Wendy Burt-Thomas
Posted: Friday, December 12, 2008 10:09 am

photo by Alexis Clements

 If you missed the October 29 Green Power event, here’s your recap. 

Held at Propp Realty’s beautiful Golden Hill Office Centre, vendors lined both downstairs atriums to answer questions and introduce attendees to all things green. All registrants received a reusable coffee mug, which also allowed them to enjoy free beer, wine and coffee at the event from Bud Light, Balistreri Vineyards and Village Roaster. Fantastic Bistro and Catering, the Sustainability Snack Sponsor, had a delicious spread of free food and two outdoor demonstrations (from NREL’s interactive van and the U.S. Tennis Association) benefitted from the beautiful weather.

Everyone had the opportunity to learn more about a wide variety of eco-friendly options in the workplace from EcoGreenOffice, LW Barrett Co., the Denver/Boulder BBB, CSU-Denver and RideArrangers.

Testimonials:

“Thank you again for having me at your event to raise awareness on these issues. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and I appreciate the invitation.”

-- Nick Kittle, speaker, Colorado Springs

“Although we did not meet personally yesterday at Bigger than Biz, I wanted to say thank you for such a great event. EasyChair Media's magazines are filled with valuable information. I hope you host more events like Bigger than Biz that give businesses along the Front Range the opportunity to learn and network.”

-- Richard J. Mastic, Green Office Ideas, LLC, DBA Inked Up, LLC 

“I really enjoyed your event yesterday. I am so happy you held this and glad to have participated. Thank you!”

-- Beth Jones, attendee

A series of “green” seminars began at 2 p.m. and ran every half hour until 6 p.m. 

• Dr. Richard Conant from CSU, School of Global Environmental Sustainability spoke about the future of jobs in the field of sustainability and the goal of the new school, which was established in July 2008.

• Congressman Ed Perlmutter talked about the importance of renewable energy and the role that Colorado is playing, including the National Renewable Energy Lab. He discussed his G.R.E.E.N Act and new ways to distribute energy.

• Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy discussed the city’s three principles of sustainability, the Employee’s Committee for Sustainable Lakewood, the public works “green” achievements, and community planning and development.

• Theresa Worsham, the Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Golden shared the city’s 10-year sustainability initiative and the seven categories it encompasses. 

• Michele Weingarden, Director of Greenprint Denver, discussed the importance of city-scale climate actions, goals to reduce Denver’s greenhouse gas emissions, clean up the South Platte River, create a green economic hub, and the organization’s eight-point plan for 2008-09.

• Mona Newton of the Governor’s Energy Office talked about hydroelectric energy, the number of jobs that have been and could be created by the fields of renewable energy, and an energy experiment with the Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort.

• Nick Kittle, Fleet Finance Manager for the City of Colorado Springs enlightened listeners on what Colorado Springs is doing in terms of sustainability, including the use of biodiesel in its fleets, new recycling programs, free mulch, recycled asphalt, tree planting and the use of LED lights in traffic and pedestrian signals.

• Donna Dailey and Karen Bowman of Ride Arrangers offered alternatives to driving alone to work, teleworking, the “Guaranteed Ride Home” plan, and the benefits of using alternative modes of transportation.

Due to the success, two additional Green Power events are being planned for 2009. In the meantime, a DVD of the live seminars is available for $49 and can be purchased by calling Jodi at EasyChair Media, 970‑686-7186. Clips of streaming video from the event can be viewed at www.EasyLivingFrontRange.com.

A Big “Thanks” to Our Green Power Sponsors!

We’d like to tell our Green Power sponsors how much we value their support. This year’s sponsors included Propp Realty, the U.S. Tennis Association, LW Barrett Company, the Denver/Boulder BBB, Anheuser-Busch, EcoGreenOffice, Creative Touch Video Service, Fantastic Bistro & Catering, Village Roaster, Ride Arrangers and CSU. We received incredibly positive feedback on every part of the event -- especially the diversity and quality of vendors and speakers. (Despite our continual addition of chairs, many talks still had standing room only!)

The event was a huge success and many people are already asking us when the next one will be held. Though we haven’t set a date, we do know that another one is on the horizon. Stay tuned for details in EasyLiving Front Range or feel free to contact us if you’d like to be a sponsor for the next Green Power event.