The Buzz: Gaining success through your website is webinar topic

Lee Howard, The Day, New London, Conn.
·10 min read

Jan. 27—A free SCORE webinar, "Plan Your Website for Online Success," will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, featuring Jessica Baldwin, co-founder of Cardsetter, who will walk attendees through a comprehensive plan to update your business's website.

To register for this Zoom session, visit https://www.score.org/easternct.

Also, SCORE has rescheduled a webinar shut down due to technical difficulties with innovation coach Nick Himo. The new date for the talk, "The One Page Business Plan: An Introduction to the Business Model Canvas," will now be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, on Zoom. Register at the same address above.

SCORE Eastern CT helps small businesses across the region. To become a SCORE Volunteer, visit https://www.score.org/page/volunteer-score. For questions, email Anne Driscoll at anne.driscoll@scorevolunteer.org.

People & Places

Len Wolman of Waterford, chairman and CEO of The Waterford Group, has been named chairman of the board of trustees at the Connecticut Science Center.

His election came as five other trustees joined the board: Jim Bedard, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at RVI Group; Felice Gray-Kemp, Senior Vice President & General Counsel at CaaStle; Jennifer Hellberg, DVP, Business Unit Manager at Zygo and Navitar Ametek; Lakia Scott, Assistant Provost for Faculty Development & Diversity at Yale University; Melinda Thompson, Head of Personal Lines at The Hartford, and Sarah Wojiski, Director of Education at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine.

Officers elected for 2024 were David Glidden, President & CEO at Liberty Bank, and Brian Evanko, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at The Cigna Group as Vice Chairs, Andrew Mandell, Co-founder & President at Data-Mail as the re-elected Treasurer, and Cynthia Vodopivec, Vice President Environmental Health & Safety at Vistra as Secretary.

For a complete list of trustees, visit CTScienceCenter.org/about/board-of-trustees.

The Mitchell College Board of Trustees has announced four new members who have joined the board over the last year. New trustees include Mark Alberti, retired director at Pfizer; Kevin Coleman '18, litigation associate at Covington & Burling; Moish Tov, CEO and chairman of JoyDew, an organization providing a path to employability, personal fulfilment, and community for autistic adults; and Marc Verbos, president of AIMCOR Aligned Distribution and executive vice president of AIMCOR Group, LLC, a national insurance marketing organization.

Dr. Anne Bingham Pierson, a descendant of the Mitchell family for whom the college is named and recipient of a 2019 honorary Doctor of Science, has been named an honorary trustee.

The Thames Valley Council for Community Action has announced the hiring of Penny Newbury to fill the role of Senior Director of Development & Communications.

Prior to joining TVCCA, Newbury served as the Director of Grants & Communications for The Arc Eastern Connecticut in Norwich. Newbury also has been grants manager for the Town of Sprague, and has worked in various roles internationally, including as a Program Manager with the American Refugee Committee International in Kosovo.

Newbury holds her Ph.D. in English from the University of Rhode Island and both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from the University of Connecticut.

Twelve veterans were to be inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame on Jan. 25, including Richard Thomas Christopher LeFave, a U.S. Army veteran from Voluntown. The Hall of Fame recognizes distinguished Connecticut veterans who have made significant contributions to their communities after leaving military service.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Connecticut Department of Veteran Affairs Commissioner Ronald Welch congratulated the veterans during the ceremony in Rocky Hill.

Other inductees were John Michael Chanof Avon, Michael John Dalton of Waterbury, Richard Guido DiFederico Jr. of Oakville, Maurice Joseph Fradette of Farmington, Michael Salvatore Gozzo of Hamden, Joseph Luca of Meriden, Daniel Bernard Reilly of Torrington, William Ford Law Rodgers of Newtown, Lorenzo Anthony Santamaria of Guilford, Charles Ferdinand Smith of Killingworth and Peter Charles Tragni of Waterbury.

CorePlus Credit Union has announced the launch of a newly designed, modern, and responsive website. The new CPCU website features a clean and modern design, making it easy for members to navigate and find the information they need quickly and easily. To check out the new site, visit www.coreplus.org.

The Moses/Weitzman Health System in Middletown celebrates its formation as the first health system in the United States dedicated to primary care delivery and innovation for underserved communities. Learn more about the Moses/Weitzman Health System, visit https://www.mwhs1.com/.

Charter Oak Federal Credit Union has awarded $848,000 in annual $100 cash bonuses in December to its Gold Rewards members, which is the largest annual amount since Charter Oak created the member-appreciation program in 2010.

Brian A. Orenstein, Charter Oak's president and chief executive officer, noted that when Charter Oak first introduced Gold Rewards in 2010, a total of 2,590 members received annual $100 cash bonuses compared to the record payout in 2023 when 8,480 members received the bonuses. Charter Oak has awarded over $7.4 million in annual $100 cash bonuses to its qualified Gold Rewards members since the program began.

To learn how to qualify for Charter Oak's Gold Rewards program, visit CharterOak.org,or call 860-446-8085 or 800-962-3237.

UCFS Healthcare has received 2023 Community Health Quality Recognition badges for Advancing Health Information Technology and Patient-Centered Medical Home from the U.S. Health Resources Services Administration. CHQR badges recognize those who have made notable quality improvement achievements in the areas of access, quality, health equity, health information technology and COVID-19 public health emergency response.

Jen Granger, president/CEO of UCFS Healthcare, stated; "These awards are a testament to our team's on-going commitment to our patients." Learn more about UCFS at UCFShealthcare.org.

Education & Learning

Middle and high school educators in Connecticut interested in honing their personal finance teaching skills, or newcomers to the field, can attend a free, online, asynchronous course offered by the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College.

Connecticut earned an F in the updated 2023 National Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools, issued by the center, but could earn an A in a few years. States with failing grades offer virtually no personal finance instruction.

John Pelletier, director of the Champlain center, said that by 2028, 23 states are projected to have an A grade, including Connecticut. There are 20 full scholarships currently available for this online asynchronous graduate course for educators running from March 4 through April 26.

Educators can register for the course at https://financialliteracy.champlain.edu/programming/current-graduate-offering/.

Grants & Awards

The Jewett City Savings Bank Foundation has awarded $14,373 to 11 local healthcare and social services organizations during its 2023 grant cycle.

Michael Alberts, president of the Jewett City Savings Bank Foundation, cited two $1,000 grants to local healthcare organizations. Day Kimball Hospital received a grant towards its annual appeal, and the Alzheimer's Association received a grant in recognition of Jewett City Savings Bank's former director, Phillip Tetreault.

Thames Valley Council for Community Action in Jewett City also received a $2,000 grant to fund their Senior Nutrition Program. Griswold Senior Center received a $1,500 grant to help re-establish a physical fitness program, which had been suspended during the pandemic, for senior residents.

Five recipients were awarded $1,000 grants: Griswold PRIDE for the purchase and distribution of locking storage containers for marijuana and cannabis products; the Brooklyn Public Schools/Town of Brooklyn to help purchase a commercial refrigerator and freezer for perishable items at the newly established food pantry; Veteran's Coffeehouse of Plainfield to help purchase coffee, food, and to provide catered breakfasts; Veterans Coffee House of Eastern Connecticut to provide veterans with coffee and donuts at weekly meetings; The Quiet Corner Veterans Support Coalition to help place wreaths on veterans' graves on National Wreaths Across America Day.

In addition, the Quinebaug Valley Senior Citizens Center, Inc. received a $1,873 donation in recognition of Jewett City Savings Bank's 150th anniversary.

The Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce has announced recipients of its 2023 Annual Awards, including McKenna's Flower Shop as Business of the Year.

Non-Profit of the Year was the Southeastern Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, Inc. (SCADD), and the Chamber Service Award went to Miria Gray of Chelsea Groton Bank.

Recipients will be honored at the GNACC Annual Dinner & Awards Banquet on Thursday, Feb. 22., at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center starting at 5 p.m. For tickets and additional details, visit www.NorwichChamber.com/Events. For chamber information, call (860) 887-1647 or visit www.norwichchamber.com.

On March 6, the University of Tennessee's Reliability & Maintainability Center, in collaboration with Efficient Plant Magazine, is presenting the Best Cultural Innovation award to Renaissance Reliability of Quaker Hill, and The Medalcraft Mint from Green Bay, Wis. This award is for their collaboration on the Unturning Steel project, focusing on veteran and manufacturing mutual aid. A documentary film on the project, developed by Bill Leahy, will be showcased March 6-7 in Tennessee.

Labor & Jobs

Chelsea Groton Bank is hosting a career fair for candidates interested in pursuing a career in banking 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, at the Bank's Waterford branch, 157 Boston Post Road, Waterford.

Candidates are encouraged to bring a resume and to dress professionally. Bank team members will meet with candidates and hold interviews on the spot. Full-time, part-time and parent hours are available.

Visit www.chelseagroton.com/Careers. Or contact Renee Simao at rsimao@chelseagroton.com for more information.

Chamber news

The Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a BizBlender Networking event hosted by the Women's Business Development Council at 61 Bank St., New London, from 1130 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 30.

To register, visit www.norwichchamber.com/events.

At a BizBlender, people are paired off and each given two minutes to tell your story about your business. Then you will switch partners and get another 2 minutes to tell that person and so on until you have met everyone in the room.

Reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-serve, pre-paid basis. The $20 cost person ($25 for non-members) includes Lunch.

For questions, please call the chamber office at 860-887-1647 or email angelaadams@norwichchamber.com.

The GNACC has postponed its annual meeting to 7:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, at Hotel Callista (with a ribbon cutting for the facility immediately following the meeting). Attendees should register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-ncdc-annual-meeting-bread-awards-tickets-778315441437.

Nonprofit News

Girl Scouts of Connecticut launched its official 2024 Girl Scout Cookie season across the state on Jan. 20.

Diana Mahoney, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Connecticut, said the girl-led entrepreneurship program teaches the important fundamentals of goal setting, decision making, business ethics, people skills and money management, helping shape the next generation of female business leaders.

Visit www.gsofct.org or contact the Customer Care team at (800) 922-2770 to be connected with a Girl Scout in your area.

Mahoney explains that each troop sets its own financial goals during cookie season with some selling the packages for group activities and trips, and others to participate in outdoor adventures at the various Girl Scout camps.

The Buzz is a weekly roundup of business news compiled by Business Editor Lee Howard. To get in The Buzz, email businessbriefs@theday.com. To easily access urls cited in print, go to www.theday.com and type "The Buzz" into the search bar.