Page 785 – Soapbox

Artist Opportunity: Seeking submissions for commissioned project

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August 26, 2011

The First Annual Celebration of Service, an event to commemorate student service in Greater Cincinnati, will take place at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center on September 27, 2011 and is presented by Vision2015 and Agenda360. Children Inc., UGive, United Way, and the Northern Kentucky Fund of Greater Cincinnati are also partners in this event. The purpose of this event is to give regional recognition to schools, businesses and non-profit agencies that embrace student service as part of their organizational culture. 'Student Service' can be defined as student-led initiatives that identify challenges and create solutions within their community. Examples might include: a high school class understanding environmental pollutants in our area and organizing a recycling program at school; a first grade class learning to read a book and creating an audio tape of that book for children who are blind; business partners who not only fund these opportunities but contribute a substantial amount of time to student-led initiatives; non-profit agencies are recognized for organizing and opening their doors to these student initiatives. Request: The Event Committee is looking to commission a Professional Artist(s) to create 17 individual award sculptures that will be given to those who are recognized for their efforts at this event. These sculptures must represent the ethics and values that are being celebrated, as well as achieve a high quality of aesthetic and workmanship. All mediums will be considered, however, there is a preference for a high professional finish to the pieces. Mixed media collages are not discouraged provided they consider the audience and environment in which they will be displayed. The same medium should be used in the entire collection and all pieces should reflect a collection. All submissions must be received by no later than Friday, August 26 at 5 p.m. Qualifying artists must be available for interviews Saturday Aug. 27 through Monday, Aug. 29. Final Notifications will be given by Tuesday, Aug. 30. Completed work is due by September 20, 2011; there are no exceptions to these dates.For more details, including submission instructions, click here.

Northern Kentucky chamber honored

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General

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August 26, 2011

The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce received the 2011 "Going International Award" Thursday at the American Chamber of Commerce Executives annual conference in Los Angeles.The award is sponsored by the United Arab Emirates' Dubai Chamber of Commerce. The Northern Kentucky Chamber will receive $5,000 and a trip to Dubai for two of its executives.The award recognizes chambers' work to expand into international markets, partner with businesses abroad, and educate their communities about international trade.Read the full story here.

Revitalization funds growing in NKY

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General

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August 26, 2011

The Catalytic Development Funding Corporation of Northern Kentucky is one step closer to reaching their $10 million goal thanks to a $1 million commitment from First Financial Bank. The CDFC and its investment fund are designed to serve as catalysts for the redevelopment of Northern Kentucky's urban cities. First Financial Bank joins six other local companies in making major investments in the fund, which currently stands at $7.5 million. Once the corporation reaches its goal, it will begin lending to developers. Read the full story here.

CSN to open Hebron center this fall

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General

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August 26, 2011

Online retailing company CSN Stores will open a new distribution hub in Hebron this fall. The distribution center will create up to 105 new jobs in the Northern Kentucky region over the next few years. The 155,370 square-foot facility in Boone County represents a $7.7 million investment and is expected to open this fall.CSN, which is based in Boston, offers more than 3 million items from 5,000 brands at its 250 specialized online stores. Read the full story here.

Florence lands pharmacy company

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General

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August 26, 2011

HealthWarehouse.com Inc., a mail order pharmacy company, is moving to Florence. The transition has already started and will continue over the next several months.The company also on Thursday announced a $1.5 million investment from venture capital firm New Atlantic Ventures, which is based in Northern Virginia and Cambridge, Mass, and which makes seed and early stage investments.HealthWarehouse.com fills more than 3,000 prescriptions a day. It is licensed in all 50 states to sell prescription medication.Read the full story here.

TMC celebrates Chapel groundbreaking

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August 26, 2011

Students, staff, faculty, friends and donors of Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky., gathered on Aug. 2 to break ground on the College's free-standing chapel project. The College met its goal of raising $3.5 million to build the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel earlier this spring. Construction bids are still out through the end of the month. Official construction will begin in September, with anticipated completion of the project in early fall of 2012. The chapel is being designed by Northern Kentucky-based architects Robert Ehmet Hayes & Associates PLLC.The decades-long dream of building a chapel became a determined quest in 2009, when President Sister Margaret Stallmeyer, C.D.P., with the support of the Board of Trustees, launched an official fund-raising campaign to make that dream a reality. The Diocese of Covington, under the guidance of Bishop Roger Foys, led the donor list with a multi-year $500,000 pledge, and soon parishes and other donors joined in the effort. A capstone gift from John and Juanita Griffin and family allowed the College to meet the goal this March. Read the full story here.

MidPoint Midway inspires creative, ‘inside the box’ ideas

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Arts + Culture

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August 23, 2011

After hearing stories of renegade box truck art exhibits in other cities, some with stripper poles inside of U-Hauls, the staff at ArtWorks decided to try making the concept their own. "Midpoint seemed like the perfect place to try it for the first time," says Tamara Harkavy, executive director of ArtWorks. "There are a lot of people in the city for the festival, and it's a good way to connect the festival to the streets." Harkavy talked with MidPoint host John Fox of CityBeat and they decided to launch box truck exhibits at this year's MidPoint Music Festival, christening it MidPoint Midway. The Midway, situated on 12th Street between Vine and Walnut Streets, aims for an immersive street festival feel, complete with beer and food vendors, stages and the box truck exhibits. ArtWorks put out a call to local creatives to propose interactive installations that could fit in the back of box trucks. Sarah Corlett took charge of the submission gathering and artist wrangling. Corlett, also the SpringBoard coordinator at ArtWorks, sees her new challenge as a natural fit. "SpringBoard already has a entrepreneurial and artistic spirit, which is exactly what we needed," says Harkavay. Within days, Corlett created guidelines and contacted several artists around the city. "The only guidelines we really had were no alcohol and no open flames," Corlett says. "It has to be an art installation, but also be experiential, and fit inside the truck, of course." Corlett reached out to parProjects, a two-man artist group. Jonathan Sears and Chris Hoeting have created galleries in shipping containers and Uhaul trucks, so they welcomed the opportunity. "We are excited about the chance to do something in a mobile space again," says Sears. "We are creating a two-hole mini-golf course in our truck." Sears and Hoeting came upon the idea as a play on words relating to their business name. Preliminary renderings show water hazards, ramps and pipes. One hole features a ramp that exits and re-enters the truck. "If we create an experience that people will have a conversation about, I definitely think that is worthwhile," says Sears. parProject's goal to incite conversation reflects the central point behind the MidPoint Midway. "There are going to be some great surprises at Midway," says Harkavay. "We really want to give people an experience they will remember." Do Good: Volunteer. Contact Sarah Corlett about volunteering at MidPoint Midway. Attend. On Oct. 22, parProjects is hosting the Factory Square Fine Arts Festival. Donate. ArtWorks is always accepting donations to support its programs and services. By Evan Wallis

Resource: Morning Mentoring at HCBC

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Entrepreneurship

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August 23, 2011

Resource: Morning Mentoring at HCBC Need a mentor for your startup? Help is on the way. Morning Mentoring is an entrepreneurial coaching program that leverages the Queen City Angels, C-Cap, the Hamilton County Business Center and local professional advisors for the benefit of Greater Cincinnati's entrepreneurs. Each month, Morning Mentoring accepts four companies to participate in this networking and mentoring session. The format of the event allows each of the selected companies to make up to a five-minute overview presentation about their company. The angels and professional advisors then have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions about the company's market, product or service, business model, stage of development and management team. After all the presentations are completed, companies have the opportunity to have one-on-one 45-minute mentoring sessions with a participating angel from the Queen City Angels and a knowledgeable business service professional. Each company rotates to visit with two local angel investors from the Queen City Angels. Morning Mentoring is an opportunity to present, network and receive excellent feedback and is open to those seeking equity investment as well as entrepreneurs just looking for a place to get good free advice. Entrepreneurs are also welcome to come watch the company presentations and network. To apply for one of the four monthly spots, fill out a simple online form. Upcoming Morning Mentoring dates in 2011: • August 26 • September 23 • November 4 • December 1 (Thursday)

Profile: Alex Frommeyer of Inven

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General

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August 23, 2011

Founder Profile: Alex Frommeyer of INVEN LLC How did you come to be an entrepreneur? I have always been very independent. As soon as I began interning while an engineering student, I realized that I wanted to be in the driver's seat of a business, not somewhere in the back row. Why did you start your business? My co-founders, Dan Dykes and Alex Curry, and I were working in healthcare/medical devices and saw a disparity in the technology available in medicine versus the tech used by dentists and oral care professionals. Our mission continues to focus on bringing innovative products and technology to oral care. What resources here did you take advantage of and how did they help? Being a Kentucky company, we have leaned heavily on the Innovation and Commercialization Center (ICC) to help guide our initial business development. The 2010 Cincinnati Innovates contest was a catalyst for us, as we won the Northern Kentucky Commercialization Award and gained incredible exposure for our company. Where did you find your first employee? Interestingly, my partners and I are all from Northern Kentucky though we did not find one another until we started our engineering program. In fact, Alex Curry and I lived right next to each other in our dorm as freshman. Can you share a funny or amazing entrepreneurial experience with our readers? Our company won a new high-tech business award earlier this year and we were to be recognized as part of a breakfast event. The venue for the event was right next door to medical device business that our company did some consulting work with, so I thought nothing of it to park in one of their reserved spaces as we always did on visits to them. Unfortunately, the building owner was on alert that morning because of the event next door and towed all unauthorized vehicles from the lot. We came out two hours later with award in hand…and no ride home. What inspires you? My partners. We had no idea what we were getting into when we started our business, but they have continued to make the sacrifices necessary to have great success. It is very difficult to find two brilliant young engineers willing to forgo other opportunities and pursue a new business venture; especially when they also happen to be two of your best friends. I am a lucky guy. What companies or founders do you admire and why? In my mind, few well-known entrepreneurs have ridden the roller coaster like Steve Jobs. Apple is a tech leader today, but has gone through some tumultuous times. Jobs was voted out of the company he started by his own Board, only to get bought back in with an incredible twist of fate. Couple that with some major health issues, and Steve deserves every entrepreneur's respect for his sheer guts, creativity, and commitment to clearly doing something he loves — no matter if you own a Mac or not!

Event: Cincinnati Innovates Awards August 25th

By Newsroom

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General

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August 23, 2011

Cincinnati Innovates Awards This Thursday The third annual Cincinnati Innovates Awards Celebration takes place this Thursday at NKU. The competition, which awards more than $100,000 in grants to entrepreneurs each year, will honor 12 startup companies for their innovations. More than 200 local entrepreneurs and inventors entered the competition. The competition was open to anyone with an idea or an invention who has a connection to the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky MSA. "The purpose of Cincinnati Innovates is to identify high-potential entrepreneurs and technologies and connect them with more than 50 local resources for entrepreneurs," says Elizabeth Edwards, former venture capital investor and founder of Metro Innovation, a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship. The competition was produced by Metro Innovation, with partners Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm and public-private venture capital firm CincyTech. Winners of the previous two competitions have gone on to raise more than $3 million in follow-on financing and include growing companies like Gamma Dynamics, VenueAgent, and VenturePax. New winners will be announced at the awards celebration and 12 startups will have the opportunity to give two-minute elevator pitches at the event. "This is the first time where we've had the winners actually pitch their ideas to the crowd. Some of these technologies are truly impressive, and I'm looking forward to seeing them present," says CincyTech President Bob Coy. The event will be hosted by Northern Kentucky University's Entrepreneurship Institute on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. "The new Student Union Ballroom is a fabulous venue for an event like this. We're looking forward to showing off the recent changes to campus," says Director John Clarkin. "We were very impressed by the applicants this year," says Bill Scheyer of Vision 2015, one of the major award sponsors of the competition. Tickets are available at http://cincinnatiinnovates.com/pages/events Over $100,000 in awards will be presented, including: CincyTech Commercialization Awards: $25,000, $25,000 and $10,000 (sponsored by CincyTech) Taft Patent Awards: $10,000 and $5,000 (applied toward patent applications and prosecution, sponsored by Taft Stettinius & Hollister)LPK Design & Branding Award: $10,000 (sponsored by LPK) Round Pixel Web Development Award: $10,000 (applied toward web application, sponsored by Round Pixel Studio & Bare Knuckles Marketing) Northern Kentucky Vision 2015 Award: $5,000 (sponsored by Vision 2015) 7/79 Video Award: $5,000 (sponsored by 7/79) Northern Kentucky ezone Award: $2,500 (sponsored by the NKY ezone) Cooney, Faulkner & Stevens Get Started Award: $2,500 (applied toward business accounting and advisory, sponsored by Cooney, Faulkner & Stevens) HYPE Community Choice Award: $2,000 (sponsored by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber's HYPE program) GCVA Partner Participation Award: $1,000 (sponsored by the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association) 2011 Enquirer Media Investor of the Year The Greater Cincinnati Venture Association will honor one of its own active angel and venture investors for outstanding service to the venture community.