Trade Associations
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from national and international trade associations influencing the debate on federal policies.
Featured Stories
Television Academy Unveils Key Art for the 71st Emmy Awards
NOHO ARTS DISTRICT, California, April 23 -- The Television Academy issued the following news release:
The Television Academy today unveiled a dynamic new design to be used for this year's Emmy(R) Awards key art.
"This year's concept entitled 'Light Fountain' uses rays of color and a sense of upward motion to present the Emmy statuette in a manner that reflects the brilliance and energy of today's television industry," said Maury McIntyre, President and COO of the Television Academy.
The new key art will be utilized across multiple platforms including the website, advertisements, collateral materials
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NOHO ARTS DISTRICT, California, April 23 -- The Television Academy issued the following news release:
The Television Academy today unveiled a dynamic new design to be used for this year's Emmy(R) Awards key art.
"This year's concept entitled 'Light Fountain' uses rays of color and a sense of upward motion to present the Emmy statuette in a manner that reflects the brilliance and energy of today's television industry," said Maury McIntyre, President and COO of the Television Academy.
The new key art will be utilized across multiple platforms including the website, advertisements, collateral materialsand motion graphics.
"I found the initial inspiration from iconic fountains and water and light spectaculars around the world," said the Academy's Senior Creative Director Scott Buford. "Working with our design consultants The Other House and Primetime Emmy Awards Show Committee Chair James Pearse Connelly, we designed key art that features the kinetic artistry of fountains with complementary-colored orange/purple rays of light, surrounding the Emmy in an inspirational and exciting fashion."
Imbued with versatility, the "fountain" streaks, when animated, may be choreographed and change hues to convey a feeling or emotion by the manner, speed and color in which they are moving. Together, all the elements of the design put the Emmy front and center--the focus of the art and celebration.
Media may download high-resolution files of the artwork HERE (https://www.emmys.com/key-art).
The Academy also announced the 2019 Emmy Events Calendar. Link to calendar below.
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will air LIVE coast-to-coast from the Microsoft Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 22 (8:00-11:00 PM ET /5:00-8:00 PM PT) on FOX. Don Mischer Productions and Done+Dusted will co-produce the telecast.
[Category: Entertainment Industry]
Patricia Helm Smith Receives Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship
CHICAGO, Illinois, April 23 -- The American Library Association issued the following news release:
Patricia Helm Smith, retired executive director of the Texas Library Association (TLA), is the American Library Association (ALA) 2019 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship recipient.
The award, which seeks to acknowledge exceptional contributions to promoting the field of Library Science, reflects her accomplishments and service to the profession.
During her 30-year tenure as executive director of TLA, TLA launched a series of leadership programs, including the Executive Leadership Institute
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CHICAGO, Illinois, April 23 -- The American Library Association issued the following news release:
Patricia Helm Smith, retired executive director of the Texas Library Association (TLA), is the American Library Association (ALA) 2019 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship recipient.
The award, which seeks to acknowledge exceptional contributions to promoting the field of Library Science, reflects her accomplishments and service to the profession.
During her 30-year tenure as executive director of TLA, TLA launched a series of leadership programs, including the Executive Leadership Instituteand the TALL Texans leadership program, focusing on leadership development for librarians across Texas to assume critical roles in the management and leadership of their libraries and also for advocacy for legislative initiatives in local, regional and state politics.
Smith said one of the rewards of her TLA days was working with the amazing people of TLA to forge new directions for libraries and librarians, working under the reality of huge financial constraints in Texas, to better serve students, faculty, administrators and the public, to meet evolving member needs, with a goal of continuous improvement . "My passion was to foster a 'can-do' environment for change and innovation and to create a culture of excellence and strategic visioning. In hindsight, what I treasure the most was recruiting and cultivating new leaders and coaching colleagues to achieve their personal career and organizational goals."
ALA Past President, and fellow Texan, Julie Todaro, dean, Library Services, Austin Community College, has worked with Smith in varied settings, on Texas initiatives, on ALA presidential initiatives, and in the profession in general. Dr. Todaro said "Pat is that rare blend of person who is committed to a profession but has a laser focus on expanding the recognition of the profession as well as making others successful. She shines at making other people's dreams come true!"
Prior to her time at TLA, Pat was Manager, Systems Development in the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. She was elected to the TLA Executive Board as the ALA Councilor to the American Library Association. "That experience began my love affair with the powerful impact of associations to influence public policy and societal change," she said.
Serving multiple terms on the ALA Council as a Councilor-at-Large, that body twice elected Smith to the ALA Executive Board.
Among her ALA commitments, she chaired several committees, including BARC and the Committee on Legislation. She served on the Nominating, Finance and Audit, and Library Advocacy committees and as a number of ALA Presidential initiatives, in addition to the committees to select an ALA Executive Director and a director of the ALA Washington Office.
Smith was honored by the Texas Society of Association Executives as Distinguished Executive of the Year in 2014. The University of Texas at Austin School of Information named her their Distinguished Alumna in 2009, in recognition of her professional leadership and contributions to the field of librarianship and exemplary service to the people of Texas.
The 2019 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship Jury members are: Chair, Susan S. DiMattia, DiMattia Associates; J. Drusilla Carter, director, Pearle L. Crawford Memorial Library, Dudley, Massachusetts; Dorothy M. Persson, emeritus librarian, education and psychology subject specialist, University of Iowa Libraries; Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Philippi, school program coordinator, Texas State Library and Archives Commission; and Brittany Richardson, web services librarian, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The award will be presented at the American Library Association Annual Meeting, June 23, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
[Category: Libraries]
PSC Urges Congressional Leaders to Address Budget Caps
ARLINGTON, Virginia, April 23 -- The Professional Services Council issued the following news release:
The Professional Services Council (PSC) is calling on Congress to prioritize action on a bipartisan spending deal that will raise the Budget Control Act caps for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and produce full-year, on time appropriations for all federal agencies.
"Budget cap levels set eight years ago do not reflect current federal agency mission needs or national priorities," said PSC's President & CEO David Berteau. "With dramatic changes in areas ranging from the opioid epidemic to cybersecurity,
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ARLINGTON, Virginia, April 23 -- The Professional Services Council issued the following news release:
The Professional Services Council (PSC) is calling on Congress to prioritize action on a bipartisan spending deal that will raise the Budget Control Act caps for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and produce full-year, on time appropriations for all federal agencies.
"Budget cap levels set eight years ago do not reflect current federal agency mission needs or national priorities," said PSC's President & CEO David Berteau. "With dramatic changes in areas ranging from the opioid epidemic to cybersecurity,the caps that were put in place in 2011 simply do not accommodate today's challenges and priorities."
Berteau emphasized that action on the BCA caps "is PSC's top priority, as it is essential to timely FY20 appropriations, to full funding for all federal agencies, and to avoiding the devastating impact of sequestration on the missions and functions of both defense and non-defense agencies."
PSC sent a letter on April 19 to Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker Pelosi following the announcement that they have begun negotiations on a spending agreement.
About PSC: PSC is the voice of the government technology and professional services industry. PSC's nearly 400 member companies represent small, medium and large businesses that provide federal agencies with services of all kinds, including information technology, engineering, logistics, facilities management, operations and maintenance, consulting, international development, scientific, social, environmental services, and more. Together, the trade association's members employ hundreds of thousands of Americans in all 50 states. Follow PSC on Twitter @PSCSpeaks. To learn more, visit http://www.pscouncil.org.
[Category: Government/Public Administration]
Minnesota House Passes $900M Increase to Education Budget
ST. PAUL, Minnesota, April 23 -- Education Minnesota issued the following news release:
Education Minnesota congratulated the Minnesota House on Tuesday for passing its education omnibus bill, which includes $900 million in new spending on public education.
"Students shouldn't be denied the support they need to succeed because their schools are suffering from chronic underfunding," said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. "The bill passed by the Minnesota House will go a long way toward giving every student, no matter where they were born or what they look like, the freedom to go
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ST. PAUL, Minnesota, April 23 -- Education Minnesota issued the following news release:
Education Minnesota congratulated the Minnesota House on Tuesday for passing its education omnibus bill, which includes $900 million in new spending on public education.
"Students shouldn't be denied the support they need to succeed because their schools are suffering from chronic underfunding," said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. "The bill passed by the Minnesota House will go a long way toward giving every student, no matter where they were born or what they look like, the freedom to goas far as their talent and hard work will take them."
Specht noted the bill would pay for thousands of children to attend preschool and expand full-service community schools, which brings healthcare and other services into school buildings where children can reach them. The bill would also allow districts to hire more counselors and other mental health professionals and provide dedicated money for attracting and retaining highly qualified teachers of color, a proven strategy for raising the achievement of students of color.
"The House bill recognizes the racial demographics of Minnesota's students changing, but so are their educational needs. The bill spends more than $110 million on the exploding costs of providing special education services," Specht said. "While that will only pay for a fraction of the unfunded mandates from the state and federal government, it's an acknowledgment that the old ways of funding services for the students who need us the most aren't sufficient anymore."
On policy, the House added needed transparency and accountability to the state's new teacher licensure law, which radically lowered the training requirements to earn a teaching license in Minnesota. The bill would require districts and charter schools to disclose publicly how many teachers of each tier they employ. It increases the amount of the state oversight of teachers with the least training, closes certain loopholes and prevents administrators from assigning students to a Tier 1 or 2 teachers in back-to-back years.
"For decades, Minnesota parents could drop off their kids at school and be fairly certain their teachers were well prepared, not only in content areas but also classroom and behavior management, childhood development and social-emotional learning," Specht said. "Those days are over. Minnesota is running an experiment to see how little teacher training the state can require. If this experiment doesn't work, many students will miss a year of learning they won't get back. Why should we wait to gather data about how it's going? Or to provide some guardrails for parents who don't know all teachers are no longer trained equally? This bill may cause problems for people who want to run a school full of teachers without training in the art and science of teaching, but it's good for parents and students."
About Education Minnesota
Education Minnesota is the voice for professional educators and students. Education Minnesota's members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota's public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota's community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.
[Category: Union]
Dot Foods Takes on Labor Shortage by Thinking Outside the Box
MCCLEAN, Virginia, April 23 -- The International Foodservice Distributors Association issued the following news:
For the past two years the U.S. Unemployment rate has been hovering at the lowest it's been in nearly half a century. Couple this with being a big employer in a small town and hiring can be tough. Especially in a facility as big as the 1.5 million sq. ft. Dot Foods distribution warehouse in Mount Sterling, Illinois. According to Suzy Parn, Director of Personnel for Dot's Illinois warehouse, filling more than 2,600 front office, warehouse and transportation jobs in a city of less than
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MCCLEAN, Virginia, April 23 -- The International Foodservice Distributors Association issued the following news:
For the past two years the U.S. Unemployment rate has been hovering at the lowest it's been in nearly half a century. Couple this with being a big employer in a small town and hiring can be tough. Especially in a facility as big as the 1.5 million sq. ft. Dot Foods distribution warehouse in Mount Sterling, Illinois. According to Suzy Parn, Director of Personnel for Dot's Illinois warehouse, filling more than 2,600 front office, warehouse and transportation jobs in a city of less than2,000 people is difficult. "Let's face it, Brown County only has 6,000 inhabitants, we are not in a population dense area of the country. We do not have a large pool of potential workers."
In order to compete for employees during a labor shortage, employers are getting creative and thinking outside the box. To set themselves apart, Dot warehouse has established flexible work schedules such as four 10-hour days or three 12-hour days. They also offer career growth programs and a comprehensive benefits package. Finally, several Dot locations contain Family Health Centers, which consist of on-site clinics, to provide employees and their families with professional, affordable medical care at convenient hours. The Mount Sterling health facility, Dot's biggest one yet, will open in early 2020.
Despite these efforts, Dot was still grappling with a labor shortage. A few years ago Dot looked deeper into the surrounding community. "Near Mount Sterling we have some Hispanic communities and French speaking African communities. We realized we needed to develop ways to reach out to these groups to increase awareness about Dot and then follow up with extra support post hiring for these groups," explains Parn. The same was true with women and veterans--two more pools of potential employees Dot was eager to tap into more.
A Warehouse Diversity Oversight Group was soon developed and it was time to brainstorm. One item that repeatedly came up as a barrier for potential employees was the physical aspect of the warehouse jobs. Parn said that there were many job seekers that met the requirements for the job, but could not pass the physical agility test. "That's when we created the light pick zone in the dry warehouse where the max case weight is 35 pounds instead of 65 pounds," explains Parn. "The program has been so effective, we expanded it to the freezer, too." The result has been an efficient pathway for job seekers who need to lift a lighter load.
Next Dot focused on those nearby Spanish and French speaking communities they had identified as potential labor pools. Parn says that initially Dot ran recruitment ads in Spanish and French and held job fairs in areas where those populations are focused. "We quickly hired bilingual support (especially warehouse trainers) who were excellent recruiters within their communities. Once we began hiring and training people in their native languages, word traveled fast within their communities." These efforts have helped Dot hire enough employees to keep up with the demands of their business and companywide diversity has increased over the past few years.
Research shows it's not enough to just hire more bodies to fill more positions. In order to keep ahead of the crippling effects of a labor shortage, a company has to retain those employees they have invested resources into recruiting and training. Dot has found success on this front by creating Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These groups are great partners for identifying gaps in an organization. Dot has found that ERGs are a business asset and demonstrate their value by helping with recruitment and retention, marketing, brand enhancement, training, and employee development. They are instrumental with helping new Dot employees get comfortable and up to speed. Dot has created groups for women leaders, young professionals, veterans, and multicultural employees.
One of the most popular and active programs is the Women of the Warehouse group - affectionately called WOW. But don't let the name fool you, the planning committee is intentionally one-third male and the programs are open for all employees. The WOW group holds several events per year. They organize support for local charities, provide feedback to leadership and offer valuable support and development opportunities to warehouse staff.
One of the most important functions of the group happens on a day-to-day basis. The members are encouraged to go out of their way to speak to new employees and check back often with them to see what questions they have about Dot and their job--and then WOW members are encouraged to follow up to help find answers.
Jessica Lopez is the current chair of WOW. She has been employed with Dot Foods since 2003 and is a lead in the warehouse. She says, "When I started in the warehouse almost 15 years ago it was predominately male. I was one of the few females on the floor so I didn't have support from other females. I'm looking forward to working to give support to more females as well as anyone else."
Along the same vein, Michael Kackley, a warehouse trainer and one of the first men to join WOW, says he "felt that showing my support as a WOW member would make me more approachable to the women on my shift as well as give me better insight on how to coach them and set them up for success."
These warehouse leaders' instincts are right on track according to a book by Juliet Bourke, "Which two heads are better than one? How diverse teams create breakthrough ideas and make smarter decisions." The book explains that in order to have success, companies need to prioritize an inclusive culture in addition to hiring a diverse workforce. Those companies that do, the author says, are two times more likely to meet or exceed financial targets, six times more likely to be innovative and agile and eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes.
Misty DeVore is relatively new to Dot. She was still in training when her supervisor invited her to a WOW meeting. "At the time I didn't really realize that I did, in fact, need something from the group. I needed a place where I felt I belonged and fit in," she recalls. She says that the group has been helpful because through the group she has met and interacted with people she never would have otherwise during the course of her normal work week.
Last year WOW held a development event that was geared towards enhancing communication skills among workers in the warehouse and providing feedback to Dot leadership. WOW members were assigned to teams and each team created a 10 minute professional presentation that answered the question, how can Dot improve inclusion and retention of women and minorities? "The presentations to warehouse senior managers were well done and resulted in positive change such as our new hire buddy program and also our schedule flexibility options," says Parn. "One of the most interesting things we found during these presentations was that most of these ideas had little to no direct costs associated to them."
Programs such as Women of the Warehouse help companies decrease the effects of two expensive problems the foodservice industry faces today - the labor shortage and employee turnover. According to a Forbes.com article "Embracing Diversity and Fostering Inclusion Is Good for Your Business" there are very clear steps that need to happen to create a successful and diverse team. They are:
* Top-level buy-in
* Mentoring
* A reworking of company policies
* Switching up recruitment avenues and tactics.
Is there anything Dot can do to improve their diversity support? Not likely, says Tresor Manikuna a warehouse employee and WOW member who emigrated from Congo and whose native language is French. "I'm not seeing anything for now because we have good support that allows us to feel more included and helpful. We have training materials in three languages, translators, bilingual leadership, cultural appreciation events and WOW." The WOW program, he says, shows that Dot is actively trying to resolve their labor problem in a way that works for the company and the employees. "It shows clearly that Dot cares about their community and creating equal leadership opportunities."
[Category: Consumer Services]
AFF Success Story Spotlight: Kentucky Distillers' Association
WASHINGTON, April 23 -- The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture issued the following news release:
The NASDA Trade Shows team is pleased to launch a series showcasing exhibitor successes at NASDA trade show pavilions in Chicago and Miami. Our first spotlight features the success of the Kentucky Distillers' Association at the 2018 American Food Fair!
The Kentucky Distillers' Association, a non-profit trade group, represents 40 companies that produce all varieties of authentic bourbon and related products. As a first-time exhibitor, Kentucky Distillers' Association exhibited
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, April 23 -- The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture issued the following news release:
The NASDA Trade Shows team is pleased to launch a series showcasing exhibitor successes at NASDA trade show pavilions in Chicago and Miami. Our first spotlight features the success of the Kentucky Distillers' Association at the 2018 American Food Fair!
The Kentucky Distillers' Association, a non-profit trade group, represents 40 companies that produce all varieties of authentic bourbon and related products. As a first-time exhibitor, Kentucky Distillers' Association exhibitedwithin the Kentucky Department of Agriculture state pavilion. In the 2018 show, the distiller distributors connected with buyers from multiple countries including Brazil, France, Canada, Mexico, and England. These sales leads resulted in increased export sales and new market development opportunities.
NASDA launched the American Food Fair in conjunction with the National Restaurant Association Show to give U.S. food and beverage exporters an excellent opportunity to showcase their products to over 62,000 attendees of the show. NASDA produces the show in partnership with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to promote the export of U.S. agricultural products and reports on agricultural production and market development in all areas of the world. This event offers four days of networking opportunities and business-to-business contacts all under one roof.
Be sure to check out the Kentucky Distillers' Association in Booth 8280 at the 2019 American Food Fair!
[Category: Government/Public Administration]
ABS, Google Cloud and SoftServe Partner to Demonstrate Feasibility of AI-enabled Corrosion Detection
HOUSTON, Texas, April 23 -- The American Bureau of Shipping issued the following news release:
- Project combines automatic structural anomaly detection and remote inspection for improved monitoring
ABS, Google Cloud and SoftServe completed a pilot project applying artificial intelligence (AI) models to detect levels of corrosion and coating breakdown on ships and offshore structures.
The project successfully demonstrated the accuracy of AI in detecting and assessing structural anomalies commonly found during visual inspection. AI techniques could be further used to analyze images over time
... Show Full Article
HOUSTON, Texas, April 23 -- The American Bureau of Shipping issued the following news release:
- Project combines automatic structural anomaly detection and remote inspection for improved monitoring
ABS, Google Cloud and SoftServe completed a pilot project applying artificial intelligence (AI) models to detect levels of corrosion and coating breakdown on ships and offshore structures.
The project successfully demonstrated the accuracy of AI in detecting and assessing structural anomalies commonly found during visual inspection. AI techniques could be further used to analyze images over timeto understand corrosion and coating breakdown trends.
"Digital innovation in AI will change how surveys and maintenance strategies are executed, driving more condition-based approaches to class and maintenance," said ABS Chairman, President and CEO, Christopher J. Wiernicki. "We are building a future in which digital tools can remotely assess the condition of a ship or offshore unit, and automatically detect and measure coating breakdown and other structural issues, improving safety and reliability."
"We are excited to team with Google Cloud and SoftServe to effectively apply AI technology to the marine and offshore industries," said ABS Deputy Chief Digital Officer, Kashif Mahmood. "By combining our deep domain experience in offshore and marine structures with Google Cloud's extensive knowledge of AI applications and SoftServe's development capabilities, we were able to take this idea from concept to reality."
Interested in learning more? Join us at OTC in Houston, May 6 - 9, to experience AI-enabled corrosion detection.
[Category: Transportation]
