Last week, a TCP delegation was proud to travel to Washington, DC, to accept the 2009 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for Lighting Product Manufacturer.

Presenting the award (left) is Richard H. Karney, DOE ENERGY STAR Program Manager.  Accepting the award on behalf of TCP is CEO, Ellis Yan (center), and Melissa Obradovic, TCP Energy Star Program Manager (right).

TCP, Inc has been an ENERGY STAR partner since 1999 and will be honored for its leadership in manufacturing CFL’s, Residential Light Fixtures and LED’s that earn the ENERGY STAR, the government backed symbol of energy efficiency. In 2008, TCP introduced over 140 new ENERGY STAR qualified CFL’s and 25 new ENERGY STAR qualified LED Decorative Light Strings.

The October issue of Small Business Magazine – Akron/Canton, features the Cascade Capital Corporation’s 14th Annual Business Growth Awards.  The award recognizes 48 companies throughout northeast Ohio that “fortify the strength of our regional economy.”

This is the fifth time TCP has won a Cascade Capital Growth award. 

Click here to read the complete article on TCP. 

As I have mentioned before in this blog, TCP is excited to be teaming up with EcoZone Media and CBS to launch a new program entitled the EcoZone Green Schools Initiave.  Earlier this week, Ellis Yan, CEO of TCP, was in Miami, Florida, to officially kick off the program.

One winning school in each targeted city will receive a green makeover valued at approximately $250,000 in products and services and overseen by a professional “green schools coach.”   Miami is the Initiative’s first market.

Interested students, teachers and administrators can enter the Green Schools Initiative by submitting a creative response that expresses what “being green” means to them, as well as filling out an application at http://www.ecozonemedia.com/greenmyschool/. Winners will be chosen by a committee consisting of members of EcoMedia’s Advisory Board and members of the CBS Corporation, and will be announced in January 2009. In addition to the grand prize, a sustainable environmental program will be provided to all participating schools through Miami non-profit Dream In Green.

Click here for a list of participating cities.

TCP founder, Ellis Yan, was recently named to Forbes Magazine’s List of 25 Notable Chinese-Americans. 

This is the first time Forbes has highlighted top Chinese-Americans in it’s publication.  This special Asian issue is available on newsstands now.

The 76th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) wrapped up last week in Miami with hundreds of mayors from across the country coming together to address the most pressing issues facing cities. TCP was the title sponsor of the four-day conference, which was billed as the first “green” annual meeting with special attention given to hybrid transportation, energy efficient lighting, green lodging and water conservation, to name a few.

TCP CEO Ellis Yan addressed the mayors on the importance of energy efficiency, specifically energy efficient lighting, in helping to reduce energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions in their cities. Climate protection has always been top of mind for mayors, with more than 850 signing the Climate Protection Agreement, urging cities to meet or beat the criteria outlined in the Kyoto Protocol.

Meeting highlights included keynote speeches by presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, who both encouraged mayors to make climate protection a priority in their communities.

The annual meeting also welcomed a new USCM President. Miami Mayor Manny Diaz was inaugurated as the group’s 66th President, only the second Hispanic to lead the mayors. He pledged to continue pushing both the Republican and Democratic nominees to support the mayors bipartisan “10-Point Plan …Strong Cities …Strong Families for a Strong America,” which includes specific recommendations for the next President of the U.S.

For more information on the annual meeting and to view speeches from the conference, click here.