December 7, 2010 IN THIS NEWSLETTER: · 2011 Membership Renewals · December WMSBF Meeting – RSVP’s due Thursday! · WMSBF Speakers’ Bureau Survey · NEW: The Rapid’s Employer Connection Survey Contact us with your questions, comments, or requests for information on membership. Lisa Locke, Administrator, llocke@wmsbf.org. 2011 Membership Renewals – Watch your email! As part of our own ongoing sustainability efforts, we will be sending out renewal letters/invoices by email this year. Please help us prevent the need for stamped, hard copy follow-up reminders by ensuring this gets forwarded to the appropriate person for timely processing. – Thank you!! December Membership Meeting Monday, December 13, 2010 :: 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm BioEnterprise Center, 242 Howard Ave., Holland, MI 49424. Get an inside view of the MSU Bioeconomy Institute. Dr. Paul Hunt, Sr. Associate VP for Research & Graduate Studies at MSU will provide a history of the project and discuss how the Institute serves as one important component in the MSU strategy to assist sustainability-focused scholarship, entrepreneurship, and economic development. William Freckman,Operations Manager, will present information regarding the capabilities and unique features of the former Pfizer R&D center, combined with the University-Community partnership that brought about its creation. TheBioBusiness Accelerator is the small business incubation program supported by MSU and administered by Lakeshore Advantage. Randy Olinger will offer examples from current client companies to illustrate how small firms can take advantage of favorable leasing arrangements, and the broad range of business and technical support services available. Tours will be offered. Parking available across the street to the north. Enter the east end of the building and follow signs to the registration table. Space is limited. If you would like to attend this meeting, you must register by email at info@wmsbf.org by Thursday, December 9. Cost of attending is $10, payable by cash or check at the event. Credit card payments may be made prior to the event through Google here. A $1 additional processing charge is included for credit card payments. Announcements Speakers’ Bureau Survey –If you are currently a WMSBF member, interested in participating in a Speakers’ Bureau, and did not receive the email with a link to complete this survey, please contact Lisa Locke, llocke@wmsbf.org. The Rapid’s Employer Connection Survey – The Rapid is proposing the creation of a free, voluntary association to bridge the gap between transit alternatives and employer offered benefits. The association titled, The Rapid’s Employer Connection (TREC), is designed to keep employers informed on transportation options available to their employees, provide sustainable commuting incentives, offer expanded rideshare resources, employer support, and gather information about your transportation needs. In order to tailor this new association to best serve your needs, The Rapid is asking that you complete the short on-line survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/The_Rapids_TREC_Survey. Please complete your survey by December 17; your responses will be kept strictly confidential. THE WMSBF ON TWITTER, LINKEDIN, AND FACEBOOK We are now on Twitter, Facebook ,and LinkedIn. We are using these media to update meeting information, member news, and general sustainability news. Follow or friend to remain in the loop! | 