Blog

Annual Women in NECA Round Table Connects Leading Ladies in San Francisco

With the final day of the annual NECA Convention and Trade Show coming to a close, exhibitors are packing up and the traffic on the trade show floor is winding down. Outside of the show floor there’s been a jam-packed schedule full of can’t-miss events for NECA members and industry leaders. One of these yearly events is the Women in NECA (WIN) round table, an opportunity for NECA’s leading ladies to meet face to face.

Since 2009, WIN has connected professional women in the electrical industry through networking and educational events. The organization encourages more women to explore careers in the electrical industry.

Energy security for everyone

This year’s sixth annual WIN Roundtable, met Monday, Oct. 5. Members listened to keynote speaker Michelle Lacourciere, executive director of the Sirona Cares Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 that’s working to end global energy poverty.

“Most people don’t realize the reality of energy poverty and how it affects a huge amount of the global population,” Lacourciere explained to the WIN audience. “1 in 5 people lack access to the most basic electricity. Our sustainable programs are giving people the power to create, use and market clean energy in their communities.”

In poor nations, such as Haiti, kerosene lanterns, candles or wood fires are often the only source of light and heat in homes off the grid. This type of fuel is not only expensive and difficult to gather, but the fumes can cause significant health problems.

Sirona Cares is brightening one community at a time by implementing Ti Soley Kits produced by Day & Night Solar in Illinois. Each 1.5-kilowatt solar charging station is set up in an accessible community area such as a school, clinic or store.

Children and Haiti use electricity from Ti Soley lanterns

Ti Soley Charging Station using Solar Panels

Children in Haiti use light from Ti Soley lantern

Up to 100 local families pay a small monthly fee to rent a battery that they can recharge as frequently as needed. The battery is used to run lights, charge cell phones and other devices, and each battery lasts up to 7 days. If properly maintained, the charging stations can last for up to 10 years.

“These kits take money out of the kerosene trade and put it back into the local community,” said Lacourciere. “For example, in Haiti a family can have unlimited access to recharging for around $6.25 a month. Some schools in Haiti are making $300 a month from the kits. Currently we have 24 charging stations in Haiti and more than 100 homes rely on our electricity.”

Sirona Cares (@SironaCares) not only provides the equipment for the kit and charging station, the organization also offers the training and tools to teach residents how to get their charging business started and keep it successful. Overall, the program is delivering a source of renewable energy, cutting indoor pollution and ultimately, adding jobs and increasing self sufficiency.

Following Lacourciere’s presentation the WIN Task Force lead a discussion, opening up the floor to a panel of industry executives and leaders, including WIN members Susan Ernst of Royal Electric Construction Corp., Michelle Carissimi of JMC Electric and Cindy Austin, Cascade Chapter Manager of NECA.

WIN welcomes members to Phoenix, where it will host the eighth annual leadership summit in April 2016.

Testimonials

The staff was very helpful and easy to work with while developing our story. They were always open to our ideas and provided us useful information to maximize our visibility using social media. We were certainly pleased with final article.
— Daryl Whitmer, Marketing Program Manager, Harrison French & Associates (HFA)
What a great team US Builders has put in place! Having worked with Victor Martins a few years back, I was pleasantly surprised that he remembered our experience and contacted us again about an updated article. Not only did Victor brainstorm with me about content that would resonate with readers, but he assigned an excellent writer, Molly Shaw, to our account. Her interview with my client, Bardi Heating Cooling & Plumbing, was professional and succinct; as was her writing style. We had very few edits and were pleased not only with the article, but how well it was enhanced by color photos. Much appreciated!
— Karen Bird, Owner of Strategic Marketing Services, Bardi Heating Cooling & Plumbing
Working with Kyle at TrueLine Publishing was a great experience. We are quite pleased with how the article about Souder Brothers turned out. The magazine article and photo spread is going to be a very effective tool to use in our marketing. If you have the opportunity to be featured in a project like this, I would recommend doing it. Kyle and his team made the whole process very smooth and we are happy to have been a part of the latest edition of US Builders Review.
— Corinne Schaffer, Project Manager, Souder Brothers Construction
Thank you all your efforts in putting together such a great article about our company in US Builders Review. DH Construction appreciates the professional manner in which your team worked with us to achieve the stateside exposure we were after; especially taking the time to get all of the facts correct. In short, the article was extremely well put together and we have already received a great deal of feedback, interest, and compliments as a result of the piece. Once again, we appreciate all the effort, and without a doubt, we will not hesitate to work with your organization again in the future.
— Daniel Harrigan, Principal, DH Construction
The final product was an exceptionally well written and thorough story integrated with many of our project photos. It is a great endorsement of our company and our work that we are promoting on our website and through social media. We were impressed with the quality of the editorial and the professional follow-through.
— Susan Howell, Marketing Director for Howell Custom Building Group
We are excited to be featured as a case study in US Builders Review and look forward to sharing our company’s story with a national audience.
— Ryan Sanzari, Director of Operations, Alfred Sanzari Enterprises
It was an absolute pleasure to work with the writers and editorial team at TrueLine Publishing for our recent article in US Builders Review. From the start of the project, it was apparent that everyone involved was very concerned with accuracy and getting the facts right. They were also very conscientious about soliciting our feedback and ensuring that we were happy with the content and with the manner in which Giroux Glass was described in the finalized piece.
— Barbara Kotsos, Director of Marketing & PR, Giroux Glass
Kyle and his team were very professional and patient in explaining their program to us. Their communications were clear and concise and did a great job of guiding us through the process of getting published in their magazine.
— Michael Henthorn, Owner, Henthorn Commercial Construction
I’m blown away with the value that could come out of our partnership through this article. Working with the US Builders Review team is something that I have never experienced before and every day I feel even more privileged to be with EJH Construction, I never take for granted the opportunities that have come my way.  I am so excited about what our future looks like based on the relationship that has been built with the US Builders Review team.
Jennifer Wilhelmsen – Director of Human Resources, EJH Construction Inc.
The team at US Builders Review is professional and did a great job with your published article. They asked for and listened to my feedback and responded quickly to any requests I made.
— Susan Courter, Director of Business Development, R.E. Crawford Construction

LATEST EDITION

Spring 2018

READ NOW

GET US BUILDERS REVIEW IN YOUR INBOX.

  • * We’ll never share your email or info with anyone.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.