text:
September 10, 2009
Time for Higher Education To Step Up on National Broadband Strategy
Blair Levin is a man on a mission with a major Tylenol three headache. Levin's day job these days is Executive Director of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative for the USA. He has less than 160 days to deliver a national framework. The challenges are considerable. The broadband czar is not hiding his angst.
We are looking for creative solutions from everyone – government, think tanks, spectrum license holders, wireline providers, cable systems – that will help deliver the synergies of broadband to the entire nation. ... we need everyone to be, shall we say, "constructively worried". So let's be creative and find a solution together so that five years from now we don't have to worry about the ramifications of our failure to plan ahead.
More recently, he added, "It is striking how the parties [in broadband comments] have stayed within the same framework in looking at a problem that is evolving; seeing things only in the light of long-established patterns that are tied to preferred policy outcomes, not analysis."
I have had limited direct exposure to the inner workings of this effort but I have a wide range of trusted colleagues who are actively and tirelessly working to constructively engage and position the Omnibus Broadband Initiative for advancing the birthing of national broadband policy for the United States.
Given the historic opportunity, in view of the national need, because this is so important to the future, it is high time for higher education to become actively and constructively engaged in the national broadband policy making effort. The futurists in academe have offered their crystal balls to the FCC panels. Higher education, and in particular our research and education networks, have much, much more to offer. In turn, we have much to gain from active and constructive engagement with Levin. Hyperbole aside, this may be the single most important moment in the Internet's short history to reposition the future of the era which I think future historians will rightly call the Broadband Epoch. I have no doubt that our research and education networks will be around 25 years from now. I think we should be recasting the question and ask 'how relevant will our research and education networks be' if we continue to think, build, and operate a national and regional set of shadow network infrastructures as in 'our interest' somehow separate from the 'national interest'.
The time has come to offer leadership and commitment to contribute to the designing and ultimately build out an integrated national broadband fabric. We should begin by placing our coveted publicly-funded research and education networks on the table as the foundation of a national public broadband infrastructure. We should offer up the billion plus dollar State and Federally funded investments in the more than 30 regional optical networks in 37 states, reaching more than 55,000 community institutions. We should offer up our two national backbone services in Internet2 and NLR with investments totaling well in excess of another quarter of a billion dollars over the past decade. The infrastructure assets entrusted to and built by higher education over the past twenty years are the single most important catalytic resource available to the nation in the pursuit of a national public broadband strategy.
Ed Lazowska from the University of Washington in Seattle outlines the tradition of innovation and the contribution of higher education to our nascent and current broadband state as a nation in a submission to the Department of Commerce (in the context of NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunity Program).
Colleges and universities are innovation incubators. They brought us ARPANET in the 1970's, the Internet in the 1980's, the graphical World Wide Web browser in the 1990's, and Google and Facebook in the current decade. These and other transformative innovations from America's colleges and universities have generated countless millions of jobs and countless billions of dollars in economic growth, making America the world leader in information technology. We would not be here today, were it not for these engines of innovation.
College and university applications drive advances in networking. These institutions are the heart of demanding, advanced scientific applications. The data-driven experiments, simulations, and analyses of science today require high-speed broadband to move data from remote instruments to the lab and to share massive data sets among scientists globally. Why does this matter? Because these scientists will help us model climate change, discover genetic markers for inherited diseases, and explore the potential of low carbon and renewable energy sources. Colleges and universities are also the source of innovation in America's health care system, providing cutting-edge health research, medical education, clinical care, and rural telemedicine. The bandwidth demands of today's advanced scientific applications – tens of gigabits per second – foreshadow similar bandwidth needs in homes and businesses in the future.
Colleges and universities have a four-decade proven track record in deploying, managing, operating, and continually upgrading advanced networks. With seed money from NSF in the 1980's and 1990's, CSNET, NSFNET, and Internet2....provided neutral territory for open, non-proprietary, unclassified advances, fostering close partnerships with and among industry and government and across all sectors ranging from education to health care....
Two lines of questioning emerge. Why and how could the Higher Education network infrastructure become the basis of a national public broadband framework. Second, why and how would Higher Education leverage these stewarded infrastructure assets in support of the research and education mission of their respective organizations and the national imperative for research and development a global competitiveness.
First, the debate in Washington on the future of broadband is bounded by the view from 'inside the beltway'. Make no mistake about it, as intelligent, objective, and visionary as the FCC and the architects of the Omnibus Broadband Planners may well be, policy making is the extension of politics and interests by other means (to bastardize von Clausewtiz's well known idiom about war). As Levin notes in his comments quoted above, much of the policy debate and thought leadership is bounded by what "is" and the inherited sense of "self interest" which leads to a pervasive condition of incremental and bounded policy making. The future vision of the policy possibilities are extensions of and highly constrained to what we see in our rear view mirrors. Those charged with policy development end up being self-hostaged to their perception of the limits of the policy options as articulated by the delimited set of self-interested parties.
Second, America's research and education networks offer an existent proof point of a very different vision of the future of broadband. Ours is an integrated, national, regional, and local set of inter-connected advanced network infrastructures built to advance a public services set of needs and requirements. Today, a wide range of education research, learning, teaching, and outreach activity is supported on the only truly globally competitive broadband infrastructure in the country. It is globally competitive not because of the size of the bandwidth pipes. It is competitive because the range of educational research and development services, educational learning technologies, educational teaching innovation, and the abundance of Net-based education experimentation is world class.
Third, the public services platform can be and should be extended as part of an integrated effort to extend to a vibrant and transformative set of network-based activities ready for take off in the health and wellness eco-system. Our national broadband policy should aspire to leverage network-enabled health and wellness technologies and services to create efficiencies and to service the nation's diverse and multi-faceted health and wellness agenda for the 21st century. If health care and wellness follow the higher education network deployment architecture we will have a world-class infrastructure not because of the size of the pipes (or the number of lambda waves we light up). We will be competitive because health research activities, consumer and public health education technologies, health and wellness advocacy and a wide range of health economic efficiencies will make our integrated public services platform second to none in the world.
A national broadband policy which does not begin and remain constrained with the assumption of an incumbent-only provider set of policy options can include not only education and health care but also our national interest in energy management both across the grid and within communities and neighborhoods across the country. An integrated public services grid can and should include a strategy for not only network-based and home-attached utility readers to support the objectives of efficiency on the energy grids. Energy management can and should extend through a smart-home sensor network to enable household energy management. If energy management, designed as end-to-end energy management follow the higher education network deployment model we will have a world-class infrastructure not because of the number of smart grids or the size and speed of our grids. We will be competitive because energy research in both the commercial and university labs will be integrated with consumer and public energy management education technologies in home, integrated education programs, and a wide range of energy management sensor-based technologies that will make our integrated energy management the most innovative and consequential to Americans from coast to coast to coast.
There are additional public sector services, such as public and neighborhood safety, environmental and home health, smart and connected public and private real estate, and transportation grids that together with education, health, and energy form the basis for an integrated and public national broadband future. Our broadband future becomes informed by a national consensus to build, manage, and operate a smart, green, and connected infrastructure to service the needs of communities both urban and rural, aged and young, rich and impoverished, new immigrant or well established families. The architecting of a public services network can leverage and scale on the foundation of the research and education networks that touch tens of thousands of communities across the country. The new 21st century community emerges as an integrated, dynamic eco-system whose DNA is knowledge and innovation in support of and delivering against articulated community needs.
The broadband policy debate about our future must extend beyond the rear view mirror image of current 'triple play' services offering. Architecting next generation ultra broadband connectivity is a necessary but insufficient condition for a globally competitive America. Becoming globally competitive is not a debate about whether incumbent providers do or do not provide broadband services to America's underserved. Serving America's needs today and tomorrow is intertwined with advancing and sustaining an open and inherently generative platform that continues to enable innovation and unconstrained experimentation. The threads interwoven with the platform will hopefully be an integrated approach to providing broadband services for education, health care, energy management, public safety and so on. The broadband technical requirements are an extension of, not a substitute for, our common vision of a smart, green, and connected future.
Some might well ask, why should the research and education networks place their assets into national play? How does an integrated public sector platform advance the dynamic and important network-based research activities that are the raison d'etre of our networks? R&E networks is one of relatively few things in the national and globally competitive broadband space that we can proud of. Why screw it up and let our relative advantage devolve into a dumbed down version of, fill in the blank's, commercial provider service? There are probably a dozen other expressions of cynicism, horror, and disbelief. At the very moment that the R&E community is driving towards a new 100 Gig national backbone standard, why at this very moment would we want to 'give it away'.
First, our networks are public networks. They have been funded with public tax dollars and entrusted to higher education. By and large, we have been good stewards of that investment and created leveragable value. Second, we need not 'give it away' our access to commodity, research and development, and experimental use of the networks. The governance authority for provisioning tiered public access from institutions, consumers (outside their institutional relationships), and commercial users is both attainable and can and will lead to win-win-win scenarios. Third, the University's sphere of influence and interests continue to bleed well beyond the confines of the University's physical plant footprint. Fourth, our long term health and well being is intimately and perhaps inextricably linked to the well being and health of the communities around us. And fifth, and finally, it is in on our selfish and narrow interests to be part of, rather than separate and apart from, the single most important set of investments in broadband in our generation.
To be sure, it is possible that our siloed approach to securing broadband network funding from NSF, NIH, DOE, and so forth might have some short term legs. However, there is growing evidence that, at least under this administration, there is an effort to orchestrate, coordinate, and leverage major policy objectives, especially in the infrastructure arena. Working together, we should be able to make the case that it may well be within the institutional self interest of the federal funding agencies to also join and lock arms in trying to work with one another, as well as the FCC, Commerce, and the White House on an integrated approach to public sector investments in broadband. Making an effort to align Federal and State agency interests, higher education research interests, and the interests of the provider and managers of the higher education network infrastructure is as difficult as it is important if we are to keep an eye on the challenge facing Blair Levin and the nation as a whole.
Finally, a word about the incumbent carriers and the presumed insurmountable interests of the telecommunications industry. Advancing the cause of a next generation ultra broadband public services platform is not antithetical to the interests and position of the incumbent providers. The notion of binary choices between the incumbent provider or a public services platform is a framing that is simply false. Many off the record conversations with leaders within the telecommunications industry suggest that the 'either/or' framing is simply 'more of the same political posturing'. Indeed, there is overwhelming evidence that the telecom industry will continue to pursue the "Janus" approach of breathing fire on anything smacking of public sector investments in the public policy 'dialog' while, turning around, presenting a willingness and interest to advance collaborative approaches to public and private investments to reach new communities and to enable new services. Embracing that ambiguity is an art form, especially when it is underwritten with very substantial financial resources and long standing political influence. An integrated public services platform will create new dynamics in the marketplace. As long as there remains a commitment to an open and neutral network platform, there will be competition, innovation, and service options to the consuming public. That's generally thought to be a good thing.
It is quite reasonable to assume that there will not be consensus on every last detail of an advanced, ultra broadband future for the United States. There is, however, plenty of evidence that there is significant consensus on many of the goals, including a portfolio of approaches to investment, adoption, use, and accountability. The time for higher education and in particular the higher education regional optical networks and the national backbone providers to engage in the effort to design a comprehensive broadband strategy is now. We should do so because we have much to offer. We should do so because we have much to gain.
Lev Gonick
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
September 12, 2009
Posted by lsg8 at 04:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)


text:
12 U.S. Code § 93a - Authority to prescribe rules and regulations
Except to the extent that authority to issue such rules and regulations has been expressly and exclusively granted to another regulatory agency, the Comptroller of the Currency is authorized to prescribe rules and regulations to carry out the responsibilities of the office, except that the authority conferred by this section does not apply to section 36 of this title or to securities activities of National Banks under the Act commonly known as the "Glass-Steagall Act".
The Glass-Steagall Act, referred to in text, probably refers to act June 16, 1933, ch. 89, 48 Stat. 162, as amended, also known as the Banking Act of 1933 or the Glass-Steagall Act, 1933, rather than to act Feb. 27, 1932, ch. 58, 47 Stat. 56, known as the Glass-Steagall Act, 1932. Section 16 of the 1933 act, which amended section 24 (Seventh) of this title, related in part to securities activities of national banks. For complete classification of these Acts to the Code, see Tables.
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Mosport Lapping Event/Performance School September 6th Labour Day
View Single Post
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 71
Car: 350Z
Mosport Lapping Event/Performance School September 6th Labour Day
Kensai Racing, Canada's Premier Motorsport and Performance Enhancement salon will be organizing 4 (four) lapping days throughout 2010 at Mosport Grand Prix Road Course. We would like to formally invite all interested participants to join us in our 8th year at one or all of these exciting and informative events. Whether it's your first time on a race track or you're an intermediate/advanced driver we are confident that there is value in these events for everyone.
2010 Schedule
May 24th Victoria Day
July 1st Canada Day
August 2nd Civic Day
September 6th Labour Day
The structure is quite simple; we break into two groups, Intermediate Group and an Advance Group. We limit the groups to approximately 30 participants per group to ensure the safety and enjoyment of our guests. Each group is on the track for 25 minutes per session with 5 minute breaks between groups for track maintenance and other related tasks.
Passing signals are mandatory for all groups. Pass zones for the Intermediate Group are: front straight, back straight and between corner 3 and 4. For the Advanced Group passing is allowed anywhere on the track (please exercise caution and common sense). Due to nature of the passing structure in the Advanced group, we recommend that only experienced drivers with knowledge of proper passing techniques and have had proper instruction participate in this group.
We do not perform a formal technical inspection as part of the fee for the day, but, we do highly recommend you have one performed by a qualified technician one as specified by PCA, FCA or BMWCCC. If you have questions about technical inspections please contact Kensai Racing and we can assist you in this matter.
Helmets are mandatory for driver and passenger.
If you are interested, please email
for the registration form and once filled with your information and fax back to us at 905-470-0945.
Fees for 2010
$350.00 Single Event
$650.00* Two Events
$900.00* Three Events
$1200.00* Four Events
Performance School $200 per event.
*Indicates pre-payment required prior to any event to qualify for discount.
For more information, please send me an email at:
or call the shop at 905.470.9000 between Tuesday to Friday 10am to 7:30pm, Saturday 10am to 6pm.
View Public Profile
Find More Posts by KensaiRacing


text:
Copywriting agenciespekerjaan
We are looking for an experienced person who can update our inventory on Shopify using various information sources. Experience with basic copywriting and use of Canva app an advantage. Excellent English grammar is a necessity. The initial project is for 100 products. The successful candidate may have an ongoing part-time role managing our Shopify
I have several emails that need drafting for distribution to our suppliers and clients as well as a good bit of copy work. Looking for long-time worker.
We need Copywriting with keywords for the language, German. we need copywriting done for more than 50 k words. We need to start with copywriting for 10 k words and if all works well, we will contact you again. We need only people who can work at our budget which is $50 for every 10 k words completed. We need just fast native speakers who can complete
5000 words for $30. If you are not an English speaker (native) please don´t bid or if you disagree with my offer. Deadline: tomorrow night.
Hello - I need someone with a great command o...Apologies to legitimate bidders. I've been doing this a long time, think I'm pretty easy to work with, and interested in building long-term relationships as I have need of copywriting services on a regular basis. (I used to be one of the top project submitters on Elance). Happy to answer any questions.
Needed several short articles for a new startup blog (starting from 7 articles A4 size). Topics and theses will be provided. In good English.
Required knowledge: HTML/CSS/PHP/JAVA etc. We are looking forward to build a media website coded from scratch in HTML/CSS (No Wordpress themes). It should be simple, fast and customizable to add features as the project develops ahead. PHP and eventually java will be needed as well. There will be the following: * General Cryptocurrency News Section (similar to [login to view URL]) (Milestone 1)...
1 cold email approach We are looking for a person who could write us a script for a salesperson. It is meant to get into contact with the leads and potential investors, and ultimately to end up selling (investing). Sales speeches will be in different formats, for example, a brief introduction to the company and for sending a cold message through the social media channel. Similar format, but vi...
I need someone to copy write an article for me, I will provide all the relevant source material and key words.
Preciso de alguém que traduza o conteudo do site - [login to view URL] e depois faça ediçoes para que o texto fique mais atrativo e contendo tecnicas de Seo.
...and material in the care instructions booklet that will add value WHAT NOT REQUIRED? I am not looking for someone to do a deep dive into the branding origin or complete copywriting from scratch. The first draft of the booklet has already been produced (approx 630 word count). This brief is about bringing a level of professionalism to an existing, draft
Looking for an expert webpage SEO content writer for a large, ongoing project done in milestones of 4-8 topics per milestone. Must be 1st Language Fluent English and have a minimum of 20+ years financial writing experience (minimum 20+ years). Job available immediately for the "right" freelancer. Please quote by the word for 1500 - 2000 word articles/topics.
I need a facebook Marketing specialist that should create a ...1. Create posts 2. Increase page likes using ads B. Leads/Sales 1. Create ads content - copywriting. 2. Create Landing Page content - copywriting. 3. Create quiz/whitepaper/report/infographics/case studies content. 4. Create Thank you page content - copywriting 5. Create email follow-up.
Looking for a writer to copywrite the firm's new brochure content in British English. The content will need to be edited for tone of voice, grammar, spelling, punctuation, flow, content, syntax, clarity, consistency and more. Document contains 7531 words.
Looking for a writer to copywrite the firm's new brochure content in British English. The content will need to be edited for tone of voice, grammar, spelling, punctuation, flow, content, syntax, clarity, consistency and more. Document contains 7531 words.
I need someone to help me write content and copy for various products on Amazon. The range of products can vary greatly, so the ability to adapt and provide clear content is key.
We are launching an ecommerce website and we need a copywriter to write approximately 16 screens, five articles and ten emails. Could you give us an estimate of how long it will take and the pricing, as we want it to be done asap.
We have recently had a new website built and we require a copywriter to complete the website. We have information we can provide and we are happy to make it a collaborative effort to ensure you have all you need to complete the work.
Content will be about computer reparation service business. I need content writing on focused keywords . I am using yoast so i need up to 5 focused keywords content and synonyms. I will deliver keywords.
We need copywriting for two short porfolio/bio for two composers located in Hong Kong based upon the draft provided. We are composers specializing in bespoke music for videos, TV commercials, games & film. The main target audience being advertising agency/production house creatives & producers in the video & TV commercial field. Please see attached
>> À LIRE D'ABORD << - Vous pouvez transmettre de l'émotion dans votre « Copywriting » - Vous avez de la créativité - Vous aimez vraiment écrire - Vous MAITRISEZ le français Nous recherchons une personne vraiment dynamique qui pourra nous écrire des jolies descriptions de produits/accessoires. Postuler un...
Application of football players registration, + coach + agencies
Hi! I am looking for a professional copywriter for his/her service of copywriting for a law firm website and also some legal articles. You may refer to the info in below to have a rough idea of our expectation. Thanks. Business What kind of law firm do is it? We are a law firm specializing in conveyancing & banking, corporate & commercial, Dispute
C'est une très bonne opportunité à long terme ! Je suis à la recherche d'une personne qui est « fun », qui serait intéréssé à faire du copywriting sur des produits/accessoires pour femmes ! Votre français doit être impeccable et fun !
We are a property tech (proptech) startup launching a platform to help growing small-to-medium businesses to find office space and services from a selection of curated commercial real estate landlords, developers, suppliers, vendors and design firms. Currently, the process of searching for office space and managing and negotiating leases is very offline-based, and our online platform is meant ...
Hi, Looking for a sales expert in the APAC and SEA region who has experience reaching out to Big Brands, has a Rolodex of contacts to decision makers for marketing. No time line on duration of position, depends on your performance. Please contact me and let me know your experience. As well, please answer this question before submitting your proposal. What is your previous experience and which b...
The easiest copywriting job you will get, we require short 150-word intros for 5 articles per day for a curated news service.
I run a business focusing exclusively on Healthcare professionals like Doctors & Dentists based in Singapore. I need to look for someone to produce on a regular basis articles in the following areas with a heavy slant towards healthcare professionals AND localised to Singapore context: - mortgage loan planning - wealth management - insurance needs - legacy planning I will provide; - topics wi...
Hi! I need German copywriters for a long-time project. Fixed price is 2 USD per 100 words.
Sobre estudiar inglés o francés en Canadá. Para público latinoamericano.
Need someone who can write engaging linkedin profile copy. The copy needs to be crisp and precise...
Our company offers short term and long term housing for students and visitors in Los Angeles California, USA. We need freelancer to send emails to different travel agencies to establish business partnership with them. To see if they are interested in sending their students to us. It could be international and domestic partnership. For every sent/received
Hallo liebe Copywriter, um unsere Backlink-Strategie unserer Franchiseplattform Punkt Franchise weiter auszubauen, suchen wir aktuell einen Freelancer, der uns 10 Artikel (Thematik Franchising) à 300 bis 600 Wörter bis Ende August liefern kann. Es handelt sich um einfache Texte. SEO-Kenntnisse können von Vorteil sein. Über diesen Auftrag hinaus können wir uns eine lang...
We run a small tour company here in Sydney, Australia, providing private tours for high-end and corporate clients. We need to improve our SEO and need more blog content for our website. We need someone to write some travel blogs about the places we take our clients on tour - Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, Sydney City and the South Coast. The blogs need to be about 1000 word to make Google find the...
National cannabis consulting, licensing and compliance firm, PPi Consulting Group with experience working with cannabis clients in 17 states is looking to hire an experienced technical writer. Experience managing projects and handling the coordination for licensing and compliance in association with the new cannabis regulations is preferred but not necessary. This highly motivated technical writer...
We are looking for a copywriter to help us write several education course descriptions and pages for a comparison website. The successful candidate must have some knoweldge and experience writing about digital marketing (SEO,PPC, Analytics, Web Dev). Candidates must have; - English conversational or fluent - Relevant experience - Example of work (must be relevant to this task) Start the appl...
Eyewear Company. Website content copywriting. Vintage sunglasses.
I need someone to copy information from some websites.
I am looking for a Copywriter to create compelling and high-valued content that purely aims at pitching my brand (mobile app) for the sake of promotional advertising or marketing. The ultimate objective is to sell an idea and give experience to the audience of the app. We are a bootstrapped startup trying to promote a new app into the market.
We manage apartments in Auckland CBD through Airbnb and other short term accommodation rental sites. When we have a new property we need fresh and exciting copy for our listing including; The Space The Neighbourhood Other facilities etc In addition much of this information can be included in a house manual that goes in the property for the guests. We are proposing to provide; address, apartment...
Hi there, I am looking for someone who is very experienced in applying and winning jobs to work on my behalf to win jobs on Freelancer and other similar jobs sites for copywriting and marketing jobs. I would like to maximize my skill set and have someone else deal with the administration and winning of jobs. Essentially, it's the role of a highly specialized
...upbeat, blog and ad copywriting. You must have *true COMMAND* of the English language with the ability to take a dry "boring" subject (academic, fact-based) and make it interesting (blogging tone). TOPIC(S): - Luxury Pens (Fountain Pens, Rollerball, Ballpoint) - Tarot Cards (Spirituality, New Age, etc.) YOUR EXPERIENCE: - Copywriting - Blogging - Article
I am an Ashtanga Yoga Teacher looking to increase my following and engagement on Instagram. I am looking for an assistant to help research and edit copywriting for the image descriptions and for vlog scripts. The research will include reading famous Yoga related books such as the Bhagavad Gita. I think each post should tell a story and I need your help
Hi all, We are a biometric company from Asia attending tradeshow in Las Vegas this year. We have a few flyers that need help with contents. We have our own art designer, just need some content writers to edit the information that's already on the flyers.
Hello, We have a Volusion ecommerce site that we are re-launching with a new template and new category pages at phastekperformance.com. We already have great organic SEO. We will have the 301 redirects in place for the new pages with the same meta data. What we need is well-written copy with our keywords and laser focused on our SEO for each of 1,500+ category pages which will be placed just belo...
You will turn English offline courses into Arabic online courses. Material is provided by client but requires editing. You will need to write it as online training content for employees. The content will be turned into motion graphics by an agency. It will involve simple quizzes at the end of each chapter. Total text will be around 5000 words including the script of a short film to engage the audi...
Hi Looking for copywriting of an ebook on Cryptocurrency. I do have the chapter outline. Do let me know if u have the right expertise and knowledge in this field and have sample to show. Thanks!
we are launching our online gaming website, need writing to advertise and promote our website for marketing purposes. launch in 2 weeks time. need writing every week to review our games etc


text:
Jim Fennell's High School Hoopla: Eighth (grade) wondersBy JIM FENNELL
New Hampshire Union Leader
January 10. 2013 10:58PM
When the Groveton High boys' basketball team beat Gorham earlier this week, the Eagles' Corey Gadway made four 3-pointers and ended up with 14 points.
Gadway is in eighth grade.
And he's just one of two eighth-graders playing for the team.
While this may seem unusual for fans of teams in the southern tier of the state, it's almost common to folks in the North Country.
Pat Corbin, executive director of the NHIAA, said he's approved close to 50 waivers this winter allowing seventh- and eighth-graders to play for high school teams. Most are from teams up north, although there are several Christian schools that have also petitioned for waivers.
Schools in Division III, where enrollments range from 301 to 650 students, are allowed to use eighth-graders; Division IV schools, with enrollments under 301, are allowed to use seventh- and eighth-graders.
"Personally, it's not a policy I'm terribly enamored with, but I also understand without that provision, they couldn't field a team," Corbin said.
Case in point: Pittsburg, with 22 boys in the high school, wouldn't have had enough players to field a baseball team in 2009 without using middle schoolers. The Panthers went on to win the program's first state championship that year with eighth-grader Travis Chase starting the Class S championship game.
Brock Ingalls, athletics director at Groveton, said the decision to move middle school athletes to high school teams is not taken lightly.
"We have an idea of who the students are and whether they can handle the pressure," Ingalls said. "And we make sure the parents are involved."
He said the school, which has an enrollment of 159 students, was in danger of not fielding full varsity and junior varsity boys' basketball teams if it didn't call up kids from the middle school. He said he trusts the judgment of his coaches to make sure they are picking the right players to call up.
"It's a big commitment to play a varsity sport, you're talking about six days a week," Ingalls said. "If the academics are average, we have to consider if they can handle it."
Corbin said soccer, basketball, baseball and softball are the sports where waivers are most requested, but other sports like cross-country, skiing and volleyball commonly have middle school athletes compete for varsity programs. He said he is concerned about the safety of seventh- and eighth-graders competing against older athletes, but no one has been seriously hurt during his tenure.
- - - - - -
WHERE DID I FIND THE TIME? That's what Ed Beattie is wondering after stepping down following 31 years coaching girls' basketball at Winnacunnet High of Hampton.
"I wonder how I did all this other stuff and still coached," Beattie said.
Beattie still teaches history at Winnacunnet and also runs a sheep farm in Hampton Falls.
He said he hasn't gone to a Winnacunnet game this season because he wants new coach Cassie Turcotte - his longtime assistant - and the players to settle in. He says he sees his former players in class, but stays away from talking about the program with them or anyone else.
"I'm not going to analyze anyone else," said Beattie, who finished with a record of 519-173, and seven state titles - including a run of five straight (2007-11) that was highlighted by an 84-game winning streak.
While Beattie said he plans to see the Warriors before the end of the season, he has been seeing other games, even catching up with some of his former players now in college.
"It's enjoyable to go to a game and just watch," Beattie said.
Beattie said he had been contemplating stepping down for a couple of years, but decided to stay until last year's senior class graduated.
- - - - - -
THERE ARE two undefeated games worth keeping an eye on tonight.
On the boys' side, Spaulding puts its 5-0 record on the line when it travels to Manchester to play the 4-0 Pioneers of Trinity.
The Red Raiders have had a relatively easy time of it, but they have played only one team with a winning record. The Pioneers are coming off Tuesday's overtime win over previously undefeated Nashua South.
On the girls' side, it's a Division IV matchup in Jaffrey between Conant (7-0) and Bishop Brady of Concord (8-0).
The Orioles have a winning margin of 16.4 points, playing only one game in which they haven't beat an opponent by double digits. The Green Giants have been even more impressive, winning their eight games by an average margin of 30.1 points and haven't had a team come within 18 points of them.


text:
Our wilderness is under an unprecedented attack from Trump and anti-conservationists in Congress. Help us fight back.
The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service will soon decide whether to allow copper mining in Washington's scenic Methow Valley, an important gateway to North Cascades National Park.
The most anticipated outdoor recreation event of the year just finished in Salt Lake City, Utah, where hundreds of outdoor brands from small business outfitters to industry pioneers like Patagonia and Black Diamond Equipment gathered to witness the cutting-edge in outdoor gear.
Cutting through one of the most celebrated hiking trails in America, the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline threatens wildlife habitat, recreational lands and the health of local Appalachia communities, while setting a terrible precedent of building energy infrastructure through our national forests.
On August 2, guidance from the Obama administration on the National Environmental Policy Act ensures that federal agencies fully address greenhouse
"Today's decision is a turning point in the decades-long fight to protect the Badger-Two Medicine area of Montana." said Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society. "The Interior Department recognizes that the Badger is simply too sacred and too wild to drill.
The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison after two decades of debate about public land policy and concern about exploitative logging, putting in pla
Climate change is devastating wild lands and the wildlife that thrives inside them, according to findings of a government study.
These are your public lands, so be sure to make the most of them year-round.
Autumn's sunny days and cool nights means nature is in rare form. A rainbow of metamorphosing trees awaits you!
Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced legislation May 20 to protect Colorado's Central Mountains, a breathtaking area in the Rocky Mountains of Summit County and eastern Eagle County.
Show the Trump administration Americans don't support plans to destroy this epic wildland.


text:
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC LLD (hc) (pronounced /ˈɡrɛtski/; born January 26, 1961) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player and former ice hockey coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL), and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and the NHL itself. Upon his retirement on April 18, 1999, he held forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, and six All-Star records. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. Gretzky's jersey number, 99, has been retired by all teams in the National Hockey League. He was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries.
Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Gretzky honed his skills at a backyard rink and regularly played minor hockey at a level far above his peers. Despite his unimpressive stature, strength and speed, Gretzky's intelligence and reading of the game were unrivaled. He was adept at dodging checks from opposing players, and he could consistently anticipate where the puck was going to be and execute the right move at the right time. Gretzky also became known for setting up behind the net, an area that was nicknamed "Gretzky's office" because of his skills there.
In 1978, he signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), where he briefly played before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. When the WHA folded, the Oilers joined the NHL, where he established many scoring records and led his team to four Stanley Cup championships. His trade to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988, had an immediate impact on the team's performance, eventually leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, and is credited with popularizing hockey in California. Gretzky played briefly for the St. Louis Blues and finished his career with the New York Rangers. In his career, Gretzky captured nine Hart Trophies as the most valuable player, ten Art Ross Trophies for most points in a season, five Lady Byng Trophies for sportsmanship and performance, five Lester B. Pearson Awards, and two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP.


text:
Free Customizable Card + Free Shipping Expires 10/14
Cardstore.com is giving away a Free Card, including Free Shipping with Coupon Code CCM2336 Exp 10/14.
You can customize the card with your own photo, captions, etc... They'll even mail it to the address you designate. Super easy!
One Free Card valid per Cardstore.com account.
Don't want to miss a single deal? Go here to get Hot Deals sent directly to your Inbox! Thanks for joining Your Retail Helper.
This post may contain affiliate links. Go here to see our full Disclosure Statement.


text:
BBQ Turkey Skewers with Cucumber Mint Dressing and Tropical Fruit Salad
Source: Chef Marcos Sanchez and the National Turkey Federation
Adding salsas, dipping sauces and garnishes to the plate puts an uptown spin on barbequed foods. Chef Sanchez skewers turkey breast—a leaner alternative to traditional pork and beef—and brushes the meat with spicy BBQ sauce before grilling. Colorful fruit salsa and a creamy yogurt dressing complete the dish.
Cucumber Mint Dressing
4 limes, juiced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
2 cups sour cream
1 cup sliced green onions, whites and green tops
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, with stems
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 cups grated cucumber
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
Tropical Fruit Salsa
1 pt. diced fresh mango
1 pt. diced fresh pineapple
1 pt. diced fresh red papaya
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
BBQ Turkey Skewers
12 lb. boneless turkey breast, skin removed
2 oz. commercially prepared 30-spice BBQ sauce
6 qt. spring mesclun mix, cold
1 1/2 qt. commercially prepared Honey Chipotle Dressing
- Prepare Cucumber Mint Dressing: In med. bowl, mix lime juice with sugar, salt and peppers. Whisk until dissolved.
- Add yogurt and remaining ingredients; mix well with rubber spatula.
- Transfer to clean, covered container. Refrigerate and hold for service.
- Prepare Tropical Fruit Salsa: Toss fruit with lime juice in large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and cilantro; combine thoroughly.
- Transfer into a clean, covered storage container and refrigerate. Hold for service.
- Prepare BBQ Turkey Skewers: Cut turkey breast into 2-oz. strips. Thread strips onto wooden skewers.
- Per order: brush turkey skewers with BBQ sauce and grill over med. heat until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Brush with additional sauce as skewers are removed from the grill.
- For service: mound 1 cup greens in center of square plate. Place 1-oz portion of tropical salsa at opposite corner of plate. Place 1-oz portion of cucumber mint sauce at remaining corner. Squirt honey chipotle dressing atop greens. Position 4 turkey skewers in a stacked tee-pee fashion atop greens.


text:
The 13th Annual Charlie Parker
Jazz Festival
Sat. & Sun., Aug. 27 & 28
Sat. at Marcus Garvey Park
Sun. at Tompkins Square Park
7th to 10th Sts, bet. Ave. A & B
Brooklyn resident Cindy Blackman to perform in the 13th Annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.
Cindy Blackman plays for Bird
Blackman holds alto saxophone legend Charlie Yardbird Parker in high esteem
By Rick Mark
What do Charlie Parker and Lenny Kravitz have in common? Start with percussionist Cindy Blackman, who has been Kravitzs longtime drummer, and as a jazz player, will be appearing at the 13th Annual Charlie Parker Festival in Tompkins Square Park.
While well known for rockin out, her current quartet has just released Music for the New Millennium on her Sacred Sounds Label.
Its rooted in tradition, but its not traditional music. Its explorative, very creative, very expressive, and we really try to expand any ideas we have that everything is played over the forms, but we like to stretch it, and really see the colors and make the music grow and move. We experiment but its never free. Everything is written out. I have charts for all the songs. We expand on whats there, and stretch harmonics and note choices.
From her beginnings as a New York street performer, Blackman performed before audiences in the U.S. and throughout the world, with her own group as well as providing the percussive backbone for retro funk rocker Lenny Kravitz. She has also appeared on Saturday Night Live, The David Letterman Show, The Tonight Show, and the MTV Video Awards.
The Charlie Parker festival is the raison dêtre for the weekend event, and accordingly, Blackman holds alto saxophone legend Charlie Yardbird Parker in high esteem. We wouldnt be able to play what were playing if Bird hadnt been on the scene.
She said that Birds harmony allows us to get what we have today. And in terms of his virtuosity, he is always the standard in my eyes, for a level of how to proficiently play your instrument and improvise at the same time. A lot of people say classical musicians are on a higher level because of their proficiency level. To me, he was on the highest level of proficiency, and creating as he was doing it.
Blackman described Parkers rhythmic sense as incredible. When youre thinking of anything melodic that were transferring to drums and playing in a percussive way, not only does it have to swing and feel good, but its got to be in a certain rhythm, she said. Those are some of the kind of ideals that were talking about.
His soloing was a textbook study, she added. He could take 32 bars and say more than most people in 132 bars.
She said she doesnt plan to play Bird tunes at the fest, but her music today does reflect all of her influences. Whether or not we play a Charlie Parker song is not the question its the things were going for, said Blackman. Its the level of proficiency that we strive for, the level of creativity we strive for, and its the dedication to the music that we have.
Blackman is known to the greater musical world as the drummer for Lenny Kravitz. For me, its a head space, she said. The goal of the music is totally different. I dont think about them in the same way. My job with Lenny is a different thing. My job is to play a beat for hours, and make it feel good, and add some exciting fills and exciting colors, when it fits tastefully. My job in my band or in a creative situation is a totally different thing. We may start with a groove that feels great, I may play that for hours too, but Im going to explore and expand and change that, play around with the rhythm and interject with the soloists. I think of them as two different concepts because they are.
Blackman said that playing with Kravitz and playing jazz are separate, but they do enhance each other. I can appreciate the simplicity of playing one beat for a long time, and focusing on making that feel so good you dont care to hear anything else. By the same token, I still hear things while Im playing that groove, so when I get to a situation thats more creative, I get to interject things that Im hearing.
A Brooklyn resident, Blackman said that New York audiences have seen so much great music that you cant sham, you have to be good, you have to go for it. Thats why I live in New York. Not only is it tough, but all the greatest people have come through New York.
She points to Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, and others as musical influences. Its always such an amazing place, with every level of musical accomplishment, you can see complete beginners and you can see innovators.
While not studying formally, she asked a lot of pesky questions, and got a lot of advice and tips from drumming greats like Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell, Art Blakey, Tony Williams, Billy Hart, Al Foster and others.
Im really looking forward to the concert and playing with the New York energy like that, said Blackman. The outdoors nature of the festival brings more of a party mood.
Email our editor
View our previous issues
Report Distribution Problems
The Villager is published by
Community Media LLC.
The Villager | 487 Greenwich St., Suite 6A | New York, NY 10013
Phone: 212.229.1890 | Fax: 212.229.2790
Email: email@example.com
Written permission of the publisher must be obtainedbefore any of the contents of this newspaper, in whole or in part, can be reproduced or redistributed.


text:
My Experiment:
Can I move over to Ruby as my primary programming language when developing WPF and Silverlight applications? I have been playing around with what it would mean to use Ruby to write my ViewModels, which would also make it easier to incorporate models using Ruby.
My next few blog posts will revolve around some things I have learned with this experiment. As described in my disclaimer, I am a bit of a hack when it comes to Ruby. There are probably better ways to do what I am suggesting. If so, feel free to call me out. I won't mind. Seriously.
So, if I am going to write ViewModels in Ruby, the first thing is to implement INotifyPropertyChanged, which is an interface that includes one event. It is used by WPF and SIlverlight to update the UI when something changes:
public interface INotifyPropertyChanged { event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged; }
But… how do I define events from Ruby? It's not like Ruby has events as a language feature. As it turns out, in C# for every event (Foo), two methods are created: add_Foo() and remove_Foo() which are mapped from Foo += handler and Foo –= handler. So, to get the PropertyChanged event methods implemented in Ruby, I just implement the add_ and remove_ methods. Following is the full implementation of a Ruby class that implements INotifyPropertyChanged:
class TestClassinclude System::ComponentModel::INotifyPropertyChanged
def initialize@handlers = []
def add_PropertyChanged(handler)@handlers << handler
def remove_PropertyChanged(handler)@handlers.delete(handler)
def PropertyChanged(sender, args)@handlers.each { |h| h.invoke(sender, args) }
So, with that, the Ruby code can send an event to .Net code by calling PropertyChanged().
But… Seriously… Lets Metaprogram, Shall We?
The previous code is kind of awkward. Every time you want to declare an event, you have to write this code?
Of course not. This is Ruby. We have metaprogramming! Lets create some code to generate this code. I talked with a ruby developer friend of mine, Toby Tripp, and he helped me get to this mixin code that will generate the methods for you:
module DotNetEvents
module ClassMethods
def declare_event( *events )
events.each do |event|define_handler_methods( event )
def define_handler_methods( event )
event_name = event.to_s.gsub(/(?:^|_)(.)/) { $1.upcase }class_eval <<-EOS
def handlers( event_name )@event_handlers ||= Hash.new@event_handlers[ event_name ] ||= []
enddef add_#{event_name}( handler )
handlers( :#{event_name} ) << handler
enddef remove_#{event_name}( handler )
handlers( :#{event_name} ).delete handler
enddef #{event_name}( sender, args )
handlers( :#{event_name} ).each do |handler|handler.invoke sender, args
enddef self.included(receiver)receiver.extend ClassMethods
Now that we have this declare_event method, we can use it to define events. Just implement the interface, and declare the event:
class TestClassinclude DotNetEventsinclude System::ComponentModel::INotifyPropertyChangeddeclare_event :PropertyChanged
Note that I have, indeed, tested this with WPF. The WPF system properly hooks up the event and when the Ruby code fires it, the UI gets updated.
From here, I can build my ViewModel base class in Ruby. Some things to solve still: making notification of PropertyChanged events easy, commands, data binding, ViewModel hookups, etc. But, at least, I am on my way :)
Tags: MVVM, Ruby, Silverlight, WPF


text:
Looking for archived products?
Click here
Step-up performance. The alpha dog of compact industrial subwoofer design. Maximum bass performance from a miniature footprint. A completely custom build demonstrating how good it gets when form truly follows function.
Step-up performance. Reference quality sound and style, advanced components and an exceptional performance-to-value relationship.
Seismic Subwoofers
$1,650 each USD
Single high-excursion driver, sealed enclosure, patented built-in Ultra-Class-D™ power...
$99 each USD
Even when your Paradigm subwoofer is ideally placed, the room can still have a dramatic impact on...


text:
Rescued from a bottle (and a deserted island) by a U.S. astronaut, a scantily clad genie named Jeannie becomes his slave and eventually falls in love with him. But unlike most genie stories, there are no three wishes rule - so Jeannie uses her magic all the time, often without talking to her rescuer about it first.
All Upcoming Times for I Dream of Jeannie


text:
September 18. 2013 11:23PM
Riding motorcycles to help the homeless
— The Way Home 2nd annual Veterans Ride Home and Biker Bash is on Saturday, Sept. 21.
The proceeds go to the veterans program of The Way Home, which focuses on assisting local homeless veterans in their housing needs.
The event will consist of a two hour motorcycle run in the morning and an after-party Biker Bash in the afternoon hosted by Drynk in Manchester. The Biker Bash will include a barbecue, live music by Almost Famous and the Blues Brats, raffles, and the World's Easiest Poker Run.
For the motorcycle run, registration is at 9 a.m. at Motorcycles of Manchester, 98 Willow St. At 10 a.m., kickstands go up.


text:
Industry News
Best Practices 2007
Your top business resolutions for the new year.
Here we go again with the New Year's resolution to do better at business. We say it, we mean it, but year after year, many of us have only a vague idea of what it is we're resolving to do. The spa industry is still young; it feels too new to have undergone enough scrutiny and analysis for us to learn from mistakes. Besides, how can business improve when we're at the mercy of the economy, the staffing pool, politicians' whims and, as we saw with Katrina, even the weather? If you're thinking that all sounds like excuses and lame ones at that, you're right. Like its baby boomer clientele, the spa business isn't as young as it used to be. It's matured to a point that industry observers can tell us a lot about what works and what doesn't. The consensus is good news: we actually have quite a bit of control over whether a spa succeeds or fails. Like other industries, we have a set of best practices that we can follow to ensure success and permit us to keep that resolution after all. For 2007, these are the Top 10.
best practices ... spa policies
Spas have no trouble creating policies, but enforcing them is another matter. Best practices call for written job descriptions, rules, marketing initiatives and goals. When there's a question about any of that, you can go to a file—computer or hard copy—and pull up the answer. "A lot of protocols are not written," Bonnie Canavino president of consulting firm Spa Specifics, Inc., laments. "They're assumed; it's as if they're in the air."
Notes industry consultant Susan Papageorgio, founder of Inspired Learning, "Benchmarks, success profiles—anything you have that's written down helps. People need to be told things over and over."
Recently an owner asked Canavino to provide training for her reception staff, but the salon had no written detailed job descriptions. "People must know what they're training for," says Canavino. "But at that salon they had no manual. It's a huge problem in our industry."
Without duties spelled out, it may never occur to estheticians to go out into the hair area and cross-market their services. They may not even walk the finished client to the reception desk and show her retail products. If these requirements are written down, however, there's no question.
All written material must be consistent with the spa's culture. "The more you can put things into patterns, the easier they are to manage," says Papageorgio. "Then your team knows when things are going to happen; there are no surprises."
best practices ... training
New estheticians are more sophisticated and educated than ever. "The schools have really stepped up to the plate," says Papageorgio. "Schools are running better business models and turning out better graduates." However, this has put pressure on spas, she continues, because today's new hires have higher expectations for what comes next.
"Today, salons and spas must offer a structured, organized way of training new people," Papageorgio explains. "You can hold weekly classes or assign the new person to a mentor—however you want to do it. Spas that do well with this concept are the ones that flourish. Your number one commodity is your people. Invest in them."
Canavino suggests incorporating a minimum 30- to 90-day entrance program to take new technicians "from license to confidence." It's not enough to bring in a manufacturer's educator to do product knowledge, she adds. "Someone just out of school doesn't know your culture, may not have all the skills and probably doesn't have the confidence."
Training doesn't end with the entrance program, either. Says Canavino, "What doesn't work is training staff and just expecting it to happen—without having a manager to make sure they're carrying out what they learned."
Papageorgio agrees that the managerial staff must conduct ongoing, if perhaps informal, coaching throughout the staff member's career. "Coaching opportunities are everywhere," she says. "Just walk onto your floor and notice ways you can direct your staff's performance. You can have a coaching conversation about any simple thing; you just clarify what you expect from the person. People want to follow direction, and doing this continuously means you won't have to give redirection."
Supervisors tend to let things go the first time or two and only intervene when the staffer has done something wrong over and over. By then, the owner is exasperated. Best practice is to bring up the issue immediately. "You're not allowed to save up," says Papageorgio. "That's when it becomes conflict."
It's also best to be direct; the management person who notices the problem should be the one to mention it. Says Papageorgio, "When the manager informs the employee, 'The owner saw you leaving your towels around,' the staffer becomes defensive, develops a 'bad attitude' and sends the whole thing into a downward spiral."
Spa staff can be a greater challenge to monitor than salon staff. Notes Canavino, "Unlike supervising a hairdresser, you don't have the advantage of seeing spa staff work. They close the door." That's why it's important to include retailing and marketing in your initial training program and follow their client retention numbers closely.
best practices ... management
Everyone on staff must be onboard with your policies and precedures. Here's where spa owners tend to weaken, watering down the rules to "if you have time and feel like it." This staffer's trained in European facials, that one's your most requested massage therapist and the other one's an aromatherapy expert. So what's the big deal if they arrive late, take a pass on staff meetings or refuse to sell retail products? It's a big deal because it takes only a pinch of attitude to poison a whole soup of discipline.
"Without standards and consequences, the enforcement simply turns into nagging," says Douglas Preston, a former spa owner who now coaches salon and spa owners through his consulting firm, Preston Inc. "Staffers learn very well how to let an owner's nagging roll off their shoulders."
Preston advises owners to make everything—including expectations for growing their business—crystal clear right from the beginning. "It all starts with the hiring," he says.
"Explain that the job requires people to have a license, show up on time, look good, have technical competence—all of the basic requirements. On top of that, inform them that another minimum requirement is productivity through selling services, service upgrades and products." According to Papageorgio, that's exactly how it was handled by former Seattle multi-spa owner Gene Juarez, who told applicants, "We have certain ways we do things, and when you come to work here you agree to do things our way."
On the surface, this autocratic approach seems to be at odds with another best practice—team collaboration. Experience has shown that employees are more likely to buy into policies that they helped to create. Yet Papageorgio maintains that there's no contradiction, since a well-run business allows for every voice to be heard.
"With proper communication channels, employees can share new ideas and offer other ways to do something," she explains. "Without those channels, all they do is criticize and complain. At staff meetings, focus on how to improve things and let staffers know they really will be heard."
In fact, says Preston, a good team will feel invested in the profitability of the business. "The way to put it is that everyone here must help keep the business going," he says "When technicians fall short on business growth, owners must be prepared to lose an otherwise good employee. It's the same as if they'd failed to wash their hands between services. You must make rules and hold them to the rules."
best practices ... customer service
Clients come into the spa for all sorts of reasons—to feel better, look better, relax, rejuvenate and recharge. Now you can add a surprise addition to that list: to socialize. "The spa has become the new bar," reports Colorado spa consultant Melinda Minton. "People go there to be with friends; singles go to meet singles. This trend cuts across age groups. We don't have barn raisings, we don't do church the way we used to and our families live all over the country. People go to the spa to feel like they're part of something. That's a big switch."
One way to encourage group bonding is to do waxing out in the open. "Wax bars are popping up everywhere," says Canavino. "It's only facial waxing, mostly brows. People are comfortable with that. And it allows the spa to introduce the client to other waxing services."
One of Canavino's clients installed a wax/skin care/make-up bar in the lobby. "You can see it from every department of the salon and spa," Canavino reports. "The client can get her brows done at the bar, but has to go to the spa area for all other waxing. It works phenomenally."
That movement from one area to another is what Canavino calls "client flow," and she says it's essential to the client experience. No longer can a spa sit back and have the client come in, get a service, pay and leave.
"Make it a structured experience," Canavino recommends. "That will make a big difference in building business." Tightly plan every aspect of the visit, she advises. The flow begins with the "culture welcoming," followed by a service that allows the client to choose complementary services that the technician suggests. After that, Canavino builds in relaxation time, retail time and prebooking the next visit. Best practice also requires keeping detailed client records. Not only will you track clients' habits and preferences, but you'll be able to identify your top-spending clients and put your customer service efforts toward their needs. Typically, 20 percent of clients visit the spa once a week and bring in the bulk of the revenue. "The big mistake spa owners make is paying more attention to the 80 percent than the 20 percent," says Minton. "They take their best people for granted." No matter how much of a customer service stickler you
are, there will always be some dissatisfied clients. Like every other best practices procedure, handling complaints requires
a solid plan.
"Spas should have one person, someone in management, who addresses all serious problems," Canavino says. "Clients don't want to repeat their complaint to three different people; this also helps your staff, who won't have to invent solutions themselves."
best practices ... service menu
Prepare your wet room, because water is making a big splash. "It used to be that if you didn't have a hydrotherapy room, you weren't a 'real spa,'" says Minton, reviewing the early days of adapting the European spa concept to the U.S. "But our clients didn't buy water services—Americans don't want to be open and wet and lying on a table somewhere—and the staff didn't even understand what a Vichy shower was. Owners started using their wet rooms to fold towels."
Happily, clients are now willing to dip a toe into the hydrotherapy waters. Massage in water is big at resort spas, Vichy showers are making a comeback and the new open flotation tank is putting a modern stamp on this service category. "Americans are getting it," says Minton. "But offer clients a disposable bathing suit; they're still modest." Don't forget what we learned in the earlier days: keep the room warm, and use dimmer switches.
The return of hydrotherapies may simply be part of the steadily growing wellness movement. "We've been talking about wellness forever, but now it's really happening," Minton says. "People want to feel better."
While the medispa landscape is saturated, Minton says the bridge between day spa and medispa is wide open. "There's plenty of room for spas that offer fitness rituals, yoga, Pilates and nutrition," she observes. "We're seeing the next stage of this industry."
best practices ... leadership
Best practices start at the top. It's up to the leader to set expectations high. "Best practice is a no-compromise leadership commitment to do it the best and only the best," says Neil Ducoff, founder of Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in the salon and spa industry. With strong leadership, you know who you are. You know where you fall in the competitive market, what you look for in an employee and why clients choose your business.
In best practices, leaders maintain excellence and consistency while staying flexible in order to adapt to a rapidly changing industry and business environment. While the leader may feel pulled from every direction, industry experts insist that the key to profitability is staying unwaveringly true to every aspect of a solid business plan, even if it means delaying an action, revising a previously successful procedure or losing an employee.
Depending on the size of the spa, frequently one owner cannot do it all. "Today businesses do well with layers of management," says Canavino."Best Practices require the right infrastructure," agrees Ducoff, a judge for the most recent Global Salon Business Awards. For example, when Canadian spa owner Eveline Charles approached the $3 million range in sales with two large facilities, she hired a full-time accountant. Says Ducoff, "Eveline recognized the need to have her internal structure disciplined." No matter how many people you can afford to help you, however, the buck still stops at the owner's desk.
best practices ... building a brand
Think of a cookie-cutter. Craft one in a shape that distinguishes your business from all others, place it on the cookie dough, press down hard and discard everything outside the edges. That's what "branding in the spa" has become; no longer can you develop a fabulous signature service and expect it to shoulder the entire branding burden.
"Differentiate or die," declares Minton. "If you're neither different nor a franchise, why would someone come to you? Even if you are a franchise and keep consistency throughout your locations, you still must offer something that sets you
apart from the pack."
But originality doesn't come easily. "What I see over and over is copying," adds Minton, who also heads The Spa Association. "You can't be a leader if you copy. People always think their idea is the best, most unique idea in the world, but usually it's been done. Try to be truly unique."
Everything you do must contribute to your core concept, Minton continues. Keep no hangers-on in your service menu or on your product shelves. "If you're offering services and you don't understand why, stop doing them," Minton advises. "Everything must be results-driven."
Your spa's image includes not only the look and feel, but also how you sound. "Be very conscious of language," advises Canavino. Best practices land that tone at somewhere in the friendly-yet-professional range, and the owner must hold that note with both staff and clients.
"You can't be really nice to clients and then not treat staff with the same respect," says Papageorgio. Even your signage must fall in line. A simple "We don't accept checks" sign could be worded in a more positive way, says Papageorgio, adding, "Don't post sarcastic notes in the backroom like, 'Your mother doesn't live here. Clean up after yourself.' A new staff member might be put off instead of seeing it as humor."
Dolce Divino Salon & Spa provides a good example of how one concept can drive a business. Located in a bustling area of Corpus Christi, Texas, the spa is convenient to the young professionals who work nearby. Consequently, owners Alexa Gonzalez-Barter, Ariel Moore and Ambrose Gonzalez focus almost exclusively to the working professional, setting their number-one goal as getting clients in and out as quickly as possible.
"Some retired people do want to take their time and spend all day with us," says Gonzalez. "We adjust as needed; we don't rush people out. But our bread and butter is the working professional."
How does this play out? New technicians practice speeding up their craft. A manicure/pedicure is scheduled while highlights are processing. The esthetics rooms are equipped to do massages, facials and waxing; instead of having the client move from room to room, the next technician takes over in a flash. Proper training keeps quality control from suffering, he adds. "We don't really cut corners," says Gonzalez. "We just do everything more efficiently." Entire office staffs come to the spa together. "It gives the
staff that works together a chance to drink and spend time socializing, and they can each get a pedicure in 15 minutes,"
says Gonzalez. "We're able to do a staff of 30 in a reasonable amount of time." With word of mouth revving the marketing engine in
the corporate world, "quick" is also the way the Dolce Divino name spreads.
best practices ... marketing
If you're following the other Best Practices such as proper training and attending to customer service, you're already making a lot of marketing inroads. Your staff and top clients are your best marketing vehicles, say the experts.
Referral programs are still on the front burner this year for both attracting and retaining clients. "Through referral programs, clients should be able to accumulate points for 100 percent of the cost of a service," says Canavino. "I work with one salon that offers 25 percent off a service for each new client they refer. Refer four new clients, and receive a full service. This is an incredible tool for the new person on your team."
Preston supports a different type of referral model that relies completely on the strength of the relationship with the client and doesn't cost the spa a penny. "We already know people will refer with no reward whatsoever," he explains. "Why do they do that? Clients refer for emotional benefit. With that in mind, the easiest way to reward people for referring is for technicians to tell them how much they sincerely appreciate their referral.
Additionally, Canavino says spas get marketing buzz from:
€¢ "on hold" messages informing callers about special promotions.
€¢ newsletters and e-mails that highlight seasonal services and give clients a reason to come in.
€¢ sending out PR releases to consumer magazines. It takes only one mention in Allure or Lucky to get your phone ringing off the hook.
Don't neglect your website, adds Preston. Internet marketing continues to be an easy way to sell gift certificates and post promotions. Papageorgio suggests capitalizing on the new emergence of wellness as clients' motivation for choosing spa services. "By marketing the wellness concept, we can change the perception of spa services—they're not a luxury, but a necessity," says Papageorgio, focusing on the huge potential for attracting first-time clients. Calculate your marketing efforts as carefully as you plan the rest of your business, say the coaches. "For every piece of marketing, you need a meeting, a training and a launch," remarks Canavino. "Today we're very serious businesses; we're no longer the little spa on the corner."
best practices ... financials
All the effort you put into other areas of the spa won't mean much if your business is not in good financial health. "Hire a financial coach, take an online course, read books—find some way to become financially literate," advises Ducoff. "Ask your accountant questions about what each line item means so that you really understand the reports."
Ducoff says that every owner should know his income and expense expectations for 12 months out. "The measure of
best practices is in the balance sheet and profit and loss statement," he explains. It's all in black and white. With the P&L statement displaying income and expenses over a period of time and the balance sheet offering a snapshot of assets versus liabilities, they don't let the owner slip over the border into that tempting state of denial.
"We're seeing an awful lot of salons that claim to be number one in their market and yet have 'upside down' balance sheets—more liabilities than assets," Ducoff continues. "How would you feel if your mortgage were greater than the value of your home or if you owed more money on your car than the car is worth? It's not a good place to be."
According to Minton, salons and spas have already wised up and are boosting profit levels by becoming realistic with their number one expense: staff compensation.
"Pay scales are coming down," Minton says. "Estheticians used to be less educated and work part-time, but we still paid them a commission of 50 to 60 percent. Today's commission range is more like 39 to 52 percent." The trade-off lies in the benefits packages. Increasingly, spas are offering medical insurance, paid time off and free ongoing education.
The greatest challenge in cash management may be taming the wild darling of the spa business: gift certificate sales.
"Gift certificates represent an extraordinary opportunity," says Ducoff. "I know an owner of a spa with just four treatment rooms who does $150,000 in holiday gift cards. With no disciplines in place, spas can blow through that money, and it's gone when the fulfillment piece kicks in. When you get flush with cash and you're in great shape on New Year's Eve, that's the time to sock away that money."
Sticking to a written, realistic plan for your income and expenditures for all 12 months in 2007 will keep you financially fit, promises Ducoff. "So many owners get into the ugly cycles of feast or famine, and it's all self-inflicted," he says. "Understanding numbers and keeping control of your cash are requirements of playing the game of business."


text:
Opinion: TV
HBO's The Wire: Dignity or Despair?
HBO's The Wire finales this Sunday at 9 p.m.., and the themes of this fifth and final season—centered around the newsroom of the Baltimore Sun, where the show's creator David Simon once worked as an editor— have been integrity and honesty, or as Simon says—"just how far you can go on a lie." A Sun reporter who fakes quotes, a… READ MORE >
News: Issues
The Wire's War on the Drug War
"Jury nullification is American dissent, as old and as heralded as the 1735 trial of John Peter Zenger, who was acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, and absent a government capable of repairing injustices, it is legitimate protest. If some few episodes of a television entertainment have caused others to reflect on the war zones we have created in our cities and the human beings stranded there, we ask that those people might also consider their conscience. And when the lawyers or the judge or your fellow jurors seek explanation, think for a moment on Bubbles or Bodie or Wallace. And remember that the lives being held in the balance aren't fictional." READ MORE >
Page 1 of 1 pages


text:
|Assistant Men's Track and Field Coach
|(828) 898-2562
Mike Wilson is in his first season as assistant track and field and cross country coach at Lees-McRae.
Wilson joins the Bobcat coaching staff following a tremendous career as a track athlete at nearby Appalachian State University, where he competed in the pole vault, high jump, triple jump, and long jump for the Mountaineers. He posted several outstanding performances during his career at ASU, including a fourth-place finish at the SoCon Outdoor Championships in the pole vault as a junior.
A native of Asheville, N.C., Wilson assisted the Lees-McRae track and field program as a volunteer last season, working primarily with the Bobcats' pole vaulters and helping Lees-McRae to post one of the top team performances in school history at the Conference Carolinas Championships. Wilson graduated from Appalachian State in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in exercise science.


text:
Take a visit to a crime scene. Hypnotic, dusty beats hovers between the world of chilled and dub while dubby guitars and blissed-out synths engulf you in mystery.
This set provides you with TWO versions – a vocal as well as an instrumental. Pre-cleared soundbites from old movies tells the story of a detective on the case of a crime.


text:
Class Section:
Ms. Hartung's 5th Grade
Display Week Of:
Hello, my name is Karen Hartung! I am one of the fifth grade teachers at the middle school. I grew up on a dairy farm in Elmwood with my parents, three older brothers, and one younger sister. I graduated from Elmwood High School in 2009 and UW-Eau Claire in May of 2014. I earned a degree in Elementary Education (Grades 1-8) and Learning Disabilities (Grades K-12). I am currently studying at St. Mary's University in order to obtain my Reading License and Master's in Literacy Education. During my free time I enjoy playing and watching sports, scrapbooking, reading, watching movies and hanging out with friends and family. This will be my third year teaching in the Ellsworth Community School District! If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me by phone or email.


text:
Teriyaki BBQ Chicken Pizza
|Poultry, Vegetables
|Day Part
|Cuisine Type
Source: Jud McLester for McIlhenny Company/TABASCO brand products
The flavors of BBQ have infiltrated menu items not normally associated with the cooking style. Pizza topped with barbequed chicken is a customer favorite in several casual chains. Chef McLester adds a good helping of Tabasco sweet and spicy pepper sauce to the topping ingredients for extra zing.
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 cup favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki basting sauce
3 tbsp. sweet & spicy pepper sauce
2 tbsp. orange juice
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. honey
8 oz. chicken breast, sliced into strips
2 tbsp. peanut oil
12 oz. prepared pizza dough
2 tbsp. cornmeal
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup broccoli, small florets, blanched in salted water
1/4 cup red bell pepper strips
1/4 cup purple cabbage, cut into thin ribbons
2 tbsp. chopped scallions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. In saucepot over med. heat, sauté garlic and ginger lightly. Stir in BBQ sauce, teriyaki sauce, pepper sauce and orange juice; set aside.
- Combine soy sauce, lime juice and honey for marinade; pour over chicken breast and marinate 20 min.
- In sauté pan, heat peanut oil. Add chicken; sauté over high heat until almost cooked through. Remove from heat.
- On flat work surface, flatten pizza dough into a 14-in. circle, leaving a 1/2-in. raised rim around the edge.
- Place dough circle on a wooden pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal. Spread an even layer of reserved sauce mixture on dough, then a layer of mozzarella cheese. Distribute chicken, broccoli, red peppers and cabbage on top of cheese.
- Bake 12 to 15 min. until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and top with scallions. Cut into wedges to serve.


text: "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away" -Pablo Picasso With revenue from my YouTube channel (Christina Bell on a Budget) and through the sale of my art I aspire to donate monthly to many charities and causes. I myself have been close witness to true suffering. Some causes close to heart are for Cancer research, Alzhiemers research, children's hospitals, Autism Speaks, Anti-Bullying programs...Had the pleasure of working with Alive Again Ministries in Mongomery NY. A wonderful cause!Sold items are removed. For those interested in the "Tree After Rain" it has sold. I will be painting more "trees" shortly. :-) Note: Paintings may have slightly different color variations when pictures are taken of them. "I'm passionately painting my fingers off for charity." ~C. Bell :-)


text:
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A Republican U.S. senator said testimony on the Libyan consulate attack left him believing the Obama administration deliberately downplayed al-Qaida's role.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said on "Fox News Sunday" every agency representative who testified last week before the Intelligence Committee on the deadly attack in Benghazi claimed not to know who "edited" the controversial talking points in which U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said the raid was the result of an impromptu street demonstration.
"Everybody there was asked, do you know who made these changes?" Chambliss said. "Nobody knew. The only entity that reviewed the talking points that was not there was the White House.
"What I do know is that every member of the intelligence community says that references to al-Qaida were removed by somebody, and they don't know who," Chambliss added.
Another committee member, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Ind-Conn., told Fox there was still confusion over Rice and the talking points but he considered the debate to be less significant than larger questions about the State Department's handling of diplomatic security in Libya at a time when intelligence indicated al-Qaida and other militants were setting up shop in the unstable country.
"With what we know now about the intelligence on the terrorists who were in the vicinity of Benghazi, it was in my opinion irresponsible to have our State Department personnel there, with only three security guards," Lieberman said. "Either we should have given them the protection they deserved, or should have closed that mission in Benghazi, as the British government had done a short while before."


text:
Real athletes never let personal success compromise their love of the game. Of course with today's high-paid sports stars relying on success to buy them their next contract, this may seem a tad idealistic; but for every Pedro Martinez making a hundred dollars a strike, there is another athlete who showed talent but chose a less glorified path of anonymity. In the case of Roger Tuveson '64, the opportunity to pitch in the big leagues was first dangled by the Phillies when Tuveson was still in High School, however the standout right-hander chose to attend Bowdoin instead. After his graduation four years later the Chicago White Sox showed interest, however Tuveson, plagued by arm problems, again declined, choosing instead to "get a job and get on with things," accepting a position teaching American history at Marblehead Middle School. Four years later Tuveson would become head baseball coach at the school, marking the beginning of a 23-year coaching career, which would eventually land him a spot in the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.
While choosing college over a potential big-league career would be a tough choice for most, Tuveson speaks casually of his decision and seems to find greater pleasure in recalling stories from his Bowdoin years. A member of the Alpha Kappa Sigma fraternity, Tuveson, like many alumni, lamented the abolishment of Greek life, which provided much of the social scene during his four years. If anything, his connection to the college has grown stronger since graduation, with both of Tuveson's daughters and their spouses attending his alma mater. His youngest, Katy, graduated class of '91 and was involved in field hockey and basketball, and her sister Kristine '86, was a dancer and choreographer. Tuveson jokes that the responsibility now rests on the shoulders of his four grandchildren to continue the Bowdoin legacy.
Sending kids off to respected institutions such as Bowdoin used to be a favorite part of Tuveson's job as a teacher and coach at Marblehead high school where he wrote many college recommendations and took pride in the success of students and athletes alike. "I liked working with bright young people…and those who played sports were always closer to my heart." In many ways, Tuveson's job was a continuation of the academic/athletic life he had so enjoyed at Bowdoin. On the field, he utilized many techniques picked up from his Bowdoin baseball coach Danny MacFayden, known for his creative language when calling pitches. For Tuveson, being able to teach others to enjoy the game of baseball was every bit as satisfying as playing it himself. "I loved being able to teach the game," he said, "it's a celebration of the sport itself." During his career he celebrated a Division 2 state championship in 1985, and a total of 216 wins. His dedication to coaching has earned Tuveson numerous honors and awards, most recently his induction into the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame last February. "It was a nice honor," Tuveson said simply. His refreshing modesty has allowed Tuveson to find joy in teaching others the very things that made his four years at Bowdoin so memorable.
by Alix Roy '07
This profile originally appeared in Bowdoin magazine, Vol. 77, No. 1, Fall 2005
Posted November 02, 2005


text:
Michelle Obama, one of the more fashion-conscious first ladies in decades, joined a host of fashion luminaries Monday as she cut the ribbon at the Metropolitan Museum's new costume center.
With a veritable who's who list of top designers on hand — Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Donatella Versace, Carolina Herrera, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Diane von Furstenberg and others — the first lady helped launch the museum's new $40 million Anna Wintour Costume Center, named for the editor of Vogue magazine. After her remarks, the designers and other guests toured the center's inaugural exhibit, which features the work of Charles James, an influential mid-20th century American couturier.
"I'm here today because of Anna," Mrs. Obama said. "I'm here because I'm so impressed by Anna's contributions not just to the fashion industry, but to the many causes she shares and cares about, particularly this great American museum.
"This center," she added, "is for anyone who is curious about fashion and how it impacts our culture and our history. And we know that that curiosity is out there."
The first lady, who wore a forest-green silk organza dress with three-quarter sleeves by Naeem Khan, one of her favorite designers, said the center would teach young people "that fashion isn't just about what we wear, but that fashion is also a business, it is an art, it is a career that involves science, engineering, accounting and so much more."
She also said she and Wintour, who has long been a key fundraiser for President Barack Obama, are working to bring students to the White House for a fashion workshop.
Others at the event included Tory Burch, Tommy Hilfiger, Zac Posen, Victoria Beckham, Alexander Wang, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen of The Row, Reed Krakoff, Prabal Gurung and the Mulleavy sisters of Rodarte.
Mrs. Obama was not expected to attend the Met's annual Costume Institute gala Monday night, which typically attracts many celebrities and Hollywood A-listers.
Many of those guests were expected to try to channel the spirit of James, who died in 1978, into their outfits. Although his name is not well-known to the general public, he's revered by fashion insiders and current designers.
"He really was a designer's designer," Kors told The Associated Press as he awaited the beginning of the ceremony. "Not only all the architecture and the structure that he put into the clothes, but he was a modernist, too. He thought about how a woman would get into and out of her dress. Or stay warm. I think you look at his clothes and they really stand the test of time."
Posen said he had long been influenced by James, whose gowns, he said, exude "a deep love and passion for the sculpture of the human body."
Through complex, innovative work with fabric from the 1930s through the 1950s, James designed spectacular gowns that often resembled sculptures more than mere garments. His clients included Gypsy Rose Lee, Marlene Dietrich and Mrs. William Randolph Hearst Jr. None other than Christian Dior called him "the greatest talent of my generation."
The new Met show, "Charles James: Beyond Fashion," emphasizes technology. In a large ground-floor gallery, animated videos illustrate how each gown was constructed, from the original piece of fabric to the intricate completed garment. The gowns stand individually on pedestals to display a 360-degree view.
A 1938 black gown in silk faille, one of the first strapless gowns to be made in the 1930s, is called the "Umbrella" evening dress because the folds of its skirt, structured with silk-encased "ribs," resemble a folded umbrella.
A 1932 knee-length black dress is called the "Taxi Dress" because, James used to say, it was so easy to put on you could do it in a taxi — it was basically an early wrap dress. A 1933 black satin cocktail dress features an early use of a zipper seam. A "Ribbon Dressing Gown" is made entirely of ribbons of different widths, in peach, gold, yellow and ivory silk satin. The shape of the gown is formed not with seams and darts, but merely by varying the width of the ribbons.
James even designed the first elegant down-filled puffer jacket. Only one of them was made, said curator Harold Koda, touring the exhibit with a reporter recently, and it was passed around among his fans and clients.
But James was most proud of his striking 1953 "Clover Dress" in white satin and black velvet, with a full, sculptured skirt formed with four distinct "lobes" — like a clover. The gown's wide skirt never touches the ground — it is meant to lift up on the dance floor and create a gliding effect. Met curators commissioned a full recreation of the dress so that they could better understand how it moved and what it was like to wear.
"Look at that," remarked Posen as he examined the gown on Monday. "You can't even see the seam on that velvet! It's amazing."
One room of the exhibit is devoted not to gowns but to biographical items — such as hats, which were James' earliest designs (he started as a milliner in the 1920s), as well as prototypes for jewelry and typewritten notes that display his rather mercurial and demanding work style. One note lists celebrities James hadn't dressed, but wanted to, including rockers Mick Jagger — whom he calls "a sexy bastard" — as well as David Bowie and Lou Reed.
James was born in England, but came to the United States at age 18, first to Chicago. He later centered his business in New York, catering to well-known socialites of the day.


text:
RBC.com | Français | | Contact Us
Skip Breadcrumb Links
About RBC > Community & Sustainability > News > Helping the Village Raise a Child
Eight-year-old Amy suffered a long list of behavioural disabilities. On medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, she required one-on-one supervision to attend activities. To simply sit quietly in a chair was an extreme challenge.
Enter VOICE, a therapeutic group for children run by Eastern Health's Janeway Family Centre (JFC). Group therapy sessions transformed the Newfoundland girl into one of the most attentive and focused children in the program. VOICE gave Amy a safe environment to share a variety of horrific past experiences. This therapeutic outlet set her on a journey of healing by enabling her to share what had led to her behavioural issues.
VOICE is part of JFC's Reaching Out Program, which is funded by the RBC Children's Mental Health Project, a multi-year philanthropic commitment to support community-based and hospital programs that reduce stigma, provide early intervention and increase public awareness about children's mental health issues. One in five Canadians will experience mental illness and many of these disorders begin in childhood or adolescence. Early recognition and intervention is essential, but it can be challenging for some to access the proper treatment, especially in rural areas.
Through the Reaching Out Program, RBC is helping JFC provide group therapy and parenting programs for children and families throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Reaching Out helped fund seven regional training workshops which enabled facilitators to deliver these programs in rural communities, to develop manuals to complement these workshops and to facilitate attendance and presentations at national and international conferences.
"It's about early intervention in the lives of children," explains JFC facilitator Jim Oldford. "It's about prevention for families who are starting to experience some troubles and are looking for education around parenting their kids. The programs are also helpful in addressing some specific needs such as coping with separation and divorce or witnessing violence."
One of the seven regional programs was the Raising Families Parenting Programs. With the financial support of RBC, JFC facilitators trained health care professionals in Labrador to run the Raising Families Parenting Program in the local correctional facility. The feedback was so positive that the program was then piloted in Her Majesty's Penitentiary (HMP) in St. John's.
The response was overwhelming. Men talked with each other about what they were learning and shared parenting information with other inmates. One of the fathers was overheard sharing parenting tips over the phone with his partner, while another read bedtime stories over the phone to his child. The fathers named the group Parenting Inc., which stands for Parenting Incarcerated. There's currently a waiting list for the HMP program. As a result, JFC is developing an additional training manual specific to this target population
Since 2009, the RBC Children's Mental Health Project has been our cornerstone "health and wellness" pillar, and to date, we have donated more than $6.5 million to more than 125 organizations across Canada.