ReleaseWire

Dementia Friendly Orange County (DFOC) announced that it has trained 889 people from 75 businesses and community organizations. While there are many similar grass roots efforts across the US, DFOC believes it is unique in the tremendous response it has received in this community.

Buying and selling have become digital nowadays. In a few clicks, people can have the merchandise they purchase from an online store; all they need to do is to wait for the courier service to deliver it to them. Yet, cases happen when no delivery arrives though payments have already been made. And with this scenario, it cannot be helped that people will start to think that even online stores are not safe.

Clean Design Inc. has been selected to brand and market a planned major gifts campaign for Wake Technical Community College and the Wake Tech Foundation. Clean Design will develop the name, brand strategy, logo and identity, and collateral to raise awareness for Wake Tech’s major gifts campaign, a campaign aimed to increase Wake Tech's ability to meet the escalating demands for its education and training programs.

Senior Pastor Andy Thompson, founder of World Overcomers Christian Church, a nondenominational church serving worshippers in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park community, has announced that the church has adopted Y.E. Smith Elementary School in Durham. During a recent week of service, church members renovated the school’s library and several classrooms, as well as donated nearly 1,600 books for students.

The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, a nonprofit research organization focused on translational safety sciences and a pioneer in liver toxicity research, and PBM Capital Group (PBM), a Charlottesville, Va.-based investment group with significant interests in biotech and life sciences, have announced the formation of a new joint venture in contract research services called Triangle Research Labs, LLC (TRL), which will be located on The Hamner’s campus at 6 Davis Drive. The new company will work on predictive toxicity testing, which will involve screening drug compounds prior to clinical studies to provide biopharma companies an “insurance policy” to quickly identify compounds that will be toxic to humans, potentially saving billions in the drug discovery process. As part of this effort, PBM has shifted the contract research service resources of its GigaCyte subsidiary in Branford, Conn., to The Hamner’s facilities in Research Triangle Park.

Senior Pastor Andy Thompson, founder of World Overcomers Christian Church, a non-denominational church serving worshippers in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park community, has announced that the church will host its 6th annual Harvest Fest on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 2933 South Miami Blvd. in Durham. The fun-filled alternative to Halloween, expected to draw more than 10,000 participants, is free to the public and will include games, bounce houses, face painting, appearances by firemen and other family friendly entertainment. Over the years, Harvest Fest has become an event not only for children, but one that focuses on fun for the entire family. Costumes are allowed, provided they are event-appropriate.

Bayer CropScience, one of the world’s top innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits, has been named one of the top 2011 parent family-friendly companies by Carolina Parent magazine. Winning companies were selected based on nominations and supporting information with the help of the Kenan Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The award recognizes businesses that are committed to helping their employees balance work and family life.

Longistics, a full-service provider of global logistics solutions, and Rare Bird Trading Company have announced the signing of Lexington, N.C.-based Childress Vineyards to showcase its products and services at the Suzhou Industrial Park International Commodities Exhibition Center in Suzhou, China. The winery, owned by Richard Childress of NASCAR’s Richard Childress Racing, will stock, promote and sell merchandise, products and services at the Exhibition Center, set to celebrate its grand opening in late fall 2011.

DesignHammer is pleased to announce the release of version 2.0 of the iPhone app for the Carolina Theatre, a Durham historical and cultural landmark. The latest version of the mobile application boasts an improved user interface along with new features. The iPhone app was first released in March 2011 and has maintained a steady rate of downloads over the last six months.

The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences has announced that Dr. Charles E. Hamner, chairman of the institutes’ board of directors, will receive the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor the state bestows, at a ceremony Thursday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. at the N.C. Museum of History, located at 5 E. Edenton St. in Raleigh, N.C.

Bayer CropScience, one of the world’s top innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits, sponsored the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 Annual Meeting, which took place on Sept. 27 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The 2011 meeting includes commentary from married political consultants James Carville and Mary Matalin, an overview of the Chamber’s accomplishments for the year, installation of the new chair of the Board of Directors, and presentation of the A.E Finley Distinguished Service Award. The Chamber began more than 100 years ago and continues to strive to sustain and further develop a striving economy and to enhance their communities’ quality of life.

The North Carolina China Center, housed at the World Trade Park in the headquarters building of Longistics, has announced that North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell has joined its board of directors. Cowell became state treasurer in 2008, the first woman ever to do so in North Carolina. As the state’s financial advisor, Cowell oversees more than $74 billion in pension fund investments, which affects more than 850,000 public employees in North Carolina. Cowell gained her knowledge and experience in government operations from her time as a member of the North Carolina Senate and the Raleigh City Council.

Synergita today announced the launch of its Talent & Performance Management Software on the Cloud. Offered on a SaaS model (Software as a Service) the product is priced very attractively at US$ 25 per year per user.

Partnership Helps U.S., China, and Asian Business Owners Extend Their Marketplace By Serving As A Bridge To Businesses To Help Sell Their Products And Services

The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences (The Hamner) has announced changes in leadership of its Institute for Chemical Safety Sciences (ICSS). Effective Sept. 1, 2011, Dr. Russell Thomas will assume the position of director of the ICSS, after previously serving as associate director. He will also retain his leadership of the Center for Genomic Biology and Bioinformatics. Dr. Melvin Andersen, who has presided as ICSS director for the past two years, has been named the inaugural Charles E. Hamner, Jr. Distinguished Fellow, and will continue to serve as associate director for the ICSS. These changes will position the ICSS to spur the future growth of a new generation of leadership, and allow Dr. Andersen to focus on implementing The Hamner’s program to accelerate development of key recommendations of the 2007 NRC report, “Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century (TT21C): A Vision and A Strategy.”

Sally Webb, CSEP, CEO of The Special Event Company, a strategic event and meeting management company, has announced that the firm has been named to the Top 300 Small Businesses in the South by Business Leader magazine. Based on financial performance, including revenue growth, business achievement and community involvement, the Top 300 Small Businesses award recognizes the leading organizations headquartered in the Southern states. The award reception was held at Brier Creek Country Club, where the top 10 small businesses of the South were unveiled.

Longistics, a full-service provider of global logistics solutions, has announced that it has named Andy Marchiano to the position of president. As president, Marchiano will lead the team of people serving Longistics’ customers.

CashAdvance.com is happy to keep North Carolina consumers informed about state regulations on cash advances on the web's number one site for payday loans. As part of CashAdvance.com’s continuing efforts to ensure customers are informed and updated on all the issues related to cash advances, the North Carolina Consumer Resource has been launched so state residents can have easy access to all relevant information regarding cash advances, all at their own convenience.

Longistics, a full-service provider of global logistics solutions, has announced that the North Carolina China Center has appointed four company executives to its 2011 board members and executive team. Pat Long, vice chairman and co-creator; Lisa Yuan, manager of global business development; and Brooks Long, director of special projects all have joined the NCCC Board of Directors. Longistics chairman and co-creator Duane Long, who has served on the NCCC board as the chairman since its inception in 2006, was reappointed to the board. Duane Long and his wife, Pat, established Longistics in 1984. Yuan joined the company in 2009 as marketing analyst before assuming her present position.

The Special Event Company, a strategic event and meeting management company, has announced that the firm’s CEO, Sally Webb, CSEP, has been named by Special Events magazine as one of the event industry’s most influential innovators. Webb was featured in the July-August issue of the magazine. An acknowledgement of the industry’s most renowned talent, the most influential leaders list is composed of event professionals running successful businesses and enhancing the future landscape of the event industry as a whole. With offices in both London and the U.S. and 25 years of event production across six continents, Webb has produced events that include the NHL All-Star weekend main party, SAS 35th Anniversary and the Southeast U.S. and Japan Association. She founded the Academic Event Professionals conference in 2007 to address the specific challenges faced by academic planners.

G Data Software, one of the world’s first antivirus providers, warns consumers to be wary while using social networks as criminals are leveraging their behavior to entice people to click on links to virus-infested sites and thus infect their PCs with malware. According to the G Data 2011 Security Survey, nearly one in five consumers click on links passed through social networks, regardless of who they come from. The survey also highlights differences between user demographics. Older users are considerably more cautious in their use of portals than younger ones and women are somewhat more security-conscious than men.

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) will sponsor the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s Summer Leadership Conference, scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 16 through Thursday, Aug. 18 at the Pinehurst Resort, located at Carolina Vista Drive in Pinehurst, N.C. With an overall theme of “Leadership in a Changing World,” the annual Summer Leadership Conference is attended by Wake County’s business and elected leaders. As one of the event’s featured speakers, Lenovo vice president and general manager Tom Looney will discuss recalculating higher education on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at noon.

Longistics, a full-service provider of global logistics solutions, has announced that Pat Long, vice chairman, has been appointed to serve on the N.C. Department of Transportation Logistics Maritime Task Force Advisory Team. Long joins an Advisory Team consisting of state officials and other industry thought leaders representing ocean shipping, trucking, rail, manufacturing and more.

Sally Webb, CSEP, president of The Special Event Company (http://www.specialeventco.com/), a strategic event and meeting management company, has announced the firm’s exponential growth over the last year through the newly launched International Meeting Planners (IMP), the firm’s meetings division providing full service delivery of meetings for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Under the leadership of Patrick Madden, pharmaceutical meetings director, IMP has expanded its clientele to include a diverse collection of CROs and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Securing a two-year master services agreement with Duke University, IMP specializes in serving clinical research organizations and academic research organizations worldwide.

Customizing business rules and workflows for each tenant / user group, is one of the most sought after features in a multi-tenant application. celloSaaS v 3.0 released this month, has a built in business rules engine and workflow engine. It also allows the product developer to expose select variables and actions to the UI layer so that the rules and workflow could be customized by a non-IT person.

Chelsea Love, a 16-year-old high school student at Apex High School, will join 12 other high school students from the United States and Europe on July 25 – Aug. 6 in Pittsburgh, Pa., as part of the fourth annual Bayer International Summer Sustainability Camp. During the two-week camp, students will have a unique opportunity to learn about the environment, sustainable development and global climate change issues through urban-river experiences.

Sally Webb, CSEP, CEO of The Special Event Company (http://www.specialeventco.com/), a strategic event and meeting management company, has announced the firm’s recent ESPRIT award nomination for the production of the Duke Children’s Health Center 10th anniversary donor dinner, Mint Museum opening gala and wine pairing dinner events by the International Special Event Society (ISES). An award program acknowledging the finest talents within the special event industry, the ESPRIT awards showcases elite creativity, strategic management and event production. The Duke Children’s Health Center 10th anniversary donor dinner received nomination for Best Event for a Non-Profit and Best ISES Team Effort with budgets between $75,000 and $200,000. The firm received additional nomination for Best Event for a Non-Profit for the Mint Museum opening gala with a budget of more than $200,000 and Best ISES Team Effort with a budget under $75,000 for the wine pairing dinner. Nominees will be recognized at the ESPRIT awards ceremony in St. Louis on Sunday, Aug. 7.