SBA Grant Opportunities to "Green" your Business!

Have you been considering "greening up" your business? The federal government has made grants available to your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to assist companies with these benficial changes. Contact the local SBDC and make sure funds will be available for companies in Pottawatomie county.

East Central Oklahoma Small Business Development Center
Ann Ritter, Director
E 12th St & S Francis St.

Administration Bldg Rm 251

Ada, OK 74820(580) 436-3190

aritter@ecok.edu

Grant Opportunities:

Small Business Administration: Small Business Energy Efficiency Clean Technology Assistance Program formerly Small Business Sustainability Initiative (SBSI)http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=50160

Small Business Administration: Small Business Energy Audit and Energy Efficiency Program formerly Small Business Sustainability Initiative (SBSI)http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=50

For more information on how to green your business more effectively, consider participating a new webinar series, the Lean and Green Summit, at www.leanandgreensummit.com/webinar.

Sustainable Shawnee's Officers for 2010!

President - Cody Deem

Vice President - Justine Thompson

Secretary - Melissa Odneal

Treasurer - Chris Geer

Past-President - Shawna Turner

Congratulations and welcome to our new leadership

Thank you for your service!

Slow Money...Raising Money for Sustainable Agriculture One Farm at a Time

We just participated in the first national conference of Slow Money and we think it's going to be a game changer. 450 folks (including Sustainable Shawnee's own, Shawna Turner) from 34 states and six countries were there. Here's what they are saying:

"People are going to look back at this as the turning point in sustainable agriculture.""This is beyond timely.""I've been waiting for Slow Money my whole life.""Slow Money gets right to the heart of what's ailing our food system and our economy."

They're right. Slow Money is historic. Linking Americans together to fund local food systems, improve health, reduce environmental impact, support tens of thousands of small food enterprises across the country and take control of our money in radical new ways.

125 Founding Members, plus another 1,500 signers of the Slow Money Principles, have put the first building blocks in place. Their ultimate goal: one million signers, hundreds of thousands of members, a new kind of grassroots seed capital for sustainable agriculture and healthy food.

WE NEED 5,000 OF YOU TO CONTRIBUTE $5 or more AND BECOME MEMBERS OF THE SLOW MONEY ALLIANCE IN ONE WEEK. 12:00 a.m. October 6th to 12:00 a.m. October 13th.

Visit http://friendsofslowmoney.com/ and support this revolutionary idea TODAY!

1st Annual Oklahoma Sustainability Network Membership Convention

Saturday, October 31st

Wilderness Center, Stroud Lake
9:30 - 3:30 pm

The OSN Membership Convention is an opportunity for everyone involved with individual chapters to get to know what what other chapters and OSN are doing statewide. Bring your own lunch, meet great people and help us map out OSN's future direction.

A group from Shawnee will be carpooling to Stroud. Please contact Shawna Turner for more information.

Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Dept. Unveils Sustainable Travel Initiative

Now you know!! Take advantage of this program and green your travel!

The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department has unveiled a new travel initiative called ECO—Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma—which promotes, educates and encourages sustainable travel in the state. The ECO program approaches sustainable travel from both industry and consumer perspectives. It includes education, green certification and marketing support for tourism industry partners and helps them embrace sustainable travel practices for minimal economic impact with maximum return.

Click here for the entire article.

Norman Featured in Mother Earth News!

Norman, Oklahoma: Nowhere Near Nowheresville
This sustainable, entertaining town is a great place you’ve (maybe) never heard of.
Mother Earth News
By Joe Hart
October/November 2009

Let’s face it — Oklahoma seems an unlikely candidate for the 11 Great Places You’ve (Maybe) Never Heard Of list. Norman is a bustling college town with a strong focus on sustainability and good entertainment...Equally fertile is the city’s effort at sustainability — including mass transit initiatives, a community garden movement, and an unusual community supported agriculture program that links farmers and consumers throughout the entire state. Much of this activity is thanks to the Norman Sustainability Network (NSN), an organization that Kara McKee helped establish.

Kara Joy McKee is a former Oklahoma Sustainability Network board member.

Click here for the article in its entirety. Way to go Norman Sustainability Network!

America Recycles Day

November 15th

What will YOU do this year?

Find an EVENT near you. CALCULATE your recycling impact. Take the PLEDGE.

http://www.americarecyclesday.org/

Follow us on Twitter!

Follow Sustainable Shawnee's activities and posts on Twitter! Visit http://www.twitter.com/ and search for SustainShawnee. Thanks for the add!

Sustainable Shawnee's 2nd Annual Fall Harvest Dinner!

Our Fall Harvest Dinner was a complete sell-out and a great success. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event possible and to all those who attended. Remember to support our local farmers and ranchers throughout the year by becoming a member of the Oklahoma Food Coop. Shawnee's drop off location is the Emanuel Episcopal Church at Broadway and Highland downtown.

Until next year, thanks again for your support!

Message from the President....

The time has come for Rosemary, Christina and myself to pass the baton on to our successors. We've enjoyed leading Sustainable Shawnee for the past two years and are pleased with our accomplishments but now look forward to working with some new folks. Jim Shull has agreed to form a committee to identify candidates for President, Vice President and Secretary. According to the Sustainable Shawnee by-laws, we must present a slate of new officers by the October meeting so time is shorter than we think. Elections will be held by no later than January 2010 and I will continue on the Executive Committee as Past President

Please help us keep Sustainable Shawnee active and vibrant within our community and consider one of three leadership positions. Terms are for one year and are what you make of them. The opportunities are endless. For more information, contact Jim Shull or Shawna Turner.

Thanks to everyone for a productive and exciting two years with Sustainable Shawnee!

Best Wishes,

Shawna Turner