The pristine, sugary white sand of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., once again will draw master sand sculptors from around the globe for the 24th Annual American SandSculpting Championship & Beach Festival on Nov. 10-14, 2010.
Competition will be keen as 17 master sand sculptors who together hold at least 35 world titles descend upon the destination, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the world championship in September 2011. This is the second year that the Fort Myers Beach competition will be one of only 11 qualifying sites for the world championship.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/leecounty/46867/
As people look to the coming year with hopes of continued economic recovery and increased job creation, new research may hold clues as to what the most promising positions will be in 2011. According to the Salary Guides just released from Robert Half, 11 roles representing several fields — including accounting and finance, technology, creative, legal and administrative services — show increases in starting salaries and growing demand among employers.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/roberthalf/46918/
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, called on government leaders to increase their investments in vaccines and to hold themselves accountable for extending the benefits of vaccines to every child.
In a keynote address at the 64th World Health Assembly, an annual gathering of health ministers and global health leaders, Gates laid out his vision for the impact that broadening access to vaccines can have on the world. “Strong immunization systems will put an end to polio and help us reach all children with five to six new vaccines,” Gates said. “We can save four million lives by 2015, and 10 million lives by 2020.”
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/gatesfoundation/49363/
The pace of economic growth has slowed significantly since the start of 2011 and the slowdown is expected to continue into the start of 2012, according to a survey of CEOs of small-to-medium-sized businesses. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 92.9 in the Q2 2011 survey, substantially below the 105.2 posted in Q1, and erasing all the gains recorded since 93.7 was registered in Q1 2010. Though declines were present in every major survey component, the largest losses were in evaluations of the overall economy. Rather than expecting a renewed economic downturn, the majority of CEOs anticipated a stagnating economy: growth too slow to support robust gains in employment or investment, and resulting in lower revenue and profit levels than previously forecast. Half of all firms put planned investments on hold due to the slowdown in economic growth.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/vistage/51040/
As homeowners continue struggling with foreclosures and mortgage defaults, Money Management International (MMI), the nation’s largest nonprofit, full-service credit counseling agency, is reminding consumers of the many tools and financial education resources available to help fight back against foreclosure and keep their piece of the American Dream.
As more American families struggle with mortgage delinquency, there are calls for more scrutiny of banks and lenders, and for the government to do something about it. Some predict improvement; others say it could get worse. Whatever the case, more and more homeowners are struggling to make ends meet and find a way to hold on to their most valuable asset – their home.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/mmi/47068/
Do you know the difference between a swizzle and a shrubb? Do you dream of Mojito’s? If so, Tommy Bahama has an opportunity for you! Tommy Bahama is excited to announce the search for the first-ever Tommy Bahama Rumologist™. We’ve created the most exciting consulting position in the world and we are scouring the country for the most qualified person to represent Tommy Bahama as our official Rumologist – sharing our passion for rum with the world! The Rumologist will win $50,000 and be an ambassador traveling the United States, speaking, educating, and experimenting with all things related to rum! We’re looking for someone who knows the history, how it’s mixed, how it pairs with food – and who loves to share that knowledge. Tommy Bahama is looking for bartenders, mixologists, and anyone that believes they can hold and honor the title. The contest application can be found on the Tommy Bahama Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tommybahama). Participants will be asked to send a short video (45-60 seconds) declaring their candidacy and explain why they should be chosen. The Rumologist will be announced this October.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/50564-tommy-bahama-rumologist/
He walked out to meet the sun. He was ready to die and hold on to his honor. She pulled him back and he would never forgive her. From New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan comes the darkest of her Carpathians and a lifemate that will surprise more than just our dark hero. The only thing that stands between the dark and the abyss is love. Now he must choose the side he will fall into. Dark Predator by Christine Feehan. http://www.christinefeehan.com Paranormal Romance
An information technology degree from Kaplan University could be the first step towards a potential information technology career.* Earning an IT degree online can seem like a daunting task, but Kaplan University faculty and staff are available to students through email, instant messaging, and phone calls as well as weekly online seminars.
Kaplan University students who have completed their online information technology degrees have gone on to work at major corporations including Microsoft and Ticketmaster. The IT degree program offered by Kaplan University presents students with real-world scenarios and offers the support to learn in an interactive environment. Constant communication and extensive resources positions Kaplan University among the top online universities.
Completing a university degree online allows the student to continue working full time while being able to take classes that fit into their busy schedules. Even in a difficult economy, a degree from Kaplan University is an investment in your future. Technological advances are not slowing down and those who can manage information technology and all that an IT degree encompasses could have a relevant career ahead of them.
* Kaplan University's programs are designed to prepare graduates to pursue employment in their field of study, or in related fields. However, the University does not guarantee that graduates will be placed in any particular job, eligible for job advancement opportunities, or employed at all. Additional training or certification may be required.
“The Information Systems and Technology programs at Kaplan [University] are very real-world and very relevant. Kaplan [University] teaches its students skills that are really necessary in today’s work place. One of the things we do for an incoming student at Kaplan [University] is we provide them very early on with some diagnostic testing that helps them identify not only their academic strengths and opportunities for learning, but also helps them identify their areas of interest and their strengths outside of the academic setting. From the first day the student virtually steps on to the campus they’re empowered to be successful.
Every day our faculty talk with students and help them think about how they can accomplish what they need to accomplish in order to be successful at school. They want to make sure that the students are comfortable in their environment and students will tell you that they can get a hold of anybody just about any time.
All of the faculty members have instant messaging and email capabilities and they have office hours where you can contact them or you can email them and they’ll always get back to you.
I have well over 300 students on my messenger list so there’s still a lot of that personalization and we try to get in there and really help the students succeed.
The support I got from my teachers and advisors was tremendous. They were caring and they seemed like they were really interested in what was going on.
We’re very serious about our work so that our students are learning and growing and when they graduate they’re prepared for what they’re doing. In the classroom we’re relaxed and we talk to each other.
I was very surprised; I actually met a lot of wonderful people online and I’ve made lifelong friends with them.
We have a seminar every week online where you meet with the instructor and all the students; it’s like a chat room. It involves an audio feature so they can hear the instructor speak. It allows for much more interactive questioning and dialogue so the student gets much more out of the seminar experience. We want to connect talent to success, to career and job success.
Now, with my education, I’ll be able to make better money which means better opportunities for my kids, my family and a better quality of life. The quality of education that I received at Kaplan University was superb. It was far beyond anything I could have imagined.
One of my former students has al
A degree in nursing from Kaplan University addresses the challenges and scenarios real nurses work through on a daily basis. Kaplan University’s Master of Science in Nursing (MSN program) is based on relevant material to help ensure our students are prepared for their careers. Our online nursing degrees are based on flexible coursework; students enrolled in the Kaplan University School of Nursing program are already nurses and there is no easier way to cater to the ever-changing schedule of a nurse than attending university online.
We offer our students the courses to help develop their career through program offerings such as an RN-to-MSN option and nurse practitioner certificates.* Nurses don’t just work in hospitals. At Kaplan University, we understand the different capacities in which nurses work and have developed our nursing school online to accommodate all capacities of nursing.
We see our nurses follow through with their training in programs that help students progress from their RN to an MSN program online. After years of hard work, our nurses look back at their time spent with Kaplan University and know it was a key element in getting them where they wanted to be.
* At this time, the nurse practitioner certificates are available only in the following states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Vermont.
“It’s important to Kaplan [University] to make sure that the students have the skill set and the abilities to function well in the world of nursing. We want our graduates to be considered the employees of choice so if they’re in a position or applying for a position, when the employer looks, ‘Oh you graduated from Kaplan [University].’ They know there is a certain currency and a certain relevance to the information and the knowledge they’ve gained. All of our online students are already nurses so they’re out there working in a variety of fields all over the country. We ask our nurses, we ask our students that are in our bachelor’s and our master’s program, what do they think? What’s important to them?
We try to think outside the box. Not all nurses work in the hospital. Nurses in the community, nurses in informatics, nurses in education—because when you find something that you’re passionate about, that’s when you’ve learned.
Their method of teaching was phenomenal. It was so phenomenal that when I went to take the boards I knew I passed the board. Why? Kaplan [University] taught me how.
What makes the Kaplan [University] School of Nursing so unique is the ability to offer the beginning nurse Vocational Nursing diplomas, Practical Nursing diplomas, and then to be able to be with them all throughout their career as they advance and progress with additional diplomas, certificate and degree programs to meet every need.
We give them opportunities to build their own professional portfolio throughout the nursing program we encourage the students to hold on to the things that they did well and to refine their skills. All of that are things that are absolutely embedded in the curriculum because we’re all about students’ success. Our students are challenged; they are working adults, they have families, and they have responsibilities, perhaps for children or older relatives. The personal touch is when the students know that the faculty care about them, that the advisors care about them and that people follow up.
I initially went with Kaplan [University] because I had a lot of returned calls from them and a lot of encouragement. Being that it was an online school I was nervous about, “What if I need help?” “What if I have a question?” All of the instructors that I had said call me if you have a question, email me if you have a question; I really needed that extra little push to get me started.
Our students feel like they really develop a personal relationship with the faculty. We see that when they graduate they’re always interested, if they
Lisa Nichols, contributing author of The Secret and one of the great inspirational speakers of our time, believes the best way to stay motivated when continuing your education is to “begin with the end in mind.” Pushing forward through challenges is what makes accomplishment so gratifying. Every accomplishment leads to personal growth. Nichols believes that making the completion of your degree “non-negotiable” means that you will not settle for anything less.
Kaplan University’s online degree programs cater to the busy lifestyle of today’s working professional. The distance learning programs available at Kaplan University could help you further your career, potentially lead to advancement opportunities, and assist in creating a different lifestyle for you and your family.* Nichols relates her own life experiences as a single mother working full time in this inspirational video that address the challenges Kaplan University students may be facing. She encourages students to recognize how important pursuing a degree can be to their professional success. Perhaps one of the most powerful messages Nichols relays is to focus on the positive outcome continuing education can bring. She urges students to “stay motivated by not checking into how difficult it might be” but to “check in with how sweet it gets to be.”
*Kaplan University's programs are designed to prepare graduates to pursue employment in their field of study, or in related fields. However, the University does not guarantee that graduates will be placed in any particular job, eligible for job advancement opportunities, or employed at all. Additional training or certification may be required.
“I would say to a Kaplan [University] student, ‘You’ve really made a decision to take your life by the reigns, to give yourself a second, third, fourth, fifth chance. That this season is your season and that you’ve served everyone else and this gift is a gift for you.’ When you serve yourself you allow yourself to then begin to serve everyone else from your overflow. But one of the things I would mainly say is that when you’ve been good to you, this is a gift, when you’ve been good to you then you’ll serve with more gratitude to everyone else so hold on to this. Hold on to this moment; carve out time. There’s never enough time. There are a hundred people that are going to pull at you- carve out this space for you. Say, ‘You know what? I’ve nurtured everyone, I’ve served everyone, this is my moment. This is my time to shine. This journey with Kaplan [University] is super important to me and it’s non-negotiable.’
When you say ‘no matter what,’ graduating should be ‘no matter what.’ ‘No matter what’ means I’ve removed every other option off the table. Graduating and taking advantage of this opportunity is something that nothing else can happen but this; this is non-negotiable. When you move everything else off the table other than making it, the only thing left is making it and so I would say to the Kaplan [University] student, ‘you’ve already jumped in, now say ‘no matter what’.’
I think one of the ways to stay motivated is to begin with the end in mind. See yourself on graduation day, see yourself with a certificate saying, ‘I completed. I did it. It’s done.’ See yourself in the lifestyle that this accomplishment will award you to have. When you being with the end in mind and you get so viscerally and emotionally connected to the outcome. Steven Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says, ‘Begin with the end in mind.’ See it, believe it, taste it, walk it, talk it, feel it and then go every day just getting to that feeling in reality. Have such a barometer to show you where you’re going and know what it looks like to be there and then become non-negotiable on it.
Stay motivated by not checking into how difficult it might be, check in with how sweet it gets to be. I believe that my life today is a result of hunkering down and seeing myself in a place where I wasn’t; seeing myself in a lifestyle th
Responding to the challenge of global hunger, DuPont today announced goals for its contribution to help improve food security around the world.
“No one company, country or non-profit organization can meet the challenge of feeding the world alone. But each of us can commit to doing our part and hold ourselves accountable to make a meaningful contribution to this global challenge,” said Ellen Kullman, DuPont Chair and CEO. “Establishing specific, measurable goals for what we can do to address that challenge is key to turning talk into results.”
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Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) will hold a live video press conference to announce a groundbreaking innovation in core networking (www.alcatel-lucent.com/rethink-the-core-network) at the company’s annual Technology Symposium 2012 taking place in Santa Clara, California May 22 – 23.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55906-alcatel-lucent-to-unveil-major-breakthrough-innovation-in-core-networking
