• Mascola Group client The Big E, in addition to being one of the top 10 fairs in North America, received an accolade at the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas. The Big E, held in West Springfield, Mass., was awarded “Best Overall Campaign” in Division 5 (fairs with more than 1 million in attendance) for the New England six-state fair’s advertising in 2008. The ad campaign, created by Mascola Advertising of New Haven, used a 2008 presidential campaign design that featured political-themed taglines of fair favorites such as; “Pro Cream Puff,” “Deep Fried Freedom” and “The Fair with Flair,” which were displayed on red, white, and blue political buttons.
• Custom Basements of CT of Glastonbury was awarded the 2008 Better Business Bureau Award for Marketplace Excellence. Owners Shelley Dacey and Nicole Kiesman accepted the award at the BBB annual meeting. In addition, Bryan Noonan, Custom Basement’s director of operations, was presented with the BBB Award for superior service by a company employee.
• Farmington Savings Bank has committed an additional $1 million in mortgage financing to the City of New Britain’s Home Ownership Program (HOP). The HOP offers qualified, low-income first-time home buyers down payment assistance of up to 30 percent, with an additional 5 percent available for closing costs. Farmington Savings Bank will also offer qualified HOP participants financing that is a quarter to a half a percentage point lower than the interest rate offered for other bank mortgages and will rebate $395.00 of the closing costs.
• The state Department of Agriculture has awarded nearly $1 million in matching funds to more than two dozen farms, non-profit agricultural organizations and municipalities for a variety of projects ranging from a new farmers’ market to greenhouse expansion. The Agriculture Viability Grants help finance on-farm improvements and fund programs that promote Connecticut agriculture. The latest round of grants — $907,055 — will go to 13 agricultural producers, four non-profit agricultural organizations and 13 municipalities.
Please Note: All electronic submissions for Accolades should be sent to news@HartfordBusiness.com. Items can also be mailed to: Accolades, Hartford Business Journal, 15 Lewis St., Ste. 200, Hartford, CT 06103. For more information about the Hartford Business Journal’s Accolades Page, please visit www.HartfordBusiness.com.
