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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Office of Economic Development
860-496-5920
January 4, 2005
NOTE Correction to Previous Press Release
Workshop for Downtown Merchants and Small Business Owners
As part of the Downtown Resource Center educational series, the Office of Economic Development is hosting two upcoming free workshops to downtown and small business owners. A two-hour seminar entitled Superior Customer Service & Selling will take place on Monday January 30th, and Cost Effective Advertising is scheduled for Monday, February 27th. Both will be at 10 AM in the City Hall Council Chambers. Dave Helmin, Business Development Specialist for the Connecticut Main Street Center, will present the seminars.
Mr. Helmin’s two-hour presentation on Cost Effective Advertising will offer a step-by-step approach to developing a successful advertising program. The participant will identify what it wants to sell and develop work lists to guide the strategic planning process. There will be a focus on idea creation and formulation, budgeting, and building measuring tools to increase the store’s degree of success.
At the Superior Customer Service & Selling seminar, the participant will evaluate their current service model, learn effective selling techniques based on the “customer-driven” model, and identify the next steps needed to implement a superior service plan.
The City of Torrington joined the Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC) Downtown Resource Center, a program for organizations working to revitalize downtown commercial districts. The CMSC is the state’s leading resource for cities and towns seeking to comprehensively revitalize their downtown districts.
Dave Helmin joined Connecticut Main Street Center in April 2005 as its Business Development Specialist. He works closely with designated Main Street communities, and Downtown Resource Center members, such as Torrington. Mr. Helmin has twenty-six years in the hospitality industry including six years as owner/ operator of two Connecticut restaurants. He spent nine years with the Morse School of Business Hotel and Restaurant Management Program as instructor, Department Chair, and Director of Education. He was instrumental in the design and development of the curriculum for the Center for Culinary Arts located in Cromwell. Mr. Helmin has also held various positions with McDonald’s Corporation, Brigham’s Ice Cream, Chi Chi’s Mexican Restaurants, 36 Lewis Street, Shenanigans, Hot Tomatoes, Hot
Tamales, The Gathering Place, and Max Downtown.
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