Avance Esthetiques, Ashlar Honored At Business Of The Year Event

By John Voket

After an hour of networking and a brief but satisfying dinner Monday evening at The Fireside, members of the Newtown Chamber of Commerce and the Newtown Rotary settled down for the main event. And over the course of the next 20 minutes, attendees learned exactly why each of five contenders for the honor would make a worthy recipient for the Newtown Business of the Year award.

In the end, however, Chamber leaders were forced to determine an honoree in both the small and large business categories, with Judy Volpe’s Avance Esthetiques and Ashlar of Newtown capturing the awards respectively.

Before the final honors were announced, Chamber President Pat Linnell and Rotary President Alan Clavette built up the suspense while providing an opportunity for nearly 100 guests to lavish each of the five nominees with applause. Trading places at the podium, Frank Gavel joined Ms Linnell and Mr Clavette detailing the many ways each company exemplified Rotary-style behavior putting “service above self,” providing thousands of dollars in donated goods and volunteer time to local individuals and organizations.

One by one, the masters of ceremony read from extensive lists reflecting the many ways the two Business of the Year recipients, as well as finalists Captain Wood Carpentry, Coach’s Deli, and Union Savings Bank pitched in to help make Newtown a better place in which to live and do business.

“Judy has supported the Breast Cancer Walk for 12 years, raising between $9,000 and $14,000,” Ms Linnell said of Ms Volpe. “She also participates in the ‘Look Good, Feel Good’ program of the American Cancer Society.”

Among her other efforts, Ms Linnell told the audience that Ms Volpe, through Avance Esthetiques donates 50 percent of proceeds raised through facials to breast cancer research projects, hosts a hospice breakfast, and supports fund raising for the Family Counseling Center, the Rotary, Youth Services, and many other local groups.

Ms Volpe has been a board member with the Chamber for five years, was the treasurer for the Business and Professional Women of Newtown, and hosts numerous community meetings at her business at no charge to the participating groups. In addition, she participates in the annual Heart Fund Drive each February and makes annual donations to the Women’s Center in Danbury.

Detailing the many contributions made by the management and staff at Ashlar, Ms Linnell told the audience of the organization’s “Lunch and Learn” community education program for mature adults, its active in-house volunteer program, a Junior Volunteer Scholarship Fund that awards two $1,000 scholarships to deserving students annually, as well as an intergenerational program held in conjunction with third graders in the local school system that generates hundreds of letters through its pen pal initiative.

“Their staff works closely with the special education department of the Newtown school system, hosts the annual ‘Summer Sounds’ concerts which are very popular and well-attended, and performs free blood pressure screenings,” Ms Linnell said.

She told the audience of the 5,200 Meals on Wheels provided at cost each year through Ashlar’s kitchen and food service, the donation of a handicapped accessible van to the town, and its annual Community Health Fair. Ashlar has also been a corporate sponsor of Newtown Tercentennial activities including the Ball and the Chamber’s dinner dance, as well as providing financial support to the Newtown Police, ambulance corps, and the United Fire Company of Botsford.

Ashlar President Tom Gutner accepted the Chamber Award and was joined by staff members including Jan Martuccio, an admissions nurse, Yvonne Bachand of the marketing department, Pete Webster, plant operations manager, Lynn Mora, director of Lockwood Lodge, John Paradise, the environmental service manager, and Betty Naylor, a therapeutic recreation and volunteer manager.

While introducing the audience to the other nominees, it was revealed that the local branch of Union Savings Bank not only helped raise almost $11,000 last year for more than a dozen local service groups, but also provided volunteer services through virtually every employee for organizations including the Chamber and its Tree Lighting celebration, the Labor Day Parade, the Newtown Junior Women’s Tag-A-Tree program, the Business Women’s Forum, Junior Achievement, St Rose Church, the Family Counseling Center, the Relay For Life, and the Newtown Historical Society.

Mike Neiman, another finalist and owner of Captain Wood Carpentry, serves as a volunteer and officer at Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Department, has been a Labor Day Parade chairman, has served on the Chamber board, as well as on the board of Newtown Housing for the Elderly. Mr Neiman also has donated countless hours of carpentry services to various local organizations over the years.

Mr Gavel told the audience about the many contributions of Rob “Coach” Frangione including his coaching duties with Babe Ruth Baseball, Newtown Youth Football, and Seventh Grade Travel Football. Mr Frangione has volunteered for the annual Relay For Life, the GE Family Circle of Friends, Sandy Hook School, and St Rose Religious Education.

“Coach Frangione has also donated thousands of dollars in gift certificates,” Mr Gavel said, reading from a list that included every school in Newtown, along with more than two dozen other local service organizations, churches, and volunteer causes.

The annual Business of the Year event has served as a collaboration between the Newtown Rotary and Chamber for three years, and provided an opportunity for members of both organizations to network to help build stronger contacts and showcase further opportunities for service across the community.

The Chamber’s next event is a tri-chamber meeting March 30 at 5:30 pm featuring networking with members of the Monroe and Trumbull Chambers, as well as a presentation by Todd Martin, chief economist, People’s Bank. For details, call 426-5539.