LeTip Chester County East met on Tuesday, February 2, 2106. We were joined by guests representing the categories of marketing specialties and landscaping.

Our showboaters were Claudia Roemer and Beth Rondinelli. Claudia is our gift basket provider from Ceiba (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). She had photos of several different types of baskets that she has made for her customers, all beautifully arranged and filled with edible products, functional items (towels, mugs, etc.), and decorative items. Claudia has a ribbon printer that uses a variety of ribbon colors and embroidery colors to personalize a basket with a business name/logo, a greeting, the recipient's name, or any other message. Contact her to make a personalized and memorable gift for any occasion. Beth (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) is our estate attorney, and she prepares simple wills, powers of attorney, and living wills. Beth understands the importance of having these documents drafted before they are needed, and she charges $150 for the set of three documents to keep this peace of mind affordable for her clients.

Our first speaker was Adam Perkowski (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), our home automation specialist. Adam can design home automation products differently depending upon the customer's desired final result. He wants each person to have the experience they want and expect. Adam's home automation designs allow people to control various systems in their home from one source, which keeps things simple. The Nest Protect system can detect carbon monoxide, which will trigger the system to shut down the heating and air conditioning in the house and ping the customer's phone to alert them. The customer can silence the alarm on the phone to turn everything back on. Adam can install a thermostat that learns customer patterns and reprograms itself accordingly. He can install Sonos sound system products in one room, several rooms, or throughout the whole house. Nest Cam security cameras can be programmed to respond to motion, light, alarms, or other triggers. Adam can install home lighting with controls to adjust brightness, colors, etc. As summer approaches, he will also work to make outdoor living spaces more enjoyable, with outdoor lighting and sound as well as pool jet control.

Our second speaker was Bob Latta (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) of Latta-Kennedy Builders, our general contractor. Bob's goal is to provide the construction services and products that his customers want while helping them to feel comfortable during the building process. He showed a home project for which he and his team moved several house functions (including the kitchen and bedrooms) to another part of the house for the duration of the project. Bob makes sure that all floors are protected to prevent damage and also to allow for easier clean-up. The air-return system in the house is typically shut off to prevent dust from travelling throughout the house. Bob showed pictures of two other projects, one in which a garage was converted to a living room, and another in which a separate garage was built on the customer's property. All of the work was clean and professionally done.