The Biz: Students give businesses a PR boost

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April 21, 2010

By Ethan Forman Staff writer The Salem News Wed Apr 21, 2010, 12:49 PM EDT

More than 50 Salem State College communications students are giving North Shore small businesses some social media savvy while the students get real-world public relations experience.

It's all thanks to Salem State College's Experiential Partnerships in Entrepreneurial Communication, or EXPECT, program.

Students are placed on a small team and paired with a North Shore company, says student Derek Devlin, a communications major at Salem State. The students then help the company reach out to others using Facebook, Web design, blogs, pitch letters and press kits.

The program is in its 10th year and was singled out this year in the state Board of Higher Education's "Performance Measurement Report."

Devlin, of Salem, works with Resolve I.T. and its founder Patrick Agostino. The company helps small businesses maintain their information technology infrastructure with an office at the Enterprise Center.

"My team is three advertising people and me," Devlin says. The team is working on graphic design and a blog, http://nsceogroup.com, sponsored by Resolve I.T.

Besides Resolve I.T., students have been working with Citizens for Adequate Housing in Peabody; John Volpaccio's glassblowing studio; Sandra Batakis's Sandra Network; New England Light Opera; jewelry maker Sonja Gronstra; recipe provider Mediaspoon; family lawyer Karen Venezia; Dominic's Music; Seed Stitch Fine Yarn; Cornerstone Books; and Roost, a seller of art, furniture and gifts.

"They are really getting something that students can't get in any classroom with a fake client," said communications professor Robert Brown, who supervises the program with assistant professor Rebecca Hains. Students will present their work at the Enterprise Center on April 30, May 3 and May 5.

Beacon Roofing Supply expands its Florida footprint

Peabody-based Beacon Roofing Supply said April 13 that it has bought Tampa, Fla.-based Phoenix Sales, which distributes commercial roofing systems and accessories in Tampa, Orlando, Pompano and Fort Myers. Phoenix chalked up sales of $20 million last year.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed in a statement by the publicly traded Beacon Roofing Supply.

This latest acquisition expands Beacon's presence in Florida as it comes on the heels of the purchase of Independent Building Materials of Orlando in February. Beacon now has 177 branches and operates in 37 states and three provinces of Eastern Canada.

Phoenix's co-founders, Scott Hall and Jim Coston, will stay and become part of the company's regional leadership team.

Beacon has 15 employees in Peabody, more than 100 in Massachusetts and 2,300 overall, said David Grace, the company's chief financial officer.

Local Ginger wins business plan contest

Local Ginger of Newburyport won $5,000 in the sixth annual North of Boston Business Plan Competition sponsored by the nonprofit business incubator the Enterprise Center at Salem State College.

Solar Sheds of Peabody won the $3,000 second-place prize, and EcoCentric Resources TOPIA of Salem won the $2,000 third-place prize.

"We received an amazing and very broad group of business plans in this year's competition," said Christine Sullivan, executive director of the Enterprise Center, in a statement. The startups included green, service, health care, insurance software and interactive tourist companies, Sullivan said.

Local Ginger and the other finalists gave presentations on April 12. Local Ginger bills itself as a marketing communication channel helping local merchants reach customers through e-mail and Short Message Service (SMS) technologies.

CEO to talk about surviving startup woes

Peter Antoinette, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Nanocomp Technologies of Concord, N.H., will speak at the North Shore Technology Council's breakfast on April 28. He will give his take on how his 5-year-old company got past the startup stage, plus he will talk about the nanotechnology field. Networking starts at 7 a.m., and the program begins at 8 at the Peabody Marriott, 8A Centennial Drive. The cost is $25 for NSTC members and $45 for nonmembers. To register, go to www.nstc.org. Administaff is the event sponsor.

• • •

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.

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