News

Donations for our local Fire Dept and National Guard

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

SSD Medial Alert/Security & Sound in Windsor, CO Heath Construction in Fort Collins, CO King Sooper off of College/JFK in Fort Collins, CO

Today these local business are taking time to donate fresh water and protein bars to the men and women of our local fire departments and National Guard who are fighting the Hewlett Fire of Fort Collins, Co. Spokes person for the group said it is a way of showing our appreciation to the men and women who help keep us all safe while trying to preserve our beautiful landscape that we all so much enjoy. A small group will be gathering the supplies and dropping them off at the National Guard in Laporte, CO at 3324 Laporte Ave. at 2:00 pm today May 17, 2012.

Thank you
Verna 970-518‐0662
Security & Sound/SSD Medical Alert
Give the Gift of Independence & Security

CollegeAmerica Announces Employee Promotions

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

CollegeAmerica Fort Collins is pleased to announce the promotion of three of their employees. Amanda Fox has been promoted to Director of Student Services. Devin Harvey and Kathryn Frey have been promoted to Associate Deans of Education.

Amanda Fox is a graduate of CollegeAmerica and has worked at the college for four years where she started as a Work/Study employee. She then served as an Academic Advisor and moved into Student Services eight months ago. She is excited to be the new Director of Student Services because she finds it very rewarding to be a part of the success stories of our students.

Devin Harvey is originally from Southern California. He holds two degrees, a Bachelor of Science, Recreation and a Master of Arts, Health and Recreation from the University of South Dakota. He holds a Doctorate of Education from the University of Wyoming. Devin has worked as an instructor at College America since January 2010. Devin is looking forward to the opportunity to utilize his administrative and counseling skills in his new role as Associate Dean of Education.

Kathryn Frey holds two degrees from CollegeAmerica. She has a Bachelor of Science, Accounting as well as a Bachelor of Science, Graphic Arts. She has been an instructor at College America for three years. She believes her experience as both a student and an instructor on campus have provided her with a unique skillset to be able to address any educational issues with students as well as instructors.

CollegeAmerica is dedicated to educating people for careers. Our goal is for our students to achieve success in career-oriented programs that will culminate in entry-level employment or advancement in their field of work. CollegeAmericaassists students in becoming competent members of their communities so that each can successfully manage challenges encountered in the workplace. We provide degree programs that bring students a fuller realization of the world in which they work, so that they can achieve a rewarding career.

Fort Collins Area Chamber Goes Mobile!

janderson@fcchamber.org (Joe Anderson) — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce has launched a new mobile app for smart phones and tablets and is now available for all users. From now until June 30, 2012 you can download the Fort Collins Chamber App and be entered in our community wide drawing to win $100.

This new app gives visitors and community members access to local businesses like never before. As Northern Colorado?s largest business membership organization, the Fort Collins Area Chamber is bringing even more customers to our members. Mobile users can download this app for a business membership directory, interactive map, calendar of events, and a social media tool.

Simply download the Fort Collins Chamber App for FREE by accessing the QR code online at www.FortCollinsChamber.com or at many restaurant and retail locations around town. You can also download the app by searching ?Fort Collins Chamber? in your mobile app store. Once downloaded on your device click the ?Win $100? tab to enter our contest (winner will be calledon July 2, 2012).

About the Fort Collins Area Chamber

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit organization made up of more than 1,100 member businesses. The Chamber acts as a front door to the community and a resource for people looking to relocate, in addition to acting as an advocate for business and overall quality of life in Northern Colorado. For more information about the Chamber call (970) 482-3746 or visit www.FortCollinsChamber.com.

Welcome New Chamber Members!

kmedina@fcchamber.org (Kim Medina) — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed the following new members last month:

AlterMed Research Foundation, www.AlterMedResearch.org, works in areas where conventional medicine is at its limits and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) shows promise.

Associates in Family Medicine, www.afmfc.com, was created to deliver convenient, family-centered care for patients of all ages. For more than 40 years, their Board Certified family physicians have provided personalized care for families in Colorado.

Caf� Rio Mexican Grill, www.caferio.com, serves the most delicious, award-winning food that will leave you craving more. Opening May 23 in Fort Collins next to Harbor Freight.

Colorado Early College Fort Collins, www.cecfc914.org, provides students in grades 9-12 the opportunity to start working on college-level courses as soon as they are ready. Students (grades 9-12) can earn a combination of high school and college credits as they pursue a High School Diploma and an Associate?s Degree or higher for FREE.

Connecting Signs, www.connectingsigns.com, provides sign consulting, design, custom manufacturing, installation, and support of all types of commercial signs.

Crossroads Safehouse, www.crossroadssafehouse.org, has been in Northern Colorado for 30 years. Crossroads Safehouse provides abused women and children safety, shelter, and the personal assistance and resources they need to build lives without violence.

Independent Audiology, www.independentaudiology.com, prides themselves on providing objective treatment to hearing and balance disorders. They sell a wide variety of hearing aids, and offer a free 60 day trial.

Pin & Scroll: Elegant Wood Designs, www.pinandscroll.com, offers solid wood furniture, home accessories and architecture of uncompromising quality, timeless beauty and elegance.

Positive Dental & Vision, www.positivedentalvision.com, offers services from bi-annual dental check-ups and implants to eye exams and LASIK. Positive Dental & Vision offers exceptional care while saving busy professionals and families much precious time.

Texas Carpet Baggers, www.texascarpetbaggers.com, designs handbags of all kinds. Crafted from scratch, each Texas Carpet Baggers bag is one-of-a-kind, handmade with creativity and a sweet touch of southern care.

Verus Bank of Commerce, www.verusbank.com, strives to do ?right? by their customers, their employees, the community, and their shareholders. ?Verus? in latin is roughly translated to mean ?right? and that is the mission of Verus Bank of Commerce.

For more information on the benefits of membership or for more information on these businesses, visit www.FortCollinsChamber.com or call (970) 482-3746.

About the Fort Collins Area Chamber

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit organization made up of more than 1,100 member businesses. The Chamber acts as a front door to the community and a resource for people looking to relocate, in addition to acting as an advocate for business and overall quality of life in Northern Colorado. For more information about the Chamber visit www.FortCollinsChamber.com, call (970) 482-3746 or follow us on Twitter (FCCOChamber).

Sign-A-Rama Fort Collins Introduces Green Message? Line

patti@signaramafortcollins.com (Patti Westfall) — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

SIGNARAMA Fort Collins has just introduced the Green Message ? line, an array of fully recyclable banner and display signs. The zero-waste product line can be used for a variety of durable outdoor and odorless indoor displays. It is now possible to produce large, colorful graphics for exhibits and visual displays on materials that can be completely reused.

The provision of the new eco-friendly display media gives conscientious customers the option to specify recyclable materials when producing large format signs such as durable event banners, trade show displays and posters. Green Message products use PVC-free wallpaper, recyclable fabric signs and cardboard, biodegradable foam board, bamboo stands and solvent-free, water-based latex ink.

In addition to launching the Green Message line, the Fort Collins Colorado-based company has added a specific recycling program for the new eco-friendly banner materials. Customers can return the signage for re-cycling at any time.

SIGNARAMA?s Pronounced Eco-Centricity

SIGNARAMA Fort Collins is recognized as a leading sign company focused on the environment. Patti Westfall, owner of SIGNARAMA Fort Collins, spotlights the company?s recycling program through the national SIGNARAMA blog this Spring, providing advice to others looking to introduce green business practices effectively into their organizations.

?Our goal is to be a green business leader, demonstrating daily our focused effort to reduce our own carbon footprint and to find and sell the latest in ecologically-sound sign and graphics products,? said Westfall.

The company, a three-year City of Fort Collins ClimateWise gold partner, offers a number of eco-friendly products and deliberately recycles much of the material they produce. Their day-to-day operations are also guided by an overarching green philosophy. In addition, the company recycles wood, aluminum, cardboard and other scrap materials from its sign-making projects and powers its shop with 100 percent green electricity from the city of Fort Collins.

SIGNARAMA?s Green Message ? inventory can be found online.

About SIGNARAMA Fort Collins

SIGNARAMA is the world?s largest sign company, providing top signage services nationwide as well as in 50 countries, making the company literally ?where the world goes for signs.? SIGNARAMA Fort Collins is proud to be part of the award winning, #1 sign franchise in the U.S.

SIGNARAMA Fort Collins was started in 1995 and has since served as a valuable and forward-thinking community resource. As a full-service sign shop, its outdoor business signs, made to order, have played a role in shaping the Fort Collins community. Learn more at www.signaramafortcollins.com.

Education & Life Training Center Summer Session Registration Dates

Julia.Innes@eltcenter.org (Julia Innes) — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Education & LifeTraining Center?s Must Have Career Tools One Day Preview on May 23 or July 24 for an overview of the current job search process, including topics such as self-assessment, networking, composing r�sum�s and cover letters, and interviewing. Take the next step with JobReady: A 16 week program that will fully prepare you for the job search process.

ELTC?s summer session classes will also include: Must Have Computer Skills, Microsoft Office?Two Week Intensive, Medical Terminology, and GED Preparation. For questions about individual class descriptions, times, or prices, please call 970.482.4357 or email info@eltcenter.org.

Summer session registration begins May 7 through May 30?Monday through Thursday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. ELTC is located in Old Town Fort Collins at401 Linden Street. Income based scholarships are available. Ask about our payment plan options and discounts for taking two or more classes.

Oregon?s Coquille Valley Celebrates Grand Opening of State-of-the-Art Hospital

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The Coquille Valley community gathered to celebrate the grand opening of a new 51,000-square-foot hospital at an open house reception featuring refreshments, entertainment and tours of the highly anticipated facility. Financing the designated critical access hospital in a challenging economic climate required careful planning and innovative assessment techniques, and the hospital district?s board and staff partnered with The Neenan Company to create a sustainable strategic capital plan.

The Neenan Company, a Colorado-based design and construction company, collaborated with Stroudwater Associates and Dougherty Mortgage to carefully assess the hospital?s market service area, market potential, forecasted financial performance and borrowing capacity, resulting in project financing that combined federal government mortgage insurance and Build America Bonds. As a result, theCoquilleValleyHospitalis able to receive a 35% interest rebate throughout the life of their loan.

?Construction of theCoquilleValleyHospitalwas a much-needed boost to our local economy,? said Dennis Zielinski,CoquilleValleyHospital?s CEO. The financing options discovered as a result of working with The Neenan Company, Stroudwater Associates and Dougherty Mortgage allowed the hospital district to make an investment in a ?right-sized? replacement facility that will serve to retain and grow healthcare employment in the local community.

?Our vision and commitment to developing a new state-of-the-art hospital in our community has helped capture the interest of several physician candidates, many of whom may not have considered Coquille previously,? said Monte Johnston, Coquille Valley Hospital?s human resource manager. With many upgrades on par with urban hospitals, including the latest in MRI and digital mammography equipment, Zielinski added that the expanded facility would also enable the hospital to attract and serve patients who can be cared for close to home.

Providing far more than basic design/build services for critical access hospitals, The Neenan Company employs medical planning and architectural staff, who conducted departmental interviews to determine space requirements and adjacencies necessary to support the hospital?s anticipated increase in service demands, the district?s vision for the future and stay within capital constraints. Considerations atCoquilleValleyHospitalincluded physician recruitment, the addition and expansion of physical, occupational and rehabilitative therapy, private patient rooms and extended urgent care hours.

?With this investment the hospital can confidently improve upon the quality, efficiency and complement of health care services in their community, all within a profitable and sustainable business model,? said Michael Curtis, vice president of health care development at The Neenan Company. ?Helping them explore and benefit from the alternative financing methodologies that make this possible is an integral part of our process, and we?re proud to have contributed. The result is a healthier community, both intrinsically and economically, now and well into the future.?

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About The Neenan Company:

The Neenan Company is a fully integrated design-build specializing in the architecture and construction of healthcare facilities throughout the United States. More information at www.neenan.com

Join Advanced Animal Care of Colorado at ?Paws on the Promenade? May 19th

malina@advancedanimalcareofcolorado.com (Malina Knable) — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:00:00 -0600

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 4, 2012

Contact: Malina Knable, Office Manager

Advanced Animal Care ofColorado

(970) 493-3333

malina@advancedanimalcareofcolorado.com

Join Advanced Animal Care of Colorado at ?Paws on the Promenade? May 19th

Fort Collins, Colo. ? The Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald and The Promenade Shops at Centerra have partnered to offer the single most EXCITING dog expo ofNorthern Colorado! The 7th Annual Paws on the Promenade is taking overLoveland on Saturday, May 19, 2012.

Advanced Animal Care of Colorado will be available to answer any health care or rehabilitation questions. Please stop by to meet our staff and have a brief introduction to our cutting edge facility.

This year?s event will be held on Saturday, May 19th from 10am to 3pm at the Main Plaza of The Promenade Shops and will inform the attendees of the many fantastic services and businesses related to the health and happiness of dogs. Highlights will include a dog house building contest, Service Dog demonstrations, live pet adoptions, presentations by vendors, dog contests for prizes, Yappy Hour and much more!

About Advanced Animal Care of Colorado

Advanced Animal Care is a full service hospital, focusing on small animal advanced veterinary care, rehabilitation and pain management. Our open door policy means clients will be allowed and encouraged to take part in their pet's care. The veterinarians and staff at our medical center are ready to provide your pet with cutting edge veterinary medical care. We also offer an activity center, DOGTALES, that caters to your dog's health with swimming, agility training, classes, lodging, day care and more.

Texas Roadhouse is supporting Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Texas Roadhouse is supporting Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center!

Come join us for dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Fort Collins on Tuesday, May 1st from 4 pm - 10 pm. Present THIS flyer to your server at the time of your visit and Texas Roadhouse will donate 20% of what you spend to Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learing Center, click HERE to learn more about Teaching Tree!

It's as easy as it sounds! Come in, take a night off from cooking, and enjoy Legendary Food and Legendary Service while helping support a great cause. No time to dine in? No problem! Texas Roadhouse will honor flyers for to-go orders as well. Thank you in advance for helping Texas Roadhouse support the Fort Collins community.

Menu available at texasroadhouse.com

Texas Roadhouse

4633 S. Timberline Road

Fort Collins, CO 80528

(970) 207-0006

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce Announces 2012 Small Business of the Year Award Winners: Shaw & Associates, The Cupboard

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce held their first ever Celebrating Small Business Award & Luncheon event at The Hilton Fort Collins earlier today, April 25, 2012. Over 30 companies were nominated to receive the Small Business of the Year Awards with only two awards being given, one for a company with 1-10 employees and one for a company with11-50 employees.

The award for the company with 1-10 employees was presented to Shaw & Associates. Shaw & Associates offer comprehensive business services including tax preparation and consultation, full accounting, bookkeeping services, training and financial planning including securities and life insurance. Shaw & Associates was opened by Kevin Shaw in 1997.

The award for the company with 11-50 employees was presented to The Cupboard. The Cupboard is a 10,000 square foot kitchen specialty store that has been a downtown institution inFort Collinssince 1972. Carey Hewitt, current President, has been actively involved in the business since 1972 and in 2007 his son, Jim, became a welcome partner in the business.

Finalists for the awards also included: AlphaGraphics, Brinkman Partners, MazTech & All-Tech Automotive and Palmer Flowers. The finalists and winners were selected from the nominees by a panel of eight Chamber members.

The luncheon featured Master of Ceremonies Mark Driscoll, First National Bank, Keynote Speaker Lacy Edwards, Executive in Residence at Rocky Mountain Innosphere and Award Presenters Donna Chapel, Chapel & Collins, alongside David May, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce.

The luncheon celebrated small businesses and their contributions toFort Collinswhile kicking off the annual Spring Showcase.

About the Small Business of the Year Award: For this award, a small business is defined as an independently owned and operated business headquartered in northern Colorado that is organized for profit. The business is required to have 200 employees or fewer to be eligible. To receive a Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award, the company must be a member of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce at the time the award is presented and have been in business three years. Businesses were judged on: community involvement and stewardship, commitment to good business practices, overall business growth, innovation, and workplace culture and employee relations.

About the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce: The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce is a champion for business, the regional economy and the greaterFort Collins area.

Owned and led by its members, the Chamber is an active and forward-focused organization of 1,000 members. Member businesses are of all sizes and types ranging from sole proprietors to large multi-national corporations and from locally owned retailers to internationally renowned high tech firms. For more information, visit www.FortCollinsChamber.com.