NCET

Jim Leavitt has an inherent knack for fixing things, an aptitude that led him naturally into the automotive repair business.

“I love taking something that’s broken and making it whole and better again,” said Leavitt, who moved to Southern Nevada from Canada in 1997, when he founded Leavitt Auto Care. “My brother had been here and said Las Vegas needed a good, honest repair shop, and I always wanted to have my own business. It’s not easy, but when you are able to go in and solve a problem on a vehicle, it’s quite rewarding to find the problem and fix it.”

He launched the company with the help of his wife, LeeAnne Leavitt, some used equipment and one lift. Read full story:

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It’s a vineyard in a cornfield , like an oasis in the desert. And not only do Charlie and Debbie Frey consider it the future for the farming community of Fallon; they are inviting competition.

It all goes back to Charlie’s childhood, really. He grew up on that farm in Fallon. His father pushed him toward another vocation. But after years as a certified public accountant, he was drawn back to the farming life.

“When my father fell ill, I knew it was time to move back home,” he tells me as we walk through the rows and rows of grapevines. “So, I did. And I realized that farming is changing. The alfalfa and grains we always grew out here just use too much water. So I started thinking about what we could grow that would use less. Grapes use 10% of the water most other crops do. So with the help of UNR, we began experimenting. And look where it’s led.”

There are now six different varieties of grapes growing at Churchill Vineyards. They include chardonnay, white riesling, semillon and merlot. And all of them are doing well. Read more:

Technorati Tags: Erin Breen, Reno Gazette-Journal, Fallon, University of Nevada, Reno, UNR, Churchill Vineyards, KTVN’s Channel 2 News This Morning, NCET, Nevada?s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, entrepreneurs

Celebrating and Encouraging Nevada’s Entrepreneurs

Greater Reno Tahoe – March 8 – 16, 2008

Events include:

• March 10 – Entrepreneur Week Kick-Off Event – Desert Research Institute
• March 12 – NCET’s Wi-Fi Wednesday
• March 13 – EDAWN Business Buzz
      Featuring Keynote Speaker: Ben Casnocha,
      Entrepreneur and author of “My Start-Up Life”
• March 15 – NCET’s Entrepreneur Expo
      50 – 75 Exhibitors
      25 Speakers and Panelists

  Whether someone is an entrepreneur, starting a new business or wants to expand an existing business, the free Entrepreneur Expo provides:

      • Access to organizations that can help jump-start a business
       • Expert advice on virtually every facet of starting and running a business

____________________________________________________

Las Vegas – February 23 – March 16, 2008

Events include

• February 25 – Microsoft Bus – UNLV Campus
• February 25 – Entrepreneur Week Kick-Off Event – Palace Station
      Special Guests
          Dr. David Ashley, UNLV
          Somer Hollingsworth, NDA
• February 27 – NCET’s Wi-Fi Wednesday
• February 28 – SBA Resource Partners Mini-Expo
• March 1 – NCET’s Entrepreneur Expo – Palace Station
      50 – 75 Exhibitors
      25 Speakers and Panelists

   Whether someone is an entrepreneur, starting a new business or wants to expand an existing business, the free Entrepreneur Expo provides:
      •  Access to organizations that can help jump-start a business
      •  Expert advice on virtually every facet of starting and running a business

For more information on eWeek, contact Emily Lowe at 775-337-3328 or Emily@NCET.org

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What is becoming known as the largest international event for the geothermal power industry, the Geothermal Energy Association’s Trade Show is expected to draw record crowds this year, according to the GEA.

The annual event is held in conjunction with the Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting, and over 1,500 participants and visitors are expected at the two events. Last year’s programs brought together 1,000 people, and we anticipate a 50% increase, noted Karl Gawell, GEA’s Executive Director. The three day GEA-GRC events will be held October 1-3 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks (Reno), Nevada. Read more:

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Patrick Ty Whitaker is recruiting environ­mental engineers, planners, and others who work in any field with an environmental bent to join a networking group of his own making, Northern Nevada Environmental Professionals. Whitaker is himself a young professional, a 2003 graduate of University of Nevada, Reno, with a degree in environmental science. He?s employed as an environmental scientist at Huffman & Carpenter, Inc. a regulatory law consulting company.

?Reno is a young growing community,? he says.?It?s important for people in this field to know others, because some day they will be in charge.?
Originally, he had intended it to be a young scientist group, for those roughly 20 to 40 years old, but now says senior scientists may be invited to come in to speak at meetings.

Richard Gebhart, chief officer for Nevada Army Corps of Engineers, is booked to speak at the group?s Oct. 11 meeting.

?A club could provide an opportunity to learn about environmental projects and issues in the area, and network within the communit­y,? he says.?This is an opportunity to come out and socialize with people in your field.?

The group held two early morning meet­ings, attended by half a dozen core members; to boost attendance, meetings were moved to after work at Silver Peak Brewery on Wonder Street. It now meets each second Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Technorati Tags: Northern Nevada Business Weekly, Patrick Ty Whitaker, Northern Nevada Environmental Professionals, University of Nevada, Reno, UNR, Huffman & Carpenter, Inc., Nevada Army Corp of Engineers, Silver Peak Brewery, NCET, Nevada?s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology