CBEID promotes innovative local entrepreneurs

Water Street Studios (160 S. Water Street, Batavia)
and Batavia Artists Association

Batavia Artists Association undertakes to sustain the recently launched Water Street Studios - 26 artists' studios, galleries and classrooms in downtown Batavia 

Water Street Studios was the dream of Batavia artists - an affordable and attractive place in the downtown area where they could work and display together. 

Historic downtown Batavia has beautiful 1800s limestone buildings that are underutilized. Batavia Enterprises renovated one of these and volunteers with the Batavia Artists Association contributed an incredible amount of work to bring to life an amazing artistic space for the creation, marketing and appreciation of fine art.

The City of Batavia and Batavia Enterprises worked together on this endeavor. Batavia City Council contributed funding and offered loans that are forgivable so long as Water Street Studios maintains support for a certain number of artists.

Batavia Artists Association was organized as a not-for-profit company (501C3) to manage the "business" to sustain Water Street Studios in historic and artistic Batavia.avia.

As enterprising as any start-up company, Batavia Artists Association must generate a stream of revenues from rentals, arts classes, EVENTS and gallery sales to cover their lease, utilities and any additional facilities or build-out. 

This is an exemplary community initiative that still needs a lot of support! Having only just opened, they cannot afford some important features they will need to be successful. 

Here is a partial list of what they need, in case someone is willing to contribute (tax deductible, of course).

• Building Sign
• Facade Lighting
• Upgrade electrical circuits
• Website Hosting 

In addition, they need vvolunteers to help man the galleries when they're open and to assist in managing events, and someone with marketing experience.

Contacts: Steven Lockwood (sparktosparks@yahoo.com), Gallery Director, or Sharon Sychta (waterstreetstudios@gmail.com), Marketing Director. Telephone: (630) 761-9977

Website: WaterStreetStudios.com

If you are interested in the CBEID project, please contact: Ernest Mahaffey (630) 406-5321

Vic Portincaso - Location Manager, Consultant, Manufacturer

Independent Feature Film “Bad Batch” Selects Geneva for Filming Location

An independent film company has decided to do a feature film in the Geneva area. This is an outcome of the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission's first Film Festival (November 2007) and Vic Portincaso's dogged follow-up with writer/director Frank Merle. 

Merle, along with co-producers Chad Meyer and Matthew Gill, have set their sights on the many wonderfully varied locales offered around Geneva while scouting potential places to set up production on their forthcoming horror/comedy “Bad Batch,” a movie about a small town overrun by drug-induced zombies. The producers have enlisted Geneva resident, Vic Portincaso, as Location Manager on the film, helping to finalize the specific locations within Geneva to be used for the moviemovie and manage the sites during the filming.

About the film: “Bad Batch,” is a film that combines the scary suspense and claustrophobia of the original horror classic “The Night of the Living Dead” with the adrenaline rush of recent, popular entities in the zombie genre, such as “28 Days Later,” plus a healthy dose of comedy in the tradition of Giggle-and-Gasp movies such as “Gremlins” and “Shaun of the Dead.” It is written in the multiple-storyline ensemble style used in successful dramas such as “Crash,” “Traffic,” “Magnolia,” and “Babel,” but seldom seen in the horror genre, thus adding to the movie’s uniqueness and appeal among independent filmgoers. “Gnaw,” a 13-minute short film based on the same premise as “Bad Batch,” was written, directed and produced by Frank Merle in 2008 and premiered at the Illinois International Film Festival in St. Charles, where it won the award for Best Horror Short. /span>

About the filmmakers: The three producers of “Bad Batch” bring complimentary skills and expertise to the production, helping to ensure its success. Chad Meyer, a long-time resident of Chicago, is a serial entrepreneur, having purchased and also started several businesses in industries ranging from construction to food services. He has a proven track record of raising capital and managing businesses to deliver significant returns to shareholders. Matthew Gill, a Chicago native now living in Los Angeles, is Executive Producer of Burn the Boats Productions, which specializes in commercial entertainment for advertising and marketing. His work has been sponsored by UFC, 20th Century Fox, NBC Universal and Sprint, among others. Frank Merle, also a Chicago native now living in Los Angeles, spent five years as Artistic Director of Chicago’s critically-acclaimed Keyhole Theatre Company before turning his attention to film in 2006. Since then, he has written, directed and produced nine short films. Among other achievements, his film “Morgan’s Last Call” won the award for Best Short Film at the 2009 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival.

Filming in Geneva: By using a smaller crew and less equipment than a Hollywood film would, “Bad Batch” will be an eco-friendly production and non-disruptive to local business. In addition, the filmmakers are committed to raising awareness of Geneva among the film community by putting behind-the-scenes footage of the film shoot on the movie’s website and DVD as a bonus feature. This could generate tourism from fans of the film, as well as potentially attract other producers to consider Geneva as a viable filming location. The producers are also committed to utilizing members of the Geneva community as extras and production assistants on the film, providing opportunities to be involved in the filmmaking experience. The filmmakers hope to establish this production as the start of a long-term relationship with Geneva, as more projects are planned for the near future.

Website: wwww.BadBatchMovie.net For more information on getting involved with the project, contact Vic PortincasoChad Meyer If you are interested in the CBEID project, please contact: Ernest Mahaffey (630-406-5321)

Tim Rochford – Fitness and Martial Arts Professional  

P2 Force - Progressive Elastic Resistance & Body Weight Training System 

The P2 Force provides two main things:

1. Solutions for problems experienced by anyone who utilizes elastic resistance and/or body weight training protocols for exercise or rehabilitation purposes, and 2. Unique methods and capabilities for performing functional resistance training for sports training, rehabilitation & conditioning training, and fitness training for all ages and physical capabilities. 

There is nothing like the P2 Force unit on the market today. Potential user markets include:

1. Fitness Professionals
2. Physical Therapists / Chiropractors
3. People with Physical Disabilities
4. Physical Education Departments (schools)
5. Athletic Training centers
6. Martial Arts schools 

What are my special needs?

I would be interested in getting fabrication quotes for this unit. 

I need people to market and sell this equipment. I provide the marketing materials - I need people to get out there and make the contacts. Once a contact is made and a genuine interest is established, I am prepared to perform a live demo/orientation for the product. My strength is in educating and teaching - not sales and marketing. That is why I am offering a very generous commission on sales!

 
For additional information, contact Tim Rochford (630) 882-8583 and see: www.empower-usa.com/index.php 

Marko Spiegel – Engineer

Onewattconstruction LLC, founded in 2008, custom builds One-Watt-Houses and offers turnkey services for efficiency focused new construction and renovation. 

There are many drivers of the building technology market:  energy cost, carbon policy, status of building stock, concerns for the resources of our planet, and others.  They all point in a direction of a denser, urban, highly energy efficient communities.  As the national interest in European Ultra Energy Efficient building technology has increased dramatically over the last year, we have the opportunity locally to be at the forefront of this important movement. 

Short-term goals and needs: 

• An open model house, which represents the leading ecological and energy efficient design in the area.  It can help to differentiate a community.   Customers want to see and feel.  
• Factor 4 energy retrofit example: a school, museum, city building, etc.  which is turned into a ultra efficient building saving 70 – 90% of its current energy.  This is still a novelty in the country; typical improvements are 15 – 30%.
• Educate city governments, colleges, businesses and entities that build and own buildings. These entities appreciate the economic advantages of low operating cost over the life of the building. 

For additional information, see: www.cti-home.net

Gerald Jackson – Physicist  

Green Light Industries, Inc. is developing a technology to convert chemical energy directly into electrical power with efficiencies dramatically higher than available today.  Founded in 2007, the company has built a demonstration unit, filed patents, and developed designs for a full-efficiency prototype.  This technology is "fuel" agnostic, and can run on reversible chemical reactions devoid of any exhaust or, in the short term, operate on traditional fuels such as gasoline, natural gas, propane, and coal.  Based in West Chicago, the company is led by co-founder and inventor Gerald Jackson, a physicist formerly employed at Fermilab who left in 2000 to pursue advanced technology solutions to some of today's most pressing societal problems using sensible business approaches.

Immediate Business Needs

1. Capital - We need to build a full-efficiency prototype, followed by a pre-production unit installed in an automobile and test driven across the country without refueling.  There is no substitute for cash.
2. Brainstorming Team or Think Tank - We already have three potential markets to enter, each with triple the efficiency of existing solutions: 1) Automotive, 2) home emergency or alternative power, and 3) peaker-plants for utilities.  Are there any other "low-hanging fruit" that we should pursue in the early years of the company's development?
3. Business Assistance - The speed of company development is limited by the current serial nature of business efforts (i.e. there are not enough hours in a day).  We need experienced business people who are willing to provide assistance without pay (i.e. there is never enough capital).  While company ownership through sweat equity is a possible avenue for motivation, there are potentially other mechanisms for "making the game real".  Suggestions for such alternatives are sought
4. Summer Internship Scholarship - Our largest category of investors are the parents of students who worked for us over past summers, and who were motivated and transformed in the process.  In general, young people today have no experience with a manufacturing environment where innovation is the dominant key to success.  By learning metalworking, welding, drafting, and other related skills, a universe of possibilities opens up limited only by one's imagination.  We would be receptive to taking on up to three college students (or extraordinary high school seniors) from the area who need summer employment and are considering careers in business, engineering, or the sciences.  This summer the minimum wage in Illinois is $7.50/hour.  For a full time intern, including workers comp and payroll taxes, a cost of $8.00/hour is an approximate guide, which adds up to $1280/month.  Assuming three months of employment, each students would cost just under $4000.

For additional information, see: www.greenlightindustries.com


If you are interested in the project, please contact: Ernest Mahaffey (630-406-5321)