Mediaboss Marketing

After a little more than halfway into the 2020 fiscal year, Cape Girardeau's hotel and restaurant tax receipts are running well ahead of last year and are on pace to generate more money than any previous year.

Through the first seven months of FY20, July 2019 to January 2020, the city's hotel tax had generated $501,767.13 and was nearly 9% ahead of FY19, when the tax generated a total of $787,752.54 for the entire year.

Meanwhile, the restaurant tax receipts for the first seven months of the fiscal year stood at $961,874.10, 2.6% ahead of the same period in FY19.

Combined, the hotel and restaurant tax receipts through the first seven months of FY20 had generated $1,463,641.23, 4.7% more than last year's record pace for the same period when the two tax accounts raised just over $2.4 million for all of FY19.

A new location of Offices Unlimited at 900 S. Kingshighway is seen in this undated photo.

Courtesy Tom Kelsey, Lorimont Commercial Real Estate

Offices Unlimited recently moved from 2127 William St. in Cape Girardeau to 900 S. Kingshighway, Suite A, near the intersection of South Kingshighway and Southern Expressway.

The company, owned by Sally Legrand and established in September 2001, handles office furniture and supplies and serves customers throughout Southeast Missouri and several adjoining states.

Offices Unlimited occupies about 6,000 square feet of the building formerly occupied by Cape Tractor Trailer Supply for many years. The building, which sits on two acres, is owned by B&T Rentals LLC.

According to Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate, which handled the Offices Unlimited lease, the remaining 11,000 square feet of the building is being remodeled for an additional tenant he says will be announced in the near future.

A True Colors workshop, led by GlennView president and certified True Colors facilitator Tracy Glenn, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. until noon May 8 at the Jackson Civic Center, 381 Deerwood Drive in Jackson.

The "True Colors Keys to Personal Success" program is a model for understanding yourself and others based on your personality temperament and can be applied in a variety of circumstances, from personal relationships to professional success.

As a certified True Colors facilitator, Glenn will lead workshop participants through a variety of activities to determine their specific personalities and corresponding colors. Each participant will receive a 25-page booklet for future reference.

To register for the workshop or for more information, visit http://www.glennpr.com/public-workshops or call (573) 270-3580.

DSW Signs is hosting a series of BYOB (Build Your Online Business) conference sessions Tuesday at the Drury Plaza Conference Center.

The 90-minute program will be offered at 8:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and will cover several topics including:

* How to get to, and stay, at the top of Google

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The weekly newsletter focused on the business of Southeast Missouri.

* The latest trends in online marketing

* Creating a marketing plan with traditional media, targeted mobile ads, YouTube, email and more

Conference speakers will include SEO, SEM and reputation management specialist Kent Oglesby, digital marketing specialist Steve Weir and media targeting specialist Crag Diebel.

RSVP at http://www.connectdsw.com/events.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A "Caregivers FIRST" training program for caregivers of veterans with physical or cognitive impairments is scheduled for next week at the John J. Pershing Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The training is set for 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. March 19 in the Learning Resource Center (Building 2) at the medical center at 1500 N. Westwood Blvd in Poplar Bluff. The training is free and open to any veteran caregiver. Lunch will be provided.

Participants are asked to register by March 16 by calling Jessi Houchins, (573) 778-4545, or Trish Castillo, (573) 686-4151, ext. 52149.

Registration is underway for the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's 28th annual Golf Classic set for April 24 at Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson. Lunch that day will start at 11 a.m. followed by tee time for the four-person scramble tournament at noon.

The registration fee for a four-person team is $500. Various sponsorship opportunities are also available, including hole signage for $125 and a team and hole signage combination package for $550.

For more details about sponsorships or to sign up a team, call the Jackson chamber office, (573) 243-8131.

Registration has also begun for the annual Friends of Saint Francis golf tournament scheduled for Aug. 14 at Dalhousie Golf Club. The four-person scramble event will feature two flights with tee times of 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., preceded by breakfast and lunch, respectively.

Sponsorship and registration fee information is available at http://www.foundation.sfmc.net/friends-golf-tournament or by calling (573) 331-5791.

And although October is still more than half a year away, registration has begun for the United Way of Southeast Missouri's 33rd annual Golf Tournament set for Oct. 2 at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. Tee time will follow an 11 a.m. lunch.

Entry fee for the four-person team scramble event is $130 per player for those who register by Sept. 18.

To register or for more details, contact Raechel Reinitz at the United Way office, (573) 334-9634.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Sikeston Convention & Visitors Bureau, a division of the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce, will present its inaugural Hospitality Award of Excellence this week to Lambert's Cafe and the Lambert family in honor of their outstanding contributions to Sikeston's tourism and hospitality industry. The award will be presented during a luncheon set for noon Friday at the cafe, 2305 E. Malone Ave. in Sikeston.

The lunch, which will feature door prizes, is $10 per person payable at the door.

The landmark restaurant, founded in 1942 by Eearl and Agnes Lambert and known for "throwed rolls," serves approximately 16,000 customers a week (that's about 830,000 a year) and throws around 2 million rolls annually.

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's next Business After Hours membership mixer will be from 5 until 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Alliance Bank, 2320 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson.

Business After Hours events are free and open to members of the Jackson chamber and their guests.

Leadership Cape alumni are invited to a reception for the 2020 Leadership Cape class from 5 until 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Montgomery Bank Training Center, 526 W. Main St. in Jackson.

Leadership Cape is a leadership development program sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

Those interested in attending the reception are asked to RSVP to the chamber by noon today.

The Cape Girardeau chamber will host a free business safety workshop from 8 until 10 a.m. Thursday at the chamber offices, 220 N. Fountain St.

In this workshop, Lt. Brad Smith of the Cape Girardeau Police Department will share tips on crime prevention for small businesses.

For more information or to register, contact the chamber (573) 335-3312.

Dennis DeLonais-Turner of Oak Ridge has submitted a business license application with the City of Cape Girardeau to operate Little Latitudes Travel, a travel agency at 1650 N. Kingshighway, Suite 304. The business has a projected opening date of April 1.

Jera Hutson of Cape Girardeau has filed a business license application to operate Atelier Provisions at 120 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau. The retail clothing and gift store is scheduled to open March 20, according to the application.

Do you crave business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Check it out at http://www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.

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Business Notebook: Tax receipts on pace to generate more money than previous years - Southeast Missourian

Artificial Intelligence, AI, is rapidly growing; especially in a working environment. However, the current state of our AI means that we can work alongside it in harmony.

AI is often seen in sci-fi movies. Were watching these movies on our screens thinking that is such a lifetime away from us, I wont be around to see robots and hovercrafts when in reality, its amongst us now. But, with how fast technology is growing, is that really a shock?

The question that youre all asking yourself is will AI replace my job? and the answer is no. As it currently stands, AI has been formed in order to improve your life, rather than hinder it. What were seeing in current releases, is AI that will boost productivity and help you to effectively manage a workforce and the day-to-day running of your business.By implementing AI into your business, youll improve the mental health of your staff, and give your workforce more space to breathe which, without AI, they wouldnt have. Its ironic but by introducing AI into your business, you actually make it more human.

As it stands, only 23% of businesses have incorporated AI into their day-to-day working life. Over the next 5 years, Forbes has estimated that AI in the workplace is expected to grow by a massive 50%.

Adzooma understands the importance of a healthy workforce and wants to demonstrate how including AI in a business can bolster the productivity of a team. They have done some extensive research into AI within the workplace and have created the visual below to show you how AI can be utilized.

AI tools such as Pymetrics assess candidates based on their emotional and cognitive characteristics and pair them up to your business and your current employees. While finding a knowledgeable candidate is essential, you also want them to fit into your business and become a great part of the workforce.

By implementing Pymetrics into your recruitment strategy, its estimated that your staff retention will increase by 50%, and itll take 75% less of your time to recruit someone.

The main area where AI will improve your teams productivity is by taking over your admin tasks. We understand how scary this sounds for Administrators, but actually, its known that by 2030, job growth will soar and those Administrators will be transitioned into a higher-skilled role.

There are many benefits to implementing AI into your workforce:

As an example, here are some tasks that would benefit from having an AI system in place:

Since 2010, there has been a 344% increase in the need for data scientists within a business; what with all the eCommerce websites and social media accounts. However, a data scientist can set a company back a tremendous amount of money. On average, the salary of a data scientist is $130,000 per year.

Implementing an AI system to handle forecasting for the business is estimated to reduce errors within the supply chain by 50%.

Here are a few AI tools that will help lighten the load:

X.ai - This AI tool collates all of your calendars and figures out when the best time is for you to conduct, or be a part of, a meeting. Whether thats with your work colleagues or a client.

Otter.ai - An AI tool that takes away the task of minute writing. Otter.ai has a microphone which listens to voices and creates detailed notes. Its great for meetings, interviews and board meetings, where you wouldnt want to miss out on any important details.

Spoke - Spoke is a very clever AI system that is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to every HR-related. By asking the system a HR-related question, Spoke will produce the answer quickly. Users can ask Spoke questions across multiple channels such as text, email, Slack or web browser. If it cant find the appropriate answer, the AI system will send the question off to the most appropriate person within your team, such as the HR manager.

Skype Translator - This is probably the most known form of AI systems - a real-time translator. Skype Translator has a microphone and speaker system, where users can speak or type their sentence into the tool, and Skype Translator will then translate the text into the desired language. Its great for worldwide communications.

MobileMonkey - MobileMonkey is another AI system that you may be familiar with. MobileMonkey is a tool thats plugged into your website. Its essentially a trained chatbot that will answer customer queries. If the chatbot cant find the correct answer, the message will automatically be fed through to a human.

Chorus - is a great tool for sales representatives. This AI system is plugged into your phone lines and listens and records calls. Chorus also offers its users tips during their calls, and in real-time. This piece of technology is sure to remove the need for training and allows the employees to learn at their own pace.

Cogito - is a similar phone system, however, it listens out for your tone, the words that youre using and your approach with the person that youre talking to. Its all about mindfulness with this system. Cogito will listen to your phone conversations and give you tips as youre talking, telling you to slow down if nerves have got the better of you and youre speaking too quickly.

Read next: Implementing Artificial Intelligence In Your Business (infographic)

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Here's How Including Artificial Intelligence in a Business Can Bolster the Productivity of a Team (infographic) - Digital Information World

In conjunction with International Womens Day, three women share with NUR ZARINA OTHMAN their experiences in the tech and social media world

WHAT men can do, women can do just as well. This is especially true in the tech world today where many of the fairer sex are in the drivers seat, driving companies to new heights.

For Katherine Teo, the head of digital and social at M&C Saatchi, her journey in reviving a microblogging community platform called Dayre (pronounced Day-ree) into a vibrant one for women is a challenging but exciting one.

While many entrepreneurs avoid dying companies, Teo saw potential in Dayre.

When the previous owner of the platform decided that it was no longer viable to run it, Teo, through a company called Create Collective (a venture established by M&C Saatchi), bought it with six other partners.

I have been following Dayre for years. When I heard that it was shutting down, I felt a sense of loss.

As a user, I could understand its uniqueness and why people were drawn to it, says Teo.

She decided that the new Dayre would be for women only, giving them an inclusive, safe and supportive environment to express themselves.

We want to ensure that Dayreans (as Dayre members are called) can always trust Dayre to be a safe and conducive space for them to express themselves and have real girl talk, says Teo.

Since the makeover, the site has evolved organically to become a vibrant community of over 300,000 women who bond over bite-sized anecdotes of their daily lives.

With membership exclusively to women only, Dayre promises the freedom to share unadulterated thoughts and the option for members to decide who gets to read them without fear of trolling, unwanted attention or appearing on online searches.

The ability for users to share stories, unfiltered thoughts, experiences and secrets is what differentiates Dayre from other platforms, adds Teo.

She explains that other female communities target a specific group of women such as working mothers and entrepreneurs.

Dayre has always been a platform where women empower each other with personal stories and bond through common interests and passions.

Dayreans talk about the big and small moments of their day and life any topics that impact them or matters to them, and in any way they want to. Its authentic and unfiltered, explains Teo.

The Nanyang Technological University graduate says that apart from online perks of being in a members-only community, Dayreans also enjoy exclusive access to community events, dubbed the #DayreAFK (Dayre Away From Keyboard) initiative, to foster a strong community of women through events such as mum talks, beauty workshops, styling classes, career fairs, tea-tasting sessions and more.

SAFE SPACE

While Dayre was reinvented to give women a safe space to express themselves, another platform called Suppagood aims to empower women with the right tools to succeed in life, love and in their community.

Its founder, Sarah Lian, a Malaysian actress and television personality, says the platform wants to nurture talented women.

We aim to foster success in all facets of a womans life, from relationships to career to personal planning, emotional wellness and mental health. To do that, we collaborate with experts in different fields to educate, equip and give them the right tools to succeed, she says.

According to Lian, women are constantly being bombarded with standards and expectations, leaving them overwhelmed, tired, anxious and dissatisfied.

They thus seek connection, fulfilment and support.

According to Lian, this gave birth to Supparetreat, a brand under the Suppagood platform.

At Supparetreat, we offer space and guidance for women to look inward and seek answers to find purpose, happiness and peace, says the self-taught web designer and entrepreneur.

Lian conceived the Supparetreat brand based on her own experience as a woman trying to prove to herself and everyone else that she can.

In my personal life, Ive had my big hurt, a failed relationship that left me lost and stranded. I got caught up with things that didnt matter and tried so hard in a relationship that couldnt get past its first fight.

After the relationship ended, I engineered my own internal detox by taking myself out of my own head and listening to my heart.

I put my happiness first and surrounded myself with women whose perspective and support I trust, and thats when I realised how important it is to look within and decide what was right for me. Now Ive made a commitment to never lose myself again, explains Lian, who has a Bachelors degree in design and fashion communications from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.

With a handful of lifestyle coaches, Lian and her team created transformational experiences that have touched the lives of more than 300 women since January last year.

We are creating a community for women to come and explore, connect more deeply with themselves and each other, and in doing so, not only strengthen their own light but shine it brighter in their own homes, communities, and workplaces, says Lian.

POWERING REAL ESTATE

While Lians and Teos stories are all about empowering women, Marienne Tan has quite a different experience.

Tan is a senior search engine optimisation (SEO) manager at local property listing site, iProperty.com.my.

I work on maintaining iProperty.com.mys online dominance by providing monthly reports to highlight key organic search traffic data and competitive analysis, I also conduct training and hold workshops, she says.

The property site provides an overview of sub sale property demand using website user visits and property listings, the first demand data report in the country.

According to Tan, the real estate industry is a fascinating industry.

The level of competition is intense. Its about ensuring how one can stay ahead. Keeping competitors at bay is one of the many challenges, she says.

Tans advice to women who wish to venture into the field: Be ready to fail and be open to accepting failure. There are a lot of trials and errors and you must be open to trying new things if you want to stay ahead.

Her first few months in the real estate industry was very challenging as it was all about listings and garnering leads for agents, says Tan, who is an International Business Management graduate from University College of Technology and Innovation (UCTI) and Staffordshire University, UK.

One needs to keep going, she says, before quoting a line by Michelle Obama: There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.

View original post here:
#TECH: Women take charge in the tech and social media world - New Straits Times

What's This? Associations Now Brand Connection provides opportunities for advertisers to connect with the Associations Now audience. All content is paid for by the advertiser. The Associations Now editorial staff is not involved in creating this content.

if youre in the midst of a website refresh, dont forget to put web accessibility on your list of priorities, writes DelCors Tom Jelen. Making your website accessible means designing it in a way that makes it usable for all people, whatever their hardware, software, language, location, or ability.

Not only is accessibility strategically important, but its also the right thing to do, Jelen argues. According to the World Bank, 15 percent of the worlds population, or 1 billion people, have some form of disability, making them more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes.

Your association can help lessen those adverse outcomes by ensuring that everyone can access your associations digital experience, Jelen says.

Striving for better web accessibility will also improve your contents performance, since good SEO practices go hand in hand with accessibility.

In the same way that persons with disabilities may require alternative text descriptions of images, easy-to-follow headings, and clear link titles, search engine spiders (the computer programs that index the web) need that information, too, Jelen says.

Beyond strategy, web accessibility may even be a legal requirement for your organization.

There is a growing legal consensus that if the Title III requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) apply to your association, you may be required to make your website accessible, Jelen says.

When it comes to advertising your products or services, word-of-mouth is extremely beneficial. According to Nielsens Global Trust in Advertising report from 2015, 83 percent of consumers completely or somewhat trust recommendations from people they know, and 66 percent said the same for reviews posted online.

We are simply more likely to trust someone we knowor even a stranger, so long as they dont work for whoever would benefit from our business, writes Chelsea Brasted of Association Success.

How can organizations take advantage? Generate word-of-mouth buzz with a well-placed member testimonial that showcases the impact of your organization. In the same vein, keep an eye out for positive reviews online. When you see one, help spread the word.

Pick out the real gems, have a conversation with the member who shared it, thank them, and then ask if you can publicize their experience more broadly, Brasted says.

Nonprofits doing advocacy for controversial issues may face online harassment. There are several ways to deal with it, writes Hannah Brennan in Beths Blog.

Have an emergency remote work plan? Work strategist Cali Williams Yost breaks down the steps to put one together in the Harvard Business Review.

Does diversity and inclusion training work? A recent post in the HR People + Strategy Blog explores its benefits and potential shortcomings.

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Daily Buzz: The Importance of Web Accessibility - Associations Now

Friday, February 28, 2020 | 11:01 PM

Courtesy Fox Chapel Area High School

The Fox Chapel Area High School Madrigal Singers will perform a free concert with the Susquehanna University Choir and Chamber Singers on March 11. The concert will be at 7 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church and is part of the Susquehanna University Choirs annual spring break tour. Admission is free and the concert is open to all. The church is at 261 West Chapel Ridge Road.

Magazine receives national award

Fox Chapel Area High Schools 2018-2019 literary arts magazine Tapestry received a national award. It was named a first-place winner in the magazine portion of the 2019 American Scholastic Press Associations Annual Contest/Review for Scholastic Yearbooks, Magazines and Newspapers.

The 2018-2019 student editors of Tapestry were 2019 graduates Noah Fritsch, Arnav Gupta, Emma Kazmierczak, Alyssa Melani, Demi Rymer, Seo Yeon Christina Wang and Chloe Yofan (editor-in-chief); current 2019-2020 seniors Claire Cummings, Gwendolyn Davison, Emma Lusk, Navjot Pabla and Olivia Tang; and current 2019-2020 juniors Molly Dean, Nora McDougall and Xavier Perry. The advisor is Fox Chapel Area High School English teacher Jessica Green.

Place in forensic tournament

Eight Fox Chapel Area High School students placed at the annual Michael Quinn Memorial Forensic Tournament.

The Public Forum Debate team of senior Boomba Nishikawa and sophomore Ian Mackey-Piccolo won first place. Another first-place award went to sophomore Alaina Kaslewicz in commentary. In policy debate, the team of senior Rajeev Godse and junior Jackson Romero won second place. The Public Forum Debate team of seniors J. Oliver Choo and Sina Shaikh was awarded third place. In the Lincoln Douglas Debate, sophomore Siddharth Yende won fifth place.

The tournament was Feb. 15 at West Allegheny High School with more than 280 students participating.

Induction planned

Five Fox Chapel Area High School and A.W. Beattie Career Center juniors will be inducted into the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) this year.

The Fox Chapel Area students are Isaiah Charapp and Ashton Monroe for culinary arts, Matthew Ebel and Kevin Fornaser for automotive technology, and Matthew Sheeler for computer systems technology. The students will be inducted at an invitation-only induction ceremony at A.W. Beattie on April 7.

To be considered, students must maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have a grade of at least 93% in their career training programs, and miss no more than five days of school. Candidates also must have a clear disciplinary record and belong to a service organization or participate in an extracurricular activity.

The NTHS provides scholarships for ongoing education and works to improve the skilled workforce.

We have 800 students and we have 63 on that list to be inducted and they represent the best of their class, Beattie Student Ethics Coordinator and NTHS advisor Scott Scariot said. Im proud of them for how hard they work and how theyve met difficult standards to be nominated by their teachers for induction into the NTHS.

Shakespeare contest winners

Five Dorseyville Middle School students received honorable mentions as part of the 26th Annual Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest. Dorseyville Middle School eighth-graders Eric Pil, Liviya Rubin and Abraham White received honorable mentions in the Upper Division Monologue category. Seventh-graders Devon McDonald and Sophie Thorne received an honorable mention in the Lower Division Scene category.

The contest was in February at the Pittsburgh Public Theater with more than 1,000 students competing.

Students place in speech tournament

Several Fox Chapel Area High School students placed in the Pennsylvania High School Speech Leagues District 2 state championship-qualifying tournament.

The Policy Debate team of senior Rajeev Godse and junior Jackson Romero placed second; sophomore Siddharth Yende won second place in Lincoln Douglas Debate; and the team of senior Hanna Chen and junior Hannah Jahnke was awarded third place in duo interpretation.

All five of these students qualified to participate in the state tournament that will be March 13-14 at Bloomsburg University.

Six students will serveas alternates.

They are sophomore Alaina Kaslewicz, who won fifth place in commentary; seniors J. Oliver Choo and Sina Shaikh, who won sixth place in public forum debate; senior Angelique Uku, who placed sixth in prose interpretation; junior Suparna Agrawal, who won sixth place in extemporaneous speaking; and junior Anthony Nguyen, who placed sixth in Lincoln Douglas Debate.

The tournament was Feb. 22 at Pine-Richland High School with about 160 students participating.

Link:
Madrigal Singers to perform, Tapestry wins national award and more from Fox Chapel Area School District - TribLIVE