Huge Business After Hours Thursday at Hyatt

The Windsor Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors are sponsoring a huge Business After Hours at Hyatt House (formerly named Hyatt Summerfield Suites) on Thursday, May 10th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.  Those in the know look forward to this great networking event every year!

The theme of the event this year is "The Hunt is Over - Set Your Sights on the Windsor Chamber of Commerce".  

This annual Business After Hours is different from the Chamber's monthly networking meetings because it's focused on explaining the benefits of Chamber membership. It's a great meeting for new members to attend, and for those thinking about joining, as well as present members who want to network.

Representatives from each committee (Business Development, Tourism, Annual Dinner, Chili Challenge, etc) are available with information about their projects and how members can get involved to further business in town.  It's also the one time each year members can vote on the slate of officers and directors and any other important matters.

This year, the Hyatt is hosting the event with catering provided by Birch Meadow Banquet Facility. There will be a "Hunt" involving six rooms, each sponsored by a member business with great door prizes like a Kindle Fire, a Wine basket, a Camera, Gift Certificates and more.

Network with other regional business people and enjoy great food from our local restaurants.  All Windsaor business people are invited. Please RSVP to 860-688-5165 or www.WindsorCC.org/RSVP

Grant Opp for Local Non-Profits

On March 28th, McDonald's(R) New York Tri-State Area restaurants launched a new localized outreach initiative known as the McDonald's Nutrition Network intended to provide funding to local organizations that bring grassroots nutrition programs to the communities they serve. The program is an extension of McDonald's brand-wide commitment to offering improved nutrition choices and comes on the heels of the launch of McDonald's new national Happy Meal ad campaign to help make nutrition fun for kids.

The McDonald's Nutrition Network will award seed funding to select not for profits for projects that bring nutrition awareness to the community. The application will be available online at www.McDNYMetroNutritionNetwork.com [1] beginning March 27. The deadline for organizations to apply is JUNE 1ST 2012. In addition to providing seed funding to community organizations, McDonald's will host MeetUps in the region so that communities can learn more about nutrition, especially when frequenting McDonald's restaurants (i.e. what meal bundles are under 600 calories, etc.). A registered dietician will be on hand to lead these MeetUps.

Local owners will be available to talk about the program, and how well McDonald's focus on nutrition - new Happy Meal, wholesome menu items like yogurt, fruit and salad - has been received by customers. I'd be happy to set you up with an interview.

If you're interested, please let me know.

Thanks so much!
Andre Leo Smith Jr.
Account Coordinator- CONSUMER LIFESTYLE MARKETING
304 Park Avenue South, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010
P: 646.459.7038

PaulaWalla Celebrates 15 Years in Online Business

What were you doing in 1997?  Windsor entrepreneur, Paula Pierce, was starting her online gift shop, PaulaWalla.com as the world wide web was just taking off. It's been fifteen years and counting since the online gift shop was launched.

Pierce opened PaulaWalla.com with an Apple computer, a few international friends and an entrepreneurial spirit.  Since then, the online gift shop has grown, has become a Connecticut Limited Liability Company and is certified by the state of Connecticut as a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) as a woman-owned business.

It was 15 years ago that Pierce used her experience in import/export and design to start an online business offering unique gift items starting with Indian decanters and handmade throw rugs from Africa.

This year I'm refining the whole site to better reflect my customers' needs," says Pierce. "Our best selling product lines have changed over the years. In the beginning, it was all incense coils and handicrafts. Now it's tea, tea cups and fair trade items that fly off the shelves."

The rest of the categories: incense, gifts, jewelry are all going to be discontinued so there may be only a few of each item left. Check the sales page frequently as items will be rotating in and then be gone.

The store will undergo a full website redesign by June 1st including a back-end software update. As Pierce also owns Hosting Connecticut, a website design and hosting company, it's sure to be a well-designed, easy to use site.  The new website will have an updated look, larger photos, more detailed descriptions, one-click navigation and integration with social media.

"The most rewarding thing for me is making customers happy. I really want to encourage more interaction from them," says Pierce.  "We already have ways to "like" each product on Facebook, but I want to elicit more conversation by putting new info out there every few days about new products, stories from our fair trade craftspeople, new ways to use tea - it's surprising how many things you can do with tea besides drink it!"

PaulaWalla.com, though an online store, has a community feel to it. Pierce is active in her local Chamber of Commerce in Windsor, Connecticut and offers free delivery in town. "It's great for people who work in town. When they need a last minute gift, they can order online and we can drop off their order, usually the same day," says Pierce.

PaulaWalla.com is an online gift shop specializing in tea, tea cups, tea accessories and fair trade gifts. The shop can be found online at www.PaulaWalla.com or can by contacted by phone at 860-490-4258.

Looby Wins Chamber Facebook Contest

Congratulations to Christine Looby of Windsor! She was the winner in the Windsor Chamber of Commerce's Facebook Fan Prize Giveaway. Christine won a $25 Chamber gift certificate by Liking the Windsor Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. More giveaways are planned, so be sure to Like the Chamber's page.

Windsor Chamber gift certificates can be used like cash at over 45 different Windsor businesses. The participating businesses include restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops, personal service businesses and more. The whole list can be viewed on the Chamber website at www.WindsorCC.org.  Gift Certificates can be purchased online or in person at the Chamber of Commerce at 261 Broad Street in Windsor. Office hours are 9 am to 12 noon and 1pm to 3pm.
 

Shannon Cardwell Joins Kimberly Hall

Shannon Cardwell has recently joined the Kimberly Hall Campus as Marketing Director.  She comes from an extensive background in various healthcare settings. Shannon graduated in May 2000 with an Associate in Science from Bay Path College. Shannon has worked in various settings throughout the years: skilled nursing facility, housing authorities, non skilled home care agencies, and assisted living facilities. She moved to Connecticut, six years ago, where she resides with her husband and three sons in the town of Hebron.

Homes Under Contract

There has finally been some good news for Connecticut in the real estate market, and it should be some relief for our residents in East Hartford. The National Association of Realtors announced that more homes went under contract in January than in December, 2011 and more compared to a year ago. It is a sign, and the most improvement in real estate that we have seen since April, 2010.

I have read that economists are also predicting this may mean a more meaningful sales year, and certainly more meaningful since the spring market 2010. Certainly the jobs gains in Connecticut are helping, more money spent in the market, after all we are the economy folks and our spending trends make the market rise and fall. Prospective buyers are still seeing a tight credit market, which means we have to be on top of our budget and spend wisely. We are seeing rising rents, and we should start to see more sellers ready to sell, and we should see more people comfortable to make offers and sustain the economic recovery. Typically when we start to see more homes under contract that is a good, and we are hopeful our residents in East Hartford and surrounding towns get their confidence back. This type of jump relates to the housing market activity in 2001, for existing home sales it was a good year. We are also seeing a decline in violence in Hartford, in the 90’s there was gang activity that had a negative impact on area businesses which was once a wealthy community - the insurance capital of the world was declining and now is showing improvements.

Some of the local area real estate offices are gearing up for the spring market, some of the programs are for seasoned investors who have closed over 200 deals to date and have over 67 years combined experience investing in real estate. The real estate agents will receive the most effective information for: managing a real estate business; achieving short and long term business and personal goals; marketing strategies; negotiating business deals; owner financing; lease options; finding and dealing with partners; real estate investing; property renovation and maintenance; tenant management and screening; real estate contracts; settlement statements; strategies to be successful; motivational tools; and improved communication skills.

Let’s gear up together and be hopeful for a healthy and successful year, you can count on me for information; let me know if you have any questions. As always you can reach me at (860) 682-2095 or my email JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING

Technophobes Have One More Way To Get Questions Answered

Technophobes now have one more way to get their questions answered. Hosting Connecticut LLC, a Windsor, Connecticut website design and hosting business, has added a Live Chat feature to their website so clients and anyone with questions about email, websites, hosting, etc can contact customer support quickly and easily. "Customer service has been a mainstay of our business. Everyone deserves a quick answer when they need help and live chat is the best way to get them the answers they need quickly," says owner, Paula Pierce.  

"The most common technical questions are about choosing a hosting package and setting up email, but we handle lots of questions about search engine optimization and other advanced topics," says Support Manager, Cristi White. It seems that live chat isn't just for newbies.

Online chatting is just one of many ways that online companies provide support to their clients. Other common methods such as the phone and email may be more familiar, but chatting is the best way to get an answer, especially when you can't or don't want to wait for an email reply.  Click the "Chat Now" button at the bottom right corner of any of page of the HostingCT.com website to start a chat session.  


For more information about Hosting Connecticut, LLC, go to www.HostingCT.com

J. Morrissey & Company Clothing Drive

On March 2nd, J. Morrissey & Company held a clothing drive to benefit the area shelters with clothes for men, women and children.  Over forty bags of “gently used” items were collected by the J. Morrissey staff over the past month.  Pictured here Ann Walsh, from Windsor Community Service Council, Ted Hughes, representing the Windsor Food Bank and Windsor Social Services and J. Morrissey staff: Ali McCarthy, Craig Skorupski, Stephanie Botticello, Jim Morrissey, President & CEO and Keith Varriale.  Ted will be distributing the clothing to several local groups and families in need.