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Once upon a time I dabbled a little in politics, to the extent that I actually tried twice to get myself elected as a Member of Parliament. It was a great experience and I'm glad I did it. I guess my main motivation was to preserve my right to criticize. People would say, 'Well, if you're so smart, why don't you do something constructive to change things?' I wasn't successful, of course, and I'm equally glad, in retrospect, that I wasn't. To get elected on a party ticket you have to juggle the dictates of the party itself, the fickle winds of public opinion, the oppressive power of the media circus, your own desire for power, and your private beliefs and personal integrity. All too often, the still small voice of the latter is drowned by the insistent bellowing of the former.
All politicians know this, of course, and choose to pay the price for success, so you can't feel too sorry for them. Barack Obama should have known (if he truly didn't) before swearing the presidential oath, that the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to shut down Guantanamo and stop the torture; that adhering to the demands of the Armenian diaspora would run him into difficulties with the Turkish Government; and that the too-big-to-fail US banking sector would force him to help them out of their self-dug hole with a multi-billion dollar taxpayer-funded handout. Democracy is the machinery that allows us to call politicians to account when they stray too far from the path we want them to follow. Never fear, America, here comes Sarah Palin to the rescue!
I guess have a longish history as a political sceptic, but I do feel a certain sympathy for those charged with the responsibility of forming Turkey's foreign policy these days. Neo-Ottomanism is a word I hear bandied around a lot. The implication seems to be that Turkey is moving away from the Western orientation it has followed since the founding of the republic, turning instead towards the Central Asian and Middle Eastern regions associated with its Turkic and Ottoman origins. The argument clearly has appeal for those, abroad and at home, wishing to label Turkey as eastern, Islamic, uncivilized and 'other'; and the present government as all those things, plus backward-looking and anti-democratic. What do I think? Let me share my thoughts . . .
The Turkish Republic had its birth in a land devastated by decades of war – and it has often been said that the first casualty of war is truth. The Ottoman Empire had been reduced by a century of nationalist splintering from within, and imperialist manipulation from without, to a shrunken rump on the verge of collapse. The last nationalist movement to emerge was Turkish nationalism, forced into self-awareness by the threat of imminent destruction. In order to foster this national identity, the leaders of the republican independence movement were obliged to create an identity of Turkishness, to decimate the elitist Ottoman language and exalt its poor Turkish relation; to develop myths of a legendary Turkish past, and sever ties to the Islamic Empire which had finally been brought to its knees by Western European power.
|Osman Gazi,
founder of the Ottoman dynasty
In short, we can say that the founders of the Turkish Republic had to split from and deny pretty much everything that the Ottoman Empire had represented. The fostering of a Turkish national identity required a rejection of all things Ottoman, even religion – yet the new state, unlike its predecessor, was now almost exclusively Muslim. Contradictions abounded, so, of necessity, there was some rewriting of history, some adjusting of reality, some myth-creation in order to ensure the survival of a nation that, like Hans Andersen's ugly duckling, no one else in the world really wanted.
It is only recently that Turks have started to become comfortable with their Ottoman heritage. Sufficient time has passed that they can begin to feel pride in the achievements of ancestors whose existence cannot be denied. Most of the excesses of early republican nationalism and secularism are being quietly put away on high shelves. Atatürk himself insisted that the ezan, the Muslim call to prayer, should be intoned in Turkish. Now that is a dead issue. Even the most ardent Kemalists seem content to hear Arabic broadcast at high volume five times (or more) a day from a forest of increasingly lofty minarets. One of the most popular drama series on television these days is "Muhteşem Yüzyıl" ("The Magnificent Century"), set in the 1500s, during the reign of Sultan Süleyman, generally acknowledged to have presided over the Ottoman Empire at the zenith of its power. Modern Turkey is achieving a synthesis, as its middle class multiplies and the process of urbanization accelerates, of modernity, economic consumption, globalization, secular democratic government, Islamic traditions and Turkishness. That is as it should be. The government may try to direct these processes but it cannot control them.
So far, then, I have been looking at the domestic situation in Turkey, but of course, there is another aspect to the label of Neo-Ottomanism. When the Turkish Republic came into being, its founders resolved to turn towards the West in the search for a new direction. The founding principles included democratic republicanism, separation of religion and government, state-sponsored economic development, and reforms of alphabet, language, clothing and religious practices. Europe represented the goals of the new republic, and all things Western and European became desirable. Although remaining neutral during the Second World War, Turkey sent armed forces to the Korean conflict, and was a major military contributor to NATO defences during the Cold War. I have recently learned that, when President JF Kennedy was indignantly ordering the Soviets to withdraw their missiles from Cuba, the United States had bases in Turkey with missiles trained on the USSR. I suspect the Soviets knew about these, were not too happy about them, and very likely had Turkish locations pretty high on their list of targets to hit, should the need arise. It was a risk the Turkish Government took, one assumes out of a desire for friendship with the West.
At this point, I would like to quote from Wikipedia on the subject of Turkey's attempts to gain admission to the European Union. I am aware that some people disparage Wikipedia as a source, but on this one I'm prepared to trust them. You can check the facts elsewhere if you have the time and the inclination:
"Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors since 1963. After the ten founding members, Turkey was one of the first countries to become a member of the Council of Europe in 1949, and was also a founding member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1961 and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 1973. The country has also been an associate member of the Western European Union since 1992, and is a part of the "Western Europe" branch of the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) at the United Nations. Turkey signed a Customs Union agreement with the EU in 1995 and was officially recognised as a candidate for full membership on 12 December 1999, at the Helsinki summit of the European Council. Negotiations were started on 3 October 2005, and the process, should it be in Turkey's favour, is likely to take at least a decade to complete. The membership bid has become a major controversy of the ongoing enlargement of the European Union."
It looks to me as though Turkey has been pretty determined, one might say patient, in its efforts to be accepted into the European fold. I am well aware of the arguments against acceptance, however, spoken and unspoken, and (just between you and me) I suspect that a blue moon will rise over a cold day in hell when the EU finally welcomes Turkey aboard as a full member. So what are the Turks to do in the mean time?
The key issue that makes Europeans shy away from inviting Turkey into their club, namely religion, is the very factor that gives Turks an advantage when it comes to dealing with nations in the Middle East and Central Asia. Muslims have felt marginalized by Western societies for a long time now, and the accelerating speed of modernization has served to accentuate the sense of superiority in the West, and corresponding sense of exclusion in the rest of the world. Turkey, with its unique combination of secular democracy and traditional Islamic viewpoint, coupled with the detachment that its Turkishness brings to the mix, finds itself in a position to play a mediating role in an area that remains a mystery to most in the West. Central Asian Turkic republics, freeing themselves from decades of oppression by Russian and Soviet conquerors, see Turkey as the big brother that has trodden the difficult path they themselves aspire to follow. Middle Eastern states have a more problematic relationship with their liberal neighbour, but still, Turkey stands as an example of a country that has managed to achieve impressive political, social and economic freedoms while retaining its Islamic identity.
Is it any wonder, then, that the government of Turkey, and the private sector of its own accord, have been working to build bridges with neighbouring states in their immediate vicinity and further to the east? Can Western nations continue dangling carrots while holding Turkey at arm's length, and at the same time, seriously expect the Turks to forego all other international contact in the hopes of future acceptance? The United States at least, has a pragmatic approach – unlike France for example, they refrain from grandstanding to special interest groups at home who have a historical axe to grind. They encourage EU members to adopt a more positive approach to Turkey's membership application – even if only because of Turkey's strategic geo-political significance. Britain also pushes Turkey's case from time to time – though a cynic might suggest this stems more from its desire to maintain a Euro-sceptic position than from any great love for Turks as a race.
In the mean time, we see Turkish construction companies working in partnership with locals in Kazakhstan and Libya, and Turkish educational foundations building schools. We have seen the Turkish government (in league with Brazil) trying its own approach to ease international tensions over Iran's nuclear development programme. We are seeing tent cities established near the southeast border to accept thousands of refugees fleeing violence and oppression in neighbouring Syria. Students from 130 nations are currently in Ankara to participate in the 9th International Turkish Language Festival.
In 2010 Istanbul was chosen as one of Europe's Capitals of Culture, and, major projects were carried out all over the city to showcase its historical riches. Twenty-one million Turkish Liras were spent on a three-year restoration of the 16th century Süleymaniye Mosque, simply the best of many architectural treasures built during the reign of that 'Magnificent' sultan. But it is not merely Istanbul and Ottoman treasures that demand huge sums for historical restoration and preservation. A farmer near the Black Sea city of Zonguldak, better known for its coal mines, recently uncovered, while digging foundations for a hothouse on his property, the perfectly preserved mosaic floor of a 3rd century Roman villa.
Then there are the Ottoman heritage buildings beyond the boundaries of modern Turkey. The international community recognises the debt owed to the civilisations of Ancient Greece and Rome, and there is no difficulty in raising money to restore and preserve classical remains, wherever they may be located today. The British Empire left its architectural footprint all over the world, from Sydney to Kolkata, Istanbul to Shanghai. Most of those cities are in countries that have long-since thrown off the colonial yoke, yet they are happy to find new uses for the buildings. The Ottoman heritage is a different matter. In the Balkans and Greece, emergent Christian states couldn't wait to erase all traces of their Muslim Ottoman past. In Central Asia, a century or two of Russian and Soviet hegemony, and economies with little surplus for luxuries, have combined to the detriment of important historical sites. Recently the Turkish Government has been involving itself in the restoration of their historical heritage in neighbouring nations. There are critics who see this as yet another aspect of emerging Neo-Ottomanism. Yet imagine the outcry if Turkey allowed, never mind contributed to, the decay and destruction of a 15th century church or cathedral within its borders. Without Turkish Government involvement, the six-century-old Fethiye Mosque in Athens would continue its descent into rubble; the Orhun inscriptions in Mongolia, the oldest known written documents of Turkic history, would meet the same fate, as would, probably, the madrasah where Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi was born in Afghanistan.
As I said in my opening paragraphs, I don't generally have much sympathy for politicians. Dealing with criticism is part of their job, as are making unfulfillable promises and obfuscating the truth. Nevertheless, I can't help feeling that the present Turkish government gets more than its fair share of unreasonable criticism. Can they really be in the United States' pocket, and at the same time, have a shariah and Neo-Ottoman expansionist agenda? Should they spend tax-payer money restoring and caring for their historic buildings, or leave them to rot and decay – and if restoration is the decision, who should decide which ones and where? Should Turkey cut itself off from contact with its Muslim and Central Asian neighbours in the hopes of currying favour with Europe? The path of political success is a minefield, and I'm pleased, when I look back, that New Zealand voters kept me from it.


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Karl Rove On The State Of Play Re: The Contested Convention
The Architect Karl Rove joined me today:
HH: Karl Rove is the Architect. He's also the author of an incredibly timely book about 1896, because we're going to a contested convention, and The Triumph Of William McKinley, Karl Rove's brand new book, is about a contested convention. It's about the bosses who no longer exist. But he also has a terrific Wall Street Journal commentary today on an ugly election taking shape. He's of course a Fox News contributor as well. Karl, welcome, I'm sure you're one of the guys who will get up early and do the show in the morning when I move to the mornings next week.
KR: Well, I will, and congratulations. What great news. I'm going to, I'm sorry that we're going to miss Bill, but he's taking on the statesman role, and you're going to have to be the working man in the morning.
HH: That's it. He's gone Brit Hume. He'll just show up when he wants to.
KR: There you go.
HH: So Karl Rove, I want to start with very inside baseball, which is Rule 40. On this show yesterday, Ted Cruz said it's a rule, it would be wrong to parachute in people to change it from Washington, D.C. insiders. It's only Trump and me. And I thought to myself, oh, they're going to actually run this convention. What do you think of that strategy of trying to hang onto Rule 40?
KR: Well, Rule 40B…
HH: To be specific, yeah.
KR: What it is, yeah, look, and he misinterprets it. Rule 40B says that in order to have your name officially placed in nomination with a speech and seconding speeches, you have to have the majority of delegates in a certain number of states. I believe it's eight states. But it does not say that those are the only candidates that you can vote for. This was an attempt to, in 2012, and the rules committee just before the convention proposed this rule, because Ron Paul said I want to have, I don't have a chance at winning. I've got 5% of the vote. I've got delegates from a couple of states where I dominate, but I want to be able to have a full blown nomination speech and speak to the country, and chew up valuable prime time TV. So what they said is okay, you can vote for anybody you want, and those votes will be tallied and counted. But we're not going to have everybody that wants to be nominated be able to be nominated. You've got to show a certain level of support. So Senator Cruz is wrong. There is no rule on the Republican Party side that says that you have to be formally nominated in order to have people receive votes. I mean, people can get, Carly Fiorina has a delegate. She'll be, and whoever that delegate is, is going to be able to vote for Carly Fiorina on the first ballot, because they're bound to them. Ben Carson has delegates. Marco Rubio has delegates. John Kasich has delegates. Jeb Bush has delegates. They can all have those delegate bound to them, and remain bound to them, and vote for them, on them, even though their name is not placed in nomination.
HH: How interesting. So there is no, you aren't disqualified? Well, then, Senator Cruz is doing a very shrewd thing. He's defining the controversy before the controversy is actually investigated and defined.
KR: Yeah.
HH: Tell me a second thing, Karl Rove. There are 112 members of the rules committee. Who are those people? And who runs them? And who controls them? And what do they have to do with this?
KR: Well, there are, every election, every convention has committees that represent, two people representing each state, territory and district. They're chosen by the delegation themselves, and there's a committee on credential, there's a committee on arrangement, there's a committee on rules. And they will receive a report of the rules committee of the Republican National Committee the week before the convention, and then they will consider those rules. And then they will adopt the rules that will govern the 2016 convention, and remain in place until the eve of the 2020 convention. This is the way that it has always been. And in the modern era, there have been very few significant changes in the rules from convention to convention. I was on the committee that last considered the major, Rule 29, that the 1972 convention, the rule, they adopted a rule calling for a committee that would examine all of the rules of the Republican Party and make a recommendation for significant changes, particularly in the allocation of delegates before the 1976 convention, and as college chairman, I had an automatic seat on that committee. But we have made very few changes in the nature of the party rules, and 40B was a cosmetic change, not a structural change.
HH: Now here comes the most important question of all. If John Kasich were denied under some interpretation of 40B or an amendment to 40B, through the cooperation of Cruz and Trump, the opportunity to make a speech in his home state in a big convention on the red carpet in Cleveland day, does that hurt the general election chances of the Republican ticket by antagonizing the Republican state party?
KR: Well, I'd say this. I would say you'd have to put it a little differently, which is not that John Kasich, John Kasich will get to speak to the convention. He as the home state governor will, by tradition, be able to welcome people to his state. The question is will he have the ability to be nominated formally with a speech and with seconding speeches. And you know, look, right now, he wouldn't, because he doesn't a majority of the delegates from eight states. If this rule were kept in force exactly this way at the convention, you know, it might, but I doubt it. I want you to remember this. And I want your listeners to remember this. At every Republican National Convention from 1856 until 1952, perhaps, there have bene miscellaneous people who receive votes at the convention who were never placed in nomination.
HH: Interesting.
KR: And you know, for example, in 1952, Earl Warren had 81 votes. Harold Stassen, the governor of Minnesota had 20 votes. Douglas MacArthur had 10 votes, none of whom were formally placed in nomination for the Republican presidential ticket. And you know, this notion, I understand why Ted Cruz is doing this, but it strikes me that he should not be out there suggesting that the only two people who will be able to receive votes at the Republican National Convention are he and Trump by virtue of the fact that they have the majority of delegates from eight states or more. This is disingenuous.
HH: Last question, Karl.
KR: This is like what happened in Iowa when he said, you know, Ben Carson's going to get out next week. Ben Carson's going home. He's going to have a major announcement this next week, be sure to vote for me. I mean, this is not what the rule says. And if you don't believe me, call the RNC and get their lawyer on your program tomorrow, and get him to referee on whether or not I'm right or Cruz.
HH: I will, but I've got to ask you for your input, and I'll see if you can stay over one more segment as well. Should the RNC be scheduling the votes well in advance, like I suggested 10:00 and 4:00 every day starting on Monday. If we're going to go multi-ballots, we don't want it happening all at once at night when people are drinking, do we?
KR: Yeah, well, you know, that's traditionally, I mean, first of all, you can't schedule these things narrowly, because even, as states take a long time, you'll have, you know, disputes. But it makes good sense. I'm not certain that logic will prevail.
HH: Okay, I'm going to be back maybe with Karl Rove after the break. His piece is An Ugly General Election Takes Shape at the Wall Street Journal, you've got to read it, about the negatives of Donald Trump and the dynamics of this race.
— – – – –
HH: And I'm amazed, Rove, that no one has actually, you haven't been on air talking about this, because you know the answers to stuff that people are going to be asking. Here's the key question. If Donald Trump is the nominee, how do you recover from a 30% favorable/63% unfavorable, as you note in your column today?
KR: Look, I don't think it's possible. You know, he claims that he can be presidential when he needs to be. If he wants to change those numbers, he ought to start acting in a presidential manner, whatever he thinks that is, because right now, his numbers are abysmal. I mean, 30%, no one has ever been nominated for president with numbers this bad. And nobody has ever won the presidency with numbers anywhere near this bad by the time of the election. Now maybe the numbers are pliable for him. I doubt it. But he'd better show us some evidence by July 18th that he can change these numbers. He may be popular inside the Republican Party, though he has only gotten an average of 37% of the votes. But among general election voters, he's more than 2-2-1 negative.
HH: Is Ted Cruz much more electable?
KR: Well, the polls would indicated that he is somewhat more electable. He looked a lot more electable earlier in the year. But now, he is, along with Trump, fallen behind Hillary Clinton in the polling on a pretty regular basis. But you could make the case that he lacks the misogynist comments, and the four bankruptcies and all these other things that are causing trouble for Donald Trump. But yes, he is more electable.
HH: Who is the most electable Republican, obviously, John Kasich could be on the list, but of people who could be available to run?
KR: Yeah, look, I don't know. I mean, I think we're going to, we are not going to be able to be, and shouldn't be guided simply by polls on this. I mean, we do need to understand the polls with regard to what the people are thinking about, the people who might be prospective candidates. But in terms of being able to match somebody head to head against Hillary Clinton, that's going to be difficult to do. We've got numbers on Kasich. And he is tending to, in most of the polls, beat her. And Ted Cruz runs a lot closer to Hillary than does Donald Trump, tends to, I've seen in some polls beat her, but mostly slightly behind here. I think, though, that let's say this. If we have somebody who we think has, has been battle tested, and has strong conservative principles and the ability to articulate them, and they are nominated at this convention, there will be a lot of acrimony from the people who were seeking the nomination. But if it's somebody who has, you know, has those convictions that they can express in a compelling way, we could come out of the convention in relatively strong position, because we do have, you know, look. Donald Trump excites a lot of enthusiasm. But he also excites a lot of anger within the Republican Party and outside of the Republican Party. And a fresh face might be the thing that could give us a chance to turn this election and win in November against Hillary.
HH: Karl Rove, always a great pleasure. Follow him, @KarlRove on Twitter, and go read An Ugly General Election Takes Shape at the Wall Street Journal.
End of interview.

subset: commoncrawl


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Velvet high arc tufted headboard
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Amazing, Beautiful Headboard!!!
By Fashion Girl
from Providence, RI
About Me Budget Shopper
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It was everything I wanted and more. I am very please and excited to use it! It's the center piece of my studio apartment.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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Very nice. Just what I expected.
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Nice looking without taking up alot of room.
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(This article was first published on One R Tip A Day, and kindly contributed to R-bloggers)
This tip may be useful in the situations when you need to set the number of digits to print for the different columns in a matrix/data.frame to be outputted as a LaTeX table.
For example:
tmp <- matrix(rnorm(9), 3, 3)
xtmp <- xtable(tmp)
digits(xtmp) <- c(0,0,3,4)
print(xtmp, include.rownames = FALSE) # row names suppressed
See here for a nice gallery depicting a large variety of outputs you can produce using the xtable package.
To leave a comment for the author, please follow the link and comment on their blog: One R Tip A Day.
R-bloggers.com offers daily e-mail updates about R news and tutorials on topics such as: Data science, Big Data, R jobs, visualization (ggplot2, Boxplots, maps, animation), programming (RStudio, Sweave, LaTeX, SQL, Eclipse, git, hadoop, Web Scraping) statistics (regression, PCA, time series, trading) and more...


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Forex Trading Education
Forex Trading Education
Obtaining high quality and effective forex trading education is crucial to long-term success in the forex market. The best forex trading education will provide you with an education in exactly how the forex market works and why it exists as well as effective strategies that you can use to take advantage of the daily price movements within this market. Because there is such a variance between forex trading education sources on the internet and elsewhere, it is important that you do the necessary research to find the best source for your forex education before you fully commit to any one source in particular.
• First determine your Forex Trading Education goals.
Do you want to be a shorter term day trader or a longer term position or swing trader? You will need to answer this basic question and others before you can really commit to any one forex education program because most forex education systems are geared towards one type of trading. There are however some forex trading education products that offer education on a strategy that is applicable to all time frames. One such forex trading strategy is price action trading, traders using simple price action setups have the power to implement these setups on multiple time frames, including short and long time frames. However, it is worth noting that on average, traders who take longer term views in the market tend to come out further ahead at year's end than shorter-term day traders. The bottom line here is that if you don't know what your forex trading goals are you cannot know what your forex trading education should consist of; you cannot know where you are going if you don't know where you want to be.
• Who or Where is the Forex Education coming from?
The source that you get your forex trading education is paramount to gaining a thorough understanding of the forex market and how it works. You cannot get effective or accurate trading information from a source that is not knowledgeable and experienced in the topic they are teaching. Therefore, it goes to reason that the best forex education will likely come from an experienced and professional forex trader who has been around the block and figured out what it takes to be profitable on a regular basis in the market. Forex trading education comes in such a large variety of forms and from such a large range of sources, that it will definitely pay off to take time and research the person or source that your forex trading education is coming from before you fully commit to it. This is perhaps the most important part of your trading career and you do not want to risk it by getting started on the wrong foot.
• What Forex Trading Strategy are they teaching?
A crucial factor to take into consideration before committing to any forex trading education system is what trading strategy are they teaching you? Are you learning a strategy that makes sense to you and seems to be based on common sense core price chart analysis skills? Many trading strategies are nothing more than a concoction of rules thrown together regarding lagging indicators in order for some internet marketer to sell something to unaware novice traders. Be very careful of any trading system or strategy that seems too complicated for its own good or that is hundreds of pages of text describing rules for how to interpret lagging indicators or forex trading software.
The best forex trading strategies are those based on simplicity and understanding the dynamics that occur each day as price fluctuates in the forex market. One such forex trading strategy is price action analysis; this is the interpretation of price movement on a raw or indicator-free price chart. Once you master the intricacies of price action analysis and learn to apply a bit of discretion, you can become a very profitable forex trader by only looking at the market a few times a week if you so choose. Obtaining forex trading education in the method of price action trading is a great way to begin your trading career whether you want to be a shorter-term trader or a longer term trader because price action trading is adaptable to all market conditions and can really be used effectively on any time frame if the proper amount of discretion is applied.
• Forex Trading Education Courses
Forex trading education courses are a great way to learn to trade forex and can be very useful reference guides for you to continuing learning from. Many of the same points discussed above apply to quality forex trading education courses; such as they should come from qualified sources and teach simplistic forex trading strategies. When you get your forex trading education from a forex trading course you can at least be assured that you are not just purchasing some forex trading robot that is only going to give you blind entry and exit signals. A quality forex trading education course will teach you how to think about the market rather than just giving you strict rules for how to follow certain indicators. You should be able to develop and maintain your own perspective on the market from a quality forex education course, this will work to grow and progress your forex trading education so that you are not just a blind trading slave to a signal service or trading robot.
To learn more about forex trading with simple yet effective price action setups check out my Forex Trading Course
Copyright Learn To Trade The Market


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The Cure (and more) for a Case of the Mondays: the FUV Mixtape!
FUV listeners knocked me out once again with their picks for today's Mixtape! Check it out:
FUV Mixtape playlist for Monday, August 20, 2013
Arcade Fire – Wake Up – Funeral
The Ronettes – Be My Baby – Be My Baby: The Very Best of The Ronettes
Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Radio Radio – This Year's Model
Ryan Adams – To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High) – Heartbreaker
Ray Price – Night Life – Night Life
The Velvet Underground – Sweet Jane – Loaded
Chuck Prophet – You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp) – Age Of Miracles
My Morning Jacket – Gideon – Z
Modern English – I Melt With You – After The Snow
Paul McCartney – Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey – RAM
Fountains of Wayne – Radiation Vibe – Fountains of Wayne
The Cure – Just Like Heaven – Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
Listen/download/share and subscribe to wfuvmixtape on Spotify!


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K dispozici v
Korea, Singapore, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Sweden, Poland, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Kuwait, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, CS, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Macedonia, FYRO, Serbia
Vstup pro úpravu vzduchu / Actuators
TSN is an emergency unit suitable for all Munters ventilation systems.
- Emergency opening via the built-in battery and charging circuit to the battery. Automatic stop at outer limits, also at battery backup.
- LED indication of operating mode, including misconnection and current limits
- Battery monitor will indicate using sound and light, that the battery needs to be replaced (about 5 years)
- Possibility of slave operation
- Automatic detection of disconnected control signal that opens if the line is interrupted.
- T41 thermostat in series with the supply 230V will ensure emergency opening at interruption


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I spent two (2) hours at the gym yesterday... and burned 1300 calories AND didn't want to leave! What's wrong with me.... it's become an obsession...an addiction...but I guess a healthy addiction at that..
Today I went and swam 400 meters and had to force myself to rinse off, change and go home to have a nice meal and watch some tv... deep inside I wanted to stay longer..
I guess it all comes in waves... some days I can barely pull myself out the door to go the gym, other weeks I want to sleep there... ah well... I guess it will work out (no pun intended).
My training is going good... yesterday was the first time back in the gym in a week. I did a little weight training, a nice run and some cycling... I left feeling amazing!... I woke up feeling like I was going to fall over from pain. I hadn't worked out in so long I got sore! I haven't been sore since I started this process; so I hadn't felt that in awhile...by the way... IT HURTS!
If you are a member of 24 hour fitness I highly recommend the 24 LIFT class... EXCELLENT but you will be hurting the next day.
On another note: (maybe a little personal)
Do you ever wonder why life doesn't work out like the movies (or tv, or books for that matter). You think you do everything right, live a good life, make good, responsible, mature decisions and it doesn't turn out quite like it did on Grey's Anatomy or You've Got Mail or a Nicholas Sparks Novel.
I guess you have to make your own movie (boy readers I don't mean that kind of movie).. write your own story, paint your own picture... you get my drift. It's a beautiful thing... life... you can have a different story, book, painting every 24 hours...
Allison's piece of advice for the day: HAVE NO REGRETS....
I'm headed back to good 'ole college station this weekend to see Della and her fiance Dave so I won't be on the blogging front but when I get back I'll post pictures and tell you how FABULOUS my trip was!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I think I've gone crazy...
I spent two (2) hours at the gym yesterday... and burned 1300 calories AND didn't want to leave! What's wrong with me.... it's become an obsession...an addiction...but I guess a healthy addiction at that..
Posted by Allison at 9:27 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Busy Busy...
Hi ya! Well it's been crazy around here the last week or so... I was traveling for work last week and then went out of town on the weekend... I was literally home for one day last week until Monday! It was fun and the weekend went by WAY to fast!
Last week I got a new fence! YEA!! If you have been to my house you know the awful shape my fence was in.. falling over on all three sides, two inaccessible gates and slats down throughout... well I buckled down and gave in and got a new one and I love it! I can't wait for spring to be here so I can start making over my back yard! Sod, new flower beds, flagstone... I can see it now!
It is FREEZING here tonight! It's dropped into the low 20's and sleeting like crazy... the rooftops in my neighborhood are already all white and my front and back yard are blanketed in ice and sleet as well. At about 2pm this afternoon I received an email that work was delaying opening until 10 if that gives you a clue to the madness of this winter weather Texas is experiencing. You know us Texas, it gets below 70 and we freak out and break out with parkas, not to mention we don't drive anywhere either!
Deuce (my dog) HATES any kind of precipitation... he literally will hold going to the bathroom for days if it is raining... he also hates the cold so this is a lose/lose situation for him. He hasn't stepped outside since this afternoon before the sleet hit...hopefully I can get him outside for like 5 seconds to pee before we hit the sack! I hate to tell him that Thursday is bath day ... he hates that too. He probably will hate me now... it's cold raining/sleeting and he has to have a bath... and get his teeth brushed..poor Deucey!
Well we are going to hit the hay... I hope you all have a great week!
Posted by Allison at 11:12 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: deuce, random, weather, work stuff
Thursday, January 22, 2009
stupid html
Hello my lovely blog readers... I was keeping track of how many hits my little blog was getting but something happened with that html code and now I refuse to start over again at 0!
Training for the tri has been lax this week... I've been traveling for work so it's been hard but I'll get back in the swing of it next week.
Today I want to dedicate my post to one of my sisters, Anna... For Christmas I gave her cake decorating classes. She had taken an interest in cake decorating awhile ago and is really good at it. So I figured I've give her some professional lessons to enhance her already natural ability. She just finished her third week in class.
This is what I have discovered:
1. She makes a better butter cream icing than any professional cake I've ever eaten... and I've had a lot... I do pride myself as a cake connoisseur..
2. She faced her fear of clowns... this week in class she had to make a clown cake... sorry sister I wasn't aware of that when I signed you up
3. You should totally hire her out to make your kids birthday cakes...
So that's it... she's really good and it tastes REALLY GOOD!
Keep checking back for further updates :)
Posted by Allison at 9:22 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: family, i hate computers
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
860 Calories Down.... 101 Days to go!!!
This week marked the re-start of my tri-training. I was L-A-Z-Y during the two week holidays between Christmas and NYE... but I made myself get back into the swing of things this week.
I was not starting off the week very good on Monday because the weather was bad and I didn't want to get out in it and my friend Tommy came over because his power was out at his house (ice from tree branches fell on to the power lines and completely knocked out his power). So there was no gym time for me on Monday...
Tuesday I decided I MUST go - so I took Deuce out for a run... it was hard getting back into the "groove"... but Deuce always makes it a much more enjoyable trip. He was really scared though because this crazy woman walking down Kelly kept hissing at him and putting up cat claws. I seriously thought Deuce was going to jump up into my arms and I was going to have to carry him home...but instead we turned it up a notch and sprinted.... good for Deuce to not see the crazy lady... good for my heart rate and endurance!
Today (Wednesday) I went to the gym to cycle and run ... I still haven't gotten my road bike but hope to have it soon. Ciearra went with me and we had an AMAZING work out! We cycled on the spin bikes for 25 minutes ( I made C go an extra 5 minutes with me... I thought she was going to kick me in the face)... then ran for 20 and did an abs class for 15... so after an hour of working out I burned nearly 900 calories!!! It feels so good.... my "operation get fit" girls are going to be jealous!
I can really feel myself changing... my endurance has certainly picked up... I feel stronger and clothes are starting to fit better. My weight has stayed steady over the last month.. no gain but no loss either... I hope since I'm turning up my workouts now I will start to see results on the scale.
I heard at the gym today abs are 80% diet and 20% exercise... something to think about ....
Posted by Allison at 7:34 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Friday, January 2, 2009
I have so much to blog about... I haven't had a computer (or the time since the holidays) to sit down and blog so I'll try to do a December 2008 recap...
1. I got a job! AWESOME! I'm so excited I start on Monday, January 5... at Cambridge Integrated Services Group. I am going to be an Account Manager in the Client Services division. My new office will be about 10 minutes from house and I hopefully will have the opportunity to travel. I will have a book of business that I am responsible for once the initial sale has been made by the sales force... this will include implementation, problem soliving, benchmarking and other stewardship reports and meetings, continued education, etc. I am so very excited about this awesome opportunity! I truly know this position was worth the wait! The job and the people completely fit my personality and my goals and I'm so fortunate to have found a job with such an amazing company!
2. FAMILY PICTURES - It was so nice to get the WHOLE family together to take pictures for the first time. Our pictures included - my mom, me, My sister Paige and her family (nick and shelby), and my other sister Anna and her family (Randy, Kaylee and Cooper)... NINE of us... six girls... you can imagine the chaos that ensued...
It was wonderful and we were able to get a ton of awesome pictures from our AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER STEFANIE!!
This holiday season was filled with family and friends. This was definitely the best way to end a great year and an even better way to begin a better 2009! I hope each of you had an amazing and BLESSED holiday season as I did.
Posted by Allison at 6:37 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: family, friends, pics, wedding stuff, work stuff


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Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Orval with Salmon
Orval is probably one of the only beers you could say IS a style of it's own.
It would be a bit of an understatement to say Salmon and and Orval went well together. More accuratly you could say they go effortlessly great together, a pairing I have been meaning to try for a while now. This particular bottle was bottled April this year, so quite a young one. Check out the Beer Wench vertical tasting various aged Orval's here. A cool video. She's always a pleasure to watch.
1 comment:
- GRANDE CERVEJEIRO said...
I love the Orval, Trappist an excellent ...
- Saturday, November 20, 2010
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From Slashdot AbleGamers Reviews Games From a Disability Standpoint: "eldavojohn writes 'Early last month a visually impaired gamer sued Sony under the Americans with Disabilities Act (and if you think that people with disabilities don't play games, think again). The AbleGamers Foundation has decided to step forward and provide a rating system for games that blends together a number of factors to determine a score with regard to accessibility. Visual, hearing, motion, closed captioning, speed settings, difficulty settings and even colorblindness options are all taken into account when compiling these scores and reviewing these games.'
Read more of this story at Slashdot."
Thanks for supporting Maine VRC.


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This is a true story about which many of which might have read in leading India dailies. One Jaiprakash Bezbaruah, aged 50, was killed by two tigers at the Guwahati zoo on 18th Dec, 2007. But I have collected some photos published in local dailies from Guwahati which will make you feel how horrific was the incident.
This is how it took place : Jaipraksh, who hails from another town, came for a visit of the zoo at Guwahati with his family on the fateful day. Not heeding to warnings, he tried to photograph two tigers in a cage by putting his hand inside the cage, may be in an attempt to get a good shot. That urge for good shot proved fatal for him. One of the tiger attacked so swiftly that he could not even pull his hand out. The tiger cuaght his arm and pulled him towards the cage. The other tiger in the cage also joined soon. They even punched on the face of the hepless victim, resting on the grills of the cage. Imagine all this took place in front of his wife and two young sons. The guards and other visitors tried to make the tigers leave his hand by using sticks. You can see the sticks on the photo at top.f you look closely, you can see both the tigers. But the tigers did not relent till they chopped his hand off at its root. Then they feasted on the hand. Jaipraksh fell down unconscious by the time the tigers left him. He probably have died by then because of excessive bleeding, and may be because the tigers pounced on his face as well. He was declared brought dead in hospital. Ironically, these tigers were ot man eaters. They were breeded in some place at Karnataka. This has perplexed the zoo authorities as well. One should know that most tigers in zoos are man eaters. If a tiger turns man eaters, attempt is made to catch it. They are killed only if repeated attempt to catch them fails. If cought successfully, they are sent to the zoos.
This is a big lesson for all of us. We often tend to get too close for a better view of animals in zoo thinking that caged animal can not do anything. But if your death is imminent, anything can happen.


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MP3 Download / Ogg Vorbis Download
We discuss all things Free Software and open source for a last time with guest co-host Bradley Kuhn from the Software Freedom Conservancy. Apparently, he's a Distinguished Technologist.
- copyleft.org
- Free as in Freedom — donate to send Dan to a Free Software conference of his choice
- Waltzing Matilda by Noel Watson (all rights reserved)


text: bondgirl0072010 2 Posted July 21, 2011 Barefoot jewelry are a fabulous option! They're comfortable and gorgeous, can be worn in and out of the water for your wedding day and trash the dress. Also, they can be taken on your honeymoon and worn for future vacations! Many of my brides order collections for themselves and their bridesmaids as they make amazing and unforgettable gifts. If you need them customized or any other ideas in regards to these beauties, just let me know! I wore them as a destination wedding bride myself and of course wear them all the time as a designer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Tidbits, Resources, and Discussion for ELI Faculty
Monday, December 20, 2010
Top 100 Education Blogs
4 comments:
- Nicole Anderson said...
i wanted to go back to school. im just wondering what options do i have? any suggestions?
- September 26, 2011 at 8:50 AM
http://collegeoptions.us is a great site where you can find options that suits you best; scholarship grants, financial aid, ect. plus you can speak to a school adviser for free!
- September 27, 2011 at 8:56 AM
Have you ever wondered if you can I hire a research paper writer, get custom writing help, buy an essayor just have someone write my dissertation for me? Are there any essay writing services that can provide me with some thesis help ?
Well the answer is yes you can get sample and original works at http://www.researchandwritingservices.com/Services.html
- July 13, 2012 at 6:00 PM
- Milford Alicia said...
A dissertation editor is the moving spirit behind dissertations that earn the coveted A grade, http://www.dissertationplanet.com/dissertation-writing-help.php helping to set the doctoral student on a path toward socioeconomic and societal bliss.
- March 7, 2013 at 5:09 AM


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SOURCE: Reed's, Inc.
December 18, 2009 11:43 ET
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - December 18, 2009) - Reed's, Inc. (NASDAQ: REED) (NASDAQ: REEDR),
maker of the top-selling sodas in natural foods stores nationwide, issued a
reminder today that its previously announced rights offering will expire at
5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on Monday, December 21, 2009, unless
The Company distributed to holders of its common stock as of the close of
business on November 13, 2009, transferable subscription rights to purchase
an aggregate of 225,000 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock at a
subscription price of $10.00 per share. Shareholders were issued 1
transferable right for each share of common stock held on record date. Each
four (4) subscription rights will entitle the holder thereof to purchase
one share of common stock at the subscription price of $10.00 per share and
carries with it a basic subscription privilege and an over-subscription
privilege. The rights offering expires at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time,
on December 21, 2009, unless extended.
The Company also reminds shareholders that on December 4, 2009, the terms
of the Series B Preferred Stock were amended, and each share of Series B
Preferred will be convertible into shares of our common stock at a
conversion ratio of seven (7) shares of common stock for each share of
Series B Preferred held at the time of conversion, representing an initial
conversion price of $1.43 per share, which is subject to adjustment.
The Company intends to offer any shares of Series B Preferred that remain
unsubscribed (after taking into account all oversubscription rights
exercised) at the expiration of the rights offering to the public at $10.00
per share of Series B Preferred.
If you are a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock whose shares
are registered in the name of a broker, custodian bank, or other nominee
and wish to participate in the rights offering, you must instruct your
broker, custodian bank or other nominee to exercise your rights and deliver
all documents and payment on your behalf. Your broker, custodian bank or
other nominee will instruct you as to the steps required to exercise your
rights and may require you to act before the expiration of the rights
offering in order to timely submit payment and other documents on your
behalf. Your subscription rights will not be considered exercised unless
the subscription agent receives from your broker, custodian, or nominee, as
the case may be, all of the required documents and your full subscription
price payment before the expiration of the rights offering. Holders of
record must complete the appropriate subscription rights certificates and
submit them directly to the subscription agent with the proper payment.
Shareholders needing assistance in participating in the rights offering
should contact MacKenzie Partners, the Information Agent for the Company at
800-322-2885 (toll-free) or (212) 929-5500 (call collect).
About Reed's, Inc.
Reed's, Inc. makes the top selling sodas in natural food markets nationwide
and is currently selling in 10,500 supermarkets in natural foods and
mainstream. Its six award-winning non-alcoholic Ginger Brews are unique in
the beverage industry, being brewed, not manufactured and using fresh
ginger, spices and fruits in a brewing process that predates commercial
soft drinks.
In addition, the Company owns the top selling root beer line in natural
foods, the Virgil's Root Beer product line, and the top selling cola line
in natural foods, the China Cola product line. Recently, Reed's added the
Sonoma Sparkler brands to its line, a celebration drink with an established
customer base. Other product lines include: Reed's Ginger Candies and
Reed's Ginger Ice Creams.
Reed's products are sold through specialty gourmet and natural food stores,
mainstream supermarket chains, retail stores and restaurants nationwide,
and in Canada. For more information about Reed's, please visit the
company's website at: http://www.reedsgingerbrew.com or call 800-99-REEDS.
Follow Reed's on Twitter at:
Reed's Facebook Fan Page at:
Subscribe to Reed's RSS feed at:
More information can be found at:
Some portions of this press release, particularly those describing Reed's
goals and strategies, contain "forward-looking statements." These
forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the
context of the statement will include words, such as "expects," "should,"
"believes," "anticipates" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements
that describe future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking
statements. While Reed's is working to achieve those goals and strategies,
actual results could differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and
uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include difficulty in
marketing its products and services, maintaining and protecting brand
recognition, the need for significant capital, dependence on third party
distributors, dependence on third party brewers, increasing costs of fuel
and freight, protection of intellectual property, competition and other
factors, any of which could have an adverse effect on the business plans of
Reed's, its reputation in the industry or its expected financial return
from operations and results of operations. In light of significant risks
and uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements included herein,
the inclusion of such statements should not be regarded as a representation
by Reed's that they will achieve such forward-looking statements. For
further details and a discussion of these and other risks and
uncertainties, please see our most recent reports on Form 10-KSB and Form
10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as they may be
amended from time to time. Reed's undertakes no obligation to publicly
update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise.
IRTH Communications, LLCAndrew W. HaagManaging Partner866-976-IRTH (4784)Email Contact
MacKenzie Partners, Inc.
105 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016toll-free: (800) 322-2885collect: (212) 929-5500email: Email Contact
See all RSS Newsfeeds


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Category Archives: Charity
Why do charities find good customer care so difficult?
I'm a fundraiser. My customer is the donor or supporter. I want them to feel special, because they are special. Without them, my charity crumbles. We are far from perfect but we do try our best to be good at customer care. Whether someone has donated in support of our work, or phoned up for one of our advice booklets, we try to respond promptly, and personally if at all possible. It feels a bit as if all our donors are major donors (and perhaps that new contact today could be a major donor, or a legator, in the future).
This is an issue that extends beyond any one charity. If supporters – or people in need of help – have a negative experience with a charity, there's a risk they think all charities behave that way. My poor customer care affects your ability to raise funds. Alongside many things charities can do to increase income, my number one wish – that will have impact on both supporters and beneficiaries – is improving what we already do.
Last week, a report from Blackbaud said that over half of event fundraisers felt their 'efforts were "not properly acknowledged" by the charity they were fundraising for.' Sadly, this didn't surprise me. I know from personal experience and chatting with other charity workers that far too many charities can't:
- thank supporters on time
- get advice booklets to requesters within two weeks
- sign people up to an email newsletter
- tell people how much they've raised towards a tribute fund
- give people a smooth and simple website experience
- provide a cheering station at events
All of these examples are charities failing to get the basics right. And this is really damaging. It reduces supporters' connection to your cause, so loses you income. It gives a bad impression which gets spread to their social circles, which loses you income. And it fails people who urgently need help. It is unacceptable.
But if charities can build relationships, be responsive, show they care and communicate better with supporters, they will raise more money. I think charity management (the buck stops with us) need to get on top of this and get their organisations to be efficient with processing basic thank you letters or gift aid. What is causing the delay? It can't just be size, because some small charities can be really slow to respond (but perhaps are forgiven by donors because of their size?) whereas some larger ones are quicker off the mark. Maybe supporter care teams can shed light on the ratio of staff to incoming traffic that works? Previous places I've worked did seem very under-resourced for supporter care, and it wasn't clear that management appreciated the impact on income growth. I have myself struggled to balance quick, responsive supporter care with the pressure to find new ways of growing income.
My personal experience (and that of friends and family) underlines my point. One charity never thanked me for an online giving page I set up one Christmas before they sent me – months later – an email invite to do more fundraising in an event. Another charity has still not signed me up for their regular free magazine, despite me trying to sign up three times in a year. They are also renowned for the slowness with which they post advice booklets. A third has yet to thank a family member who raised £1600 for a fundraising event, when they only had a target of £200. Rachel Brown from the Fundraising Collective puts it well:
Good stewardship links directly to the gift, is timely, and encourages the next donation.
If you're efficient and effective with your thanking, you will raise more money. Balancing personalised supporter care and finding new ways to raise money is not easy. Sometimes it is difficult to judge when you should invest time and resource into a new idea, which could boost income and enable a charity to do more good, but surely we all understand that an efficient organisation is better for our beneficiaries, uses donors' money more wisely and gives supporters the sort of experience that brings them back time and again?
Please, let's sort out basic customer care.
Why become a fundraiser?
more students are interested in working in the public sector, academia, or for an NGO than in investment banking, consulting or finance.
Alternative Aspirations: what do students really want from their career?
I've been invited to speak to the LSE Artichoke Society's conference. The focus of the conference is to inspire students through highlighting the stories of graduates who have pursued an alternative path.
As an alumni (Social Policy, 2003, I was a mature student), the story of the Artichoke society really rings a chord. At the London School of Economics (LSE), I was surprised by the number of undergraduates destined to move into the city, law or consulting as careers. And when I say destined, I mean without any real thought given to alternatives. LSE students are fiercely intelligent (I like to think, anyway!) and yet lots had barely considered their future choice of career, a big decision with implications for the rest of their lives. Many on accounting and finance, economic and law courses had long since made that choice. For some, it definitely seemed parental pressure or parental assumption, for others a lack of awareness of what their options could be.
Ironic that a university set up to further the leftwing aims of the Fabian society churns out undergraduates for the city. Although the LSE has a very healthy civil society side to its programmes and courses, it's a target for the big financial and consulting firms to recruit new talent.
I believe in the power of people to change the world and change lives. I don't think charity has exclusive grip on this, many (most?) world changing ideas have come from the private sector and often relied on finance and legal advice from the city or equivalents. But I do think charities – and the funds that power their work – are an important way of building a better world. I don't need persuading to follow a charity career, and despite some doubts at times, fundraising is a fantastic way to make a difference. Not least because you see the impact of your work in both directions – the charity and service delivery staff and volunteers creating change alongside the pleasure giving has on donors.
In preparation for my short talk (10 mins) under the theme of 'Persuade', I want to crowdsource thoughts from charity and fundraising professionals – why work for charity, and specifically, why become a fundraiser? Why did you become a fundraiser? What would you say to yourself at career defining moments from your past?
My charity of the year has made me feel amazing, again!
So, I chose this charity as my charity of 2014, and just a few weeks into 2015, they sent me a lovely email with good news about a student I support. I donate a monthly amount that covers the cost for one school student and the charity linked my support to a particular student, Jennifer. I received the email below telling me how a school in NW England (where charity founders Sue and Ron are based) had fundraised to raise money for shoes for Arise Community School students. They sent me a photo of Jennifer in her new shoes.
But here's the thing, the charity is new and run on the boundless positivity and love of its founders, Ron and Sue. Passionate and determined as they may be, they could really do with a helping hand in the digital sphere, at least some training or support to help them get things up and running. I wondered if anyone who knows me online (or in real life!) has connections with someone in or around Liverpool/Manchester who has expertise on social media, websites and the like, and could spare a bit of time to help Ron and Sue reach more people and bring in more support to boost the education of the children who live near Mt Kilimanjaro.
The charity – Africa's Children in Education – now have a website, a Facebook group and a blog, and these all need updating on a regular basis to tell donors about the impact of their support and just to keep everyone informed of changes and developments at the school. (Like this phenomenal news!) Supporters get lots of updates from Arise Community School, and it would be fantastic for Ron and Sue to reach a bigger audience and for more people to see just what an impact this great charity has.
If you can help or you know someone who can, please put yourself forward. I promise you won't regret it, the charity is doing such brilliant work and in the most positive and life affirming way!
When should you stop writing letters?
I was reading the sunday papers last weekend when I came across an intriguing start-up company called Inkpact Marketing. The genius idea of Charlotte Pearce, they hand-write letters for clients:
to offer a truly unique, exclusive and personalised marketing service, through handwritten letters. Our business is built on the understanding that relationships are fundamentally the most important part of business.
You could argue that outsourcing handwritten letters slightly flies in the face of a personalized relationship, but it's still an intriguing idea and it seems to have impact with customers…or inkpact!
When I was young, I remember the day after Christmas being sat down to hand write all my thank you letters. My family is big, so it was a herculean task. Many years later, and my thank yous to family tend to be more on the electronic spectrum. My older siblings do still hand-write their thank yous, and I'll freely admit, that feels special. At work, handwritten letters in their entirety are rare, but I try to personalize my communications as much as I can.
But there is a dilemma I feel I am no closer to resolving. As a fundraiser, I know that the personal relationship we have with supporters can be key to success. I've lost count of the number of charity blogs and expert advisers that talk about personalizing thank yous. They're right, of course. I had a fundraising boss who used to set aside Friday afternoon every week just to personally write (ok, type, I think!) thank yous. I do type personal thank you letters and then top and tail. My personal bugbear? If you have time to actually sign a letter, then you have time to hand-write the salutation at the top!
I also encourage my team to personalize, and to be honest, they are brilliant at it. Our Events fundraiser juggles hundreds of supporters and over £300,000 of income every year and yet manages to sustain personalized communications with the vast majority. Undoubtedly this has brought supporters closer to the cause and motivated them to do more. Similarly, our Community fundraiser has developed a personalised approach to supporters that has increased their engagement and made them feel like we really care. (And, crucially, this is true. In the office, rarely a day goes by when we don't comment on one or more of our supporters and the astounding commitment they show to help others. We describe them as amazing and fantastic because they really are! So we do care about them.)
What's less easy to judge is exactly how much of a financial uplift happens as a result of these more personal relationships, and at what point might we have to reconsider our approach. We would all like to continue as we are, but as a charity, we have ambitious plans for growth and the more time spent personally communicating with supporters, the less time there is for the many other demands on our time. I balk at even writing that sentence but it needs to be said.
In the end, what our supporters are keen for us to do is spend their hard raised money on helping everyone affected by cardiomyopathy. It's not always easy to justify spending time handwriting letters in that context. At what level do handwritten letters reduce our investment of time and people in growing income in other ways? If I hand-write to all our individual givers, they may really appreciate it and some may well increase their donations, but all I would have time to do would be a personal letter writer. Not apply for tens of thousands of pounds in grants, not think strategically about tying together our annual appeal with our campaigns. Should big charities have teams of personal letter writers? Would donors really accept that, however much personal delight they felt when receiving one themselves?
As I said, it's a dilemma I am no closer to resolving, however appealing the idea of handwritten letters may be!
What's your view?
My charity of the year
Writing this post excites me more than anything I've written this year.
I feel like I almost had a secret for the past few months. It started when I went to the annual Citizens Advice conference and I met an amazing lady, Sue Hayes. We were chatting when she told me the Charity Commission had just registered the charity she and her husband had started. My interest was sparked immediately because she mentioned Kilimanjaro. As a fundraiser, Kilimanjaro is synonymous for me with intrepid supporters trekking for days up a mountain and raising thousands of pounds. I have never been, and I had never really thought about the place itself or the situation in which these fundraising treks take place. I should have.
When Sue explained more about what the charity does, I was hooked. Here was someone who had never intended to become the founder of a charity but along with her husband Ron, they had seen an urgent need and they couldn't ignore it. You can read their full story here, which shows how much effort they have put into it and also their passion for education as a way out of poverty.
We spoke and I loved how Sue described the children she had helped over the years, a couple of whom had come over to the UK to visit when they had reached school leaving age. This charity had clearly been a labour of love for Sue and Ron for many years, but only recently had they got the official stamp of approval from the Charity Commission. Being a techie geek, I was mad keen to visit their Facebook page, Twitter feed and website. They didn't have them. I said to Sue that they really must get a website up and running, and last week, it went live.
For me, this charity shows the positive and joyful side of Africa. Sure, newsletters and fundraising appeals make clear the desperate circumstances of some of the children (otherwise there wouldn't be the need for a charity), but the focus is optimistic and forward-looking. Just look at the photos and tell me you don't want to be part of that!
This is a charity that belongs to the people it helps, it is a charity that is not patronising those it helps but letting them lead the way. It is a charity that is doing something really sustainable and long term, in difficult circumstances. It is a charity where the link between donor and beneficiary is made clear, where you can really see how your support helps, and what a massive difference a small regular gift can make.
My charity of the year is Africa's Children in Education and I think they really are ACE! Please visit their website, have a look at the work they are doing to change lives for good. And look at the impact you can have with incredibly small donations. If you can spare some money, consider donating to their Buy a Breakfast Appeal.
I hope they inspire you as much as they inspired me this year!
PS: They are new to the world of social media, so show them your support on Twitter
What theatre can teach charities and fundraisers
Many years ago, I worked as a stage manager and I have kept my love for theatre. There are many elements to putting on a theatre production that translate brilliantly into the world of charity.
Theatre is fundamentally about emotion and story. Great performances, great scripts and great shows connect with the audience on a deep emotional level, which can make them happy or sad, elated or scared. The audience are not just objective viewers or observers but feel the drama, they engage with the characters, understand them and want to know them more. The fascination we have for performers is not because of who they are but who they pretend to be. Emotion is the heart of theatre, and surely the heart of successful fundraising too.
Directors often remind the cast to keep the story moving along – tell the story, keep the audience wanting to know what happens next, how does it end? The story's a journey. What's the story of a charity? Their history is rarely undramatic. Fundraisers can tell this story, with the big picture as background but the foreground needs to be about individuals, heroic people and the darkness they must defeat (whether a disease, homelessness, poverty or animal abusers). How does the story end? That's where supporters have a role to play, they can create the happy ever after.
Working in theatre, I met so many interesting and different people. Whatever their background, whatever their personal story, we were an inclusive, friendly and welcoming bunch (or tried to be). Being different, being bold and original, defying convention made great shows and spellbinding performances. The thrill of the new, the unique synergy of the stage, connected with an audience, excited them, drew their attention. Parties were never dull in theatre. Unfortunately, the same is not always true of charities, which nowadays can feel scarcely different from the corporate world. That isn't always a bad thing but if it means staff become too corporate in their mindset, innovation may suffer and the intensity fades of the mission that needs achieving. Surely a strong businesslike approach can work alongside original and daring thinking?
Innovation is the heart of theatre. New works, new interpretations of old work, new styles of theatre keep things fresh. Immersive theatre is a great current example that charities should heed – what better way to involve donors than giving them a proper insight into the work they're funding? Groundbreaking ideas that make audiences and fellow artists open-mouthed and stupefied show that risks must be taken. The best shows are always the ones that break the trend, that refuse to copy or pay homage to what has gone before. Charities are often borne when someone sees a new way of dealing with an old problem, or identifies a new problem that underpins others. Never be afraid of thinking outside the box. If theatre hadn't, we'd still be in the world of proscenium arch. Charities that break the mould get recognition, support and show the way for others to follow.
Comparing pay shows something interesting. However high up the hierarchy you are, theatres rarely pay well. You may be intelligent, skilled and professional, but your craft is a calling, not a job. Even when it becomes a job, it's never, ever for the money. The hours are atrocious, there is no work-life balance and the working conditions (hot lights, cramped spaces, travelling from venue to venue) often verge on unbearable. But it is borne because of a belief in doing something special, and being part of a magical experience. Almost everyone who works in theatre has experienced that magic from the audience perspective first, catalysing their passion. Similar people exist in the charity sphere, but I've met more people just doing it as a job in the third sector than I ever did in my theatre career.
Everyone working on a show – from actor to stage manager to front of house (a range of different and highly specialised talents) – focus on one thing – audience experience. Make them gasp, cry, laugh, smile, scream… Techies might not admit it, but they love the thought of changing lives, enriching lives, making life worth living.
No theatre company is the same. There are as many variations of Shakespeare as there are theatres in the world. Test, tweak, try new things, adapt, change, revive. It's not just that variety is the spice of life, but that lots of different people take different approaches. Those criticising charities for too much duplication need to consider whether it is truly duplication, or is it different approaches to the same problem (lots of anti-poverty charities or cancer charities, but if they take different approaches, they can all be making a positive difference, in different ways.)
There is always (hopefully) a vision. Sometimes just one person's – the Director. Sometimes a whole company ethos (watch RSC shows, or Punchdrunk, or the Michael Grandage company) and sometimes a remarkable combination of writer and director. The secret to a successful show is the vision it strives for, to enrich the soul and heart or change people's lives… Artistic vision drives great shows and charities should ensure they have a vision of the future that also inspires the whole organisation and its key audiences of beneficiaries and donors.
Words. The order, the choice, the tone, the emphasis. For me, the script is the single most important aspect of a show. If the script doesn't work, all the best actors, directors and designers can't rescue it. If the script is brilliant, it can still be spoiled by poor delivery or bad direction. In charity, the words we use to describe our work, the letters we write to our donors, making sure our beneficiaries speak for themselves, all of these are crucial to connecting with the people that matter – those we are here to help, those who support us, the volunteers and staff who deliver services and raise funds. Words matter the most because everything else depends on them.
The pause.
Time to think, to reflect. It's a busy world and working for charity can be a relentless and frenzied experience. But creativity and power often lie in those moments where we stop, step outside the everyday, and take the long view. In all the hustle and bustle, we must never forget why we exist, we must keep our minds focussed on the end goal and not just the processes in which we are immersed.
Are charities technophobic?
Technology has the power to transform the world and people's lives.
And yet too many charities are frustratingly slow to pick up on technology and particularly, the potential of the digital world and the internet. The persistent idea of an "office" being somewhere productive when it clearly isn't (if your creative thinking happens outside the workplace, you're not alone), or the poor quality of many charity websites (in general, let alone when visited on mobile), it can seem like charities or their leaders are prone to being luddites.
Social Media should be at the heart of communications
There still seems a reticence from many CEOs, Trustees and senior staff to pick up on the power of social media to help them do their work. How many times have you heard people in those roles express bewilderment at Twitter or Facebook? Perhaps letters were considered a weird fad back in the day…
Mobile – not digital – First
This should be the mantra for any charities redeveloping their digital services. Charities have understood people are willing to donate by mobile on public transport and adverts encouraging this have multiplied in recent years. Charities that help people with health conditions know their beneficiaries are also mobile and they expect to engage easily and conveniently to find information and support whenever they need it not just whilst sat at a PC. Supporters deserve their experience to be smooth, seamless and fast. Neither group can be solely catered for through technology. Face-to-face interactions are often essential in delivering services and developing strong relationships, but technology is incredibly helpful and should be many charities' biggest focus.
Culture change
With all these technological advances, it seems extraordinary that so many helplines run by major national charities are only open during "standard office hours" (by which they mean 9-5, even though these are not even standard office hours any more!). The insistence on so many staff working every day in offices seems counterproductive on so many levels, and costly. Morale, creativity, flexibility, rent and energy savings are just some of the benefits to charity of having non-office based staff.
It's not acceptable in 2014 to have the mantra of "what about those who are not online?" to determine your communications or business strategy. If a charity gets direct mail or other hard copy communications wrong, they may receive a complaint or some feedback, but how much attention is paid to the much larger number of people who use their websites and if it doesn't offer what they want, they click or flick away?
Of course, those not online must also be able to access information and support, but if strategy is driven by that small and decreasing audience, where is the focus on the vast majority of the audience?
Content is not king, delivery is.
Content alone is not enough. If your presentation is poor – a low quality website with poor navigation, unresponsive design and missed engagement opportunities – your high bounce rate indicates the content isn't being read or used properly. Charities that don't have easy-to-use website help points, downloadable guides and booklets, or easy-to-share videos and infographics, are failing to meet the needs and demands of the bulk of their beneficiaries, supporters and staff.
Invest for a return, show your supporters you care.
Despite platforms like JustGiving, some of the technology specifically for charities is poor quality, and it restrains fundraising and service delivery. Synchronising different platforms verges on the impossible. Tribute Fund sections of some major national charity websites are embarrassing, almost insulting. Do they really expect someone to want to support a charity that has a clunky, dated and unfriendly approach to building a memorial to their loved one?
Halfway there?
There are many amazing examples of both leaders and charity specialists who see the potential for modern technology to deliver for charities, but they seem exceptional rather than the norm.
Up-to-date technology that works well should be a central plank in the future development of charities big and small. With so many free platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Google Grants etc – size need not make a difference. Technology can deliver real and sustained change and build a better world. Leaders of those charities slow to take advantage of this amazing potential need to rethink their attitude, and catch up.
What we learnt from our first telephone fundraising campaign
We started our first ever telephone fundraising campaign about three weeks ago after a few months of preparation and planning. We stopped after two weeks but in that short space of time, we learnt a great deal. We knew going in that as a new venture for us, set against a backdrop of a strategy review and forthcoming rebrand, and some negative coverage of telephone fundraising in national media, there were risks but we felt it was worth trying.
Telephone fundraising is a successful way of getting income
This campaign had three aims – to increase some regular gifts, to get previous donors to give again and to get potential supporters to give. We managed varying degrees of success with all three and by the time we stopped, we were on course to achieve our target. It was clear that (some) people don't mind being phoned and asked to increase their support for a cause they believe in. It was also clear that some people do mind. The challenge for all charities is to understand which category their supporters belong to (you can ask, but that isn't always a reliable indicator – what people say and what they do are different).
Being open about costs is right but not easy
The warmth our supporters feel towards the charity was both a positive (they want to support us) and a negative (some didn't understand why a charity they felt so close to was using an agency to call them to ask for gifts). In the past, we had raised expectations that we could buck trends or change reality – that somehow we really could do more with less. This has bitten us! Of course we love to connect closely to the people we help, we want them to feel we are always there for them. But we also need to be open about the fact that we can only do more if we can raise more, that their support is an essential part of that, and that there are costs to increasing income.
It doesn't always pay to stand out from the crowd
Despite using a reputable agency who worked really hard to get ready for the campaign, and whose callers I went to visit and brief, there was concern amongst supporters that we were a) paying someone to call b) not calling them ourselves (people drew a distinction between us and agency staff, even though agency staff were a lower cost than if we had called). As a specialist charity, many of our supporters and beneficiaries see us as 'different' from others. We have probably played on that to our benefit in the past, but it meant we had raised supporter expectations of how personalised our approach can be. For example, many supporters know and really admire our Chief Executive. They know most of the staff by name. They indicated more willingness to support us if asked by him or other staff. But some of our warmest supporters were less keen when it was a paid caller from an agency. We realise that we need to be more transparent about the costs of all our fundraising, and that if we are to grow, we need to explain there is a limit to how much any member of staff can do.
Like any relationship, open communication with your supporters is essential
The criticism we received came from the heart. Some people felt hurt that we would ask them for money in this way, but when we explained we were trying to reach more people and needed more funds to do so, and that we had chosen to use an external agency because they had the expertise and were cheaper and more effective than us doing it in house, there was better understanding of our motivation. We think this presents us a good opportunity for open dialogue. We want to be as transparent as possible, so that we can build the same trust around fundraising as already exists about the services and support we provide to our beneficiaries. We also realised that we hadn't effectively communicated the reason for needing more funds. Despite (from our perspective) regular communications about our work, without communicating a clear strategy for growth and the funds that would be needed to achieve it, it seemed like we were asking for more money without a good reason.
Timing is everything
So, we have paused the campaign. We are going to finish developing our strategy, and come up with some really clear examples of how supporters can help us reach goals we have all agreed on. We also will draw a better distinction between the people we help (who can be dealing with really significant issues and have only us to turn to) and the people who have signed up to support us rather than be supported by us. This is a particular challenge for health charities, especially those focussed on genetic conditions, as there can often be a blur between beneficiaries and supporters.
Our supporters are amazing. They inspire us and enable us to do so much. Those supporters who challenged this new style of fundraising will help us to make better connections in the future. As someone wise said before we started "Whatever happens, you will learn loads!" They were right, we have and we don't regret giving it a try and look forward to returning to it in the future.
Ten essentials for effective fundraising
1. Inspirational and powerful vision
so that donors know the positive future their support will achieve.
2. Clear strategy over long and medium term
The charity's work is based on a plan to get from where they are now to where they need to be – donors see how their support enables the transformation beneficiaries need.
3. Annual business plans with costed projects
The need for funds now is matched to activity happening now that links into the longer term strategy – ie how a gift today brings a better future closer. The plans give something really clear to report on each year – ie: this is what the charity said it would do, and this is what it achieved (the progress it has made over the year, thanks to donors' support.)
Costed projects are important, so fundraising can tell donors how much their gift will help, and they are essential for grant funding.
4. Measure Performance
Fundraisers need to show donors how their gifts are being spent in best way possible to achieve the objectives of the charity (which have matched donors objectives through the vision) – both overall organisational objectives and specific project objectives for any particular piece of work. Measuring performance shows a charity has thought about what will work best to achieve something and that is why increased funding is needed.
5. Impact reporting, both quantitative and qualitative
To tell past donors and encourage future donations by showing what the work achieves – the people/animals/buildings/environment the charity helps, the difference donations have made, to one and to many.
6. Detailed financial reporting
Funders in particular, and donors, look at the costs incurred (such as governance and fundraising) in relation to expenditure on meeting charitable objectives. Detailed reporting is necessary to unpick exactly what things really cost and what donations will achieve and can help justify investment to achieve bold objectives.
Important for fundraising to have clarity on restricted vs unrestricted income and for all departments to have detailed breakdown of their expenditure – are resources being allocated as efficiently as possible?
7. Efficient internal processes
Supporters and funders are keen to know their money is being used with maximum efficiency. Any indication of a charity spending money inappropriately can hinder fundraising growth (and also means it is not maximising the resources it has and increasing the time it will take to reach its objectives.) Effective project management and mindfulness of costs is not about positive PR, it's about being as efficient as possible in order to achieve a vision of the future as soon as possible. Prompt processing of inbound requests shows a charity focusses on external audiences not its organisational needs.
8. Targeted and planned marketing
Communications always work best when the audience is identified and the communication is focussed on them. Detailed segmentation of mailings and focussed marketing appropriate to the right audiences requires planning ahead in a comprehensive way.
9. High quality design
To engage on the emotional level that makes donors give and give again, materials need to be well designed and pack an emotional punch, with good quality, hi res, emotional photos with real people/animals/environments in them. Well designed publications with emotional (and informal) language engage donors in a powerful way.
10. Powerful, public leadership
A board of trustees that are engaged, show an interest in what staff are doing, boosts staff morale and increases individual staff engagement with their work and performance at their job. Teams that are well led always perform better than those with disengaged or poor leaders. Senior leadership are pushed to the fore for donors and articulate key messages accurately, powerfully and emotionally, so that donors follow their lead and understand the importance of their donations to achieving the vision.
All of these will ensure a charity comes across as coherent, purposeful and well managed. Being an efficient, effective and emotional charity is appealing to support.
The obligations charities owe beyond their own beneficiaries and donors
In a survey released last week on the State of the Sector, nfpsynergy's research highlighted a really important issue. One of the questions showed that 85% of the sector believe demonstrating impact is key to persuading a cynical public. This finding comes from those working in the sector, for whom impact is a current issue. Supporters wouldn't necessarily use that word, they might just want to know that their money is being 'put to good use'. Even then, supporters aren't wandering around thinking whether their money is being used as best it can, but with several big negative stories in national media about charities perhaps giving rise to concern, it's not unreasonable to think more explanation of how charities are making good use of money would be helpful.
Some charities are wrestling with how best to explain what they do with the money they're given. Are lots of facts and statistics helpful? Would publicly available monthly management reports, with reference to KPIs, help the public understand? Unlikely, and in a spirit of honesty, some reports can be pretty incomprehensible internally. But this is not a reason to stop trying. Maybe charities should ask their Comms staff to help write management reports as if they were being given to the media. And then … give them to the media… Or at least, publish them on their website. Why do donors have to wait for an Annual Report that's six months out of date when the charity has monthly reports that are current?
Why do donors give? To support the cause, to support what a charity has asked them to support. So, if you're a charity that helps animals, how have you helped them, in what ways have you helped? If you aim to prevent homelessness or debt, how much advice have you given, how effective has it been in preventing homelessness or helping people out of debt? If you help people affected by a health condition, how many people have you helped and how have they rated the help you've provided? On what basis do your Board judge success? How can that be explained for a public audience? If it needs 'explaining', perhaps you should revisit those management reports!
But explaining the good that charities do is only half the story. We also need to be much better at explaining why we do things the way we do, and why we are organised the way we are. And yes, that includes wrestling with the thorny issue of salaries. In a hostile political and media environment, battening down the hatches is a terrible idea. The same nfpsynergy survey also showed a large majority feeling "charities need to be more transparent about their use of money". There may be some who feel they want to hide from public glare, but my sense is most prefer to be transparent, not just because they see it as the right thing to do, but because they don't have anything to hide. If you can't justify your own pay, or if your Board can't justify the amount they pay the CEO, then ask why that is. The same nfpsynergy survey asked those within the sector about pay over £100,000 and there's a clear split whether such pay is justifiable. I think if a job is complicated and requires very specific experience and expertise, high pay can be justified, if there is also a lack of suitable candidates. But all those criteria need to be met and then, crucially, the performance needs to be closely monitored.
But if we believe monitoring the effectiveness of employees is important, whether on £100,000 or much less, surely we need to monitor organisational performance for our donors, and our beneficiaries? And why shouldn't the results of that monitoring be made public? Be transparent. Explain the good the money has done. Be clear on your aims. Explain how you are making progress towards achieving your aims (and where you aren't making progress, explain why and what you're doing to change things). We are brilliant at communicating a need, so that billions of pounds is given in support of charities every year. Is it beyond our capabilities to communicate what we do, how we do it, why we do it and how good we are at doing it?
All of this is important for our own donors and beneficiaries, but charities that fail to do so are not just letting down their own donors but the whole sector. The more charities that fail to live up to expectations, the bigger the risk of increased cynicism. Charities which are not transparent, clear about their impact and how they reward staff, are not just doing a disservice to their supporters and beneficiaries, they are letting down their peers in the sector. Some think that those charities which fall down in this regard may increase their own supporters' cynicism about them, but not the wider sector. But I wonder whether the accumulation of charities that are less transparent, poor on impact reporting and failing to powerfully articulate their mission, vision and values, are risking an overall reduction of trust in charity.
First and foremost, charities owe it to their supporters to be open and honest, to explain what they do and what they have achieved, to live a "nothing to hide" culture throughout the organisation. But they also owe it to their peers, to set an example and be a "good charity", because that reinforces the sector and increases confidence. Charities do amazing things, we change the world, we change lives for the better. Let's prove it in public. All the time.
No person is an island, nor is a charity.


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Rolling Through: Charity event a hit!
Always remembering the helpfulness of others during his youth, Pensacola native Grover Fields knows the importance of reaching back to help those in the community he grew up in.
Long removed from his basketball days at Lincoln Park, the founder and president of HBCU Information Network partnered with Cox Cable to provide Pensacola's youth with giveaways, food and fun during this year's, "Annual Summer Bash."
HBCUin is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation aimed at educating high school students on attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as their ongoing purpose within the community and continual economic impact of their student body, both past and present.
The festivities kicked off last Friday, July 20, at Wing King with Fields hosting a "cash mob," which he said was somewhat similar to that of a flash mob. A cash mob, Fields said, is where individuals are invited to "flood" a business with support – and last Friday at Wing King – a flood was exactly what owner Mickey Wade experienced.
"They flooded me alright…and killed me," Wade said with a laugh. Wade who grew up in the same area as Fields said it's wonderful when people give back to the community they grew in.
"It's good that he came back because it shows that he didn't forget how hard it was for him growing up – and how hard it can be for children who still live where he came from," Wade said. "Fields coming back gives them inspiration and hope that maybe one day, they can be the ones giving back."
On Saturday afternoon, Fields held a book-bag drive at Wedgewood Park where over 200 book-bags were given away.
"We are looking forward to providing students in the Escambia County Public School System with the essential tools they need to again succeed in the classroom," Fields said referring to the goal for Saturday's event.
Notebook paper, pens and pencils, binders and folders, calculators, compasses and protractors were given to older students.
Belinda Jones, who attended the book-bag giveaway and knows Fields personally, said she believed what he was doing would make a lasting impression on the children.
"Just like he remembers the people who helped him and gave him extra encouragement when he was younger, these children will be able to look back on this and remember what he did for them," Jones said. "We can't forget where we come from."
The summer bash concluded Sunday evening at the Dreamland skating rink for a four hour skate jam with music provided by DJ Starz.
Fields says this year's summer bash is not all he has in the works for his hometown –
he plans to initiate a HBCU college tour in Pensacola during May 2013.
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