Farewell, 2021!

It has been a crazy year and we are so thankful to have such an amazing community behind us as we enter into 2022. This year we opened TWO new locations - Beryl and Wake Forest! WOO! We couldn't have done it without all of you.

This month we've got some fun events coming up as well as a great opportunity to help us give back to the children of Wake County. Also, check out some photos from our Wake Forest Launch Party :)

GIVINGBACK 🎄

Help us give back this holiday season! Note in the Pocket is an amazing organization that helps provide clothing to impoverished and homeless schoolchildren in Wake County with dignity and love. ❤️

Each of our locations has a Christmas tree, located in either the kitchen or lobby area, with tons of little pockets hanging on them. Stop by the tree, grab a pocket (or two if you can), and find out which clothing item(s) are needed and for what gender/age.

Once purchased, place the item(s) back under the tree with your pocket attached. No need to wrap them!

If you prefer to pick something from their Urgent Needs Wishlist and have it shipped to them, click this link or find a note on the tree with a QR code on it and give it a scan.

🚨Donations are due by end of day Tuesday, December 21st 🚨

For further info, here's an awesome video explaining more about Note in the Pocket: https://vimeo.com/178372136

HEYTHERE 👋🏼

We not only launched two new locations this year but brought on two new amazing employees as well. Meet Velvet and Paige!

Velvet Nelson is our Director of Community Development and oversees our Wake Forest location. Previously the Director of Launch Chapel Hill, Velvet has an entrepreneurial spirit with a passion for startups, specializing in helping early-stage ventures find the resources, mentorship, and networking they need to accelerate their businesses. She lives in Wake Forest with her husband and two awesome kids! In her free time, you can catch her listening to true crime podcasts or planning the next spot she'd like to travel to. Fun fact about Velvet: her first concert was Jimmy Buffet! Weird fact about Velvet: She's binge-watched Friends twice in her life - each time while on maternity leave. Make sure to say hey to her when you see her. We love having her on our team and could not have launched our Wake Forest campus without her!

Paige Carter is our Community Experience Manager at Prince Hall. Paige is a D.C. native and recently relocated to North Carolina! Paige is known for her cheerful personality with a background in Hospitality Management, she enjoys making a warm and welcoming environment for everyone she crosses paths with! Two things Paige doesn't get tired of? Christmas music and Taco Bell of course! Her first concert was the Jonas Brothers and her favorite movie is Emperor's New Groove. Fun fact about Paige: she loves all things roller coasters. Next time you're over at Prince Hall, be sure to say hello. We are thankful to have Paige on our team!

MEMBEREVENTS

Here's a sneak peek at some of the community events this month!

Dec. 8th - Trivia Night: Holiday Edition, 5:30pm @ Beryl
Dec. 10th - Friday Breakfast, 9am @ Dock 1053 and Beryl
Dec. 15th - Holiday Happy Hour, 4pm - 6pm @ Beryl
Dec. 17th - Friday Breakfast, 9am @ Prince Hall and Wake Forest

We'll also have a wine pour at Dock 1053 - details to come!

WE'REOPEN 🚀

Thank you SO much to everyone that was able to make it out to our Wake Forest Launch Party! We had such a great afternoon showing off the space and shopping from all the amazing vendors. Huge shoutout to Triangle Pop-Up and Wake Forest Business and Industry Partnership for making this dream launch party a success. Check out a few shots from the party! 🎉

MEMBERHIGHLIGHT

Executive Director, US Composting Council

Frank Franciosi is the current Executive Director of both the US Composting Council and the Compost Council Research & Education Foundation. He has spent over 29 years working with residuals management and composting both in operations management as well as sales and marketing. In 1993, he started North Carolina’s first source separated organics composting facility.

As past principal of Akkadia Consulting, Frank provided professional consulting services on projects of animal waste management, biosolids management, coal ash residuals, composting of industrial residuals, product development, and marketing. He has facilitated the turnkey start-up of award-winning composting facilities, taking them from concept to feasibility to operational, overseeing permitting, equipment selection, hiring and training of personnel, as well as the development and execution of the product marketing plan.

Frank also managed the Novozymes’ Nature’s GREEN-RELEAF™ composting facility from 2003-2015. In 2014, Frank was the recipient of the Hi Kellogg Award for displaying outstanding service to the US composting industry over a period of many years. He has a BS in Plant and Soil Sciences from West Virginia University.

Frank joined The Loading Dock as one of the first community members at Dock 1053 in 2017. Over the years with us, he's gone from one small office to three! Not only has Frank been at the Dock from the very beginning but he's known as our ambassador of goodwill. If you're a member at 1053 you're sure to see Frank either cracking eggs like no other at our omelet breakfasts or chatting in the kitchen with his furry friend coworker Pippi at his side (and an Allagash White in hand). Frank works alongside his amazing crew of people in Raleigh; Hessa, Hilary, and Eric! We can confidently say that the Dock 1053 community would not be the same without them.

💻 ffranciosi@compostingcouncil.org