Friday last day for Businesswomen of Year nominations

Shop Talk / The Daily ItemLYNN – Friday is the last day nominations will be accepted for the 2008 North of Boston Businesswomen of the Year Awards.The awards will be presented during a breakfast forum at Lynn Campus of North Shore Community College, 7:30-9 a.m. Oct. 23.The awards recognize the achievements of one woman in each of three categories: small business, with 1-49 employees; large business, with 50 or more employees; and non-profit or civic organization.Nominations are based on integrity, character, professional accomplishments and community service. Those nominated receive a letter asking them to participate in the awards program. Nominees receive a ticket to the event and a listing about themselves in the annual program book.Shirley Singleton, co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Edgewater Technology in Wakefield, will be the guest speaker at this year’s awards breakfast.Visit www.womenbizawards.com to nominate someone today, or for more information, contact Tara Cleary, the Daily Item’s director of new media and advertising, at 781-593-7700 ext. 251.Specialized Turning gets expansion loanThe Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corporation (CDFC) reached out to a local machine shop in Peabody, offering it a large loan to not only keep the business afloat, but also expand.Specialized Turning, 7 Summit Industrial Park, is a 10-person shop owned by Harold Holm. The company fell into a situation where they needed interim cash to maintain operations during a change to a new creditor. CDFC issues them a $275,000 term loan for that purpose.”We are pleased to be working with CDFC so that our company can continue to grow here in Peabody,” said Holm. “A small precision machine shop, we need to have ready capital to fulfill orders in a timely fashion. CDFC has allowed us to maintain our tight schedules and more importantly, allowed us to leverage our capabilities and increase sales.”Holm has owned and operated Specialized Turning since 2004, although the company first placed its roots in Peabody over 70 years ago. The company manufactures small machine parts with difficult to use materials for the aerospace, medical, instrumentation, and process control industries.Lynn Investing in Neighborhood Corp. (LINC), which serves Greater Lynn, signed onto the loan.”Manufacturing jobs are still an important part of our economy,” said LINC Executive Director David Gass. “I worked for 12 years as a machinist. When the plant closed, several thousand people lost their jobs. We have to help specialty shops like Specialized Turning expand.”Lynn Area Chamber welcomes Willow DeliThe Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Committee will welcome the Willow Deli into the Chamber family with a ribbon cutting ceremony today at 5 p.m. The community is invited to get in on the photo opportunity and there is no cost to attend.The Willow Deli is located inside Willow Pharmacy at 276 Union St. and offers daily specials, free delivery and catering services for all occasions. Customers may fax in orders in to (781) 268-0612.In addition, the Willow Pharmacy is also celebrating its 5th anniversary in business. The Willow Pharmacy is an independent, family-run pharmacy offering free prescription delivery service and free prescription pick-up.Steve Mowry is the pharmacist, pharmacy technician is Diane Mowry, and pharmacy intern is Michelle Bleau.Totally Halloween store opens in RevereTotally Halloween, a seasonal one-stop Halloween superstore, has opened a store at 147 Squire Road in Revere. The store offers products at great prices with festive in-store displays that are guaranteed to put Revere shoppers in the mood for Halloween.Totally Halloween is exactly what its name implies. Whether someone wants to design the ultimate haunted house, host a “spooktacular” party or pick up a bag of candy for trick-or-treaters, Totally Halloween offers a huge selection of Halloween merchandise with many items under $5 n while providing a fun, int