Business buzz: Napa County business has it all wrapped up

Excellent Packaging and Supply, founded by Steve Levine of  Napa and co-owned with Greg Stevens of  Calistoga, has had a recent series of successes covered nationally.

Excellent Packaging’s signature product, SpudWare was  named  one of the top 50 products of 2007 by “Advertising Age” magazine.

The partners were recently informed that its marketing program of the BioMass Sustainable Food Service Packaging Program was named a finalist in an international competition sponsored by Bioplastics Conference and Awards in Cologne, Germany.

Last month EPS was featured on FOX news.

The company was founded in December 2003, and has focused on replacements for Styrofoam and petroleum based plastic disposable packaging.

Sales last year were $5 million with sales and expected to reach $10 million this year.

Aldea names Maspaitella director of child welfare

Peter Maspaitella has been named director of child welfare for Aldea Children and Family Services.

A veteran Bay Area child welfare leader, Maspaitella was born in Holland, and his family moved to Napa when he 8 years old. He attended Napa schools, including Napa Valley College, and received his academic training in San Francisco. He has been working in Bay Area child welfare and foster care agencies for more than 30 years — including being a foster and adoptive parent himself.

“This is a homecoming for me in many ways,” says Maspaitella. “I grew up in Napa, and I live in Vallejo. Aldea works in both Napa and Solano counties, and I welcome the opportunity to give back to the communities that have been so important to me and my family.”

Prior to joining Aldea, Maspaitella served as special projects coordinator and trainer for the Bay Area Academy, a training institute for child welfare workers at San Francisco State University. Before that, he held roles supervising and supporting child welfare workers throughout the Bay Area, including a foster care agency in Oakland, which he founded and directed for 10 years.

“Peter has dedicated his career to supporting child welfare workers and foster families,” says Mark Bontrager, executive director of Aldea.

Pacific Union GMAC Realtor Wunderlich attends expo

Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate Realtor Terry Wunderlich returned from the California Realtor Expo and business meetings in Anaheim.

 The conference provided Wunderlich with an array of valuable business and professional skills to incorporate and use to help deliver better customer service to clients in the Napa Valley.

The theme of the event: “Realtor 2.0: The Next Big Thing” — reflecting the mind-set and skill-set needed to comfortably transact business with today’s Internet savvy clients.

Leslie Appleton Young CAR’s chief economist was a featured speaker.  Her topic was “Up, Down or Sideways: What’s next for California’s Housing Market.”  

Also, the 2008 Leadership Team appointed Wunderlich to serve as vice chair for the IMPAC Committee, member of the Federal Issues Committee and act as a liaison to the strategic and finance committee.

Dey, L.P. partners with COPD Foundation

In recognition of November as National COPD Awareness Month, Dey, L.P., a subsidiary of Mylan Inc. has entered into a partnership with the COPD Foundation in support of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to raise public awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), also known as emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

Through an unrestricted educational grant to the COPD Foundation, Dey, L.P. is supporting the COPD “Learn More Breathe Better” campaign, an ongoing initiative to educate the public about COPD and its treatment, and to urge screening and early detection of the disease.

COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease, cancer and stroke.

 The COPD “Learn More Breathe Better” campaign targets people over 45, particularly current or former smokers or people at risk for a genetic predisposition to COPD or environmental exposures.

Through this collaboration with the COPD Foundation in support of the NHLBI, Dey will contribute to the campaign’s consumer education events and to its distribution of educational materials to physicians and the general public.”

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