GreenMark Public Relations®, Inc.

Chicago magazine recognizes Pet Essentials department, manager

Chalet, Wilmette, Ill., has been named “Best Store for Pet Food” by Chicago magazine. The garden center and retail outlet’s Pet Essentials department is featured in the magazine’s August issue, which spotlights “Best of Chicago” businesses and services throughout the city and suburbs.

“Outside it’s an award-winning nursery and landscaping business, but inside an expert staff runs a comprehensive pet food department,” Chicago writers note in the profile. “Chalet carries a staggering array of organic and special-diet dog and cat foods – more than a dozen of them endorsed by Whole Dog Journal – including nutritional choices for senior pets or pets with food allergies.”

Currently, Chalet carries 12 of the top dry dog foods and seven of the top canned dog foods recommended by Whole Dog Journal, in addition to a broad line of cat food and food for bird, rabbits, gerbils, mice and other small creatures. Chalet also helps pet owners leave a smaller carbon “pawprint” through a growing array of earth-friendly pet food and other green pet care products. Creature comforts include leashes and collars, apparel, beds, travel bags, toys, first aid items and grooming and health products.

Chalet’s Pet Essentials Manager Gabbie Roderer also was recognized by Chicago, which honored all of this year’s “Best of Chicago” winners, at a special event earlier this summer. The department has gained a loyal following among pet owners in the suburbs and city, according to Chalet store manager Tony Fulmer. “We were thrilled to hear we were included in this always well-read and prestigious issue of Chicago magazine,” said Fulmer. “We feel the excellence of our Pet Essentials department is a reflection of the way we try to conduct all aspects of our business, whether it’s our retail garden center, landscape division or nursery. That means providing the best quality products and services for our customers – and their pets.”

Roderer says she’s grateful that her department received the distinction, especially since there are so many pet food stores in the greater Chicago area. “I love being here every day and interacting with pet owners and their pets,” she says. “Being able to share with them the best, most nutritious food for their four-legged or winged family members is its own reward, too.”

For more information about Chalet, including its Pet Essentials department, visit www.ChaletNursery.com or call 847-256-0561.

Earthwise Environmental was recently profiled in The Business Ledger, July 22, 2010. Staff writer Elizabeth Koss writes “…long before going green became a cultural phenomenon, Bensenville-based Earthwise Environmental, Inc. was working to provide environmentally sound water management options for the preservation and conservation of our most coveted resource.”

Robert Miller, Earthwise founder and CEO is quoted, “What we’re finally seeing is people are willing to look at alternative methods, greener methods, to provide the same water disinfection, scale control and corrosion control.”

When Earthwise was founded in 1995, the company’s clientèle were not motivated to be environmentally friendly. Initially, Earthwise focused on selling chemical treatments. In the past four years, since green’s become on the tip of every business-owner’s tongue, Earthwise has switched their focus to water conservation, water reuse technology and chemically minimized programs.

Miller said, “People come to us and we may show them four different technologies to accomplish the water treatment at their facility based on the water quality of their plant, the goals that they have for water conservation or reuse, their likes or dislikes for handling certain types of chemistries and, of course, their budget.”

The article continues detailing Earthwise’s eSolutions, a patent-pending cooling technology; and Phoenix Sky Harbor, the location of a recent pilot program launched April 2010 involving an ion exchange water system.

Hear more about Earthwise from Robert Miller on the article, which you can read on the Business Ledger’s web site, here.

Learn more about Earthwise Environmental, Inc. on their web site, here.

October through November 2010

As fall colors lend a spectacular hue to the city, the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park welcomes visitors from all over the world to its perennially beautiful grounds and popular programs. Here are offerings for fall 2010, including hands-on workshops, lectures and garden walks:

Free adult hands-on workshop:

Garden Blogging for Beginners

Saturday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Location: Fourth floor conference room, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.

Program: If you’ve ever thought about branching out into blogging about your garden (or your vision of gardening), discover how to get started chronicling your thoughts online. Led by Ramon Gonzales, a.k.a. “Mr. Brown Thumb.” Note: Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call 312-742-TIXS (8497) or visit www.luriegarden.org to register.

Lurie Garden/Art Institute free family workshop:

Dwellings: Art and the Lurie Garden

Saturday, Oct. 10, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Location: The Art Institute of Chicago Ryan Education Center, 111 S. Michigan Ave., and the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park

Program: Learn how to create charming diminutive dwellings in this special joint workshop from The Art Institute of Chicago and the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. Children ages 6 to 12 will explore concepts of architecture and outdoor structures, drawing on inspiration from great works at The Art Institute and spectacular scenery in the Lurie Garden. Note: Children must be at least 6 years old and accompanied by an adult. Pre-registration is required and space is limited. The workshop is free, although participants and family members/caregivers who are not members of The Art Institute of Chicago must purchase a ticket to the museum to attend. To register online, visit www.artic.edu/aic/education or call 312-857-7161.

Free adult lecture:

What is Living in Your Soil – and Why Should You Care?

Thursday, Oct.14, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Location: First Floor Garland Room, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.

Program: Join Rex Bastian from the Care of Trees as he discusses fundamentals of soil biology and why living components of soil, including bacteria, fungi, protozoans and others, are important to plants and trees. Pre-registration not required.

Free adult lecture:

Everything Comes into this World Hungry: Soil Making and Building

Thursday, Nov. 11, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Location: Fifth floor Millennium Park Room, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.Program: In this food-for-thought session, Nance Klehm – progressive ecologist, designer, urban forager, grower and teacher – will share her insights on various methods of transforming what is typically perceived as “waste” to heal or build soil. Pre-registration not required.

Free adult hands-on workshop:

Herbal Lotions, Balms and Salves

Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Location: Fourth floor conference room, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.

Program: Herbs are a treat for all the senses. Join the Lurie Garden’s Bonnie Tawse as she shares her best tips for creating and using soothing herbal lotions, balms and salves, especially as impending cold weather spurs the beginning of dry-skin season. They also make great gifts for the upcoming holiday season. Note: Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call 312-742-TIXS (8497) or visit www.luriegarden.org to register.

Free family workshop:

Winter Wonders and Recycled Crafts

Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Location: Fourth floor conference room, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.

Program: Children will learn about outdoor winter wonderlands and how the landscape is transformed during colder months. They also will create earth-friendly crafts (and possibly get a start on holiday gift-giving) using recycled materials. Note: Children must be at least 6 years old and accompanied by an adult. Pre-registration is required. Call 312-742-TIXS (8497) or visit www.luriegarden.org to register.

The Lurie Garden is located at the southeast corner of Millennium Park, near the corner of Columbus Drive and Monroe Street. Millennium Park is easily reached by CTA and adjacent public parking is available. Millennium Park is universally accessible to patrons with disabilities.

For more information, visit www.millenniumpark.org.

Visit www.luriegarden.org for more information about the Lurie Garden, including programming, four-season highlights, plant features and design elements.

Chicago’s “Urbs in Horto” Provides Ready Source of Much-Needed Pollen and Nectar

Concerns about the mysterious national decline in the honeybee population - crucial in pollination of virtually all food crops - will be on the minds of many as National Honeybee Day approaches on Saturday, Aug. 21.Yet, honeybees are thriving in one surprising environment: the Lurie Garden, an urban garden in downtown Chicago. The garden’s perennial plants and flowers attract honeybees and dozens of other bee/insect species that help sustain the environment, beautify the gardens and supply honey.

Since it opened in July 2004, the Lurie Garden has become a haven for honeybees in a landscape that attracted few such winged creatures in preceding years. According to Jennifer Davit, the garden’s director, the Lurie Garden is an ideal place for honeybees to find the pollen and nectar they need to survive and carry on their pivotal role in the food chain.”Bees need a large area of one plant, preferably one square meter or larger,” she says.

“At the garden, we have large masses of plants and bees really benefit because they don’t have to fly as far and expend extra energy to eat.”The Lurie Garden is an example of how the honeybee population can survive and thrive, thanks to key sources of sustenance found there.”Bees need blooms throughout the season and are attracted to blue and purple flowers, which are Lurie’s signature colors,” Davit says. “Bees also prefer native plants, like those in this garden, because genetically-altered cultivars don’t often produce as much pollen and nectar.”Bees that buzz around the Lurie Garden make their home in several hives on the roof of the Chicago Cultural Center across North Michigan Avenue and, a few blocks away, at Gallery 37 and Chicago’s City Hall. Honey from those hives is collected and sold by the Chicago Honeybee Group, with proceeds designated to help the local urban honeybee population thrive.

Since bees started visiting the Lurie Garden, says Davit, the taste of the honey has become “minty,” due to the large presence of Lurie plants in the mint family. Honeybee colonies at the Lurie Garden have a positive impact on the environment, but do not cause a problem among the thousands of visitors to the popular attraction. Davit points out that she and other Lurie Garden horticulturists and gardeners are on site daily and have not been stung. Bees also are a regular part of free educational programs at the Lurie Garden, including the popular “Bee Walk and Talk in the Garden.”The Lurie Garden is located at the southeast corner of Millennium Park, near the corner of Columbus Drive and Monroe Street. Millennium Park is easily reached by CTA and adjacent public parking is available.

Millennium Park is universally accessible to patrons with disabilities.For more information, visit www.millenniumpark.org.

Visit www.luriegarden.org for more information about the Lurie Garden, including programming, four-season highlights, plant features and design elements.

Jim Broccolo receives honor from Green Profit magazine

He’s young. He knows about all things green. He’s garden-wise beyond his 30 years.

Meet Jim Broccolo, nursery manager and annuals buyer for Chalet, Wilmette, Ill., recently named 2010 “Young Retailer of the Year” by Green Profit magazine, a trade publication for the garden center industry. Broccolo, chosen from dozens of garden retail professionals under age 35, will be featured on the magazine’s cover in September.

The announcement was made this month during the Ohio Flower Growers’ and Retailers Association (OFA) Short Course, considered one of the largest and most important horticulture industry events in the world. Chris Beytes, Green Profit editor and publisher, said the magazine’s panel of expert judges was impressed with Broccolo’s vision for the future of garden centers, and his belief in contributions to the local community and the earth.

“The criteria for this award are knowledge, education, experience, travel, involvement in their own business and the industry, as well as their community and an expression of passion and enthusiasm for their chosen trade,” said Beytes. “This can be a tough industry and the award recognizes hard-working young people who spend a lot of long hours and weekends at their job.”

Broccolo also impressed the judges with his entry’s essay on customer service.

“Servicing the customer of 2020 begins by establishing a trusting relationship with today’s customer, working with growers to improve our environmental impact and using technology as an avenue for education and outreach,” he wrote. “We must view our customer as multi-generational: the gardeners tending to their property for several decades, the first-time homebuyers excited about the opportunity to maintain their own yards, and the young children in a classroom or shopping with a parent.”

Broccolo also wrote that he and his colleagues are able to meet customers’ needs by building relationships and providing service that is knowledgeable as it is friendly. They do this through interactions with longtime and new shoppers, and as a result of Chalet’s regular presentations at local garden clubs and schools.

To view Green Profit online, please visit www.ballpublishing/GreenProfit. For more information about the award-winning Chalet, visit www.chaletnursery.com.

Sustainable Approach Enhances Core Efficiencies and Productivity

Malcolite, an award-winning business-to-business lighting component manufacturer, is using sustainable, new technologies to advance performance, efficiency, cost savings and hassle-free service.

The Northbrook, Ill.-based company, founded in 1962, manufactures replacement fluorescent light covers, easy-install retrofit kits and LED and natural day lighting diffusers. Malcolite serves all types of commercial and public facilities nationwide, including schools, healthcare, nursing homes, property management, food processing, retail and municipalities. In 2002, ownership of the business shifted to current president Jason Howard, a LEED® Accredited Professional who offers an entrepreneurial, progressive vision that is transforming the company.

Malcolite’s new management embraced the opportunity to revitalize the company and enacted improvements in product design, customer relations, operational efficiencies and environmental consciousness. With its mission to give customers all the light they’re paying for, the company measures success by carefully monitoring its performance, value and service.

Malcolite first confronted the challenges it faced in managing inventory, shipping and logistics for a growing list of 8,000 product variations, while honoring its commitment to timely customer service. The company converted to a Web-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and moved more than 80 business processes – such as accounts payable and receivable – to this new platform.

The conversion was the result of a rigorous planning process, and improvements were substantial. Malcolite achieved virtually paperless processing, reduced order pricing turnaround times and substantially improved its order response time. The company now offers its customers immediate access to order status with automated order processing. Real-time order visibility and an innovative supplier program helped Malcolite reduce carrying costs, with an increase in inventory turns of 66 percent. The new process also generated product design improvements by allowing the company to more easily source and track components for complex lighting assemblies from multiple vendors.

“The improvements we made in our internal systems permeated our organization,” Howard says. “When we started drawing new connections from the hub of our systems, it touched every process and relationship we have. Now, our employees work smarter, our customers receive better service and more useful information, and our designers are free to think and plan without constraints on parts acquisition and inventory challenges.”

This system upgrade enabled Malcolite to drastically reduce order quoting and processing times and provide immediate access to order information. Customers now see a real-time, thorough picture of their account status, boosting their ability to efficiently plan, budget, allocate and install.

The enhancements in processes, deliveries and support are tailored to highlight the core of Malcolite’s business: providing well-designed, long-lasting, highly efficient lighting components to thousands of facilities across the country. Customers benefit from better performance, superior light quality and an innovative, healthful design – all with an energy savings of up to 78 percent. The company strives to improve the functionality of a customer’s existing lighting and enhance working conditions by reducing glare and providing visual comfort.

Malcolite’s pre-wired, pre-assembled retrofit/replacement lighting kits significantly minimize waste and installation time and cost by allowing installers to replace only necessary fixture components. Lower energy costs, a shorter payback period and utility company rebates also contribute to improving customers’ operations. Malcolite lighting systems maximize value with trouble-free service for many years after installation. Because its products offer a longer life, they initiate fewer replacement cycles.

“It is rewarding to see Malcolite grow and witness the increasing satisfaction from our customers, vendors and staff,” Howard says. “We stepped into this with the goal of giving customers all the light they’re paying for, and it’s paid off for everyone in ways we couldn’t have imagined.”

Malcolite is a recipient of the 2010 PM100 Progressive Manufacturing Award from Managing Automation Media, for incorporating multiple levels of innovation into its business practices. For information on Malcolite, please visit www.malcolite.com.

Work by Chicago Gateway Green was featured on ABC 7 News Chicago on June 27, 2010 at 8:50 a.m. The non-profit organization created and cares for more than 100 gardens along the city’s expressways. Landscape Operations Manager Julia Plumb was featured in the live segment, standing alongside one of Gateway Green’s gardens by the Kennedy expressway.

A reader of Time Out Chicago recently asked “What’s up with that?” regarding the oak leaf markers next to plants along the interstate. In the Around Town section from June 3 to June 9, Britany Robinson answers the question by identifying the signs as those of Chicago Gateway Green, “a nonprofit org that gives eyesore roadside strips the HGTV treatment.” She says the sturdy native plants in these gardens are designed to withstand the harsh environment around them.

Indeed, the plant life surrounding the hardy, industrial city of Chicago must, too, carry the same qualities. That such plant life thrives in the Windy City when given the chance is not only a testament for sustainability, but affirms that the efforts of organizations like Gateway Green are essential.

Click here to visit Chicago Gateway Green’s web site.

Fantastic news for Chicago’s North Shore: the new, bimonthly magazine Quintessential New Trier debuts this September. Led by the former editor in chief of Northshore Magazine, Sherry Thomas says in a letter to readers on the new web site, “[Quintessential New Trier] is designed to be your magazine, the one that tells stories about your neighbors, your schools, your lakefront, your institutions and all those things you value about this place you call home.”The publication will cover an area of 56,000 residents within the villages of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe and portions of Glenview and Northfield. Quintessential New Trier will be available on the newsstands, but hasn’t yet been priced. Thomas says on the web site that she looks forward to friends, readers and members of the New Trier community joining her on this exciting new voyage. We couldn’t agree more and we look forward to reading the first issue.Click here to get more details on the launch of Quintessential New Trier on Crain’s Chicago Business web site.Click here to visit the Quintessential New Trier web site.

Multi-use turf fields will serve recreation needs of residents, community sports

With the groundbreaking today at Nike Sports Complex, the Naperville Park District begins development of the long-anticipated 20-acre expansion, bounded by Mill Street, and Diehl and Bauer Roads.

“This is a great boost to the sports life of every child from Naperville and the surrounding communities,” said Mayor A. George Pradel during Tuesday’s event.
When the addition opens next spring, the expanded site will include the District’s first premier lighted artificial and multi-use turf fields for soccer, football, lacrosse and cricket. It will be used by residents of all ages for Park District programs, including community youth and local athletic organizations. Organized sports teams especially have been desperate for play field space on the north side of town.

“It’s great that we have this field space on the north side of town,” said Brett Strang, director of coaching and executive director of the Galaxy Soccer Club, which represents 550 youths on 40 teams in the community. “The lighted game fields will be very helpful, especially in the fall season.”

Several thousand people use the existing Nike Sports Complex every year for organized play and recreation. In addition to more turf fields, the expansion will include courts for tennis, basketball and volleyball, as well as a playground, and walking and bicycle trails. A park support building will include a picnic pavilion, restrooms, and storage. New trees will be installed throughout the project, including along a landscaped berm on the south and east perimeters.

Land adjacent to the existing Nike Sports Complex was purchased in 2007 because of its ideal acreage. It also is easily accessible and contiguous with the existing sports complex. The property was annexed into the City of Naperville after approval by City Council in April.

The expansion is based on resident feedback, as well as recommendations contained in the Naperville Park District’s Open Space and Recreation Master Plan. In addition to the landscaped berm, the master plan includes entry into the new area from Mill Street and a dry bottom detention pond to assist in collecting storm water runoff. Opening of the expanded facility is expected in early spring 2011.

The Naperville Park District is home to 139 parks totaling more than 2,500 acres. Parks appeal to a wide variety of interests and needs, including for environmental stewardship, conservation and education, as well as recreation, sport and fitness, gardening, and river and trail walks.

For more information on the Nike Sports Complex expansion, including the master plan, background information and frequent updates, please visit online at www.napervilleparks.org.

Respected Journalist, Philanthropist and Rancher Shares Vision for Greening ChicagoHe has been in the trenches of America’s biggest news stories and feels at home on the cattle-grazing grasslands of Kansas. Now, legendary newsman Bill Kurtis is working with Chicago Gateway Green to increase the tree canopy and create blankets of gardens across Chicago.

Kurtis is serving as spokesperson for Chicago Gateway Green, a non-profit organization dedicated to greening and beautifying the city by planting trees and gardens along its expressways, gateways, and neighborhoods. The organization marks its 25th anniversary in 2011 and is working towards a goal of planting 15,000 trees throughout Chicago by 2015.

In addition to ensuring the legacy of trees and gardens throughout Chicago by participating various fundraising initiatives and special events, Kurtis will support tree plantings with volunteers and key partners, ranging from United Airlines to the Chicago Blackhawks. Other upcoming events include the annual Green Tie Ball, held in the fall, and Gaming for Green, on Aug. 5. Through these and other efforts, Chicago Gateway Green is helping meet the goals of Mayor Daley’s Chicago Climate Action Plan, aimed at doubling Chicago’s tree canopy by 2040 and creating a greener, healthier and more vibrant city.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bill on board,” says Gerald J. Roper, chairman, Chicago Gateway Green. “To have this fantastic role model of integrity and sustainability kindly agree to serve as the face of Chicago Gateway Green will truly make a difference as we work together to make Chicago an even more beautiful place to live and visit.”

Kurtis is especially familiar with the importance of thinking globally and acting locally, Roper says, through his own Tallgrass Beef Company (www.tallgrassbeef.com), service to countless green causes and events, and his Emmy Award-winning work as a one of the country’s most respected journalists.

“It’s great to have the support of a man who is as deeply rooted in Chicago and who shares Chicago Gateway Green’s long-held vision of the vital beauty and greenness of trees and gardens all over our city. We are especially excited to have his support to reach our goal of 15,000 trees by 2015,” says Claire Woolley, recently named executive director of Chicago Gateway Green.

For more information, contact Chicago Gateway Green at 312-540-9930 or visit www.gatewaygreen.org.