July 9, 2012 EditionEdition

The Jerome Home in New Britain recently received a $50,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation. The Jerome Home has provided residential care, assisted living, skilled nursing care, and short-term rehabilitation to seniors for more than 75 years. The grant will be used to implement a comprehensive exercise program designed to address different risk factors for falls and injuries, as well as to enable seniors to perform day-to-day activities independently. Pictured, from left, are Trish Walden, Central CT Senior Health Services; Lori Toombs, Arbor Rose; Alan Nasson, Walmart; Jay McClure III, Walmart; Sharon Burns, Walmart; Beth Egliskis, Walmart; Robert Schmelzer, Jerome Home; Lisa Connelly, Jerome Home; and Marybeth Hanisko, Walmart.

Gary Wolff, president of GTW Financial Services in Manchester, was recently elected chairman of the Metro-Hartford YMCA's board of directors. Wolff is a past recipient of the YMCA Community Leader of the Year Award from the Indian Valley Family YMCA. He served as co-chair of the Eastern Regional Major Gifts Committee, which raised more than $2 million for the construction of the Indian Valley Family YMCA in Ellington.

Students are not the only ones concerned about scoring decent grades these days. Hospitals face a similar pressure to earn good marks.

“Unreasonable Leadership: Transforming Yourself, Your Team, Your Organization…” by Gary Chartrand (unreasonableleaders.com, $20.)

Two Hartford Healthcare units – the Institute of Living and the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center -- have received major grants.

For Jackson Laboratory, attracting scientific talent isn't just a priority, it could mean the difference between the biomedical research center's success and failure in Connecticut.

Q&A talks about sales onboarding with Lee B. Salz, author of Sales Management Minute and Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager.

Contentious executive Donald Vaccaro will rejoin his South Windsor company TicketNetwork in August, convinced the incident that cost his company $8 million in state support and put him on probation was the fault of his accuser.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection is rolling out a $20 million microgrid program, recruiting businesses wanting to stay operating if — or when — the rest of the state goes dark.

HABCO Inc., a designer and manufacturer of testing and support equipment for military airframes and engines, recently received the UTC Supplier Gold award, the highest quality award given by UTC to its vendors. HABCO is also the first woman-owned business to receive this award within the military support equipment group. The award recognizes a company's ability to excel in several areas: lean manufacturing techniques, on time delivery percentage, customer feedback, and engagement of employees in the lean culture. Pictured is Brian Montanari, HABCO president, receiving the Supplier Gold plaque.

In this fast-paced business world, corporations often employ key executives who are critical to their success.

When consumers typically think about supplemental insurance coverage, companies like Aflac, Allstate and Colonial Life typically come to mind as the major players in the industry.

I just heard that President Obama was actually born in Kenya, which is sort of like Hawaii, but different.

Foreign direct investments in the U.S. are returning to the 2008 pre-crisis levels and Connecticut must step up its recruitment efforts to expand its share of this important economic development factor.

As the economy continues to struggle and unemployment rates remain stagnant, an increasing number of people are considering self-employment as a hedge against layoffs, but most don't quite know how to get started. A Southbury-based company is helping many of them sort through their options and assess their suitability for business ownership.

At the recent New England Economic Partnership conference, economists from around the region discussed the outlook for this part of the country. As it has been for the last several years, the economic forecast was tempered: the region is expected to experience slow growth and slow recovery over the next four years.

When expensive America's Cup sailing ships raced through the waters off Newport, R.I., in late June, a lot more than bragging rights were at stake. The preliminary races in the world's most prestigious sailing series also serve as a technology proving ground for Milford-based North Sails.

Amid all the cheering here in Connecticut after the Supreme Court's ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act, there were a few voices of reason that were urging caution.

The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain was among more than 40 people and organizations recognized for contributing their time, labor and donations to a $250,000 capital campaign to build Southington's new Community Pavilion. The Pavilion is surrounded by a new athletic field, a landscaped drive-in area and parking for 300 people. Pictured is the Rev. Victoria Triano, CFGNB board member, receiving an award from Joe LaPorte, Southington Parks & Recreation commissioner and project coordinator, in recognition of the foundation's $10,000 capital grant for the project.

Like hospitals, professionals vying for business in the competitive legal industry rely on law firm rankings to draw in clients.