About 35 travelers have secured space and only nine slots remain for the Charleston Area Alliance’s 2012 trade and mission tour to Europe.

Explore three European countries in this dynamic trade mission with other Alliance members. Travel for business reasons, or if you choose, just for the cultural experience.

Tour the historical Castle Hill area and visit 13th century cathedrals in Budapest.

Walk along the Danube River and visit the world famous opera houses in Vienna, the city of Mozart.

View the famous Historical Clock and the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Old Royal Palace and St. George’s Basilica in Prague, the city of 100 spires.

Click HERE for the trip brochure.

Since the trade missions began in 2010, more than 100 business and community leaders from the Charleston area have participated.

Diane Strong-Treister, president of Manpower, was a part of the 2010 mission to China. She said the tour offered great networking opportunities.

“I went to learn about China and was truly impressed with the jam-packed educational opportunities it provided me,” Strong-Treister said. “But most of all what I gained from this trip was the friendships that were formed with the business leaders that represented our state. All of us are looking forward to our reunion when we travel to Europe in the spring of 2012.”

Linda Arnold, chairman and CEO of The Arnold Agency, said her China trip was a memorable experience.

“The agendas, logistics and variety of experiences were incredible – not to mention the value,” Arnold said. “The organization provided by the Alliance staff really helped things go smoothly.”

For the European tour, the Alliance will continue attracting new foreign direct investment and job creation to West Virginia, as well as showcasing some of Europe’s most breathtaking sights.

If you plan to travel with the Alliance in 2012 for business purposes, we encourage you contact the Alliance staff as soon as possible. This ensures that specific meetings with potential partners can be scheduled in advance of travel.

Please join fellow Charleston Area Alliance members and friends as we journey together to Budapest, Vienna and Prague this spring.

For immediate release
Feb 1, 2012
Contact: Diana Sole Walko, CEO, 304-345-8800

MotionMasters celebrates 25 years of multimedia storytelling
• Firm founded on Feb. 2, 1987 •

(Charleston, W.Va. – February 1, 2012) – Everywhere you look at MotionMasters, there’s a groundhog looking back. That’s because the firm’s mascot is a groundhog and because the firm was founded on Groundhog Day in 1987.

“We’ve received a lot of groundhogs as anniversary gifts in 25 years,” said Diana Sole Walko, CEO and owner of MotionMasters. “We’ve also collected some on our own and have even created a storybook about Mo, the official mascot of MotionMasters,” she said.

“Mo” is short for “motion” in the firm’s name but motion (as in video and TV production) is not the company’s only claim to fame.

“We’re true multimedia storytellers,” said Walko. “Our projects have ranged from writing and producing national and multi-state magazines to creating full-blown websites from the ground up—just about whatever our clients have requested for their integrated marketing needs, we’ve been able to supply.”

The firm has traveled to Africa five times for projects related to the late Rev. Leon Sullivan’s foundation and has gone deep underground (and up in a helicopter) to shoot coal mining footage. Its educational videos are big-picture projects (such as distracted driving and USDA food guide) and are distributed nationally. The firm has won numerous awards for video excellence locally, regionally and nationally. The MM crew has worked with celebrities such as Jennifer Garner, Betty White, Jamie Oliver and Leslie Nielsen, among others. The company’s reputation was built upon TV spots for WV Tourism, WV Lottery, hospitals, banks—even football teams. The company shot the Lottery’s very first TV spot in 1986 and recently shot the Lottery’s 25th anniversary spot in the firm’s 10,000 square foot facility that features a 30’ x 30’ studio with a 14-foot lighting grid—the state’s only freestanding production facility. Networks, cable, PBS—in 25 years, MotionMasters has amassed a huge roster of clients, projects, friends and associates. But in all those years, there’s only been one mascot that shows up, like clockwork, every Feb. 2nd.  And since he’s stuffed, he never sees his shadow, thereby signaling an early Spring.

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The Shades of Green Conference is about helping businesses make more sustainable choices that conserve resources and energy, create good jobs, and are generally better for people, our planet and yes, even profits.

Why “Shades of Green”? Greening your business isn’t all or nothing. From using fluorescent bulbs to going “zero waste” we can ALL make choices somewhere on the spectrum.  At the Shades of Green Conference, learn about how to use tax credits and finance green initiatives, connect to a trained workforce, and market your commitment to sustainability for maximum impact. There will also be industry-specific breakout sessions to focus on challenges and opportunities tailored to your business.

More information on this event will be coming soon!  If you have questions regarding the event, please contact Sara Dearing at sdearing@drwvfoundation.org or 304-345-0700.

Member Market:
By Alliance Members for Alliance Members

This “Member Market” is a paid announcement sent by the Alliance on behalf of a member to business and community leaders and young professionals.

More businesses and organizations are making a smart investment in their future — and that of the community — through their membership in the Charleston Area Alliance.

Please join us in welcoming:

Audubon Engineering
Better Business Bureau
House of Luxe, LLC
Mountain CAD
Qdoba Mexican Grill
Pies & Pints
Susan G. Komen West Virginia

These visionary organizations have joined a dynamic network of 600 businesses and their 40,000 employees who are united in building a more vibrant community and prosperous economy.

As members, they enjoy a wide range of exclusive benefits and services that can help their bottom lines today.

We encourage you to patronize and support these new members.

We’re not waiting for things to change, and as Alliance members, they aren’t either!

Contact (304) 340-4253 for visit www.CharlestonAreaAlliance.org for more information about an Alliance membership.

January 2012

Thank You, Investors

Verizon

Renewing Members

ASI, Inc. – American Staffing, Inc.

Agsten Construction Company

AmeriPrise Financial Services, Inc.

CROWNMAX, Inc.

Charleston Steel

Columbia Gas Transmission/NiSource

Energy Corporation of America

Express Employment Professionals

Golden Corral Restaurant

Good News Mountaineer Garage

IVS Hydro, Inc.

Moses Ford BMW

Mountain State Insurance Agency, Inc.

Mountaineer Montessori School

Pioneer Credit Union

Potesta & Associates, Inc.

Problem Gamblers Help Network/1-800 GamblerRent-A-Space

STAR USA Federal Credit Union

Terradon Corporation

The Performance Group, Inc.

Tiffey Law Practice, LLC

Tom’s Plumbing, Inc.

WQCW-TV

WV Center on Budget and Policy

Weight Watchers of West Virginia, Inc.

West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

White Planning Group

Women’s Business & Training Center

West Virginia Symphony Orchestra Open House
Tuesday, Jan. 24
5-7 p.m.
Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences

Beat the winter blahs with a trip to a “Caribbean Oasis,” courtesy of the Charleston Area Alliance and West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (WVSO).

Maestro Grant Cooper, the WVSO Board of Directors and the Alliance cordially invite you to a 2012 WVSO open house event tomorrow night, Jan. 24 in the grand lobby of the Clay Center from 5-7 p.m.

An island-themed affair, the open house will feature a steel drum band and Caribbean flavors from the islands and umbrella drinks.

The event will is also a part of ‘A Celebration of Percussion Week’ with the Symphony, in honor of upcoming performances with Lisa Pegher, guest percussionist.

Admission to the event is FREE, but RSVP is required. Please RSVP here.

The WVSO Open House 2012 event is sponsored in part by:

• Champion Industries, Inc.
• Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP
• Jackson Kelly, PLLC

Additional support provided by:
• Embassy Suites Hotel
• Mountain State Beverage
• Proud Eagle, Inc.

SUCCESStrategies: “What’s Up Downtown?”
Thursday, Feb. 9
Noon – 1:15 p.m.
Ramada Charleston Downtown
600 Kanawha Blvd. East

Several exciting developments are underway that could change the face of downtown Charleston. Find out what they mean for you, your business and your community at the next SUCCESStrategies, “What’s Up Downtown?” to be held Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Ramada Charleston Downtown at 600 Kanawha Blvd. East.

(This recent Charleston Daily Mail article provides a good overview of what’s on tap for downtown.)

Speakers for the SUCCESStrategies session include:

• Craig Gossman of MSK2, the consulting firm that is leading the city of Charleston’s 20-year comprehensive planning process. The Clay Center, Capitol Market and Gateway Greenspace are just a few of the major projects that resulted from the last plan, and the new planning process promises to be equally impactful

• Keith McClanahan of BBL Carlton, the company transforming the former Charleston House Hotel on Kanawha Boulevard

• Nelle Chilton, Dickinson Properties, which is involved in the development of the Marriott Courtyard Hotel at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers

• John Robertson, Charleston Civic Center, which is slated for major upgrades

• Jim Nestor, Blossom Deli

• Susie Salisbury, Alliance vice president of community development and a member of the Charleston City Council

Individual registrations are $25 Alliance members/$35 future members. Prices go up $10 each  after Feb. 3.

To register for the event, click HERE.

SUCCESStrategies is a professional development initiative of the Alliance and Dixon Hughes Goodman.

The Alliance will be able to invoice only for groups of 10 or more. Contact Deb Coffman at DCoffman@CharlestonAreaAlliance.org for more information.

The Alliance cannot issue cancellation refunds within 48 hours of the event. Thank you.