Nonprofit newsflash: Angel's Depot founder up for AARP award
The AARP Foundation has selected Susan Hall, founder of the Angel's Depot in Vista, as one of five finalists in its national Hunger Hero contest for her work feeding seniors who live in poverty.
The winner of the award will receive AARP The Magazine Inspire Award in December 2011, and will be featured in the December/January 2012 issue of AARP The Magazine.
Additionally, the winner's charity will receive a $15,000 donation from the AARP Foundation to help the organization continue its work. The winner will be decided by votes on the website www.aarp.org/hungerhero. AARP membership is not needed to cast a vote, and individuals can vote daily until Sept. 24.
Voters on the website are asked to consider the number of people that an organization has served in the last two years, the inspirational aspect of the nominee's story and the innovative nature of the work; the element of volunteerism and involvement of volunteers; and the replicability of the nominee's work as they vote for a winner.
Hall, a Carlsbad resident who for many years worked as associate director of a domestic violence shelter in the county, first got the idea for Angel's Depot when she read a newspaper article about the growing number of older adults living in poverty in the county.
She immediately called her contacts in government and other organizations and discovered that many elderly San Diegans do not seek help from churches or food banks because they are ashamed of their circumstance.
The result was Angel's Depot, the nonprofit organiztion that provides 21-meal emergency food boxes to elderly San Diego residents on the third weekend of each month, usually the time of the month when seniors are hardest-hit by poverty.
"These seniors skip meals and doses of medication to survive between Social Security checks," Hall said. "This simple 21-meal box was developed to meet the special nutritional needs of seniors suffering from food insecurity and malnutrition. The food choices are high in protein and fiber and moderate in sugar; they make breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks for one week."
Today, the program, which Hall started out of her mother's home in Carlsbad in 2005, distributes the boxes to 765 seniors in the community. By the end of this year, it expects to serve more than 1,000. The program relies on more than 5,000 local donors and volunteers.
Hall says that should she win the Hunger Hero award, the $15,000 prize would provide emergency meal boxes for 600 desperately poor seniors.
"We've known for years that thousands of local seniors suffer in their fragile senior years and can no longer afford to live in the country they fought to defend," she said. "It is really a tragedy."
At the national level, 6 million older Americans face hunger, according to the AARP. The organization says it received hundreds of nominations for the Hunger Hero contest. Hall is the only finalist from California.
Hall said she was shocked and humbled when she heard she was one of the five finalists.
Museum of Making Music reopens with new exhibits
The Museum of Making Music, which recently underwent a significant renovation to its galleries, reopened in August with some new exhibits.
In June the museum, at 5790 Armada Drive, closed its doors to complete work on five galleries that depict the multifaceted history of American music and create a new exhibit space dedicated to housing the Museum's self-curated temporary exhibitions. The changes are aimed at increasing visitor engagement with musical instruments and updating the story of musical innovations to include the 19th century to present day.
"Our renovation project allowed us to expand upon what has always been one of the most positive visitor experiences at the Museum, actual engagement with musical instruments," said Carolyn Grant, executive director at the Museum of Making Music. "For more than ten years, the Museum has shared the history of music and instrument innovation through educational programs, exhibitions and live performances, and now gives visitors even more hands-on time with instruments and allows them to connect with the music making process."
The Museum's fifth gallery experienced the most enhancements during the renovation and now includes nearly 1,100 square feet of state-of-the-art interactive displays,giving visitors a chance to explore their own musicality by picking up instruments and playing with other guests. Breakthrough musical instruments were added to four of the Museum's galleries to showcase innovations that significantly impacted music making in a given time period. Modern equivalents of the breakthrough instruments are now available for guests to pick up and play during their visit
For more information on the Museum of Making Music, visit www.MuseumofMakingMusic.org.
Sterling Global Strategies earns 'Top Gun' ranking
Sterling Global Strategies has announced that its Sterling Tactical Rotation Strategy has achieved the coveted Top Gun status by Informa Investment Solutions' PSN manager ranking database for the first quarter of 2011. This rank was awarded to the top 10 performers in the Managed ETF, Global Balanced Universe, where the strategy took the top performance spot for the quarter ending March 31, 2011.
The Sterling Tactical Rotation Strategy, whose mirroring index is tracked on Bloomberg under the symbol STLGSTRR:IND, seeks to reduce downside risk and provide absolute returns during any market cycle or condition. By employing an intuitive risk management overlay that can invest 100 percent of assets in cash, downside exposure and market volatility may be mitigated. The strategy utilizes an equally-weighted strategic rotation model, primarily trading ETFs in commodities, REITs, bonds, international and domestic equities.
"We are honored and elated to be recognized as a PSN Top Gun Performer," stated Mark Eicker, President of Outside Research for Sterling Global Strategies. "This achievement is truly a testament of our commitment to design and implement superior investment strategies that endeavor to deliver positive returns in all market cycles and directions."
In addition to the Sterling Tactical Rotation Strategy, the firms 3 other investment strategies were also named as Top Guns in their peer groups:
• Sterling Tactical Bond Strategy, Managed ETF US Fixed Income and Core Fixed Income Universes (based on Q1 2011, one-year and 3-year returns)
• Sterling Emerging Markets Strategy, Managed ETF International Equity and Emerging Markets Universe and International Equity Universe (based on Q1 and 3-year returns)
• Sterling Global Allocation Strategy, Managed ETF Global Balanced Universe (based on 3-year returns)
• Sterling Tactical Rotation Strategy, Managed ETF Global Balanced Universe (based on Q1 2011 returns)
PSN Top Guns performance rankings are tabulated from thousands of strategies across 58 different peer groups and then further subdivided into ascending classes from one to six stars based on a rigorous screening process.
GC Green to give green workshops
GC Green Incorporated is presenting a series of seminars that provide training on securing opportunities and certifications to access the residential energy efficiency marketplace for San Diego-based contracting professionals, including general contractors, HVAC professionals, plumbers and beyond.
The seminars are a partnership with Eco-Build Products (ECOB), and are held at a first-floor coffee shop held at the ECOB headquarters in Vista. GC Green held the first in a series of three seminars last month, with additional monthly seminars planned throughout 2011 and beyond.
GC Green is a woman-, Native American-, service disabled veteran owned-business based in San Diego California. Their primary business is as a general contracting and consulting firm specializing in identifying and installing best of class benchmarking, energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy, and environmental consulting solutions for residential/multifamily, commercial, and governmental customers. They also have a marketing and training division named Green Culture Generation.
Construction professionals interested in attending training and certification seminars can get additional information at www.gcgreen.com or by emailing Perez at [email protected].
2012 dates set for county fair
The dates for the San Diego County Fair's 2012 edition have been set. The annual fair will be held from Friday, June 8 to Wednesday, July 4 of next year at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the 22nd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors has announced.
Fairgrounds General Manager and CEO Tim Fennell stated, "Next year, July 4th falls on a Wednesday, giving us an opportunity to extend the Fair from 22 to 24 days, if approved by the Board." The number of days the Fair will run and the theme for 2012 Fair are to be determined at the next 22nd District Agricultural Association Board Meeting to be held Sept. 13.
The 2011 San Diego County Fair broke attendance records for the third year in a row. The largest one-day attendance of 88,757 took place on Sunday, July 3. The Fair's 2011 attendance was 1,412,113, an all-time record.
The AARP Foundation has selected Susan Hall, founder of the Angel's Depot in Vista, as one of five finalists in its national Hunger Hero contest for her work feeding seniors who live in poverty.
The winner of the award will receive AARP The Magazine Inspire Award in December 2011, and will be featured in the December/January 2012 issue of AARP The Magazine.
Additionally, the winner's charity will receive a $15,000 donation from the AARP Foundation to help the organization continue its work. The winner will be decided by votes on the website www.aarp.org/hungerhero. AARP membership is not needed to cast a vote, and individuals can vote daily until Sept. 24.
Voters on the website are asked to consider the number of people that an organization has served in the last two years, the inspirational aspect of the nominee's story and the innovative nature of the work; the element of volunteerism and involvement of volunteers; and the replicability of the nominee's work as they vote for a winner.
Hall, a Carlsbad resident who for many years worked as associate director of a domestic violence shelter in the county, first got the idea for Angel's Depot when she read a newspaper article about the growing number of older adults living in poverty in the county.
She immediately called her contacts in government and other organizations and discovered that many elderly San Diegans do not seek help from churches or food banks because they are ashamed of their circumstance.
The result was Angel's Depot, the nonprofit organiztion that provides 21-meal emergency food boxes to elderly San Diego residents on the third weekend of each month, usually the time of the month when seniors are hardest-hit by poverty.
"These seniors skip meals and doses of medication to survive between Social Security checks," Hall said. "This simple 21-meal box was developed to meet the special nutritional needs of seniors suffering from food insecurity and malnutrition. The food choices are high in protein and fiber and moderate in sugar; they make breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks for one week."
Today, the program, which Hall started out of her mother's home in Carlsbad in 2005, distributes the boxes to 765 seniors in the community. By the end of this year, it expects to serve more than 1,000. The program relies on more than 5,000 local donors and volunteers.
Hall says that should she win the Hunger Hero award, the $15,000 prize would provide emergency meal boxes for 600 desperately poor seniors.
"We've known for years that thousands of local seniors suffer in their fragile senior years and can no longer afford to live in the country they fought to defend," she said. "It is really a tragedy."
At the national level, 6 million older Americans face hunger, according to the AARP. The organization says it received hundreds of nominations for the Hunger Hero contest. Hall is the only finalist from California.
Hall said she was shocked and humbled when she heard she was one of the five finalists.
Museum of Making Music reopens with new exhibits
The Museum of Making Music, which recently underwent a significant renovation to its galleries, reopened in August with some new exhibits.
In June the museum, at 5790 Armada Drive, closed its doors to complete work on five galleries that depict the multifaceted history of American music and create a new exhibit space dedicated to housing the Museum's self-curated temporary exhibitions. The changes are aimed at increasing visitor engagement with musical instruments and updating the story of musical innovations to include the 19th century to present day.
"Our renovation project allowed us to expand upon what has always been one of the most positive visitor experiences at the Museum, actual engagement with musical instruments," said Carolyn Grant, executive director at the Museum of Making Music. "For more than ten years, the Museum has shared the history of music and instrument innovation through educational programs, exhibitions and live performances, and now gives visitors even more hands-on time with instruments and allows them to connect with the music making process."
The Museum's fifth gallery experienced the most enhancements during the renovation and now includes nearly 1,100 square feet of state-of-the-art interactive displays,giving visitors a chance to explore their own musicality by picking up instruments and playing with other guests. Breakthrough musical instruments were added to four of the Museum's galleries to showcase innovations that significantly impacted music making in a given time period. Modern equivalents of the breakthrough instruments are now available for guests to pick up and play during their visit
For more information on the Museum of Making Music, visit www.MuseumofMakingMusic.org.
Sterling Global Strategies earns 'Top Gun' ranking
Sterling Global Strategies has announced that its Sterling Tactical Rotation Strategy has achieved the coveted Top Gun status by Informa Investment Solutions' PSN manager ranking database for the first quarter of 2011. This rank was awarded to the top 10 performers in the Managed ETF, Global Balanced Universe, where the strategy took the top performance spot for the quarter ending March 31, 2011.
The Sterling Tactical Rotation Strategy, whose mirroring index is tracked on Bloomberg under the symbol STLGSTRR:IND, seeks to reduce downside risk and provide absolute returns during any market cycle or condition. By employing an intuitive risk management overlay that can invest 100 percent of assets in cash, downside exposure and market volatility may be mitigated. The strategy utilizes an equally-weighted strategic rotation model, primarily trading ETFs in commodities, REITs, bonds, international and domestic equities.
"We are honored and elated to be recognized as a PSN Top Gun Performer," stated Mark Eicker, President of Outside Research for Sterling Global Strategies. "This achievement is truly a testament of our commitment to design and implement superior investment strategies that endeavor to deliver positive returns in all market cycles and directions."
In addition to the Sterling Tactical Rotation Strategy, the firms 3 other investment strategies were also named as Top Guns in their peer groups:
• Sterling Tactical Bond Strategy, Managed ETF US Fixed Income and Core Fixed Income Universes (based on Q1 2011, one-year and 3-year returns)
• Sterling Emerging Markets Strategy, Managed ETF International Equity and Emerging Markets Universe and International Equity Universe (based on Q1 and 3-year returns)
• Sterling Global Allocation Strategy, Managed ETF Global Balanced Universe (based on 3-year returns)
• Sterling Tactical Rotation Strategy, Managed ETF Global Balanced Universe (based on Q1 2011 returns)
PSN Top Guns performance rankings are tabulated from thousands of strategies across 58 different peer groups and then further subdivided into ascending classes from one to six stars based on a rigorous screening process.
GC Green to give green workshops
GC Green Incorporated is presenting a series of seminars that provide training on securing opportunities and certifications to access the residential energy efficiency marketplace for San Diego-based contracting professionals, including general contractors, HVAC professionals, plumbers and beyond.
The seminars are a partnership with Eco-Build Products (ECOB), and are held at a first-floor coffee shop held at the ECOB headquarters in Vista. GC Green held the first in a series of three seminars last month, with additional monthly seminars planned throughout 2011 and beyond.
GC Green is a woman-, Native American-, service disabled veteran owned-business based in San Diego California. Their primary business is as a general contracting and consulting firm specializing in identifying and installing best of class benchmarking, energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy, and environmental consulting solutions for residential/multifamily, commercial, and governmental customers. They also have a marketing and training division named Green Culture Generation.
Construction professionals interested in attending training and certification seminars can get additional information at www.gcgreen.com or by emailing Perez at [email protected].
2012 dates set for county fair
The dates for the San Diego County Fair's 2012 edition have been set. The annual fair will be held from Friday, June 8 to Wednesday, July 4 of next year at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the 22nd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors has announced.
Fairgrounds General Manager and CEO Tim Fennell stated, "Next year, July 4th falls on a Wednesday, giving us an opportunity to extend the Fair from 22 to 24 days, if approved by the Board." The number of days the Fair will run and the theme for 2012 Fair are to be determined at the next 22nd District Agricultural Association Board Meeting to be held Sept. 13.
The 2011 San Diego County Fair broke attendance records for the third year in a row. The largest one-day attendance of 88,757 took place on Sunday, July 3. The Fair's 2011 attendance was 1,412,113, an all-time record.