Premier Maintenance client Ronus Properties prides itself on being an innovative, environmentally conscious property ownership and management company. Proving this notion once again, the company recently installed two electric car charging stations in West Hartford at Blue Back Square (BBS), a mixed-use development that comprises about 600,000 square feet of residential, retail, restaurant, office and medical space. Ronus/BBS officially unveiled the stations on July 22, 2011.

 

Will Lorenz, property manager at BBS, is very cognizant of the need for "green" thinking. He came up with the idea of installing the charging stations as both an environmental endeavor and a service to BBS tenants. He spearheaded the effort, proposing the idea first to Ronus and securing corporate approval, and then working in partnership with the newly-formed Connecticut Electric Car (CEC; a division of Newington Electric Company) and General Electric (GE) to bring the plan to fruition.

 

"We are pleased to be one of the first developments in the area to offer electric car charging stations to our tenants and would like to thank Ed Ingalls of Connecticut Electric Car and General Electric for working with us on this project," Lorenz said.

 

 Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) Annual Convention in Las Vegas to stay up to date on industry changes and brush up on best practices for running a successful service business.

 

"It's always important for us to meet with our industry peers and learn what they're doing. The BSCAI convention is one of the major industry events of the year and we always come home invigorated and full of new ideas," said Diamond.

 

Among the take-aways from this year's convention: how to make sure your employees ... (Read on....) 

It is that time of the year again! People work diligently all year long, then wind up destroying their hard-earned efforts by acting inappropriately at a holiday party. Or worse, a business takes care all year to ensure its employees follow all safety protocols, only to expose the company to costly litigation because the holiday party got out of hand.

 

Holiday parties are generally intended to show an employer's appreciation for all its employees, including management. This is an opportunity to gather in a social, somewhat less formal environment and, likely, drink alcoholic beverages. This is not an invitation for drunken revelry and certainly no one wants to hear of anyone being injured, physically or otherwise.

 

As the story goes, all too often it is heard that a party ended with (i) an auto accident; (ii) a harassment complaint; (iii) inappropriate words being communicated, either too harsh or too friendly; and/or (iv) the improper disclosure of confidential business information not intended to be released. So what is to be done?  (Read on...)

 

(Picture courtesy of ironcacus.com) 

The winner of the second annual Diamond Scholarship is Jack Perry, who is now wrapping up the first semester of his freshman year at Western Connecticut State University.

"We were very impressed with Jack's efforts to improve his grades between his sophomore and senior years of high school," said Michael Diamond, president of Premier Maintenance. "It was clear to us how he got on track so he could get accepted to a good college."

As a senior at Immaculate High School in Danbury, Jack earned the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants 2011 Outstanding High School Accounting Student Award. In his scholarship application essay, Jack wrote, "I am a very hard working and determined student when it comes to academics and various other things that I enjoy doing such as community service. I have put in more than 400 hours of community service over the past four years in order to play an important role in helping others in the community."

(Read more....)