Welcome to the Connecticut/Westchester Chapter

Real Advantage Corporate Partners
 

                  

UPCOMING CHAPTER EVENTS:

Check back for our future events.

 
Recap of recent chapter events:

AT&T's Rodney Smith
  speaks of Connecticut's
telecom infrastructure



Rodney Smith, president of AT&T Connecticut,
spoke of the state's telecommunications infrastructure,
particularly the growth in wireless telecom use.
He spoke at a January 19 luncheon at The Hartford
Club, jointly organized by CoreNet, the Hartford Area
Business Economists (HABE) and the Connecticut
Economic Development Association (CEDAS)

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Joint CoreNet/RIMS panel
  examines risk management
in lease negotiations



CoreNet Connecticut/Westchester and
the Connecticut Valley chapter of the Risk and
Insurance Management Society (RIMS) held a joint
workshop on risk-management aspects of lease
negotiations. Stanley Black & Decker hosted the Nov.16
breakfast event at its New Britain, Conn., headquarters.
The workshop was one of the best-attended and highest-
rated Real Advantage workshops the chapter has ever
held. The expert panel featured, clockwise from top
left, Joe Fortier, Partner, Reid and Riege, P.C.;
Rick Frazier, Director of Real Estate, Kaman Industrial
Technologies; Peter Martin, Insurance & Risk
Financing/Risk Management, Aetna (moderator);
and Marty Berman, Principal, Albert Risk
Management Consultants.


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O'Mara presents study 
on real estate and
corporate performance



Martha O'Mara, co-founder and managing director of
Corporate Portfolio Analytics, presented a study she and
Barry Varcoe, head of global real estate and facilities
management at Zurich Insurance, did on the correlation
between mature corporate real estate functions and
enterprise performance. She presented the study at an
Oct. 21 Real Advantage workshop hosted by Aetna.

**************************************'

Golf outing draws enthusiastic crowd



The chapter's 13th annual golf outing drew a crowd of 80-plus golfers and diners to the
Wethersfield Country Club in Wethersfield, Conn. The Oct. 3 event benefited from
terrific weather and an upbeat atmosphere.

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Members and guests educate their palates

Chapter members and guests enjoyed the beauty and the bounty of

Gouveia Vineyards in Wallingford, Conn., at the chapter's second annual

wine-tasting event on July 21. Among the attendees were,

clockwise from top left, Larry Bibri, Haworth; Rita Joy, Construction

Institute, University of Hartford; Scott Kosswig, Stanley Black & Decker;

Marcia Fowler, Herman Miller; Nancy Hagstrom, Interscape Commercial

Environments; Josh Hagstrom, Interscape Commercial Environments;

John Page, Steelcase: Lynn Veilleux, Aetna; Scott Tibbo, Jones Lang LaSalle;

Dave Jackson, BKM Total Office; Dave Durfee, OFI; Serge Arel, Cushman &

Wakefield; and Chapter President Peter Olson, Travelers/CB Richard Ellis.

Golf traditions and future visions

at Travelers Championship breakfast

Bruce Berlet, second from left, supplied expertise from 30-plus years of

golf journalism. Jason Soucy, Director of Sales for the Travelers

Championship, far left, supplied a current overview and a vision of future

possibilities for the tournament. They, along with Peter Olson,

Alliance Director for CB Richard Ellis/Travelers (and chapter Chair),

and Sandra Johnson, Vice President and Director of Business

Development, MetroHartford Alliance, welcomed nearly 30 people

at the chapter's annual breakfast on June 24 -- a strong turnout despite

cloudy skies. The MetroHartford Alliance hosted the Cromwell, Conn.,

event at its chalet along corporate row on the 18th fairway..

Pitney Bowes outlines its

 successful Agile Work program

Patrice DeFilippo, Business Services Manager,

Telecommute Connecticut!, and Jim Ryan, Manager,

Workplace Strategy and Major Projects, Pitney Bowes,

discussed Pitney Bowes’ Agile Work program at a

May 10 Real Advantage luncheon workshop.

Telecommute Connecticut!, a division of the Connecticut

Department of Transportation, helped Pitney Bowes coordinate

work teams from multiple job functions within the company

to custom-design a flexible workplace program.

The Agile Work program has had a positive impact

on Pitney Bowes’ productivity and employee satisfaction.

Pitney Bowes hosted the workshop in Shelton, Conn.

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Cost-reduction opportunities presented

 in cloud computing workshop

Michael Haley, IBM Distinguished Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure, led a

discussion about cloud computing and its potential impact on

occupancy and energy cost reduction. IBM hosted the March 1

Real Advantage workshop at its Southbury, Conn., location.