Addition of Tom Caliento, Joe Violette provides support for RT Brown’s regional competitiveness initiatives
seCTer has established a Business Services Team to strengthen the region’s business community.
The Business Services Team will help entrepreneurs and veteran business owners identify both opportunities and challenges in their sector of the economy. Guidance will be offered across the spectrum, and will include assistance with business plans, financial statements, regulatory requirements, operations, marketing, expansion planning, foreign markets, navigating loan programs, succession planning, and more.
The team also will serve as a resource for new and existing businesses to make connections with third-party experts for additional guidance in specific areas. By helping to make connections with other organizations, particularly local chambers of commerce, the team will enable more efficient networking opportunities as well.
“By building out a Business Services Team we can help entrepreneurs and established business owners alike to better understand regional opportunities and challenges and all that seCTer can offer in addressing both,” said Executive Director Paul Whitescarver.
RT Brown, seCTer’s Regional Economic Competitiveness Officer, initiated the effort and is leading the Business Services Team. Brown is an economic development professional with extensive experience in regional economic development, developing business resiliency and sustainability strategies, as well as entrepreneur ecosystem development.
“Small businesses and employers are what drive an economy. There’s no singular place in southeastern Connecticut where businesses can get the resources they need to start, grow, and expand – that’s changing,” said Brown.
A key member of the team will be Thomas Caliento, an accounting and finance professional hired this Spring to serve as seCTer’s Business Adviser.
Caliento served as Financial Division Controller for NTT Data of Boston, Director of Finance and Operations for King Phillip Regional School District in Wrentham, Mass., and CFO for the town of East Longmeadow, Mass., in addition to previous similar finance positions.
Caliento is responsible for providing business advising and technical assistance to new and established businesses through sector analysis, financial planning, regulatory requirements, and resources for loan programs.
Joseph Violette, hired in January as Business Retention and Expansion Specialist, will focus on small businesses of 5 to 99 employees by providing expertise to negotiate challenges and act on opportunities. In addition, Violette is responsible for encouraging business owners to make use of seCTer’s training services in financial literacy, human resources, cyber security, digital marketing, small-business management tactics, and assistance with grants and low-interest loan programs.
“This is a strong team with deep, varied experience in small-business operations and regional economic development strategies,” Whitescarver said.
State, regional partners explain resources, opportunities available in ‘A new American Industry’
To highlight seCTer’s efforts to attract primary and secondary business opportunities in the offshore wind industry, we produced a video featuring members of the seCTer Offshore Wind Industry Cluster.
This video, A New American Industry is Born, shows visitors to our website that seCTer is the primary contact for doing business with offshore wind developers. It also enhances our visibility and presentations during outreach efforts ranging from conferences and workshops to meeting with individual businesses interested in locating here.
The video featured interviews with Alexandra Daum, CT Commissioner of Economic and Community Development; Dr. Joel Rinebold, Director of Energy at CT Center for Advanced Technology; Kevin Brown, Executive Director of the Norwich Community Development Corp., UConn professor Emmanouil Anagnostou of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Eversource Energy Endowed Chair of Environmental Engineering; David Allard, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at the Eastern CT Workforce Investment Board, and seCTer Executive Director Paul Whitescarver.
2023 CEDS Available for Public Comment
- Southeastern Connecticut’s Economic Development Strategy – Main Document
- Southeastern Connecticut’s Economic Development Strategy – Appendices
If you would like to make a comment, please email: secter@secter.org. Please use “2023 CEDS Comments” as the subject line.
The Public Comment Period will be for 30 days, ending on: 5/17/2023.
SeCTer is seeking marketing proposals which will focus on resiliency and competitiveness.
Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (seCTer) is seeking proposals from qualified agencies and individuals for a Marketing and Communications Consultant to develop and implement multiple strategies, tactics, and deliverables to promote and achieve greater regional competitiveness and economic resilience.
Following the successful presentation of the offshore wind industry’s premier supply chain workshop, Foundation 2 Blade, seCTer Executive Director Paul Whitescarver authored an op-ed reinforcing the opportunities presented by the industry.
The op-ed was published by The Day, under the headline ‘A new American industry set to launch from Port of New London.’
The piece describes the realities of the industry, acknowledging that early projects will be largely supplied by European factories, but stressing that enormous opportunities are available across a broad spectrum of businesses. Precision manufacturing will be needed as well as administrative support, skilled construction workers, engineers, operations technicians, and maintenance workers.
As was pointed out at the Foundation 2 Blade event, a US workforce will be required to fill all of these requirements because European demand for offshore wind remains strong and faces similar workforce challenges as US employers are facing.
Revolution Wind, Connecticut DECD partner to bring 3-day offshore wind energy supply chain training to businesses.
The Business Network for Offshore Wind provides industry-leading offshore wind training. seCTer has been working to bring this workshop to the region and December, 13-15 at the Mystic Hilton, businesses and stakeholders can learn more about this oncoming industry.
seCTer’s Offshore Wind Cluster Development:
Today, October 24th, 2022, Governor Ned Lamont announced the Connecticut Small Business Support Program.
seCTer is proudly one of the participating organizations to help businesses access resources to start and grow. To find out more, or express interest in the program, complete this form: https://www.secter.org/resources/small-business-development-entrepreneurship/.
In the coming weeks, details about eligibility and program guidelines will be released.
Economic Development in Southeastern CT & Offshore Wind
seCTer’s Executive Director, Paul Whitescarver, chats with Lee Elci about seCTer’s role in the region and the significance of the oncoming offshore wind industry. Download the interview here.
seCTer is seeking solicitations.
More details are here: RFP – Resilience Study, CEDS Online, and Regional Prospectus – seCTer
seCTer is seeking solicitations.
Please use the simplified RFP form to submit your proposal. Questions can be sent to: R.T. Hamilton Brown, Regional Economic Competitiveness Officer, rtbrown@secter.org.