GreenLane 1st Anniversary Event invite to the community

As one of the founding organizations involved in the creation of GreenLane Sustainable Business Network, I am proud to extend an invitation for you to attend the GreenLane 1st Anniversary Event this coming Wednesday, January 27, from 6 PM to 8 PM held at the Northwest Community Credit Union Gateway location. Individuals as well as businesses are welcome to attend and learn more about our efforts to create a greener, more sustainable community.

NextStep and other businesses will have a booth at the event - bring your sustainability questions and Enid and I will be happy to answer them for you. One highlight is Kelly Bell, Coordinator of the Lane County Master Recyclers, will also have a booth to discuss with you how the Master Recyclers program can benefit your business.

GreenLane is all about building a stable local economy while considering our community and our environment. We are not about "business as usual". We are about helping YOU think outside of the box and support you to look at your business with a critical eye towards community sustainability. We are all in this together!

$10 will get you tasty appetizers from Wild Duck Catering and beer from local fabulous community focused breweries Ninkasi and Oakshire. Paul Prince will be bringing his beautiful musical talent, and we'll hear from keynote speaker, Tom Osdoba, Director of the UO Center for Sustainable Business Practices.

GreenLane started out with three local people (Isbel Ingham, Daniel Swantek, and Allen Perkins) thinking something needed to be done to bring the business community together regarding sustainable business practices. In one year's time, a Board was selected and membership has now grown to 92 members. Exciting!

GreenLane holds bi-monthly networking meetings for members and guests with speakers who share their sustainable business expertise. We have a website that will eventually be a "go to tool" for local business to connect with local resources and provide referrals, and we will be establishing our nonprofit status in 2010.

I hope to see you at the event. If it is anything like last year's opening event, you'll have a great time. I sure did.