It’s Easy Being Green

By Nancy Crego, CWCC Member and Green Leads Group Leader

How I first began to understand the real meaning of being green was way back in the early 1970’s.  I was a daily newspaper business reporter in Vermont.  I carried my Nikon camera and had the great fortune of interviewing and photographing people who ran small businesses in rural New England .  My father, Andy Prib was a small business owner at this time in the rural South in a town in Mississippi.  My dad was a Yankee transplanted here when the Deep South was beginning to spread her wings and welcome itself into the post war era. We shared our local business stories.

Dad introduced recycling to the South.  He worked with companies to recycle newspapers and set up bins all over the community where folks could drop off their used newspapers. In fact, he had trash collectors picking up recyclables right their alongside their trash.  I think the most interesting recycling he ever told me about was his connecting of a roofer who had excess roofing shingles.  Before I knew it dad had connected them to a country in Africa and sent them over for repurposing.  Remember, this was the 70’s and long before bottled water made its debut. He was forward thinking and this nudged me to be entrepreneurial too.

When I started researching the concept of publishing a Wellness Living Magazine, many ideas came to mind. They were:

.   Recycle everything

.   Repurpose all used items and take them to charity locations

.   Protect the environment by introducing sustainability concepts

.   Introduce values to the workplace

.   Live in a nurturing community and be grateful for everything

.   Shop locally from farmers for all produce and fresh foods

.   Consider all alternative healthcare ideas as much as traditional medicine

.   Read labels and don’t buy anything that has more than 3 ingredients

.   Questions and research your health care provider and all the benefits offered

.   Create a meditation and yoga practice for relaxation and personal growth

.   Bring nature into your life and trek outside everyday

.   Tell all the important people in your life how much you love and respect them

Yes, this was a tall order to live by each day.  This may not be what my dad proposed when he started his company, but his concepts and ideas back then  provided me with a real purpose, strong meaning and great desire to enjoy every moment of each day.

AdWest is locally owned and has built its foundation from living and working in Jefferson County and serving regional and national accounts. Although different from an ad agency and public relations firm, AdWest established in 1986 specializes in niche publishing and video/Web work through a series of strategies that maximize the most positive aspects of your company.

“We have a vision to help companies develop new business and grow existing accounts. What is important about our vision is that everyone that works on our team is concerned about our client’s needs now and tomorrow. We all work towards what is best for our clients, our community and our planet,” states Nancy Crego, founder and CEO of AdWest. Crego’s projects include re-launching Coloradobiz Magazine and creating a magazine for General Growth Properties/Southwest Plaza. She also created and developed the award winning Wellness Living Magazine and re-launched the Best of Business Directory/Magazine for the West Chamber.  Check out www.adwestinc.com