Larry with Sen. Richard Blumenthal and 2011 CT Business Hall of Fame Inductees

Basement Systems, Inc. ® has had a busy spring season full of awards and honors. Company founder and president Lawrence Janesky now has another distinction to add to his credentials. Janesky has recently been selected as a finalist for Executive of the Year in the 2011 American Business Awards®.

The American Business Awards^SM, also known as the  Stevie® Awards, honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and businesspeople worldwide. Janesky is one of five finalists for Executive of the Year for companies between 100 and 2,500 employees.

This year’s Stevie® Award winners will be announced during the annual gala on Monday, June 20, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. More than six hundred executives from across the U.S.A. are expected to attend. The event will benefit Camfed (camfed.org), which fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. The ceremonies will be broadcast on radio nationwide by the Business TalkRadio Network.

Basement Systems has also recently been honored by the Valley United Way with a number of awards for the company’s outstanding service and support to the Greater Valley community. At the United Way’s awards dinner last month, Basement Systems received the Campaign Underwriter award for Outstanding Community Support, the Top Dollars Raised 2010-2011 award, the Gold Corporate Giving award, the Silver Employee Giving award, and the Silver Employee Participation award. Janesky also received the CEO Leadership award for Philanthropic Leadership and Support.

Janesky’s book, The Highest Calling, has been recognized by the Indie Excellence Book Awards as the best business/motivational book. One of his other books, Saving Energy and Money at Home, has been chosen as the runner up in the Green Book Festival.

“All of these awards show just how committed Basement Systems is to being the best,” Janesky said. “It makes me proud to see organizations honoring the hard work and dedication of my team.”

These recent honors follow the heels of Basement Systems being selected for induction into the Connecticut Business Hall of Fame, an organization honoring companies that have demonstrated an exceptional role as a business entity in the state. That induction ceremony took place on May 20 at the Connecticut Laborers’ Offices in Hartford. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman were speakers.

Basement Systems is an international network of basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and basement finishing contractors. The international headquarters, based in Seymour, Connecticut, also provides sales and service throughout Connecticut and Westchester County, NY. Larry Janesky’s Basement Systems has been helping homeowners increase their usable living space for over 20 years across the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

They have 27 patented basement and crawl space products, designed to help homeowners get more out of their basements and increase their home’s value.

The international basement waterproofing company, based in Seymour, was selected to be a part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010.

This year’s induction ceremony will take place on May 20 at the Connecticut Laborers’ Offices in Hartford from 8 to 10 a.m.

Each year, the Connecticut Business Hall of Fame recognizes business leaders throughout the state that have demonstrated a long record of successful management, expertise and business skills along with notable achievements.

Several Connecticut-based companies are also inducted that have demonstrated an exceptional role as a business entity in the state. The qualifications for companies to be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame include operations for 10 or more years, community involvement, and being a proven industry leader.

“This is a humbling award that our great company is honored to receive, and I can tell you we have only just begun,” said Larry Janesky, founder and owner of Basement Systems. “We truly have something special going on here at Team Basement Systems.”

Basement Systems is an international network of basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and basement finishing contractors. The international headquarters, based in Seymour, Connecticut, also provides sales and service throughout Connecticut and Westchester County, NY.

Larry Janesky’s Basement Systems has been helping homeowners increase their usable living space for over 20 years across the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. They have 27 patented basement and crawl space products, designed to help homeowners get more out of their basements and increase their home’s value.

This year, more than ever,  CT Valley Toys for Tots drive, organized by the Valley United Way and TEAM, Inc.,  saw the demand increase while the donations went down.

When Dan Fitzgerald from Basement Systems learned that he jumped in to lend a hand.

This Thursday through Saturday, December 17 to 19, Basement Systems and Wal-Mart will be sponsoring an additional toy drive outside of the Wal-Mart in Derby (656 New Haven Avenue) to ensure that needy children in the greater valley can still experience a happy holiday this year.

To encourage area residents to participate, Larry Janesky’s Basement Systems will be offering a free sump pump service to anyone that donates a new, unwrapped toy worth $10 or more.

Volunteers will be setting up outside of the Wal-Mart during the day and into the evening Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

They will also accept monetary donations to benefit the Valley United Way and TEAM, Inc., both non-profit organizations working to improve the lives of families in Connecticut.

We urge the area residents to step in an help out, so that every child in Connecticut will have a toy to unwrap this Christmas.

The article contains great quotes from Basement Systems President Larry Janesky, President of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce Bill Purcell, and representatives from EOS Ventures and Alteris Renewables.

To read the complete article, click here: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/09/26/news/valley/b10-sebasementsystems_art.txt

Well-known author and marketing expert Tom Peters contributed his list to the article, which included Basement Systems Founder and President Larry Janesky.

He wrote the following piece about Larry:

“I love the notion that you can have a fabulous business based on cleaning mold out of basements. Larry has a saying, ‘You don’t have to love what you do; you have to do what other people hate.’ He executes like a champ.”

Read the full article here: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090401/that-certain-something.html

In May, Badger Basement Systems held a contest open to anyone who sustained damage to a basement as a result of last summer’s record floods. There were many entries in the contest, but the Smiths received the most nominations due to the severity of the damage to their home, as well as their active involvement and volunteering in the community. Staff from Badger surprised the couple at their Fort Atkinson home with balloons and presented them with the free basement renovation.

Neighbors wrote in nominating the couple explaining that the flooding in the basement was so severe, pumps couldn’t keep up. Water from the ground was seeping in through the walls of the 100-year-old house. They had to stop pumping out water or the walls would collapse from the pressure. Within a few hours they had 42 inches of water in the basement and they were forced to evacuate the house for a couple of weeks. Although neighbors pitched in to help out, the basement was still ruined.

With a crew of eight Badger staff members, construction began the morning of August 28. They installed a 145-foot perimeter system with some Trench Drains, a SuperSump sump pump, and a buried discharge. The crew started at 8 a.m. and finished cleaning up at 2:30 p.m. After going through the harrowing ordeal of a flooded basement, the Smiths were extremely happy that their basement was fixed again and that Badger was able to finish in just one day.

The motivational and inspirational article details the 5 principles Larry suggests running a business by:

• Improve yourself to improve your company
• Look for opportunities in your backyard
• To sell, first educate customers
• Regardless of your industry, be a knowledge company
• Bring out the best in employees

Read the full article here: http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/08/entrepreneur-grew-sales-using-5-success-principles.html#comment-665972

There was also a dinner cruise along the Connecticut River, a music-themed party at the convention center in Hartford, and an awards ceremony at the Bushnell in Hartford featuring this year’s inspirational guest speaker, Nick Vujicic.

A great time was had by all!

A sump pump is the heart of your basement waterproofing system. It’s the main tool used to remove the water from your basement. However, if it is not installed correctly then it can do more bad than good. Sump pits that are open and messy can cause water to leak out or make the air more humid. Humid air in a basement can cause mold and musty odors to form making the basement environment uncomfortable and unhealthy.

Read the rest of this article.

With a growing web department that was running out of space for desks, company president Larry Janesky decided to make a change. Rather than squeezing in more cubicles he took it to another level and turned the web department into a treehouse. Using recycled lumber and other natural products he and a group of volunteers (all employees) spent two weeks building a series of platforms and raised-loft workspaces. This fantasy kind of workspace received a gold honor and the CQIA judges ranked it in the top 20 submissions for the innovation prize.

The EverLast wall panels in the Total Basement Finishing system received a gold honor as well, and were ranked in the top 10 submissions. The wall panels provide a reliable alternative to drywall or fiberglass and cloth panels. They don’t grow mold and they are insulated.

The Basement Systems shipping department has made large strides to become more productive and efficient. CQIA recognized these improvements with a silver award in innovation. Remote controls with sensors over warehouse doors, video cameras and a decrease in paperwork were all innovations that made the shipping process at Basement Systems more efficient and successful.