Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    • Home
    • Sedona News
    • Business Profiles
    • Opinion
    • Mind & Body
    • Arts
    • Elections
    • Gift Shop
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Home » Newly Certified Sustainable Business
    Sedona

    Newly Certified Sustainable Business

    January 30, 2020No Comments
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Reddit WhatsApp
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Reddit WhatsApp

    Sustainability AllianceSedona AZ (January 30, 2020) – Authentus is now a Certified Sustainable Business at the Innovator/Silver level from the Sustainability Alliance.

    Authentus Group is a brand strategy firm specializing in hospitality, travel, and tourism, with a focus on deepening people’s connection with wildlife and nature. Their international client base includes Busch Gardens, Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort, the Gathering Place park in Tulsa, several AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, and locally, they help support Sedona Wolf Week. 

    Gail and Marc Helfer
    Gail and Marc Helfer

    Owners Gail and Marc Helfer moved their business to Sedona from Kansas City, MO, in the summer of 2019. According to Gail, a 30-year ad agency veteran and former Hallmark creative director, they wanted to certify their business because, “It’s the core of who we are, and we’d like to connect with and help grow organizations that share our vision and values.” 

    Authentus Group’s team members are distributed around the country and are able to work remotely. In the Helfers’ case, their home is new with high-efficiency everything: appliances, heating and cooling, windows and insulation, plus on-demand hot water systems. In fact, their house is so efficient it made more sense to buy green power from APS rather than install solar panels.

    The home has non-toxic interiors and cleaning products. “Marc is adamant about low VOC,” says Gail. As a home-based business, they don’t use a lot of materials, and even share a car. In rare cases when they need to print, they use FSC-Certified paper. 

    Sedona Gift Shop

    Their commitment to a sustainable home extends outdoors, too. “Marc was a certified backcountry trail guide in Yellowstone National Park who practiced Leave No Trace principles, and I’m a certified Master Naturalist,” Gail explains. “We have only native plants for landscaping, do not water, and do not use fertilizers or have grass.” Their former home in Kansas City was a Certified National Wildlife Habitat.  Authentus is actively working to promote a pollinator partnership both locally and nationally to protect endangered Monarch butterflies.

    Philanthropy is core to the Authentus mission, says Gail. “Since we started in in 2007, we have donated many hours to conservation groups, including the Endangered Wolf Center, an organization founded by Marlin Perkins, host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, which really influenced me as a child. We are one of their primary consultants, and their work is close to our hearts.”

    Many of the Authentus team members first collaborated as Hallmark creative executives, and have worked together for nearly 20 years. They make decisions and solve problems through a process of continuous conversation, peer support, and free-flowing communication. Unlike a lot of consulting firms, work-life balance is not only honored but enforced. They take a formal summer break for the team and do not contact clients after hours or on weekends. See who else is certified.

    Comments are closed.


    The Symbolism of Jan. 6

    By Tommy Acosta
    Don’t mess with symbols. Just ask author Dan Brown’s character Robert Landon. The worth of symbols cannot be measured. Symbols make the world-go-round. Symbols carry the weight of a thousand words and meanings. Symbols represent reality boiled down to the bone. Symbols evoke profound emotions and memories—at a very primal level of our being—often without our making rational or conscious connections. They fuel our imagination. Symbols enable us to access aspects of our existence that cannot be accessed in any other way. Symbols are used in all facets of human endeavor. One can only feel sorry for those who cannot comprehend the government’s response to the breech of the capital on January 6, with many, even pundits, claiming it was only a peaceful occupation. Regardless if one sees January 6 as a full-scale riot/insurrection or simply patriotic Americans demonstrating as is their right, the fact is the individuals involved went against a symbol, and this could not be allowed or go unpunished. Read more→
    Recent Comments
    • Blair C Mignacco on SB1100 Would Increase the Allowable Weight of OHVs
    • Jon Thompson on SB1100 Would Increase the Allowable Weight of OHVs
    • JB on The Symbolism of Jan. 6
    • Sean Dedalus on The Symbolism of Jan. 6
    • JB on The Symbolism of Jan. 6
    Categories
    © 2023 All rights reserved. Sedona.biz.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.