Verizon Call Center Hosts Electronic Recycling Rally March 8

Verizon Wireless is hosting its second public recycling rally at the company’s Wilmington call center on March 8, 2012, at which electronics, as well as glass, plastics and aluminum will be collected. Everything Verizon collects is then shared with a recycler who disposes of the items in strict adherence to Verizon’s zero-tolerance landfill objective. The zero-tolerance policy requires that all materials are reused or recycled with some components stripped down to their essential materials and metals which are then distributed for re-use. “Verizon’s objective with our Recycling Rallies is to provide an easy and convenient way for our employees and the communities we serve to dispose of electronics in an environmentally friendly way. In 2011, Verizon was able to offset the equivalent of 562 tons of Co2 last year through multiple recycling events. This will be our third event in 2012 and we are looking forward to achievement more amazing results for the environment this year,” said Verizon’s Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer James Gowen.

Verizon’s sustainability office has travelled the country hosting e-recycling collection events in at least ten cities a year since 2009. They hosted a rally in Wilmington last July, collecting more here than at any other stop in their three year program. “We expected to fill two tractor trailers in Wilmington by the end of our collection event. We filled them in three hours,” commented John Dorn, of Verizon’s Sustainability Group, adding “By the end of the day, we had called three additional trucks to the site to pick up everything Wilmington’s citizenry recycled that day. It was amazing!”

Items that will be accepted include laptop and desktop computers including all monitors, televisions, computer cables, mice and keyboards, gaming consoles, telephones and answering machines, stereo and audio equipment, paper shredders, alarm clocks, printers, cameras, conferencing equipment, remote controls, earphones, small electronic appliances (such as coffee makers, toasters, toaster ovens and can openers), and electronic toys, without batteries. Standard glass, plastic and aluminum materials will also be accepted. Hard drives will not be wiped.

• Verizon’s collections guarantee a zero-tolerance landfill


• Businesses encouraged to drop off computers, monitors, office equipment televisions and all e-waste


• Drop off on Converse Drive at Call Center, 3/8/11, from 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM

Contact: Margee Herring at 910-233-2466

Dropout Prevention Coalition Issues First Newsletter

The Dropout Prevention Coalition (DPC) was initiated in 2011 by the Watson School of Education with the goal of bringing together a broad audience, representing schools and various community organizations to help students stay and succeed in school across Southeastern NC.

Follow the link below to view the DPC's Newsletter:
http://www.uncw.edu/ed/dropout/documents/newsletter/Newsletter_Jan2012.pdf

Cape Fear Future releases new tri-county education brochure

In the spring of 2011, representatives from Cape Fear Future and the Chamber Foundation (both initiatives of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce) joined forces to assist the improvement of K-12 schools by raising awareness and support through marketing.

To our knowledge, no entities in the tri-county region (New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender Counties) have produced a comprehensive regional annual report on our schools. The team felt strongly we should have documentation for distribution for both prospective and community residents/businesses. Therefore, the team connected with several school representatives and combed through local, state, and national data in an effort to consolidate school performance, statistics, and special programs.

The result of this effort is an up-to-date profile with relevant statistical information to be provided to corporate prospects, commercial and residential realtors and anyone looking at our school systems. Our first goal was to create a printed brochure, and the second is to create and expand educational materials on the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce website.

We are excited to announce the regional education brochure is complete! The team is currently seeking feedback on the content of the brochure and also entities that should receive the mailing for mass distribution in early 2012. Additional resources and statistics not included in the printed brochure will be provided on the new Wilmington Chamber of Commerce website when it is launched in February of 2012.

Please click on the link below to check out our new brochure:
http://www.wilmingtonchamber.org/customers/103102118203091/filemanager/Education_brochure_SF_for_website.pdf

Supporters launch Wilmington-area arts council

"It's so nice," said painter Virginia Wright-Frierson, "to finally have something to celebrate."

She, along with more than 100 other artists, musicians, local officials and others, were on hand Wednesday night at the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the launch of the Wilmington area's new arts council.



Link to full StarNews article below:
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20111207/ENT/111209765?Title=Supporters-launch-Wilmington-area-arts-council

NC Science Festival

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of meeting Jonathan Frederick, Director of the NC Science Festival, an initiative of the UNC Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. This celebration, from April 13th-29th, is the first statewide science festival in the nation. Jonathan and his team are engaging participants across the state to create, host, sponsor, etc. events.

Their goal is to make April be known as the “science month” in North Carolina. The Festival includes both traditional and funky events, from an open house to a kitchen chemistry event in a local restaurant. Companies and organizations can submit programs that are already going on, or they can create a new program for the week of the Festival. Their long-term vision for the Festival is to have 1 million people participating each year at events all over the state.

Based on the feedback from 2010 Event hosts, there are a number of improvements from last year. For example:

• Individual webpage url for your event.
• Improved calendar functionality allows people to find your event that much easier.
• Option to upload your own event photo or logo.
• Customizable event flyer available.
• News media release template available to promote your individual event.

For the 2010 Final Report, future goals, and additional details on the festival, please visit: www.ncsciencefestival.org

Not only is this a wonderful opportunity to showcase our region’s (among other municipalities across the state) many science related activities, but it also gives our area great exposure in terms of economic development as the activities take place right here at home, while still connecting us to the state at large.

If you have any resources/programs/contacts in mind, I urge you to pass them on to myself or the NC Science Festival organizers. I look forward to your participation!

Entrepreneurs show their stuff

Students, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and potential investors all gathered Tuesday at the New Hanover County Executive Development Center, for another round of the UNCW Entrepreneurship Center’s highly anticipated Rocket Pitch Event. Five entrepreneurs showcased their novel products, ideas and business models in the hopes of generating investment and community/business support.

For the full story, please visit the Greater Wilmington Business Journal's article:
http://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/industry_news_details.php?id=2895

Goings-On About Wilmington

I always love receiving a fresh publication of The New Yorker. I remember sitting with my sister when we were children flipping through my father’s magazines. We would cuddle up for hours, carefully examining those famous New Yorker covers and studying every cartoon, none of which I ever understood. My sister (beyond her years in both maturity and brains) would begin to giggle, as the meaning, which completely eluded me, would unhinge her. I would then roll over in stitches so she would think I actually understood the punchline.

Today, aside from the cartoons (which, to me, are now only occasionally a succession of non sequiturs) I find the real highlight of my New Yorker experience is always on page six: “Goings On About Town”, where theatre, nightlife, art, movies, and books galore are highlighted each week. I can almost imagine being in the midst of the great city, watching young bohemians as they make their way through the Meat Packing District; running to some avant-garde theatre production on W. 47th Street; sipping a gin martini with a twist at a swanky new bar exploding with the sound of a new indie underground band...but then, this is only glossy paper and print…a magazine...

While I do enjoy this indulgence, there really is no need for me to surf the pages written about the boroughs of NYC, because I reside in my beloved Wilmington…and I’m pleased as punch. The fact is, our region’s quality of life is unparalleled…from a Downtown Riverfront peppered with historical homes and trendy boutiques to the picturesque beaches with coastal cottages and bros catching waves. We truly have it made. And it’s the people here that make it. There is a small town feel, but a big town heart—cultural happenings abound. We too have a page six, and our goings-on are most certainly magazine worthy.

There is always a new restaurant opening, a new entrepreneurial venture, a new community group, or a new art exhibit cropping up. This is what I love about my work with Cape Fear Future…I am afforded the luxury of being in the midst of it all—from education and entrepreneurship to quality of life, there is always something new to discover and explore here in Wilmington.

There is a deep passion in our community for the improvement/availability of even more goings-on, a direct byproduct of economic and community development. With this passion can come community fragmentation, which is not uncommon when it comes to economic development, especially when competing in a global marketplace and depressed economy. Many cities across the nation clumsily falter as they strive to determine a focus and direction for sustainable job growth and the expansion of arts and cultural amenities. Our region is not immune to such fragmentation…we are still finding our footing.

While not always in agreement over those small and large treasures we need to emphasize or those aspects of Wilmington we need to improve, our town is rich in forward thinkers and numerous groups, who work effortlessly to improve both quality of life and business development. They are a gift to Wilmington and to each other because of the discussions they generate. They come together to think, to bounce ideas off one another, to extrapolate and motivate through lively, intellectual, progressive conversations. They move Wilmington, forward into what CFF and others imagine for us all.

As such, part of CFF’s role is to bring groups together, shape what economic and community development mean for our region, and help tell the story of our Port City.

The last page of each New Yorker features a weekly "Cartoon Caption Contest" with captionless cartoons. Captions are submitted by readers, three are chosen as finalists, and readers then vote on the winner. Wouldn’t it be nice if regional transformation was that easy?

Obviously, the evolution of our business and community sectors is no laughing matter. But, similar to these cartoons, the future of Wilmington and the direction of economic development is an incomplete canvas, awaiting the brush strokes of the community’s vision.

To that point, we must be more than just a vision…we must execute tenacity and continue to set the bar for great cities.