HealthMark Multimedia Announces Receipt of SBIR Grant for Bend without Breaking, a Multimedia Aid for Cancer Patients

HealthMark Multimedia Announces Receipt of SBIR Grant for Bend without Breaking, a Multimedia Aid for Cancer Patients

Bend without Breaking™: Tools for Coping with Cancer will provide support and guidance to cancer patients as they expand their coping strategies. Washington, DC, July 21, 2006— HealthMark Multimedia, LLC, has been awarded a National Cancer Institute Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to produce a program for cancer patients to assist them in dealing with anxiety and depression. Using this SBIR funding HealthMark Multimedia, LLC will develop a multimedia program, Bend without Breaking ™: Tools for Coping with Cancer for cancer patients who are in the period from diagnosis through post-treatment. This program will assist them in preventing or working through the anxiety inherent in the cancer experience and in minimizing the depression burden. Bend without Breaking™ will serve as an intervention as well as an educational tool. Bend without Breaking™: Tools for Coping with Cancer will contain interactive educational aids to assist cancer survivors in prevention and self-management of anxiety and depressive episodes during the entire cancer journey.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) July 23, 2006

HealthMark Multimedia, LLC, has been awarded a National Cancer Institute Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to produce a program for cancer patients to assist them in dealing with anxiety and depression. Using this SBIR funding HealthMark Multimedia, LLC will develop a multimedia program, Bend without Breaking ™: Tools for Coping with Cancer for cancer patients who are in the period from diagnosis through post-treatment.

This program will assist them in preventing or working through the anxiety inherent in the cancer experience and in minimizing the depression burden. Bend without Breaking™ will serve as an intervention as well as an educational tool. Bend without Breaking™: Tools for Coping with Cancer will contain interactive educational aids to assist cancer survivors in prevention and self-management of anxiety and depressive episodes during the entire cancer journey.

About anxiety and depression in cancer patients: Many cancer patients experience significant emotional distress with a reported 20 to 40% of cancer patients suffering from distress that interferes with their activities of daily living. Additional psychosocial problems experienced by these individuals include anxiety, suicidal thoughts, clinical depression, body image problems and sexual dysfunction. Most cancer patients who experience distress do not require professional or pharmaceutical intervention, but would benefit from support and guidance about how to expand their coping strategies and gain perspective.

About HealthMark Multimedia: HealthMark Multimedia provides creative technology approaches to meeting the information, self-care and decision needs of patients facing critical health care issues.

For further information about the company or its products, contact HealthMark Multimedia: 1828 L Street, NW, #250, Washington, DC 20036; Telephone: 202-265-0033; Fax: 202-448-6188 or visit www. HealthMarkMultimedia. com.

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The Parker Center Continues to Educate Patients with a New Fee Estimate Page on their Website

The Parker Center Continues to Educate Patients with a New Fee Estimate Page on their Website

New Jersey plastic surgeon, Dr. Paul M. Parker, places a lot of emphasis on patient education and adding a fee estimate page to his website enhances his patients’ knowledge even further.

Paramus, NJ (Vocus) March 23, 2010

It is not a common practice among plastic surgeons to list their fee estimates on their websites. However, for those who do, the education factor is greatly improved and that is why the Parker Center for Plastic Surgery has opted to add a fee estimate page to their site.

“We’re doing this because we’ve heard from our patients what a wonderful educational source our website has been to them” says Dr. Parker. “They are learning about the different procedures, understanding how we pamper our patients, looking at before and after pictures and reading testimonials from other patients. Adding a fee estimate page enhances their knowledge even more.”

In Paramus, plastic surgery (http://www. parkercenter. net) patients are savvy and turn to the Internet for research. Having access to the range of cost and fee estimates plus a detailed explanation of what those fees entail augments their educational experience. They are now able to participate in a plastic surgery consultation already knowing a ballpark figure of what to expect.

Because Dr. Parker’s page includes all the services included with each procedure, patients know exactly what they are getting for the money they pay. For surgical procedures, the estimate includes:
 Surgeon’s fee  All office visits pre and post-op up to a year after the procedure  Computer imaging session  Pre-op education session  Rapid Recovery Program  3 Manual Lymphatic massages post-op at the Parker Center’s onsite Beaura Spa  Facility fees  Anesthesiologist fee  Necessary garments or implants

The pricing page also includes the fees for skin rejuvenation injections like Restylane, Radiesse and Botox.

“The pricing page we are adding is just an estimate, but it gives people searching the Internet an idea of what to expect,” reminds Dr. Parker. “We don’t know the exact cost of plastic surgery (http://www. parkercenter. net/new-jersey-plastic-surgery-prices/) until we see the patient in person, perform a physical examination and arrive at a treatment plan.”

When looking for New Jersey cosmetic surgeons (http://www. parkercenter. net/new_jersey_plastic_surgeon/), Dr. Parker warns patients to be careful. If a price is listed on a website and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Either the quality of treatment will be compromised or there are hidden fees not listed.

For many potential patients, the cost of plastic surgery in New Jersey (http://www. parkercenter. net/new-jersey-plastic-surgery-prices/) is the number one factor in deciding whether or not to have surgery performed. At the Parker Center, several financing programs listed on the site’s Financing page makes the fees listed on the website more manageable.

“For a variety of reasons, about 40% of our patients opt to finance their procedures,” says Dr. Parker. The Parker Center offers a variety of financing options to suit the needs of their patients.

As a board certified New Jersey plastic surgeon (http://www. parkercenter. net/new_jersey_plastic_surgeon/), Dr. Parker leads a thoroughly trained, experienced, nurturing team which includes registered nurses and board certified anesthesiologists. Their goal is to help Dr. Parker bring his patients through the process of surgical rejuvenation with natural appearing results and a rapid, pleasant, painless recovery. In addition, patients are fully educated prior to surgery and operated on in the Parker Center’s on site fully certified ambulatory surgical facility under their umbrella of safety.

“Pricing pages are quite uncommon on plastic surgeons’ websites across the country, but even less so in New Jersey,” says Dr. Parker. “By adding this page, we are breaking ground here in New Jersey and further educating our patients in the process.”

About Dr. Paul M. Parker

Dr. Paul M. Parker, M. D. graduated from George Washington University of Medicine in Washington, DC, where he was the recipient of the distinguished CV Mosby Award of Excellence. He completed residencies in both General Surgery and Plastic Surgery at New York University Medical Center, where he received the Theodore Barnett Award for Excellence in Teaching. He also completed a fellowship in Microsurgery at New York University Medical Center’s Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery with heavy emphasis on innovative methods of breast reconstruction.

Dr. Parker is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He holds a certificate of advanced education in cosmetic surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an active member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, and the New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Additionally, he has been selected as one of the top surgeons in his field by Consumer’s Research Council of America and has been named in Castle Connolly’s registry of “Americas Cosmetic Doctors” He has also served as Assistant Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at New York University Medical Center.

About The Parker Center

Located in Paramus, New Jersey, the Parker Center is a 15,000 square foot facility boasting an AAAASF and Medicare certified surgical center and state of the art medi-spa. The Parker Center for Plastic Surgery prides itself on enhancing their patient’s lives through individualized support and impeccable attention to detail.

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THE TRAINING ASSOCIATES APPOINTS RECRUITING MANAGER Seasoned Human Resource Professional to Sustain and Grow IT Trainer Base

THE TRAINING ASSOCIATES APPOINTS RECRUITING MANAGER Seasoned Human Resource Professional to Sustain and Grow IT Trainer Base

The Training Associates, the largest and oldest provider of IT trainers, announces that Gary Sicard has joined their ranks as Recruiting Manager.

(PRWEB) December 5, 2003

Boston, MA, – December 16, 2003 - The Training Associates, the largest and oldest provider of IT trainers, announces that Gary Sicard has joined their ranks as Recruiting Manager.

Gary will be responsible for managing the qualification and interviews for new IT trainers and negotiating contract prices with both trainers and customers to maximize quality while minimizing cost. A highly skilled professional, with over 15 years of experience as a successful staffing, recruiting, HR generalist and business person, Gary has management experience in diverse industries such as technology, manufacturing and publishing.

Even with the prospect of an economic rebound, companies are continuing to utilize business process outsourcing (BPO) as a cost-saving measure. Companies want to continue to train their employees, but do not want the cost of staffing an education department. Because the education of employees is as important as ever, by keeping training as a variable cost rather than a fixed cost, corporations can continue to offer this benefit to their valuable employees.

“Gary’s background will prove to be invaluable as we continue to build industry best-practices for our trainers and customers” said Victor J. Melfa, CEO and President of The Training Associates. "His efforts in this arena will be the cornerstone of The Training Associates ability to continue to deliver the most highly-proficient IT trainers to our customers at the best market price.”

Prior to joining The Training Associates, Gary was the district manager for Marathon Staffing Group. At Marathon, he was responsible for all phases of sales and service for temporary staffing. He managed and directed efforts of all recruiting and office personnel.

Previously, Gary has held high-level HR positions at Corning Incorporated, GSI Lumonics, Cahners Publishing, and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).

Gary served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War.

The Training Associates has been the innovative leader in the IT trainer staffing industry since 1994. With over 5,000 qualified IT trainers teaching over 10,000 classes per year, The Training Associates is the largest provider of contract and full-time IT trainers in North America. Leading technology partners include Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Cisco, Intel, HP, and Novell. Training provider clients include New Horizons, IBM Learning Services, Thomson Learning/NetG/Wave, Knowledge Universe/ Productivity Point International, CompUSA, and Boston University.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:

800.241.8868 Fax: 508.890.8658

Info@TheTrainingAssociates. com

Http://www. TheTrainingAssociates. com (http://www. TheTrainingAssociates. com)

Chicago Country Artist Competes for Fame & Fortune

Chicago Country Artist Competes for Fame & Fortune

Recently, Chicago Country artist, J Juliano was awarded "Illinois' Best New Country Act" from Colgate-Palmolive's Colgate Country Showdown (www. countryshowdown. com). From here, he goes to South Dakota on Oct. 28 to compete for the Midwest title....in hopes of then progressing to the final, national round (held in Nashville, TN) where he will compete not only for the title but for $100,000! J was also recently awarded "Best Children's Act of 2006" by On the Waterfront in Rockford, IL where he performed with his children's project, "Little Nashville".

Cary, IL (PRWEB) October 12, 2006

After a tough round of competition, Cary’s J Juliano with Des Plaines’ Adrienne Grove walked away from the 25th Annual Colgate Country Showdown Illinois State Final with the state title and $1,000 in prize money. The Arcada Theater in St. Charles showcased eleven acts – who had won a local contest sponsored by radio stations throughout Illinois – enabling each to perform at the state level competition of America’s largest country music talent search.

WUSN of Chicago, Illinois sponsored the local competition where J Juliano with Adrienne Grove won prior to Sunday’s state level triumph. As an award-winning songwriter/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist, Juliano began guitar at just 5 years old. In 1998 he opened for Toby Keith in Chicago and realized his love of the Windy City. He began performing throughout the Southeast and Midwest, sharing the stage with Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Diamond Rio and Sawyer Brown, to name a few. When Juliano and his wife learned they were expecting their first child, he began “Little Nashville” – country music for kids that teaches important lessons and values with a bit of rock at the same time. “Little Nashville” went from the studio to the road, bringing Adrienne Grove into the mix. The singer/actress began belting out The Star-Spangled Banner also at a young age – 3. The Southwestern University graduate received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, and plays the guitar, flute and piano. She has performed with Starlight Theater, Park Ridge Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Savoy-aires and several others. Since joining forces in “Little Nashville,” Grove and Juliano have performed in front of thousands together. They have opened for Josh Gracin and have been honored with the title of Best Children’s Act of 2006 by the On the Waterfront Festival in Rockford. In Sunday’s competition, they rocked the crowd with Charlie Daniels’ The Devil Went Down to Georgia and an original piece – Dry County. Other acts – listed with their representing radio station – Andy Campbell KICK Quincy, Chris McGee

WOOZ Carterville, Kasie Stigers WKJT Effingham, Marie Spanos WALS Peru, Mal Rodgers WGEL Greenville, Chloe Li WLMD Macomb, Becky Blackaby WBBA Pittsfield, Xylynn Warren WRUL Carmi, Rachael Searfoss WGKY Metropolis and Lisa Perry WXCL Peoria.

J Juliano with Adrienne Grove will compete in the Midwest Regional at the Royal River Casino in Flandreau, South Dakota on October 28th to determine if they will advance to the National Final. The five regional winners from across the country will receive an all expense-paid trip to the National Final to compete for $100,000 and the coveted national title of Best New Act in Country Music. The National Final will be televised nationally in March and April 2007.

Throughout all four levels – local, state, regional and national – of competition a uniform judging system is used. The 1-10 point scoring system is used for the following categories: Marketability in Country Music, Vocal/Instrumental Ability, Originality of Performance; Stage Presence/Charisma and Talent with bonus points for song writing.

Colgate-Palmolive is a leading global consumer-products company tightly focused on Oral Care, Personal Care, Household Surface Care, Fabric Care and Pet Nutrition. In the U. S., Colgate sells its quality products under such nationally recognized brand names as Colgate, Palmolive, Mennen, Ajax, Irish Spring, Softsoap, Murphy Oil Soap, Ultra Brite and Fab.

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Meetings Market Academy & Exhibition Offers Unique Educational Opportunity for Meeting Professionals

Meetings Market Academy & Exhibition Offers Unique Educational Opportunity for Meeting Professionals

The Meetings Market Academy + Exhibition, debuting in June 2006 in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center, will provide a regional opportunity to educate not only meeting planners but also marketing, human resources, and senior management personnel.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 12, 2006

Meetings Market offers a unique forum for anyone who participates in planning meetings the opportunity to learn the basics, add additional skills, and educate others about the contributions of meeting planners and the importance of meetings to achieving an organization’s strategic goals.

The Meetings Market Academy + Exhibition uses a multi-tiered approach to education which allows planners to improve their professional status, and is geared for the novice planner, experienced pro, or anyone in between. Also scheduled is a unique supplier showcase that features over 100 local and national hotels, resorts, conference and convention centers, convention bureaus and other industry vendors.

The Meetings Market Academy + Exhibition begins in June 2006 in Boston, and is scheduled to travel to Houston, Chicago, Sacramento, Denver, Atlanta, Charlotte, San Diego, and Kansas City.

The cost of exhibiting for suppliers is aggressively priced well below the industry average, making this show ideal for organizations that cannot exhibit at larger, cost prohibitive industry trade shows. This one-day event is designed to maximize an attendee’s time and value, by providing top-notch education, combined with relevant networking opportunities. Discounts are available to members of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), International Special Events Society (ISES) and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

According to founding partner Michele Wierzgac MS, CMM, president of Michele & Co, an Oak Lawn, Illinois-based meeting management, consulting, and training firm, “This is a unique opportunity for meeting and event professionals to improve their skills, impress their boss, network with their peers, and learn the latest in the services and products all in their own city.”

For media passes, exhibition, sponsorship or attendee information, contact Jessica Roberts at (301) 560-4166, for speaking opportunities, contact Michele Wierzgac at (708) 598-6600 or visit http://www. meetingsmarket. com (http://www. meetingsmarket. com).

The program is owned and operated by Meetings Market LLC, a partnership between three forces in the meetings industry: Convention Strategy, a Maryland-based trade show management company; Michele & Company, an Oak Lawn, Illinois-based meeting management, consulting, and training firm; and Results. now, a Maryland-based tradeshow consulting firm.

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COMIC BOOKS NEVER DIE -- THEY JUST GO DIGITAL!

COMIC BOOKS NEVER DIE -- THEY JUST GO DIGITAL!

(PRWEB) November 10, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMIC BOOKS NEVER DIE -- THEY JUST GO DIGITAL!

CLEVELAND, OH -- ARComics, Inc. (http://www. arcomics. com (http://www. arcomics. com)) a Cleveland-based animated digital comic book publisher is taking e-books (electronic publishing) a few steps further. With authors using the internet as a distribution alternative for their text only products, such as Stephen King's successful foray into digital publishing, the company decided to developed an enticing digital format using the popular Macromedia Flash™ software to showcase their comic book stories and universe.

"We're taking comics to the mainstream," according to Keith Rivers, V. P. of Marketing and Promotions for ARComics, Inc., "and the internet IS mainstream." While comics in the traditional print market fade, the internet continues to grow at at alarming rates. "It's unfortunate to see the decline of the comics book in the print world, but those readers aren't gone, they're just part of a larger community now. We aren't just creating comic books for comic fans, at ARComics. com we're making digital entertainment for everyone. By offering our books through digital channels only, we know that we must deliver more than what one would expect from a print book, but yet retain the "feel" of a comic book. And we think we've done a pretty good job of both." One of the significant changes to the comic book format, isn't really a change at all. The company will offer their content in downloadable chapters. Not because they want the reader to wait, rather, the smaller increments will keep you coming back more often and most importantly, keeps the customer download time short. "The customer will be rewarded for their download quickly, and we think that download time/file size is an important issue when you're dealing with digital content."

Recently, ARComics, Inc. received positive feedback from fans who attended this year's world's largest comic book convention -- the 2000 San Diego Comic Book Convention. ARComics, Inc. were also participated as panelists on a digital comics forum at the convention along with Toonscape. com and Franklin Electronics discussing the current and future role of the digital realm for e-books and e-comic books. The company also plans to distribute a portable version of their digital content through Toonscape. com on Franklin Electronic's upcoming handheld device the e-Bookman®.

To create their unique form of digital comic books, ARComics. com relies on talented artists and writers on an international level -- from around the U. S., Great Britain, Canada, Argentina and Chile to name a few -- making ARComics, Inc.'s production staff global in scope with Cleveland acting as the hub. "It takes a lot of time, dedication, and effort from our people to do what what we are doing," Rivers said, "and judging from the early response at our site (http://www. arcomics. com (http://www. arcomics. com)), it's going to start to pay off. We are consistently being added by other sites all the time which gives us ample traffic, for example we've recently been linked to by THE BEST-OF-THE-NET (http://goan. com/comic. html (http://goan. com/comic. html)) and other highly trafficked web sites."

According to Rivers, you can buy content via the popular choice for secure transactions, PayPal (for only.45¢) or try some for FREE (for the PC or Macintosh platforms) by visiting the site at http://www. arcomics. com (http://www. arcomics. com) and view some online "teasers" for a glimpse at upcoming titles. ARComics. com also features, information about the characters and art galleries for each title.

ARComics. com officially launches November 12, 2000, but is open now for business.

About ARComics, Inc.

Comic book publisher ARComics, Inc. in 1993 presented ARComics Premiere #1 featuring the first linticular (magic motion) animation comic book cover in the industry. ARComics also randomly inserted a linticular card in the May 1993 Wizard magazine in promotion of the book release and also produced an innovative 3-D trading card. Well, it only makes sense that the company makes the leap to ANIMATED DIGITAL COMICS at their web site http://www. arcomics. com (http://www. arcomics. com).

The animated comics will feature storylines that take place in the ARComics Universe (ARCosmos). This is definitely one to watch (pun fully intended). ARComics are your comics!

About Toonscape

Toonscape (http://www. toonscape. com (http://www. toonscape. com)), an online artist service provider, publishes and distributes entertainment content to PC's, handhelds and wireless devices. Toonscape provides comic artists, illustrators and animators with a virtual gallery, digital distribution, online syndication services, and an array of e-commerce tools to help them promote, sell and distribute their work.

About Franklin Publishers Inc.

Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. (NYSE:FEP) is the worldwide market leader in handheld electronic books, including the popular BOOKMAN® series. The Company is also the exclusive producer and distributor of ROLODEX® Electronics brand of personal information management products. Franklin has sold more than 23,000,000 electronic books and currently publishes more than 200 titles, including dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries; encyclopedias; Bibles; entertainment titles; education and tutorial publications; and medical reference works. Franklin products, available in sixteen languages, are sold in 45,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs and on line at http://www. franklin. com (http://www. franklin. com). The Company has sales and distribution subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Benelux countries, Canada, Australia and Mexico, and production management offices in Tokyo and Hong Kong.

About X. com and PayPal

X. com provides the instant and secure online payment service PayPal, integrated with consumer and business financial services. With a customer base of nearly 4 million, PayPal is the world's first and largest Web-based payment network, and the #1 financial site on the Internet, according to PC Data Online. PayPal is the preferred payment service for online auctions and online community and group Web sites. Free to consumers, PayPal can be used from PCs or Web-enabled mobile phones.

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CONTACT INFO for follow up:

Keith Rivers

V. P. Marketing & Promotions

E-mail: krivers@arcomics. com

Website: http://www. arcomics. com (http://www. arcomics. com)
Media: press@arcomics. com

Fax: (775) 628-9325

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Plaza Bank Chooses The Edcomm Group To Deliver Customized Banking Compliance Training

Plaza Bank Chooses The Edcomm Group To Deliver Customized Banking Compliance Training

Plaza Bank has selected The Edcomm Group to deliver customized Banking Compliance training for its bank-wide training needs. Plaza also chose to implement Edcomm’s own LMS, Learning Link® for hosting and maintenance. A former client of Compliance Coach, Plaza has taken advantage of Edcomm’s “Switch for Compliance Excellence” program.

NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) October 22, 2006

Plaza Bank has selected The Edcomm Group to deliver customized Banking Compliance training for its bank-wide training needs. Plaza also chose to implement Edcomm’s own LMS, Learning Link® for hosting and maintenance. A former client of Compliance Coach, Plaza has taken advantage of Edcomm’s “Switch for Compliance Excellence” program.

“Switch for Compliance Excellence” was developed by Edcomm as a way for banks that are currently under contract with a different compliance training vendor, to switch to Edcomm’s Focus on Compliance course, free of charge. Edcomm is offering to switch any bank from any vendor at no cost to the bank. Also at no cost, Edcomm will migrate all historical compliance training records into Learning Link® for seamless record-keeping and reporting.

Dr. Linda Eagle, President of The Edcomm Group said, “We want to enable every bank to provide the very best compliance training to their people by delivering our Focus on Compliance program. If you’re working with another vendor — BAI, BankersEdge, Bankers Systems, BTCC, BVS, Compliance Coach, Digital University, Harland, Kirchman, Sage Online Learning, Thomson NETg, TRC Interactive, Trinity Workplace Learning, Sheshunoff, Wolters Kluwer, or anyone else — we will switch you over at no additional cost to your bank.”

Eagle explained a few of the differences between Edcomm’s Compliance Training and the products and services offered by other vendors. “Our content is superior and our service is superior, but it doesn’t stop there. When we sign up a bank, it’s their choice to renew. We don’t demand a binding, multi-year contract the way most of our competitors do. Banks stay with Edcomm because they want to, not because they have to!”

Focus on Compliance, a computer-based, distance-learning program, can be delivered via Internet, Intranet or CD-ROM. The program teaches banking compliance using easy-to-understand language in an interactive, self-paced format. Participants learn from their own perspective, with a curriculum customized to their position. Focus on Compliance covers: Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), USA PATRIOT Act, OFAC, Privacy, Reg P, Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, Right to Financial Privacy, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Reg CC & Check 21, Reg D, Reg E, Reg Z, Truth in Lending, FCRA, FACT Act, HMDA, CRA, and Bank Bribery, among others. The program also includes a quick reference guide to all banking regulations, as well as a glossary of terms and a library of reference materials.

Learning Link®, Edcomm’s full-featured learning management system has an open architecture that builds on industry-standard SCORM and AICC compliance, but adds features and capabilities far beyond any competing products. Learning Link® maintains a complete record of every learning and administrative activity and offers a wide variety of customizable, real-time reports available both onscreen and in CSV formats for download and integration into any HR system. Learning Link’s servers have been issued a SAS-70 attesting to the quality of their security, business continuity and performance.

For more information about programs like this, or to find out how The Edcomm Group can customize any training program, log onto www. bankersacademy. com.

Plaza Bank, located in Irvine, CA is Orange County’s newest business bank, having opened its doors for business on December 30, 2005. The Bank’s focus is to serve small - to medium-sized businesses. Plaza Bank is able to provide a wide range of products and services for the entrepreneur, including lines of credit, commercial loans for working capital or equipment financing, and Small Business Administration (SBA) loans for purchase or construction of a building for the business.

The Edcomm Group has had the privilege of assisting many distinguished clients with business solutions in the form of eLearning programs, classroom instruction, multimedia production and online and print based documentation. In addition to the development of customized programs, The Edcomm Group offers many off-the-shelf courses such as Teller Training, Compliance Training and Systems Training specifically designed for banks, credit unions and money services businesses that have proven themselves effective in organizations around the world.

The Edcomm Group is a 19-year-old multimedia education and communication consulting firm specializing in the development of creative business solutions that improve productivity, customer service and market share — providing bottom-line results. The Edcomm Group (www. edcomm. com) (www. bankersacademy. com) is headquartered in New York City with an Advanced Design Center located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.

For more information, please contact:

Linda Eagle

President, The Edcomm Group

1-888-4EDCOMM

Linda. eagle @ edcomm. com

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Latest Hyaluronic Acid Filler Takes the Sting Out of Beauty

Latest Hyaluronic Acid Filler Takes the Sting Out of Beauty

In the war of the injectable beauty fillers, the battle will soon become heated with the arrival of the newest hyaluronic acid injectable gel filler in the U. S. aesthetics market. Anika Therapeutics' FDA-approved ELEVESS™ enters the arena with a clear combat advantage: incorporation of lidocaine with their hyaluronic acid gel, to improve injection comfort.

Plano, Texas (PRWEB) July 9, 2008

In the war of the injectable beauty fillers, the battle will soon become heated with the arrival of the newest hyaluronic acid injectable gel filler in the U. S. aesthetics market. Anika Therapeutics' FDA-approved ELEVESS™ enters the arena with a clear combat advantage: incorporation of lidocaine with their hyaluronic acid gel, to improve injection comfort.

Many cosmetic physicians, including Jeffrey Adelglass, MD, FACS (http://www. skintastic. com/about_our_staff. html) of SKINTASTIC™ Medical & Surgical Rejuvenation Center (http://www. skintastic. com) of Plano, Texas routinely mix lidocaine with some dermal fillers, or inject lidocaine as a nerve-block prior to filler injection, primarily in sensitive, nerve-rich areas such as the lips and eye areas. Elimination of mixing and nerve-blocks saves time and work for the doctor, and reduces the patient's wait.

Although not the first FDA-approved H. A. filler/lidocaine formulation in the U. S., ELEVESS™ claims to provide long-lasting results. Lack of durability is a chief complaint of frequent H. A. filler users. Currently approved for sale in the U. S., European Union and in Canada, ELEVESS™ utilizes a proprietary cross-linking technology that creates a highly-concentrated H. A. formulation which suggests the potential of longer durability in the body. Allergan, the makers of Botox®, currently produce Juvaderm® with lidocaine for the European Union, but U. S. approval of their H. A./lidocaine formulation is forthcoming. A U. S. dermal filler already utilizing lidocaine is non-resorbable-ArteFill® (a non-H. A. filler) by Artes Medical; Artes was chosen by Anika Therapeutics to be a U. S. distributor for ELEVESS™. Dr. Adelglass is a clinical researcher for Artes Medical, and serves on Artes' Scientific Advisory Board.

Experience counts. Dr. Adelglass was the first Texas physician to recently achieve simultaneous Diamond pinnacle-level status as a Botox® injector and Triple-Platinum status with Medicis, the makers of Restylane® and Perlane® injectable H. A. fillers. Dr. Adelglass is a member of the Star Program -- a select group of cosmetic physicians specially-trained to work with new Evolence® collagen filler, and is an exclusive Black Card member of Radiesse® physician injectors. He serves on the scientific advisory boards of most, if not all U. S. dermal filler companies, and on the National Education Foundation for Allergan, instructing other cosmetic physicians to safely administer Botox® using his well-honed injection techniques. Dr. Adelglass is also an official training instructor for SmartLipo™ laser body sculpting, the DOT Fractional skin resurfacing laser, ArteFill® non-resorbable, and Juvederm® fillers. With his level of experience, it's no wonder that many of the representatives of these companies, with all their available options, select Dr. Adelglass as their own cosmetic physician of choice.

The cost of ELEVESS™ is expected to be comparable to that of other popular H. A. fillers. Call (972) 620-3223 to be added to a waiting list to receive a complimentary ELEVESS™ evaluation (and special introductory offer). ELEVESS™-related questions can be directed to skintastic @ skintastic. com. Skintastic is located in the Presbyterian Plano Center for Diagnostics and Surgery at 6020 W. Parker, Suite 400 in Plano, Texas.

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SOCIAL WORK PROFESSIONALS AND EMPLOYERS FIND EACH OTHER ONLINE AT SOCIALWORKJOBBANK. COM

SOCIAL WORK PROFESSIONALS AND EMPLOYERS FIND EACH OTHER ONLINE AT SOCIALWORKJOBBANK. COM

SocialWorkJobBank. com, the online career center of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine, has teamed up with JobTarget. com to offer “the most state-of-the-art, easy-to-use job board technology we could find,” says Linda Grobman, a social worker and publisher/editor of the magazine and the site. What’s more, the site has been customized to include details unique to its specialized niche of social work professionals. SocialWorkJobBank offers social work job seekers a specialized listing of jobs, as well as the opportunity to post a confidential résumé that can be searched by employers. It offers employers an affordable place to find qualified, professional social work employees.

(PRWEB) May 9, 2003

Social work may be a relatively new profession at only a little over 100 years old, but it is keeping up with the times when it comes to the newest technology in online recruiting.

SocialWorkJobBank. com, the online career center of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine, has teamed up with JobTarget. com to offer “the most state-of-the-art, easy-to-use job board technology we could find,” says Linda Grobman, a social worker and publisher/editor of the magazine and the site. What’s more, the site has been customized to include details unique to its specialized niche of social work professionals.

“For example, when job seekers complete their resumes, or profiles, on our site,” says Grobman, “they are asked whether their degrees are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, and whether they hold a state social work license.” This kind of detailed, social work-specific information makes SocialWorkJobBank. com a one-of-a-kind resource for social workers who want to market themselves, as well as for employers who are looking for highly qualified social work staff.

The site is an outgrowth of the magazine’s Web site at Socialworker. com. “A few years ago, employers started contacting me about placing their job listings on our site,” says Grobman. “So we started a one-page job listing, to give employers an affordable place to reach qualified candidates.” As the listing grew in popularity, it was expanded to a full-fledged searchable job and resume database in the summer of 2002.

On April 30, 2003, the new JobTarget-powered SocialWorkJobBank was launched. “We wanted SocialWorkJobBank users to have the best experience possible,” says Grobman, “and after an extensive search, JobTarget was the one system that seemed to offer everything a job seeker or employer could ever want in a job board.” In addition to viewing social work job listings, job seekers can post a confidential résumé—employers can view these résumés but only receive the job seekers’ contact information with their approval. There is also a career resource section where visitors can find job search articles, links to related sites, and other helpful tools.

“We are very happy that SocialWorkJobBank. com has joined our network,” says Chuck Sheriff, Director of Sales for JobTarget. com. “The combination of our up-to-date technology with Linda Grobman’s vision of career development for social work professionals will help this particular niche of job seekers to reach new heights in their careers.”

The site is visited approximately 17,000 times per month, and in the first 8 months (from the launch of the original SocialWorkJobBank. com site), over 6,800 job seekers had registered for its services. “There are lots of social workers looking for jobs,” says Grobman. “My goal is to help them find the job of their dreams, and to help employers get qualified, professionally trained social workers in their agencies.”

Grobman goes out of her way to personally help the site’s visitors when they have a question or technical problem. “Thank you so much for your prompt reply...,” Susan, an MSW from New York City, wrote to Grobman. “…a real person answering letters....not just computer generated non helpful responses….”

And the site works. “We found a social worker through this listing and we are very happy to have her on board. We will not hesitate to use this service again in the future,” commented Greg Harper, Administrator at Northern Virginia Wellness Center.

Those are the kinds of stories that keep Grobman going. “The biggest thrill is to hear that someone found a good job match through the site,” she says. “That’s what makes it a success.”

For more information, visit http://www. socialworkjobbank. com (http://www. socialworkjobbank. com) or contact Linda Grobman at linda@socialworkjobbank. com.

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ADDITIONAL FACTS ABOUT THE SOCIAL WORK JOB MARKET

There are 149 graduate schools and 436 undergraduate schools in the U. S. that are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. See http://www. cswe. org (http://www. cswe. org) for further information on accreditation and accredited schools. Social work was the 3rd most searched curriculum on GradSchools. com for January-March 2003. All states and the District of Columbia have licensing, certification, or registration requirements for social workers. The licensing requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. See http://www. aswb. org (http://www. aswb. org) for information on social work licensing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, social workers held about 468,000 jobs in the year 2000, with one third of these in state, county, or municipal government agencies. Social work employment is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through 2010.

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Allison Bunte Joins Brown Smith Wallace, LLC As Staff Accountant

Allison Bunte Joins Brown Smith Wallace, LLC As Staff Accountant

Allison Bunte joins Brown Smith Wallace as a staff accountant in the tax and accounting services group. She will be preparing compiled financial statements, business and individual income tax returns and providing payroll tax services to a variety of Brown Smith Wallace clients.

(PRWEB) January 1, 2005

Allison Bunte joins Brown Smith Wallace as a staff accountant in the tax and accounting services group. She will be preparing compiled financial statements, business and individual income tax returns and providing payroll tax services to a variety of Brown Smith Wallace clients.

Bunte recently graduated cum laude from Culver-Stockton where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance. Prior to graduation, she completed an internship during her last semester at Mass Mutual Financial in Quincy, Illinois. Throughout her college career Bunte was involved in several organizations on campus and in the Canton community. She was an active member of the Chi Omega Fraternity and held several offices including Treasurer and Director of Community Service. In addition, she was Vice President of Public Relations for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). Bunte not only excelled in academics but in athletics as well, belonging to the Culver-Stockton womenÂ’s volleyball team. Her education, experience, and leadership skills make her an excellent addition to the tax and accounting services group at Brown Smith Wallace.

Bunte, a Payson, Illinois native, resides in Maryland Heights.

As the second largest locally owned independent full-service CPA and business consulting firm in Missouri, Brown Smith Wallace makes a measurable difference in clientsÂ’ lives by making sure clients get more than just a good return on their investment, finding hidden value, looking where others forget, bridging gaps to form long lasting relationships, being accessible and by putting a guarantee in writing. For more information visit www. bswllc. com or call 314.983.1200.

# # #

EDITORS NOTE: Permission to reprint is hereby given to all print, broadcast and electronic media. Permission is also granted for reasonable editing, including article title change and customizing for your audience/industry. Please send a copy of the published information to: Brown Smith Wallace, Danielle Oser, 1050 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132

Mindy Lally

BROWN SMITH WALLACE

EMAIL: MLALLY@BSWLLC. COM

DIRECT: 314.983.1288

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WEB: WWW. BSWLLC. COM

We regularly send information that we believe will be of interest to your readers. If you wish to be removed from our list, please send an email to mlally@bswllc. com Subject: Remove From List

For More Information Contact:

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314.983.1207 or 314.807.1678

Akuesel@bswllc. com

IEHA Announces Master's Program to Enhance 330-Hour Self Study Curriculum

IEHA Announces Master's Program to Enhance 330-Hour Self Study Curriculum

Elite executive housekeepers will be designated by the credential, "Master of Housekeeping Science (MHS)" (REH-MHS).

Westerville, OH (PRWEB) June 11, 2009

The International Executive Housekeepers Association (http://www. ieha. org) (IEHA) is offering the exclusive opportunity to their Registered Executive Housekeepers (REH) to participate in a Master's Program including coursework to assist in updating IEHA's 330-hour Self Study Program and a thesis or dissertation that will become part of IEHA's permanent educational curriculum.

This elite group of executive housekeepers will be designated by the credential, "Master of Housekeeping Science (MHS)" (REH-MHS) and will maintain their credentials through periodic coursework and meeting annual teaching requirements.

"IEHA's REH members are on the vanguard of industry knowledge, standards and innovations, and those members that achieve their IEHA Master's will not only prove their overall expertise, management and analytical abilities, but keep our 330 hour program on the forefront of industry education and assist the future leaders of tomorrow," says Sarah Larsen, Deputy Director of IEHA.

"Just as a master's degree is an academic recognition granted to persons that have undergone a course of study showing mastery of a specific field of professional practice or study, IEHA's Master's Program will be for our elite members committed to continuous improvement and propagating professionalism," says Beth Risinger, CEO/Executive Director of IEHA.

"It is amazing to see the transformation in our members' point of view as they go through the certification program (http://www. ieha. org/education_certification. php)," says Larsen. "The program brings them a higher level of confidence and professionalism in their position through the tools they are provided. Our Master's Program just takes this to the next level."

Education has been the top priority for IEHA to increase professionalism in the industry ever since it was established in the 1930s. The Association's educational programs have gone through a series of evolutions over the past seven decades--from a 160-hour program, to a 320-hour program, to a 330-hour program--and has been revised every two years as needed since the 330-hour program began in 1985.

"There seems to be a direct correlation between IEHA certification/registration and career advancement (with subsequent salary increases)," says Alan Bigger, REH, Director of Facilities at Earlham College in Richmond, IN, and 20-plus year member of IEHA. "I started off as a supervisor and then, thanks to IEHA, I was able to move up from supervisor to assistant superintendent to manager of a section, then to a director of a very large department, and more recently, director of an entire division, all due in a large part to IEHA."

During the 2009 Masters Program coursework process, the following modules of the Self Study Program will be enhanced: Management Philosophy & Style, Communication, Planning & Organizing, Staffing & Staff Development, Continuous Improvement, Housekeeping Techniques, Work Controls, Pest Control, Chemical Controls, Waste Management, Purchasing, Accounting & Budgets, Safety & Security, Interiors, and Laundry & Linen.

In addition, Green concepts and sustainability will be incorporated throughout all modules. REH Members participating in the Masters Program will be announced during IEHA's 43rd Annual Educational Conference and Convention in Chicago, IL, October 6-9, 2009. IEHA will also be putting the 330-Hour Self Study Program--including dissertation outlines and plans--online by the end of 2009.

The International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA), is a 3,500-plus professional member organization for persons employed in facility housekeeping at the management level. The organization was founded in 1930 in New York City, and is now located in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of the State's capitol, Columbus. Executive Housekeepers are managers who direct housekeeping programs in commercial, industrial or institutional facilities. They supervise staffs ranging from a few to several hundred people and handle budgets from a few thousand dollars to millions. IEHA provides members with an array of channels through which they can achieve personal and professional growth. Some are: leadership opportunities; resource materials; education program designation; employment referral service; a Technical Question Hotline (1-800-200-6342); networking; an annual convention and trade show, including several educational sessions; and a monthly trade publication, Executive Housekeeping Today. Please contact IEHA's Association office at (800) 200-6342 for more details, or go to IEHA (http://www. ieha. org).

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SuperFit Kidz tm Combating Childhood Obesity

SuperFit Kidz tm Combating Childhood Obesity

SuperFit Kidz Body Transformation Challenge is a martial arts fitness program designed specially for children. It combines healty eating habbits with fun martial arts drills and pilates. Children will compete for prizes.

(PRWEB) January 16, 2004

SuperFit Kidz tm Body Transformation Challenge commenced in January at Anta's Fitness and Self Defense, 10721 NW 58 St. Miami (Doral), FL. This is the first complete martial arts fitness program designed for overweight children. This program is way over due since childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Approximately Nine million Children in the United States are overweight or obese. The school system has drastically cut out physical education programs. TV commercials urge viewers to eat. The average American child sees 10,000 TV commercials a year. Approximately 9,500 of these commercials are for either fast foods, soft drinks, cereals that are high in sugar and candy. Julio Anta the Florida Martial Arts Hall of Fame Instructor of the Year 2003, has spent many years compiling information on this subject with his extent background working with children and over 25 years experience as a former United States Marine Corps Sergeant, certified personal trainer, martial arts instructor, Pilates instructor, Fitness Kickboxing instructor and a runner up in the 1983 Junior Florida, and Miami Body Building Championships to developed SuperFit Kidz tm.

To have a successful life altering change in your childÂ’s body you most engage the whole person in a mind, body and sprit lifestyle change. One of AntaÂ’s goals in life is to help transform this obesity epidemic one child at a time by using the mind, body, sprit principles found in the Chinese art of kung fu combined with todayÂ’s modern nutrition principles. Children need a different approach to weight loss than adults do because they have different physical and dietary needs due to the growth process. A childÂ’s weight loss program must consist of a diet with enough nutrients for growth and their fitness program must be fun and easy on the joints.

At the start of the SuperFit Kidz program all children will be weighed, measure height, body composition tested (percentage of fat) and a before photo of the child will be taken. They will also have semi personal motivational coaching sessions. At the end of the 12 weeks body shaping program we will retake all the measurements and take an after photo. The student with the greatest physical transformation will be awarded the first SuperFit Kidz TM Championship trophy and many other prizes. This is not a diet but healthy eating habits that are specifically tailored for growing children. They will write down every thing they eat and at the end of the week if they have eaten healthy they will be rewarded by a day of eating what ever they like. The physical portion of the program consists of Fitness Kickboxing for Kids, plyometrics, circuit training, acrobatics, tumbling, dynamic tension, calisthenics, resistance bands, Chi gong (breathing exercise), stretching and boot camp. But most of all we condition their minds so they are excited and motivated in getting fit and in shape. For those parents that work late our KickinÂ’ Kids After School Martial Arts program will accommodate SuperFit Kidz contestants with healthy snacks. Imagine being able to pick up your children after a hard day at work and not having to worry that they are eating fattening foods and struggling to complete their home work. We can pick up child from any school in Doral. An old Chinese proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Start your childÂ’s journey today at antaÂ’s Fitness and Self Defense where east meets west. For more information call us at AntaÂ’s Fitness and Self Defense at 305 599-3649.

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DeSilva + Phillips' Client Beauty Schools Directory Acquired by Higher Ed Marketing Firm

DeSilva + Phillips' Client Beauty Schools Directory Acquired by Higher Ed Marketing Firm

DeSilva + Phillips, Media Investment Bankers, announces the acquisition of its client, Beauty Schools Directory, a recruitment and enrollment lead generation company for the beauty school industry, by PlattForm Holdings, a marketing, advertising and public relations firm specializing in enrollment solutions for higher education and all branches of the U. S. military. PlattForm Holdings is a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners of Washington, D. C.

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 25, 2007

DeSilva + Phillips, Media Investment Bankers, announces the acquisition of its client, Beauty Schools Directory, a recruitment and enrollment lead generation company for the beauty school industry, by PlattForm Holdings, a marketing, advertising and public relations firm specializing in enrollment solutions for higher education and all branches of the U. S. military. PlattForm Holdings is a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners of Washington, DC.

Jay MacDonald, Partner, Digital Media & Technology, DeSilva + Phillips Media Investment Bankers, said, "Beauty School Directory's powerful lead generation engine and its deep relationships with beauty education programs throughout North America is a perfect fit with PlattForm's enrollment marketing solutions for non-profit and for-profit academic and technical education programs. We're proud to have brought our client together with an owner that not only understands its business but whose own business can help BSD grow even more quickly."

About Beauty Schools Directory:
Beauty Schools Directory, owned by Zuma, LLC, is the most comprehensive, useful and informative online resource for prospective beauty school students, enabling users quickly and easily to locate, compare, obtain information and contact thousands of beauty schools and cosmetology schools throughout the United Stated and Canada. It is the foremost provider of lead generation for both not-for-profit and for-profit educators with beauty school education programs.

About PlattForm Holdings:
PlattForm Holdings, Inc. (www. plattformad. com) is a leading enrollment solutions provider to the post-secondary education industry. The company's enrollment solutions include internet marketing services, media placement services for the television, print, and radio markets, creative and production, direct mail services, public relations, and call center services, all of which are designed to assist clients in attracting, enrolling and retaining students. Within PlattForm's industry leading internet marketing product line, enrollment solutions include search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and website design and development. PlattForm also has its own developed websites, such as www. search4careercolleges. com and www. careerexplorer. net which provide information to potential students and leads to schools on a guaranteed cost per lead basis. PlattForm offers enrollment solutions to both for-profit and not-for-profit school groups, as well as to select segments of the U. S. Armed Services. The company is headquartered in a suburb of Kansas City, and has more than 350 employees. Michael Platt, its CEO, is a leading expert in the post-secondary education industry, and serves on the Board of the Career College Foundation.

About Arlington Capital Partners:
Arlington Capital Partners (www. arlingtoncap. com) is a Washington, D. C.-based private equity fund with over $1 billion of committed capital focused on middle market buyout investment opportunities in growth industries including: aerospace/defense, federal and commercial IT and engineering services, media, education & training, healthcare services and business services & outsourcing. The firm's professionals have a unique combination of operating and private equity experience that enables Arlington to be a value-added investor. Arlington invests in companies in partnership with high quality management teams that are motivated to establish and/or advance their company's position as leading competitors in their field.

About DeSilva + Phillips, Media Investment Bankers:
DeSilva + Phillips is a New York-based investment bank specializing in the media and digital media industries. We provide M&A services and private placements of debt and equity to the medical and healthcare media, magazine, Internet, newspaper, book publishing, trade shows & events, information, educational, and marketing-services industries. DeSilva + Phillips has completed more than 180 transactions since 1996, including Prism Business Media Holdings's $530 million acquisition of Penton Media, Inc. and Mediabistro. com's acquisition by Jupitermedia Corp. DeSilva + Phillips Corporate Finance LLC is a member of NASD and SIPC.

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Lchinese Announces Learn Chinese 2008 Software for Schools and Universities

Lchinese Announces Learn Chinese 2008 Software for Schools and Universities

Learn Chinese 2008 is an innovative software product that helps educational institutions develop richer Chinese programs by promoting autonomous learning as a complementary tool to teacher's lesson in class.

Paris, France (PRWEB) July 3, 2008

Lchinese (http://www. lchinese. com (http://www. lchinese. com)), the company developing software solutions for Chinese language learners since 2003, announced today the immediate availability of Learn Chinese 2008, the latest version of its award-winning electronic Chinese assistant. This release represents Lchinese's successful first step into the institutional world. With its innovative "Network" features, students can now use the product on any computer in their School and have transparently access to their personal documents stored on a server computer. This new version also offers a completely new self-assessment module, able to evaluate results, bring detailed analyses on progress made and propose axes of development.

"Here at Lchinese (http://www. lchinese. com), we have created new technologies that empower students in learning several dimensions of the language at the same time," said Jerome Dangu, Managing Director of Lchinese. "Our products give students the keys to learning Chinese at their own pace with any material, should it be teacher lessons or real life situations."

Learn Chinese 2008 is a full-featured tool box for Chinese learning students and is used successfully in an educational environment. It provides direct access to information in a comprehensive manner. It allows students to overcome the initial difficulties of the Chinese language by allowing them a rapid access to reading Chinese texts. It measures results and provides objective feedback on individual progress made.

Benefits for Institutions:
As teachers have mentioned, Learn Chinese 2008 is a great asset to manage heterogeneity in a class. It can be easily integrated in a daily pedagogic approach, for various and consistent uses, ranging from in-class use with a teacher to student's personal work. It offers teachers a significant improvement over traditional courses by bringing multimedia contents to the class. It makes it very convenient for students to learn vocabulary and encourages autonomous work. Teachers can regularly provide students with lesson-specific vocabulary lists that they can then learn out of class.

Teacher copies can be used in classes. Using Learn Chinese 2008 in the classroom adds interactivity to courses. Teachers can organize the projector or smart board to show the class stroke order animations, learn the pronunciations or use games as part of teaching. Other benefits that Chinese teachers have mentioned include significant time-saving during class preparation and the variety of approaches that could be developed to give students new ways of learning.

Detailed features:
Learn Chinese 2008 includes a full-featured and easy to use Chinese-English and English-Chinese dictionary. Vocabulary lists can be shared between students or submitted by their teacher. These lists serve as a basis for a series of exercises to practice reading, writing, memorizing the meaning of words, recognizing Chinese characters, etc.

Learn Chinese 2008 is also embedded with a Chinese text reading assistant that provides instant romanization of Chinese texts and click-based translation of vocabulary. The text assistant is able to extract vocabulary from a text to a vocabulary list.

Learn Chinese 2008 contains a powerful statistics module to follow quiz results and progress. For example it is capable of generating lists of words that need to be revised based on result history.

All these modules are fully integrated in the product and work together. There are lots of other goodies, import export features, character animations for thousands of characters, audio pronunciation, character writing with the mouse to name a few.

Pricing, availability and system requirements:
Retail price for Learn Chinese 2008 starts at $48.95 USD and includes one year of free updates. Volume discounts are granted to institutions. Learn Chinese 2008 works with Windows XP, Vista and 2000.

About Lchinese:
Headquartered in Paris, France, Lchinese was founded in 2003 and is a leading provider of software solutions to learn the Chinese language. After having successful proposed its products to individuals around the world, Lchinese is now working closely with institutions to bring interactivity to their Chinese curriculums. Please contact Jerome Dangu if you are interested in a demonstration of our products.

Additional information on Lchinese and Learn Chinese 2008 is available on the Internet at http://www. lchinese. com (http://www. lchinese. com) or by calling +33-950-53-09-90.

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Applications Sought for the 2007 Spirit of Enterprise Awards

Applications Sought for the 2007 Spirit of Enterprise Awards

Celebrating Ethics, Energy and Excellence in Entrepreneurship, the Spirit of Enterprise Center, part of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, is calling for applications.

Tempe, Ariz. (PRWEB) June 16, 2007

Innovative and creative entrepreneurial business ventures are invited to apply now for the 2007 Spirit of Enterprise Awards (www. spiritofenterprise. org). The awards are sponsored by The Spirit of Enterprise Center, in the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

In its 11th year, the Spirit of Enterprise Awards celebrate ethics, energy and excellence in entrepreneurship. Winning businesses are those that demonstrate ethics by example, create a value-based culture within their companies, demonstrate excellence in the industry, energize the community through leadership, and support education and lifelong learning in the workplace.

The 2007 Spirit of Enterprise Awards applications are due by 5 p. m., Friday, July 20. Winners will be announced at the annual Spirit of Enterprise Awards luncheon on Wednesday, September 26, from 11:30 a. m. to 1:30 p. m., at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. More than 1,000 top Valley business and community leaders are expected to attend.

To apply, a business must meet the following criteria:
  A for-profit enterprise with a minimum of 4 years in business   Incorporated, headquartered, or primary business operations in Arizona   Three or more full time employees   Demonstrate profitability for the last 3 years

Five awards will be presented. These include the ASU Alumni Entrepreneur Award, the Emerging Entrepreneur Award, the Family Business Award, the Special Achievement in Entrepreneurship Award, and the EdwardJones Spirit of Enterprise Award.

For more information about Spirit of Enterprise Awards or to download an application, visit: www. spiritofenterprise. org. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities or to reserve your table, email the center at spiritofenterprise @ asu. edu or call Jen Ciosek at (480) 965-0474.

About W. P. Carey School of Business
W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is one of the largest business schools in the United States, with more than 190 faculty members, 1,400 graduate students, and more than 2,700 upper-division undergraduate students. The school is internationally recognized for its leadership in supply chain management and services marketing and is highly regarded for its faculty's research productivity. The school's eight research centers serve as a link between business communities and the areas of marketing, entrepreneurship, information technology and supply chain management. For more information please visit wpcarey. asu. edu and http://knowledge. wpcarey. asu. edu/ (http://knowledge. wpcarey. asu. edu/)

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Mission Organization: When Helping Hands Meet Helping Hearts

Mission Organization: When Helping Hands Meet Helping Hearts

Professional Organizers in North Carolina donate time and talent for cancer support center

(PRWEB) January 19, 2005

It won’t be quite as dramatic as TV shows like Mission: Organization, Clean Sweep, or Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, but everyone at Cornucopia House Cancer Support Center (cornucopiahouse. org) is excited nonetheless. The National Association of Professional Organizers North Carolina Chapter (NAPO-NC) (naponc. org) chose Cornucopia House as the beneficiary of their “Get Organized” service project. It’s all part of the national association’s January G(et) O(organized) Month. In cities and towns around the U. S., many of the 2800 NAPO National (napo. net) members are helping a variety of non-profits get organized into more effective and comfortable spaces during GO Month. The Chapel Hill-based Cornucopia House provides support, programs, and services for anyone whose life has been touched by cancer.

NAPO-NC members, working in seven teams, are organizing the Cornucopia House living room and resource center, the corner room where support groups meet, and the gathering room where educational forums and expressive arts programming takes place, as well as the kitchen and storage areas and offices of the executive director and other staff. The professional organizers are sorting, re-grouping, recycling, removing, and then adding systems to help Cornucopia House staff and volunteers carry out their mission more effectively.

“We are thrilled,” says Cornucopia House executive director Becky Carver, “and it’s obvious we’re presenting NAPO-NC with quite a challenge. We’re serving more participants than ever, adding programming, increasing the inventory of supplies and materials, and expanding the resource library. Our modest budget simply hasn’t permitted investment in some of the things most people take for granted in their offices and homes that make it easy to find or store or display essentials.”

NAPO-NC vice president Geralin Thomas says her chapter is eager to demonstrate to everyone associated with Cornucopia House that getting organized can make a positive impact on their day-to-day operations. “We spent several hours at Cornucopia House in December talking to the staff about what they do, evaluating current use of space, measuring, and planning. Our goal is to enhance the safe, serene, comfortable environment experienced by everyone who enters the front door because their lives are changed in some way by a cancer diagnosis or experience.”

According to Thomas, “The primary goal of every professional organizer when we work with clients in their home or office is to define spaces by their function and create a clutter-free environment where most-used things are within reach. This is the key to simplifying life and work and being more effective at whatever we do.”

Right now, says Carver, supplies and materials at Cornucopia House are stored in sometimes-unusual places. “I think the biggest laugh of the evaluation day with NAPO-NC came when they noticed the rolls of toilet paper prominently displayed on the shelves in the financial assistant’s office.”

Thomas agrees that the North Carolina chapter’s organizing project at Cornucopia House is going to be a challenge, “but as with every home and office, there are easy and inexpensive solutions. In some cases, we simply re-purpose or re-arrange existing shelves or cabinets or furniture. Sometimes we add a sorting system as ordinary as stacking files.”

Professional organizers are not decorators, Thomas points out, but they do keep aesthetics in mind. “While we certainly organize around function, the systems we design must first of all fit the individual user or organization. When one of us is organizing a little girl’s bedroom, we don’t use the same types of systems or style as when we organize an adult’s home office or kitchen. The individual user must feel good and productive in the environment we help create or we haven’t done our job.”

Cancer patients, their families and friends, and professional caregivers especially appreciate the non-medical environment at Cornucopia House, says Carver. “They tell us it is a welcome respite from doctor’s offices, labs, and hospitals that are such a big part of their lives. Preserving that atmosphere during our organizing process is vital.”

Thomas cautions that the service project at Cornucopia House won’t be like the one-day or one-week miracles depicted on the popular TV programs. “We simply don’t have the financial resources or vast number of people that the shows have. But by the end of January, we will have made a substantial difference that we hope others will build on when we leave.”

For more information:

Www. naponc. org.

Www. cornucopiahouse. org

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Matt Mossop: Providing the Cure for What Ails Victims of the Job Market Meltdown

Matt Mossop: Providing the Cure for What Ails Victims of the Job Market Meltdown

Job Seekers Have Immediate Help via a Creative Canadian Entrepreneur.

(PRWEB) July 11, 2009

The challenging Financial Sectors combined with continual job losses worldwide requires new direction and hope, and that is being supplied via a Canadian Entrepreneur with the rollout of his innovative business model. "Great products from some of the World's Top Financial Minds along with the finest Automated Marketing Program is a Combination that is positively changing the lives of many on a daily basis," said Matt Mossop.

Ottawa, Ontario native Matt Mossop has a very diversified business background working in several countries, including employment with the Canadian Government as an Aerospace Engineer. "I had a job that was essentially a career situation," said Mossop, "but a career that offered myself very little in the area of personal fulfillment. In my spare time I was able to generate an exit strategy from my job via the business model (http://mattmossop. com/main? t=prweb>MattMossop. com (http://mattmossop. com/main? t=prweb>MattMossop. com)) that is allowing individuals to create a lucrative income via the following product offerings:
EDUCATION COURSE.... "A Multi-CD Foundational Course designed to set in place the fundamentals needed to guide individuals on how to implement the same financial strategies that the Elite Financial Minds use daily to create Wealth on a regular basis by properly Managing, Protecting and Retaining more of your money..."

WEALTH CONFERENCE...."A Four Day Associate gathering that provides Investment Strategies for Long-Term Financial Stability and Prosperity. The opportunity to meet some of the World's Top Financial Advisors and Famous Keynote Speakers while understanding how the Ultra-Wealthy invest for success is information that Forbes or Money Magazine could never provide. Understanding Market Trends and how to take advantage of Wealth Creation Opportunities makes this a MUST ATTEND CONFERENCE for all individuals who are serious about their long term financial future....."

LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCE CONFERENCE.... "Great surroundings at Lavish 5-Star Resort Locations with Associates having the opportunity to interface with International Famous Personal Coaches and Wellness Experts. The concept behind this gathering to demonstrate the proper steps to allow Associates to understand how to take the best of what Life has to offer and Live life to the fullest..... Focusing on building a Life of Fulfilling relationships, Peace of Mind and True Happiness attaining Levels of Accomplishments Personally and Financially that few ever experience....."

Matt Mossop is marketing his Business Model on a worldwide basis and very anxious to talk with individuals from all walks searching for the keys to taking complete control of their life Financially and Personally. "I have a wonderful program in place with World Class Products, Very Lucrative Commission Payouts to Associates and an automated Marketing Plan that is rewriting standards in the Home Based Employment Sector." said Mossop, "My program uses the best in proven marketing techniques guaranteed to create success for coachable associates working out of their home based offices. Timing is the Key to Success in Life, and the Timing Right Now for Millions to Create Their Own Success and Say Goodbye to being used by companies is why my business is growing at a very rapid pace."

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UK’s 1st School Uniform Auction Website Launched

UK’s 1st School Uniform Auction Website Launched

Schooba. co. uk is the first website aimed at both parents and schools and dedicated to the sale/resale of school uniforms within an auction style venue.

Nuneaton, Warwickshire UK (PRWEB) January 18, 2006

Nuneaton based web designer Jacqueline Drury has launched ‘Schooba’, a website aimed at bringing all involved in the provision of school uniforms to one venue. Now for the first time in the UK, parents can sell their unwanted uniform items, place wanted notices and buy replacements all within one website.

“With schools increasingly using uniforms that bear the school badge, parents who have to change their child’s school are left with items of clothing that cannot be used at the new school. This can become very expensive,” Jacqueline said.

Schooba. co. uk is easy to use and provides comprehensive instructions for those new to auction style websites. Site members can place bids and buy online using a variety of payment methods including PayPal.

“Schooba provides an outlet for parents to sell their unwanted uniform items from the comfort of their home and with all new members being offered a £5 credit just for registering with the site, now is a great time to start,” said Jacqueline

Site members can not only list in any of the 210 Local Education Authority categories but also sell in ‘After School Clubs’ and ‘Books’. In addition there is a Wanted Ads section and regularly updated message boards.

“Schooba aims to make the buying and selling of new and unwanted school uniforms much more accessible for all parents,” Jacqueline concluded.

Schooba. co. uk is the first website aimed at both parents and schools and dedicated to the sale/resale of school uniforms within an auction style venue.

Schooba was developed by web designer and mother of two daughters, Jacqueline Drury MA, in her spare time while also developing websites for clients.

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Imagine LAN Inc. announces plans to continue ConfigSafe® support for Windows 98® and Windows Me

Imagine LAN Inc. announces plans to continue ConfigSafe® support for Windows 98® and Windows Me

ConfigSafe system snapshot and recovery tool continues to provide essential protection for Windows PCs

Nashua, NH (PRWEB) March 10, 2004 -

— imagine LAN, Inc., a leading developer of system protection and repair software for Windows® PCs, today announced plans to continue its support of ConfigSafe® on Windows 98, Windows 98SE and Windows Me through 2006. The decision was based upon Microsoft® Corporation’s recent announcement that the company will extend support for these operating systems through December 31, 2006.

ConfigSafe protects Windows-based PCs from crashes and configuration problems by tracking changes to a system's configuration over time, by taking a “picture” or snapshot. The snapshot stores information about the system’s configuration at that exact point in time—monitoring items such as configuration files, system changes (memory, processor, and Windows version), drives, directories, the Windows Registry, and other user-definable system assets, such as the Windows Desktop. Using the stored snapshot, users or support providers can quickly identify changes made to a system and even restore a problem PC to a working configuration within minutes, with no data or application loss.

“Because there are no built-in system protection and recovery features under the Windows 98 operating system, it is critical that users have quick and simple protection from potential problems,” says Jan Olsen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at imagine LAN. “ConfigSafe provides a fast way to recover systems that ‘were fine yesterday, but don’t work today’ due to conflicts that occur from misbehaved or conflicting software installations or updates, and erroneous or inadvertent system changes.”

Imagine LAN pioneered snapshot technology with its initial introduction of ConfigSafe in 1995, and today the product has over 30 million users.

About imagine LAN, Inc.

Founded in 1992, imagine LAN, Inc. develops a full line of system health tools and USB FlashWare—mobility, system health and security applications designed to take advantage of the compact, portable nature of the USB flash drive and other portable storage devices. Designed for Microsoft® Windows® users with multiple PCs and people with “on-the-go” lifestyles, imagine LAN provides innovative solutions that help flash drive users work more efficiently, productively, and with greater privacy and security. Currently, there are more than 30 million users of imagine LAN products worldwide. Customers include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Fortune 1000 corporations, government and educational institutions, resellers, small/home office and individual end users.

For more information about ConfigSafe® and other imagine LAN products, visit the company’s Web site at http://www. imaginelan. com (http://www. imaginelan. com). imagine LAN is located at 74 Northeastern Blvd., Suite 12, Nashua, NH, 03062. The company can be contacted by phone at (800) 372-9776 or (603) 889-3883 or via email at ilisales@imaginelan. com.

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Doctors Urge Global Colleagues to 'Show Your Case'

Doctors Urge Global Colleagues to 'Show Your Case'

New medical and scientific forum offers simplicity, privacy, and transparency

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) September 30, 2009

Two orthopaedic surgeons recently unveiled a unique online solution for medical professionals and scientists looking to receive or provide feedback on critical cases.

Dr. Michael Zlowodzki (University of Minnesota, USA) and Dr. Mohit Bhandari (McMaster University, Canada) custom built ShowYourCase. com (http://www. showyourcase. com (http://www. showyourcase. com)) to allow doctors and scientists to post case studies and ask questions in a secure environment. For example, the forum would allow a surgeon in the United States to post a particularly rare or difficult case and receive feedback from a surgeon in Europe familiar with the issue.

"As surgeons, we know what it's like to have a unique or problematic case that colleagues in the area may not have experience with," says Dr. Zlowodzki. "But we're also concerned with the security of existing forums and the qualifications of the people running them."

Personalization and security are key features of ShowYourCase. com. Its easy-to-use interface lets users input text and upload case materials including images and entire PowerPoint presentations, and specify with whom they want to share cases or questions, a capability unique to this forum. Some may choose to make posts available to all, while others may share only with trusted colleagues.

"The ability to choose your audience and set parameters for each post is crucial," says Dr. Zlowodzki. "For example, a surgeon might share one post globally, but choose to share other posts only within the university group or with confirmed friends."

Unlike similar popular sites claiming to be for physicians only, ShowYourCase. com does not sell access to corporate entities or other outside interests. "If you choose to post a case for confirmed friends only, absolutely nobody else will have access to them." Dr. Zlowodzki says.

ShowYourCase. com currently boasts hundreds of users across 25 medical specialties from 50 countries, with the number of users doubling monthly. Focus area include medicine, dentistry, psychology, pharmacology and more, plus a host of subspecialties.

The web site is a forum rather than a full-fledged social networking site, meaning posting is quick and there is no need to wade through unnecessary features. Users can register and be posting cases in no time and access is free of charge.

"In the end, it's all about patient care and education," says Dr. Zlowodzki. "If our service helps providers give better care or researchers make faster progress, then we're doing our job."

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Northwest Bank launches HSAGeorgia. com

Northwest Bank launches HSAGeorgia. com

"We are pleased to have Northwest Bank join our growing team of financial institutions across the country offering HSAs", said Roy Ramthun Senior VP of HSA Clearing Corp. "Northwest Bank is providing an affordable, independent Health Savings Account for their customers, no matter which insurance carrier they choose or where they live."

Ringgold, GA (PRWEB) July 24, 2007

Northwest Bank announced today they have launched HSAGeorgia. com, adding more educational materials to their already successful Health Savings Account program.

"Since more and more of our customers are switching to the new consumer directed health plans, we know it is essential to offer an educational website where they will find answers to their questions as well as tips on using Health Savings Accounts to their fullest advantage," Scott Smith President of Northwest Bank announced today. "Working with HSA Clearing Corp, our new website, HSAGeorgia. com, has been designed with up-to-date answers to people's questions about HSAs and also with the specifics about our HSA program."

Legislation enabling the tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts was included with the Medicare Act of 2003, and contribution amounts were recently expanded with passage of the "Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006". The new law allows individuals with HSA-qualified health insurance policies to contribute up to $5,650 for family coverage and $2,850 for those with self-only coverage for 2007. For 2008 these numbers increase to $5,800 and $2,900 respectively. HSA account holders age 55 and older may make an additional "catch-up" contribution of $800 for 2007.

"We are pleased to have Northwest Bank join our growing team of financial institutions across the country offering HSAs", said Roy Ramthun Senior VP of HSA Clearing Corp. "Northwest Bank is providing an affordable, independent Health Savings Account for their customers, no matter which insurance carrier they choose or where they live."

For individuals or insurance agents looking for more information on Northwest Bank's Health Savings Account program, visit www. hsageorgia. com or call Teena Harris at 706-965-3000.
HSA Clearing Corp is the nationwide leader in setting up banks and credit unions to offer Health Savings Accounts/HSAs with their turnkey HSA setup program, allowing the HSA monies to be deposited locally to better benefit communities. For more information on their cost - effective HSA program, contact HSA Clearing Corp at 262-348-1300, or visit www. HSAClearing. com.

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Rivergreen Bank Chooses The Edcomm Group to Deliver Elder Financial Abuse Compliance Training

Rivergreen Bank Chooses The Edcomm Group to Deliver Elder Financial Abuse Compliance Training

Rivergreen Bank of Kennebunk, Maine has chosen Focus on Elder Financial Abuse — The Edcomm Group’s eLearning program on Elder Financial Abuse Compliance training — along with Edcomm’s own Learning Management System (LMS), Learning Link® for hosting and maintenance, for its bank-wide training needs.

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 9, 2006

Rivergreen Bank of Kennebunk, Maine has chosen Focus on Elder Financial Abuse — The Edcomm Group’s eLearning program on Elder Financial Abuse Compliance training — along with Edcomm’s own Learning Management System (LMS), Learning Link® for hosting and maintenance, for its bank-wide training needs.

With more than 5 million cases per year, financial abuse of elders is the number one crime committed against persons age 65 and older. Currently, 17 states and Washington, D. C. have passed laws that require bank personnel to report suspected cases of elder financial abuse. Another 33 states recommend it. Revision to the Elder Justice Act of 2003 is in committee and is expected to pass this year.

The Edcomm Group has been a driving force in the campaign to educate bank personnel about elder financial abuse. Edcomm’s course, Focus on Elder Financial Abuse, is designed to help banks cope with the new laws targeting elder financial abuse by teaching front line staff about how to best serve their elderly customers while reducing risk to the bank.

Focus on Elder Financial Abuse is a comprehensive eLearning program providing training on issues related to elder financial abuse. The course covers: defining elder financial abuse and the laws governing it, detecting the red flags of elder financial abuse, and reporting elder financial abuse properly. Focus on Elder Financial Abuse is geared towards teaching participants how to identify elder abuse and how to protect both their customers and the bank, with accurate, compliant reporting.

Learning Link®, Edcomm’s full-featured learning management system has an open architecture that builds on industry-standard SCORM and AICC compliance, but adds features and capabilities far beyond any competing products. Learning Link® maintains a complete record of every learning and administrative activity and offers a wide variety of customizable, real-time reports available both onscreen and in CSV formats for download and integration into any HR system. Learning Link’s servers have been issued a SAS-70 attesting to the quality of their security, business continuity and performance.

For more information about programs like this, or to find out how The Edcomm Group can customize any training program, log onto www. bankersacademy. com.

Rivergreen Bank opened for business March 13, 2003. Rivergreen’s mission statement comes from its founders, a small group of Kennebunk citizens who formed an organization to establish an innovative new bank featuring a unique service philosophy based on the concept that every employee is an owner.

The Edcomm Group has had the privilege of assisting many distinguished clients with business solutions in the form of eLearning programs, classroom instruction, multimedia production and online and print based documentation. In addition to the development of customized programs, The Edcomm Group offers many banking specific off-the-shelf products such as Teller Training and Compliance Training that have proven themselves effective in organizations around the world.

The Edcomm Group is a 19-year-old multimedia education and communication consulting firm specializing in the development of creative business solutions that improve productivity, customer service and market share — providing bottom-line results. The Edcomm Group (www. edcomm. com) (www. bankersacademy. com) is headquartered in New York City with an Advanced Design Center located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.

For more information, please contact:

Linda Eagle

President, The Edcomm Group

1-888-4EDCOMM

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New Web Site Lists Discounts And Deals For 50 Plus Boomers

New Web Site Lists Discounts And Deals For 50 Plus Boomers

50plusDeals. com editors find age-related deals and discounts available to people over 50, including travel deals, finance, housing, Health, anti-aging, dating, home and shopping.

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 19, 2008

Why wait until you're 65 to get age-related discounts?

Just when economic conditions are forcing millions of Americans to look for savings, a new Web site has collected listings of discounts available to people over 50.

WWW.50PlusDeals. com, launched this month, has sifted through thousands of sources to find hundreds of age-related deals and discounts available nationally or regionally in 13 major product and service categories ranging from travel to education.

The listings can be browsed or searched by the age at which they are available (over 50, 55, 60 or 65) or by more than 50 sub-categories.

Included are such deals as a 10% discount from many Jiffy Lube locations for people over 55, up to 50% off from Westin Hotels for guests over 50, a 10% discount on clothing purchases at Banana Republic if you're over 60, and the ability to audit courses at many major universities for $15 or less if you're over 62.

"Many people think age discounts are available only to seniors over 65, but in reality, special deals are offered by hundreds of providers beginning at age 50 if you know where to look or how to ask," said co-founder Chris Travers. "Our editors have done the work and gathered the information in one place. No one pays us to be listed, and we have a continuous updating process."

In addition to its editorial listings, 50plusdeals. com also presents "Special Offers" from selected partners and suppliers seeking business from 50 plus consumers. These include everything from two free weeks of the Medifast diet program to a free trial of Omega-3 Fish Oil.

The Web site also has a "50 plus Store" with products of interest to older Boomers and retirees, like clip-on lights, gardening tools and dental care items.

Another part of the site invites visitors to comment on existing listings or submit new ones.

"Our objective is to help Boomers over 50 find the deals and discounts they're entitled to," said co-founder Andrew P. Garvin. "For example, many people don't know that lots of supermarket chains offer age-related discounts on certain days of the week. All you need to do is ask."

The Website's listings describe each discount and provide a direct link to the provider for further details and information.

50plusdeals. com's Vice President of Marketing Robin Colner said she hopes the new site will prompt major companies and service providers to create new age-related discounts as a way of increasing business in tough economic times.

"For example, we couldn't find any 50 plus discount on teeth whitening," Ms. Colner said. "So we invite suppliers to create new incentives."

About 50plusdeals. com

50plusdeals. com is the Website that finds and presents age-related discounts and deals for people over 50. In addition, the site includes Special Offers from selected partners and a 50plus Store. To see the latest deals, visit www.50plusdeals. com. The Website is co-owned by PreRetirement Resources Group LLC and Radeon LLC.

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Bringing Home the Baking Author Hosts Free Sessions on Starting a Licensed Home-Based Baking Business

Bringing Home the Baking Author Hosts Free Sessions on Starting a Licensed Home-Based Baking Business

Geiger's sessions and classes are open to all, from the novice to the highly skilled baker. "Get going," continues Geiger, "It's time to structure your business; break out the spatulas and mixing bowls and start baking!"

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) August 1, 2008

Educating and motivating entrepreneurial-minded bakers just got easier as popular Bringing Home the Baking author Quincella C. Geiger, hosts free one-hour information sessions on starting a licensed home-based baking business. The first session will be held on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 6:30 p. m. at the Women's Employment Opportunity Project, Inc. in Atlanta. Additional sessions will take place at metro Atlanta libraries, businesses and organizations.

Trading in a corporate 9-to-5 position for apron strings, 20-year home-based baking veteran Geiger has created the perfect recipe for teaching others how to turn their passion into a profitable business. From business basics and expectations to the various aspects of baking equipment, Geiger takes the guesswork out of perfecting a licensed home-based baking business.

"Owning and operating a home-based baking business has been profitable, fun, exciting, challenging, frustrating, and a tremendous learning experience," says Geiger. "My experiences are meant to be shared with others, especially those who have been baking for family and friends, but who have been reluctant, as I was, to take their talent to the next level."

The training doesn't stop with the informational sessions. This fall, Geiger will teach a continuing education class for Clayton State University, to help others develop their own home-based baking business. The six-hour, three-session class is scheduled for October 2, 9 and 16, 2008 at Centennial High School in Roswell, GA.

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Palladium: The New Luxurious Buzz Word In Jewelry

Palladium: The New Luxurious Buzz Word In Jewelry

Jewelry’s Best-Kept Secret To Revitalize Industry, Sales & Profits - Under the bedrock of Southern Montana’s serene and natural landscape lies one of the world’s most precious and rarest metals, Palladium. An invaluable commodity, couture and fine jewelers alike have turned to this kin of the platinum family for its natural white luster, elegance and strength.

Billings, MT (PRWEB) August 7, 2006

Under the bedrock of Southern Montana’s serene and natural landscape lies one of the world’s most precious and rarest metals, Palladium. An invaluable commodity, couture and fine jewelers alike have turned to this kin of the platinum family for its natural white luster, elegance and strength.

“Palladium is going to explode onto the fine jewelry market like no other metal ever has,” said Scott Kay, celebrated bridal jewelry designer and CEO of Scott Kay Inc. “With its superior pure, natural, rare, and brilliant white and strong qualities, Palladium provides a stunning backdrop for diamonds and precious stones. Palladium not only feels and looks amazing, but its versatility makes it a jeweler’s dream and a consumer’s treasure.”

Scott Kay, a strong advocate of precious metals and whose 20-year-old jewelry business remains America’s most requested bridal brand, was recently a key panel speaker at the most prominent jewelry show in the United States. Hosted by the Palladium Alliance International (PAI), a U. S.-based organization focusing on the education of palladium to trade and consumers sponsored the event that filled the large ballroom with hundreds of attendees. It was so highly attended there was standing room only within minutes of the door opening. “The Palladium Facts” seminar was held in Las Vegas on June 5, and included experts and speakers from Stillwater Mining Company, Scott Kay, Hoover & Strong, and Precious Metals West. Currently, there are also PAI offices in the United Kingdom and China.

“I’m captivated by Palladium’s rarity, luxurious whiteness, and intense brightness,” admitted Frank McAllister, CEO, Stillwater Mining Company, (NYSE: SWC). “It’s just as rare as platinum, it’s bright, white and its density is just right, and we expect the metal to become a significant growth factor in the jewelry industry.” Based in Billings, Montana, Stillwater Mining Company is one of the world’s largest producers of precious, quality Palladium.

Palladium, a platinum group metal (PGM) with similar fine properties and more, has only been recently tapped into by the fine jewelry industry. Unlike other PGMs, Palladium is less dense which allows for more opulent shapes and volume to be formed. It is also currently priced at US$250-350 an ounce, making it more economical than platinum or gold.

In addition to soaring platinum and gold prices, the jewelry industry is also in need of a natural, permanent solution for a luxurious and performance-reliable white metal.

Since white gold is not a natural material, and is in fact 75% or lower percentage of yellow gold plated with 25% or more of other white metals, most retailers and consumers face the problem of their white gold jewelry ‘‘tarnishing’ into a yellowish tint. As for platinum, its usage has been limited by its exorbitant price tag, heavy density and design restrictions.

“Palladium is 30 times rarer than gold and doesn’t need plating or bleaching. Palladium’s whiteness is brighter than platinum or white gold, and with such attractive prices per ounce, it is perfect for purveyors who want a pure, precious, strong and luxurious metal that is naturally white and yet affordable,” informed Stewart Grice, lead metallurgist at Hoover & Strong, at the panel conference.

Daniel Ballard, national sales manager of Precious Metals West, agreed. “Palladium is extremely durable, flexible and easy to work with. Palladium is jewelers’ and diamonds new best friend.”

Fine Palladium jewelry is already available in stores, with renowned brands such as Scott Kay, Frederick Goldman, Novell and Lieberfarb leading the Palladium jewelry movement. Luxury house Cartier has also recently introduced a new collection of Pasha De Cartier watches in Palladium. Particularly in China, sales of Palladium jewelry have skyrocketed with increasing number of Chinese consumers seeking only the purest, most natural and whitest for their white jewelry purchase.

“Palladium isn’t an alternative to platinum or white gold. Add all of Palladium’s assets together, and it will exceed the expectations of jewelers and luxury jewelry purveyors,” said John Stark, Chairman of the Palladium Alliance International. “With palladium in its honorary place above platinum and white gold, it wouldn’t make sense for consumers to pay more for any other metals when palladium is even more beautiful and popularly-priced than the rest. Palladium is going to take over as the crème de la crème in jewelry.”

Whether it is for luxury, beauty or price reasons, consumers will very soon be expressing their love and joy with palladium. On every level, Palladium is an incomparable, unique beauty that has begun to change and rejuvenate the jewelry industry, and will continue to capture the hearts of many at weddings and within the fine fashion jewelry sector.

Additional information on Palladium and facts can be found at http://www. LuxuryPalladium. com (http://www. LuxuryPalladium. com).

About Palladium Alliance International

The Palladium Alliance International (PAI) is an organization committed to establishing Palladium as a luxurious, precious and distinctive metal. The organization provides education, marketing and technical support and a vision for the promotion of palladium - a superior, pure, white, bright and light metal. The PAI aims to position to professionals and their consumers a metal that they can value as a luxury and equate with quality and excellence. Formed in March 2006, PAI offices are located in the UK, U. S. and China. Membership is open to leading palladium producers, refiners and jewelry manufacturers.

Editor’s Note: For additional information on the surge of Palladium in the jewelry industry, key numbers and images on palladium, or to speak with key influencers, please call Vivien Teo at 646-723-2320.

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