Clayton, one of America’s largest homebuilders, today announced it has acquired Gallatin, Tenn.-based Goodall Homes, a builder of new single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums since 1990. Goodall is the second site-built housing company to become part of Maryville-based Clayton, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Clayton acquired Atlanta-area builder Chafin Communities last fall.
Clayton, through its site-building group, Clayton Properties, entered the site-built housing market to expand its portfolio of housing options to homebuyers. The acquisition of Goodall Homes includes approximately 3,600 lots and 180 homes under construction in a five-county area in Middle Tennessee. Goodall Homes closed 436 homes last year.
“Adding great builders like Goodall to our team is exciting,” stated Clayton home building group President, Keith Holdbrooks. “As we continue to grow and expand into the site-built market, it is important to partner with teams that share our culture of providing an excellent customer experience.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7716454-clayton-acquires-goodall-homes/
From school lunches to family picnics to team practices, America’s iconic sandwich – the peanut butter and jelly - has played an important role in the lives of many Team USA athletes. It’s why Smucker’s®, a proud sponsor of Team USA, is turning America’s passion for a PB&J into a way to support our Team USA athletes. Beginning today, for every tweet using #PBJ4TeamUSA, Smucker’s will donate $1 to the United States Olympic Committee (up to $200,000).
Smucker’s is teaming up with U.S. Olympic gold medalist gymnast Shawn Johnson, U.S. Olympic gold medalist swimmer Conor Dwyer, and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist gymnast Aly Raisman to rally America to show their Olympic support.
“Every single donation makes a difference in an athlete’s training and the ability to work toward achieving our dreams, so I’m humbled and excited to partner with Smucker’s on #PBJ4TeamUSA,” said Aly Raisman. "I grew up eating PB&J, so being part of an effort to help fuel Team USA is so exciting for me!”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7815051-smuckers-pbj4teamusa-olympics/
Motherhood is a lifelong promise to love, protect and fight for your child. For some mothers, the greatest fight isn’t their own – it’s helping their child battle cancer.
Beginning today and throughout May, Northwestern Mutual, through its Foundation, is honoring heroic moms of childhood cancer patients by sharing their inspiring stories of strength. Additionally, the foundation is making a $50,000 grant in support of these moms to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) to help find a cure.
Northwestern Mutual will share the personal stories of eight mothers and their children from across the country through a Facebook campaign.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7730651-northwestern-mutual-mothers-day/
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization that produces Sesame Street, and IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced a collaboration to use IBM Watson’s cognitive computing technology and Sesame’s early childhood expertise to help advance preschool education around the world.
As part of a three-year agreement, Sesame Workshop and IBM will collaborate to develop educational platforms and products that will be designed to adapt to the learning preferences and aptitude levels of individual preschoolers. Research shows that a significant extent of brain development occurs in the first five years of a child’s life1, making this window critical for learning and development.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7724251-sesame-workshop-ibm-watson-early-childhood-education/
Through his career, 14-time World Swimming Champion and 11-time Olympic Medalist, Ryan Lochte would spend hours shaving his body before his most important swim meets. Typically, competitive swimmers shave to reduce drag in the pool, a drag that translates to added seconds, meaning the difference between placing in a heat and medaling in a competitive meet. But this year, things are different. Ryan has put down the razor to become global brand ambassador for Syneron Candela’s Gentle Laser Hair Removal system, the #1 professional Laser that permanently reduces unwanted hair.
Syneron Medical Ltd. a global leader in aesthetic medical devices, today announced Ryan Lochte, World Champion Swimmer, will serve as brand ambassador for Syneron Candela’s award-winning, Gentle Laser Hair Removal systems in a series of international print and digital advertisements. Creative assets for the campaign, developed by McCann Erickson, will appear across print, digital and social channels. Lois Paul and Partners, working in tandem with Fleishman Hillard, will lead public relations and content creation for the campaign.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7781151-ryan-lochte-ambassador-syneron-candela/
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and the American Diabetes Association today issued a new challenge to the millions of Americans affected by type 2 diabetes as part of the program America’s Diabetes Challenge: Get to Your Goals. In 2015, award-winning artist Tim McGraw, celebrated actress S. Epatha Merkerson and chef Leticia Moreinos Schwartz each shared their personal connection to type 2 diabetes. This year, they’re calling on people to share their stories.
Living with diabetes isn’t easy, and that’s why America’s Diabetes Challenge encourages people with type 2 diabetes to work with their doctor to set and reach their A1C goal. The program will aim to identify the most common challenges patients submit and will offer tips to help address them. The program is also designed to help people learn if they’re at risk of low blood glucose, known as hypoglycemia, and how to help reduce that risk.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7785551-merck-americas-diabetes-challenge/
Today, Atom Factory CEO Troy Carter announced plans to host a second season of Smashd Labs from September 6 to November 18. For the inaugural class, there were over 200 applicants in two weeks, six startups in the inaugural cohort, 30 mentors, founders as young as 19 years old, and over $2M raised from investments within six months of the lab’s concluding Demo Day.
“We’re proud of the success the participating startups have had to date, and look forward to growing the Smashd Labs family by adding an additional set of startups led by talented founders with platforms and tech that can disrupt entertainment and culture,” stated Atom Factory CEO Troy Carter, who most recently served as a guest shark on the latest season of ABC’s hit prime-time show Shark Tank.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7817451-atom-factory-smashd-labs-startups/
General Mills announced today that by the end of 2020, oat farms that supply oats for Honey Nut Cheerios will host approximately 3,300 total acres of dedicated flower-rich pollinator habitat. It takes about 60,000 acres of oats to make Honey Nut Cheerios products each year. More than two thirds of the crops used to feed people, accounting for 90 percent of the world’s nutrition, are pollinated by bees.1 Flower-rich habitat is critical in helping maintain the nutritional health of bees and the continued supply of crops that we depend on for food. Without bees and other pollinators, food as we know it would be forever changed.
Bees have experienced an unprecedented scale of habitat loss with more than 9 million acres of grass and prairie land converted to crop land since 2008.2 Although Honey Nut Cheerios famous spokesbee, Buzz Bee, and his honey bee friends may not be in danger of extinction like some other pollinators, in the interest of protecting our food supply, Honey Nut Cheerios is committed to helping all pollinators thrive through the planting of these habitats.
“Pollinator habitats are one of the most effective solutions in ensuring bees get the daily nutrition they need,” said Dr. Marla Spivak, a world-renowned bee scholar at the University of Minnesota who has been collaborating with General Mills on this initiative. “Every day, 4,000 species of North American bees are traveling from flower to flower, shopping for the variety of good nutrition they need in order to thrive. My hope is this partnership between farmers, the Xerces Society and General Mills will not only beautify the North American countryside with vibrant wildflowers, but also help the bees we all rely on so much get back on their own six feet!”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7803951-honey-nut-cheerios-pollinators/
Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Weather Service (NWS) urge Americans to take actions to prepare for a wide array of hazards by developing a family communication plan and downloading alerts and learning about local hazards. FEMA is encouraging people to take these actions in conjunction with America's PrepareAthon!SM, a grassroots, community-based campaign for action designed to increase preparedness and resilience.
America's PrepareAthon! provides an important opportunity for individuals, organizations and communities to take action to prepare for specific hazards through group discussions, drills and exercises. Visit the America's PrepareAthon! website, ready.gov/prepare, to register your participation, for more information, and to sign up.
“Some disasters come with warning and others with little or no warning,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “Families, businesses and organizations need to prepare today - know your hazards, assemble supplies and practice what to do in case a disaster strikes.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7770531-fema-national-prepareathon/
Adolescents and young adults with a severe inherited immunodeficiency disorder improved following treatment with novel gene therapy developed at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The results of this study appear today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The study involved five males with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID-X1), also known as “Bubble Boy” disease, who were all treated at NIAID. This inherited disorder involves a mutation in the IL2RG gene that affects males and occurs in 1 of every 50,000 to 100,000 live births, leaving them with little to no immune protection.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7808651-st-jude-gene-therapy-results/
The Ad Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council today launched “Save The Food,” a major national public service campaign to combat food waste from its largest source—consumers, who collectively waste more food than grocery stores, restaurants or farms. The initiative hopes to encourage consumers to reduce the amount of food they trash in their homes, thereby saving the water, energy and money that are lost along with it. Watch the TV ad here.
“As it turns out, we can’t blame the epidemic of food waste on our kids’ aversion to vegetables. We’re all culprits here, tossing out staggering amounts of food in kitchens nationwide,” said NRDC President Rhea Suh. “But with small steps, we can save large amounts of food —and along with it, money and precious natural resources. The more food we save, the more we can share with hungry Americans, the more we can reduce climate pollution, and the more water won’t go to waste.”
In the U.S., 40 percent of all food goes uneaten each year, at a cost of $162 billion annually. Consumers are responsible for 40 percent of this waste—more than any other part of the supply chain. It’s a problem that costs the average family of four roughly $1,500 per year.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7808251-ad-council-save-the-food/
BJ’s Wholesale Club announces today that Members now have the option to “pick up and pay” at all of its 213 locations along the east coast. Stock up on seasonal necessities, set aside the best new electronics and tech accessories, or save the trouble of moving large, bulky items around the Club – this new service is aimed at Members who prefer to shop online, but favor the convenience and immediacy of in-Club pick up.
In fact, in its annual year-end survey, the National Retail Federation found that while 86 percent of online shoppers find free shipping important, a significant 66 percent want the option of picking up their purchase at an actual store.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7792951-bjs-wholesale-pick-up-and-pay-service/