How Today’s Businesswomen Strike a Work-life Balance
(ARA) - Gone are the days when women were expected to stay at home to dote on their children and husbands. Today’s women have broken through the glass ceiling and are finding their way to corner offices around the country.
Juggling life both inside and outside the home can be a challenge — that’s why it’s important to strike the proper balance between work and personal lives. Luckily, there are specific strategies that women can implement to strike a healthier balance.
Find Work that Works
With today’s struggling economy and families requiring dual incomes, finding an employer that offers flexibility is often the key to both a successful career and personal life. And finding employers with this approach may be easier than you think. For example, The HON Company, a leading manufacturer of office furniture, understands the importance of family and instills a culture that enables work-life balance. Beyond creating quality office furniture that creates a comfortable, flexible and “home-like” work setting, HON offers its members perks such as flexible spending accounts to help offset the costs of daycare, local YMCA fitness center allowances and family-oriented activities.
“A member committee plans monthly outings and provides opportunities for members to purchase discounted passes for local family events,” says Tim Heth, vice president of member and community relations for HON. “Additionally, members are allotted one hour of paid volunteer time each week to utilize in any way they wish — from local Habitat for Humanity projects to their children’s PTA. Each benefit helps improve employee morale for both our female and male members.”
“Make sure you go to work with someone that has the same philosophy as you do,” says Tammy Vasilatos, owner of Tammy Vasilatos CPA, LLC, a 100 percent female accounting firm in El Paso, Tex. Vasilatos has created a family-friendly work atmosphere by offering flexible work schedules to her employees. She adds, “Don’t give up what you want, because you don’t need to do that anymore. The women before us had to, but we don’t.”
“I am more understanding of the importance of work-life balance,” says Michelle Horan, president and owner of Salka Office Furniture, a full-service office dealer in Meridian, Conn. “I am very flexible with hours and time off. I believe that taking care of good employees and customers is what leads to success.”
Set Realistic Time Schedules
While work deadlines are a necessary evil that you must complete, will anything bad happen if the dishes don’t get done or the bed isn’t made every day? No - so don’t sweat the small stuff.
Start each week with a realistic “to-do list” for both your work and home life. Check yourself each day to ensure that you are making progress and that your time allowances are in check. By the end of the work week, if you’ve completed enough tasks each day, your weekend can truly be enjoyed. And don’t sweat it if you didn’t get to the household chores. If you need to, you can hire a professional cleaning or landscaping service.
Leave Work at Work
With cell phones, laptops, PDAs and home offices, it has become blurry when the workday begins and ends. Be sure to separate your personal time from professional time by turning off your connections to the working world and turning on your connections with your family and friends.
Learn to Say No
If you’re a parent, you are probably a pro at saying “no” to your kids, so learn how to respectfully say no to projects that don’t fit within your schedule. Whether it’s taking the lead on a project at work, or coaching a soccer team, it’s okay to say no to projects that will bring you more stress than joy. As long as you are honest with your employers, they will most likely understand.
“Don’t be embarrassed or apologetic that you want to have both a career and a family,” adds Vasilatos. “Employers just want good quality work.” Plus, if you are in over your head, you may not be putting in your best work anyway.
While striking a work-life balance in today’s fast-paced world isn’t an easy task, by following these few guidelines, it is possible. “Now is a wonderful time to be a woman in the workforce,” says Vasilatos. “You really can have it all!”
For more information on The HON Company, visit www.HON.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
Cary, NC – With the fall season well underway for football teams across the country, The V Foundation kicks into high gear with National College Football Day on Saturday, November 1st. This is an event that not only honors the birth of college football, but also increases awareness and promotes the fundraising efforts of The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
As an official partner of the Fifth Annual National College Football Day, The V Foundation for Cancer Research will once again team up with The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the National Association of Division IA Football Officials (NADFO), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic to celebrate the game of football for a noteworthy cause.
“We’re again honored to be the charitable partner of National College Football Day, which we know will help bring attention to the need for cancer research,” said Nick Valvano, CEO of The V Foundation. “We are grateful to the entire college football community, including the coaches, game officials and media for lending their credibility and visibility to the celebration of National College Football Day and embracing The V Foundation and our mission of funding cancer research.”
National College Football Day, observed on the first Saturday of November, was created by the AT&T Cotton Bowl five years ago as a way to pay tribute to a significant moment in our nation’s history. On Nov. 6, 1869, Rutgers defeated Princeton, 6-4. More importantly, those college athletes left a lasting legacy that would evolve into the great spectacle of football. Last year, the holiday took on added significance when the Classic teamed up with The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
“It’s uplifting to see the response we’ve received when our partners team up,” said Rick Baker, President of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. “Last year, nearly $20,000 was raised for research efforts of The V Foundation, and we hope to build upon the success from last year and continue to increase cancer awareness and raise money for a great cause.”
To honor college football’s 139th birthday, the AT&T Cotton Bowl has produced limited edition lapel pins. Over 3,000 pins will be distributed to coaches, athletic directors, university presidents, sports publicists, game officials and media throughout the United States in hopes that everyone will wear their pin on National College Football Day
Read More: CarolinaNewsWire
RALEIGH - The conservation group American Rivers says the city of Raleigh could cut water use up to 40 percent and save millions of dollars by improving water efficiency.
But a city environmental coordinator says Raleigh has already adopted many of the policies the organization recommends.
American Rivers issued a report Wednesday in which it analyzed how four cities in the Southeast could benefit from water efficiency, as opposed to building new dams and reservoirs. It concluded that Raleigh could save $30 million to $60 million by pursuing efficiency as compared with building dams and reservoirs.
“I don’t know how they developed the numbers,” said Ed Buchan, the city Utilities Department’s environmental coordinator. “We think that a lot of the things we’ve already done have saved us some money.”
Buchan noted, however, that cutting consumption also reduces the city’s revenue from water and sewer charges. And Buchan said that even with efficient use of water, growing communities such as Raleigh must still plan new reservoirs.
Read More:News & Observer
Win puts Carolina atop NFC South
CHARLOTTE - For only the third time in franchise history, the Carolina Panthers are 6-2 at the halfway point of their season.
They rallied from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter — matching the second-best comeback in team history — to beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
Coupled with Tampa Bay’s loss to Dallas, the win gave the Panthers sole possession of first place in the NFC South, one game ahead of the Buccaneers.
Carolina has a bye next week, which should allow enough time for injured offensive line starters Jeff Otah and Ryan Kalil (ankle sprains) to heal and be ready to return to the lineup for a Nov. 9 game at Oakland.
Only two teams in the league have a better record than Carolina — 6-0 Tennessee, which plays Indianapolis tonight, and the 6-1 New York Giants.
Being “6-2 compared to 5-3 at the break, it’s huge,” said quarterback Jake Delhomme, who threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Steve Smith.
“Hopefully we can look back on this game down the line and say this was a pivotal win for us. We’ve given ourselves a chance.”
The Panthers reached the NFC championship game the other two times they were 6-2, in 2003 and ‘05, and made it to the Super Bowl in ‘03.
Carolina’s chances appeared dim in the third quarter when Arizona led 17-3.
The Panthers’ offense was floundering, and Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was dissecting the defense with pinpoint passing reminiscent of his MVP days with the St. Louis Rams nearly a decade ago.
Warner threw for 381 yards, the fifth-highest passing yardage total Carolina has allowed in a game.
“I tell you, man, that guy Kurt Warner, he’s special,” Panthers linebacker Jon Beason said.
Warner’s ability to release the ball quickly short-circuited Carolina’s heavy blitzing and pass-rushing pressure from defensive end Julius Peppers and others.
“It was very frustrating because sometimes it [felt] like no matter how fast you beat somebody, you [were] never going to get there,” Peppers said.
The Panthers defense was caught off guard when Arizona’s top two tight ends were deactivated because of injuries, causing the Cardinals to use more offensive sets than expected with four or even five wide receivers in a spread formation.
“We had to learn on the move because we didn’t get a lot of practice in [working against] four- and five-wideout sets,” safety Chris Harris said. “It was on-the-job training, I guess.”
While the defense adjusted, the Carolina offense struggled so much that players said there was a spirited locker room discussion at halftime.
“There were a lot of bleeps in there,” Smith said.
The game began to turn when Carolina got the ball for the first time in the second half with 10 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Delhomme said he noticed the home crowd was quiet and that even the Panthers bench lacked energy.
Read More:News & Observer
CHARLOTTE - They come from Florida, the Rust Belt and the Northeast. And the way they vote is changing the political complexion of North Carolina.
The waves of moderates and independents who have moved here have made this a battleground state, one that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has a chance to win, pollsters say. That’s a massive shift for a state where Sen. Jesse Helms used race in 1990 and 1996 to beat Senate seat rival Harvey Gantt, Charlotte’s only black mayor.
But many of today’s voters weren’t even here then.
Newcomers have everything to do with the state’s being in play, said Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Public Life at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Republican political consultant Dee Stewart disagrees. North Carolina is a battleground, he says, because Obama has outspent Republican John McCain and is ahead of him nationally.
Obama “is running further ahead than the Democratic nominees in 2000 and 2004, and some of that is spilling over into North Carolina,” Stewart said. Another factor, he said: “The economy is not performing well right now with a Republican in office.”
Still, he believes the state’s conservative roots are strong and McCain will win here.
Where they come from
People have flocked to North Carolina because of better job opportunities, leaving behind places where the economy has been worse off, such as the Midwest and Florida. Charlotte’s big banks have also drawn transplants from the Northeast, a traditional Democratic stronghold.
Last year, Florida and New York delivered the most newcomers, while three Rust Belt states — Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania — were in the top 10. A Charlotte Observer analysis of county voter registration records shows more than half of Mecklenburg’s eligible voters registered after 1999.
Newcomer Fran Walshin, of Davidson, says she got out of Florida just in time — three years ago, when she could still sell her house. But it’s not all rosy here, she said, noting that as a job recruiter, she meets lots of “devastated” professionals.
“We got in trouble, and now we need a new outlook to get us out of this problem. You can’t speak to the same people to get us out of this mess,” said Walshin, who is in her 60s and will cast a ballot for Obama.
Past predictability
Until now, North Carolina had been a politically predictable state — one that hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since 1976, when Jimmy Carter was elected. In 2004, President Bush won the state by 12 percentage points over Sen. John Kerry and North Carolina-raised running mate John Edwards.
Polls show McCain and Obama are tied in North Carolina less than two weeks before the election. McCain has visited the state twice, and Obama has been here four times. Both vice presidential picks have made multiple visits. And both campaigns are flooding the airwaves with ads.
But newcomers — 263,000 last year — aren’t the only reason North Carolina is in the election spotlight.
The Democratic Party has held huge voter drives targeting blacks. Then, there are economic and banking woes. The state was late to the slowdown but is now feeling the effects of slumping home prices and rising unemployment. The recent collapse of home-grown, Charlotte-based Wachovia Corp. is yet another reason people are on edge about jobs and the future.
Tina Gerbino, 39, who moved to Charlotte two years ago from Long Island, N.Y., cast her early vote for Obama. It was her first time ever voting. Her issue: the economy. Soon after moving, she lost her job, and her husband can get only part-time hours at his job.
Read More:News & Observer
Diabetes Champions from Across Country Aim to Inspire
(ARA) – A group of patients who make diabetes management an essential part of their day-to-day life are hoping to motivate others in the diabetes community to manage their condition and strive for optimal blood sugar control.
The Circle of Champions is a network of people from all over the United States living with diabetes, who have worked hard to achieve and maintain their personal diabetes goals. They are partnering with sanofi-aventis, a world leader in diabetes care, to speak out in local communities across the country with the hope of inspiring others to Join the Circle and pledge to strive for better blood sugar control, regardless of their treatment plan.
As the prevalence of diabetes in the United States continues to increase, with nearly 24 million Americans estimated to be living with the disease, the members of the Circle of Champions are encouraging others to find the right diabetes treatment plan for them.
“After being diagnosed with diabetes, I spoke with my treating health care provider about all available treatment options and, together, we worked to determine an appropriate plan to help me reach my individual daily blood sugar and A1C goals,” said Champion Frank Atherton.
As part of their overall diabetes treatment plan, these Champions use a basal insulin along with healthy meal planning, physical activity and other diabetes medications to help manage their blood sugar levels and keep their A1C under control.
“Taking control of my diabetes is important to me and I hope my story helps motivate others to talk to their healthcare provider and work toward achieving better blood sugar control,” said Champion Paula Jernigan.
As part of an effective diabetes treatment plan, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) encourages people living with diabetes to track their blood sugar levels with daily self-monitoring and by taking an A1C test, which measures average blood sugar levels over the past two-to-three-month period. To keep blood sugar levels under control, the ADA recommends striving for an A1C of less than 7 percent. Unfortunately, more than 40 percent of all diabetes patients in the United States are not achieving this target with diet, exercise and oral medications alone. It is important for patients with diabetes to talk to their treating health care provider about an appropriate A1C goal for them.
For more information about the program and to read the inspirational stories from people living with diabetes who make up the Circle of Champions, please visit www.MyDiabetesCircle.com. Visitors to the site can also Join the Circle and pledge to strive for better control of their blood sugar, and sign up to receive helpful information about diabetes and/or sanofi-aventis treatment options.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
How to Keep Your Family Flu-free
(ARA) - “Sniffle, sniffle, wheeze, wheeze.” These are tell-tale sounds of cold and flu season, which is right around the corner. With a little knowledge and a few smart tips, you and your family may make it through the winter without a single “ah-choo!”
Lifestyle expert Hannah Keeley, author and founder of TotalMom.com, offers the following tips for keeping your family flu-free this winter:
Get your daily dose of healthy food.
Eating raw fruits and vegetables not only helps your digestive health, it also strengthens your immune system. But as any mom can tell you, it’s hard to get your family thrilled about noshing on raw carrots all day. Try fresh or frozen fruit smoothies or offer raw veggie slices served with a zesty dip. Be creative – look for opportunities to slide some sprouts in a sandwich or hide sliced peppers in a wrap. A healthy diet makes for a healthy family.
Wash your hands.
Mothers have been chanting the same mantra for ages, so why mess with a good thing? The simple act of washing hands with good old-fashioned soap and water is, hands down — no pun intended — the best way to prevent the spread of colds and viruses. Make soap easy for children to reach and try paper towels for drying instead of cloth towels, which can harbor germs.
Keep your body moving.
Daily exercise is a great way to strengthen your immune system; and we all know that a strong immune system is key to fighting off potential infections. Even though the cooler winter weather drives us indoors, make time during the day to get up and move. Turn on some music and dance around the house or bundle the kids up and go skating. Find ways to make exercise fun and get the whole family in on the action.
Take a daily multi-vitamin.
Many people suffer from diets that are low in the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs to guard against disease. Protect the health of you and your family by taking a daily multi-vitamin. Remind the kids to take their vitamins by making it a part of your family’s morning breakfast routine.
Tell a good joke.
Stress can make the body more susceptible to catching colds and the flu. Fight off stress this season with a little laughter, fun and games. Host a weekly family game night, watch a hilarious family comedy together, or share funny stories around the dinner table. You’re not just strengthening bodies; you’re strengthening your family.
Clean the air.
During the winter, your family is exposed to viruses that circulate in the air they breathe both outside and indoors. While indoors, protect your family by installing a whole-home air filtration system like American Standard AccuClean. Not only does the American Standard AccuClean system remove a whopping 99.98 percent of particles and allergens from indoor air, but according to a recent Harvard University research study, it also removes more than 99 percent of the common flu, or influenza A virus, from your home’s filtered air. It’s an easy way to keep your family breathing clean, comfortable air all year long.
Forget stocking up on the tissues and expensive meds. In just a few simple steps, you can protect your family and look forward to a fun and healthy winter together.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
Driven from land in Zimbabwe, couple in their 50s seize opportunity in N.C.
AYDEN - In Zimbabwe, Wally Herbst would’ve left this kind of hard and dirty work to his hired hands. But in North Carolina, stripped of his vast African ranch and starting over at 58, his only hands are his own. So he bends to his filthy task, the removal of a bloated, dead pig that weighs more than 200 pounds, its stink thickening in the humidity of the July afternoon. He ties a simple knot with a piece of rope — a “bit of African technology,” he says — and pulls a loop tight around the pig’s hind legs. Using a 4-foot board as a ramp, Herbst yanks the carcass into the bed of a pickup.
In Africa, Herbst worked a 13,000-acre farm, part of which had been in his family for generations. He grew paprika that was exported to Spain, ran a successful safari business, raised cattle and employed more than 150 people during the busy harvest seasons.
That life ended in 2002 when men armed with automatic weapons evicted the Herbst family from its farm. In a land redistribution campaign overseen by President Robert Mugabe, political loyalists seized thousands of white-owned farms in Zimbabwe and turned them over to impoverished blacks.
The seizures wrecked the country’s agricultural infrastructure, leading to extensive food shortages and stratospheric inflation. The United Nations estimates that 1 million people have lost their livelihoods and homes as a result of the redistribution.
Herbst and his wife, Helen, are among them.
Theirs is a refugee story turned upside down. They were not poor political dissidents, but successful farmers whose skin color and economic achievement made them vulnerable in a violent, hostile environment.
At an age when most couples are spoiling their grandchildren and mapping retirement plans, the Herbsts packed four suitcases for a chance at the American dream. In Africa, the couple lived among giraffes and elephants, and hunters from overseas paid big money for the right to hunt sable antelope on their land.
In Ayden, south of Greenville, their first home was a one-bedroom apartment across the street from a Piggly Wiggly.
Nearly broke when they arrived a year ago, the Herbsts need to save money so they can eventually retire. Wally secured a visa and a job with a large hog operation near Greenville. It’s grunt work, but he does not complain.
As if to prove this, he finishes his gruesome chore, pulling another pig that has succumbed to natural causes into the back of the pickup. It will be taken to a compost bin.
Wally smiles.
“It keeps me young.”
Dispossessed
Wally is built like a middle linebacker, with a strong-willed attitude to match. Helen, 53, has the red hair and fair complexion of her Irish ancestors, and she is the chatty one. In an African accent that exudes its British ancestry, she shares their story:
Wally and Helen, both born in Africa, were married in 1977 and have three children. They lived and worked in rural Matabeleland, a region in southwestern Zimbabwe.
Wally employed about 30 permanent workers, who lived in traditional African huts on the property. Their homestead was a three-bedroom, two-bath house that, until 15 years ago, depended on generators for electricity.
Chaos and violence has defined Mugabe’s 28-year presidential reign. In the 1980s, he dispatched troops to attack a rival tribe in a campaign that became known as the Matabeleland atrocities.
It was during this time that Wally found a mass grave on the farm. The police removed about 20 skulls, including those of children.
By 1997, Mugabe announced his plan to seize white farms and redistribute the land. Five years later, Helen was home eating lunch when an employee rushed to tell her that police were parked at the gate and wanted to speak with her.
Read More:News & Observer
Although it leads in market share locally, customers may believe it is less safe
Wachovia’s well-known financial woes and its pending acquisition by Wells Fargo are providing an opportunity for competitors to do their darnedest to capture some of the Charlotte bank’s customers.
“You have one of the best franchises in the Carolinas being acquired by a West Coast bank,” said investment banker Bill Wagner of Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett in Raleigh. “It’s an opportunity for all banks.”
Wachovia is an especially enticing target in the Triangle, where it ranks first overall in market share based on deposits — No. 1 in the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan statistical area and No. 2 in the Durham MSA — according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
“You hate to think you are profiting when someone else is down, but yes, it will benefit us,” said Gregg Strickland, CEO of Patriot State Bank in Fuquay-Varina.
Wachovia, as well as most of the other large banks in the area, has already seen its market share slowly erode in recent years as expansion-minded community banks have encroached on its turf.
“With our [leading] market share, we always have a target on our back,” said Jack Clayton, Wachovia’s regional president. He also contends deposit data don’t give the complete picture, because they don’t include money that customers invest through Wachovia.
Industry analysts say it’s unlikely competitors will try to lure Wachovia customers by substantially raising interest rates on deposits or lowering fees. Nor are they likely to resort to gimmicks.
“What they are selling is security and strength,” said Buddy Howard of Equity Research Services, a Raleigh firm that tracks the banking industry. “They are not going to get a customer to deposit a bunch of money with you for a free toaster, if [the customer] doesn’t think their money is safe.”
Current ad campaigns by several local banks pointedly focus on financial strength, safety and stability. The ads don’t mention Wachovia, but the underlying message is that “these are things that do not apply to … the Wachovia of 2008,” Howard said.
A SunTrust ad that appeared in The News & Observer and elsewhere even goes so far as to say, “When you’re ready to switch accounts, we’re here to help.”
John Stallings, who heads SunTrust’s Central Carolinas region, said the campaign isn’t aimed solely at Wachovia customers. Rather, he said, the volatility in the banking industry is putting a lot of customers in “shopping mode.” SunTrust is No. 1 in market share in Durham and has more branches in the Triangle than any other bank.
Stallings said that, beginning last year, SunTrust also stepped up its efforts to call on wealthy individuals and businesses who aren’t clients in hopes of converting them.
“The way we win business is where we’re in front of clients and they have a chance to hear our story, our capabilities, our expertise, etc.,” Stallings said.
Read More:News & Observer
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina’s men’s basketball team, a Final Four favorite, will play for the first time this season against Vanderbilt — on Nov. 2 at the Smith Center.
But it’s not on the preseason schedule.
You can’t buy a ticket. It won’t be on TV.
And the score will never be made public — if one is even kept.
“We can’t publicize it, can’t let fans in, can’t give out any stats,” said UNC associate athletic director Larry Gallo, who wouldn’t even name the opponent, place or date.
So: Shhhhhhh.
Under a strange NCAA rule, Division I teams such as UNC can only scrimmage against other Division I teams if it is done in secret — doors locked, no media, no fans, no official scoring. Even when it’s conducted in a public building.
Typically, the top teams in the nation play two exhibition games against lower-division schools, foreign teams or club squads.
But teams can substitute an “informal practice scrimmage,” as it is called in NCAA rules, for a preseason exhibition. The caveat: The only people allowed in are coaches, players and staff members necessary to conduct the workout. Recruits making official visits can also attend.
The (secret) practice rule has been around for about a decade. Wake Forest, for instance, scrimmaged UNC-Greensboro last year and has another conspicuous blank spot on its current preseason schedule. Davidson, which scrimmaged at Texas last season and made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, will make a return trip to Austin in the coming weeks. Vanderbilt has also done it for the past few years.
But the private workout will be a first for the Tar Heels, who are looking to pit All-American Tyler Hansbrough and point guard Ty Lawson against better players than any Division II or III team can provide. Vanderbilt lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season and finished 26-8 under coach Kevin Stallings, a longtime friend of UNC coach Roy Williams.
Practice for NCAA teams officially begins at 5 p.m. today. The Tar Heels open the regular season on Nov. 15.
“[The private scrimmage] gives your guys an opportunity to practice against a top-ranked team, and sometimes to travel, be on the road, to go through the same routine and environment that you hope you’re going to see during the regular season,” said Davidson coach Bob McKillop, whose Southern Conference Wildcats have quietly worked out against a Division I foe for the past six seasons. He said he was not allowed to name the who and when of those opponents.
Why all the the secrecy? That remains unclear. NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent said in an e-mail: “The motivation of the bylaw is the concern over the demands placed on student-athletes and the games/scrimmages they play.”
Exhibition games, she added, are similar to regular-season games which require media, and post- and pregame responsibilities. But not private scrimmages.
Read More:News & Observer
