EDAWN honors top companies of the year

Exemplary contributions to the community are all about staying connected, say executives of two companies honored by the Economic Development Authority ofWestern Nevada last week.

RR Donnelley, which employs more than 400 at its printing plant in Stead,was honored as EDAWN's large company more than 100 employees of the year.

Twelve Horses, a provider of e-mail and Web-based marketing services,was honored as small company of the year.

The winners are selected by past chairmen of EDAWN.

Along with economic factors bringing new revenue into the region, paying aboveaverage wages the two companies were selected on the basis of their contributions to the community.

A long tradition of community involvement for Chicago-based RR Donnelley plays out locally in a committee of employees that decides on many contributions in northern Nevada, says Paul Erickson, vice president of manufacturing at the Reno plant.

Among the groups the employee committee has chosen to assist are Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, Food Bank of Northern Nevada, the Salvation Army's "Operation Back to School," United Way and Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Sierra Arts, Crisis Call Center and Children's Cabinet.

The committee, Erickson says, also has proven to be a good tool to help employees learn about RR Donnelley's culture of community involvement.

At Twelve Horses, Chief Operating Officer Martin Gastanaga is a Nevada native and both Gastanaga and Chief Executive Officer Dave LaPlante are graduates of the University of Nevada.

The Reno-based company is a strong supporter of UNR'sinternship programs and its staff includes more than a dozen graduates of the school.

In addition, LaPlante says, the company's employees about 30 in Reno out of a total of 55 worldwide quickly learn that Twelve Horses is committed to strengthening its hometown and hopes to be a leader in community involvement.

But, he added,employees and executives alike also learn that it's not easy to juggle the many requests for assistance and to balance those requests with the need to stay focused on the company's business mission.

Other nominees for EDAWN Business of the Year Small companies:

* Blakely Johnson & Ghusn, Inc.,

* Kimmie Candy

* Biodiesel Solutions Inc.

Large companies:

* Inter-Tel Technologies, Inc.,

* Alere Medical

* Ormat Nevada, Inc.