Tom Chappell to Speak at VEC Opening; Governor Malloy Endorses Center
Tom Chappell, co-founder of Tom’s of Maine and
Ramblers Way Farms, will speak at the event.
The Viscogliosi Entrepreneurship Center will be dedicated on Thursday, October 2, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Manchester Community College Arts and Education Center, also known as MCC on Main, at 903 Main Street.
The VEC was made possible by a generous donation from Paula and Anthony G. Viscogliosi, Manchester residents and successful entrepreneurs.
“The Viscogliosi Entrepreneurship Center will help provide students and small businesses owners with the support they need to help strengthen our economy and create good-paying jobs with good benefits right here in Connecticut,” said Governor Dannel P. Malloy. “I commend Paula and Anthony Viscogliosi for their gracious donation and encourage the community to take advantage of this invaluable new resource.”
Special guest entrepreneur Tom Chappell – who with his wife Kate Cheney Chappell, co-founded Tom’s of Maine and Ramblers Way Farm – added, “I celebrate the Viscogliosi commitment to entrepreneurship and congratulate the center’s students for their courage.”
The evening’s program will include remarks by Chappell and the Honorable Jay Moran, mayor of Manchester. A reception will follow. It is free and open to the public, but space is limited and reservations are required. For more information, contact Diana Reid at 860-512-2909.
Viscogliosi Entrepreneurship Center
The Viscogliosi Entrepreneurship Center will provide students, entrepreneurs and small business owners with opportunities to explore and develop their business passion and vision, through innovative and informative educational and networking opportunities.
“The center will serve as a town, college and business community resource that will help independent business owners as well as students with entrepreneurial aspirations to explore their ideas, learn what works and what doesn’t, and build on one another’s enthusiasm,” noted Paula Viscogliosi.
Associated programs currently scheduled include the popular Beer, Burgers and Managing Your Bucks series; financial literacy workshops; social entrepreneurship workshops; and several other entrepreneurial programs. The center will present courses in valuable offices tools and skills and provide opportunities for local and regional networking events.
The Viscogliosi Entrepreneurship Center will support innovative programs helping students, individuals or small businesses explore and, launch viable new enterprises or expand their current endeavors. The Viscogliosi Entrepreneurship Center will foster understanding of social enterprise as a tool for achieving social and environmental change. The Viscogliosi Entrepreneurship Center will be dedicated in honor of a gift by Paula and Anthony G. Viscogliosi, whose international experience as accomplished entrepreneurs, visionaries and philanthropists have led them to Manchester, where they work with local organizations in arts, education and entrepreneurship.
