Chester County Briefs are short stories on what’s happening around Chester County. This morning:

Local CCIM Chapter Honors New CCIM Designee

The Pennsylvania-Delaware-New Jersey CCIM Chapter has recognized Stacy Martin, the Director of Commercial Sales and Leasing at The Hankin Group and one of its members, for earning the Certified Commercial Investment Member designation from the CCIM Institute.

The designation, which represents the global standard for professional achievement in commercial real estate, was awarded to 244 industry professionals during the CCIM’s 2015 Annual Governance Meetings held at the end of October in Austin, Texas.

“Each designee has worked very hard and has made sacrifices to achieve the CCIM designation, which will pay off throughout their entire commercial real estate career,” stated 2015 CCIM President Mark Macek. “I am pleased to welcome this new group of designees into our esteemed network of CCIM real estate professionals that are consistently sought out in the industry for their competence, work ethic, and analysis expertise.”

Appeals Court Reverses $1.7M Award in Wyeth Water Treatment Row

The Commonwealth Appeals Court reversed on Thursday the previous ruling that ordered Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. to pay $1.7 million for breach of a wastewater treatment plant contract.

The decision, granting the Borough of West Chester contract counterclaim in Wyeth’s case, was reversed by the Court that concluded that the agreement to upgrade the Goose Creek Plant after discharge citations had ended in 2011, the moment that the company had provided the termination notice.

“We conclude that the agreement had a reasonable, not infinite, duration,” declared Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt. “As such, it was terminable at will by either party, once Wyeth paid for its share of the capital costs and for its share of the operating and maintenance expenses incurred at the Goose Creek Plant that were ‘attributable to the treatment of Wyeth’s waste.’”

Family Time Taking Precedence for Small-Business Owners

Putting family ahead of work has always been a priority for many, but the reality of a demanding work schedule, especially for small-business owners, is often easier said than done.

Sam Levin the President of MavenWire, a Wayne based shipping consulting company with offices in Singapore and Australia, has to juggle 12 and 15 hour time differences which could mean, if he let it, a 24 hour work day.

However, he makes sure that the time between 5PM and 9PM remains uninterrupted, unless there is a real emergency, as those are family hours. When he takes a call during these hours, it is usually only from a new client, a move that helps build a good relationship with them so they will not worry in the future and disturb him at home.

“Giving good service lessens the demand for interruptions in the work/life balance,” Levin said.

Chester County Student among National Finalists in the Siemens STEM Competition

Four students from Pennsylvania have proven that month’s of research and preparation pay off, as they have earned top spots in Region Five and were named National Finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology.

Wayne’s Kelly Jiang, along with Emily Cheng from Lansdale and Gerald Liu from Audubon, did research on minimally invasive cancer screenings to advance the disease’s early detection earning them the $6,000 shared team scholarship. The win also secured them a spot in the final round at the National Finals in Washington on December 4-8.

“The students participating in the 2015 Siemens Competition have again raised the bar with their submissions,” stated David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “This is not a game; this is cutting-edge, original research that advances our knowledge of critical topics and issues facing society today.”

EmergenSee is one of 12 Winners Vying for the Powerful Answers Award

Twelve winning entrepreneurs have been selected from the original 1,400, to receive an invitation to attend the 2015 Powerful Answers Award presentation, hosted by The Talking Dead’s Chris Hardwick, on December 9 in San Francisco.

From the twelve, a winner will be selected for each of the three categories this year: Emergency Response, The Internet of Things, and Transportation. Each winner will be announced at the event that will be live streamed by AOL.com and The Huffington Post and walk away with $1 million.

One of the companies vying for the first place in the Emergency Response category is Malvern based EmergenSee. The company made it to top 12 thanks to its revolutionary technology which turns a smartphone into a personal security system which in threatening and potentially dangerous situations, starts streaming live video, audio, GPS location and movements to pre-selected contacts or EmergenSee’s Professional Responders.