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Group awards grants to business women

Making their business a success is the goal of two valley women. Now they will have a little assistance from a local group.

Elaine Marcucio, of Derby, owner of EAC Chores & More LLC, a non-medical home care and companionship agency for seniors and Kathryn Dennen, of Oxford, the owner of Dennen Videography, a DVD production service, have been named the 2005 grant recipients by the Women In Networking Group.

Both women were recently awarded $1,000 grants at a luncheon. This is the second year WIN has presented the grant, which provides financial assistance to women 18 or older in the grater Valley area in the towns of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton. The grant may be used for expenses including equipment, tuition, books, transportation, business wardrobe or childcare necessary to reach the applicants career goals.

"This year we were able to donate a much more substantial amount of money to the grant because we organized our first fun-raiser, an Almost Autumn Wine tasting at Jones Winery" said Annie Hathway, chair of WIN and owner of New Wave Technologies.

Dennen started her business 10 years ago and in the last five years has been in the DVD market. She shoots local productions including ballets and school plays using a professional video camera.

"I've worked in television production for 18 years and taken that to a smaller scale with my business offering the same amount of production expertise but on a smaller market meaning for local productions," Dennen said.

Dennen is using the grant to upgrade her equipment and build her Web site.

"The grant itself was a nice monetary thing but getting into a networking group and meeting all of those people was also helpful," Dennen said. "Now more people know of my existence. I can grow that way. I already got a couple of leads through the group."

Dennen said local women who aspire to own their own business should decide on their passion and take it from there.

"Find something you love to do and do it well. You have to be very passionate about what you want to do and if you put your passion into it you will succeed," Dennen said.

Marcucio is planning to use the grant to expand and promote a Lunch and Learn program for seniors in the Valley and to help build her Web site.

"I am trying to get this new program started, the Lunch and Learn program. I have done it on a volunteer basis with the city of Derby and it went over well," Marcucio said. "We would bring a speaker into communities in the Valley and I cook a lunch."

Marcucio said being involved with WIN has helped her business already.

"Since I received the grant I have made leads and contacts from the group of women," she said. "I just picked up a jog from meeting another woman in the group. It's wonderful."

Marcucio previously owned a coffee shop in Derby for 10 years before opening her home management business.

"I never thought I would be able to do this. I've always been a worker not a business person who would go to meetings and speak in front of people with a business plan," she said. "No matter what, if you believe in your business and what you're doing you can accomplish anything. If you love what you're doing and you believe in it you will do well."

WIN is the first group of its kind to service the towns of the Greater Valley. The group was formed in 2002 by a group of successful businesswomen who meet and discuss common issues. Meetings are on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce office or off-site at a Chamber member location. For more information on WIN call the Chamber at 925-4981 or visit www.greatervalleychamber.com.

©Shelton Weekly 2006
Taken from ZWire.com