:

New Hampshire Business Review honored 14 individuals at the 2010 Business Excellence Awards, which recognize the efforts and achievements owners of businesses with 100 employees or fewer.

More than 50 nominations in 13 categories were received, making the job of the 14 judges that much more difficult.

More than 300 people attended the Oct. 20 event, which was held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester.

Because of the extraordinary number of accomplished candidates, NHBR also named a tie in the Retail category and finalists in several other categories.

NHBR also announced two inductees into the Business Excellence Hall of Fame, which singles out people whose entire careers have been marked by a consistent and impressive record of accomplishments, both in their chosen fields, in their communities, and across the state and beyond. These honorees were selected by a separate panel of judges.

“Each of the businesspeople who receive these honors has a different story to tell,” said Sharron McCarthy, president of McLean Communications and publisher of NHBR. “But what they have in common is determination, industriousness and the ability to come up with innovative solutions that have allowed their businesses to survive and thrive, regardless of economic conditions, and a commitment to serving their communities.”

NHBR Editor Jeff Feingold

NHBR Editor Jeff Feingold

Jeff Feingold, editor of NHBR, said, “We would like to salute all of the nominees, the people who nominated them and the winners themselves for their contributions toward making New Hampshire a great place to do business.”

Emcee was Charlie Sherman, host of WGIR-AM’s morning news talk program.

A portion of the proceeds from the evening benefited Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, which advocates for New Hampshire children in the state’s court system in cases of neglect and abuse.

The winners of the 2010 NHBR Business Excellences Awards were:

"Business Services" winner Dr. Russ Ouellette

"Business Services" winner Dr. Russ Ouellette

• Excellence in Business Services — Russ Ouellette, Sojourn Partners LLC, Bedford
• Excellence in Construction — G. Hayden McLaughlin, Belknap Landscape Co., Inc., Gilford
• Excellence in Financial Services — Frank Teas, The Nashua Bank
• Excellence in Health Care — Joshua Siegal, M.D., Access Sports Medicine & Orthopaedics, Exeter
• Excellence in Hospitality — Carol Sheehan, The Red Arrow 24 Hr. Franchising Inc., Manchester
• Excellence in Media & Marketing — Linda Fanaras, Millennium Integrated Marketing Inc., Manchester
• Excellence in Nonprofits — Peter Kelleher, Partnership for Successful Living, Nashua
• Excellence in Professional Services — Jonathan Halle, Warrenstreet Architects, Concord
• Excellence in Real Estate — Quentin Keefe, Regency Mortgage Corp., Manchester
• Excellence in Retail (tie) — Susan Lozier Robert, Frederick’s Pastries, Amherst; Curt Jacques, West Lebanon Feed & Supply
• Excellence in Technology — Jason Alexander, Alexander Technology Group, Bedford

The 2010 NHBR Business Excellence Hall of Fame Inductees were:

• Alex Ray, founder, Common Man Family of Restaurants
• Lew Feldstein, former chairman, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation

The judges for the 2010 NHBR Business Excellence Awards were:

• Jennifer Boulanger, loan officer at Capital Region Economic Development Corp. in Concord and former executive director of the Belknap County Economic Development Council based in Laconia
• Robin Comstock, president and CEO, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
• Roy Duddy, interim director, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development
• Lou Guevin, former chairman, Junior Achievement of New Hampshire
• Julie Gustafson, president and CEO, Amoskeag Business Incubator, Manchester
• Richard Hanson, professor, accounting and taxation, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester; executive director, Institute for Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination, SNHU
• Mahboubul Hassan, professor, economics and finance, SNHU
• Lise Howson, vice president and business banking relationship manager, Citizens Bank
• Witmer Jones, New Hampshire district director, U.S. Small Business Administration
• Dave Juvet, senior vice president, Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire
• Patrick F. McDermott, economic and community development manager, Public Service Company of New Hampshire
• Tim Sink, president, Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce
• Ashley Smith, business editor, The Nashua Telegraph
• Chip Underhill, senior marketing manager, FairPoint Communications, Manchester

Sponsors of the event were FairPoint Communications, Laconia Savings Bank, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England, Public Service of New Hampshire, J Maze Design, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, Merrimack Street Volvo, WGIR-AM 610, New Hampshire Public Television and Southern New Hampshire University. — NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW

NHBR Celebrates Business Excellence

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Fourteen businesspeople in 13 different industries and two Business Excellence Hall of Fame inductees were honored Wednesday night at the seventh annual NHBR Business Excellence Awards.

BEAlogonotoutlinedSome 300 people attended the event, which was held at The Event Center at C.R. Sparks in Bedford. The awards are given to owners and operators of businesses or organizations with 100 employees or fewer. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges who reviewed more than 70 nominations.

Because of the extraordinary number of accomplished candidates, NHBR also named finalists in several categories. Emcee was Charlie Sherman, host of WGIR-AM’s morning news talk program.

The recipients of the 2009 NHBR Business Excellence Awards were:

• Steven Ryder, True North Networks — Excellence in Business Services/ Finalist — Edward B. Hopkins, Urban Tree Service/A Tree Health Company Inc.
• William Jordan, Jordan Signature Heating — Excellence in Construction. Finalist — Jerry Kingwell, Cobb Hill Construction Inc.
• Joe Reilly, Centrix Bank — Excellence in Financial Services
• Charles Fanaras, The Prescription Center — Excellence in Health Care. Finalists — Adele & Frank Belfsky, Living at Home Senior Care
• Tom Boucher and Mark Fenske, Great NH Restaurants — Excellence in Hospitality. Finalist — Carol Sheehan, The Red Arrow 24 Hr. Diner Franchising Inc.
• Tammy Boucher, Boucher Public Relations — Excellence in Media & Marketing. Finalist — Laurie Ferguson, New Hampshire Made
• Clyde Terry, Granite State Independent Living — Excellence in Non-Profits. Finalist — Peter Kelleher, Partnership for Successful Living
• Greg Bryant, Bedford Cost Segregation LLC — Excellence in Professional Services
• Karol LaCroix, Granite State College — Excellence in Public Service
• Stephen Duprey, Duprey Companies — Excellence in Real Estate
• Donna Buxton, Buxton Oil and Buxton Water — Excellence in Retail
• Peter Antoinette, Nanocomp Technologies — Excellence in Technology. Finalist — Wayne Croswell, ASA Tire Systems
• Mark Lore, Ride-Away Handicap Equipment Corp. — Excellence in Transportation

Inducted into NHBR’s Business Excellence Hall of Fame were Jack Middleton and the Dunfey Family.

Middleton is a partner of the regional law firm of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton. With 50 years experience as a trial lawyer and 24 years of service as a New Hampshire District Court judge, he also spends countless hours volunteering and serving on the boards of such organizations as Franklin Pierce Law Center, The Nature Conservancy, The Mount Washington Observatory and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, among many others.

The Dunfey Family built the hotel chain that today is Omni Hotels, one of the country’s largest hotel franchises with over 15,000 rooms and 13,000 employees.

Sponsors of the event were FairPoint Communications, Laconia Savings Bank, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England, Public Service of New Hampshire, Corks Wine Bar at the Bedford Village Inn, Merrimack Street Volvo, WGIR-AM, New Hampshire Public Television and The Event Center at C.R. Sparks.

A portion of the evening’s proceeds were donated to Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, an organization that advocates in New Hampshire’s courts and welfare systems for the best interests of abused and neglected children, so they can grow up in safe, permanent homes. — CINDY KIBBE/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW

Taking to the Airwaves for Business Recruitment

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

I just wanted to extend a note of thanks to our good friends over at WGIR-AM for featuring our “Get Big and Rich in the Granite State” promotion last week on the Charlie Sherman Show.

Charlie was off, but News Director Angela Anderson did a great job interviewing Public Service of New Hampshire Economic & Community Development Manager Pat McDermott (pictured here) and myself.

greenerpalooza-ii-010For those of you needing the “Big & Rich” refresher course, a few weeks back, over 900 Massachusetts business owners received an individualized invitation to take part in the “Get Big and Rich in New Hampshire” promotion which will see one lucky winner receive a limousine ride (courtesy of Capital City Limousine) from their home to the Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion in Gilford, New Hampshire where they will receive VIP passes to see Grammy Award nominees Big & Rich (“Save a Horse,” “8th of November,” “Coming to Your City,” “Lost in This Moment” and “Wild West Show”), backstage passes and access to a pre-concert reception at Meadowbrook’s Center Stage Buffet with New Hampshire Division of Economic Development business recruiters. Ten other winners will receive tickets to the show and access to the reception.

Sponsored by Public Service of New Hampshire in coordination with the Division of Economic Development, this promotion is a unique twist on business recruitment which has already garnered front page business section coverage in the Boston Herald in addition to generating over five pages worth of comments.

To hear the interview, please visit http://nheconomy.com/wgir.wma.