Redding Resident of the Week: Irene Caldwell

Name:  Irene Caldwell

Age: 41

Occupation: Sales, Marketing and Business Development Professional

Tell us a little about yourself: I am so lucky! I have a great family and lots of wonderful friends. I consider myself someone with a strong positive outlook on life. I try to enjoy everything I do. I grew up in Norwalk and have always had a passion for business and believe it or not, teaching.

When I was a little girl I would play “school” and I’d be the teacher keeping grades for everyone and handing out report cards. As I grew up my business side really took over. I sold potholders in elementary and middle school, joined Junior Achievement in high school and sold spring break vacations in college.

I have been in the IT industry for about 15 years and during those years I have had the pleasure of working for IBM, an IBM Business Partner and for myself running Coastal Trading Group which was in the IT secondary market. I am extremely focused on electronics recycling and data destruction. By not doing it properly we can cause tremendous harm to the environment and there really isn’t great regulation in the industry yet.

Living here in Redding, we get to appreciate the splendor of nature. Imagine if there were piles of computer monitors dumped in the lake at Topstone! Many unscrupulous recyclers ship our electronics waste to developing nations and those countries end up with toxins leaching into their soil and polluting their air and water. It’s our responsibility to prevent that from happening.

I aligned with the Basel Action Network (BAN) to help consumers find reputable electronics recyclers. I hope it’s been making a difference! In 2009 I was named one of Fairfield County’s Most Fabulous Women by the Fairfield County Business Journal. How fun is that?

What is your involvement with NSI: I was hired by NSI about a month ago to help grow the business within Fairfield County and Metro NY. 

NSI is a technology company headquartered in Naugatuck. We are a Premier IBM Business Partner and handle all types of business hardware, software, solutions  and services. Right now Managed Services are hot. We offer TotalCare, our Managed Services product, to small and medium business (SMB) customers. Basically, TotalCare remotely manages, maintains and monitors devices within networks.

We run upgrades and patches for servers, desktops and laptops (after hours), we manage and monitor firewalls, and we provide reporting of the IT environment. We help SMBs enhance their IT department without a huge impact on their business day or budgets. It’s a really cool service and businesses love it!

What can you tell us about the business classes you teach? 

One of the other things I do for NSI is run several university classes. Over the next few months I’ll be running free summer educational workshops at UConn Stamford. They are business classes open to all business owners and anyone considering starting a business. The first one is “Enhancing your Business Plan."

I encourage anyone in Redding or the surrounding areas who’s interested to register and come. So many business owners are caught up in running their day to day business that they don’t take the time to plan and grow their businesses. It’s important to focus on your plan at least every few months and ensure you are heading in the right direction. These classes are about an hour long during lunch. This is a great opportunity for smaller business owners to come brainstorm, clear their heads and network. It’s tough to get fresh new ideas when you are working with the same handful of people every day.

How long have you lived in Redding?

For 4 years.

What is your best memory in Redding?

There are so many, but I’d have to say it’s a birthday party my friend Erika held for her son at Lonetown Farm. We were outside and it was October, so there was a little nip in the air. There were many families in attendance and the sun was setting, square dancing in the barn and kids running all over the field. I thought to myself this is why we moved to a small town, this is why we are here in Redding. It’s a great memory.

What keeps you here?  

The close friendships that have developed, the natural beauty, and the schools.

What do you do for fun in Redding?

I hang out with my friends, watch my son’s lacrosse games and go to lots of PTA events. The PTA is really a fabulous organization, with many fun family activities. We just had a “Sing-a-Long” at Topstone and it was a huge success! I think we had about 200 people come out.

Are you part of any Redding organizations or clubs? 

I am Co-President of the Redding Elementary PTA and part of the Red Hot Society. I am also interested in local politics. You can really make a difference in a small town. Perhaps one day I’ll run for office.