Business in brief

• A Summer Evening at Mitchell Beach, hosted by The Friends of Mitchell, will be held on Friday to raise funds for student scholarships at Mitchell College.

The event will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Mitchell Beach in New London, where guests will enjoy a casual evening party on the river with live music by David Binder. Beer, wine and appetizers are included with entrance, and beach-ready dinners of sandwich wraps, chips and dessert are available for purchase in advance of the event.

The cost is $25 per person; free parking is available at the Mitchell Beach entrance on Pequot Avenue. In case of rain, the event will be held at the Clarke Center at Mitchell College in New London.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Donna Lloret at (860) 701-5092 or friends@mitchell.edu.

• U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, is scheduled to speak Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Mystic Innovations Group, 1 Fort Hill Road, in Groton.

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut organized the ribbon cutting and reception, which begins at 4 p.m. and continues to 7 p.m.

The local business expanded and moved to its present location recently due to federal funding obtained by Courtney. The grant allowed the company to undertake a major research project, said its president, Robert Jastremski.

• The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut has announced four sponsors for the Wednesday cruise aboard the Sea Jet 1 operated by the Cross Sound Ferry Services.

The vessel will take participants up the Thames River for a unique view of the Mohegan Sun Fireworks Extravaganza.

The Cross Sound Deli Services and Cross Sound Ferry Services are full sponsors. Supporting sponsors are New London Harbour Towers and the Mambo Bar Restaurant, both of New London.

The chamber also announced the tickets are still available and participants should park in the Water Street Garage, opposite the Cross Sound Ferry terminal. The Sea Jet leaves promptly at 7 p.m. Further information may be obtained by calling the chamber at (860) 701-9113 or by going to www.chamberect.com and clicking on chamber events.

• Complete Fitness, an upscale fitness studio at 29 Broadway Ave. in Mystic, will hold a grand opening at 5 p.m. on Wednesday with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m., hosted by the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce.

The owner, Dawn Taylor, has been involved in athletic conditioning and personal fitness for more than 15 years. She is a certified personal trainer through American Fitness Professionals & Associates (AFPA) and graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University. Complete Fitness offers small classes in yoga, zumba and chisel. For more information, call (860) 705-9535.

• The Southeastern Connecticut Women's Network will hold its August luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the Groton Inn & Suites.

The speaker will be Karen C. L. Anderson, the author of two blogs: "Before and After: A Real Story" (becoming a book) and "(Real) Food Rules!" Anderson has more than 25 years of experience as a writer and communicator and will be sharing lessons learned while using social networking to engage with others in building relationships both personally and professionally. The cost is $19 with reservations and $23 without. Call (860) 437-7448 by Monday at 10 a.m. For more information, visit www.sectwomensnetwork.org.

• The Groton Business Association will meet at Puffins Restaurant, 169 Thames St., Groton, on Thursday, co-sponsored by Patriotic Waves.

The meeting will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Admission is free to the event, which includes local business updates. For more information, contact Tricia Walsh at the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce at (860) 572-9578 or via e-mail at triciawalsh@mysticchamber.org

• Kostin, Ruffkess & Co., a certified public accounting and business advisory firm, has promoted eight of its associates.

Staff members promoted include Tanya Robbins, who was named a senior with its New London office. Other promotions include Ray Fortier, senior, Tobias Freeman, supervisor, Marta Kuczek, supervisor, and Ryan Taylor, supervisor, in the firm's Farmington office; Ruslan Kuzmenko, senior, Valerie Mussina, supervisor, and James Walsh, supervisor, in the Springfield, Mass., office.

• Panera Bread will open its newest store at the Lisbon Landing shopping center at 160 River Road at the end of this month.

The 4,200-square-foot, 109-seat bakery-cafe is the 11th Panera Bread in Connecticut owned by the Howley Bread Group LTD of Cumberland, R.I., a Panera franchise. The company's other Panera bakery-cafe locations in Connecticut are in Manchester, Enfield, Glastonbury, Newington, West Hartford, Canton, Bristol, Foxwoods Resort & Casino and Waterford.

• Christopher Rogers of Waterford has joined the Barnum Financial Group as a financial services representative with the firm's Guilford office.

Rogers earned a bachelor of science degree from Florida Atlantic University. Before joining the Barnum Financial Group, he worked for the city of Boca Raton in its planning department.

• Four area high school seniors have received individual $1,000 scholarships from the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber's C. Wilfred Hunter Memorial Scholarship recognizes students who have demonstrated academic achievement and a commitment to community service. This year's local scholarship winners are: Ian Graham of Old Saybrook, a graduate of Old Saybrook High School, who will be attending Johns Hopkins University; Catherine Logan of Lyme, a graduate of Lyme-Old Lyme High School, who will be attending the University of South Carolina; Katelyn Puttre of Old Saybrook, a graduate of Old Saybrook High School, who will be attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute; and Chiara Scarpelli of Old Saybrook, a graduate of Old Saybrook High School who will be attending George Washington University.

Proceeds from the chamber's annual Chili Fest fund the scholarship program. For more information about the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, visit www.oldsaybrookchamber.com.

• The BNI Mystic chapter will meet Thursday to hear a presentation from N. Alex Bancroft of Gothie, Hoyt & Filipetti LLC.

Bancroft will discuss the company's various services offered to local businesses, small governments and not-for-profits, including payroll and auditing. The BNI Mystic Chapter meets at its new location, the Groton Inn & Suites, every Thursday at 7 a.m. For more information, visit www.bnimystic.com.

• Gourmet Galley Catering LLC in Quaker Hill has been named a 2010 "Best of Weddings" vendor by TheKnot.com, a popular online wedding planning site.

Each year the site's readers select their favorite vendors, and this year Gourmet Galley was selected a top wedding vendor. Anna Lathrop is Gourmet Galley's proprietor.

Gourmet Galley is a full-service catering company with 20 years worth of experience, producing custom events, country picnics, weddings, business openings, family reunions and cocktail parties. For more information, visit www.gourmet-galley.com or call (860) 440-3315.

• The Westerly Community Credit Union is collecting school supplies this month, and donations can be dropped off at credit union locations in Westerly, Richmond and South Kingstown.

As an added incentive, for every three items donated, the person donating the school supplies will be entered to win a $250 savings bond.

All school supplies will be donated to local schools currently in the Save for America School Savings program, sponsored by the Westerly Community Credit Union.

For more information, visit the Westerly Community Credit Union's website at www.westerlyccu.com, visit any of its locations, or call (401) 596-7000.

• An educational seminar will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 24, at Babcock Smith Carriage House, 124 Granite St., Westerly.

The seminar, "Marketing Ideas That Work" is free and hosted by the Westerly Community Credit Union. Speakers include Maria Allen, owner, Bella Vita Salon; Melissa Hill-Busch, owner, Tim Hortons; Lisa Konicki, executive director, Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce; John Layton, advertising director, The Westerly Sun; Rebecca Kingsley, the credit union's marketing supervisor, and Meg Sisco, the credit union's vice president of marketing.

The panel will discuss branding a business, marketing on a shoestring budget, adapting in changing times and creating an online presence. For more information or reservations, call Meg Sisco at (401) 596-7000, extension 2117, or register online at www.westerlyccu.com under the "Educate Yourself" link.

• Joe Gunther from Puro Clean will speak at the weekly meeting of the New London Nautilus Chapter of BNI on Tuesday.

The chapter meets at 7 a.m. every Tuesday in the Harris Building at Connecticut College in New London. Nautilus BNI invites all businesses that want to increase their sales to attend meetings and join the group. Breakfast is included. For more information, visit www.nautilusbni.com or contact Christine Wagner at (860) 444-8011.

• Dawn Brolin of Premier Business Services will present the latest in a series of QuickBooks Users luncheons on Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut office at 914 Hartford Turnpike in Waterford.

In addition to information on how best to use the QuickBooks software, the chamber will provide lunch. Brolin has earned the Advanced Quickbooks designation, and regularly presents information on the use of this business tool.

There is no charge for chamber members. For more information, go to the chamber website at www.chamberect.com and click on events.

• Press releases for the Business in Brief column, which runs each Sunday, should be sent to businessbriefs@theday.com.

Submit all items for consideration by Wednesday morning for publication in the following Sunday's business section. Generally, press releases should be no more than two to three paragraphs in length because of space limitations. Remember to include pertinent information, such as your company's telephone number, hours of operation and website address.

For general questions about Business in Brief submissions, call Anthony Cronin, The Day's business editor, at (860) 701-4326 or send an e-mail to a.cronin@theday.com.