From Left to Right: Dr. Jean Wihbey, Sharon Quercioli, and Ed Chase

(West Palm Beach) The Women in Business Council of the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce presented Sharon Quercioli, President of Sprouts!, Inc. with its 2011 Woman of the Year Award. The presentation was made at the Council’s annual award luncheon at the renowned Jupiter Beach Resort on Tuesday, October 25. The prestigious gathering included some of the most high-profile business and community leaders of Northern Palm Beach County.

The Women in Business Council presents its annual Woman of the Year award to the outstanding leader and female entrepreneur who has attained the highest level of professional excellence in the Northern Palm Beach County community. The recipient is an exemplary model of strength, passion and devotion to all in their business and personal life.

The four finalists consisted of Maria V. Davis, Town Manager of Lake Park; Janet Harris-Lange, President of the National Women in Business Owners Corp. & Agenda Dynamics Inc.; Esther LaBovick, CFO of LaBovick Law Group; and Sharon Quercioli, President of Sprouts!, Inc. (www.sproutem.com), the West Palm Beach-based manufacturer of plantable seed paper products that was named 2009 Small Business of the Year by the Northern Palm Beach Chamber.

Dr. Jean Wihbey, Provost of Palm Beach State College, led off the event by giving a compelling presentation on leadership in which she discussed the finer points of being a woman in a leadership role. Following Dr. Wihbey’s presentation, Sharon was announced as Woman of the Year. During her acceptance speech, Sharon gave thanks to the Women in Business Council, Betty Ann Baker, Executive Director of Healing Touch Buddies, Inc. who nominated Sharon, her friends, business associates and dedicated staff. Sharon congratulated the other nominees and dedicated the award to all women whose perseverance allows them to sail through even the roughest of waters.

Sharon’s poise in the face of adversity and personal trials these last few months, during which she had to endure the loss of her beloved brother, revealed her steadfast commitment to family, friends, business associates and community.

“One of my true passions is giving back to the community through charitable organizations and by mentoring women, men and children. I’m honored to have been named Woman of the Year and want to thank the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber for this prestigious award.”

Finally, the summer is here and in full swing!  You thought this was going to be a peaceful summer, but guess again.  The kids are home from school and guests are frequently coming and going.  On top of that there are the cookouts and other assortment of summertime functions; how is one to keep up with it all?

One cute and clever way to help you keep up with the on goings in your home is to leave door hanger messages on your doors.  Remind your kids that even though they are home from school they still need to rise and shine to enjoy the day.  Let your houseguests know in a playful manner that although they are guests you are not their personal butler or maid during their stay.  Inform any visitors about not over feeding your pets or letting them out of the house.  Door hangers tell everyone pertinent information in a lighthearted way without making you seem like the bad guy.

More than just reminders, door hangers can also incite an evening of fun and adventure.  Let the family know your taking the night off to spend time with the girlfriends or leave messages of encouragement for the kids.  Looking for a hostess present to bring to the neighbor’s cook-off party; a door hanger is a simple yet thoughtful gift.  With the many uses of door hangers, your summer is sure to be less of a nightmare and more like the peaceful dream you desire.

Need a place to purchase some door hanger messages? Sprouts!, the plantable seed paper company, has dozens of eco-friendly door hanger options.  Please visit http://sproutem.com/category/Plantable-Door-Hangers to see all the varieties of messages they have to offer.  Have your own idea?  Sprouts! can create custom door hangers too!  Email info@sproutem.com for more information.

This article was featured in Our Wonderful World Magazine, Florida’s leading green digital magazine!  To see this article in the magazine please click this link. To find out more about Our Wonderful World Magazine, please visit http://www.owwmedia.com.

Downtown in Bloom - Downtown at the Gardens

May is the month for summertime fun and no one has more fun than the Sprouts! Team.

This past May 14 and 15 Sprouts! participated in Downtown in Bloom at the upscale Downtown at the Gardens shopping center in Palm Beach Gardens. Downtown in Bloom featured a colorful array of floral and outdoor displays, including painted pottery, garden sculptures, water-themed landscape displays and, of course, exquisite flower arrangements.

The Busy Sprouts! Booth

The Sprouts! booth was bustling with a crowd of intrigued attendees who were new to Sprouts! plantable seed paper cards and products. Our plantable goodies caused quite a stir among the crowd and we made many new friends. Among them was our basket winner Dianne Merill of Diva Di. We’d like to thank all of the people who participated in our drawing and hope to see you again at our next event.

Keep an eye out for our e-newsletter, Green Gossip, with news about our upcoming events, green articles and information about our latest green products.

For more information about the products featured at Downtown in Bloom, please visit our website at www.sproutem.com or you can contact us via email at info@sproutem.com

Dr. Jean Wihbey, Sharon Quercioli, Dana M. Nelson, Rebecca Swafford, Stan Bronson

Among the judges was Sprouts! very own Green Goddess herself, Sharon Quercioli.  Sharon, along with Stan Bronson, Executive Director of the Florida Earth Foundation, Dana M. Nelson, LEED AP BD+C of Skanska USA Building Operations and Dr. Jean Wihbey, Provost of Palm Beach State College, chose a piece created by Palm Beach State College student Rebecca Swafford of Palm Beach Gardens as the winner.  The judges felt Rebecca’s art truly embodied the spirit of Earth Day in Florida and would be a fabulous design to use in conjunction with Palm Beach State College’s Earth Day 2012 Celebration.

Rebecca Swafford's Earth Day 2012 winning Poster

Some of the other activities that occurred during the Earth Day Celebration included a demonstration of hybrid vehicles, cookies bake by solar power, a beautifully crafted turtle sculpture made completely out of recycled materials created by Joseph Lacke and a display of how much paper is being used at the campus in 28 days.

Hybrid Vehicle

How much paper is used in one month at the Eissey Campus

This Turtle was made completely from recycled materials.

Cookies baked with solar power!

Remember, everything we do effects our planet so make Earth Day everyday!

For a number of years, Sprouts! has participated in Art Fest by the Sea selling cards in support of the Art Education Fund for Palm Beach County schools.  Sharon, Sprouts! founder, personally selects artwork submitted to the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce from the school children of Palm Beach County.  Of the hundreds of entries, she chooses 6 pieces to turn into a box of cards sold at the event.

This year, there were so many amazing entries she had the Sprouts! Team create two boxes of cards each featuring 6 different pieces created by the children.   These two box sets are called The Talented Youngsters Collection and The Beacon Cove Collection.  Each collection features various interpretations of turtles by the children.

At the event we enjoyed perfect weather and made many new friends.   We had a great time meeting everyone who stopped by to say hello including some of the contest winners!  A special thanks goes out to the talented young artists who supplied the images for our Art Fest 2011 note cards.  Congratulations on your artwork being selected!  You are all very gifted and we hope you continue the amazing work.

It is not too late to support the Art Education Fund, which helps fund art programs in Palm Beach County area schools.  Sprouts! Art Fest 2011 Note Cards are still available for purchase.  Click on the link here to order!

Sharon and Candace at the Sprouts! Booth

The Sprouts! Team had a blast at the 2011 ArtiGras Fine Arts Festival held at the Abacoa Town Center in Jupiter, FL.  The weather could not have been more beautiful for the three fun filled days of amazing art and live music.  ArtiGras showcased a wide array of the arts from the more traditional photography, paintings and sculpture to the functional including fashion and fine jewelry.  Other activities at the festival included the youth art exhibit featuring pieces submitted from Palm Beach County school children, an artist demonstration stage, art activities for children, and artivity avenue for adults to discover their inner artist.

In addition to being a venue for artists from all over to showcase their work, one of the main goals of ArtiGras is to help raise funds for the Art Education Fund for Palm Beach County schools.  With budget cuts constantly threatening the end of art programs in our schools, donations from sources like the ArtiGras Art Education Fund are essential.

To help contribute to the fundraising efforts, Sprouts! created a very special box of cards for the 2011 ArtiGras event.   At the Festival, Sprouts! featured the prize-winning artwork of six students among hundreds who participated in the ArtiGras Youth Art Competition.  The students were of various ages and represented a number of schools in Palm Beach County.   The show was a huge success and we were able to raise hundreds of dollars for the ArtiGras Art Education fund through the sale of our handmade, 100% recycled Plantable Seed Paper Cards and products-all of which grow beautiful wildflowers when planted.

Meet the Talented Young Artists!

It’s Not Too Late!

It is not too late to support the ArtiGras Art Education Fund, which helps fund art programs in Palm Beach County area schools.  Sprouts! ArtiGras Youth Art Collection 2011 Note Cards are still available for purchase.

“Sprouts! is committed to educating the community about the important of arts education, and conservation through our products and environmental awareness efforts.”

-Sharon Quercioli, President and Founder of Sprouts!, Inc.

2011 ArtiGras Cards

Click Here to Support the ArtiGras Art Education Fund!

Thank You For Joining Sprouts at the Wyland Living Green Fair!

Living Green is Not a Dream!

The weekend of November 6th and 7th, the Wyland Living Green Fair was held at Mizner Park in Boca Raton, FL. The fair went a long way to show the people of South Florida that living green is not a dream. Many companies attended the weekend event showcasing everything from consumer products to industrial and commercial industry green alternatives.

Sprouts, a proud event sponsor, would like to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to see us. Our Sprouts Team was hopping at the Wyland Living Green Fair with attendees flocking around our booth. We definitely created a buzz and had an amazing time talking to people about our plantable seed paper products including greeting cards, bookmarks, and boxes. We made many new friends at the event and look forward to growing new relationships and business with them. We would also like to give a big thanks to Brian Cuddy from The Organic Cellar for use of his fabulous bottles of organic wine that we used to showcase our wine tags and cards.

There were many Aha! moments for the thousands of fair-goers who came out to the second annual South Florida Wyland Living Green Fair (WLGF) at Mizner Park in Downtown Boca Raton. There was much to explore and do, and jam-packed with many fun and engaging activities for the whole family tree, such as, children painting a 50-foot mural each day with Wyland; interact with eco-conscious Disney teen stars that set out to “Rock Out This Planet”; organic cooking demos and food tastings by South Florida chefs; product showcases of Green Fair vendors; displays of eco-friendly hybrid cars; and many more interactive activities that showed how simple, smart, fun, and stylish it is to live greener and healthier lives.

And the Winner Is…
Thank you to everyone who entered to win our fabulous gift basket filled with Sprouts plantable seed paper products. Congratulations to the basket winner,
Jeff Tannenbaum of J. Tech Sales.

Interested in learning more about Sprouts 100% recycled Plantable Seed Paper Products? Contact Us at:
www.sproutem.com
info@sproutem.com
561-840-8089