JFoster & Associates earns special small business certification

Julie Foster

JFoster & Associates, a small business located in Idaho Falls, has been accepted into a federal program that makes it eligible to compete for and receive certain federal contracts and receive business development assistance.

The designation under the 8(a) Small Business Development program opens many new doors for JFA, said owner Julie Foster.

The 8(a) program was created to help underrepresented small business owners break into government contracting and give them assistance and resources. It involves a rigorous application process and usually takes two years to qualify. Foster managed to gain certification in a year and a half because she had more than 25 years in the construction, energy, and engineering industries, where she worked in contract, project, and program management. She also has a strong business development background. She opened JFoster & Associates, LLC in March of 2015.

Foster has also been highly involved in civic organizations and committees that benefit her community, and was recently named to the State of Idaho Strategic Energy Alliance  Communication and Outreach Task Force.

She was raised in Pocatello, and has lived in Idaho Falls for the past 15 years. She is a graduate of Idaho State University, and her sons are attending College of Idaho and Boise State University.

“I love Idaho and want to continue to serve and give back to my community wherever I can.  I want to help secure a better future for our kids and the next generations.”

The 8(a) program works in two phases over nine years and offers specialized business training, counseling, and marketing assistance and the opportunity to receive sole-source contracts. Additionally, the Woman-Owned Small Business federal contract program authorizes contracting officers to set aside certain federal contracts for eligible small businesses owned by women.

“These are amazing programs, and we are honored to be a part of them,” Foster said. Foster is excited about the certification and the doors and opportunities it allows for her business. Her focus has been on local business, including the Idaho National Laboratory and the Idaho Cleanup Project, but the program will enable her to launch into larger prime contracts for the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.

Exodus Escape Rooms opening on Park Avenue

Jennifer and Steve Jones

Steve and Jennifer Jones are getting ready to open what will be a first for Idaho Falls, Exodus Escape Rooms, at 387 Park Avenue.

An escape room is a physical adventure game in which players are locked in a room and have to use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles and escape within a set time limit. Inspired by "escape the room" video games, they started in Asia about 10 years ago, spread to Europe and eventually the United States. Games are set in a variety of fictional locations, such as prison cells, dungeons and space stations, and are popular as team building exercises.

The Joneses said they had fun participating in escape rooms in Utah and California, and saw the field was wide open in Idaho Falls. “We wanted to give people the opportunity to connect with each other,” said Jennifer Jones. They are looking at opening Nov. 1, and are busy remodeling two rooms.

Nobody gets locked up in either room, it’s more of a race against time. The first room, “The Family Jewels,” for two to eight players, involves playing at being cat burglars assigned to break into “Great Auntie’s” house, find her fortune and escape with it within an hour, because the alarm has notified the police. The second room, “Contagion,” involves preventing a mad scientist from releasing a deadly virus onto the world. It has to be found and extracted within an hour.

The scenarios can accommodate two to eight players. “We’re just looking to provide something for date night that’s different from dinner and a movie,” Jennifer Jones said.

Jennifer was working at Biolife International before embarking on this small business adventure. Steve remains employed by the Sleep Center at Mountain View Hospital.

To learn more or book an engagement, visit the web site at Exodus Escape Rooms. The Facebook page can be found here.

Idaho Falls man develops Slydisk game, giving demo Friday at Tautphaus Park

Tracy Scott of Idaho Falls has a new game to introduce to the community, Slydysk, which combines elements of bocce, curling, bowling, and shuffleboard.

He will be giving a demonstration, and inviting guests to play, Friday night at 9:15 at the Tautphaus Park ice rink.

Scott has developed Slydysk with a company called TESENT Games, and has been funding the project with a Kickstarter page. As of this morning, he’d raised $2,790 from 22 backers. You can visit the link here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/icebocce/slydysk-playing-the-game-of-icebocce.

Scott grew up playing hockey in Idaho Falls, so he is no stranger to what might be possible. Here is a video of him explaining his inspiration for this game.

“Slydysk can be played individually or with teams,” he said. “It is easy to learn and suitable for all ages, meaning anyone can get involved. The team behind this fun game is crowdfunding on Kickstarter to get the product launched. Backers will get to enjoy awesome rewards, including stellar deals on Slydysk sets.

Small businesses in clean energy invited to collaborate with national labs

Small businesses in the clean-energy sector have another opportunity to apply for technical help from U.S. Department of Energy labs through the Small Business Vouchers Pilot.

Johanna Wolfson, Technology-to-Market director in the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, launched the pilot’s third round on Oct. 10 at South By Southwest Eco in Austin, Texas. The pilot, part of EERE’s Lab Impact portfolio, aims to help small businesses bring next-generation clean-energy technologies to market faster by giving them access to expertise and tools at national labs.

The SBV Pilot opened its first funding round in fall 2015 and launched its second last spring. Since then, nearly 800 applications have been reviewed, and 76 small businesses from 25 states have been awarded a total of $14.7 million in vouchers.

EERE recently announced a Small Business Voucher to help Idaho National Laboratory continue work on an electrochemical process to recover gold, silver, palladium and other metals from discarded cell phones and other electronic devices. The lab has received money to work with e-Materials Recovery, a company based in Austintown, Ohio, that has developed a processes that reduces printed circuit boards to char without producing the toxic fumes associated with more widely used smelting processes.

INL researchers Tedd Lister (right) and Luis Diaz-Aldana are reclaiming base metals and rare-earth elements from used cell phones and other electronics. Through the Small Business Voucher program, they are collaborating with a e-Materials Recovery of Austintown, Ohio. (INL photo by Chris Morgan)

To read the story, follow this link: Recyling Critical Materials: Collaboration With Ohio Company to Recover Gold, Minerals From Electronic Devices.

For this third round, EERE welcomes the chance to collaborate with small businesses that have little to no experience working with a DOE national laboratory.

Individual vouchers range from $50,000 to $300,000 per small business and can be used to perform collaborative research or access to lab instrumentation or facilities. Companies selected must also provide a 20 percent, in-kind cost share for completing voucher work.

Vouchers are available in nine clean-energy research and development areas:

• Advanced manufacturing
• Bioenergy
• Buildings
• Fuel cells
• Geothermal
• Solar
• Vehicles
• Water
• Wind

Businesses interested in SBV funding must be U.S.-based and U.S.-owned, with no more than 500 full-time employees worldwide. In rounds three and four, $12 million is available for vouchers. Companies have until Nov. 10 to submit RFAs.

To learn more about Idaho National Laboratory’s expertise and the process to submit a RFA, please visit http://www.SBV.org or contact Tammie Borders, tammie.borders@inl.gov (208-526-3992).

Teton Guitars auctioning off guitar for Breast Cancer Awareness

Teton Guitars, a subsidiary of Chesbro Music, is auctioning off one of its models this month to help raise awareness about breast cancer. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so this is the time of year you see a lot of efforts like this.

The auction, for a STF105CENT, is on eBay, and you can find it by clicking here. The STG105CENT is Teton Guitars’ best-selling acoustic-electric. It features a solid western red cedar top with layered mahogany back and sides. It includes Fishman electronics with its grand concert body shape and has a 25.5” scale length. The front of the guitar has a pink ribbon painted on it with a finish applied over the paint. The ribbon was hand-painted by  Jeremy Webster, host of Teton Guitars’s “Teton TV” YouTube channel, and was applied to mask a slight cosmetic irregularity in the wood, which rendered it “B” stock. The classic Teton sound, structure, and playability are not compromised The guitar comes with a Teton Guitars branded gig bag.

Every penny the auction raises (minus eBay fees) will be donated to the Teton Cancer Institute to help them provide treatment to those who are unable to afford it. The auction ends next Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 7 MDT.

Anyone with questions can contact Ben Parker at 208-932-1228 or ben@tetonguitars.com.