Posts Tagged ‘Five’

Five Tips for Team Building in Washington DC

March 18th, 2010
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If you work in Washington DC or if you are leading a corporate team building retreat and you want to find somewhere fun to go where there are lots of team building opportunities, you should follow these tips to find fun team building exercises in DC.


Having a great sense of teamwork is so important for businesses. After all most people spend more time with their co-workers during the week than they do with their families. So having a strong sense of teamwork is essential, and there are lots of great ways to practice teambuilding in DC. No matter what activity you ultimately decide on to help you build your team’s confidence and trust, follow these tips to make them as strong as possible:


1. Set clear expectations — People perform the best in jobs where their job description and what is expected of them is crystal clear from the start. Outline the expectations that you have for each person and let them tell you their expectations for their jobs and their employers. Getting those expectations out on the table so that everyone knows what the other person expects is a great way to start team building in DC or anywhere else.


2. Stress communication — Team members need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively with one another. Any team building exercises that help teach people how to communicate more clearly and more effectively are a great way to work on teambuilding in DC.


3. Get creative — The best way to solve problems is to get creative. Team building exercises and retreats should help people develop creative problem-solving skills that can be used to help solve common problems so that the team won’t get frustrated and bogged down in small problems. When the group solves a problem as a team it can really give them a sense of community and teamwork.


4. Be a dependable leader — Every team needs a leader. A team leader should be the person that sets an example by communicating well, inspiring confidence, being someone that team members can come to with problems or for support, and a team leader should also find new and innovative ways to work on teambuilding at the home office so that employees are constantly finding new ways to improve their performance.


5. Set a clear mission — In order for a team to function effectively the entire team needs to know what their goals are. In sports the goal is to win the game and play well. In business the goals for the team need to be just as clear so that everyone on the team will know what they are working for.

Washington | Posted by admin

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Five Washington Businesses to Be Honored by the EPA for Their Energy Conservation Efforts

March 9th, 2010
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week notified five Washington-based businesses that they will receive 2009 ENERGY STAR awards at a ceremony on March 31 in Washington, D.C. The energy conservation efforts of Advantage IQ, Kennedy Associates, Providence Health & Services, Puget Sound Energy and Seattle Lighting all received EPA national recognition.

The EPA gives ENERGY STAR awards annually to organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution. “Energy efficiency reduces consumption and pollution, creates jobs and makes our economy more efficient,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire. “Through their efforts, this year’s winners from Washington prove our state is a leader in energy efficiency by using our natural resources wisely and improving our economic competitiveness. The country is taking notice.”

The Washington winners were selected from among 12,000 organizations across the United States for their leadership in addressing global warming by delivering information and services to their customers that increase energy efficiency. A total of 90 organizations were recognized nationwide.

The winning Washington state initiatives involved:

Advantage IQ, Sustained Excellence award (Spokane headquarters)

Advantage IQ offers qualifying clients the ability to automate their ENERGY STAR building rating process and has completed over 85 percent of all automated building ratings issued by the EPA. Advantage IQ’s proprietary system gathers cost and consumption data and then interfaces with ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager, allowing companies to benchmark and assess consumption across their portfolio against others in their industry. Clients are able to identify under-performing buildings, verify efficiency improvements, and receive EPA recognition for superior energy performance.

Partnering with over 500 multi-site companies nationwide to assess energy costs and usage, Advantage IQ offers a full suite of energy management services to help companies balance the financial, social and environmental aspects of doing business.

Kennedy Associates, Partner of the Year award (Seattle headquarters)

An EPA ENERGY STAR partner since 2005, Kennedy’s ENERGY STAR program is a key component of its commitment to Responsible Property Investing (RPI) and improving energy efficiency across its portfolio of commercial real estate assets. The award highlights the work of Kennedy’s ENERGY STAR and RPI Committees and details Kennedy’s creation of new software tools, guidance manuals, ENERGY STAR reports and training provided for its asset managers and analysts during 2008. Kennedy benchmarks all eligible office and industrial buildings monthly within the ENERGY STAR, which currently represents greater than 23 million square feet. Kennedy’s 2008 benchmarking activities resulted in a 4.5 percent reduction in energy use, compared to a 2.1 percent reduction in 2007, estimated energy savings of approximately $660,000 and the reduction of 5,187 metric tons of CO2. ENERGY STAR-labeled buildings within the Kennedy portfolio represent approximately $2 billion in market value.

Providence Health & Services, Sustained Excellence award (Seattle headquarters)

Providence Health & Services knows that caring for the health and wellness of people in the communities we serve also means caring for the environment. Since 1997, Providence has made a committed effort to managing and reducing energy utilization in our hospitals, clinics and administrative buildings. Partnering with companies such as Puget Sound Energy and Advantage IQ has helped Providence to seek out renewable energy alternatives and reduce our demand on traditional energy sources. Providence also incorporates energy saving features in our newly constructed and remodeled facilities, such as motion activated lighting and high efficiency heating and cooling systems. This is the third year Providence has received an EPA ENERGY STAR award. In addition, eight Providence facilities were recognized in 2009 as ENERGY STAR Certified Hospitals/Medical Buildings — the most of any health care system in the nation.

Puget Sound Energy, Partner of the Year (Bellevue headquarters)

In addition to working with dozens of ENERGY STAR award recipients’ local operations — including Providence Health & Services hospitals, PSE won its own ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award for Energy Efficiency Program Delivery. PSE’s winning program is the Washington-based utility’s Residential New Construction ENERGY STAR Lighting Program, which works with participating showrooms and distributors to provide point-of-sale incentives to home builders in its 11-county service area. Builders receive the incentives for installing ENERGY STAR pin-based fixtures in new single family homes. In 2008, additional program outreach to builders, contractors, manufacturers, and new home buyers resulted in a surprising upswing in participation, despite a 30 percent downturn in construction projects, demonstrating the value of energy efficiency as a means of economic stimulus in uncertain times.

About Advantage IQ: Advantage IQ is a leading provider of comprehensive cost management services for utility, telecom, waste and lease expenses, including strategic energy management services. Their patented technology and services provide multi-site companies with critical, yet easy-to-access information that enables companies to proactively manage and reduce expenses. Advantage IQ’s patented Facility IQ™ System provides online access to cost and consumption data, partnered with powerful analytical reporting tools. For more information about Advantage IQ, visit www.advantageiq.com or call toll-free 1-800-791-7564.

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Washington | Posted by admin

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Twenty Five Radio Stations Add ‘Triptych. Shulgin’S Songbook’ In February

February 15th, 2010
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As a result of AirPlay Direct’s selection of Russian Composer Alexander Shulgin as their Marquee Artist for the month of February, twenty five radio programmers and DJs downloaded tracks from the 3-album compilation “Triptych. Shulgin’s Songbook” for airplay in over eight states and eight nations in three different continents. The jazz compilation, being released by Familia Entertainment, was initially made available to broadcasters/webcasters through AirPlay Direct in anticipation of its distribution to major online retailers through The Orchard in March.

INTERNATIONAL RADIO STATIONS

Austria
* Rainbow-Stream
* KKG ECMA-Radio
Australia
* Highland FM (107.1 FM)
* Nambucca Valley Radio (105.9 FM)
Canada
* CFLX Radio Communautaire de L’Estri (95.5 FM)
China
* Apple-FM
Norway
* Radio Sentrum Trondheim (FM100 FM)
Germany
* Wernis Western Welle
Italy
* Radio Web Italia
UK
* Radio Six International (88.5/9 FM)
* Radio Gets Wild

SELECTED US STATIONS

Broadcast (US)
* WTGE Country Legends (107.3 FM) [Louisiana]
* WSLM (5,000 FM) [Indiana]
* CKWR-FM (98.5 FM) [New York]
* WMTC Mountain Gospel (99.9 FM) [New York]

Internet Radio (US)
* WICR Broadcast Country Radio [New York]
* Le Jazz Affair [Colorado]
* Sound Machine Radio [North Carolina]
* Smooth Groove Phoenix.com [Arizona]
* ARIES’ ERA [New Mexico]
* WWRG Radio Galactica [Florida]

Radio programmers and DJs can stream and download broadcast quality tracks from the complete Triptych compilation:
* Triptych. Alexander Shulgin’s Songbook Part I
http://www2.airplaydirect.com/music/bands/24334/
* Triptych. Alexander Shulgin’s Songbook Part II
http://www2.airplaydirect.com/music/bands/24876/
* Triptych. Alexander Shulgin’s Songbook Part III
http://www2.airplaydirect.com/music/bands/24892/

“‘Triptych, Shulgin’s Songbook, Part 1′ is simply a phenomenal album! It’s a jazz lover’s paradise. This album is a fusion between jazz and easy listening, suitable for every situation – background music, cozying up with your lover, or just chilling out and relaxing.” Michele Morris, MusicDish magazine

Produced by the successful DWB stable of writers and producers, the “Tryptych” compilation features Shulgin’s music, melodies and instrumentals that have yet been played before. With inventive use of the Spanish nylon strung acoustic guitar as a main lead instrument, it conjures up sunsets in Spain and peaceful sunshine bathed fields swaying in the breeze. There is a blend of modern Chillout styles and some more Urban sounding Jazz tinged opuses on this album – music to have a warm bath in. The compilation brings together an impressive array of talent, raging from producers Paul Drew and Richard Niles to nitable jazz names as Gary Husband, Martin Taylor, John Patitucci, Simon Rushby, Bob Mintzer and Jon Howell to name a few.

Alexander Shulgin is a leading executive in the new Russian music industry, having worked with such iconic artists as Valeria, Mumiy Troll, Dima Malikov, Gruppa.fm and many others. Mr. Shulgin owns and operates Familia Entertainment, a record label, and Familia Publishing, a publishing company. His catalogue includes not only top-10 songs but also a diverse array of rare releases, including hundreds of the best-known Russian gypsy songs, Songs of Siberian Exile and Best Songs of WWI, all of which are part of a Russia’s unique musical heritage.

His latest project is a three-album compilation titled “Tryptych” that contains new music. melodies and instrumentals from the composer’s works that had yet to have been performed. The albums were recorded by an impressive line-up of artists including legendary drummer Billy Cobham, pianist Gary Husband, bassist John Patitucci and guitarist Paul Drew to name a few, uniting their various styles on the three albums in a harmony.
http://www.myspace.com/shulginalexander
http://alexandershulgin.musicdish.net

AirPlay Direct is an easy to use digital file transfer system that was developed to streamline radio / artist promotion activities for today’s music industry. AirPlay Direct’s FREE services replace the unnecessary time and expense of putting together and sending out costly traditional artist packages and press kits via snail mail. Utilizing the AirPlay Direct system also allows an artist to positively impact the environment by eliminating needless packaging.
http://www.AirPlayDirect.com

Radio | Posted by admin

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Five Reasons You Should Hire a Washington Art Lawyer

December 17th, 2009
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Are you a Washington artist that is just starting to get into the business of selling your work? One of the first things that you should do is hire a Washington art lawyer to help represent your interests. It can be hard work getting a business set up to sell your art, especially if you really would prefer to be just making art and let someone else handle the selling of your art.


Here are five reasons you need a Washington art lawyer if you’re going to sell your work in Washington:


1. To protect your designs — If you are an artist that creates original work you need to copyright and in some cases patent your designs to protect them from being copied or stolen. A good Washington art lawyer can help you start the copyright process that you need to go through to fully protect your designs and your artwork.


2. To go after anyone that steals your designs — Usually all it takes to get someone to stop copying your designs if they have started copying your work or your images is a cease and desist letter from a good lawyer. If you have a good Washington art lawyer on retainer you can clear up any problems with people that are copying your work quickly and easily.


3. To help you sell your art — Many artists that deal in high end art have a lawyer that represents them for sales. This make the process of drawing up contracts and completing sales where lots of money changes hands go much more smoothly and it’s expected for high end artists to have their lawyers handle the details of selling the art.


4. To help you get set up to sell your art — If you are setting up a business to sell your art in Washington then a Washington art lawyer can help you fill out the paperwork that you need to file in order to get a seller’s license and complete your tax information so that you can legally sell your art. It’s important to take care of these things before you start to sell your art.


5. To produce legal contracts — If you are having a gallery or an agent sell your art on commission then you will need to have contracts in place that will specify how much of the final sale price you get, what happens to any artwork that doesn’t sell, and other details that come along with having someone else sell your work.


It’s always a good idea to have a Washington art lawyer look over or even draw up the contracts that you plan to use to make sure that the contracts are legally binding and are in your best interests as an artist.

Washington | Posted by admin

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