September is Adult Literacy Awareness Month and I encourage everyone to check out their website http://www.litcouncil.com/ . The mission of the Literacy Council is to improve adult basic education and English language skills through one-on-one and small group instruction provided by trained volunteers to help each individual reach their full potential as individuals, parents, workers, and citizens.
Sara Gruen, Author of "Water for Elephants" was the honored speaker for the Authors for Literacy Dinner & Silent Auction this past Friday, August 28, 2009, at DoubleTree Biltmore Hotel, Asheville. It was a wonderful evening and they raised over $25,000.
Did you know that in North Carolina:
948, 953 age 18 and above are lacking a high school diploma
486, 404 age 18 and above speak a language other than English at home
In Buncombe County alone:
8,727 adults have less than nine years of education
21, 611 have nine or more years of education, but do not have a high school diploma
9,321 age 18 above speak a language other than English at home
Literacy is a tale of human transformation.Be part of the story.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Be Brave!
Times are different, that's for sure. As I interact with business owners throughout the community, the one constant I see amongst those doing well is that they started making changes months ago. They saw what the economy was doing to people's wallets and proactively started to think of new ways to smartly reduce costs, attract new leads and retain current customers. They didn't wait "until things got better". They moved ahead quickly. It is not too late for your business but don't hestiate a minute longer.
I'm cautiously optimistic for the next 12 months and can confidently say people will not go back to their free spending ways for at least 5 to 10 years. For those of you old enough, remember when we waited on long lines for gas back in the mid-70's and said we would never buy gas guslers again. Well, we humans forget and SUVs became the big rage and hear we are again with most people driving gas sucking cars!
People are slowing prying the "green backs" from their pocketbooks but are being incredibly choosy who they spend it with. There is no more tolerance for poor service, poor product quality, indifferent sales people, dirty buying environments or rudeness over the phone. They will kiss you goodbye and never come back. Don't let that happen.
Be brave, look at everything and make changes now.
I'm cautiously optimistic for the next 12 months and can confidently say people will not go back to their free spending ways for at least 5 to 10 years. For those of you old enough, remember when we waited on long lines for gas back in the mid-70's and said we would never buy gas guslers again. Well, we humans forget and SUVs became the big rage and hear we are again with most people driving gas sucking cars!
People are slowing prying the "green backs" from their pocketbooks but are being incredibly choosy who they spend it with. There is no more tolerance for poor service, poor product quality, indifferent sales people, dirty buying environments or rudeness over the phone. They will kiss you goodbye and never come back. Don't let that happen.
Be brave, look at everything and make changes now.
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