Stamford is #1 in USA in Workers with College Degree; Geography Key to Job Prospects

Stamford ranks first in the nation in the percentage of workers with a college degree, according to a  book that features an analysis of  the influences of geography on jobs, highlighting tremendous disparities that exist in cities across the country and citing innovation as a key jobs driver.

 “The sheer size of the differences between American communities is staggering," the book stated. " Stamford, Connecticut, the city with the largest percentage of college-educated workers in the United States, has five times the number of college graduates per capita as the city at the bottom, Merced, California.”

The New Geography of Jobs, written by Enrico Moretti, a professor of Economics and the University of California, ranked 306 of the nation’s metropolitan areas.  In the ranking, Waterbury was among the metropolitan areas with the smallest share of workers with a college degree, at 15 percent.

Stamford, with 56 percent, led the list, topping Washington, DC (49%), Boston (47%), Madison (47%) and San Jose (47%), which rounded out the top five metropolitan areas in the country.  Completing the top 10 metropolitan areas with the largest share of workers with a college degree is Ann Arbor (46%), Raleigh-Durham(44%), San Francisco-Oakland (44%), Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado (44%), and Seattle-Everett, Washington (42%).  Yuma, AZ and Merced, CA, both at 11 percent, ranked last.

Moretti’s research and analysis reveals that the “new geography of jobs is benefitting centers of innovation,” and “among the beneficiaries are the workers who support the idea creators.”  He indicates that “for every new innovation job in a city, five additional non-innovation jobs are created, and those workers earn higher salaries than their counterparts in other urban areas.”

According to the book, the average salary of college graduates in Stamford is $133,479 and the average salary of high school graduates is $107,301.  Moretti points out that “the more college graduates there are (in a metropolitan area) the higher the salaries for high school graduates are.”  Overall, “the earnings of a worker with a high school education rise by about 7 percent as the share of college graduates in his city increases by 10 percent,” a statistical analysis indicates.

Morelli also notes that the education level of the workforce not only impact salaries, but also the level of charitable contributions.  “Among large U.S. metropolitan areas, charities in five brain hubs – Stamford, Boston, Raleigh-Durham, Washington, D.C., and New York – receive the highest contributions relative to their population.”

The book also ranks Stamford as the metropolitan area with the second highest cost of living in the nation, behind only San Jose, CA, and just ahead of San Francisco-Oakland-Vallejo, California.  Also in the top 20 cities with the heist cost of living is Bridgeport, at number 17.

The New Geography of Jobs was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2012. Moretti is Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley where he holds the Michael Peevey and Donald Vial Career Development Chair in Labor Economics. He is the Director of the Infrastructure and Urbanization Program at the International Growth Centre (London School of Economics and Oxford University).

Subway Reaches 40,000 Locations; Growth Continues for World’s #1 Fast Food Chain

The Connecticut-headquartered SUBWAY® restaurant chain, which has been providing franchising opportunities to entrepreneurs since 1965 and is approaching its 48th year in business, has opened its 40,000th location at an Apple Green petrol station in Ipswich, England.

The opening reflects the consistent growth of the Subway brand, which has opened nearly 2,000 new locations around the world since the start of the year. In 1965, Subway was founded by 17 year-old Connecticut high school graduate Fred DeLuca, along with family friend Dr. Peter Buck. The first restaurant opened in Bridgeport in 1965 and was called Pete’s Super Submarines. The first franchised Subway unit opened in 1974 in Wallingford.

“This is certainly a testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire Subway team, who I often refer to as The Greatest Team in Franchising History,” said DeLuca. “I am proud to be part of a team that provides thousands of jobs for people at our restaurants, field, offices, headquarters and partner offices around the world.  Our franchisees are a diverse group of small business owners who take a great deal of pride in serving their customers.”

CNN Money has reported that the “home of the $5 foot-long sub” is the most popular franchise (ahead of Quiznos, the UPS Store and Cold Stone Creamery) and biggest fast-food chain in the world, with an initial franchise fee startup is $15,000, a fairly low sum compared to other brands. With fewer than 8% of SBA-backed borrowers defaulting on their loans, Subway has a better track record than similar brands -- rival sub shop Blimpie has a 46% loan failure rate, and Quiznos is also well into the double digits, according to CNN Money.

This latest milestone puts the Subway brand far ahead of its competitors in the Quick Service Restaurant industry. Of the top restaurant chains, the next closest is more than 5,500 locations behind. Beyond that, the next three are between 21,000 and 33,000 behind, the company reported.

The combination of global branding, minimal upfront outlay of cash, and low loan default rates have made Subway the most popular brand in the last decade for entrepreneurs looking to open a franchise, the CNN website reported, based on the SBA's lending data.

The U.K. is the brand’s third largest market, behind the U.S. and Canada, with more than 1,500 locations.  In all, there are 14,000 International locations in 102 countries outside the U.S.  The Eastern European nation of Estonia recently witnessed the opening its first Subway franchise.

The company headquarters remains in Milford, with additional regional and country offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brisbane, Miami and Singapore, employing about 1,000 people in total. Worldwide, its franchisees provide more than 300,000 jobs in the communities where they are located. With a robust social community of over 25 million, Subway engages daily with consumers from around the world.

In 2012, Subway became the first quick service restaurant to meet the American Heart Association's Heart Check Meal Certification Program nutritional criteria.  Earlier this year, the Connecticut Post reported that DeLuca plans to reach 50,000 sandwich shops in four years. The chain, which has attracted customers with lower-calorie and reduced-sodium sandwiches, is competing with Yum! Brands in India, China and Japan, as it proceeds with plans to open 300 stores in each nation in the next three years, DeLuca told the Post.

CT Should Look to New York, Aging Workforce, Urban Centers to Rebuild Economy

Connecticut would be foolish not to take greater advantage of the fact that nearly one-third of the state is within the financial orbit of New York City as it looks to rebuild its economic strength – while not overlooking the potential for entrepreneurial activity across the state.

Those were among the lead suggestions of a panel of economists and entrepreneurs at the University of Hartford looking at job prospects for today’s 20-somethings, in a program sponsored by CT Mirror.

Daniel Kennedy, Senior Economist in the Office of Research at the state Department of Labor emphasized that the strongest economic growth in the state in the years to come will be in Fairfield County, and evidence of that trend is already present in the current economic recovery.

Wayne Vaughn, president of Hartford-based Fuscient, which he launched in 1997, said the state should “play to its strengths,” in looking to Fairfield County.  He said that New York City's immense economy "bleeds over into one-third of our state."  He also called on the state’s colleges and universities to step up efforts to match students with mentors in the business community, to improve their workforce readiness.

The state’s college graduates should not sell the state short, offered Katelyn Anton, Community Manager of New Haven-based Independent Software, and a key contributor to Whiteboard, a popular blog for the technology and entrepreneurial community in the state.  “Connecticut is one of the ripest locations in the world,” for start-up ventures, she said, noting the growth of co-working spaces in New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, Manchester and other communities, and the numerous incubator opportunities that individuals “can tap into.”

Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) economist and vice president Peter Gioia predicted that the state’s economy is “on the cusp of turning the corner,” noting that between 15 and 20 percent of today’s workforce will be retired within five years – creating job vacancies and opportunities for young people.  He predicted that as the workforce ages out of the market, the state’s workforce will need electrical line workers, plumbers, electricians, commercial loan officers, actuaries and financial planners, and some of that need is already apparent.

Gioia praised the state’s recent efforts to bolster the University of Connecticut and the state’s community colleges, underscoring the correlation between “where students go to school and where they get their first job.”  If students stay in the state for college, Connecticut businesses will ultimately benefit.

Kennedy said the state’s prolonged economic recovery is characterized by continued “demand deficient unemployment,” which is more structural than merely a reaction to the national downturn that began in 2008.  He indicated that even as some sectors are improving, many millennials remain underemployed -college graduates working in service, rather than professional, industries.

“More people are working, but they’re not making as much,” said Orlando Rodriguez, a senior policy fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children.  “For every job we lose in the financial industry, it takes eight and a half jobs in the restaurant industry.”

Rodriguez also raised a cautionary note, stating that Connecticut should be particularly concerned about young people in the state’s urban centers who do not attend college, and often are unable to obtain a first job. While statewide unemployment hovers around 8 percent, it can run as high as 40 percent among 18-24 year olds in Bridgeport and other urban communities. “Connecticut’s future,” Rodriguez said, “is in urban areas.”

Gioia was strongly critical of Congressional inaction on immigration reform, stating that the nation’s economy would be strengthened by a comprehensive policy.  “Immigrants are much more likely to start a business, and become net employers of Americans.”  He said the policy of educating foreign students, but not permitting them to then remain in the U.S., as “ridiculous.”  He also cited Canada as an example of a nation that has been more welcoming of immigrants, to the benefit of the nation’s economy.

Vaughn said that while his biggest challenge in doing business in Connecticut is retaining talent, the growth of technology in business transactions offers businesses here significant opportunities.  “Where your business is located doesn’t dictate who your customers are,” he said.

The discussion was the second of nine panels on a range of topics sponsored by The Connecticut Mirror to be held around the state in coming months.  It was moderated by Brett Ozrechowski, CEO-Publisher of the CT News Project, which operates CT Mirror.  Next month, discussions will be held  Nov. 7 at Fairfield University focused on measuring good teaching and Nov. 18 at the University of New Haven on the topic of the clean energy economy.

Connecticut “Ideas Worth Spreading” Resonate in Massachusetts in TED Talks

TED came to Springfield, Massachusetts this month with a decidedly Connecticut flavor, as a quarter of the featured speakers offering “ideas worth spreading,” hailed from the “still revolutionary” state.

Of the 16 “TED talks” on the agenda during a day-long program sponsored by and held at the headquarters of Mass Mutual, four of the speakers were from Connecticut, and left the specially selected audience intrigued, impressed and inspired.

Well known worldwide, TED is a nonprofit which began decades ago with a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become considerably broader, and “TED Talks” – widely available on the web – have become a global phenomenon, watched by tens of millions.

TED conferences “bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives.”  That’s precisely what occurred at TEDx in Springfield, where in addition to speakers touting the possibilities for that post-industrial urban center, a wide array of innovative subjects were featured under the theme “Driving innovation through diversity and inclusion.”

The Connecticut quartet at TEDx Springfield:

• Keisha Ashe is co-founder and CEO of ManyMentors, a nonprofit science, technology, engineering and math STEM) mentoring organization that connects minority and female middle and high school students with encouraging and supporting near-age mentors in the STEM fields.  “If they never know, they’ll never go,” is the guiding phrase of the initiative, reflecting the fact that many women and minority students are not encouraged to pursue the STEM fields, and are often unaware of the career potential or their own aptitude for the STEM careers.  Ashe is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at UConn.
• Maureen Connolly is an event planning professional with extensive national and international experience across diverse markets, and a visionary and passionate leader skilled at creating high impact programs with measurable results.  She is the foremost advocate for utilizing public celebrations as a means of extending social capital by having the community, rather than the event, at the core of planning.  She has written on the enduring transformational potential of public celebrations, and offers that “now is the time to harness that collective energy and accumulated social capital as a catalyst for social change” that will develop collaborations with the potential to breathe new life into hard-pressed cities.
• David Ryan Polgar is a Connecticut-based writer/attorney/educator and highly regarded tech ethicist who speaks on the topics of information overload, digital diets, and creativity.  He is an award-winning columnist for Seasons magazine, and has been featured in national media. Polgar speaks and writes about the ethical, legal, sociological, and emotional issues surrounding our relationship to technology.  He has created a “Mental Food Plate” as an approach to achieving deeper levels of thinking, and explores the imperative for an industry to develop that will serve as a counterbalance to the burgeoning technologies that “we can’t stop consuming.”
• Jon Thomas is the founder of Tap Cancer Out, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu nonprofit and host of the most philanthropic martial arts events in the world.  Jon Thomas and his wife Becky run the Stratford-based nonprofit “in the slivers of spare time between their jobs in advertising.”  The nonprofit was founded out of a desire to respond to the devastation of cancer through a sport that Thomas was deeply involved with.  The organization raises funds – all donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - through hosting fundraising tournaments, direct donations, merchandise sales and sponsorships.

The TED website points out that “TED is best thought of as a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world.”  TEDx Springfield was organized by Jae Junkunc of Hartford, from Mass Mutual's Enterprise Risk Management Group, with support of a 15-member team that developed the program over six months.

TED includes the award-winning TED Talks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize. The TEDx program gives communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are planned and coordinated independently.

A TEDx session in Hartford in June included talks by David Fink of Partnership for Strong Communities, Steven Mitchell of East Coast Greenway, Donna Berman of Charter Oak Cultural Center, and Rich Hollant of CO:LAB, among sixteen local speakers.

Greenwich Radio Station to be Purchased by Hartford Native

Once a radio fan, always a radio fan.  That is perhaps the best explanation for the planned purchase of Greenwich radio station WGCH by the Connecticut-based Forte Family Broadcasting, Inc., pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

The buyer is Rocco L. Forte of Sarasota, Fla. and Lyme, Connecticut. Forte is the former chief financial officer of the Abate Insurance Agency and AIA Risk Services in New Haven, according to published reports.

A native of Hartford, he is an alumnus of Hartford Public High School, the University of Connecticut and the UConn School of Insurance.

Beginning Nov. 4, Forte’s organization will operate the local station – which marks its 50th anniversary in 2014 - under a "local marketing agreement," until Forte can secure formal approval from the FCC, which could happen as soon as December, the Connecticut Post reported.

A format change is not anticipated.  The station currently broadcasts programs from the Business Talk Network and Lifestyle Talk Network, as well as local sports including the Bridgeport Bluefish and Greenwich High School football.  In addition to local news, other local programming includes a medical report from Greenwich Hospital, a local trivia program, and a weekly program featuring the town’s First Selectman.

“I am excited to be able to buy such a heritage station in Connecticut, and look forward to making the 50th anniversary year of WGCH a successful and even more profitable one,” Forte said in a statement. “My love for radio began in college, when I worked both on-air and in sales,” he added.

WGCH broadcasts 24 hours a day at 1490 AM, is licensed to Greenwich and bills itself as “the voice of Fairfield and Westchester Counties.”

Connecticut Innovation Summit to Highlight Emerging Entrepreneurial Businesses

Hundreds of people who from across the spectrum of Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem — from C-level executives to emerging entrepreneurs, investors to entrepreneurial support organizations, service providers to students, will gather to share ideas and promote and celebrate innovation at the Connecticut Innovation Summit, convening for the seventh year on November 7.

The expanded Summit agenda includes:

Mentor Meetings where 75 entrepreneurs will get the unprecedented opportunity to meet one-on-one with three tech experts of their choosing — executives, investors, and serial entrepreneurs who built and sold companies — to share their experiences, knowledge and expertise.

The Funding Fair where funders and entrepreneurial resources including angels, VCs, corporate VCs, investment bankers, lenders, family offices, government programs, private investors, incubators and co-working spaces will be on-hand to offer individual guidance and advice.

The Pitch Fest where each of the 75 companies deliver a three-minute pitch to a panel of judges. The top ten pitchers will compete at the Pitch-Off where the audience, by way of electronic voting, determines the best of the best.

Poster Expo enabling deal makers and movers and shakers face-to-face time with each of the 75 Tech Companies to Watch.

Described as “Connecticut's Largest Networking Event for Innovative, Emerging and Start-up Companies,” the expanded agenda also recognizes Tech Companies to Watch - 75 tech start-ups representing cutting edge, early stage and emerging growth companies.  Companies that reflect innovation, and have the potential to grow quickly and do not exceed $3M in revenue, are urged to apply to be a Tech Company to Watch.

Five of the 75 companies will receive awards in categories including green tech, internet / new media, life sciences, software and technology product / service. The Connecticut Innovation Summit is presented by Angel Investor Forum, Connecticut Technology Council, Crossroads Venture Group, CTNext, and CURE. Registration is now available.

Hartford Skyline's Phoenix Boat Building Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Dubbed the "Boat Building," it is the world's first two-sided building and in 2013 celebrates its 50th anniversary. The headquarters of The Phoenix, located in downtown Hartford at One American Row, was an architectural original, and half a century later, continues to stand out amongst newcomers to the Hartford skyline.

Completed in 1963, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is an exceptionally significant example of the Modernist architectural style.

Distinguished by its unique form and lenticular plan, the building was designed by Max Abramovitz, a recognized 20th century master. Abramovitz -- widely acclaimed for his role in designing two of New York City's landmarks, the United Nations and Lincoln Center -- envisioned the locally dubbed "boat building" as a reflection of a daring and progressive company.

The construction of One American Row cemented Phoenix's commitment to the renewal of Hartford, where the company was founded in 1851, and reflected its forward-thinking and innovative business approach. The company decided to remain in Hartford in the 1960’s – and since then – choosing neither to move to the suburbs or to the planned Constitution Plaza nearby, which was the first urban renewal project in Connecticut and one of the earliest in the nation.

The 13-story tower is properly called an elliptic lenticular cylinder and is 225 feet along its axis and 87 feet wide at maximum width. It is oriented so that its pointed ends face east and west and the sides face north and south. The building was designed by one of the nation's foremost architectural firms, Harrison & Abramovitz, of New York. Ground was broken in 1961 and the contractor, George A. Fuller Company, completed construction in November 1963.

In 2010, the building was awarded Silver Leed® certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and is one of a small number of buildings that are both Leed® certified and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Phoenix was named one of the region’s top workplaces by The Hartford Courant in 2012.

In 2013, the plaza surrounding the building was renovated with environmentally friendly planted areas. The "green" plaza renovation was the first completed private property piece of Hartford's iQuilt Plan, which promotes creative urban design to strengthen pedestrian links between downtown destinations.

The Phoenix Companies, Inc. is a boutique life insurance and annuity company serving customers' retirement and protection needs. Insurance products are available through select independent distributors, supported by our wholesaling team at Saybrus Partners.  Founded in 1851, Phoenix is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PNX. Corporate offices are in Hartford, CT, and there is a customer service center in East Greenbush, NY. As of December 2012, they reportedly had approximately 600 employees.

Hartford Hosts First-Ever International Start-Up Weekend

Hartford’s Start-Up Weekend is going international.  The MetroHartford Alliance and its young professionals organization, HYPE, have announced that this year’s Startup Weekend Hartford, to be held October 18-20, will represent the first transnational collaboration, as Hartford organizers have partnered with Start-Up participants in Ottawa, Canada.

 Startup Weekend Hartford-Ottawa, a coordination of virtually connected sets of teams, mentors and organizers during the competition, will also feature Jeff Hoffman, co-founder and partner at ColorJar and a former founding team member of Priceline.com, who will virtually connect to speak to the event's participants.

Startup Weekend convenes active and empowered entrepreneurs to navigate the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures - all in 54 hours.  The event, held in cities all over the world, convenes local developers, graphic designers, marketing professionals, product/business managers and startup enthusiasts to build viable business plans around entrepreneurial ventures.  In Connecticut, previous events have been held in New Haven, Storrs and Hartford.

The Hartford base will hold its event at the uniquely equipped Connecticut Institute for Primary Care Innovation at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.  Counterparts in Ottawa have partnered with longtime sponsor and Ottawa-based startup Shopify, where the local event will be held.

Startup Weekend begins with participants pitching their startup ideas and receiving feedback from peers. Participants are not required to pitch an idea to participate, but all are welcome to do so. Teams are then formed by participants based on the top ideas as voted on by the group.  Over the course of the subsequent 54 hours, each team focuses its energies on creating a business model and on coding, designing, and obtaining market validation for their product or service.

The weekend culminates with presentations in front of entrepreneurs and business community leaders who offer constructive feedback in the competition’s judging process.  This year, three winners will be named.

“Both cities have a strong entrepreneurial spirit and base, and the mechanics of this transnational effort will allow all participants, especially those who opt for the joint opportunity, to harness the most innovative and advanced technologies to connect, create and compete,” said John Shemo, vice president and director of economic development for the MetroHartford Alliance.

“We’ve found a great fit with the Startup Weekend Hartford team, both in terms of passion and in the common values that make up the secret sauce of technology entrepreneurship,” said Paul Austin-Menear, Marketing Director for Startup Weekend Ottawa.  The pace of change in business and technology continues to make waves in both Canada and the United States, and it’s important to us that the next generation of entrepreneurs be prepared for, and take part in the next leap forward.”

The MetroHartford Alliance and HYPE successfully facilitating two previous events in Hartford.  The 2012 event was the second vertical, or industry-focused, event of its kind with an emphasis on health and wellness. Registration to participate in the Hartford base for Startup Weekend Hartford-Ottawa is $99 per person.  A discount rate of $25 is available to college students.

For more information, visit http://hartford.startupweekend.org.

CT is Top 10 State in Percentage of Seniors in Workforce;Both Men and Women Highly Ranked

Connecticut is among the nation’s leading states in the percentage of senior citizens – men and women age 65 or older – still in the workforce.  The Land of Steady Habits placed in the top ten for both men and women, and showed increases in the percentage of seniors in the workforce compared with 2000, reflecting a national trend.

Connecticut is ranked 9th in the nation in the percentage of female senior citizens in the workforce, with 14.7 percent.  The state is 7th nationwide in the percentage of male senior citizens in the workforce, with 23.8 percent.

Looking at the percentage of senior female workers, the top ten are Alaska (with 20.7%), Nebraska, District of Columbia, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Maryland, Connecticut and North Dakota.  The lowest percentage was in Michigan at 9.2 percent.

In Connecticut, 9.2% of women age 65-69 are working, 3.3% of women age 70-74, and 2.2% of women 75 years old or older.  The overall percentage of women seniors in the workforce in Connecticut increased from 9.9% in 2000 to 14.7% in 2011.

Using U.S. Census data, Bloomberg.com ranked the U.S. states and the District of Columbia based on the percentage of female seniors employed.  Figures are calculated by dividing the number of females aged 65+ and employed by total population of females aged 65+.   The male population was calculated in a similar fashion.

Connecticut ranked 7^th in the nation in the percentage of male senior citizens in the workforce.  Data for male senior citizens indicate that in Connecticut, the overall percentage in the workforce is 23.8 percent, with 13.3% of those age 65-69, 5.6% of those 70-74 and 4.4% of male seniors age 75 or older still working.

The top ten states in the percentage of male senior citizens in the workforce are District of Columbia, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, North Dakota, Maryland, Connecticut, Vermont, Alaska and Massachusetts.  The lowest percentage was in West Virginia, with 13.5 percent.

Connecticut Convention Center Journeys Nationwide to Attract New Conventions, Record-Setting Numbers

In the final days of the National League pennant race last week, a suite at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. was filled with convention planners – hosted not by the home team Washington Nationals or visiting Atlanta Braves, but by the Connecticut Convention Center.  The 17 convention planners and their guests enjoyed the playoff run of the competing teams that evening, while hearing highlights of the state-owned facility in downtown Hartford.

While it’s too soon to tell if the gambit in the nation’s capitol will bring convention business to Connecticut’s capitol, a glimpse at the upcoming calendar demonstrates that despite a continuing sluggish economy, conventions are definitely coming to town.  In fact, four first-time conventions highlight the October schedule, and next month promises to be the top November for overall attendance in three years.

The first-time events slated for October, when overall attendance at programs and events is estimated to reach nearly 18,000:

• New England Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (NEHRSA)/ International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) Fall Conference & Tradeshow (October 3-4) - NEHRSA & IHRSA have joined forces to create the premier event for the health & fitness industry in the Northeast.  This event will offer educational tracks for club owners & managers responsible for sales, marketing, social media, operations & fitness training.  (Anticipated Attendance: 250-400 people)
• 2013 Crisis Intervention Team International Conference (October 14-16) - Crisis Intervention Team International is a non-profit membership organization whose primary purpose is to facilitate understanding, development and implementation of Crisis Intervention Team programs throughout the United States and worldwide. Its mission is to promote and support collaborative efforts to create and sustain more effective interactions among law enforcement, mental health care providers, individuals with mental illness, their families and communities, while working to reduce the stigma of mental illness. (Anticipated Attendance: 650-800 people)
• The 2013 Northeast Regional Youth Mentoring Conference (October 17-18) - The region’s only annual conference focused exclusively on supporting quality mentoring, it brings together practitioners, researchers and stakeholders in the mentoring field.  This year’s theme, “Today’s Vision: Tomorrow’s Reality” focuses on the outcomes that can be achieved when a caring adult is brought into a young person’s life through quality mentoring.  (Anticipated Attendance: 175-350 people)
• YMCA Celebrates Champions (October 24, 2013) - The event celebrates the “champions in our lives.”  These champions surround us every day and help to make the lives of others brighter.  They are parent, teachers, volunteers, mentors and others.  The event benefits the many life-changing YMCA programs and services available to underserved families.  The event includes dinner, program and silent and live auctions. (Anticipated Attendance: 350 people.)

 During next month, attendance at all convention center events is anticipated to reach 24,000, which would exceed the 21,747 people who journeyed to the facility in November 2012 and 15,558 who visited during the month in 2011.  The largest conventions scheduled for November include the National Association for Campus Activities, the American Association of School Librarians National Conference and Exhibition – expected to attract 2,000 people - and the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Annual Conference.

Since the beginning of June, in the quest to bring future conventions to the facility, representatives of the Connecticut Convention Center have participated in conference planning events in Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Austin, Denver and Palm Beach, Florida.

The Connecticut Convention Center is described as the state’s premier meeting venue, and is the largest full-service convention facility between New York and Boston. Overlooking the Connecticut River in downtown Hartford, it features 140,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom and 25,000 square feet of meeting space, as well as ample sheltered parking.

The facility – opposite the Front Street entertainment district that has recently been gaining traction- is served by more than 6,500 local area hotel rooms, including the 22-story Marriott Hartford Downtown, adjacent to the Convention Center. The venue is professionally managed for the State of Connecticut by Waterford Venue Services, an affiliate of Waterford Hotel Group.

Who’s hearing the sales pitch?  Among the planners on hand for the Nats-Braves game: LaKeesha Wilson, American Association of Blacks in Energy; Adam Martin, American Public Transportation Association; Amy Gorman, United States Council of Mayors; Antoinette Dixon, American Staffing Association; Susan Cairnes, Management Solutions Plus; Marci Glavin, Helms Briscoe; Lori Kolker, Elle K Associates; Alyssa Murphy, Windrose Media; Brian Peterkin, Vertanesian-BoardSource.

This past summer, Michael Costelli, General Manager for the Connecticut Convention Center, was interviewed on TALK BUSINESS 360 regarding the facility’s operations and growth.  TALK BUSINESS 360 is a talk show that educates and entertains millions of travelers by presenting one-on-one interviews with business leaders and top executives from a variety of industries.  The broadcasts run on American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and US Airways.