First Bank Offers Hearty Small Business Handshake

Seeds of Happiness in Kirkwood was the fifth weekly winner of the First Bank Small Business Handshake, a promotion that recognizes small business owners and entrepreneurs for their commitment to their business, employees and communities.

In partnership with 101.1 ESPN http://www.101sports.com/ and WARH (106.5 The Arch) http://www.1065thearch.com/, listeners were encouraged to nominate business owners or companies to receive a First Bank Small Business Handshake.

For their winning nomination, the Seeds of Happiness team received a celebratory handshake from First Bank’s Colleen Hunn, a First Bank cake, a framed certificate and a Mastercard® gift card. A $100 check was also donated to the charity of their choice – St. Baldrick’s Foundation (Dawson’s Hairless Heroes). Seeds of Happiness is also eligible to win the grand prize.

One company from the weekly winners will be selected as the grand prize winner. They will receive lunch for 25 at their location, a produced two minute video about their business, a $5,000 on-air and online advertising package for their business and a $5,000 on-air and online advertising package for the charity of their choice.

About Seeds of Happiness

Laura Maichel, the employee who nominated Seeds of Happiness, said the business “creates handmade smiles from clay. It is a small but very vibrant company with an extremely caring culture toward its customers and employees.”

Mark Borella, owner of Seeds of Happiness, started the business in his house, but has now transformed an old house and turned it into a store with a studio in the back. With each “seed of happiness,” it is personally touched 16 to 17 times to complete the entire process. These “seeds” as well as other “sharing smiles” items are sold throughout the country.

The first Seeds of Happiness, Maichel said, were given by Borella to his dear friends who were about to lose their young son to cancer.

“He told them that he knew there was nothing he could do, but that maybe in time these seeds would help them get their smiles back, and eventually, they did,” said Maichel. “These colorful pieces of clay, which are small enough to fit in your pocket, have brought joy and comfort to people all over the world.”

First Bank firstbanks.com is one of the largest privately owned banks in the country with $6.1 billion in assets and over 100 locations in Missouri, Illinois, and California.

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Photo Caption:

The Seeds of Happiness team including owner Mark Borella (far left), nominator Laura Maichel (holding the First Bank sign), and Bill Elcan (middle, blue shirt). Elcan is Borella’s business partner.