Appalachian Center For Economic Networks

Happy February from ACEnet!

We are excited to announce the upgrades taking place in our Food Ventures Center and share information about some of our upcoming events.

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Partnering in Celebration

Keep your eyes out for the Athens Messenger's monthly features celebrating ACEnet clients. In case you missed January's kick-off story, The Athens Messenger has partnered with ACEnet to help us celebrate our 30th anniversary. Read it here!

The Messenger will continue to showcase a local product for each month of 2015.. January got off to a wonderful start with an article featuring the entrepreneurial duo behind a few businesses loved by Uptown Athens, Fluff Bakery and Rickshaw Thai, owned by Jessica and Jason Kopelwitz. As these businesses have merged into one, they now use the name The Fluff to encompass both the sweetness of Fluff and the savory Thai cooking of the former Rickshaw Thai. The Kopelwitz's newest venture, The West Side Wingery, opened in January serving wings, tacos, and other carry-out items. Read the Messenger's feature Local Eatery an Evolution of Businesses, Flavors to learn more about the history and offerings of The Fluff.

February's highlight features the accomplishments of Frog Ranch, a former ACEnet tenant who recently began production at their new Glouster facility. Read it here!

Food Venture Center Upgrades

2015 brought major upgrades to our Athens Food Ventures Center. In January, renovations began with the floor of the Thermal Processing room and progressed to the installation of a brand new filler.

Professionals from Advanced Floor Coatings installed a Flowfresh floor in ACEnet's Thermal Processing room. The Flowfresh floor system is designed to meet the needs of Food & Beverage industries and has received recognition in the flooring industry for its ability to deliver durable, clean floors while fulfilling the highest hygiene standards. The floor is resistant to thermal shock and moisture vapor transmission. In addition to providing a high-quality durable finish, the new flooring has changed the look of the room by adding a splash of color, the flooring is now deep red to match the millions of jars of salsa and sauce that have rolled through the thermal processing room over the years.

Following the completion of the floor project, Facilities Manager Marcus Bratton and assistant Gerry Smith were hard at work to re-install the kettles and a brand new Simplex Volumetric twin-head piston filler. The twin-head filler, purchased through the generous funding from the USDA's Rural Business Enterprise Grant, allows for dual filling, increasing the efficiency of the Thermal Processing Room and significantly reducing the length of time required to bottle products.

AirClaws Heating and Cooling installed a new energy efficient boiler and a condensate return system. The condensate return system saves energy and water by returning condensate, created during the heating process, back to the boiler. As more condensate is returned, less make-up water is required. Significant fuel savings occur

as much of the condensate is relatively hot, reducing the amount of cold water that must be heated.

In addition to these changes, security improvements have been made at the Food Ventures Center. The installation of new cameras will better ensure the safety and security of the building and protect our client's equipment and products.

We are excited to be kicking off ACEnet's 30th year by improving what we can offer to our clients.

Wish of the Month!

Lets keep the 30th Anniversary upgrades rolling! We will be featuring, and accepting donations for a wishlist item each month to improve the Food Ventures Center.

February's featured item is an Eagle Foodservice Maple Table. At 8 feet long, this wooden prep table measures 2 feet longer than our current prep tables and would provide prep space for many of our fine bakery clients including Jackie O's Bake Shop, Bangbouh Bakery Pretzels, and Crumbs Bakery.

To make a tax-deductible contribution to our Prep-table fund, click on our "Donate Now" button at the bottom of the newsletter. The total funding cost of this item is $698.00

We appreciate all the community's support in helping us celebrate 30 years of economic development!

Naturally Feel Good Foods

Naturally Feel Good Foods, based out of Ripley, West Virginia, produces a healthy yet tantalizing treat: No-Bake Coconut Snack! Founder of Naturally Feel Good Foods, Roxanne Bobick, strives to use as many organic ingredients as possible in the product. Following her experience with developing a sensitivity to sensitive to wheat, dairy, and artificial additives in food, Roxanne developed a keen interest in the importance of nutritional foods. She worked for a while as a health coach before focusing her energy on creating a line of products that could suit the nutritional and dietary needs of others with sensitivities or restrictions. All the products are gluten-free, diary free, low-glycemic, and friendly to those on a vegan or paleo diet.

Roxanne, who started producing at ACEnet in late 2014 ,is one of our newest clients but she has hit the ground running. Her products are already available for purchase in five retail locations in West Virginia. These retailers include Capital Market, Taylor Books, and Mission Savvy, all located in Charleston, WV, Point Park Marketplaces in Parkersburg, WV and To Your Health, located in Ripley, WV. We look forward to seeing her products expand into more retail locations.

Upcoming Events!

Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association Conference

February 14-15 Granville Ohio

The 2015 OEFFA Conference will feature keynote speaker Alan Guebert, an award-winning freelance agricultural journalist and expert who was raised on a 720 acre dairy farm in southern Illinois. ACEnet, the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau and 30 Mile Meal partners in Licking, Perry and Mahoning Counties will have a booth set-up for two days celebrating local food tourism and Appalachia Ohio's economic impacts for food and farm entrepreneurs.

With almost 100 workshops to choose from throughout the weekend, OEFFA's conference has something for everyone to love! Eighteen workshop tracks will be offered, covering everything from farm and garden basics, commercial production, food and farm policy, research, sustainable living, and much more!

Federal Financing of Energy Efficiency

February 18th 10:00 - 12:00 at ACEnet

Join the USDA, ACEnet's Green Pathways Program and UpGrade Athens County for a free Rural Energy For America Program (REAP) information session and application workshop. "The Rural Energy for America Program is USDA's flagship program for small-scale renewables and energy efficiency projects for farms and small businesses," said USDA Ohio Rural Development State Director Tony Logan.

This year, according to Christie Hooks, Business Program Specialist of Rural Development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there will be $80MM available through REAP to be split among the April 30th and June 30th applicants. Ohio has been allocated $2MM of the funds.

Agricultural producers and rural small businesses are eligible for the grant program. REAP will pay for up to 25% of the total project costs for an energy efficiency or renewable energy project. You are invited to come and learn about the program and how to fill out the application. This year there are two deadlines - April 30th & June 30th depending on the amount of funds requested. Green Pathways Coordinator Carol Davey-Sayre is available to assist small business owners wishing to apply for REAP funding for energy efficiency projects. For more information contact carold@acenetworks.org.

NCIF Financing: Local Food, Farms and Energy Efficiency

February 23 10:00-2:00 at ACEnet

Any savvy businessperson will tell you that gaining a competitive edge is essential for success. Yet many entrepreneurs focus on the latest trends in software or advertising, forgeting one low-risk and high-return investment: energy efficiency. The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet) and the Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIF) will be hosting a workshop for food and farm enterprises on financing, grants and incentives to increase energy efficiency and your bottom line.

"Simply put, energy efficiency saves you money," says Hannah Vargason, Energy Initiative Manager for Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIF). "Some retrofits can save up to 30% on energy costs. How else can you improve your bottom line by so much?" Energy efficiency upgrades can be costly with upfront expenses. Attendees will learn about energy audits, grants, rebates, and affordable financing options that can help companies ensure energy upgrades pay for themselves. Regional entrepreneurs, lenders and non-profit supporters will be on hand to assist entrepreneurs in taking steps to reduce energy costs.

The workshop is part of a series of ACEnet's Green Pathways workshops to assist small business owners incorporating energy efficiency and renewable energy strategies. The workshop is supported through funding by NCIF and the USDA Rural Microenterprise program through the Ohio Rural Development Office.

WV Small Farm Conference

February 26th- 28th, Charleston WV Civic Center

Goals for the 11th Annual West Virginia Small farm Conference include:

Unlocking the potential of West Virginia small farms to produce food profitably.
Helping small farms transition from commodity production to food production for community and local consumption.
Providing reliable, tested knowledge about current trends, needed skills, and latest production and operation information.
Building an understanding of how to develop a successful small farming enterprises.
Support and further developing West Virginia's food system and local communities by encouraging local production, processing, wholesale & retail marketing, and consumption.

Click her to register and learn more!

Message from 30th Anniversary Sponsor, Ohio University Credit Union: Tax Assistance!

OUCU Financial Services can help with professional and affordable tax preparation services for both individuals and businesses.

Exclusive Tax Discount Offers

*    $10 off tax preparation service when you schedule your appt. by Feb 28
*    $25 off tax preparation service for any local business that is a first-time OUCU tax prep customer
*    10% off tax preparation service for Senior Associates' Club members
*    Members can redeem CU Reward Bonus points for tax preparation services

Our Financial Services department can prepare taxes for both members and nonmembers, so let your friends and co-workers know that we can help them, too!

For questions or an appointment contact Robert Payne, Manager of Accounting & Tax Services at 597-2800 or tax@oucu.org