Fair 021714

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com

February 17, 2014 | VOL. 50, No. 7

WBDC TAKES HOLISTIC APPROACH

FCBJ this week no rocKing chairs

A thousand people came to Old Greenwich to consider their leisure years … 8

MEN, TOO, BENEFIT FROM EFFORTS

say, ahhhh

St. Vincent’s Health Services opts for the “no appointment necessary” format in Stratford … 10

BY BILL FALLON bfallon@westfairinc.com

I

Frontier has called Stamford home since 1946. But never before has the Fortune 500 company served Connecticut customers. Now as executives prepare to switch the Connecticut plug, they’re anticipating one obvious question from customers: Who is Frontier Communications?

f the world slowed down this month to make way for all the ice and snow, the Women’s Business Development Council in Stamford — often known by the shorthand WBDC — has instead put the pedal to the metal. From its Bedford Street headquarters, the WBDC operates with a budget “greater than $1.5 million annually,” according to its founder and director, Fran Pastore. On a recent afternoon in the WBDC second-floor offices, she waxed enthusiastic about a pair of programs for nascent entrepreneurs, a coming physical expansion in Danbury and a cinematic star turn for African ice cream. Whatever the programs, according to Kimberly Cranston-DeSousa, a WBDC senior manager and project director, “We’re consistently about the economic equity of women.” The WBDC’s two classes focus on: “Passion to Profit: Business Plan Development Program” and a four-month budget coaching program. “The business plan class is about testing the feasibility of your idea,” Pastore said. “There is critical analysis of the idea and then we figure out how to make it work.” The deadline of Feb. 17 has been extended, but the two separate classes — one in Norwalk and one in Shelton, each with 15 students — will begin as scheduled: Feb. 24 at the

» frontier, page 6

» wbdc, page 6

inTo The wild

The Greenwich Audubon chapter showcases sustainability and an extensive web of trails … 15 newsmaKers

Friends and colleagues on the move … 18

MEDIA PARTNER

Executives brigid Smith and cecilia mcKenney with frontier communication’s buffalo mascot, frank.

Frontier finds itself in familiar territory ACQUISITION LETS STAMFORD TELECOM FINALLY SERVE ITS OWN BACKYARD

BY JENNIFER BISSELL jbissell@westfairinc.com

by The end of The year, some 1.5 million customers in Connecticut will see the letterhead on their Internet and phone bills change from AT&T Inc. to Frontier Communications Corp.

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