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Grady Hesters and Linda Olsen were self-made millionaires -- on paper. Only when they lost nearly everything did they learn to create value in business and in life. Here's how a couple of survivors are getting it right this time around
On High Street in Auburn, Calif., you can't help noticing the bronze colossus of a prospector panning for gold. You pass it on the way to the modest headquarters where Grady Hesters and Linda Olsen, wealth seekers of a different sort, are also looking for gold. But Hesters and Olsen, partners in business and marriage, couldn't be more different from the prospector on the town square or the many like him who once flocked to this valley to fish gold from its streams. It's not that the pensive Hesters and his creative partner don't know or appreciate a gold nugget when they see one. It's just that they harbor a healthy suspicion of the other stuff that glitters: the glamour of growth, the pleasures of profit, the thrill of dominating a market. They have sworn themselves instead to creating value -- that rare compound of growth, profit, and market share taken in just the right proportions. That, they reckon, is the alchemy of pure gold.
"My purpose here is to create value," says Hesters with the matter-of-fact resolve of someone who's been at it for a long time. "It's an absolute objective." His is not a mission to rack up growth or maximize profit, except insofar as those practices foster value -- value that can be measured, extracted, and converted to cash -- just as surely as gold was extracted from the eddies of the American river a century and a half ago. Only never as randomly.
You can't fault Hesters and Olsen, a couple in their fifties whose net worth is almost entirely baked into their business, for thinking about ways to extricate it. "I'm 52 right now," says Hesters. "You become conscious that that's all some people get." Still, their value consciousness is neither a spasm of financial insecurity nor a midlife longing for liquidity. Both insist their business is not on the block, and their deliberate consideration of how and when to cash out is not the consequence of declining fortunes or flagging interest. "The thrill is not gone," says Hesters, who envisions an exit that resembles a leisurely promenade more than a hasty retreat. It will be a passage calibrated in small, surefooted steps.
They're quite familiar with its polar opposite -- the grow-fast-and-hope-you-take-something-with-you-when-you-go approach. As cofounders of Newman Communications, a company that soared, crashed, and burned in 1987, they kissed $60,000 in savings good-bye and watched 68 people lose their jobs. "The stock, which had effectively cost us 3¢ a share, was worth $5 a share at one time," Hesters recollects. "You learn that there's a certain fiction to business -- a fiction of anticipated rewards -- that has to be converted to reality."
Hesters and Olsen have devoted the eight years that have passed since then to a work of nonfiction: Audio Partners, built from the rubble of Newman Communications and dedicated to the preservation of jobs and the liberation of equity. It's a true story -- not a fairy tale, not a Greek tragedy -- about building something that lasts.
Audio Partners, the gilded cage in which Hesters and Olsen's net worth remains locked, is a direct-mail marketer and publisher of books on tape. The company has enjoyed robust growth for most of its history, reaching $4 million in revenues in fiscal 1994. It has shown modest profits in most years, and in its best years paid the owners generous bonuses. It's not such a bad trap, really, for an anticipated $2 million in equity, considering the founders invested less than $30,000 at the start and hold all but the 10% stake Marvin Goff, their operating partner, paid cash for when he joined the company, in 1993.
A burgeoning audio-book market, which in 1993 alone grew 40%, to $1.2 billion in retail sales, has propelled the growth of Audio Partners and expanded the distribution channels through which books on tape are sold. Retail specialty chains that peddle only recorded books have quadrupled in the past year. Titles have proliferated, and publishers, who often bid aggressively for audio rights, promote the recorded books vigorously. Even Hollywood is in on the act. When Sharon Stone signed a recording deal to narrate The Scarlet Letter, an industry that only 10 years before boasted nothing more exciting than a gravel-voiced Robert Frost reading his poems could now delight in the hot embrace of a starlet. Audio publishing has become, improbably, sexy.
Amid heightened competition, the founders have positioned the company, quite cannily, as a veritable encyclopedia of audio books, its catalogs touting hundreds of books on tape and its backlist topping 3,000 titles. One-third of its revenues come from the library market, which cottons to the company's exhaustive product line; the rest from its list of 50,000 serious aural "readers," who spend an average of $65 an order.
Pledged these days to temperance, the partners have had their benders with growth. Two years on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing privately held companies attest to that. Since 1989, the year the company published its first catalog, sales have increased nearly 600%. But the company's financing -- out of cash flow -- has kept the founders sober. The elixir of growth is beneficial only in doses that enhance value; the owners refuse to buy market share and only cautiously trade earnings for growth. Their company currently grows apace or slightly ahead of its market -- a rate that Hesters considers both "sustainable" and necessary. To grow slower than the market would erode the company's value.
Now, watching their market mature, the founders "are throttling back to concentrate on profitability," Hesters explains. He wants profits to double or triple to between 5% and 10% of gross revenues in the next few years. If he and Olsen achieve that goal, they will multiply their own exit routes and make the company more attractive to investors -- those for whom earnings are paramount as well as those whose interests favor growth or market share.
Hesters reckons that today's world of publishing will leave few "freestanding elements" like Audio Partners. So he primps the business for a yet-to-be-arranged marriage. "We have to structure ourselves so we can be attached to somebody else in case this company is no longer viable on its own." In 1992 he and Olsen split the company in two -- publishing and direct mail -- because direct mail's promise of greater growth would make it more appealing to an investor or buyer. The company thereby bettered its chances of attracting capital and added another exit scenario.
Value: Let Me Count the Ways
The five-year plan entertains several versions of a closing scene: Hesters and Olsen might sell out -- completely or partially -- to a larger company for cash or stock or a combination of both. They might woo an independent buyer, whose acquisition they could finance. They might sell all or part of their stock to their current operating partner or to their employees. Or bring in managers to run the business while they draw dividends from its earnings. An initial public offering, one option they reject, is "an expensive, time-consuming, and complicated way for a company our size to realize its value," says Hesters. "We'd have to reinvent the company and devote too many resources to selling this new product called stock." Hesters's ideal exit: to reduce his active role, perhaps to chairman of the board. Olsen's dream: to devote more time to travel, tennis, and pet publishing projects. Both aim to decrease the percentage of their net worth tied up in the company. "No more than a third," Hesters says.
As he and Olsen see it, they must continue to grow just enough to catch the fancy of a strategic partner -- a larger company in the direct-mail or audio-publishing business -- looking for market share in an acquisition. Profits cannot be sacrificed for growth, however, since a corporate buyer with higher cost structures would expect to see margins that could support its heft. The partners also consider courting an independent buyer who, they figure, would pay more for earnings than for growth. The possibility of a buyout by Goff or their employees demands profits sufficient to finance it. And the scenario in which the owners hire a chief executive and assume an investor's role is impossible without bolstering profits to support the dividends they'd take in return.
Growth without earnings gets you nothing but bragging rights. "The value of this company exists only to the extent we make it worth something to somebody else. Unless it produces income and doesn't require risk to sustain it, it isn't fully real," says Hesters.
That's a coolly rational assessment from a man who loves his company. But the company is not a monument to growth or profit or even the entrepreneurial Élan of Grady Hesters and Linda Olsen. It is a piece of masonry, built brick by brick, according to the founders' blueprint for value. And while it has been constructed to enrich the owners, it has been crafted as well to please other beholders: employees, customers, vendors, investors. The owners concede that if others can't see the company's value, it's a myth.
After witnessing firsthand what can happen when lenders or investors lose faith, the founders know not to risk their displeasure. "I want to create value that bankers and other investors respect," says Hesters, "so we have to produce results that are easily understood by bankers or potential investors." It's a game of managing perceptions.
"Grady is a meticulous thinker," says former partner Hal Newman. "His thinking moves like a flow chart." His postulates on value reflect that mental orderliness. First there's the market value -- what someone else will pay an owner for his or her equity. The most popular interpretation of value, it is also the most variable, dependent upon who sits across the table, how fast a seller must dispose of an asset, and when and how he or she will be paid.
That's why Hesters considers alternative reckonings of worth. For example, the company as cash flow. How much income can the founders collect -- through salaries, interest payments on loans they've made to the company, and dividends? If they bettered their profit margins to 5% of, say, $5 million in revenues, that would put $250,000 in the pretax kitty. At least half of that would go to taxes and a CEO's salary if Hesters were to step aside. The couple currently take just over $100,000 in combined salaries. Interest payments account for $14,000 to $15,000 more each year, but that income would balloon if they chose to finance a sale. If the business could sustain an annuity of $200,000 or so, the two might live golden years without really selling.
The Death of a Business
In the sun-washed attic office where Hesters's desk overflows with business cards and trade magazines and, of course, cassettes, a hush falls. "It's worse than the death of someone close," says Hesters, "because when you own it, a company is really a living, breathing thing. It has a life of its own but at the same time you see yourself in it. Then one day it's just gone, and you can't believe it." So begins his memorial of Newman Communications, his firstborn, the company that made him rich (if only for a moment), died too young, and left him broke.
Founded in 1981, Newman Communications set out to pioneer the distribution of audio books in a then-nascent market. Distribution operations were headquartered in Albuquerque, where Hal Newman lived; sales and marketing as well as direct-mail operations were run out of San Mateo, Calif., where Hesters and Olsen lived. The couple, new to audio publishing, sank personal savings of $30,000 into the start-up and later took out a second mortgage to provide more capital. They jointly held 40% of the business. Newman, the company's cofounder and president, held 60%.
A private placement of $250,000 financed a public stock offering on the penny-stock exchange in 1984 that raised $1.5 million more. The stock won its listing on NASDAQ before the year was out.
By 1986 Newman Communications had branched into publishing and direct mail, and topped $7.9 million in revenues. But the company's inventory burdens relentlessly burned through cash. "As a distributor in a developing market, we were just a variation of a banker," Hesters recalls. "We had an insatiable appetite for working capital, and the strain on cash flow was enormous."
Inevitably, the company's cash-poor condition unnerved its California-based lender. Newman's management had turned to a secondary stock offering and filed a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell an additional $3.5 million worth of equity. The red herring was released on a Thursday. By the following Monday, the market had dropped 100 points, dooming the offering, on which several thousand dollars in fees had been squandered.
Bad news fell like broken beams. An inventory backlog at one of the company's largest accounts produced an onslaught of refundable returns. Nothing could stanch the flow of cash. Discount channels had yet to emerge: there was nowhere to dump excess inventory. Accounts receivable plummeted. A disfigured balance sheet made Newman abhorrent in the eyes of bankers and investors.
Its primary lender pulled the company's operating lines of credit and demanded it pay down the balance, which exceeded $1 million. "Technically, we were immediately in default," recalls Hesters. In March 1987 the bank dispatched its workout specialists. The three principals hastened to reduce expenses, liquidate inventory, and pump in more personal cash. By May, at the bank's insistence, they had initiated a third round of layoffs. "I started to see flesh come off the bones. I was losing the people I needed to make sales that would pull us out," Hesters realized. The company, its accounts payable hopelessly in arrears, couldn't buy product. "We just ran out of oxygen."
A million dollars' worth of orders remained on the books, and only weeks earlier Newman's largest competitor had offered to sell out -- in an act of surrender that would have crowned Newman undisputed market leader. But the company was being dismantled for auction. "I didn't understand that cash flow had an absolute limit," says Hesters.
Moving Toward the Light
The day a U-Haul truck loaded with the flotsam of Newman Communications backed into the driveway of their home in San Mateo, Linda Olsen left town. "I was not prepared to cope with this. In Albuquerque, Newman had an auction and locked the doors. That's what I thought should happen here. I felt it was dead. Over with. 'What are we doing moving this cadaver into our house?' I said. 'Why don't we just bury it?' I didn't have the energy to argue." But she wasn't about to welcome it into her home. She spent two weeks driving around the Northwest in an RV, instead.
Hesters, meanwhile, was adamant about salvaging valuables from the wreckage. "It was a matter of moving to the light," which meant, at that moment, into the living room. "I couldn't think of anything I could do where my value would be greater than to continue something I knew inside and out."
Ultimately, Olsen set aside her objections. But there was plenty to be leery about. Newman Communications had been a publicly traded company, and its shareholders could well sue. Then there were the creditors, who'd accepted a small fraction of their due in the settlement of Newman's outstanding debt. Even rights to titles Newman published had been compromised by nonpayment of royalties. Hesters and Olsen devised a clever legal strategy: "If anyone made a claim on an asset," Olsen recounts, "we'd just say, 'Fine, it's yours."
Orders continued to roll in from the 2 million catalogs that had been mailed over the previous two years. Libraries across the country kept the company on their vendor lists. "We saw a new business that could be built from the remnants of the old," says Hesters. Those remnants included the name of the catalog (Audio Editions), the rights to 60 titles (many with liens), the operating system, and the leftover inventory. Everything else had been sold at auction, for pennies on the dollar. Since Simon & Schuster had purchased the mailing list, Hesters and Olsen had to build a new list from scratch.
"I thought, 'What's the worst thing that could happen?" recalls Olsen. "We could lose everything. Well, when you've already gone through a serious dress rehearsal for that, it's not such a big deal anymore." Olsen honed her financial skills. She learned enough accounting to keep the books the first year and generate financial reports. "I'm going to take more responsibility," she vowed.
Their goal was to resurrect a venture in direct mail, a cash business that would pay them up front and obviate worries about sell-through. They scraped together $30,000, paid $14,045 for furniture, a computer, and a phone system, and used the rest for inventory. They bought the publishing rights back from the bank on a royalty basis, agreeing to pay five points for each copy sold for three years. For the first year and a half, they simply filled orders from the Newman catalogs.
Go Forth, Multiply, and Divide
"When Newman went to the penny-stock market, we raised expectations for growth that were impossibly high," says Hesters. "In the context of that money, growing only 30% a year was failing. We were always frantically asking, 'How can we get to $11 million? To $20 million?'
"The single greatest damage that money can do is to require that which is not possible or profitable. So we chose business activities that would have fewer cash demands." This time he and Olsen decided to finance their company out of cash flow. By bootstrapping, they would not risk losing too much control too soon, for too little. If they chose to raise capital later, they figured, they'd get a better price for equity they had layered with value.
Profits from the Newman orders underwrote the resurrection of the direct-mail company. A shrewd eye for value and a stroke of good luck had won them the rights to The Hunt for Red October. The tape, produced by Olsen, shot to the top of the best-seller list and subsidized the entire first year of the catalog company. She and Hesters carried losses from the catalog operation for two years before covering them with equity. They judiciously limited their capital burdens to equipment and facilities. The lines of credit they reserved for the ups and downs of operating cash flow.
"In a small business, the balance sheet is an interesting piece of fiction," Hesters, who ordinarily prefers his tales truer to life, explains. "Cash is what counts." A balance sheet is a stylized rendering of a company's value at a given time. That's why the founders chose to report certain outlays as capital investments rather than as expenses. In the surmise of bankers and investors, the company appears more profitable. Keeping a watchful eye on their ratios, especially current assets to current liabilities, the partners improved their creditworthiness, a quality they had ignored at Newman. They reapportioned debt to strengthen the catalog company. Outstanding debt to lenders remains at just over $130,000. Equity remains at $400,000. "By the time Dun & Bradstreet gets a look at our next balance sheet, it will be a pretty sight." Is appearance on a credit report so important? "You bet. That's part of the image. We've learned to present financial information in the way that investors and lenders are accustomed to seeing it -- and within the ranges that put them at ease," says Hesters.
One plus one doesn't always equal two. Or, as Hesters discovered, occasionally, twin businesses are better off -- and worth more -- apart. One set of financial standards for a direct-mail catalog company and an entirely different set for a publishing company made their union a handicap. To meet expectations in one industry, the company would have to fall short in the other. Consider profitability: 10% to 20% is the range considered healthy for a publisher; 5% to 10% for a direct-mail marketer. The company's value was obscured.
The synergies -- the catalog is both a distribution channel and a marketing tool for the publishing company, while the publishing company is a reliable and low-cost supplier for the catalog business -- still make the two businesses a pretty pair, Hesters maintains. But he decided to uncouple them and focus on building value in the direct-mail enterprise.
The tangible assets embedded in that business include a list of some 200,000 names, which might fetch $350,000; another $350,000 in inventory; and capital equipment that includes a computerized order-fulfillment system, 12 personal computers, a dozen or so phones atop the same number of beat-up desks, five years' worth of surplus catalogs, and an old fridge. Hesters and Olsen would be lucky to get $25,000 for the lot. But the intangible assets, Hesters argues, account for half the company's value. First, the company's knowledge of the market: six years of sales and customer data could be worth plenty, he contends, to industry newcomers such as Columbia House or Doubleday. Then there are the relationships the company has forged: two-thirds of libraries that buy audio books buy from Audio Partners. The founders have fostered strong ties with nearly 100 audio publishers. "No one in the industry does not like to deal with them," says Jim Brannigan, vice-president of Highbridge Co. "You get as honest a deal as you can have in business."
The Value Mason
There is little about the value of their company that Audio Partners' owners leave to the vagaries of growth or profit. Olsen and Hesters don't presume that a booming market or even bolstered earnings will beget a valuable company in the end. No invisible hand sprinkles gold dust on the company, even in the best of times. So they conscientiously weave value into every aspect of their operations.
"The direct-mail business is our effort to draft behind the energies of major publishers," says Hesters, who strategically leverages what he calls OPT -- other people's titles. Lavish promotional efforts of large suppliers attract new customers for audio books. By Hesters's estimation, each audio convert is on the road to becoming the volume consumer his company targets.
On the publishing side, Olsen focuses on titles that don't risk hefty advances. That acquisition strategy allows Audio Partners to take shelter from bigger players such as Bantam or Nightingale-Conant, which for obvious reasons avoid stuff that John Grisham didn't write. With a few serendipitous exceptions , they have eschewed mass-market titles in favor of specialized books that hold marginal mass-market potential. They have acquired rights to a collection of Isak Dinesen's work and to The Diary of Anne Frank, among a handful of classics. "We want a backlist with legs," pronounces Olsen. Evergreen titles that promise a long life cycle are "like residuals. They keep selling and selling," adds Hesters.
Direct-mail customers who have bought from Hesters and Olsen in the most recent two-year period number 50,000. And the company carefully slices that roster into fine segments -- those who have bought in the last 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months -- and determines what they ordered and how much. The high return on each mailing reflects the company's attending to only those buyers likely to perform. The demographics of its own customer base provide a template for renting the right names from the right lists. The direct-mail division usually prospects for new customers in the few months before the holidays, when people are predisposed to spend. The company doesn't mail more than three consecutive catalogs to a prospect who has never ordered.
Back in 1992, when the direct-mail company topped $1.5 million in revenues and the founders detached it from the publishing business, they embarked on a hunt for an equity partner -- someone with a background in direct-mail operations as well as finance who would join the company as a hands-on manager; someone who would add value to the business, not simply pay them for the value that already resided there. They sought an equity investment, earmarked for working capital, equal to the cost of the new partner's salary. "Just in case," says Hesters.
An ad placed in a trade newsletter delivered Marvin Goff, a 22-year veteran of $3-billion Hormel, for which he'd been controller for a division that sold fruit by direct mail. A long courtship preceded Goff's joining the company, during which Hesters, Olsen, and Goff agreed to ready the business for sale by 1997. In late 1992 Goff bought 10% of the company for $75,000, pegging the company's value at $750,000 -- about half its 1992 revenues. Goff immediately set out to improve the company's financial reports and operations. He shepherded the installation of a new information system, which revolutionized order processing and customer service.
Hesters and Olsen do not grant options on the stock they hold dear, but they don't overlook the contribution that people make to the worth of their business. "Good employees may not be capital assets, but you don't sustain or increase the value of the company without them," says Hesters. In addition to Goff's infusion of equity and badly needed expertise, Janet Benson's mastery of desktop publishing allows the company to produce its catalogs quicker and cheaper. Keri Walker, the company's first employee, ardently promotes the business; "800-231-4261," she says. "Make sure you mention that." Her car's rear window sports a bumper sticker with the same message.
The dedication of current employees and the memory of the 68 souls set adrift when Newman failed compel the founders to reciprocate the value that employees bring to Audio Partners. "It's part of my responsibility as a business developer to see to it that people are learning skills they can use elsewhere," Hesters says. "They have to get something they can take away from here. Besides a paycheck. Something that makes them more valuable than when they came."
And that value "is the value of the experience that the company creates for us and the people who make the trip with us," says Hesters, who like a Sufi sage reminds himself continually that the value of the business is more than the value of the company. Most difficult to measure, it's the easiest to recognize. "Perhaps you can't count the value of a worthwhile experience," says Olsen. "But it's the only one we really have right now. So it's the value that's most real."
"This is a company that 25 people depend on for a living," Hesters states. "Linda and I make sure the company can operate under a variety of circumstances, including our absence." In 1993 they spent five weeks in Europe. The freedom to take off is one way the partners reap a return on their investment now. The company is, after all, an asset that holds and accrues value. It can survive a few weeks without them. Olsen and Hesters have made it a practice to test its survival skills a little more each year. "We had to accept that either we were not going to make as much money or we were going to lose some for doing so," says Hesters. But it has been worth it. Each return confirms the durability of the business apart from them.
However the story of their nonfiction business progresses -- whether they become prisoners in their own castle or, more likely, a little rich and a lot happy -- they are confident that Audio Partners will endure. They, no matter what, are its authors. And its chronicle continues to enrich their lives. "We make sure that what we do is of value to us as we go," Hesters says. "That's the one value we'll never lose."
A pocket guide to exit routes Linda Olsen and Grady Hesters might take to realize the value -- and to liberate the equity -- in the company they've built
Exit: Corporate Buyer or Strategic Partner
Prerequisite: Grow 30% to 50% a year; improve pretax margins to 5%.
Upside: A cash-rich or publicly traded corporate buyer would likely pay a premium.
Downside: There are only a handful of likely acquirers. A low stock bid from an overvalued corporate buyer could prove disappointing.Stock is only so liquid.
Exit: Individual Buyer
Prerequisite: Boost profits to at least 7% of revenues; grow apace of the market.
Upside: There are more of this type of buyer. They might pay a premium if the owners financed the transaction: more time equals more money.
Downside: The owners might be left holding a million-dollar note. Not exactly a clean getaway.
Exit: Partner Buyout
Prerequisite: Slow annual growth to 30% or less and strive for profit margins as high as 10% to finance the buyout.
Upside: There's less risk in the transition. Plus, the bird's already in hand.
Downside: This bird knows too much to bid high. Financing the deal would most likely fall to the owners.
Exit: Employee Buyout
Prerequisite: See partner buyout. Groom successors.
Upside: No relocation. No downsizing. No upheavals for employees.
Downside: Once again, the owners are left holding an IOU. Will employees be prepared to run the company?
Exit: Hire New Management (Assume Chairman Title; Draw Dividends)
Prerequisite: Cut the same financial physique as the one sought by individual buyer. Add task of finding the right CEO.
Upside: Owners can continue to reap profits and retain control.
Downside: It's no small burden to maintain earnings that can support a CEO's salary and dividend payments. And the owners risk a less-than-triumphant return if new management screws up.
Exit: Initial Public Offering
Prerequisite: Blow the doors out and expand. Buy growth if necessary. Leverage more. Crank profits above 5% of sales. (Owners say, "No way.")
Upside: Instant millions for the owners. Again.
Downside: On paper. Again.


text:
[Resolved] EN BLOC SYSTEMS — BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
AAfif Mallick
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Novikov's additivity theorem states that if you glue together two compact oriented 4n-manifolds along a connected component of their boundaries, the signature of the resulting manifold is simply the sum of the signatures of the pieces. It is proved for example in Kirby's The Topology of 4-manifolds and Kauffman's On Knots.
However, I haven't found any direct reference to an original article of Novikov's on this topic. Sometimes, The index of elliptic operators III by Atiyah and Singer is given as a reference.
So my questions are : what is the original reference? Has Novikov written this result in any of his papers? What has happened between Novikov's first proof and the one by Atiyah and Singer?
Any comment on this topic will be appreciated.


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CFO Moves this week include:
|Baxter International Inc.
|Hill-Rom Holdings Inc.
|LLOG Exploration Co., L.L.C.
|Cornerstone OnDemand Inc.
|PAR Technology Corporation
|Compass Minerals
|Leucadia National Corporation
|ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
|Inland American Lodging Group, Inc.
|Gill Holding Company, Inc.
|Capnia, Inc.
|CommonWealth REIT
|American Realty Capital Global Trust, Inc.
|Saia, Inc.
|Arch Therapeutics, Inc.
|Gulfport Energy Corporation
|Global Eagle Entertainment
|Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana
|OFS Capital Corporation
|Cosi, Inc.
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Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) announced that upon completion of the tax-free distribution of the company's biopharmaceuticals business, Robert J. Hombach, currently chief financial officer for Baxter International Inc., will be appointed chief financial officer and will assume additional operational responsibilities for the independent biopharmaceuticals company. James K. Saccaro will rejoin Baxter August 4, 2014, and will assume the role of chief financial officer of Baxter International Inc., following completion of the transaction in 2015. Hombach joined Baxter in 1989 and has served in a number of finance positions with increasing responsibility in financial planning, manufacturing, operations and treasury. Prior to assuming his current role in 2010, he served as corporate vice president and treasurer. Hombach also served as vice president of finance, Europe, and vice president of corporate planning, where he led several enterprise-wide initiatives and served as a member of the Baxter strategy team. Saccaro joined Baxter in 2002 and held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in both finance and operations for the company's Medical Products and BioScience businesses. He was elected corporate vice president and treasurer in 2011. Saccaro rejoins Baxter from Hill-Rom Corporation, where he served as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to joining Baxter, Saccaro started his career with the Walt Disney Company in strategic planning.
Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. announced that Jay Saccaro, Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation, informed the Corporation that he was resigning to accept a position with his previous employer, Baxter International, as CFO-designate of the post-spin-off company. Mr. Saccaro ceased to be the principal financial officer of the Corporation. Michael Macek, the Vice President and Treasurer of the Corporation, assumed the additional duties of Interim Chief Financial Officer and become the principal financial officer of the Corporation pending the search for Mr. Saccaro's replacement. Mr. Macek was elected Treasurer in March 2011. Prior to such date, he held the position of Executive Director, Treasury for Hill-Rom since 2008, and a series of financial positions with Hill-Rom since 2005. He also served as the Corporation's Interim Chief Financial Officer from July 2013 through December 2013.
LLOG Exploration Co., L.L.C. announced it has named Philip S. LeJeune as its Chief Financial Officer to replace John Newman who retired after serving as LLOG's CFO for the last eleven years. Most recently, he held the position of Vice President, Planning & Budgeting at LLOG. During his seventeen years with LLOG, LeJeune has held various positions of increasing responsibility in the marketing, production accounting, A&D, planning and finance departments.
Cornerstone OnDemand Inc. (NASDAQ: CSOD) announced that Kristina Salen, chief financial officer of online marketplace Etsy, has been elected to Cornerstone OnDemand's board of directors. Salen has served as chief financial officer of Etsy, an online marketplace, since January 2013. From January 2006 to January 2013, Salen served in several roles at Fidelity Investments.
Healthx announced the appointment of Kathy Kinder as Healthx Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Kinder was the chief financial officer and senior vice president for Consona Corporation, now Aptean.
PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR) announced that John S. Barsanti has been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Barsanti is currently Chief Operating Officer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse New York. Prior to that Mr. Barsanti held the roles of President of Crane Merchandising Systems, a business segment of Crane Co., and also was Chief Financial Officer of Carlisle Companies Incorporated. During his professional career Mr. Barsanti also held additional positions within Carrier Corporation, in investment management and as a business entrepreneur. Additionally, Mr. Barsanti, who qualifies as a financial expert, was named Chairman of the Audit Committee of PAR's Board, and will be the presiding director of non-management and independent directors. Mr. Barsanti will also serve as a member of the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee and as a member of the Company's Compensation Committee.
Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) announced today that Rodney Underdown, Chief Financial Officer, will depart the company on December 31, 2014, to pursue other professional interests.
Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE: LUK) announced that, effective September 1, 2014, Teresa S. Gendron will become Leucadia's Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Joseph A. Orlando, who is retiring then for health reasons. Ms. Gendron was most recently the Vice President and Controller of Gannett Co., Inc., in which role she was Gannett's Chief Accounting Officer from 2011. Previously, Ms. Gendron held the same position of Vice President and Controller at NII Holdings, Inc., which she joined as its Finance Director in 1998. Ms. Gendron began her career in accounting at KPMG LLC, which she joined in 1991.
ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC: CTRV) announced that William Hornung has joined the Company as its Chief Financial Officer. Prior to becoming CFO at ContraVir, Mr. Hornung held positions of increasing responsibility with PTC Therapeutics Inc., most recently serving as Vice President of Finance. Mr. Hornung also held positions of increasing responsibility with Elan Pharmaceuticals (formerly The Liposome Company) from 1998 through 2002.
Inland American Lodging Group, Inc. (IALG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc., announced that Andrew J. Welch has joined the company as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Previously, Mr. Welch was employed by FelCor Lodging Trust from 1998 through 2013, including as its executive vice president and chief financial officer from 2006 to 2013. Prior to joining FelCor, he served as vice president and treasurer of Bristol Hotel Company from 1997 to 1998. Mr. Welch has also held investment banking positions with Bank of America, N.A. and Citibank, N.A.
Gill Holding Company, Inc. announced that J. Timothy Gargaro has joined the company as its Chief Financial Officer. Most recently, Tim was Chief Financial Officer of Constellation Enterprises, LLC. Tim began his global career at Lear Corporation, holding several senior positions in finance. From there he served as Chief Financial Officer of Delco Remy International. Tim had CFO stints at JL French Automotive, Exide Technologies and Oxford Automotive, Inc.
Smartling announced the appointment of Adi Dehejia as chief financial officer (CFO). Prior to joining Smartling, Dehejia was the CFO for Rhapsody International Inc. Before Rhapsody, Dehejia was a managing director at private equity investment firm Sandler Capital Management. He has also held leadership positions at AirTouch Communications Inc., Hellman & Friedman and Dillon Read & Co.
Capnia, Inc. announced the appointment of David O'Toole as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Capnia, Mr. O'Toole served as Chief Financial Officer at Codexis, Inc. from 2012 to 2014, Response Genetics, Inc. from 2010 to 2012, and Abraxis BioScience, Inc. from 2008 to 2009. Prior to his Chief Financial Officer experience, David spent 16 years with the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP, including 12 years as a partner.
CommonWealth REIT (NYSE: CWH) announced the appointment of Adam Markman as CommonWealth REIT's Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Markman served as Managing Director of Green Street Advisors, Inc., where he worked from 1994 to 2014. Mr. Markman has also served as a real estate consultant at Kenneth Leventhal & Co. Mr. Markman was a member of Green Street's Board of Directors, and currently sits on Mark IV Capital's Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of U.C. Irvine's Center for Real Estate.
American Realty Capital Global Trust, Inc. announced that Patrick J. Goulding has been named Chief Financial Officer to succeed Nicholas Radesca. Mr. Goulding joins ARC Global from Morgan Stanley, where he most recently served as a managing director and global head of portfolio management for Morgan Stanley's real estate platform. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2010, Mr. Goulding served as managing director at Strategic Value Partners.
PCCI announced the appointment of Jarred Mayrosh as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Mayrosh joins PCCI from ORIX Americas. He held prior positions at ORIX as head of alternative investments in ORIX Capital Markets and global investments in ORIX Real Estate Capital. He most recently served as Managing Director in corporate development. Prior to ORIX, Mr. Mayrosh worked at Lehman Brothers in the investment banking group focused on M&A and corporate finance in the technology and industrial sectors.
Fiksu announced it has hired Ken Goldman to be the company's first Chief Financial Officer. Ken joins Fiksu from Black Duck Software. Goldman was SVP and CFO at Salary.com from 2006 through 2008. Earlier in his career, Goldman held executive positions as Chief Financial Officer at Lodestar Corporation, Student Advantage, MediaMap, Shoplink.com, Liberty International Holdings, and Goldweitz & Company.
Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) announced that Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) James Darby plans to retire after a distinguished career spanning more than 30 years, including the past 14 years with Saia.
Essence announced the hiring of Joseph Tomasulo as its global chief financial officer, and the promotion of Mark Nancarrow to global chief operating officer. Previously, Tomasulo was the global CFO for the digital agencies within Publicis Groupe, including DigitasLBi and Razorfish. Nancarrow joined Essence as CFO in 2010 and, in 2013, took on additional duties as COO. With more than 30 years of experience, Nancarrow has worked at myriad companies, including HSBC, where he ran its credit card business in the United Kingdom, and Egg, of which he was the CEO.
Arch Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC: ARTH) has appointed Richard Davis as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Davis, who has worked as a consultant at Arch since April. The Company's current Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Alan Barber, has resigned from his position and has become an advisor to the Company. Most recently, Mr. Davis has been an advisor to small and mid-size companies assisting them in their accounting, financial reporting, investor and banking needs. Prior to that, he was President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at NMT Medical, Inc. Prior to that, he was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Q-Peak, Inc. Earlier, he worked in a variety of senior level positions at the Coleman Company, The TJX Companies, Inc. and Wang Laboratories.
Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: GPOR) announced that Aaron Gaydosik has been appointed to serve as Chief Financial Officer. Most recently, Mr. Gaydosik served as Vice President of Finance at Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. Prior to joining Kodiak, Mr. Gaydosik served as a Director in the Oil and Gas Group at Credit Suisse. His prior investment banking experience also includes two years in the energy group at Wachovia Securities.
DomiKnow (OTC: DMNO) announced the hiring of Mark White as CFO. Prior to joining DomiKnow, Mr. White was involved in a number of technology, alternative energy, and consumer goods companies including: President of Glen Arbor, Inc., President of Clean America Energy, Inc., Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Hirsh Industries, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Design House.
Global Eagle Entertainment (NASDAQ: ENT) announced that it has appointed Dave Davis as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. A veteran of Northwest Airlines and US Airways, Davis was previously the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE). Before his appointment as CEO, Davis served as GEE's Chief Operating Officer since January 2014, Chief Financial Officer since January 2013, and a board member of Row 44 since 2011. Davis spent a total of nearly nine years at Northwest Airlines, ultimately as EVP and Chief Financial Officer. Other positions held by Davis have included Senior Managing Director of Perseus LLC, Partner and Co-Founder of Bearpath Capital LLC and Chief Financial Officer of Kraton Polymers and US Airways. Davis will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer until after the filing of GEE's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter, at which time Mike Zemetra, currently SVP Finance and Chief Accounting Officer, will be appointed acting CFO.
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana (the "Company") (NASDAQ: HFBL) the holding company for Home Federal Bank ("Home Federal" or "HFB"), announced the appointment of Glen Brown as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company and Home Federal. Most recently, he served 17 years as Vice President and Controller for Teche Federal Bank in New Iberia, Louisiana, the wholly owned subsidiary of Teche Holding Company. Prior to joining Teche, Mr. Brown spent 19 years in various accounting and finance roles with First Federal Bank in Lake Charles, Louisiana. As part of the on-going transition plan reported in December 2012, the Company's long-time Executive Vice President and CFO, Clyde Patterson will assist Mr. Brown in the transition and continue as Treasurer of the Company until retirement which is targeted for December 31, 2017.
OFS Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: OFS) announced that Jeffrey Cerny has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Cerny has served as a member of the Investment Committee of the external advisor since 2010 and replaces Robert Palmer, who has resigned from his positions as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Cerny joined OFS Management in 1999 and has been part of its leadership group since 2000. He has been actively involved in the investing and corporate activities of the firm. Prior to that, Mr. Cerny held various positions at Sanwa Business Credit Corporation, American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago and Charter Bank Group, a multi-bank holding company.
Cosi, Inc. (NASDAQ: COSI) announced that it has hired Scott Carlock as Chief Financial Officer. Carlock joins Cosi from quick-service restaurant leader Yum! Brands, Inc. where he has been employed for the past 13 years. He has held several senior finance and accounting roles with Yum! Brands, including Senior Manager of Finance for KFC US, Business Unit Controller and Senior Manager of KFC and Long John Silver, Associate Manager of SEC Reporting, and most recently, Tax Controller and Director. Carlock will replace Bill Koziel, Cosi's current CFO. Prior to joining Yum! Brands, Inc., Mr. Carlock served as Corporate Controller of PrintCafe, Inc. From October 1993 to November 2000, Mr. Carlock served in several finance and accounting roles with Mellon Financial Corporation, most recently as Vice President Controller of its eCommerce Group. From September 1990 to October 1993, Mr. Carlock served as an auditor for KPMG, LLP.


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Recipe from Joyce Guffey of Poplar Bluff, Mo.
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 45 min
1 package of frozen yam patties or you can use cooked and peeled sweet potato
can of chunk pineapple
1 tb butter
1 tb corn starch
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white syrup
1. Place sweet potato patties in 13x9 baking dish, drain juice from can of chunk pineapple, save juice and place in a sauce pan, pour chunk pineapples over the yam/sweet potato patties.
2. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, white syrup, butter and cornstarch, blend to disolve the cornstarch, heat untill boiling. Pour over yam patties and pineapple chunks.
3. Place in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes, remove and place miniature marshmallows on top, place back in oven about 5 minutes or untill marshmallows are brown.
Servings: 10
Comments: this is an old family receipe and a good one that will be enjoyed
*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in or provided through this site section is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be and is not a substitute for professional advice. Use of this site section and any information contained on or provided through this site section is at your own risk and any information contained on or provided through this site section is provided on an "as is" basis without any representations or warranties.


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The policies outlined herein have been developed to provide guidance to those charged with conducting fund-raising for Juniata. The policies include information on the kinds of gifts that will be accepted by the College and credited toward achievement of the mission of the College. These policies will provide the method by which all gifts will be valued for reporting purposes. Two of the underlying objectives of these policies are (1) to encourage donors to make the largest possible gifts to Juniata in forms that are convenient for the donors and which meet a need of the College, and (2) to assure accuracy in reporting campaign results. Gift totals as credited do not necessarily reflect the balances shown in the accounting records or published financial statements of the College, nor does the valuation placed on a gift necessarily bear any relationship to the amount which the donor may deduct on his or her income tax returns.
A. Gifts
1. A gift is a voluntary, irrevocable, gratuitous transfer to, and acceptance by, the College of cash, securities, or property of value, or the execution of an instrument that legally vests an interest of value to Juniata College.
2. If a gift is for multiple purposes, unless the donor indicates the distribution percentage, the College would need to define clearly the basis for distribution so that the amounts can be properly recorded in the accounting records. A multipurpose gift shall be divided by purpose and counted by purpose. Multiple payments for a single gift purpose shall constitute a single gift in the accounting procedures.
3. Gifts may be made by individuals during their lifetimes, or by testamentary disposition, by corporations, by foundations, and by other legal entities.
4. It is the responsibility of the Accounting Department and the Office of College Advancement to receive, receipt, and report on all gifts to the College.
5. The source of a gift for reporting purposes is defined as those entities that transferred the gift to the College. Exceptions include:
- Gifts from business-sponsored foundations are considered as gifts from the business themselves.
- Gifts to institution-affiliated groups such as the alumni association are treated as gifts to the institution. Institution affiliated groups are those sanctioned by and legally part of the College.
- Situations where the donor specifies otherwise.
B. Grants
1. A grant consists of a payment pursuant to an agreement (e.g., written proposal and written acceptance of proposal) for a specified project or purpose, usually over a period of time. Normally a foundation makes grants while individuals make gifts, but there are times when the terms are interchangeable.
2. All grants from public and private sources are directed to the Accounting Department for deposit and receipting.
3. Administration of a grant includes compliance with the grantor's stated requirements, often including an annual accounting of expenditures and activities. Direct responsibility for such accounting shall be the responsibility of the Grant Project Director, Principal Investigator or a person identified by the department in receipt of the grant.
4. The Office of College Advancement shall have the responsibility to monitor and to ensure that acceptable and timely reporting takes place to the grant making body.
5. The Accounting Department shall have the responsibility to create timely reports and to require that appropriate accounting procedures are followed.
C. Pledges
A pledge is a written statement of an intention to make a gift or grant to the College, signed by the donor or authorized agent. The pledge must consist of a defined pledge payment amount, period of time, designation for the gift (including the option that the gift be undesignated), and frequency of payment. The term of a pledge shall not exceed five years or one year beyond the end date of a campaign except as may be extended as part of the board approved plan of a campaign.
D. Fundamental Principles
The following basic principles for counting campaign gifts have been developed by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE):
1. Only those gifts and pledges actually received or committed during the specific period of time identified for the campaign (a period up to seven years including the silent phase) should be counted in campaign totals.
2. The silent phase of a campaign is always a part of the designated campaign period, and commitments reported for this phase must actually have been received or pledged within the campaign time frame.
3. Gifts and pledges may be counted in only one campaign.
4. The value of any canceled or unfulfilled pledges must be subtracted from campaign totals when it is determined they will not be realized.
E. Silent Phase
1. The silent phase is that period of time prior to public announcement of the campaign, or the campaign's official goal, during which pace-setting gifts are sought from individuals and organizations closest to the College.
2. Credit for gifts received in the silent phase of a campaign will be limited to those gifts given for stated campaign objectives, thereby strengthening the focus of campaign efforts and eventual results.
F. Basic Guidelines
1. Conduct of Solicitation
a. Responsibility for coordination and conducting of all appeals is delegated to the Office of College Advancement.
b. The Office of College Advancement is authorized to conduct appeals that have been approved within the statement of needs adopted by the Board of Trustees and the President of the College.
c. To maintain a consistent set of goals and procedures, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and students are not authorized to solicit groups of alumni, parents foundations, corporations, or members of those and other constituencies independently of activities administered by the Office of College Advancement.
d. When permitted by the Student Solicitation Policy, student solicitations of community businesses, individuals, or any other possible donor shall not take place without the prior approval of the Office of College Advancement.
2. Pledge Documentation and Accounting
a. A standard pledge recording procedure will be used by the College throughout the campaign. Pledge documentation will be forwarded to the Office of College Advancement for entry into the campaign accounting system.
b. Pledges made to the College during the term of a campaign will be credited at their full principal balance toward the campaign goal, provided that the pledge is either unrestricted or is designated for a purpose included among campaign objectives. All oral pledges must be reduced to writing before they are credited. The pledge must be signed by the donor or donors in order to be entered as a pledge. Typed names will not suffice. The pledge amount attributed to the individual shall not include any anticipated matching gift funds.
c. Pledges for a building campaign in the amount of $50,000 or more shall include the following language that stresses the importance of the pledge in the ultimate decision of the Board of Trustees to go forward with construction: "I understand that the Board of Trustees will rely on my pledge in making its determination as to the feasibility of funding construction of ______".
d. Pledges of cash should be written and should commit to a specific dollar amount that will be paid according to a fixed time schedule. A pledge received even on the last day of the campaign is counted in campaign.
e. Pledges made before the campaign accounting period will be credited where they pertain to campaign objectives. Payments made during the campaign accounting period in fulfillment of such pledges will be credited to the campaign. Payments made after the campaign accounting period on pledges made during the campaign accounting period will be credited to the campaign.
f. A pledge may be made to establish a named endowment for the purposes accepted by the College. See Attachment "A" for the types of restricted funds and Attachment "B" for the restrictions governing a pledge to establish a named endowment.
G. Acceptance of Gifts
1. The preservation of the tax exempt status of the College requires the acceptance and administration of only those gifts which will not jeopardize that legislative privilege. Where such an issue arises, it will be resolved by the Gift Acceptance Committee and, as required, by legal counsel.
2. The purpose and use of a gift as specified by the donor must be appropriate to the functions and character of the College, as determined by statutes, by-laws, and other governing instruments.
3. A restricted use imposed by a donor must not require the College to act contrary to law or public policy.
4. When gifts of tangible personal property, including works of art, are accepted, the donor should be advised of the intended use or disposition thereof. The utility of other gifts may be in their value when sold and converted to endowment or when exchanged for items more appropriate to College interests. See Attachment "E" for guidelines governing the disposal of donated assets.
5. Gift valuations shall conform to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations.
6. Gifts-in-kind, non-marketable securities, works of art and other gifts of tangible personal property shall be acknowledged with a description of the property and a statement of value for gift credit (not accounting) that represents the dollar value of the gift recorded by the Office of College Advancement. Donors of certain properties that exceed $5,000 must obtain an independent third-party appraisal by a qualified appraiser at the donor's personal expense. Donors of assets whose value falls below $5,000 may provide a dollar value in writing along with the gift.
7. A gift for endowment purposes should include a contingency clause in the event that the stated gift purpose becomes obsolete or contrary to law or public policy (e.g., "In the event the stated purpose of this gift is rendered obsolete or contrary to law or public policy, as shall be determined by the then President of the College, the principal and proceeds herefrom shall be paid and applied to further the intent of the donor insofar as possible.")
8. Authority for the acceptance of gifts of any kind shall be only as prescribed by the written guidelines (as the same may be amended in writing and approved by the Advancement and Marketing Committee of the Board of Trustees). Prior to the acceptance of any gift outside the guidelines, the approval of the Gift Acceptance Committee will be needed.
9. A gift should be sufficient to carry out the specified use; provided, however, that exception may be made with the approval of the Gift Acceptance Committee.
10. A gift requiring a commitment on the part of the College to spend College funds, either upon receipt or in the future, in addition to the amount donated or pledged, must receive prior approval from the Gift Acceptance Committee based on a memorandum of understanding. Examples of such gifts are gifts that require:
a. matching funds from the College;
b. a commitment to continue a project after the termination or the exhaustion of gift;
c. the financing of construction projects;
d. the establishment of permanent interest-bearing funds where the amount pledged is insufficient to carry out the specified purpose;
e. a commitment to finance and/or administer an undertaking outside the routine functioning and operation of the College or any part thereof (e.g., accruing income to apply to the gift objective).
11. Gifts-in-kind, as well as any other gifts to be used for restricted purposes, other than those purposes designated as part of a campaign, should receive advance approval by:
a. the department or division of the College most directly concerned in fulfilling the donor's expectation; and
b. the President of the College.
12. With respect to gifts to the Beeghly Library, please refer to the procedures in "Attachment D".
13. Gifts of non-marketable securities for any purpose must receive the advance approval of the Vice President for Finance and Operations.
14. Gifts of IRA accounts and other qualified plans may be made. The College must be notified when named as the beneficiary of such accounts or when named the remainderman in a charitable remainder unitrust to be funded by the proceeds of a qualified plan.
15. Gifts to establish charitable remainder unitrusts or charitable remainder annuity trusts must meet the requirements listed below and in Attachment "C".
16. Memorial and tribute gifts must meet the appropriate guidelines and requirements outlined herein. A memorial or tribute is considered to be a named annual fund to be applied and recognized as other named annual funds. If family and friends wish to create a named endowed fund and the initial gift is less than the minimum required for a named endowment, then the gift and all gifts received for this memorial or tribute will be subject to the same policies as pledges for named endowment funds. See Attachment "B" for policies that pertain to establishing endowed funds through irrevocable pledges.
17. In the event that a charitable remainder trust lists more than one charitable remainderman, the College will serve as the trustee of such trusts only when the trust exceeds $100,000 and when the College is identified as the recipient of at least sixty (60%) of the remainder. The acceptance of the trust is subject to the approval of the Gift Acceptance Committee.
18. In the event of a conflict, the statutes and by-laws of the College shall supersede any guidelines set down herein.
H. Gift Valuation and Dating
Values, for purposes of crediting the gift, should be established without regard to the donor's personal estimation of the gift's value, the value as reported to the Internal Revenue Service, or the value placed on the gift by the Internal Revenue Service in reference to income tax liability.
Lifetime gifts shall be credited as follows:
1. Outright gifts of cash will be credited in the amount of the gift. Cash gifts are usually made in the form of a check made payable to Juniata College. Certain credit card gifts may be accepted by the College with prior approval. The minimum credit card gift is $5.00. In the case of time sensitive contributions (e.g., at the end of the calendar or fiscal year) the gift date recorded by the College for outright gifts of cash shall be as follows:
a. The postmark date on the envelope used to mail the contribution.
b. The date hand delivered to an Office of College Advancement or solicitor or the date on the check, whichever is later.
c. The date the credit card account number, expiration date, and donor's name and address are recorded by a telephone solicitor employed by the College or entered electronically via College web site employed for gift solicitation.
d. The gift date recorded by the College may or may not be the date recognized by the Internal Revenue Code.
2. Securities will be valued as of the date of delivery. The delivery, to be effective, must be unconditional and the stock certificate properly endorsed. If the stock certificate is not endorsed, the donor should give the College a properly endorsed stock power in addition to the stock certificate. The College encourages donors to use a properly endorsed stock power rather than delivering a signed stock certificate. The delivery date is conditioned on the type of delivery made by the donor. Note the following table for details:
|Type of Delivery
|Delivery Date
|Personally delivered to the College.
|Date received by a College staff member.
|Mailed to the College.
|Date securities are mailed (providing securities are received by the College in the ordinary course of the mail).
|Delivered to donor's broker
|Date securities are mailed to the agent and he mails to the College. (providing securities are received in ordinary course of the mail).
|Delivered by donor or their bank or broker (as donor's agent) instructing corporation to reissue in the College name.
|Date stock is transferred to the College name on corporation's issuing books (this is the date on the new certificate having the college's name)
|Electronic transfer
|Date funds arrive in College owned account.
3. When there is a market for securities on the stock exchange, in over-the-counter trading or otherwise, the fair market value is the mean between the highest and lowest quoted selling price on the date of delivery of the gift.
4. The value of stock in a closely-held corporation must be determined by an appraisal meeting IRS standards.
5. Neither losses nor gains realized upon the sale of the securities after receipt nor brokerage fees, appraisal fees or other expenses associated with the transfer should affect the value reported.
6. A gift of real estate must be approved by the Gifts Acceptance Committee and will be credited at the property's qualified appraisal value. The following special guidelines apply:
a. The donor must pay the qualified appraiser's fee.
b. If the gift is deemed to be subject to transfer tax, the donor must pay the "seller's" portion of the tax.
c. Real estate taxes assessed by local governing authorities shall be prorated as of the date the deed is executed.
d. The donor shall prepare the deed and will be responsible for his or her attorney fees.
e. The College will bear the costs associated with recording the deed.
f. The property must be inspected by the College or its agent for present or past hazardous waste and/or other environmental liabilities.
g. The date a deed is recorded defines the gift date.
7. Tangible personal property (i.e., antiques, books, works of art, stamp or coin collections, furniture, etc.) accepted by the College will be credited at the item's fair market value.
8. Ordinary income property (i.e., short-term capital assets, property held for sale in the course of the donor's trade or business such as inventory, copyrights, or artistic property created by the donor, depreciable property which was depreciated via the use of accelerated depreciation) will be credited at the allowable charitable income tax deduction. The deduction is usually limited to the donor's cost or tax basis in the property.
9. Life insurance policies for which the College is named owner and irrevocable beneficiary will be credited as follows:
a. Paid-up life insurance policies will be counted at the policy's accumulated cash surrender value and counted as a current outright gift.
b. An existing life insurance policy that is not fully paid up on the date of its contribution to the College will be credited at the policy's cash surrender value.
c. A donor of life insurance may make gifts to the College for the payment of life insurance premiums.


text:
The Saddleback College Emeritus Institute was established as a unique educational opportunity for the pursuit and enhancement of lifelong learning for the adult population. As an integral part of the Saddleback College curriculum, the Emeritus Institute is a leader in providing challenging and rewarding programs specifically designed for older adults.
For more information, frequently asked questions, and a list of classes for the Emeritus Institute program, please visit the Emeritus Institute website.
Out of state students click here for important information.
Steps for Enrollment
- Complete and Submit an Application for Admission
Apply online (Be sure to choose: Educational Development as your Education Goal on the application.)or visit the Emeritus Institute website for a paper application form.
- Register for Classes
Follow these directions to register for classes.
- Pay Fees
If fees are not paid by the class payment deadline, the class will be dropped. Please visit the Student Payment Office Website for more information.


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Maybe baking social features into a phone's OS does not imply OS updates are required to incrementally improve that functionality after all. Windows Phone, which is well-known for providing a lot of social features natively as part of the OS, has seen some updates recently which may be small by themselves, but provide us a small hint of the possibilities of how we may get updates to the experience without needing updates to the OS.
First, we got news that the Windows Live service (now called Microsoft account), which powers the social features in Windows Phone, was updated so that the People Hub shows a person's Twitter profile in the "notes" section of their information card. Previously, People Hub only included a Twitter contact but it looks like the Windows Phone engineering team extended the API to bring in the profile information into the contact card. As you can see in the screenshot below, I had populated "notes" section for Keith Dsouza in his contact information I have stored in my Hotmail Contacts. After this new feature was turned on, a notes entry for Twitter has been added which is his profile information from Twitter.
Separately, I noticed that in the Me tile notifications, if there was a picture attached, the notification previewed the picture. I was unable to confirm if this is in fact a brand new feature across the board or if it is enabled only for a certain set of photo sharing services, but as you will see in the screenshot below, images are being previewed now, which I don't recollect seeing before. This is most likely limited to a certain number of photo-sharing services, but it is good to see this small update nevertheless.
Finally, over the past weekend, I noticed that I am getting a Me tile notification update even for retweets of my @ mentions. Let me explain: suppose someone replies to my tweet, and somebody else retweets (native twitter retweet, obviously) that person's reply to me, I get an update on my Me tile. Unfortunately, the Me tile does not update for retweets of my tweets, it only updates when someone retweets my mentions or replies, but a good small step in the right direction. I have written before that getting a Me tile update for a native retweet of my tweets should be a supported feature. I got the following update over the weekend:
As you can see below, the original reply was on April 29th. I got the Me tile update notification only this past weekend, when someone happened to retweet Tim's reply:
Another feature recently added was to enable a Facebook message to be sent via Messaging app to someone who is offline. This was another item on my wish list for 2012 and it turns out that it was enabled on the service side, thereby instantly benefitting everyone.
As I stated earlier, these are not killer features by themselves, but what I see are more significant is the ability and the inclination of the Windows Phone team to update the service which automatically benefits the entire user base. Combine that with the engineering decisions to link everything to Microsoft account using web services/APIs, and using that in Windows Phone (and Windows 8 too) may turn out to be a great benefit to this platform. Any time a new feature or functionality is added to Facebook, Twitter or any other service linked to the Microsoft account, it may be possible to make it available as a "native" service in Windows Phone and Windows 8 relatively quickly.
Have you seen these updates? Did you have some of this earlier? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.


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Who is Septimus Heap? A lost child? An ordinary hero? A powerful wizard? The Magyk begins here.
The first book in this enthralling new series by Angie Sage leads listeners on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters and magykal charms, potions, and spells. Magyk is an original story of lost and rediscovered identities, rich with humor and heart.
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- Emiko
- 08-10-09
Fun Listen
As a mother of very young children, I'm always on the hunt for books that interest me, yet are kid friendly. (no cussing, vulgarity, etc) With the Harry Potter series over, I was desperate to find something else. The Septimus Heap books are fun. I really enjoyed the entire series and enjoyed this narrator- and I'm extremely picky.
78 people found this helpful
- Lindsey
- 06-05-05
Very enjoyable
Definitely a children's rather than an adult or teen fantasy this was really pleasant to listen to. An original and well thought out world, a bit a moral complexity creeping in, and distinctively drawn and quirky 'good guys'.
The reader had an attractive, clear voice and the 'voices' given to the characters were distinctive and suitable.
I will look out for and buy the sequel when it comes.
42 people found this helpful
- Curious City Kirsten Cappy
- 06-29-05
Fabulous! Not only a fuuny, sweet, suspenseful read full of wonderfully realized characters--but the reading is spot on with clever voices, pregnant pauses and pitch perfect humor. Hurrah! A great family listen that will entertain over a wide range of 7-14 years (and parents too!)
28 people found this helpful
- Helen
- 07-18-05
Loved it!
I'm a huge fan of the Harry Potter and Pullman series and I loved this book. I can't wait for the sequel. The characters were delightful and the story line kept me entertained from beginning to end.
16 people found this helpful
- Lisa
- 03-15-10
Simply Delighted!
This read was simply delightful!! The story is fantastic and reminds me of all the good reasons for being a kid!!! Allan Corduner is phenomenal!!! My kids and I have an ongoing contest of who can best be the voice of Marcia - "Oh ... my purple python shoes!" We thoroughly enjoyed this audible and recommend it to kids and adults alike who enjoy stepping into magical lands and letting the narrator whisk them away to adventure! My only sadness is that Audible didn't use Mr. Corduner for the sequels - which we have been hesitant to buy for that reason. Why do you do that??? In spite of this, the book was fantastic, and we will most likely give the others a chance as well.
15 people found this helpful
- M. Gonzalez
- 05-23-05
Great Fun!
Great narration and suspenseful story line. Plot was imaginative and interesting even if the ending was easily predicted. Great fun to listen to and I can't wait for Book 2 to come out! I will be buying the book as soon as I can. Yes, I am an adult but one of my loves since studying it in college is children's literature. This one rates up there with the Pullman Series.
38 people found this helpful
- Jefferson
- 11-08-12
Witty and Engaging Light Magykal Fantasy
Magyk (2005) by Angie Sage has many typical children's magical fantasy genre elements: the lost seventh son of a seventh son possessed of extraordinary magic power, a princesses in hiding, an evil necromancer, good wizards, witches, and ghosts, supernatural creatures (like boggarts, brownies, and dragons), legendary magical artifacts (even a lost ring found underground in the dark!), and spells and magical rules for every occasion her page-turning plot requires.
Sage's novel adds to the genre a usurping dystopian governing body (the Custodians) with a penchant for rationalizing people, excluding women, and banning magic. Sage's good characters, a balanced mix of adults and kids, are very appealing and great fun to spend time with: Marcia Overstrand (the purple pointy python-skin shoe wearing ExtraOrdinary Wizard), Arthel Melle (the avuncular ghost of the former ExtraOrdinary Wizard), Silas (the unambitious and good-natured Ordinary Wizard who is a seventh son), Nicko (one of his sons who likes boats), Jenna (the princess on the run), Boy 412 (a member of the Young Army, "the Pride of today, the Warriors of Tomorrow"), and even Stanley the message rat (Sage does for message rats what J K Rowling never does for message owls: gives them their own point of view). And best of all Sage writes with enjoyable and engaging wit and style. I often laughed out loud at the lines her characters speak and the situations in which they find themselves. Magyk feels lighter and wittier than the Harry Potter books. Her slimy and poisonous Magog creatures are nightmarish, but also prone to greedy foibles, and her Dark Lord DomDaniel (back from the Badlands with a vengeance) snores and drools while he sleeps.
The fertility of imagination and richness of style in Magyk don't approach that in, say, Catherynne Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, but Angie Sage does write more magical magic than J. K. Rowling. Although Sage, like Rowling, does a fair amount of mundaning of the fantastic (as in having Marcia cast clothes cleaning spells), she is also capable of writing scenes that make the world come alive with a fresh perspective, as when the last Shield Bug goes into earnest and confused action, when the Dragon Boat appears in an underground temple, when the ghost of Arthel hugs Jenna and makes her "feel as though a warm summer breeze had wafted through her," when Boy 412 stares awe-struck at the "haze of [purple] Magyk energy" on Marcia as she casts a spell and sees her "brilliant green eyes glitter[ing] as she gaze[s] into infinity, observing a silent film that only she could see," and when Jenna goes outside Aunt Zelda's cottage to watch the marsh wake up in cold dawn beauty and thinks about her identity and family and childhood dreams and sees "a fishing boat crewed by chickens."
One thing lost in the audiobook version is Sage's portentous capitalizations and faux-archaic spellings of words like Magyk and Darke and use of bold font for the names of spells, because when the reader Allan Corduner says them they of course sound as if they were spelled and printed normally. But you gain so much by listening to the audiobook, because Corduner relishes reading the novel and keeps just the right 75-25 balance between tongue in cheek and heart in mouth, making everything more funny and magical and moving than it would be if one were only reading the physical book.
Will I go on to read/listen to the following six novels about Septimus Heap? Hmmm. If I find them on sale and myself with plenty of time I might, but I am in no hurry right now, because this first novel is a little longer than necessary and ends with satisfying closure.
12 people found this helpful
- cindy
- 11-22-09
Won't bore you children OR you!!
Got a car ride coming up with kids ages 8-18? This book is the key to your sanity. Won't drive you crazy, will keep them entertained, and help the time fly by. The reading (unlike some other kids books here) is great.
18 people found this helpful
- M. Davis
- 06-09-05
Surprisingly Great!
I originally purchased this audio book for my 10yr old daughter. But after I finished my own book, I thought I would check it out. I could not stop listening. It was a little slow in the beginning, however it quickly grabbed my attention. It was surprisingly great, with a happy ending!
9 people found this helpful
- Amanda
- 05-01-07
A cute and sweet story. It is aimed at a younger crowd then some of the other "magic" books out there, but if you like children's books this is a good one. It's filled with little imaginative details that make the story. The narration is well done. The music between sections is rather annoying but might appeal to children. I recommend the book and I'll be downloading the second one in the series.
8 people found this helpful
- Peter
- 11-27-08
Septimus Heap - Brilliant!
I downloaded magyk because i liked the look of the title and i am so glad i did! My dad set up audible for me and it gave me the series of septimus heap. I listen to stories at night when i go to sleep and the septimus heaps are the books i listen to most. They are funny, action packed and i love listening to them at aged 19
11 people found this helpful
- Stephen C
- 08-17-05
A bargain....
I downloaded this book for my 9 year-old son and 11 year-old daughter, both Harry P fans. Charlie really rated this book, humorous and exciting. The look of total concentration and the annoyance at the end of a journey at the CD being switched off said it all! Kate enjoyed it too, possibly with a little less enthusiasm, but gobbled up quickly for all that, which is usually an indication of a good story! She praised both the plot and characters and both kids enjoyed the narration.
23 people found this helpful
- Alex
- 08-15-07
Well read, exciting story, interesting characters and some humour: both my children (7 and 9 yrs old) loved this book, and are pestering me to get the next in the series. I have to say that the parents enjoyed it too.
6 people found this helpful
- EJ Mayers
- 12-23-12
Enjoyed by All
Having been recommended the book by friends I read the paper version and really enjoyed it (I am a 35 year old woman). I bought the audio version for my son, who's 7, and he listened to it every night, and never wanted it to be turned off. Once he finished it he wanted to try reading the print version. More adventure than magic, with interesting characters and some twists (although I saw them coming) which surprised my son. He's now listening to the second book, Flyte.
5 people found this helpful
- Kirsty
- 06-27-08
a great introduction to a story the whole family enjoyed! have already started on the second book of the series, and we are loving it.
4 people found this helpful
- Deborah
- 04-13-13
The start of a great series....
This book is the first in an ongoing series of books, currently seven. It is an excellent read for young or old, and the imagination of the author makes it a fun story which you just don't want to put down.
3 people found this helpful
- Mrs H Spurr
- 09-25-12
Easy Listening
I like all of the Septimus Heap books although I am not this particular narrator's No.1 fan I think I was a bit unfair to him in my review of Eragon as I managed to listen to all the Septimus Heap books. It's not a masterpiece but it's entertaining, enjoyable and humorous would be wonderful for kids on a long car journey.
3 people found this helpful
- Graham
- 03-02-10
Started well
It started well and was well read but the story did go downhill about 3/4 the way through to the point that I couldn't finish it.
2 people found this helpful
- Russell
- 11-29-08
I did enjoy the book although I thing the plot was abit lame. I had guessed the out come after the second Chapter. That said though I will get the rest of the books in hope that they do emprove. So far though I have to say I far prefer The Brtimaeus Trilogy (Jonathan Stroud) and Phillip Pullams work,Oh and I mustn't for J.K.Rowling.
2 people found this helpful
- hdeg
- 09-18-17
Unbelievably enjoyable
I am 10 and thoroughly enjoyed it and would be happy to read/listen to it many times more.
Can't wait to get the next one
1 person found this helpful
- Rosie Shilo
- 09-18-20
A fabulous adventure
I loved listening to this book. The reading was amazing and the story fun and interesting. My only issue was the volume sometimes faded out a bit as if it was ending but it wasn't. Otherwise a great listen.