North Shore Business Leaders Innovate at Mash UP! Event Over Cocktails, Music and Lively Discussion

EVANSTON, Ill., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The former ambassador to New Zealand, Carol Mosley Braun, will headline a business Mash UP! event on Wednesday, Sept. 15th at 5:30 p.m. on Northwestern University's beach campus. Gaye van den Hombergh, president of Winning Workplaces, will co-host.

The first ever Mash UP! dialogue will provoke Evanston business to innovate, pulling expertise from Northwestern University, Evanston non-profits and local businesses.

Patrick Hughes, President of Inclusion Solutions and co-chair of Mash UP! said, "The Mash UP! is a first step in bringing businesses together for meaningful dialogue. We need to shape, inform and define what the business community can and should do right now."

In addition to food and entertainment, the event will inaugurate three new awards. The Evanston Catalyst Award will be presented annually to business or community leaders who forge new partnerships that are catalysts for growth. The first recipients are Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro and Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl.

The Business of the Year Award will be awarded to Marvin Klein and Warren Weisberg of PortionPac.  This award, sponsored by Winning Workplaces, is presented to a business that invests significantly in human capital through best-practice human resource management resulting in a workplace that is profitable and transformative.

The Next Generation Award, presented in partnership with the Evanston Community Foundation, recognizes a company that is providing a better future for youth. The award will be presented to Chuck Happ and the Evanston Technology Innovation Center.

Corrine Passage, Senior Vice-President of Pivot Point and Co-Chair of  the planning committee, said, "We know that we have tapped a need here in Evanston based on the number of businesses and individuals who are sponsoring the Mash UP!"  More than 20 Evanston institutions will be among the major sponsors while close to 100 individuals will be acting as hosts.

For more information on reservations, sponsorships or general questions, contact Elaine McKemna- Irish at the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, 847-328-1500 X22.  Cost per person is $125.

About PORTIONPAC

PortionPac is the leading provider of Green Seal-certified concentrated cleaning detergents. PortionPac has been named a 2010 Top Small Company Workplace by Winning Workplaces and Inc. magazine. For more information visit www.portionpaccorp.com.

SOURCE PortionPac