30th Annual Congressional Awards Reception Honors Members of Congress and Small Business Owners

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Small Business Council of America (SBCA), a national nonprofit organization representing the interests of privately-held and family-owned organizations on tax, employee benefit and health care matters, held its 30^th annual Congressional Awards Reception on May 8, 2013 at the U.S. Capitol.

Senator Mary Landrieu received the Special Congressional Appreciation Award in recognition of her small business leadership in the Senate. As Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Senator Landrieu demonstrates a deep understanding of the issues facing small businesses and their owners and effectively works to solve those problems.  

Senator Rob Portman received the Special Congressional Appreciation Award in recognition of his willingness to tackle difficult and technical tax and employee benefit issues as a member of the Senate Finance Committee. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Senator Portman was also instrumental in shoring up the qualified retirement plan system to make it work in the small business context. 

Congressman Dave Camp received the Congressional Award for his commitment to comprehensive tax reform. As Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, Congressman Camp has been committed to engaging stakeholders like the SBCA in the tax reform process. 

Jordan Wagner of Los Angeles, California, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award in recognition of his work as Executive Director of Generosity Water. Generosity Water works to fund and oversee the establishment of clean and renewable water sources in developing countries. "What makes Jordan special is that at such a young age, he has learned the importance of helping others in need," said Neil Carrey, SBCA Director and founder of the Humanitarian Award. 

Anthony Sblendorio of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, received the Small Business of the Year Award in recognition of the remarkable success of his company Back to Nature Home and Garden as a leader in ecologically sustainable landscape architecture.  Since its founding, Back to Nature has grown into a multi-faceted company that is behind some of the most innovative projects in New Jersey.  "What I find unique about Anthony is his steadfast desire to educate society about the importance of ecology," wrote Governor David Patterson.

SOURCE Small Business Council of America

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NASA's Twitter Account Wins Back-To-Back Shorty Awards

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's official Twitter feed, @NASA, has won its second consecutive Shorty award for the best government use of social media.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)

The Shorty Award honors the best of social media across sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Foursquare and others. NASA took the prize Monday at the fifth annual Shorty Awards ceremony in New York.

The @NASA acceptance tweet was, "We're sharing the universe 1 tweet at a time. Be inspired! Follow @NASA & RT if you love science & space. #ShortyAwards."

"Our success stems from inspiring content that connects with people," said David Weaver, NASA's associate administrator for communications. "Our story of science and innovation resonates with everyone. Social media enables us to reach people directly like never before."

The Shorty Awards also recognized NASA's @MarsCuriosity account as Foursquare Mayor of the Year. Curiosity, a robotic rover, has been using the mobile application Foursquare since October 2012 to check in at locations it has been exploring on Mars. Users on Foursquare can keep up with Curiosity as it checks in at key locations and posts photos and tips.

Including Monday's two awards and last year's Twitter account recognition, NASA now has five Shorty Awards. The agency also won in 2009 for its use of Twitter for the Mars Phoenix Lander mission, and astronaut Doug Wheelock was awarded the Real Time Photo of the Year in 2011 for his "Moon from Space" picture.

NASA uses almost 500 social media accounts to communicate its mission to a wide range of followers. The @NASA twitter account has 3.8 million followers, the most in the federal government. NASA also maintains presences on Facebook, Google+, Flickr, and other popular platforms. NASA Socials, formerly known as NASA Tweetups, allow social media followers to attend functions and interact with NASA's engineers, astronauts and scientists.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's Twitter account, @Cmdr_Hadfield, also was recognized Monday with the Shorty for the Best in Science category. To follow Hadfield on Twitter, visit:
http://www.twitter.com/cmdr_hadfield

To find out more about Mars Curiosity and NASA on Foursquare, visit: http://www.foursquare.com/NASA

For more information about the Shorty Awards:
http://shortyawards.com

To view all of NASA's social media sites, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/connect

SOURCE NASA

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California, Pennsylvania, and Virginia School Districts Earn Top National Honors in 2013 Magna Awards

National award program recognizes school districts for outstanding programs that advance student learning and encourage community involvement in schools.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania's Derry Township School District, Virginia's Albemarle County Public Schools, and California's Fontana Unified School District have been named the grand prize winners in the American School Board Journal's (ASBJ) 19^th annual Magna Awards program.

The Magna Awards, supported by Sodexo, recognize districts across the country for outstanding programs that advance student learning and encourage community involvement in schools. This year's three grand prize, 15 first place, and 15 honorable mention winners were selected from three enrollment categories: under 5,000 students, 5,000 to 20,000 students, and over 20,000 students. Each of the grand prize winning school districts will receive a $4,000 contribution from Sodexo on April 14, during Sunday's General Session at NSBA's 73^rd Annual Conference in San Diego.

"The Magna Awards showcase the great work going on in local school districts across the country to increase student achievement and success," said Thomas J. Gentzel, Executive Director of NSBA. "This year's Magna Awards recipients are national models that school leaders can learn from. NSBA commends Sodexo for its continuing support of this program and its goal of highlighting outstanding public school achievements."                                                                 

"Just like the school districts recognized in the annual Magna Awards program, Sodexo supports student achievement," said Steve Dunmore, President of Sodexo Education-Schools. "As a partner in education, Sodexo realizes that it is vitally important to call attention to and support school districts that go above and beyond to enrich the learning environment for its students.  Therefore, we are proud to sponsor the Magna Awards again this year."

Here is information on the grand prize winners:

• The Derry Township School District, in Hershey, Pa., earned the grand prize in the under 5,000 enrollment category for its COCOA Principles program which aims to prepare students to be global citizens. COCOA Principles, which stands for Community Opportunity Citizenship Ownership Academics, has encouraged the entire community, not just students, to be more inclusive, respectful, and responsible citizens. Students seen reflecting the program's principles are nominated for awards, and high school graduation projects must identify the COCOA principle the student is modeling.
• Albemarle County Public Schools, in Charlottesville, Va., is being honored as the grand prize winner in the 5,000 to 20,000 enrollment category for M-Cubed: Math, Men and Mission, a program developed to improve the academic achievement of African-American male students and encourage them to enroll in higher level high school math classes. The program starts with a two-week summer academy for upper elementary and middle school students but extends year-round with mentoring and academic support from the 100 Black Men of Central Virginia, a community group.
• In the over 20,000 enrollment category, the Fontana Unified School District, in Fontana, Calif., is the grand prize winner. The Fontana Leadership Intervention Program (FLIP) focuses on keeping middle and high school students in school and out of the juvenile justice system. FLIP, which is run and funded by a non-profit corporation, offers students classes covering topics such as violence prevention, drug and alcohol resistance, and ethics. Students referred to the program also participate in community projects and their parents must take parenting classes. Since the program's inception there has been a significant decline in behavior issues, including truancy and alcohol and drugs incidents, at a high school, and bullying incidents at a middle school.

ASBJ initiated the Magna Awards in 1995 to recognize school boards for taking bold and innovative steps to improve their educational programs. An independent panel of school board members, administrators, and other educators selected the winners from nearly 300 submissions.

The 2013 winners are highlighted in a special section in the May issue of ASBJ and will be formally recognized on Saturday, April 13, at the Best Practices for School Leaders Luncheon, which is part of NSBA's 73^rd Annual Conference.

In addition to the ASBJ special section, the districts' winning entries will be posted on the Magna Awards website and added to the program's searchable best practices database. Both can be found at www.asbj.com/magna.

2013 Magna Award Winners:

Grand prize winners:
Derry Township School District, Hershey, Pa. – less than 5,000 students,
Albemarle County Public Schools, Charlottesville, Va. – 5,000 to 20,000 students
Fontana Unified School District, Fontana, Calif. – more than 20,000 students

First place winners – under 5,000 students
Bergenfield Public Schools, Bergenfield, N.J.
Eminence Independent Schools, Eminence, Ky.
Northwest Arctic Borough School District, Kotzebue, Alaska
Richmond Community Schools, Richmond, Ind.
Upper St. Clair School District, Upper St. Clair, Pa.

First place winners – 5,000 to 20,000 students
Granville County Schools, Oxford, N.C.
Kearney Public Schools, Kearney, Neb.
Livingston Public Schools, Livingston, N.J.
Roanoke City Public Schools, Roanoke, Va.
Tuscaloosa City Schools, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

First place winners – over 20,000 students
Alamance-Burlington School System, Burlington, N.C. – 2 programs
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte, N.C.
Fulton County School System, Atlanta, Ga.
McAllen Independent School District, McAllen, Texas

Honorable mentions – under 5,000 students
Columbia Heights Public Schools, Columbia Heights, Minn.
Gilford School District, Gilford, N.H.
Jenkins Independent School District, Jenkins, Ky.
Monadnock Regional School District, Supervisory Administrative Unit 93, Swanzey, N.H.
Taylor County School District, Campbellsville, Ky.

Honorable mentions – 5,000 to 20,000 students
Cave Creek Unified School District #93, Cave Creek, Ariz.
Creighton School District #14, Phoenix, Ariz.
Hanover County Public Schools, Ashland, Va.
Kenton County School District, Fort Wright, Ky.
Township High School District 214, Arlington Heights, Ill.

Honorable mentions – over 20,000 students
Arlington Public Schools, Arlington, Va.
Brevard Public Schools, Viera, Fla.
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Houston, Texas
Houston Independent School District, Houston, Texas
Richardson Independent School District, Richardson, Texas

American School Board Journal
American School Board Journal (www.asbj.com), published monthly by the National School Boards Association (www.nsba.org), serves almost 40,000 school board members and top-level administrators from districts across the nation. The K-12 magazine, published continuously since 1891, has won 17 national honors for education reporting and design since 2006.

Sodexo in North America
Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Life services company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On-site Services in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Benefits and Rewards Services and Personal and Home Services. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $17 million in grants to end childhood hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at blogs.sodexousa.com.

Sodexo supports achievement by providing expert solutions that improve the quality of life for the students, staff, and communities we serve. Sodexo does this by designing, managing, and delivering services that keep people healthy, safe, and productive while also enriching the learning environment. Sodexo helps the nation's schools be vibrant contributors to the success of their communities.

SOURCE National School Board Association

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Metro Atlanta Chamber Honors Organizations, Businesses and Individuals Creating Sustainable Solutions at Inaugural E3 Awards

Awards represent innovation in building, water conservation, supply chain and urban renewal

ATLANTA, March 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eight companies, individuals and organizations that are creating innovative solutions and technological advances in sustainability were honored by the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) at the E3 Awards.

In its inaugural year, 125 nominations were received for a coveted eight spots.  The award categories span a wide range of achievements in innovation, from energy and water to logistics and urban development.

The event winners by category are:

• University Strong – honoring innovation through research and technologies with Georgia's universities: Simple BoS Sunshot Project, a collaborative effort between Georgia Tech, Radiance Solar and Suniva;
• Built Environment – honoring excellence in energy and planning: Better Buildings Challenge, a public/private initiative with a goal of reducing energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent in participating buildings across Atlanta by 2020;
• Southern Capital – honoring local entrepreneurs, financial institutions or others who incubate start-up businesses or new ventures that advance sustainability: Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), housed at Georgia Tech, is the nation's first university-based business incubator.  Since 1986, it has turned out 112 science and technology companies, and companies associated with ATDC have raised more than $1 billion in venture capital since 1999.
• Power of Place – honoring initiatives by community organizations or business groups that develop stronger, sustainable communities: Midtown Alliance, for creating the first urban EcoDistrict in the southeast;
• Liquid Assets – honoring sustainable water solutions: Google and the Douglasville – Douglas County Water & Sewer Authority, for their work in a joint public/private water reuse project designed to conserve water and help keep the Chattahoochee River clean;
• Making the Connections – honoring smart supply chain solutions: UPS, for its innovative supply chain solution model, creating efficient routing and network optimization and using an alternative fuel flight to help deliver nearly 16 million packages each day to more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
• Emerging Leader – Michael Cheyne, director of asset management and sustainability at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, for his work and leadership in developing and implementing a sustainable management plan for Hartsfield-Jackson;
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Jack Dozier, executive director, Georgia Association of Water Professionals, for his work in protecting Georgia's water resources and role in helping to develop state water policy.

"We are proud to honor all of the winners making strides to build more energy-efficient products and buildings, develop sustainable water solutions and create smarter urban spaces," said Kurt Kuehn, chief financial officer of UPS and chair of MAC's Environmental Policy and Sustainability Committee. "These innovations are vital for creating a sustainable future for our region for generations to come."

Created in partnership with the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the E3 awards' theme is Where the Economy and Environment Connect for Everyone.

About the Metro Atlanta Chamber

Everything we do at the Metro Atlanta Chamber is about building our economy and creating prosperity to help Atlanta thrive. Our board is made up of Atlanta's top business leaders. Our professional staff serves 4,000 member companies that employ nearly 1 million workers. We focus on helping small businesses and mid-size companies grow, helping entrepreneurs get started, and recruiting companies nationally and internationally in our key industries: bioscience, clean technology, health IT, mobility, supply chain and advanced manufacturing, and technology. In public policy, we tackle critical issues to support infrastructure and quality of life. For members, we offer 150+ events and activities each year. In sports, MAC's Atlanta Sports Council has helped drive almost $2 billion in economic impact through sporting events over the last 10 years.

SOURCE The Metro Atlanta Chamber

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