Nathaniel Group News

October 2008 - Ellaine Abueg, PhD has been named to the newly created position of business development engineer at Nathaniel Group. Most recently, Ellaine was a research assistant at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, where she completed her doctorate in biomedical engineering.

"Ellaine brings a tremendous range of knowledge and experience to the company," said Nathaniel Group President Joel Melnick. "She will become an integral part of our development process and a valuable partner for our clients in managing their projects and refining their products."

Ellaine Abueg, PhD

 

 

July 2008 - Nathaniel Group receives the Governer's Award for Supported Employment

gcepd logo rev 2BLN logo

ABILITIES
Promoting the employment of Vermont citizens of all abilities
 July 2008 - Vol 2, Issue 3

Dear Friends ~   Celebrating the 2008 Governor's Awards Winners

Fred Jones, Chair of the GCEPDIn 1989, the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD) began recognizing individuals, businesses, media or municipalities that have made significant contributions to the employment of people with disabilities.  Currently, over sixty Vermont businesses and individuals have been honored.  That number was increased on June 9th at the 5th Governor's Summit for the Employment of People with Disabilities, when eight businesses and individuals received awards from Governor Jim Douglas for their efforts to promote the employment of Vermonters with physical, mental, emotional and/or other disabilities.

The mission of the GCEPD is to promote equal employment for all citizens of Vermont by advising the Governor, and through the formation of partnerships with business, government and people with disabilities.  It is individuals and entities such as those recognized by the Governor's Awards that give meaning and life to our mission.  To the nominees and winners of the Governor's Awards - past and present - and to all of you in the employment and service sector that work so hard to ensure that individuals with disabilities are given every opportunity for meaningful and successful employment, we salute you.
Best regards,
Fred Jones, Chair, 
Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
and
Susan Chicoine, on behalf of the Vermont Business Leadership Network

About the Governor's Awards

The Governor's Awards are given in three different categories.  The Employment/Accommodation Award is for an employer who reflects the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act in their employment practices.  This year awards were given in different subcategories associated with either the type of business or the nature of the employment practices.  These subcategories were: 

  • Employment - Supported Employment
  • Employment - Youth in Transition
  • Employment - Corporate
  • Employment - Small Business
  • Employment - Accommodation

The Design/Accessibility Award is for an architect, contractor, business, municipality, recreational facility or entity that has developed innovative and creative solutions for accessible structures, buildings or services, or provided accommodations to create equal and aesthetic access. 

The Media - Public Education Award presented this year recognized dedicated efforts to promote public awareness and understanding of the respect, dignity and equality to which all people with disabilities are entitled. 

The fourth award presented this year, the Governor's Award for Outstanding Effort, is a discretionary award only given when an employer, business, or organization truly exemplifies a mission to promote the employment of people with disabilities.

 

Award Winners in the Employment Category

Here are the 2008 Governor's Awards winners in the Employment Category.

2008 Governor's Award Winners in the Employment Category

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From left to right:  Governor Jim Douglas; Claude Bouchard; Kevin O'Brien, Darcy Nutter, Colleen Mollica, Joel Melnick, Mark Helijas, and Fred Jones, chair of the GCEPD

 Employment - Supported Employment Award: 

Joel Melnick, President, Nathaniel Group Inc. - Vergennes, Vermont

        The Employment - Supported Employment Award is presented to an employer who reflects the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act in their employment practices by offering employment support services such as job coaches, specialized job training, and individually tailored Joel Melnick 
supervision.

This year the award was presented to Joel Melnick and Nathaniel Group  Inc. for its well established culture of providing supported employment opportunities to individuals.  The nominator, a parent of a young adult with significant cognitive limitations who has worked for Nathaniel Group for the past 9 years, states that Mr. Melnick has demonstrated a remarkable openness to bringing students with disabilities into its workplace and an overall caring for workers with special abilities.  His daughter has developed new friendships and a very responsible work ethic as a result of the kind, respectful, and inclusive nature of the work environment found at Nathaniel Group.
 

06/30/2008 - Nathaniel Group receives the Terry Ehrich Award from the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility - Burlington Freepress – Business Monday

Nathaniel Group, Inc. of Vergennes won a Terry Ehrich Award in the Small Company Leader of the Year category from the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.  The committee said the firm ships high-tech medical devices to surgeons around the world and solves problems for large national clients with innovative thinking.  Nathaniel Group recently received $250,000 grant to develop a prototype “concentrated solar photovoltaic energy generator.

06/23/2008 - Nathaniel Group receives Solar Energy Development Grant - Burlington Freepress – Business Monday

Nathaniel Group, Inc. in Vergennes received a $250,000 grant from Clean Energy Development Fund through the Vermont Department of Public Service to build a working prototype of a concentrated photovoltaic system for generating electricity from the sun.  The demonstration project will be installed at Nathaniel’s facility in Vergennes and should produce power in the summer of 2009.  Concentrated photovoltaic technology represents a leap forward in the efficiency of solar electric generation.

12/08/2005 - Progress on our facility renovation

Earlier this year Joel purchased the building that Nathaniel has rented for the past 8 years. We began plans to expand our space to occupy most of the building thereby increasing our square footage by 78%. The colorful floor in our production area is recycled rubber flooring from EcoSurfaces. Response from employees has been great. The soft surface is easy on the feet and the back.

All of the walls have had a fresh coat of paint and the place is feeling much more cheerful. This week our production lines began moving back into the newly renovated space.

We've added a number of windows to brighten up our space and to allow natural light to make the workspace more pleasant.

Our engineering area has also had a face lift... new flooring and fresh paint. Soon we'll have all new cubicles and workspaces installed. Within the next year we will add a conference room and dedicated lab space in the engineering area.

Next in line for renovation is the inventory/warehouse area. Our expectation is that the renovation will be complete by early in January. We have a day of celebration scheduled for the entire staff near the end of that month and are planning a public open house sometime during the first quarter of 2006.

9/28/2005 - Nathaniel Group, Inc. Honored at 5x5x5 Growth Awards in Vermont

Vermont Business Magazine and KeyBank partnered to celebrate the 5 fastest growing Vermont-based companies during the past 5 years within 5 different industry sectors: Construction, Women Owned, Manufacturing, Wholesale and Technology. Nathaniel Group was honored to be one of the 25 companies celebrated at the 5x5x5 Growth Awards ceremony on September 28, 2005. Vermont Governor Jim Douglas along with KeyBank and Vermont Business Magazine presented the awards.

9/14/2005 - OEM NE Trade Show

Thanks to all of you who stopped by Nathaniel's booth at OEM NE Trade Show in Worcester on September 14th and 15th. We had a great time and met a lot of great folks there.

We would love to have any of you come to Vermont and visit our facility.