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THE COURIER PAGE �cedar valley business monthlycvbusinessmonthly.com

By JIM [email protected]

TRIPOLI — Erin Ott doesn’t want to be a doctor, so she does what she thinks is the next-best thing:

She is a physician assistant.

Ott, who treats patients at Covenant clinics in Tripoli and Fairbank, is one of a growing number of medical profes-

sionals who choose a so-called “mid-level” path between MDs and nurses and become PAs and nurse practitioners.

Contrary to common belief among businesses that have well-ness programs, PAs and NPs — the latter fall into a broader category of advanced practice nurses — are distinct from each other.

“The majority of employers use APNs and PAs interchange-ably,” said Roger Tracy, assistant dean and director with the Uni-versity of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine, which trains both. “Let’s take an urgent care cen-ter or emergency department, for example. Most likely they’ll fill an opening with either. NPs and PAs will tell you they’re different from one another. They don’t take lightly the fact that employers think of them interchangeably.”

Volume 6 l No. 1

ON ThE cOVER

STAFF dIREcTORy

Cedar Valley Business Monthly is a free publication direct-mailed to more than 6,500 area businesses.

Contact us at (319) 291-1527 or P.O. Box 540, Waterloo, IA 50704. Physician’s assistant Erin Ott of Waterloo.

www.cvbusinessmonthly.com

See MId-LEVEL, page 6

EdITORIAL cONTENTNancy Raffensperger [email protected](319) 291-1445

Jim [email protected](319) 291-1598

AdVERTISINGDavid [email protected](319) 291-1403

Jackie [email protected](319) 291-1527

Sheila [email protected](319) 291-1448

SPONSORScONTENTSUniversity of Northern IowaStruggling economy promotes burst of necessity entreprenuership ............ page 9

Wartburg collegeWartburg extends student recruiting to the international stage ........................ page 24

Outsourcing poses cybersecurity risks for some, opportunity for others ........ page 36

dECEMBER 2011

Mid-level medicinePhysician assistants, nurse practitioners fill key roles in rural communities

RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer

Physician assistant Erin Ott of Waterloo helps fill the need for medical personnel in rural areas. Ott splits her time between covenant clinics in Tripoli and Fairbank.

Inside:Students hone skills at Salvation Army clinic.PAGE 4

THE COURIERPAGE � cedar valley business monthly cvbusinessmonthly.com

By JIM [email protected]

WATERLOO — A patient drops by the Waterloo Salvation Army office in need of medical help. Another drops by asking for vita-min tablets. Yet another is having a scheduled blood-sugar check.

It’s all possible because Allen College runs a free clinic Thurs-days and every other Wednesday at the Salvation Army’s head-quarters at 218 Logan Ave.

Both providers and patients benefit, said Ruselle DeBonis, a doctor of nursing practice who teaches in Allen College’s nurse practitioner program.

“Those are skills they’ll need in order to diagnose,” said DeBonis, the director of the clinic — one of only two in Iowa staffed entirely by nursing personnel.

“This is the first time they’re getting out to see patients, at least this way,”DeBonis said.

On this particular raw, gray November day, three nurse prac-titioner students are present to treat as many as 15 to 20 drop-in patients during the clinic’s 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m. shift.

Each student puts in 20 hours of volunteer service at the clinic launched by DeBonis, herself a member of the NP program’s inaugural class of 2000.

“The patients, bless their hearts, are very patient and allow

us to take our time,” DeBonis said.

All students treating patients are well into their two-year sequence in the program. Two of them, Amy Macal, a 15-year registered nurse from LeMars, and Julie Leary, a five-year RN from Cedar Falls, are reporting for duty for the first time.

Both got into Allen’s NP pro-gram because they saw an oppor-tunity to fill a need created by a

lack of family physicians in Iowa, particularly in rural areas.

“There’s a growing need for nurse practitioners to help with the shortage of doctors,” said Macal, a nursing graduate of Northern Iowa Community College in Calmar who earned a bachelor’s degree at Winona State University in Minnesota.

Macal said her goal is to operate a practice in a rural area.

“It’s harder to get family phy-

sicians in the rural areas, and health care demands are 24-7, and many people don’t want to work 24-7 anymore, so it’s nice to have the nurses being able to step up and cover those odd

hours, weekends, holidays, that many physicians don’t want to do,” said Macal, a third-semes-ter NP student.

dECEmbER 2011

Student NPs hone craft at Salvation Army clinic

RICK CHASE / Courier Staff Photographer

Salvation Army Clinic Director Ruselle DeBonis and Amy Macal, who is studying under DeBonis to be a nurse practitioner, look over a patient file Nov. 3 at the clinic in Waterloo.

See CLINIC, page 5


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The varied experience Macal as getting in NP training is crucial, she said.

“The experience is pretty vast in school,” she said. “Obviously, you have Salvation Army, public health, emergency rooms, ICU. It’s a wide variety if you want it to be. If you prefer one specific area, that’s an opportunity for you as well.”

Becoming a nurse practitioner seemed like a logical career step for Leary, a graduate of Hawkeye Community College’s nursing program.

“I became fairly proficient and felt very confident in my nurs-ing skills, and I wanted to boost that,” said Leary, who earned a B.S. in general studies from the University of Northern Iowa.

The career transition brings plenty of challenges, particularly time, Leary said.

“It takes two years, but it’s every day,” she said. “I have two little girls, and it’s just busy. When I’m not working I’m on call, and when I’m on call I’m on call for more than one thing.”

Leary said when her training is done, she’ll go where she’s

needed.“Wherever there’s a need,

something that’s available when I get out of school in a year,” she said. “I’m very open to what is available and where I can be helpful.”

The move to NP also is a career step for Erica Jensen, a Waterloo native who became a registered nurse in 2008 through Allen’s accelerated program.

“When I was in nursing school I knew I wanted to go on and further my degree, so I knew this was the path I was going to take,” said Jensen, who was starting her second day at the Salvation Army clinic.

“It’s wonderful,” she said of her clinic experience. “You don’t get the opportunity to volunteer much when you’re in school just because you’re so busy. You enjoy the experience. You get to see people you’re going to be seeing every day.”

Jensen said much of her nurs-ing experience has been in “fast-paced settings,” such as emer-gency rooms, and she said she is comfortable in that kind of high-pressure environment.

“But I also am kind of looking forward to a slower pace, so we’ll see where it goes,” she said. “I’m not sure where I want to go with it.”

CLINICFrom page 4

dECEmbER 2011

�UPS�expects�6%�rise�in�holiday�shipmentsNEW YORK (AP) — Online

gift-buying procrastinators are expected to drive a 6 percent increase in UPS package deliver-ies the week before Christmas this year.

The world’s largest package delivery company says it expects a total of 120 million packages around the world during the company’s “peak week,” com-pared with 113 million last year.

The Atlanta company predicts its busiest day will be Dec. 22, when it expects to deliver 26 mil-lion parcels.

UPS’ smaller rival, FedEx Corp., expects to handle 17 mil-lion packages on its busiest day, Dec. 12. That’s 10 percent more than its busiest day last year. Both companies have seen steady growth in shipments through-

out the holiday season because of growth of online shopping.

UPS said shoppers are ordering gifts online closer to Christmas. That’s creating a compression of the company’s busiest days in the last two weeks before Christ-mas. The peak season tradition-ally started around Thanks-giving before the rapid rise of e-commerce.

United Parcel Service Inc. pre-dicts it will see five days this year where its deliveries will meet or exceed 25 million. All of those will be within the 10 days before Christmas. Last year, UPS only reached that level on its busi-est day. UPS plans to hire 55,000 seasonal workers in the U.S. That’s up from 50,000 in 2010, but down from the 60,000 it hired in 2007.


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NPs have a nursing and educa-tion component that PAs don’t and can work without the super-vision of a physician, Tracy said.

“There’s more effort for patient information, education and patient counseling and less so on the PA side,” Tracy said. “Not that they don’t do that, but it’s just not as pronounced in their training as with NPs.”

Filling needs in rural clinicsBut there are plenty of similari-

ties, particularly in filling roles in rural clinics, said Dr. Nasredin Dalil, a family-practice physician at a Covenant Clinic, attached to Mercy Hospital in Oelwein.

“The need for medical services in small towns and rural areas is just growing,” Dalil said. “That cannot be filled by physicians at all times, and that’s the main rea-son for the need for all the mid-

levels to fill these provisions.”A shortage of physicians com-

bined with doctors’ preference for practicing in urban areas has created the need for mid-level practitioners, said Dr. Paul Franke, vice president of medical affairs for Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Iowa.

“Most people in small towns don’t have access to physicians,” he said. “There’s just kind of a major trend everywhere, a ten-dency for people and profession-als of all sorts to kind of migrate to more urbanized areas, which leaves rural areas trying to scram-ble for resources and expertise.”

PAs and NPs are answering the call with distinction, Franke said.

Ott, a 2005 graduate of Colum-bus High School in Waterloo, worked through a 25-month program at Des Moines Univer-sity that — along with the U of I — trains most mid-level medical personnel in the state.

Two years of trainingThe training is rigorous from

start to finish, she said.“The first year most of the time

is all classroom work, with all sys-tem courses with pharmacology,” she said. “We’re kind of being trained with medical students at PA school. It’s kind of differ-ent from nursing. The second year is all clinical rotations. We have so many months of family practice and internal medicine, some emergency room, some specialties.”

Ott had rotations in Waterloo in such fields as cardiology, derma-tology and women’s health.

Splitting her time between the two rural Covenant clinics fills an essential role.

“We go places where other pro-viders often don’t want to settle. It’s really an important oppor-tunity to reach out and serve patients here,” Ott said.

Having access to a mid-level practitioner and not a doctor sometimes creates misconcep-tions, but those are generally cleared up with ease, Ott said.

“Most of the clinics are long-

established, and in these areas they’re used to who we are and what a PA is. But other times it’s a good question to ask”

A growing fieldMid-level medicine is a growing

field, said Tracy, who tracks sta-tistics on PAs, NPs and doctors.

“In 2000, we had 706 APNs in Iowa, and at the end of 2010, we were at 1,250, which is a 77 per-cent increase,” he said.

The NP field has grown even more dramatically.

“For every two APNs, we have one PA,” he said.

According to Tracy, Iowa’s pop-ulation of PAs has grown from 467 in 2000 to 679 at the end of last year, a 45 percent increase.The rate of increase is steeper for APNs.

Allen College in Waterloo grad-uates about 50 nurse practitio-ners a year, according to Ruselle DeBonis, a doctor of nursing practice who teaches several nurse-practitioner courses and is clinical coordinator for NPs at

Allen College School of Nursing. “Obviously, they are practicing

registered nurses with bachelor’s (degrees) when they come to us, and they have to have a 3.0 in order to get into the program,” she said of her program, which confers master’s degrees.

“Basically, the nurse practitio-ners, once they’ve graduated, are independent practitioners who can write prescriptions and see and manage patients,” DeBonis said. “Part of the reason they’re becoming more popular is they can fill that role themselves.”

PAs, by comparison, require the supervision of a physician, DeBonis said. But both provide vital functions.

“NPs have kind of answered the call, willing to go to some of those areas that a physician might not be necessarily enticed to go. They fill that need quite well.”

Ott said she stays busy.“I’m new, but I see 15 to 25

patients on average,” she said. “We have patients that ask for us particularly.”

mid-levelFrom page 3

dECEmbER 2011


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dECEmbER 2011

Veridian Credit Union working to keep employees healthyVeridian Credit Union wants to

keep our employees happy and healthy, and we support that intention with a comprehensive wellness program that is earn-

ing national rec-ognition and has transferrable value for other Cedar Valley employers.

This year Verid-ian was nation-ally acknowl-edged as one of The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Secu-rity because we’ve maintained sal-ary increases and exceptional bene-fits during a chal-

lenging economy.We’re most proud of our com-

prehensive wellness program, but The Principal’s award cited other benefits like our 401(k) plan with a 100 percent match up to five percent of pay, our profit sharing plan with an average contribu-tion of 10 percent and our 100 percent employer-paid insur-ance premiums.

More recently, Reuters spread word of Veridian’s work globally, writing about our wellness pro-gram as an example of encourag-ing employee health. The article also explored the trend toward providing lower health insur-ance premiums as a reward for employee wellness.

The award and news coverage highlight a shared burden for employers — unsustainably ris-ing health insurance premiums. Employer-provided family med-ical plans now average more than $15,000 per year, up 31 percent over five years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation

The recent attention to Verid-

ian’s program recognizes that employee engagement can successfully reduce costs and improve health. We’ve been hon-est with employees about the increases we’re seeing and how they can help control our costs.

Our evolution to results-based wellness can be quanti-fied, in part, by Veridian’s Fit-ness Challenge. In 2010, we had 152 employees voluntarily log 405,454 minutes of exercise and lose a total of 749 pounds. That’s 3 percent weight loss among vol-unteer participants and a clear indication of employee engage-ment. The challenge returned in 2011 with even stronger results.

Additionally, Veridian began voluntary wellness screenings this year. More than 40 percent of employees participated in exami-nations of their health, including body fat, tobacco use and more. A similar round of tests saw 95 percent participation in October.

Strong participation tells us employees are motivated. Their feedback on all aspects of our wellness program has been posi-tive, too. Rewarding their healthy lifestyles by lowering their share of medical insurance costs is one aspect of the benefits realized through Veridian’s program.

Cedar Valley employers should note results-based wellness pro-grams improve employee health, medical utilization and the resulting costs. Results-based wellness and voluntary benefits are a powerful combination that supports an affordable and sus-tainable employee benefits plan.

Our employees know their health is important to Veridian, and they know we support and reward wellness. It’s been grati-fying to receive recognition for this effort, and we’re proud to bring recognition to the Cedar Valley for our work.

Renee Christofferis senior vice president of

administration with Veridian Credit

Union in Waterloo. Contact her at

236-5607.

Find all your latest news in


WO-112311069

dECEmbER 2011

In flailing economy, necessity entrepreneurship risingAccording to the Kauff-

man Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, more Americans have become entrepreneurs since the

beginning of the recession than at any other time in the past 15 years. In 2010 more than 565,000 new business-es were started each month — up from 531,000 in 2008. While this is seemingly good news for econom-ic development, employer firm startup rates have dropped dramati-cally during the

same period. The economy and unemployment rates may have pressed more individuals into business ownership, but it appears most of them are going it alone rather than starting com-panies that employ others.

Necessity entrepreneurship, as it has been called, is emerging as the great push behind the huge numbers of new business start-ups in the U.S. Typically char-acterized as tiny, often home-based or nomadic business owners, necessity entrepreneurs historically are characterized as small, slow growing sole propri-etorships that fade away as the economy improves.

According to Carl Schramm, CEO and president of the Kauff-man Foundation, this could have both short-term and long-term impacts on economic growth and job creation

“Far too many founders,” notes Schramm, “are choosing jobless entrepreneurship, preferring to remain self-employed or to avoid assuming the economic respon-

sibility of hiring employees”. This is indeed a problem. We

need to create lots of jobs — and quickly — to pull us out of this recession. We know the great-est numbers of net new jobs come from larger companies — those with between nine and 99 employees — and from com-panies less than five years old. If these new business owners are avoiding the risks of hiring employees our economic growth will be slow and weak.

Perhaps we need to rethink our definition of jobs. One charac-teristic of 21st century entrepre-neurs is their reliance upon con-tract labor. Easy to hire, easy to fire, these contractual employees pay payroll and income taxes, spend their dollars in much the same way as W2 employees. At the University of Northern Iowa’s two incubators all the participants have contract labor, yet only half have created tradi-tional jobs in their startup phase. Economists aren’t set up to track these kinds of jobs much less cal-culate their value, yet this may be the typical job of the future.

We also don’t know if neces-sity entrepreneurs are going to be “sticky.” In the 1990s, German researchers documented that entrepreneurs in that country typically abandoned their new ventures for payroll jobs once the economy picked up. This recent crop of startups may not fol-low that path back to working for someone else after being their own boss. Today’s entrepreneur enjoys a certain amount of pres-tige, something that was missing from the entrepreneurial experi-ence of the last century. We’ve come a long way from Natalie Clifford Barney’s famous state-ment that, “Entrepreneurship is the last refuge of the trouble-

making individual.” It’s cool to be an entrepreneur today. Why go back to the office cube when you get more respect at the local co-work space?

Entrepreneurs have far more networking resources than they’ve had in the past, too; today’s entrepreneur is engaged

and involved in business com-munities where they are more apt to build long term connec-tions. From online networks like MyEntre.Net to events like StartUp weekends, Tech-brews, EntreFest! and Thinc conferenc-es, networking is abundant and accessible.

All and all, it’s happening, with us or without us, in living rooms, second bedrooms, base-ments and garages. Necessity or not, these new entrepreneurs are fundamentally changing our communities, our economies and rewriting what it means to be in business.

Maureen Collins-Williams

is director of the Regional Business

Center at the University

of Northern Iowa.


THE COURIERPAGE 10 cedar valley business monthly cvbusinessmonthly.com

SAVINGSFIRST-QUARTERWO-112311073

dECEmbER 2011

It’s important to know your credit score, and who is checking it Do you know who is reporting

on your personal credit report? Do you know who is check-ing your personal credit report? You should! Often, decisions are made based on what is reported in your credit report.

Of course, financial insti-tutions review your credit report when you open an account or apply for a loan. But so do some land-lords, insurance companies and

employers. For example, if you are looking to rent your next apartment, the landlord may refuse you as a tenant based on your credit history. Also, if you are applying for insurance cover-

age, some insurance companies may decide how much you will pay in annual premiums based in part on your credit history. Even some employers will review your credit history to determine if you qualify for employment.

Some financial institutions determine your interest rate by your credit score on a variety of types of loans such as a personal, auto, or home loan. This method of determining your interest rate by your credit score is referred to as risk-based pricing. The rea-son for using risk-based pricing is based on the consumer’s risk for not repaying the loan. The higher your credit score, the less risky the loan, therefore a better interest rate can be offered.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, new reg-ulations required a lender to dis-close in writing to the borrower(s) if they are not getting the best interest rate available. Those consumers who receive the risk-

based pricing notice will be able to obtain a free credit report to check the accuracy of the report.

Your credit report will report a number of things about your credit history. It displays your

existing and past loans, monthly payment obligations, payment history, employment, unpaid collections and much more. The three most commonly used cred-it bureaus are Equifax, Experian,

and TransUnion. You can check your credit report for free once every 12 months by going to www.annualcrediterport.com. Avoid any unforeseen surprises by checking your report today.

Heidi Abben is assistant vice

president for mortgage lending at First National Bank in Waverly. Contact her at 483-4819 or heidi.abben@

myfnbbank.com.

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dECEmbER 2011

Preventive medicine makes for healthy estate planHow healthy is your financial

plan? Are you taking the neces-sary preventive steps to ensure

your finances are in the right hands? Prevention refers to methods or activities that seek to reduce or deter predict-able problems, protect your cur-rent state of well-being or promote desired outcomes or behavior. In everyday life, we make decisions to take simple, pre-ventive steps such

as washing our hands or taking vitamin supplements to make sure we stay physically healthy. Just as with physical health, it is important to learn how estate planning is the preventive medi-cine to achieve a healthier life-style and sense of well-being.

The basic estate planning reme-dies include a will, assignment of a power of attorney and medical power of attorney — also known as a living will. These estate planning remedies can eliminate uncertainties that occur during and after your lifetime.

A will is a legal document that lays out the fate of your property

after your death and is the best place to name guardians for your children. Dying without a will, also known as dying intestate, can be costly to your heirs and leaves you no say over who gets your assets. Without a will, the courts in your state of residence at the time of death controls the distribution of your assets. The state has the right to appoint a lawyer to oversee the distribution of your estate, and that lawyer will be paid out of your estate’s assets.

The state also would be able to appoint a guardian for any minor children you may have left behind. Designating a guardian in your will, however, provides the least amount of disruption in their lives and results in a health-ier lifestyle both for them and their new guardian.

A power of attorney gives a des-ignated person the legal power to handle your affairs when you’re unable to do so. Military person-nel are required to create a power of attorney before being deployed overseas. This document can be drafted by your attorney to limit or expand the power you give to another. This can range from spe-cific tasks, such as signing checks only to enabling representation on your behalf in all matters. At death its authority ceases.

Creation of a living will is also an important part of one’s healthy estate plan. In Iowa, a living will informs medical personnel that you do not want certain life-sus-taining procedures if you are ter-minally ill and unable to decide for yourself. Your attorney and physician will advise you in the legal and medical definitions of life-sustaining procedures.

A healthy estate plan may include the creation of a revo-cable living trust. Trusts are legal mechanisms that let you put con-ditions on how and when your assets will be distributed upon your death. The goal is to have the trust own all of your assets. Assets titled in your name will need to be re-titled in the name of your estate upon death. Assets titled in the name of a revocable living trust will need no changes upon death.

In Iowa, as in many states, a complete listing of a deceased person’s assets is listed in pub-lic court records. The report and inventory, as it is called in Iowa, is a filing that the personal rep-resentative or executor of the will is obligated to file with the court that breaks down the assets by type and value. One only need to go down to the courthouse and look up the file number for the deceased individual and have access to review the file. Simi-lar to your health records being private information, a revocable living trust, however, is not made public upon death. This meth-od of not publicly disclosing the value of all your assets upon death provides a better sense of well-being knowing that your family’s privacy will be maintained.

One last “ounce of prevention” is to make a list of your assets.

Your attorney will provide you with the types of assets that need to be considered for placement in the trust. Assets consist of real estate, stocks, bank accounts, life insurance, property and retire-ment funds.

If you have adjusted to the Internet age, you will also need to make a list of websites for which passwords are necessary. An asset or credit card account may be overlooked if a beneficiary is not aware you receive e-state-ments. Keep an up-to-date list of websites and access information in a safe deposit box.

As you can see, estate planning requires ongoing attention much like our physical health. By taking into consideration the previously mentioned preventative steps to positive financial health, we can improve our and our family’s sense of well-being.

Marli Erickson is executive vice president of the trust department at Community

National Bank in Waterloo. Contact her at 291-2000.

Contagious co-worker sickens colleagueBy MAriE G. McintyrE

mcClatchy-Tribune News Service

Q. I have a co-worker who comes to work when she’s sick. Even though she’s coughing and blowing her nose, she uses my phone and items on my desk. I’ve asked her to keep her distance, because I don’t want to get sick. But she continues to touch my things. What should I do?

A. You have already taken the first assertive step by explaining your desire to avoid sick people. Since your contagious colleague has ignored this request, go one step further and politely ask her

not to handle your belongings while she has a cold. To be on the safe side, put smaller items in a drawer and clean your phone with antiseptic wipes.

Most sick employees aren’t trying to infect anyone. They simply forget to modify their usual behaviors. So in the inter-est of general office wellness, ask your boss to remind everybody about proper hygiene habits.

Marie G. McIntyre is a work-place coach and the author of “Secrets to Winning at Office Pol-itics.” Send in questions and get free coaching tips at www.yourof-ficecoach.com, or follow her on Twitter @officecoach.

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THE COURIERPAGE 16 cedar valley business monthly cvbusinessmonthly.com dECEmbER 2011

A fracture is bad for you, your employee and your business. It is also often avoidable.

You can take control of your own bone health to avoid osteo-

porosis and frac-tures. But how do you know what you need to do? Where can you find reliable guidance?

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give you and your employees detailed information. Then it is time to act.

How do you know where to begin? Starting with a full bone health evaluation is much better than just guessing that you are OK.

An accurate DXA from an ISCD certified reader is important. The computerized readings often require over-reading and revision by a qualified human. We have a certified clinical densitometrist reading all our DXAs. But that is just the beginning.

A vertebral fracture assessment is needed to pick up the 15 to

20 percent of individuals with osteoporosis and/or high risk of fracture who are missed by DXA alone. We have the only DXA machine in the area that provides a patient-friendly lateral view of the spine.

Our DXA readings also include the fracture risk assessment tool FRAX. This takes into account the factors that make up 70 per-cent of the fracture risk calcula-tion. DXA only contributes 30 percent and is pre-empted by vertebral compression fracture deformities on the VFA, even if they are only visible by VFA or X-ray.

Blood tests not normally checked in routine health screen-ings are needed for a complete bone health evaluation.

Then it is time for a personal review of the whole picture. We usually find easily correctable factors causing increased frac-ture risk. You need a lot more calcium and vitamin D than you realize. Addressing those and other issues decreases risk.

Group presentations about pre-venting osteoporosis and frac-tures are easily arranged. Avoid-ing a single fracture on the job (and a lost-time accident) or at home by a key employee can pay for the whole program.

The winter blues are often vita-

min D deficiency. Most Iowans are low in vitamin D, especially in the winter. My office became a much nicer place to work after

we corrected low vitamin D lev-els, including mine.

Fall prevention is just as impor-tant as proper lifting techniques.

Achieve a healthier workplace by evaluating and avoiding the hidden threat of poor bone health, osteoporosis and fractures.

Evaluate your employees’ bone health to avoid lost-time injuries

Jay GintherM.D. is director

of the Cedar Valley Bone Health Institute. Contact him at 233-2663.

Donate and save on taxesmcClatchy-Tribune News Service

As the 2011 tax year winds down, you still might create one more tax break through a deduct-ible charitable contribution.

End-of-year charitable contri-butions, either through money or donated goods, not only help a charity, but also provide a tax deduction late in the year. If you’d like to learn more about tax sav-ing by giving to charity, check out one of the following websites:

AmEricAn BAr AssociAtion: discusses tax rules for giving to a tax-exempt charity and contribution limits. www.americanbar.org/groups/taxation/resources/taxtips4u/charity_deduct.html

BEttEr BusinEss BurEAu: Pro-

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■

vides comprehensive look at charitable donation tax deductions and contribu-tion, and groups that solicit donations. www.bbb.org/us/Charity-Tax-deduc-tions/

intErnAl rEvEnuE sErvicE: Offers details on federal tax rules pertaining to charitable contributions through IRS publication links. www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506.html

nEtwork for Good: Covers a range of tax topics related to charitable giving in a question and answer format. www.networkforgood.org/donate/tax-tips.html

smArtmonEy.com: Serves up several topics related to charitable donations and claiming a tax deduction. www.smartmoney.com/personal-fi-nance/taxes/the-tax-perks-of-chari-table-giving-11097/

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Join us for an informative technology event featuring step-by-step demonstrations designed to get the most from Microsoft Office in your day-to-day work.

You’ll learn how to: Get through everyday tasks more quickly / Overcome email overload / Create professional documents and presentations with more impact / Get insight into your data / Easily connect and share with customers and colleagues.

Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & ChamberMicrosoft Community Connection - Focus on Your Business Series

To register please contact Bette Wubbena at the Alliance & Chamber office 232-1156, or email her at [email protected], or visit www.GreaterCedarValleyChamber.com to RSVP under Chamber programs - Microsoft Community Connections.

Do More in Less TimeWednesday February 29, 2012

7:30 - 9:00 amWednesday January 18, 2012

7:30 - 9:00 am

Simplify IT

$20 for each session. Space is limited so be sure to register today! Facilitated by ACES - Advanced Computer Engineering Solutions

ALLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERWWW.GREATERCEDARVALLEYCHAMBER.COM

WWW.CEDARVALLEYALLIANCE.COM

DECEMBER 2011 PAGE 17

Location: Mudd Advertising, One Mudd Centre, 915 Technology Pkwy., Cedar Falls

Co-Sponsored by the Cedar Valley Manufacturers Association, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, andthe Cedar Valley Area Rural Electric Cooperatives.

The Pre-Session Legislative Reception provides Alliance & Chamber investors an opportunity to share their views with lawmakers, ask questions and hear their take on the topics of interest to business leaders in the Cedar Valley. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will be served. There is no cost to attend, but we ask that you register for the event. All area state legislators and administration leaders have been invited. It is important that our investors attend to

indicate broad-based support for pro-market, pro-business policies and the projects and programs that will make the Cedar Valley an even better place to live and operate a business. Reservation deadline is November 28th. To register call the Alliance & Chamber office at 232-1156 or

email [email protected]

Throughout the holiday season, the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is emphasizing the exceptional holiday shopping and entertainment opportunities in a special Home for the Holidays in the Cedar Valley campaign.

The Home for the Holidays campaign is designed to encourage residents of the Cedar Valley to support their local businesses and, in turn, their local economy. We are asking for your support of our Cedar Valley businesses by displaying the Home for the Holidays logo on your web sites, in your stores, on promotional materials, and displaying a window cling on your business entrance. Alliance & Chamber businesses can obtain this logo and window cling by contacting Amy B. Anderson at 319-232-1156 or by e-mailing [email protected]

"I strongly encourage people in the Cedar Valley to purchase from local businesses. Many of our local merchants depend upon sales from the holiday season for a large percentage of their annual budget. These are businesses which support our local economy in so many ways, including

employing our family members, friends and neighbors. All of us can make such a difference by buying local. Home for the Holidays in the Cedar Valley– we hope you and your family will shop, dine, and entertain here this year. It is the best gift we can give each other! Please enjoy a wonderful holiday season in the Cedar Valley. Happy Holidays to you and your family!" Bob Justis

You are invited to theCedar Valley Pre-Session Legislative ReceptionMonday, Dec. 5th , 2011 - 4:30 - 6:30 pmIsle Casino Hotel Waterloo, 777 Isle of Capri Blvd., Waterloo

Cedar Valley Pre-Session Legislative Reception

Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber supports the Blue Zones Project

ALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERPAGE 18 WWW.GREATERCEDARVALLEYCHAMBER.COM


DECEMBER 2011

Using secrets from cultures where people live the longest, the mission of the project was to add healthy years to an entire town by weaving the Blue Zones principles into every aspect of the community restaurants, businesses, schools, homes, and everyday lives. We need everybody in the Cedar Valley to pledge to live a healthier life. The City of Waterloo, the City of Cedar Falls and the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber are asking you to pledge to improve your health if given the tools to make small changes in your life. Please join in this project. We need your participation to qualify to become a Blue Zones Community! Go to www.bluezonesproject.com and select "I'm a citizen" and then "Support Your Community." The following information comes from the BlueZone website and helps to give the tools needed to make the small changes in our lifes that can make a big difference.Blue Zone Power 9™ Principles show you how to live longer through the specific lifestyle habits shared by the world’s longest living people. These lessons emphasize making changes to your environment that will influence your habits.

Move Naturally – Gain 4 Years1. Just MoveThe world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They live in places where they can walk to the store, to their friends house or places of worship, their houses have stairs, they have gardens in their yards. Consider making things a little inconvenient. Make that extra trip up or down the stairs instead of loading things at the top or bottom to take up later, walk to your airport gate instead of taking the moving walkway, park far from the entrance, walk a dog, do your own yard and house work, get rid of some the time saving electronics and power equipment that have “simplified” your life.

Right Outlook – Gain 4 Years2. Purpose NowKnowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy. The Okinawans call it “ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.” Do an internal inventory. Be able to articulate your values, passions, gifts and talents. What are the things you like to do and the things you don’t? Then incorporate ways to put your skills into action.3. Down Shift Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation which is associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour. Find a stress shedding strategy that works for you and make it routine.

Eat Wisely – Gain 8 Years4. 80% RuleMarketers tell us we can eat our way to health. America has been eating its way well beyond health. Our strategy focuses on taking things out — instead of putting more things in — our diet. “Hara hachi bu” – the Okianawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomach is 80 percent full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. Serve food at the counter, store leftovers, then sit down to enjoy the meal. Replace your big dishes with 10” plates. Remove TV’s from the kitchen. People in the Blue Zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.5. Plant SlantGo ahead and eat meat if you want. But consider it a condiment and try the leanest, finest meat you can afford. Try to limit it to a portion the size of a deck of cards and only twice per week. Beans, including fava, black and soy and lentils are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Snacking on nuts–about a handful a day has been associated with and extra 2-3 years of life expectancy.6. Wine @ 5Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 drinks per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all weekend and have 14 drinks on Saturday. ...continued on page 19

ALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERPAGE 19WWW.GREATERCEDARVALLEYCHAMBER.COM


DECEMBER 2011

Ribbon Cuttings!

Interested in joining the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber?

Contact our investor representative today to learn how your business will benefit! Bette Wubbena - [email protected]. Call us at (319) 232-1156

Investor benefits include: Logo, video, coupon and business description posted on the Alliance & Chamber website; networking opportunities; listing in the

annual buyers guide; access to Alliance & Chamber mailing labels; cost effective marketing options with the e-news letter - the EXTRA, Cedar Valley Business

Monthly, and Knowledge Spillovers.

Blue Zone Power 9™ Principles continued from page 18Gain 4 Years7. BelongAll but five of the 263 centenarians we interviewed belonged to some faith-based community. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish or some other religion that meets as a community. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.8. Loved Ones FirstSuccessful centenarians in the Blue Zones put their families first. This means keeping your aging parents and grandparents near by or in your home. (It lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too.) Work on being in a positive, committed relationship (which can add up to 3 years of life expectancy) and invest in your children with time and love. (They’ll be more likely to care for you when the time comes.)9. Right TribeThe world’s longest lived people chose–or were born into–social circles that supported healthy behaviors, Okinawans created "moais”–groups of five friends that committed to each other for life. Research from the Framingham Studies show that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness is contagious. Assessing who you hang out with, and then proactively surrounding yourself with the right friends, will do more to add years to your life than just about anything else.

Hy-Vee Food Store2834 Ansborough Ave.

Waterloo

Cedar Valley Civil Rights Peace Walk Memorial, Inc.

P.O. Box 2231, Waterloo

Hagen Gallery Gifts305 Main St. Cedar Falls

Sparkle Salon2302 W. 1st St. - Thunder Ridge Mall

Cedar Falls

WWW.GREATERCEDARVALLEYCHAMBER.COM NOVEMBER 2011

DECEMBER Calendar of Events Dec 1 Thurs. New Investor Briefing, Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, #290, 407 E. Park Ave., Waterloo, 7:30 - 9:00 amDec. 5 Mon. Cedar Valley Pre-Session Legislative Reception, Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo, 777 Isle of Capri Blvd., Waterloo, 4:30 - 6:30 pmDec. 6 Tues. TechWorks Board Mtg., Veridian Credit Union, 1827 Ansborough Ave., Waterloo, 3:00 pm Alliance Board of Directors Mtg., Veridian Credit Union, 1827 Ansborough Ave., Waterloo, 4:00 pmDec. 7 Weds. Cedar Valley Leadership Institute, Waterloo City Hall, 8:00am - 4:00 pm Strictly Business Task Force Mtg., Cabin Coffee Co., 2040 Kimball Ave., Waterloo, 7:30 amDec. 9 Fri. Government Relations Committee Mtg., Cedar Falls office, 7:30 - 8:30 amDec. 14 Weds. Finance Committe Mtg., Alliance Board Room, 8:00amDec. 22 Thurs. Chamber Board Meeting, Clarion Inn University Plaza, 8:00 am

ALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERPAGE 20 WWW.GREATERCEDARVALLEYCHAMBER.COM


DECEMBER 2011

Clarion Inn University Plaza

Cottingham & Butler

Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.

Iowa State University - University Extension

Locknet IT Solutions

Manpower, Inc.

Nelson Properties

Syngenta Seeds, Inc.

Waterloo Christian School

Thank you Premier Members!

Cedar Valley Civil Rights Peace Walk Memorial, Inc.Mason FrommPO Box 2231Waterloo, IA 50704319-404-8811www.mlkpeacewalk.comCategory: Associations/Organizations

Church Row Business PartnershipJack Locke214 Washington St.Waterloo, IA 50701319-233-1133Category: Churches

Cookie CraveJen Rea4305 Orchard Hill Dr.Cedar Falls, IA 50613319-290-2783Category: Bakeries

Deal Garden – Cedar ValleyMitch Treu2215 Harney St.Omaha, NE 68102402-939-6132www.dealgarden.comCategory: Advertising Agencies/Public Relations

Hawkeye Towing, LLCDaniel Gates911 Black Hawk Rd.Waterloo, IA 50701319-233-5201Category: Auto Repair & Service

Hellman’s Dairy QueenSteve Hellman1304 W 5th St.Waterloo, IA 319-232-5067Category: Restuarant

Physical Therapy PartnersChad Williams815 Tower Park Dr.Waterloo, IA 50701319-233-6995Category: Physical Therapists

Thrivent Financial for LutheransGreg Messmore55 Granite Ct.Mason City, IA 50401641-757-9700Category: Financial Planning / Services

Tony’s Plumbing & HeatingTony Halterman1924 State St.Cedar Falls, IA 50613319-215-8585www.tonyplumbingllc.comCategory: Plumbing / Heating / Air Conditioning

University of Iowa Community Credit UnionJean Knepper825 Mormon Trek Blvd.PO Box 2240Iowa City, IA 52244319-341-2105www.uiccu.orgCategory: Banks & Credit Unions

Welcome New Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber Investors!

Remember toShop,

Dine, andEntertain

thisHoliday Season

in the Cedar Valley

of Iowa.

ALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERALLLIANCE & CHAMBER NEWSLETTERPAGE 21WWW.GREATERCEDARVALLEYCHAMBER.COM


DECEMBER 2011

During the holiday season, our thoughts turn gratefully

to those who have helped to make The Cedar Valley of Iowa something greater!

It is in this spirit we say thank you andbest wishes for the holidays and a happy new year!

From all of us at The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber


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Is the time right for you to refinance your house?“Rates can’t go lower.” Or so

advertisements from mortgage companies have been claiming for years. But it’s pos-sible that now, it’s more true than ever. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year mort-gage in the U.S. dropped below 4 percent for the first time ever in 2011. Rates on shorter-term, 15-year mortgages

are even lower.For some, this may be a great

time to refinance, but doing so isn’t the best decision for fami-lies in certain circumstances. Here are four things to consider:

How much equity?Refinancing may be a priority

for homeowners with disadvan-tageous loan terms or who owe more than their home is worth. But these situations can make it difficult to qualify for refinanc-ing. Consult your mortgage com-pany about whether arrange-ments can be made to structure a different financing package for your home.

If you have equity in your home, you have more flexibility. If the amount you owe is significantly less than the value of the home, it’s possible to structure a pay-ment that is dramatically lower than your current expense. If the amount of equity is not much different than the value, the pay-ment will be closer to what you already have, but would likely be an improvement due to low interest rates.

Why refinance?Locking in a low rate can be

appealing, but is it a fit for you? If you are within a few years of paying off your mortgage, it may not make sense to re-start with another 15- or 30-year mortgage. If you’re focused on reducing your debt, financing your home for an extended period of time

may not be a favorable move.Many who do have significant

equity in their home refinance to “cash out” some of that equity for other purposes. But it can be risky; this strategy backfired on many homeowners when hous-ing prices crashed in recent years. Those who took out too much cash were “underwater,” owing more on their house than it was worth when its value declined. If the rationale for refinancing is to access cash, be sure it is for a worthwhile purpose like pay-ing down more expensive debts or financing an improvement on your home to boost its value.

Are you in a position?If you have run into credit prob-

lems due to the sluggish economy, refinancing may not be as easy as it used to be. Households need a sufficient credit score — usually 700 or higher — to qualify for a conventional mortgage.

Employment status is another factor. A number of Americans, some involuntarily, have recently left the workforce and started their own business. If you don’t have an established record of

income yet as a business owner, it might be a difficult time to obtain a new mortgage. Ask about this upfront to make sure it’s worth-while for you to pursue the mort-gage application process.

Determine the terms If refinancing seems to be a

good choice, the final question is whether to opt for a 15-year or 30-year mortgage. An adjust-able-rate mortgage is also an option, but since terms of those loans are subject to change, it may not make sense given the low rates that exist today.

If your goal is the lowest pos-sible payment, a 30-year loan makes sense. If you are trying to focus on reducing debt and accumulating wealth, a shorter-term loan may make more sense; the total interest on a 15-year loan will be significantly lower than with a 30-year mortgage. While monthly payments will be higher, a 15-year loan offers more long-term advantages since the financial obligation of a mortgage will no longer exist after 15 years, allowing you to concentrate on retirement or education savings.

If you ultimately decide to refi-nance, be sure to compare costs of different lenders. The break-even point on the cost of the loan (the number of years you need

to keep the mortgage before the costs of obtaining a new loan are overcome) is a critical measure of whether refinancing is a worth-while move for you.

Larry K. Fox is a private

wealth adviser with Ameriprise Financial Inc.,

Waterloo. Contact him at 234-7000.

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Physical health and financial well-being are interconnectedWhen we think of taking care

of ourselves, we often think of our physical health and our men-

tal wellness, but what about our financial health?

All of these things are inter-related. Each can affect the other. None of us intends to get sick or go to the hospital, and certainly we don’t like to think about the ways that our finances could be thrown into disarray.

But most of us, at one time or another, have dealt with a cri-sis situation or know of someone who has. More often than not, one crisis may lead to another.

The loss of a job or a loved one, for example, might eventu-ally lead to a family losing their home. Small business owners, who according to the SBA have a 50/50 chance of surviving in business their first five years under normal circumstances, have found it even more difficult to keep their doors open during

these tough economic times.The financial strain can lead to

emotional distress, depression and even physical illness.

Many of these situations may be seen as being beyond our con-trol, but what about those things we do have control over? Accord-ing to 2009 data referenced in reports by Kenneth Thorpe, chairman of the department of health policy and management at Emory University in Atlan-ta, smoking is still the number one preventable cause of death in this country. However, it has been estimated obesity and the chronic illnesses associated with it are on the brink of overtaking tobacco. These statistics not only demonstrate the physical reper-cussions of unhealthy lifestyle choices but how these choices find their way into our pocket-books through rising medical and health insurance costs.

We make decisions every day that affect our well-being. They may be as simple as selecting an apple over a piece of apple pie, choosing to take a walk over tak-ing a seat on the couch or sharing quality time with family rather than spending it in front of the

computer screen. Seemingly small choices can have a huge impact on our overall health and relationships. The same can be said of planning for our future.

Small things directly impact our financial health. We would all like to know that our families will be taken care of when we pass away. We realize the impor-tance of such things as having a will, yet a research study pub-lished in 2007 by Harris Interac-tive found that more than 55 per-cent of all adult Americans don’t. In addition, a recent survey by LIMRA, an industry-sponsored group, found that only 44 per-cent of households have an indi-vidual life insurance policy and 30 percent have no individual or employer-provided life insur-ance. This is despite the fact that premiums for term life insurance are significantly lower than 10 years ago.

Another topic that’s always on the table is Social Security. Most of us don’t want to have to depend on Social Security in our retirement years, yet the results of a Harris Poll of 2,151 adults surveyed online in November 2010 estimated that 34 percent of Americans have no retirement savings and 27 percent have no personal savings.

Many areas that we consider important to our family’s finan-cial security are placed on the back burner. One reason may be that we always think there’s going to be tomorrow. We tend to give ourselves a false sense of security that when our situation is a little brighter down the road, that when we have a few extra dollars in our pocket, or a little more time, we’ll wrap up some of those loose ends. Unfortunately, for many of us, that tomorrow can turn into months, years or

never. There’s an old saying that there are three kinds of people in the world: those who make things happen; those to whom things happen; and those who stand around wondering, “What just happened?”

Why not make today the day we take charge of those things that we can? After all, doesn’t each of us deserve to be the healthiest we can be — physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially — not only for ourselves, but for those we love? Life is a balancing act. Let’s be sure that if the scale tips, it tips in our favor! Be healthy, wealthy and wise.

The Million Dollar Round Table has developed an excel-lent tool — a simple quiz — that will highlight imbalances in your life that may require your attention. To take this quiz, please visit www.fdg.net or contact (877) 370-6345.

Neil K. Wilkinson

is with Financial Decisions Group in Waterloo. Contact him at 233-8476.

dECEmbER 2011


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Wartburg goes global in student recruitment effortsIn early October, Reoff Sines-

Sheaff, Wartburg College’s assis-tant director for global admissions, headed to Afri-ca as part of the ongoing search for top-notch inter-national students.

A few weeks earlier, Wartburg had announced its third-highest enrollment ever at 1,805, which included 204 U.S. diversity students and 129 interna-tional students

from 49 countries.“Our diversity population is

now 18 percent, a remarkable achievement for a private col-lege in a rural setting,” said Edith Waldstein, vice president for enrollment management.

Sines-Sheaff had recruited 50 first-year international students — nearly 10 percent in a class of 510.

Her efforts have encountered many of the same challenges the Cedar Valley faces as it attempts to attract a highly skilled and diverse workforce.

But she also has reaped rewards from what the area has to offer.

Among her destinations are some of the 13 Davis United World Colleges scattered on five conti-nents. The two-year schools pre-pare some of the brightest high school graduates from more than 120 countries for the transition to U.S. colleges and universities.

Founded by philanthropist Shelby M.C. Davis and his wife, Gale, the Davis program contrib-

utes as much as $20,000 per year in need-based aid toward the students’ education.

Wartburg has been a part-ner college since 2007 when it enrolled its first Davis Scholar. It now has 42.

“The Davis UWC Scholars Pro-gram is helping Wartburg cre-ate a diverse, vibrant and global-learning community,” Waldstein said. “Wartburg has become a state leader in its percentage of international and American-ethnic students. Scholarship support provided by the Davis UWC Scholars Program helps us continue to attract high-quality students who benefit from the Wartburg experience.”

As with business recruitment, though, “location can be a chal-lenge,” Sines-Sheaff said.

“Iowa is not exactly one of those places these students have heard about before,” she remarked. “We have to see if it’s the right fit. We’re in a small town, and there are great things about a small town. We have a really welcom-ing environment for our interna-tional students. It’s safe.

“There has to be a context for where they’re going to live the next four years. Yes, we have all four seasons. It’s going to be cold, but many people have survived it for decades, even centuries. We have heated skywalks and heated buildings. You’ll be OK.”

She gets reinforcement about the quality of life from interna-tional students on campus who serve as “ambassadors” — a con-firmation that some of a region’s best recruiters are its residents.

“If I’m on a recruiting trip,” Sines-Sheaff said, “and I’m

talking to a business major from Nigeria, I put them in touch with Shalom Nwaokolo or one of our other business majors from Nigeria.”

Technology abets those efforts.“We’re using Skype,” she said.

“So we can have one-on-one conversations with the students. If the student has a question and can talk to our student, that’s a positive. They’re going to chat about ‘What’s it really like on your campus? Are there a lot of international students?’

“Our international students are able to answer those questions the best. They’ll have camarade-rie with those students.”

Sometimes the college’s repu-tation — like that of a community — can seal the deal.

Yvonne Tracy Ayesiga, from Uganda, chose Wartburg due to its “engagement in service, lead-ership learning and faith.”

Testimonials about a caring community also help. Two years ago Sejla Trebo needed to return home to Bosnia at Christmas to visit her mother, who was undergoing treatment for can-cer. Employees in Information Technology Services, where she is a work-study student, helped organize a fundraising effort to make her trip possible.

In addition, the Waverly com-munity is a recruiting asset. More than 100 Waverly families host international students.

“We’re really rich in resources with host families,” said Kevin Roiseland, director of the inter-national student program. “We are a small town without a lot of public transportation, so stu-dents can kind of feel like they’re

stranded. Host families really make them feel at home in a lot of ways.”

“The community is such a friendly place,” said Miguel

Maciel, a business administration major from Malawi in southeast Africa. “I have become involved and met so many great people. I have no regrets.”

Saul Shapiro is director of

communication and marketing at Wartburg College

in Waverly. Contact him at

(800) 772-2085.

Sears, Kmart roll out virtual shopping walls for toysLos Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — This holiday season, Sears and Kmart are testing virtual shopping walls at malls to empower smartphone owners to buy toys on the go.

The walls, which feature pic-tures of toys for sale from Sears

and Kmart along with bar codes attached to each item, will be placed temporarily at select malls, bus shelters, subway stations, airports and movie theaters around the country. While waiting for a bus or brows-ing the mall this season, shop-pers can scan a code with their

smartphones to buy a particular toy right on their device.

Virtual shopping walls have already been tested overseas. British grocery giant Tesco has rolled out similar walls stocked with photos of more than 500 popular items at a busy subway station in Seoul.

dECEmbER 2011


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Wellness can improve employee morale, productivityHealth and wellness go hand-

in-hand with employee produc-tivity and morale. Organize a plan to help you, your co-workers and your employees get healthy and stay healthy. With Iowa’s initiative to become the healthiest state in the next five years, we have an added incentive to

prioritize a healthy lifestyle and a great outline to organize that health plan.

MovE nAturAlly: This first recommendation gives us many opportunities to incorporate exercise into our lives. Whether you choose sports, gardening, dancing, walking on your lunch break, etc., you can enjoy the

health benefits of more energy, less stress, improved strength and lower weight. These benefits naturally lead to lower risk for disease and injury and therefore greater productivity.

riGht outlook: Focus on pur-pose and stress relief as an inte-gral part of a healthy lifestyle. From a faith community to medi-tation to exercise to your favor-ite hobby, the Cedar Valley pro-vides many avenues to nurture our purpose and reduce stress. A purpose motivates us in our life and in our job.

EAt wisEly: You can refer to www.MyPlate.com to construct meals in a healthy way. This also includes eating slowly, in a low-stress environment, throughout the day and drinking pure water (ideally half our body weight in ounces). For the times we do not know the farmer, process-ing, preparation, etc. of our food,

we can insure optimal vitamins and minerals with a whole-food supplement. If we are what we eat, choosing wisely will make a healthier person and a happier

person.ConnECt: Finally, the Iowa

Healthiest State initiative encourages us to connect with faith, family and friends in our

effort to create a healthier life-style. In addition to the personal benefits, this may result in con-nections and ideas that can take a business to the next level.

Jessica Crouch

is a natural health and wellness

consultant. Contact her at 504-6689.


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dECEmbER 2011

Giving time: Holidays the perfect time to volunteer as a familyThe holiday season unavoidably

becomes a time of hectic errands, as people shop online or brave the

crowds in stores to buy gifts while juggling sched-ules overflowing with social events. Among the crazi-ness the holiday season can bring, many families still find time to give a very valuable gift — their time.

The holidays are a great opportu-nity for families to give back to their communities while spending important qual-

ity time with each other. As an employee of the Volunteer Cen-ter of Cedar Valley, I’m often asked by parents how early they should involve their children in volunteering. I believe it’s never too early to start; cultivating a volunteer perspective takes time, and children learn best by getting involved in charitable activities at an early age.

The following are some tips to help parents broaden their chil-dren’s perspectives on the world through family volunteer activi-ties over the holidays. Whether you’re planning an international volunteer experience or a trip to the park, there are plenty of ways to spend important time together as a family while experiencing the true spirit of the holidays.

Plan as a family. As you work to develop socially conscious children, it’s important to involve them in your discussions about volunteer opportunities. By bringing them into the planning process, you will help your chil-dren understand why you want them to be involved and that their input is important in the decision-making process.

Decide what you’re looking for in a volunteer experience. Increasingly, volunteer organiza-tions are providing opportunities for the whole family to volun-teer together. Getting involved doesn’t have to be that complex:

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how about getting started in your own community? Volun-teer Solutions can help you find opportunities to give back when and where you want. The key is to figure out what works best for your family.

Determine the impact you want to have. Are you looking for a one-time experience, like volunteering at a clothing drive, or are you looking for an ongoing effort, like volunteering at a soup kitchen once a week? Would you rather volunteer at a community center, school, retirement center or hospital?

Find age-appropriate activi-ties. Naturally, a toddler shouldn’t be serving hot beverages at a soup kitchen. When looking at options for your family’s volunteer expe-rience, consider first the needs and abilities of your own family. Children should be exposed to how they can help their commu-nities, but this should occur in a thoughtful manner, which will help both the children and those you are trying to help.

Determine your comfort level. Are you looking to roll up your sleeves and provide a little sweat equity, or would you prefer to

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work with children or seniors in an air-conditioned building? Make sure everyone in your fam-ily is aware of what they are get-ting into.

Incorporate your family’s interests. Perhaps you have a child with a strong environ-mental interest. Or one who likes music. Or a pet fan. Whatever your children’s interests, try to incorporate them into your vol-unteering to make the experience more personally meaningful and valuable.

Build excitement. Volunteer-ing can be fun! As you research and learn more about your vol-unteer assignment, encourage your children’s curiosity and engage their interests. Have a countdown until your activity, and build in mini-events lead-ing up to your charitable time together. Let your children know that giving back during the holi-days can be just as much or more fun as receiving presents.

Reflect together. Through-out your experience, check with your children to see how they are doing. Volunteering together as a family can be fun and education-al. Don’t miss the opportunity to

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instill some life lessons.The holidays are a time for

family members and friends to reconnect. This season, don’t forget the great gift you can offer together — your time.

The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley serves more than 70 member agencies with over 170 opportunities. Call 272-2087 or visit www.vccv.org for more information.

Anne E. Nass is communications coordinator with

the Volunteer Center of Cedar

Valley in Waterloo. Contact her at 272-2087 or

[email protected].

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Evidence-based programs help keep seniors healthyChronic health conditions and

falls are the major causes of ill-ness, disability and death in the United States. According to the National Coun-cil on Aging 80 percent of older adults have at least one chronic disease, and 50 percent have at least two. In Iowa alone, the cost of hospitaliza-tion care for falls

is $92 million annually and $35 million per year for emergency room visits.

With the aging population, these numbers were expected to increase substantially. For-tunately, two evidence-based programs developed through the National Council on Aging and Stanford University address these concerns — Matter of Bal-ance and Better Choices Better Health (formerly named Chronic Disease Self-Management).

Matter of Balance is an interac-tive program designed to increase the activity of older adults who have concerns about falling. During eight, two-hour sessions, participants learn exercises to increase strength and balance, set realistic goals for increasing activity, make improvements to their environment to reduce fall risks and view falls and fear of falling as controllable.

Bev Kester from Greene partici-pated in both Matter of Balance and Better Choices Better Health classes and saw vast improve-ments in her quality of life.

“I used to get up in the morning and after an hour or so go back to bed to take a nap,” stated Kes-ter. “The Matter of Balance class motivated me to get out and get moving and ultimately lose some weight. My balance has improved dramatically and I have noticed an increase in my endurance.”

Better Choices Better Health is a self-management, educational program designed for persons who live with arthritis, asthma,

chronic fatigue syndrome, diabe-tes, heart problems, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and other chronic health conditions. The six-week program is designed to work with a person’s medical plan of care and encourages self-management of fatigue, exercise, diet and pain to help participants take control of their lives.

Kester, who suffers from fibro-myalgia, arthritis and back pain, found weekly action plans a help-ful tool.

“Each week we would pick an action plan to complete during the week,” Kester stated. “These helped me to plan my activities and to do what I can, maybe not the same way I used to accom-plish my tasks, but in an alternate way that works better for me.”

Better Choices Better Health covers exercises for maintaining and improving strength, flexibil-ity and endurance; appropriate use of medications, communi-cating effectively with family, friends and health professionals; healthy eating; making informed treatment decisions; and dis-ease-related problem solving.

“The section on how to talk

to your doctor was particularly helpful to me as well,” Kester said. “I was able to bring up a concern to my doctor that I had tried to talk to her about before, but this time I was actually able to say it in a way that made her listen, which ultimately resulted in a treatment that has helped.”

Both classes are led by trained individuals from the community. At least one of the class leaders for Better Choices Better Health must have or care for someone with a chronic condition. The interactive format for the classes increases the overall effectiveness of the classes in helping partici-pants develop problem-solving skills and confidence to achieve short- and long-term goals.

“Having someone in the class who was dealing with some of the same issues as I was very com-forting,” Bev said. “These classes got me up and moving, living a more fulfilled life!”

Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging offers both the Better Choices Better Health and Mat-ter of Balance classes in Black Hawk, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Butler, Bremer, Hardin, Grundy,

Marshall, Tama, and Poweshiek counties. The next scheduled classes will begin on Jan. 23 at the Waterloo Healthy Lifestyles Center located at 2101 Kimball

Ave. in Waterloo. For more information on addi-

tional classes, contact Janet Buls at 272-2244 or toll free at (800) 779-8707.

Janet Buls is master trainer with Hawkeye

Valley Area Agency on Aging. Contact her at 272-2244.


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Tips for mid-level managers handling rank-and-file workers

By DiAnE StAfforDmcClatchy Newspapers

Good economy or bad, growing workplace or fading one, it falls to front-line managers to rally the troops.

Freelance writer Kevin Mur-phy shared a tidy little volume on communicating in the work-place that was self-published by P/Strada, a management consul-tancy in Lenexa, Kan.

CEO Patrice Manuel, along with A. William McVey, a moti-vational speaker, and Steve Ervin, president of ReVision Consult-ing, combined their expertise in “Talking Like Leaders.”

How to do that? Here are their thoughts:

Use emotional intelligence. Understand how workers feel so you can frame your message.

Share your knowledge about why things are requested, why things are happening.

Set motivating goals for your team to help meet the organiza-tion’s expectations.

Give public praise when goals are met or jobs are done well.

Treat employees like custom-

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ers. Create a focus group to get their opinions.

Share bad news, too. Explain it and suggest how your workers can be part of the solution.

Don’t hide in your office. Spend time with your employ-ees. Ask them what they like or don’t like about their work.

Provide training or other assistance to break through bar-riers making their jobs harder.

Never assume occasional per-formance reviews are enough to motivate or correct behavior. Have more frequent, individual contact with your workers.

In truth, there’s no tougher job than midlevel management. But there can be great self-satisfac-tion when you can see the results of your influence.

Diane Stafford is the workplace and careers columnist at The Kansas City Star. Her “Your Job” blog at economy.kansascity.com includes posts about job-related issues of wide interest. Readers may write to her at: Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108-1413, or by email at [email protected].

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Retailers release flood of tools for mobile devicesLos Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — As shoppers gear up for another mad holi-day scramble, smartphones and tablet computers are emerging as Santa’s electronic helpers.

And if the big guy up north isn’t in touch with the times, shop-pers are. Stuck in a humdrum economy and facing continued high rates of unemployment, consumers are increasingly find-ing that their mobile devices can come in handy. With a gadget in hand, shoppers can compare prices, research gift ideas, redeem electronic coupons and watch for special deals. Often, they do it right in the store aisle.

Retailers are catching on — just in time for the holiday season, the make-or-break time of year. Once content to simply sell these electronic devices, merchants and mall operators are now rec-ognizing the increasingly impor-tant role phones and tablets are playing for shoppers and are eager to tap into this electronic path to consumers’ wallets.

In addition to heavy promo-tions and the extension of store hours, many chains are rolling out shopping apps, mobile-opti-mized websites and spruced-up social media pages.

“Retailers are looking at phones and tablets as one more channel to get shoppers, to drive brand

loyalty and drive sales,” said Jackie Fernandez, a Los Ange-les-based retail specialist for accounting firm Deloitte & Tou-che. “Consumers will be able to benefit from the discounts offered through them, especially around the holiday season.”

About 1 in 4 smartphone own-ers plans to use a mobile device for holiday shopping, according to an annual holiday survey by Deloitte. Of those, 59 percent will use their phones to compare or check prices, 46 percent plan to use them to check product avail-ability and 41 percent will get coupons through their handsets.

Social media, such as Facebook and Foursquare, will also be pop-ular with shoppers, with 44 per-cent of those surveyed reporting that they will use social networks to find discounts, check out friends’ or family members’ wish lists and browse products.

Shopping with mobile devic-es isn’t for everyone, especially for folks who prefer to browse through a mall at a leisurely pace looking for gift ideas. Even some fans of online shopping like to stick to their home computers — the screens are bigger, and they don’t have to squint to check out a dress or watch.

So whether you totally groove to technology or just recently bought a smartphone or signed up for Facebook, here are a few

useful digital tricks for saving some bucks, and perhaps some time, during Christmas.

MOBILE SHOPPING GUIDES: Some big retailers such as Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. offer their own mobile applications for shoppers to individually down-load to their smartphones or tab-let computers.

With these apps, shoppers can often get up-to-the-minute information about sale items, instant bargains, what’s located where and what’s in stock.

Mobile apps, as well as websites geared for mobile devices, often tweak the online shopping expe-rience to fit smaller screens with fewer items displayed per page and an easy search function. The Amazon.com app popularized one-click ordering for breezy checkouts without the need to fill in billing and address infor-mation over and over again (also upping the likelihood of impulse buying).

Perhaps the most useful apps collect product data from several retailers and sort it so consumers can compare prices side-by-side from local and online merchants to find the best deal. These apps, which include eBay’s RedLaser, TheFind and SnapTell, can be downloaded for free and work by simply scanning a product’s bar code.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Retailers have

increasingly turned to social media such as Facebook and Twitter to harness the power of their fans.

Wal-Mart last month launched 3,500 store-specific Facebook pages to alert shoppers to prod-ucts, “Rollback Alley” deals and events at their local store. Before Black Friday this year, the discount chain planned to give Facebook fans a sneak peek at planned deals and also post maps clearly marking where to find some discounted items within their local Wal-Mart.

J.C. Penney operates a store within Facebook in which brows-ers can pick up a sweater or pair of shoes without ever leaving the social network. Shoppers can also sign up via Facebook to receive digital coupons on their phone or “check in” on the loca-tion-based network Foursquare to score similar deals. For the holiday season, the retailer is partnering with fashion bloggers who will post their favorite holi-day gift ideas chosen from the chain’s selection.

MOBILE COUPONS: Coupons are a holiday favorite as shoppers look

for bargains — and mobile sites and apps have plenty. They gath-er available coupons in one place, eliminating the need to prowl the Web looking for discounts.

Savvy shoppers such as Jack-ie Chiuchiarelli, who spends more money shopping on her iPad than in bricks-and-mortar stores, say that redeeming digi-tal coupons found on apps such as MobiQpons, Yowza and Cou-pon Sherpa can save hundreds of dollars.

Other apps, such as Shopkick, reward people for loyalty. Par-ticipating retailers including Best Buy, Wet Seal and Crate & Barrel ping shoppers with digital cou-pons and loyalty points (redeem-able for gift cards) for walking into bricks-and-mortar stores.

ODDS AND ENDS: Google Wallet, an app that essentially turns your phone into a credit card, is having a test run this holiday season at major retailers including Ameri-can Eagle Outfitters, Guess and Toys R Us. Using Google Wal-let, shoppers can pay by waving their phones over digital sensors already installed at participating stores.

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United Continental claims first biofuel-powered flight

Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — Continental Airlines flight 1403 made history when it landed at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Nov. 7, becoming the first revenue pas-senger trip in the U.S. powered by biofuel.

The Boeing 737-800, which was painted in the new environmental “eco-skies” livery of United Air-lines and flown by Continental pilots, burned a “green jet fuel” derived partially from genetically modified algae that feeds off of plant waste and produces oil.

In completing the Continen-tal flight from Houston, parent company United Continental Holdings thus won by a scant two days the competition to launch the first biofuel-powered air ser-vice in the U.S.

On Nov. 9, Alaska Airlines began a series of 75 passenger flights along with its sister air-line, Horizon Air, that will take place over the next few weeks using a biofuel blend made from recycled cooking oil. Alaska offi-cials said the 20 percent biofu-el blend its planes will use will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent.

More U.S. airlines are expected to join the effort to fly cleaner — and eventually more economi-cally — than the use of tradi-tional petroleum-based Jet-A fuel allows, based on a crude oil price of $100 a barrel or higher, experts said.

But there are unanswered questions regarding how long it will take for biofuel to become an economical alternative to tradi-tional fuel, and what the cost will be for the financially struggling aviation industry.

Boeing Co. projects, for exam-ple, small-scale commercial pro-duction of new biofuels derived from algae, sewage sludge or municipal waste beginning as early as three years from now.

United announced in Novem-ber that it signed a letter of intent with Solazyme Inc., which

provided the biofuel for Conti-nental’s Nov. 7 flight, to buy 20 million gallons of algae-derived biofuel annually. Delivery would start as early as 2014.

The move comes four months after international aviation regu-lators approved the use of bio-fuels. In recent weeks, several airlines in Europe have operated biofuel-powered flights. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in June became the first airline in the world to operate a commercial flight on biofuels.

No modifications are needed to commercial airplanes; the biofu-els are a drop-in replacement for high-octane Jet-A, officials said.

“You don’t have any difference at all in terms of performance of the airplane or operations by the pilot,” said Capt. Jackson Selt-zer, a 25-year Continental vet-eran who flew the Nov. 7 flight to O’Hare from Bush International Airport in Houston.

The 737 was fueled with 60 percent traditional petroleum-based jet fuel and 40 percent avi-ation biofuel, officials said.

The technology converts ined-ible natural oils and wastes into a more environmentally friendly jet fuel that offers as much as an 85 percent reduction in green-house gas emissions compared to fossil fuels, officials said.

United officials declined to estimate how long it would take to integrate alternative fuels into their system, but they noted the airline used 3.3 billion gallons of Jet-A in 2010 at a cost of about $13.5 billion.

Pete McDonald, United Air-lines’ executive vice president and chief operations officer, said the cost of last month’s biofuel flight was “about the same” as a regular flight.

The 20 million gallons that United plans to buy from Sola-zyme represents 0.6 percent of the airline’s jet fuel consump-tion, said Jimmy Samartzis, United’s managing director of global environment affairs and sustainability.


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Consumer groups protesting bill to allow robo-calls to cellphones

Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — Consumer advo-cates are sounding the alarm over proposed federal legislation that would allow companies to place robotic calls — using auto-mated dialers to call and play recorded messages — to con-sumers’ wireless mobile phones.

“It would open the floodgates to telemarketers and debt col-lectors to call at all hours of the day,” said Illinois Attorney Gen-eral Lisa Madigan.

Since 1991, autodialers and artificial or prerecorded voice messages to cellphones have generally been outlawed unless the consumer gave prior express consent, with few exceptions. The bill, introduced in Septem-ber, would change that. It would allow use of “assistive technolo-gies” — including machines that call 10,000 numbers a minute and sometimes leave dead air on the line — for calling cellphones without permission.

Supporters say “robo-calling” could be used for such consum-er-friendly features as remind-ing patients about a doctor appointment, alerting them to a flight delay or notifying them of a suspicion that their credit card has been compromised.

Still, consumer groups are lin-ing up against the bill, saying companies already alert con-sumers with such calls by get-ting their permission first or using a human to place the call.

“It’s something that drives consumers crazy — to pick up the phone and hear a recorded message,” said Linda Sherry, spokeswoman for advocacy group Consumer Action. “It’s just a bad idea from the get-go, and it should really be stopped.”

Besides being annoying and an invasion of privacy, Madi-gan said, the change would hurt consumers who pay for wire-less service by the minute, the payment method for many pre-paid cell phones. Unwanted calls could exhaust those monthly minutes.

“Those consumers would essentially have to use their min-utes — their money — to be inun-dated with calls from not just debt collectors but any business, even if (the consumer has) not given them express consent to call their phone,” said Madigan.

“What we really want is great-er protection for consumers at the very time they’re propos-ing a bill that would unleash the floodgates of robo-calls ... to our cell phones,” said Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who testified against the bill at a House subcommittee meet-ing in Washington, D.C., in November.

The bill, dubbed the Mobile Informational Call Act, “reflects the reality of the day,” which sees 40 percent of Americans using mobile phones as their primary or exclusive communications device, according to Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., one of the spon-sors of the bill.

A coalition of consumer advo-cates called the bill “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” ‘‘The real purpose of (the bill) is to open up everyone’s cell phones, land lines and business phone num-bers, without their consent, to a flood of commercial, marketing and debt collection calls,“ says an Oct. 27 letter from consumer groups to the House subcom-mittee that’s considering the bill. The letter said the bill would gut the ”widely popular statute that protects Americans from the proliferation of intrusive, nuisance calls from telemarket-ers and others.”

Madigan and other consum-er advocates contend the bill is being pushed by the debt-col-lection industry.

The bill changes two impor-tant definitions — whether a consumer gave permission to be robo-called on a cell phone and what a telemarketing call is.

It defines “prior express con-sent” to robo-calls on a wireless number as any time a person provides a telephone number as a means of contact.


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Analysts expect record gasoline prices in 2012

Los Angeles Times

CHICAGO — If you think gaso-line is expensive now, just wait until next year: A combination of growing global demand and ris-ing U.S. fuel exports could send gasoline prices to record highs in 2012, analysts say.

Those factors have been push-ing pump prices to historically high levels since the beginning of September.

Regular gasoline nationally cost an average of $3.097 a gal-lon during the week leading up to Thanksgiving in 2007. It might have been a relatively trivial annoyance then, as the country hadn’t fallen into recession yet.

But now, with high unemploy-ment and little economic growth, the U.S. average gasoline price hit $3.424 a gallon in mid-Novem-ber, the Energy Department said.

Although that represented a decline of 2.8 cents from the ear-lier in the month, the average was still nearly 56 cents higher than the same time last year and shat-tered the old record for the week of $3.013 a gallon, set in 2007.

“We are at the highest fuel prices ever for this time of year, even though they have dropped a bit in recent weeks,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. “I think we will see prices in 2012 that will break ... records.”

Kloza said Americans are on pace to spend a record $489.7 billion on gasoline in 2011, which is $100 billion more than they did in 2010. The only year that came close was 2008, when U.S. motorists spent about $448 bil-lion on gasoline; that year, the U.S. average peaked at $4.114 a gallon and the California aver-age hit a record $4.588, but pric-es quickly declined from those summer highs.

Fuel price specialist Bob van der Valk said that oil prices, which have been creeping back toward $100 a barrel, eventually will boost gasoline costs.

On Nov. 8, West Texas Inter-mediate crude futures rose above $96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest finish since late July.

West Texas Intermediate crude “will be in the $110-a-barrel range next year,” said Van der Valk, an independent fuel consultant.

“We started high on gasoline prices this year and we stayed high, and we are going to go higher next year,” Van der Valk said. “We could be as high as $4.50 a gallon in California by Easter. The rest of the coun-try will be above $4 a gallon by then.”

The primary reason for the stubbornly high prices is grow-ing demand in Latin and South America, which is driving record U.S. exports of fuel to those parts of the world, particularly in the form of diesel.

U.S. refiners are also making more diesel at the expense of gasoline production, Kloza said.

“Demand for gasoline is down in the U.S. by 4 percent com-pared to last year, but global demand has more than made up for that,” Kloza said. “If you want to blame someone for the high prices, blame South America.”

Van der Valk added, “Gasoline is being exported to Mexico and diesel is going to Chile, and it’s all keeping U.S. refineries huff-ing and puffing.”

But Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, a price-tracking website, pointed to one hopeful indicator for motorists: Gasoline prices, although high for this time of the year, still managed to decline in much of the nation in recent weeks despite rising oil prices.

“The national average is just one penny away from being the lowest we’ve seen since the start of March, even as crude oil pric-es have risen,” DeHaan said. “So it does remain surprising that average prices have moved very little.”


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dECEmbER 2011

Outsourcing poses new cybersecurity problems for businessesminneapolis Star Tribune

MINNEAPOLIS — Big banks, hos-pitals and insurance companies worry about computer security because they handle so much personal information.

Now, in the age of outsourcing, they also have to worry about whether their partner firms are secure. That’s created a new kind of consultant: The information security auditor who determines how much security is enough.

Some of these auditors work for big companies. When Evan Francen did security audits for Wells Fargo bank, he asked the outsourcing companies to com-plete a 1,500-question security checklist.

Now Francen has his own secu-rity firm, FRSecure of Chaska, Minn., that helps outsourcing firms meet the demands of secu-rity auditors like him. And some of them really need the help.

“We audited a small bank that was compliant with comput-er security regulations, but we could have put them out of busi-ness in five minutes because of the physical risk,” Francen said. “Their computer server room had no camera surveillance, no records of who came or went, no locked doors, nobody there at night, and it was in a separate building.”

Such insecurity also represents a business opportunity.

“We’re in the Wild West peri-od of security compliance,” said Kevin Orth, FRSecure’s vice president of operations. “There are no security standards that are widely accepted.”

The opportunities in security auditing also have drawn the consulting arms of big account-ing firms.

“Every time there’s another computer security breach, these security audit programs get ramped up quite a bit,” said Matt Marsh, a partner in enterprise risk services at the Minneapo-lis office of Deloitte. “Because if there’s a breach there can be costs, loss of reputation and loss of business.”

Driving corporate fears about

computer security is a conflu-ence of events. Computer securi-ty breaches, such as the massive e-mail leak this year at corporate outsourcer Epsilon, have become common. Cloud computing, which saves companies money by letting them use remote data centers, poses new risks about which little is known. And big companies are under more regu-latory and legal scrutiny.

“All of those factors are con-verging, and are putting a lot more pressure on banks and other big companies,” said Avi-vah Litan, an analyst for Con-necticut research firm Gartner Inc. “Security audits have defi-nitely taken a big upward tick.”

For IT consultants, this is a boon. “Performing security audits is now a specialty within information technology consult-ing,” said Isaac Cheifetz, an IT recruiter with Open Technolo-gies Consulting Co. in Minneap-olis. Security “is no longer simply about making sure the network firewall is up.”

Added Marsh, “That whole space of security and privacy is a growth area for us.”

That can drive consulting pric-

es upward.“We see many IT consultants

trying to dabble in information security, and they set their prices at what their clients are used to paying,” Orth said. “We make more, but we’re specialists. So there’s no such thing as standard pricing.”

These days, consultants are called in when outsourcers find it difficult to meet confusing and sometimes excessive security demands of big companies.

“A lot of these security rules were written by non-IT people, and they aren’t specific enough to give IT professionals a clear idea of how to set up security — and there are a lot of different ways to do it,” said Aric Bandy, CEO of Agosto Inc., a Minneapo-lis IT outsourcing company that does work for Goodwill Indus-tries, the Minnesota Wild hockey team and Dunn Bros. Coffee.

“One client wanted us to ensure we had control of who was physically able to access a com-puter server in our data center,” Bandy said. “We already had card access to the data center, per-sonal identification numbers for data access and a guard. But that

wasn’t enough: They wanted a camera focused on that server, and we had to do that.”

Some outsourcers try to spare themselves that kind of anguish by launching a pre-emptive

strike: They hire a company to do a security assessment and develop a security plan that may help ward off some of the more unnecessary security demands of big clients.


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Wal-Mart explores new services for in-store clinicsLos Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is explor-ing ways to expand the kinds of health care services it offers at dozens of stores across the country, potentially setting the stage to turn the nation’s largest retailer into a major pri-mary care service provider and drive down costs for millions of Americans.

The Arkansas retailer is look-ing to partner with outside health care companies to treat and manage a range of serious medical conditions — includ-ing HIV, diabetes, arthritis and clinical depression — at 140 store clinics nationwide.

Any expansion of the retailer’s clinics would come as millions of Americans prepare to gain health insurance in 2014 under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, which will provide government subsidies to people who otherwise could not afford coverage.

“It seems that Wal-Mart could be well positioned to care for a dramatic increase in the num-ber of paying patients out there,”

said Larry Levitt, head of the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foun-dation’s Initiative on Health Reform and Private Insurance.

Wal-Mart’s strategy was spelled out in a confidential, 14-page document sent to health care vendors and made public in a National Public Radio report. The document said the compa-ny “intends to build a national, integrated, low-cost primary care healthcare platform.”

Wal-Mart downplayed the sig-nificance of its efforts, saying its internal document — a “request for information” — was only a preliminary move to test the feasibility of moving forward.

The confidential paper “is overwritten and incorrect,” Dr. John Agwunobi, president of Wal-Mart U.S. Health & Well-ness, said in a statement. “We are not building a national, integrated, low-cost primary care health care platform.”

Wal-Mart declined to elabo-rate or say if it is considering adding more in-store clinics.

Wal-Mart isn’t the only major retailer operating in-store clin-ics. It has competition from sev-

eral chains, including Walgreens, CVS Caremark and Target. As of last year, there were nearly 1,200 retail clinics across the country, many staffed by nurse practi-tioners and physician assistants treating minor ailments such as cuts and coughs, according to think tank Rand Corp.

Some health care analysts said the extensive primary care services envisioned in the Wal-Mart document would set it apart from the others.

The company’s massive size also might allow it to negoti-ate better deals with outside companies that provide medi-cal services in its clinics and the insurance companies that pay its customers’ medical bills. Driving hard bargains could lower costs for consumers.

“It can potentially create an

entirely new model” for deliv-ering health care, said Paul Ginsburg, president of the Cen-ter for Studying Health Sys-tem Change. “I would expect them to be innovative in think-ing through how to deliver the full range of primary care efficiently.”

But Ginsburg and other health care experts warned of chal-lenges, including a shortage of primary care doctors, particu-larly in rural areas where Wal-Mart is a dominant presence. And the American Academy of Family Physicians has criti-cized retail health clinics, argu-ing that they often aren’t well equipped to deal with chronic medical conditions.

“I would question if they real-ly understand what it’s like to deliver primary care with good

outcomes and cost efficiency,” Dr. Glen Stream, president of the academy, said about Wal-Mart. “It’s a lot more complex than people would think. I would be concerned whether a retail chain is the right place to do that.”

For Wal-Mart, however, offer-ing a wide range of health care options could help the retail-er remain relevant and retain customers in an environment marked by low consumer confi-dence and stiff competition.

“The nature of being as big as they are is that they have to continue to appeal to more customers,” said David Schick, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. “Retailers who don’t continue to add and adapt both services and merchandise cat-egories will flat-line and fall behind.”

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dECEmbER 2011

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Sign of the times: Hallmark adds sympathy cards for job loss The dallas morning News

DALLAS — Greeting card com-panies have taken a cue from the nation’s 9 percent unemploy-ment rate.

In a six-by-four inch envelope, someone can send a friend who lost his or her job a pre-printed message of encouragement and sympathy.

Though not available at every corner store, layoff greeting cards are being manufactured by Hall-mark and sold at its stores and online — and selling well, said Frank Fernandez, owner of two Hallmark stores in North Texas.

“We’re in the emotional busi-ness,” said Fernandez. “You want to say something emotion-ally correct and give them (your friends) a card that you’ve chosen to express your own thoughts.”

One Hallmark card with a photo

of a cat reads: “Is there anywhere I could hack up a hairball, like say, on a former employer’s head?” Another card says: “Losing a job is just plain painful. So I want you to remember I’m in your cheer-ing section ...”

Online companies such as Zaz-zle and Greeting Card Universe have also begun selling layoff cards. The second largest greet-ing card company, Ohio-based American Greetings, has not, but spokesman Frank Cirillo said consumers can write their own messages to make the cards more personal.

Stanford University professor Bob Sutton said layoff cards might be a good way to show compas-sion to someone who needs sup-port during a tough time.

“Treating them as if they are invisible is often the worst thing,” said Sutton, who has written sev-

eral books on management and the workplace. “It is a very small thing, but may matter to some people.”

Still, he said, not everyone would appreciate it, especially those who consider losing one’s job a private or embarrassing issue.

That’s the reason pre-printed cards are sold, said Emily West, a communications professor at the University of Massachusetts who has studied the greeting card culture. Hallmark and simi-lar companies are taking some of the difficulty out of sending concern and support to a friend who might have lost his or her job, she said.

“The production of the cards can help legitimize a sentiment,” West said. “It can be comforting. It says that it’s OK to send a card or to have this sentiment or say

these things.”Hallmark, based in Kansas

City, Mo., has always adapted its cards to the current events, and it has taken into consideration the economy since 1910, said spokeswoman Jaci Twidwell.

Hallmark produces six kinds of layoff sympathy cards. The com-pany would not disclose sales

figures.In the past, Hallmark cards

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dECEmbER 2011

Exempt employees can’t be docked pay for partial days

By CArriE MAson-DrAffEnNewsday

Q. I need a definitive answer as to what is legal when it comes to exempt employees who work less than a full day. An example would be a manager leaving early for a doctor appointment or coming in late for whatever rea-son: When can employees have docked or be required to make up the time or have time charged to paid-time off? These employees are not eligible for overtime pay when they work more than their regular hours.

A. In the private sector, you cannot dock the pay of exempt employees when they work a partial day. You can dock their pay when they miss a full day for personal reasons but not for par-tial hours. You can reduce their paid time off by the hours they miss. But even when that paid time off is exhausted, you cannot dock their pay for less than a day.

Exempt employees fall into the administrative, executive,

professional and outside-sales category. You don’t have to pay them for extra hours they work. You also don’t have to pay them overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week. But in exchange for those exemptions, you can’t dock their pay for par-tial days.

“In order to qualify for an exemption they must paid on a salary basis, which means a fixed amount each week that can’t be reduced because of variations in the amount of hours they work, unless there is an absence of at least one or more days for per-sonal reasons,” said Irv Miljoner, who heads the U.S. Department of Labor’s Long Island office.

And you cannot require them to make up those partial days because then you are treating them like nonexempt, or hourly employees, and that could trig-ger a loss of the exemptions.

Carrie Mason-Draffen is a columnist for Newsday and the author of “151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People.” Email her at [email protected].

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