Office Liquidators announced Hope House of Colorado as the Grand Prize winner of the $35,000.00 Office Makeover.  The public cast a total of 6,995 votes which accounted for 50% of the total points awarded; with the remaining 50% of the points awarded through the panel of five (5) prominent judges. After the totals were calculated, it was determined that Hope House of Colorado was the organization with the most points; therefore the winner of Office Liquidators' first Office Makeover Contest.  Hope House will receive $30,000.00 worth of design (provided by Office Liquidators' sister company Corporate Environments) and furniture.

Hope House of Colorado is a nonprofit organization that empowers parenting teenage moms to strive for personal and economic self‐sufficiency and to understand their significance in God's
sight, resulting in a healthy future for them, and for their children.

The four (4) runners up; Metro Care Ring, NAMI, Ralston House and The Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics will each receive $1,250.00 of furniture.

Dennis Meyer, President of Office Liquidators presents check for $30,000 to Lisa Steven, Executive Director of Hope House of Colorado.

Left to Right: Nicole Feltes, Carrie Fye, Danielle Anders, Elizabeth Corless, Dennis Meyer, Lisa Steven, Jamie O'Rielly, Katie Cassidy, Tine Ving.

Stay tuned for the results of the makeover!

Office Liquidators, HON and Allsteel are giving away free office furniture in the $35,000 Office Makeover Contest.  Thank you to everyone who nominated a Denver area non-profit for consideration.  After reviewing the nominations (criteria), the five finalists selected by our panel of judges are:

•    Hope House – assisting teen mothers become self-sufficient
•    Metro CareRing – local food pantry
•    NAMI Colorado – helping those in crisis with mental illness
•    Ralston House – services for sexually abused minors
•    The Rocky Mountain Youth Medical and Nursing – medical assistance for minors

Although each of these finalists are winners of free office furniture from Office Liquidators, only one can receive the grand prize of $30,000!  Vote now for the non-profit you believe deserves grand prize.   Runners up will each receive a $1,250 gift certificate for any furniture at the Office Liqudators showroom.  One vote per email address will be accepted.  Public votes count for 50% of total score and the combined score from our esteemed panel of judges will account for the other 50% of the total score.  YOUR VOTE COUNTS! 

A big thank you to our wonderful judges for reviewing and selecting our finalists:

•    Frances Owens – Former first lady of Colorado
•    Jim Benemann – CBS4 co-anchor
•    Penny Parker – The Denver Post business columnist
•    Linda Nelson – Interior Designer and Principal at Gensler
•    Andrew Bacon – President of Colorado Business Bank in Golden

Our judges have done their work on the non-profits’ scores.  Now it is up to you, the public, to help with the final scoring.  Vote now!
 

Understanding the needs of nonprofits and helping stretch their budgets to obtain nicer office furniture is an integral part of business for Office Liquidators.  We offer everyday discounts to all Colorado nonprofits.  Additionally, for larger nonprofits that do have a budget, we help them stretch their dollars further with even greater discounts even going so far as selling over $700,000 of office furniture at cost to The Children’s Hospital.

In celebration of our 25th year in business and to give back a little more to the nonprofit community, we have decided to give Denver Metro Area nonprofits a chance to upgrade their offices with our $35,000 Office Makeover Contest to provide top quality office furniture to the winner with the help of our two largest manufacturers, HON and Allsteel.

We kick off this exciting contest by accepting nominations for your favorite Denver area nonprofit from Tuesday, January 26th through 12 noon on Monday, February 15, 2010.  From the entries, Office Liquidators and representatives from our sponsors will select pre-finalists.  Each of those pre-finalists will be reviewed by a panel of judges from the Denver area including former Colorado First Lady Frances Owens, CBS4’s News Anchor Jim Benemann, The Denver Post’s Penny Parker, Linda Nelson of Gensler, and Andy Bacon of Colorado Business Bank in Golden.  Our panel of judges will select five finalists that will be voted on by you and the public for a final winner of the $35,000 Office Makeover Contest.

We encourage you to review our rules and regulations and nominate your favorite Denver nonprofit for consideration today!

Office Liquidators/Corporate Environments has donated to numerous nonprofits over the years, especially schools.  As a former school teacher, Dennis Meyer, President of Office Liquidators/Corporate Environments, understands that school budgets have been tight so we work closely with several school districts throughout Colorado.  Jefferson County Schools have been the recipient of most of Office Liquidators’/Corporate Environments’ donations since both of Dennis’ children attended school there.  Serving on different nonprofits' boards gave Dennis a background to further understand that all nonprofits including schools have difficulty affording decent office furniture for their local offices.  In 2004, Dennis and his wife, Valerie, formed The Ali Meyer Foundation, in memory of their daughter, Ali, who was killed by a drunk driver.  Of the proceeds raised, 100% goes to The Children’s Hospital of Denver and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  Since 2005, Office Liquidators/Corporate Environments has been the official corporate sponsor of The Ali Meyer Foundation’s Annual Golf Tournament held at Fossil Trace Golf Club in Golden.

While this flu season is expected to be very severe this year, there are several things you can do in the office to keep yourself, your office colleagues, or employees healthy this year. 

•  The old standby of washing your hands frequently (every time you blow your nose, sneeze or use the restroom at the minimum) still works.
• Disinfectant wipes should be supplied to employees to wipe down frequently touched or shared office items such as phones, copiers, keyboards, refrigerator handles, etc.
• Keep hand sanitizer at your desk and use throughout the day as extra precaution.

There are other, perhaps more aggressive measures that can be taken to ensure a healthy working environment for everyone. 

• Today, telecommuting is a reality and many jobs can be done from home.  Have your IT person set up remote access so employees are able to work from home.
• Establish an office policy on “preventative work from home days” such as an employee experiencing a fever, chills or a sore throat.  What would you rather have, someone working from home and keeping the rest of the employees healthy and productive or your entire staff out with flu and getting nothing done?
• Set up a flu clinic or encourage employees to get their annual flu shot.

Taking precautions is a very easy and inexpensive way to avoid major downtime in the office.  We encourage you to consider some or all of our suggestions to keep you and your employees healthy during the 2009-2010 flu season!

For almost 25 years, Office Liquidators has been doing its part to help the environment by recycling and reusing. We are members of the National Recycling Coalition, Inc., and the Colorado Association for Recycling and recycle through Waste-Not Recycling.

How Office Liquidators stays eco friendly:

• We have recycled over 27 million pounds of used office furniture by refurbishing and reselling.
• We sell new furniture that is made from eco-friendly and recyclable materials.
• Cardboard from shipments of new furniture is recycled.
• Scrap metal is recycled from unusable furniture.
• Aluminum cans are collected and recycled.

There are ways you can go green at the office as well: 

• Re-use copier paper that has been printed on one side for printing drafts or making scratch pads.
• Bring a mug to the office and stop using Styrofoam.
• Buy recycled office products.
• Start a paper recycling program in your building.
• Consider buying used office furniture.
• Donate or trade your old office furniture.

If you have any other ways that you are eco friendly at work, give us your comments and let’s continue this list!

• It’s unique. Originally designed in 1994, the Herman Miller Aeron Chair is in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection.
• It’s eco-friendly. The chair is 94% recyclable, manufactured using 64% recycled content and is GREENGARD certified.
• It’s cool….literally! Your body temperature can rise as much as 20% in a standard chair. The Aeron’s mesh design keeps you cool.