text:
Confidentiality Policies
Contact REACH
Partners / Consultants
Courtney Anderson
Chief Executive Officer, Director, Consultant
Courtney is formerly a Special Education Teacher and Family Case Manager, as well as the founder of an NGO in Nigeria, West Africa. She has spent the last 8 years developing cutting-edge programs in the fields of neurodevelopment, childhood trauma, complex developmental trauma, identity-based conflict, generational trauma, neglect and poverty, and emotion therapy through extensive research and pilot studies. Her global work for child rights and human security through culturally sensitive lenses while serving for 15yrs overseas with orphans, vulnerable children, severely impoverished, internally displaced persons, and foreign armed forces, has affirmed her belief and passion that healing must recognize the 'whole' person. Courtney uses a holistic approach across all domains that are created through collaboration and unique for each person, family, group, and community in need. She assists others by walking with them on their path of learning and healing. Courtney's goal is to help people learn and understand how various traumas have impacted their lives; their heart, brain, body, mind, and soul, and how it has been vicariously carried forward impacting every moment of life. She aspires to help people gain self-leadership and choice over their path forward into healing and rehabilitation. Courtney sees the pain in people, but also recognises their possibilities. Courtney seeks to ignite the resiliency that is already living inside one each of us.
Service, Experience, Training
Courtney is a BC certified teacher focused in Special Education and Learning Assistance for children with behavioural challenges, trauma-related subjects such as the Fear/Stress-Response System, Attachment Theory and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Courtney is a trauma-informed Therapeutic Intervention Web Developer and a Curriculum and Program Developer Courtney is a certified CISM Leader (Critical Incident Stress Management) and certified in Assisting Individuals in Crisis as well as Assisting Groups in Crisis. Courtney is certified in River of Life: Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention, Intervention, Postvention. She is also certified in SafeTalk: Suicide Alertness Courtney holds a Master of Education in School Counseling. She is registering with the BCACC as a Registered Clinical Counselor. Courtney is certified in Disaster Mental Health Counselling through a Culturally Sensitive Approach The ChildTrauma Academy acknowledges that Courtney P Anderson has completed NMT Training Certification through the Phase I level.
Josh Daley
Director, Secretary, Consultant
2020 has brought unprecedented anxiety and worry to every facet of society. In light of changes around the world from Covid-19 and social issues, we are seeing individuals, families and communities struggling to find a way to navigate the hardships and generalized anxiety that have become a part of a 'new normal' for all Canadians. Josh has supported communities in crisis through education and mental health services for the past 16 years. He has worked as a teacher, mentor, administrator, counsellor and behavioural consultant across a variety of communities. He is well versed in curriculum development, innovation of new programs and has worked extensively with people with disabilities. Bringing a trauma-informed lens to learning and healing is a critical part of Josh's approach. Josh's passion is inserting himself into communities that are struggling to help them find healing and move towards health and wellness. He is currently upgrading his graduate studies in the field of clinical counselling to add to his broad background of social and emotional development focused education, mentorship, mental health support and advocacy. Josh knows that it takes compassion, patience and persistence to help those who are marginalized and he has made it a personal objective to see that no one gets left behind, starting with a focus on his own communities here in British Columbia with a particular focus on our indigenous and marginalized people. His passion is to advocate for those who are struggling in helping them find the courage, healing, and self-worth to begin rewriting their own stories. In the words of Richard Rohr, "all great spirituality is about what we do with our pain." Josh is a charismatic personality who brings laughter and joy to every environment and has the ability to ease tension and build peace. 'Taking the risk of digging deeper into your story will empower you on your journey to healing and wellness. Why not reach out and start a conversation?'
Josh currently works for a school district in the Lower Mainland. His primary directive is to manage a specialized program for students struggling with anxiety, deficits in learning and deficits in mental health. He is a Level B Assessor and Psychological First Aid Assessor. Josh is a Trauma Intervention Responder, Critical Incident Responder and Scene Manager, and youth/young adult Mentor with extensive experience in counseling for relationship challenges, family, abuse, and suicidal and drug use situations. Josh is also certified in Suicide Awareness: Prevention, Intervention and Postvention for Crisis Responders.
Josh is the Chief Operating Officer for the Lensbox Foundation who has a primary goal to remove barriers to accessing health resources, empowering people to bring awareness to mental and physical health needs impacting their community and addressing eye health needs in rural parts of British Columbia.
Josh is a certified CISM Peer Counsellor (Critical Incident Stress Management) and certified in Assisting Individuals in Crisis as well as Assisting Groups in Crisis.
Josh is a Hockey Canada Certified Developmental 1 Coach who has 15 years of coaching competitive hockey. He uses the world of sport as a means to build community and resilience.
Cat Anderson
Director, Consultant
Cat is a Spiritual Director who focuses on supporting people on their spiritual journey through life. As a contemplative, she gives agency to those she companions by offering a safe and non-judgemental space to explore life experiences whether in times of curiosity, confusion, or suffering. Her focus areas are trauma, neglect, abuse, suicide. Cat is an End of Life Care Doula and supports individuals and families as they transition through terminal diagnosis, grief, death, and bereavement. She incorporates focusing, mindfulness and meditative practises into her platform as a practitioner.
Cat has trained under Dr. George Everly as a Trauma/ Critical Incident Responder and Crisis Scene Manager and offers Critical Incident Stress Management.
REACH is happy to offer her services of Spiritual Direction, End of Life Care and Critical Incident Stress Management.
Spiritual Director
End of Life Care Doula
CISM Team Leader (Critical Incident Stress Management);
Assisting Individuals in Crisis
Assisting Groups in Crisis
Suicide Awareness for Crisis Responders
Pastoral Crisis Intervention I
Pastoral Crisis Intervention II
O.J. Joe Ogmundson, M.Ed
Director, Consultant, Counselor
Joe knows that people will experience trauma, stress, and difficulty throughout their lives, and helping educate and equip them to manage and cope has been his career and calling. Helping people, groups and communities to become safer, stronger and whole, has been a passion in his life.
Joe's focus is education; his goal is to strengthen clients to the point where they do not need him, strengthened to become a positive influence in the lives of others, an influence they may have lacked in their own lives. His therapeutic approach is Adlerian in training, but his practice is integrative and eclectic. Joe's educational background includes Teacher Training at Simon Fraser University, Individual and Family Counselling studies at University of British Columbia, and Coaching Studies at University of Victoria. He has more than thirty years' experience as a teacher, counsellor, union administration (in a variety of executive positions including President), and is a member of the Chilliwack Sports Hall of Fame as a coach. He has worked in education at all levels, from Kindergarten to Masters level, including Alternate Education and Distributed Online Learning. Joe has worked for the Ministry of Children and Family Development (also once known as Ministry of Social Services) as an Intake Worker, Adoptions worker and carried files in Family Support and Foster Care. He has been trained in Violent Threat Assessment, is a certified Online Counsellor, having expertise in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Mediation. Joe regularly presents to multi-aged groups on a variety of social and psychological themes and has been a regular presenter to the Criminal Justice Program and the Education Faculty at the University of the Fraser Valley.
Joe is a School Counselor, Career Counselor, Grief Counselor, Addictions Counsellor, and Family Counselor. He is trained in Threat Assessment, Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Mediation, and is a Certified Online Counsellor (University of Toronto). Joe is a seasoned Athletics Coach, NCCP certified, and has specialized in Peer Counseling, with comprehensive knowledge and experience in the areas of Union Administration and Alternative Education. Joe was a member of the British Columbia School Counsellors' Association (BCSCA) but is not currently certified through RCC or CCC.
Steve Anderson
Steve sees life as an invitation and wants you to also. He has over 27 years teaching experience and rocks the world of the high school students in his psychology program daily. He has a post-graduate degree in Curriculum Development and Administration. Steve created and implements a Peer Support/Human Services program in Chilliwack because he believes building healthy relationships at the individual and community levels promotes life-long learning and successful futures. Building resilience into children and young adults is the best insurance against lifestyles of addiction, cycles of abuse, crime, or suicide and the resulting traumas. As a drummer and percussionist, Steve facilitates drum circles understanding how drum rhythms can bring emotional release, restoration, and healing. Steve believes in forming connections with youth and their families. He excels at leadership training and mentoring in goal setting, skill acquisition and vocational/career path planning and facilitates training sessions and workshops to enhance development of personal standards, gifting, and talents at all levels.
Steve is a Teacher (B.Ed. MA) focused in Psychology specifically the trauma-related subject of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Steve offers Drum Circle/Rhythms, Life Mapping, Work Experience
Steve is certified in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM)
Dr. Robert Lees, Psychologist
Counselling and Training / Supervising Director
Bio Coming Soon
Melissa Glaser
Melissa Glaser, Licensed professional counselor and Author of Healing a Community; Lessons for Recovery after a Large-Scale Trauma. Melissa leverages her extensive experience as a psychotherapist to facilitate community healing in the wake of tragedies. In addition to running her own successful practice for 30 years, Melissa has served as a Clinical Leader in the behavioral health field. She has a successful track record strengthening and transforming community based clinical programming including Community Outreach Liaison to the communities of Newton and Sandy Hook, Connecticut as they worked to recover from the devastating 2012 school shooting. She established the Recovery and Resiliency Team, using the first grant awarded by the D.O.J. to address community recovery. Melissa and her team provided direct support to more than 900 individuals within one year and created a successful response and recovery model for healing through her team approach to community resiliency. Melissa built enduring relationships throughout the community and developed sustainable recovery programs to support specific needs, including those of first responders, Sandy Hook School teachers, victims, witnesses and their families. Her efforts included an educational series and ongoing support to clinicians, town leaders, local clergy, and municipal employees.
Western Connecticut State University awarded Melissa an MS in Counseling. She earned her BS from Clark University. Melissa continued her professional development by becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor. She is a Member of the American Counseling Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association and Psychotherapy Networker.
Dr. Temitayo Sodipo
Advising Consultant, Child and Youth Psychiatrist
About Dr. Sodipo
Dr. Sodipo is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada and a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the United Kingdom. It is the belief that Dr. Sodipo has in preventative medicare systems, that has driven his desire to care for children and adolescents. Dr. Sodipo's goal is to ensure quality mental healthcare for the younger generation, leading to a greater and healthier tomorrow.
Vicki Hartt
Intern Student Clinical Counsellor
About Vicki
For the past 12 years, Vicki has worked within the human services field in various roles supporting individuals and families. She believes that an important aspect to enhancing personal growth and healing from trauma is for individuals feel supported in a genuine, empathetic and compassionate way. She takes an open-minded, holistic, strength-based and collaborative approach to counselling and aims to come alongside individuals to offer support while honoring their lived experience.
Vicki has a passion for educating others in increasing their understanding of complex trauma, generational trauma and other barriers that may have affected their brain, body, spiritual, emotional and social development. Her aim is to enhance an individual's and/or a family's understanding of their strengths and resilience while utilizing eclectic interventions that fit their unique needs. Her greatest strengths lie within her genuineness, intuitiveness, empathy and compassion. Vicki places great importance on creating a safe, engaging and compassionate space for individuals to share and believes this is paramount to facilitating and encouraging positive change based upon their goals.
Vicki has completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Degree at Mount Royal University and is currently near completion of the requirements for a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University.
Vicki has training in telehealth counselling services, complex trauma, Complex Care and Intervention Program (CCI) and suicide awareness.
Nikki Dionne
With over ten years supporting children, youth and families through various roles with non-profit organizations, Nikki recognises the importance of an holistic, trauma-informed and everyone-hands-on-deck approach to assisting those living through crisis and trauma. She has worked as: a Camp Coordinator & Counsellor for children of incarcerated parents; a family and youth support worker; a Mentoring Coordinator; a Program Coordinator/Developer and Evaluator; a Funding Adjudicator; and most recently, a Youth Services Coordinator, with a speciality in serving those that identify as Metis, Inuit and First Nations.
Nikki works through a firm belief that all people would benefit from positive people and cheerleaders in their life, and that having positive mentors, influences and access to education and secure employment can build resiliency. She prefers to maintain an optimistic and positive attitude, even in the worst of times, knowing that to encounter a rainbow, you have to get through the storm.
Nikki's experience and insights allow her to support the REACH Directors, Associates, Staff and Peer Mentors in staying organized and at their best to assist the community. Have a question about REACH? Just call Nikki – and if she doesn't know the answer, you can be sure she'll help you find it!
Staff Sergeant William (Bill) Emery (Rtd.)
Peer Mentor, Police
REACH is pleased to welcome William (Bill) Emery, retired Staff Sergeant with the Abbotsford Police Department in Abbotsford, B.C., to our newly formed Peer Mentoring Program. Bill is one of a growing list of professionals who have decided to make themselves available to our clients for personalized one-on-one and group peer mentorship for learning and support opportunities.
Bill was born in Chilliwack, B.C., where he was heavily influenced in policing by his father who was the Sheriff of Chilliwack, as well as an Auxiliary RCMP officer. Bill joined the Sheriff's office and Auxiliary RCMP at eighteen (18) years of age, right out of high school, conducting document service, court security and prisoner escorts. Bill joined the RCMP as a regular member in 1975, where he served in seven (7) detachments in ten (10) years with the RCMP, in places such as; Prince George, Mackenzie, Pemberton, Burnaby, Agassiz, Langley and Kelowna. Most detachments policed First Nations Reserve land, which served as a positive experience overall for him in learning about First Nations Culture and the people. In 1986, Bill left the RCMP and joined the Abbotsford Police, where he served in uniform and plainclothes duties. Bill's main investigative focus was Major Crime, primarily Homicide investigations, where he served in roles such as; Investigator, Team Leader and eventually Team Commander for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Bill led two (2) teams of homicide investigators (16 members), personally managing approximately fifty (50) homicide investigations in four (4) years. Bill also served for fourteen (14) years as an Emergency Response Team (ERT) member and Team Leader for the Abbotsford Police. During his thirty-four (34) years of police service, Bill has interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses of crime, of all ages and genders, also having to "be there" for countless families of victims during the worst time of their lives and during the criminal trial process, which re-surfaces the pain experienced before. After retirement from policing in 2009, Bill was employed as a Fraud Investigator for a national insurance company and now conducts Background Investigations for two (2) police departments in the Lower Mainland of BC, ensuring that the hiring process for police officers is conducted in a fair and unbiased manner for all aspiring police officers wanting this honorable career. It is Bill's belief that the traumatic incidents experienced by officers and emergency personnel as a whole, is extremely intense and sometimes, life changing, and that those who have experienced similar events and have worked through the emotional stress and trauma, can relate in a personal way. Bill's focus is to assist those in need, by being there as someone who cares and has "been there".
Captain Ben Fryer (Rtd.)
Peer Mentor, Fire
REACH is pleased to welcome Ben Fryer, retired Fire Captain, to our newly formed Peer Mentoring Program. Ben is one of a growing list of professionals who have decided to make themselves available to our clients for personalized one-on-one and group peer mentorship for learning and support opportunities.
This is Ben Fryer, retired Captain of the Chilliwack Fire Department. Ben was born in Southern Ontario in 1955 and moved to the Fraser Valley in 1970, graduating from High School in 1973. His work life began as an apprentice in Auto Body Painting and Auto Body Fabrication, completed in 1989. He was married in 1980 and had two children.
Ben joined the Chilliwack's Volunteer Fire Department in 1985, and was hired on Full Time Status in 1992, rising to the rank of Lieutenant in 1999. Upon completion of Fire Fighter Basic Skills training, and following Officer Training at the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC), Ben was promoted to Captain in 2007. Ben served as secretary / vice-president of the IAFF Local 2826 for fifteen years.
Ben's entire career was either as a Firefighter on an Emergency Response Engine, or as an Officer responding to all types of Emergency Incidents. Emergency Incidents include fire response, auto accidents, and industrial accidents, often requiring extrication.
Ben also served the community for four years as a By-Laws enforcement officer, working at street level with some of the most needy and vulnerable members of society.
Ben is a licensed first responder under the Emergency First Responder (FR3) Program.
Ben is a recognized Public Fire Safety Educator who provided safety education to schools and public organizations and events. He also conducted Annual Fire Safety Inspections of public buildings as part of his regular duties. Ben is also an accredited Fire Instructor and FR3 Medical instructor evaluator through JIBC.
During his many years in public service, Ben has witnessed and dealt with troubling, and at times horrific, incidents that affected the lives of all involved. He recognized early the importance of quality debriefing, of the essential need of support and understanding for members and their families. Ben worked with in house and support counselling teams to help his members receive that support.
Ben knows that as someone who has "been there", he can offer a unique perspective and a mentoring ear to First Responders and their families.
Why REACH for us?
Who REACH is for
Intervention & Programming
Education & Facilitation
CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management)
© REACH Trauma Response. All Rights Reserved. website by Graner Media
Home page photo art: "For a minute there I lost myself"
Thanks to Marie Esther for allowing it's use


text:
Q: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'dark') I'm trying to use new material UI package.
When I use the icons in the buttons, I had an error

TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'dark')

I've checked the previous errors and MaterialUI site, but could not figure it out.
I think something is missing about themes:
App.js
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import DeleteIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Delete';
import SendIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Send';

const App = () => {
  return

    <Button variant="contained" color="success">Material UI</Button>

    <Button variant="outlined" color="primary" size="small">Material UI</Button>

    <Button variant="contained" color="success" startIcon={<DeleteIcon/>}>
      Material UI
    </Button>

    <Button variant="contained" color="danger"  endIcon={<SendIcon/>}>
      Material UI
    </Button>

;
};

export default App;

package.json:
{
  "name": "new",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "private": true,
  "dependencies": {
    "@emotion/react": "^11.4.1",
    "@emotion/styled": "^11.3.0",
    "@fontsource/roboto": "^4.5.1",
    "@mui/icons-material": "^5.0.1",
    "@mui/material": "^5.0.1",
    "@mui/styled-engine-sc": "^5.0.0",
    "@testing-library/jest-dom": "^5.11.4",
    "@testing-library/react": "^11.1.0",
    "@testing-library/user-event": "^12.1.10",
    "react": "^17.0.2",
    "react-dom": "^17.0.2",
    "react-scripts": "4.0.3",
    "styled-components": "^5.3.1",
    "web-vitals": "^1.0.1"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "start": "react-scripts start",
    "build": "react-scripts build",
    "test": "react-scripts test",
    "eject": "react-scripts eject"
  },
  "eslintConfig": {
    "extends": [
      "react-app",
      "react-app/jest"
    ]
  },
  "browserslist": {
    "production": [
      ">0.2%",
      "not dead",
      "not op_mini all"
    ],
    "development": [
      "last 1 chrome version",
      "last 1 firefox version",
      "last 1 safari version"
    ]
  }
}

A: If you check MUI Button API https://mui.com/api/button/
There is no color danger, so removing color="danger" from the last button will solve the problem.
Output:

EDIT:
Another option, you can add custom colors to the theme (danger, neutral, or anything).
example adding custom color:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


(Newser) – A forensic psychiatrist who assisted in the investigations into the 1996 death of JonBenet Ramsey in Colorado and a string of killings in Phoenix more than a decade ago was fatally shot outside his Arizona office, reports the AP. Witnesses heard a loud argument and gunfire Thursday outside Dr. Steven Pitt's office in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale, police say. Phoenix police Sgt. Vince Lewis says he had no information on whether the killing was connected to the 59-year-old Pitt's work. Investigators released a sketch of the suspect who fled the scene.
If this had been the child of some working stiff, the murder would have been forgotten long ago.
It ought to be against the law for parents to dress their little ones up like prostitutes.


text:
Washburn Tech Names an Interim Dean
7/3/19 8:40 am CDT
Gary Bayens, associate dean of applied studies at Washburn University, has been named interim dean of Washburn University Institute of Technology (Washburn Tech). He replaces Dean Clark Coco who retired at the end of June. "I am grateful to Dean Coco for his incredible leadership over the past seven years," said Jerry Farley, president of Washburn University. "I have every confidence that Dr. Bayens will keep the momentum that has been built at Washburnmore...
Media Advisory: July Washburn University Athletic Camps
WHAT: Washburn University athletic teams welcome Topeka-area/Northeast Kansas athletes to campus this summer to sharpen their skills in a variety of sports. Complete details can be found at: https://wusports.com/sports/2010/1/5/10summercamps.aspxVolleyball CampsJuly 10Junior Bods Skills Camp (grades 4 -6). The General Skills Camp covers all individual volleyball skills to make a complete player. $50 per player.9 a.m. – 12 p.m.Petro Allied Health Center Junior Bods Skills Camp (grades 7 -9more...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In every Lutheran School where I have served, the theme of "family" has always been a part of the culture that attracts parents to the school. Often times, when parents are questioned about why they send their kids to the Lutheran school, the response is something along the line of "It just feels like a family". Being that I have served in a few Lutheran schools in various parts of the state and country, this common answer always gets my attention. I believe that this family atmosphere is a natural product of people living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:42-47 English Standard Version).
In all of this, I am sure that I am missing something. Look around our church and school on any day and you will see many people who volunteer their time, talents, and treasures to keep things running smoothly.
Is this family perfect? Absolutely not. We are all sinners and fall short of God's glory. Like any family, our schools have their ups and downs. But in the end, we all call the same God, "Father".
This fact that we share the same father helps us get through the struggles that inevitably come in a sinful world. When we meet together in worship, we confess together our sins and receive His forgiveness. This is what makes our Lutheran schools different. In a world that lives in darkness, our schools are a shining city on a hill. To God be the glory.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on March 3, 2016 by webbnf.


text:
Whaley House may refer to:

Whaley House (Arcata, California), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in Humboldt County, California
Whaley House (San Diego, California), listed on the NRHP
Marion S. Whaley Citrus Packing House, Rockledge, Florida, listed on the NRHP
Robert J. Whaley House, Flint, Michigan, listed on the NRHP
Whaley Homestead, Stevensville, Montana, listed on the NRHP in Ravalli County, Montana
W. B. Smith Whaley House, Columbia, South Carolina, listed on the NRHP
Whaley House (Longview, Texas), listed on the NRHP in Gregg County, Texas

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Vote for Severn Valley Railway in BBC's Countryfile Magazine Awards (22nd January 2015)
The Severn Valley Railway has been shortlisted as one of the UK's top historic gems by the BBC's Countryfile Magazine, and they need your vote to be crowned the number one Heritage Site in Britain.
Nick Ralls from Severn Valley Railway said "We are one of the five famous UK tourist attractions shortlisted in the Heritage Site of the Year category of the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards 2014/15, which celebrate the best of the British countryside.
The Railway sits alongside some of the UK's most famous tourism hotspots, including London's Imperial War Museum, Georgian estate Kew Palace, Welsh architectural wonder Portmeirion and the mystical, pre-historic stone circle at Avebury, which are all in the running for the award."
The shortlist was chosen by TV presenter Jules Hudson, widely recognised as the face of many BBC lifestyle and history series including Escape to the Country, Britain's Empty Homes, Britain's Heritage Heroes and, latterly, Countryfile. A life-long history lover, he praised the SVR's Heritage Skills Training Academy, one of a range of projects funded by the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust, saying the Railway has a "fantastic conservation element to it, running an apprenticeship scheme for young engineers in order to keep the traditional skills alive" and adding: "Travelling by steam train is also a wonderful way to see the spectacular countryside."
The awards cover 12 categories, nominated by experts in their field, including Beach of the Year, Landmark of the Year, Rural Pub of the Year and Greatest National Park.
Voting closes on January 31st, with winners announced in the April edition of the magazine. To vote:
Visit - http://www.countryfile.com/awards2014-15
Send an email with your selections - awards@countryfile.com


Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi is considered as one of the least liveable cities in the world with the global ranking of 134 out of 140 on the index of Economic Intelligence Unit.
It is even the worse than cites like Harare of Zimbabwe, Douala of Cameroon and Kiev of Ukraine, which are not such popular as Karachi.
Economic Intelligence Unit measures the liveablity index of the major cities on the basis of stability, infrastructure, education and healthcare, culture and environment.
The concept of liveability is simple as it assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions.
The Economist Intelligence Unit's liveability rating quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual's lifestyle in any given location, and allows for direct comparison between locations.
Every city is assigned a rating of relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure. Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. For qualitative indicators, a rating is awarded based on the judgment of in-house analysts and in-city contributors. For quantitative indicators, a rating is calculated based on the relative performance of a number of external data points.
For the seventh consecutive year, Melbourne in Australia is the most liveable urban centre of the 140 cities surveyed, closely followed by the Austrian capital, Vienna.
Although the top five cities remain unchanged, the past few years have seen increasing instability across the world, causing volatility in the scores of many cities.
According to EIU report, the average global stability score has fallen by 2% over the past five years, from 73.4% in 2012 to 71.4% now. Over five years, 95 of the 140 cities surveyed have seen some change in their overall liveability scores. Of these cities, an overwhelming 66 have seen declines in liveability, but there is a silver lining, as this number is actually down from 69 just six months ago.
The ongoing weakening of global stability scores has been made uncomfortably apparent by a number of high-profile incidents that have shown no signs of slowing in recent years. Violent acts of terrorism have been reported in many countries, including Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, France, Pakistan, Sweden, Turkey, the UK and the US. While not a new phenomenon, the frequency and spread of terrorism have increased noticeably and become even more prominent.
On the flip side, however, cities moving up the ranking are located largely in countries that have enjoyed periods of relative stability after previously reported falls in liveability. These include, for example, Kiev in Ukraine, Tripoli in Libya and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
This kind of news are for dicouraging businessman to invest in the city or in country. Be a Pakistani we must say a BIG no to such reports becuase the picture on ground is not true.
If you will analyse only sweden, canada and australia like countries are mostly top on the list to temptate people to immigrate into their countries and their immigration schemes are serious business for these countries becuase they want ready made people to come to their countries, coutribute in the ecnomy and pay taxes.
Once an immigrant wore these countries shoes, they came to know problems are everywhere with different kinds of name, issues and constraints and they are trapped as they can relocate back to their homes as the put all investment into the facinating countries where they are treated differently from the natives or have the issues with natives.
Aur Vote du Clowns ko… look at Duabi and other desert cities and look at the dirt filled Karachi….. Don't blame the politicans …… All people are Karachi are responsible…. if you are right your city will be right…..
Although its true but management is important to make people responsible. When we have crupt political systems than how a city's institutions will have any betterment?
Bhutto k saath saath Bhai logo ka bhi haath hai. 50 say land cruiser aur liaquatabad aur azizabad say DHA aur construction company k maalik aisay nahi bantay.
Although we can blame politician (the only exceptional city which has the Smallest size Dustbins on main road instead of footpath, also the exceptional people of Karachi/Pakistan :p ) which is true but what about us?
Who throws garbage on streets/public places?
Who breaks traffic etc etc..?
So who can bring change first? few Hundreds Politicans or 35-40 Million Resident of Karachi?
As expected most of the worst liveable cities are from Muslim countries.
Islam ko kiyon blame kar rahe ho dakkhan, religion ka problem nai hai culture aur education ka issue hai. Is subcontinent ka same issue hai. India, PAK, Bangladesh, yahan gandagi itne ziada hogaye hai ke safaye ke zaroorat hai.


text:
Government of Alberta Fall session adjourned
Alberta's Recovery Plan came into sharp focus during Alberta's legislature sitting, with major advancements on creating jobs and diversifying the economy.
During the fall sitting, Alberta's government passed numerous bills that fulfil promises on affordable housing, conserving our environment and bringing more transparency to infrastructure spending.
The government wrapped up the fall session this week, which started October 25. Key points
December 14: Government of Canada Fall Economic Update
The course we set for Canada's public finances will have an impact on Canadians for decades to come. Canadians deserve more than a cursory update; we need a serious plan at a serious time. Read the statement from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Alberta's Recovery Plan for addiction and mental health-related prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery resources
A $140-million investment over four years is supporting the addition of new publicly funded treatment spaces; the elimination of daily user fees for publicly funded residential addiction treatment; a new patient matching tool, Recovery Access Alberta; and services to reduce harm, such as the Digital Overdose Prevention System (DORS), the introduction of a nasal naloxone pilot and the expansion of opioid agonist therapy. Find out more.
New Travel Related Measures
Last week, the Government of Canada announced new travel-related measures to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. The Public Health Agency of Canada has created an infographic to help industry relay the new regulations to travellers. For more information on travel to Canada please visit the Government of Canada website.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!!
From December 9th to December 24th Santa goes local for 12 Business Days of Giveaways!
Our goal with this giveaway campaign is to encourage people to shop local this Christmas season! #Santagoeslocal Each giveaway is donated by an amazing local business and will be different each day! Participants can be entered by commenting on our daily Facebook posts up until Christmas. You can also be entered by posting a photo of your local purchase and using hashtag #santagoeslocal and tagging us.
When you win!!! Claim your prize by presenting a receipt from a purchase made at a local business!
We look forward to spreading some holiday cheer and makes sure you are shopping local this Christmas season!
Big Marble Farms is named as new partner for Family Leisure Centre
Big Marble Farms is an active member of the local and regional business community and has been for many years. They are also a Community Builder with the Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce and are always exploring innovative ways to be sustainable in the way that they grow and package their locally grown produce. They invest in what sustainability looks like for their customers and for the planet.
The FLC will be renamed as the Big Marble Go Centre. Find out more.
Congratulations to Clayton Bos on receiving the Stars of Alberta Award
The Stars of Alberta Volunteer Awards honour the brightest and best community leaders and advocates with nine recipients, including one from Medicine Hat. Clayton contributes an average of 500 volunteer hours each year in support of a wide range of projects and activities. As Dean of the School of Arts, Science and Education at Medicine Hat College, it is not surprising that a focus of Clayton's volunteerism is sharing the joy of scientific discovery and learning. And as a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and chair of the organization for three years, Clayton is well positioned to help budding scientists in that journey of discovery. Find out more about Clayton's work, along with the other recipients of this years award.
Accelerate Innovation
Transform your business faster with the Scaleup and Growth Accelerator Program. Accelerators intensify learning experiences by compressing years of experiential learning into a few months: access coaching, community, capital and globally tested scaleup and pitch practices. Test, iterate and validate your product.
Ideal applicants are early-stage or growing companies engaged in innovation and novel technology development. Learn more about the Scaleup and Growth Accelerator Program at www.apexalberta.ca/tech-accelerators. Transform your product or service faster with the Scaleup and Growth Accelerator Program, funded by Alberta Innovates.
Jobs and Growth Fund in Western Canada
The Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF) provides funding to businesses and organizations to help create jobs, and position Canada's economy for an inclusive recovery and long-term growth. Applications will be accepted through a continuous intake process. All projects must be completed prior to March 31, 2024, as no further funding will be available after that date. Please review the applicant guide for more information.
WISE Funding Assistance
The APEX Regional Innovation Network partnership is now accepting applications for female entrepreneurs, or those who identify as female, who want to start or scale up a technology, or knowledge-based business. Funding covers the full cost of the program. However, funding is limited and not all applications will be funded. Reviewers are looking specifically for candidates that have novel technologies, products, and services. Find out more.
Digital Innovation in Clean Energy (DICE) Open Call for Proposals 2.0
The second round of funded DICE projects will continue to develop technology that creates jobs in the digital economy, improve the efficiency of energy production at all levels, reduce GHG emissions and contribute to environmental innovations in water and land management. Up to $2.5 million is available over 18 months for DICE 2.0. Project funding can be up to but not exceed $350,000. Proposal submission deadline is December 22, 2021.
Continuous intake programs:
Micro voucher - grants to hire service providers | Alberta Innovates; $10K
Voucher | Alberta Innovates; $100K
r&D Associates | Alberta Innovates; 1 year salary
Commercialization Associates | Alberta Innovates; 1 year salary
Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE) | Alberta Innovates
Government of Canada launches call for proposals under the National Trade Corridors Fund
With two theme areas, the strengthening Canada's connections to global markets will target projects that support fluid and reliable trade flows between Canada and global markets, including the United States and Mexico. This theme considers projects that enable an increase in, or generation of new exports, and that improve the transportation system's efficiency and reliability for Canadian supply chains. The second, Building internal trade corridors will target projects that support the resiliency of Canadian goods trade and supply chains by alleviating capacity constraints and bottlenecks along regional and inter-provincial trade corridors. Other objectives include strengthening modal interconnectivity and operability, and improve producers' access to markets, industrial centres and/or multimodal hubs and gateways. Expressions of interest are now being accepted until March 31, 2022. Applicants who wish to explore funding opportunities for their initiatives are encouraged to consult the Increasing the fluidity of Canada's supply chain webpage, which provides guidance on the process.
Have your Voice Heard on Hiring Intentions
The Alberta Chambers of Commerce has partnered with the Government of Alberta on a second hiring intentions survey. If you're a business operator, this is your chance to have your voice heard on today's labour market. https://www.albertaperspectives.ca/c/r/ACC12-21
Resitriction Exemption Program Safety Training
The REP Safety Training is a 45-minute online course to help workers assess and manage challenging situations that may arise during their daily work. The training is available at no cost to all Alberta-based employers and employees. Through the training, workers will learn skills to help them work safely and the confidence to effectively and professionally communicate COVID-19 safety requirements, such as requesting proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test, physical distancing or masking. Employers are required to enroll employees for the training on their behalf. An access code will then be sent via email to share with employees to take the training. Find out more and enroll today.
Government of Canada will require employees in all federally regulated workplaces to be vaccinated against COVID-19
Progress report on post-secondary transformation
Accelerated Growth Service
29 Big Ideas that Will Change Our World in 2022
'Tis the season to watch out for holiday scams and fraud!
Labour Market Notes – Alberta labour market regains ground
WEBSITES & SEO: OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR GOOGLE | Dec 14
Industrial Revolution 4.0 Webinar Series
Christmas Lights Across Canada with the IllumiNATION launch on December 21 at 6:00 MST
Meaningful employee engagement in a post-pandemic lens | Jan 12
U.S. State and Local Government Procurement 101 for Canadian Companies | Jan 26


The new year is all about reflecting on our successes and challenges of the year past and making plans for what we want to achieve in the next 12 months.
But how do we achieve those goals without embracing change? We can't.
In this video we'll analyze two amazing quotes that illustrate the one important mindset shift we must make in order to reach our new year's goals.


text:
Custom Puppets
Little Red Riding Hood is now available for touring!
Creventive Puppet Company is proud to premier our newest touring stage show: "Little Red Riding Hood" - available now! 🐺
This is the final addition to our "Fairytale series" and is now available for booking - please check our schedule online for upcoming appearances!
Don't Talk to Strangers (Pre-K - 5th Grade)
This classic fairy tale follows Little Red Riding hood on a journey to deliver a basket of goodies to her sick Granny. On her quest she must overcome difficult obstacles. Will she make it or be tricked by the Big Bad Wolf?
Special thank you to everyone involved
Directed by: Connor Asher
Written by: Connor Asher, Caelan Cavanagh and Sydney Alexander
Voiceover work: Sydney Alexander and Connor Asher
Puppet Fabrication: Connor Asher
Backdrop/Set Piece painting: Elaine Miller
In Projects Tags Little Red Riding Hood, Puppet Shows
A Visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts - Atlanta, GA
Creventive Puppet Company went to visit the infamous Center for Puppetry Arts (November 30th 2018) in Atlanta, GA.
The group of wonderful human-beings and talents that roam and contribute to this building is breathe-taking.
Thank you to our dear friend: Aretta for taking the time to meet and tour Sydney & I around.
Help support the CFPA on their mission to preserve and carry on the art of puppetry at: http://puppet.org/
In Puppet Festivals Tags Center For Puppetry Arts
O'Neil Puppetry Conference - Recap
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Creventive blog! This year has been filled with so many new adventures, opportunities, performances, and networking - and it's ONLY JUNE!!!! Anyways, let's get straight into it!
I was accepted to into the annual Eugene O'Neill Theatre's National Puppetry Conference in Connecticut. The conference is organized by Pam Arciero as a way to gather puppeteers from all over the world for a week-long intensive of learning from the best in the business, networking with fellow puppeteers, along with many opportunities to create new work. Ever since I heard about the conference - I made it a goal to attend and finally had the chance this year. The O'Neil has both a pre-conference and main conference, each with a variety of different classes. I was fortunate to have a few days off to attend the pre-conference only before my summer schedule began.
I applied and was accepted into Jim Kroupa's puppet mechanism class. I took this class in particular because I wanted to further my learning in mechanisms and construction because it was one of my weaker skillsets. And who better to learn mechanisms from than Jim Kroupa. Kroupa is well-known for his famous mechanisms. He began creating mechanisms because he felt many of the original Henson puppet's mechs were difficult to operate because they were built by engineers with technical aspects in mind instead of performance and wanted to creating something that performers could operate much easier to focus on the performance. Each year, Kroupa brings a new mechanism for students to build. This year Kroupa brought a clown puppet with an opening jaw and pop-out teeth that each student built. Besides the vast amount of information, some of the highlights of the class were working alongside the fellow participants and hearing some of Kroupa's stories about his work over the years.
After 3-intense days and many stories, we all ended up with a functional
I'm so grateful to have met so many new faces, and catch up with others I haven't seen in forever. Learned so much and made friendships that will last a lifetime.
Already miss it so much, hope to attend next year. The conference and experience was unforgettable and one I will miss deeply.
In Puppet Festivals
Debuting our "Three Billy Goats Gruff" - live educational puppet show
On March 28th, we premiered our new "Three Billy Goats Gruff" live educational puppet show.
CPC's Three Billy Goats Gruff was written with the intent to teach kids about "not being greedy" through the Troll, including counting and simple mathematics.
The Billy Goats Gruff show is a total of 30minutes with a pre show with out Q/A session after the show.
The show was written by Connor Asher and Caelan Cavanagh. Following the original fairy tale, we wanted to stick to the origins and add more into the story while not changing what people were familiar with. One of the challenging parts about writing puppet shows is accounting all the props, puppets, set pieces and things that need to be made since everything is hand-built. In addition to this, only two puppets could be on at any given time because of the number of hands backstage.
One of the new characters we introduced was "Birthworts: The wicked witch". In the beginning of the story, she casts a spell over the land that the Billy Goats live in, because they keep eating her flowers, transforming all the fresh beautiful green grasses to become baron and infertile, forcing the three billy goats gruff to move.
Later in the story, the witch visits Sir Kiedis and because of his greed, she transforms him into a troll.
Voices by Connor Asher and Sydney Alexander. Audio by Sydney Alexander.
In Projects Tags Projects
How it all started - My Puppeteer Journey
Ever since Connor Asher was two years old, he was interested in puppetry. Connor was inspired by Sesame Street and Mister Rodgers Neighborhood. Then his parents took him to "Sesame Street Live" and exposed him to the theatre. He fell in love, and immediately after, he began putting on his own live shows in my basement for family members, guests and neighborhood kids that incorporated puppetry, song and dance.
While Connor was in school, he forgot about puppetry but was writing stories, making up characters, drawing, taking theatre/art classes, doing voices, and producing videos.
In 2011, Connor rediscovered his love of puppetry through "The Muppets – 2011" when Disney re-launched them for a new generation. All the memories flooded back, and he remembered how these characters made him feel, and realized this was something special. Months later, Connor discovered "Being Elmo – A Puppeteers Journey" and finally got to see what it was to be a puppeteer. Connor saw the pure joy the art of puppetry brought to people's lives and realized it was a combination of so many arts he was already pursuing. In that moment, he knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
During high school, Connor began actively pursuing local workshops and classes outside of school. Connor discovered Stan Winston School of Character Arts and had the opportunity to learn different techniques including puppet fabrication, mold making and more. It was through this, and lots of trial and error that he began learning how to build puppets.
In 2014, Connor founded Creventive Puppet Company and began producing educational puppet productions for family audiences.
Outside of his work, Connor has performed as a puppeteer for Opera In Focus, Sea Beast Puppet Company, The Field Museum, Jabberwocky Marionettes, Jeannie McQueenie Productions, and more.
Connor has also been fortunate to teach the art of puppetry at Buck's Rock Performing and Creative Arts camp as the head of the puppetry shop in 2017. In addition, he began offering educational puppet performance and building workshops for the public, teaching at libraries, schools, public events and conventions which has allowed him to travel throughout the USA.
In addition to puppetry, Connor was a part-time preschool teacher working in early childhood education and development. He volunteers his time to organizations such as the Chicagoland Puppetry Guild as their vice president, and the Kiwanis Club of Oak Park River Forest where he has done multiple hospital visits to children with his puppet characters and built costumed wheelchairs for children with disabilities.
In 2017, Connor was awarded the Mike and Frances Oznowicz Young Adult scholarship to attend the Puppeteers of America's National Puppetry Festival in Saint Paul, MN.
Connor hopes to continue exploring and pushing the boundaries of early childhood education through the art of puppetry in the future.
Puppet Variety Show at Mather's Cafe
On January 24th, 2018 - The Chicagoland Puppetry Guild hosted it's first family-friendly, 1hr, puppet variety show at Mather's More than a Cafe.
This Puppet Variety show featured various styles of puppetry including: hand, rod, tabletop, marionette, vent, and toy theatre presented by various members of the Chicagoland Puppetry Guild.
Puppet Acts by: Steven Widerman and Mark Blashford presenting "Mr. Ritz", Chris Crawczyk presenting "The Reunion", Alejandro Rivera presents "Socky the Sock Puppet's Joke Time", Fred Birchtold, Zeezy Posner presents" The Story of Purim", Terri Reimer presents "The Incredible Circus Small", hosted by Connor Asher and Jeremy J. Giggles.
The event was organized by Susan Witek as an outreach program for the CPG to involve and encourage the art of puppetry with the public.
Special thank you to Mather's More Than A Cafe!
Tags Chicagoland Puppetry Guild
PofA National Puppetry Festival in St. Paul, MN
On July 16th, I had the opportunity to go to my first major puppetry festival: the "Puppeteers of America's National Puppetry Festival" held at Concordia University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I was awardedthe "MIKE & FRANCES OZNOWICZ MEMORIAL YOUNG ADULT SCHOLARSHIP" in early January to attend the event.
The festival is a week long celebration of the art of puppetry. An opportunity to connect with many other fellow puppeteers, learn from various instructors with experience in all backgrounds of puppetry, see shows from around the world, and sharing the art of puppetry with fellow festival go-ers.
While there, I was able to take many workshops/classes including: Silicone Techniques with Tom McLaughlin, Shadow Puppetry Intensive with Sea Beast Puppet Company, Needle Felting with Pam Corcoran, 3D Television Puppetry with Steve Widerman and more.
I also performed throughout the festival, in my own performances during the National Potpourri, Shadow Puppetry Intensive workshop and lent my hands to others including: Mark Keeler, Thom Stanley, Thomas Boguszewski and more.
The shows were thrilling! Some of the shows I saw were: "National Puppet Slam 2017", "The National Potpourri", "The SeaBeast Puppet Company Shadow Puppet Intensive Workshop slam", "Reel Puppetry Film Festival", "The Ugly Duckling - Teatro de las Estaciones", "The Story of Crowboy - In the Heart of Beast Theatre, "Ubu the King - Rough House", "Lollipops for Breakfast - The Gottabees, "Ashes - Plexus Polaire, Norway-France", "Cardboard Explosion - Puppet Showplace Theatre", "Punch and Judy - Parasol Puppets", "Punch and Judy - Mousetrap Puppets", "Molly and the Magic Boot, Open Eye Figure Theatre", "Hansel and Gretel - National Marionette Theatre", "Tides - Company Gare Centrale", and the "Fringe".
The Puppetry Store was also at the festival, ran throughout the Festival by Gordon Smuder, Stacey Gordon, and more. The store featured everything you could ever want in puppetry including simple hand puppets, complicated marionettes, puppet books/journals, puppeteer performance gear, t-shirts, Muppets merch and so much more.
Each day began with breakfast, followed by early morning workshops. After the workshops, we would break for lunch then shows would begin in the early evening running through the night time. In between everyone is generally networking/catching up to talk about professional dollie wiggling. After the shows, it was NECESSARY to get sleep in order to function/stay awake for shows throughout the festival. (I recommend Monster Energy drink....I needed a lot for how exhausted I was near the end of the festival).
On the final closing day, the Puppeteers of America held a festival day for the public. Shows including "Punch and Judy", "Molly and the Magic Boot", and walk-about puppeteers were everywhere greeting and entertaining the public. There was also a puppet parade, where all the puppeteers could join in and walk around the college campus to encourage, and inspire the art of puppetry for the public.
I'm so grateful to the Puppeteers of America for this incredible opportunity to expand and learn more about my art form. I made wonderful connections with so many, learnt from valuable resources and plan on giving back all I learned to the puppetry community in the future.
-Connor Asher
Buck's Rock Performance & Creative Arts Camp
This past summer, CPG member: Connor Asher worked at Buck's Rock Performance & Creative Arts Camp as the head of the puppetry shop in New Milford, CT.
During his time there, he directed 2 shows: A Puppet Slam (A collection of shorts, each camper was allowed to write/direct/build and perform their own 2-5minute puppet slam piece in front of a large audience). Connor also directed a "Peter Pan - Puppet Show" based on the classic narrative by Michael John. During his time at the camp, Connor also assisted on 2 other theatre productions, including: "Animal Farm" and "The Wizard of Oz". As the head puppet builder, trainer and performer.
On top of this, Connor ran a puppetry shop founded by "Sesame Workshop/The Jim Henson Company", from 9am-6pm for kids ranging from 5yrs-17yrs old, daily having a total of 10-15+kids at any given point. Connor worked on puppet design, building, and performance with the campers throughout the day. Connor's goal was to heavily introduce the campers to new styles of puppetry.
In order to make this goal possible, he started a visiting artists series. Bringing in 2 professional puppeteers to speak to the campers/staff at Buck's Rock, to tell their background as a puppeteer and demonstrate a style of puppetry.
The first guest was: Tyler Bunch (Muppets, Sesame Street, Julie's Greenroom) who demonstrated television puppetry. Our second guest was: "Paul McGinnis" (Sesame Street, Little Shop of Horrors - Broadway, The Wiz) who demonstrated bunraku/table-top style puppetry for the guests, showing the importance of versatility in puppetry.
On July 16th, Connor took a leave of absence from the camp to attend the "Puppeteers of America's National Puppetry Festival" in Saint Paul, MN.
After the festival/camp ended, Connor went to New York for a day and was invited to visit "PuppetHeap", in Hoboken, NJ. PuppetHeap is best known for their work in commercials/tv/film, also known for the shop hired to build "The Muppet" characters. While there, Connor was able to meet the talented team of puppeteers, ask questions, and see some of the Muppets that were going to be used in the upcoming "Hollywood Bowl" performance. Connor was invited to see the show in LosAngeles, then will return back to Chicago, IL to continue his work at Creventive Puppet Company & the Chicagoland Puppetry Guild.
Television Puppetry Workshop
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In Workshops/Classes Tags Workshops/Classes
World Day of Puppetry Celebration - 2017
In June, the Chicagoland Puppetry Guild gathered to host World Day of Puppetry held at the Matteson Public Library.
Hands-On Puppet Training with the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
Welcome back to the Creventive Puppet Co. blog,
I recently had the opportunity to mentor with the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia.
The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia is known for their puppet adaptations of classic literature. Their current touring show is an adaptation of stories based on books by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle, including: "Brown Bear", "The Hungry Caterpillar", and more.
During their performance at College of DuPage, they offered a behind the scenes puppetry workshop to students. I was invited by fellow puppeteer: Frank Cesario to participate in this fun-filled event.
We were taken backstage and met with the cast of puppeteers. All of the puppets were built in their workshop in Nova Scotia. The cast consisted of a total of three brilliant puppeteers who performed and wrangled the puppets during the tour to keep them in order.
The backstage tour began with explaining the different stories for the show, how the stage was setup, then we dove directly into manipulation. Each puppet moved in a variety of unique ways based on what kind of animal it was. The majority of the puppets were rod/buraku puppets, full-body and could be operated by a single puppeteer. For instance, the frog puppet was able to jump. The duck puppet was able to waddle/swim from side to side, while the dog was able to run and pant. In order to make these puppets move properly, you need to reference and study nature, based on the type of animal. The stage was entirely utilized by full-body puppets that moved around on stage using blacklight. The puppeteers wore all black to make them disappear, while the puppets were highlighted with blacklight. The show takes a lot of rehearsing in both learning how the various puppets needed to be manipulated, along with working with fellow puppeteers in the dark.
The tour ended with a Q/A for the students to ask questions. I highly recommend seeing the show this weekend before their tour ends.
For more information: http://chicagochildrenstheatre.org/shows/brown-bear-brown-bear-other-treasured-stories/
Until next time, stay Creventive!
Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival 2017 - Recap/Reviews
Welcome back to the Creventive blog,
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival in my hometown: Chicago, Illinois this past January 2017.
The Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival is a bi-annual festival celebrating the art of puppetry in Chicago Illinois, started by "Blair Thomas" in 2015. During the fest, shows are held daily, bringing in puppet artists from across the world, to share their traditions bringing a variety of puppetry styles to theatres across Chicago.
Creventive had involvement during the first celebration of the festival back in 2015, where we performed our first slam act: "Jeremy's Evolution of Dance" at the University of Chicago also having a booth during their "Puppet Zoo" to meet and greet guests and inform them of the art of puppetry. Although Creventive did not have any involvement in performances this year, I was able to attend 7 of the shows playing across town.
As a practitioner of the art, I took it highly upon myself to attend as many shows as I possibly could & share my thoughts with many of those who were unable to attend.
Show #1: Silencio Blanco
Location: Museum of Contemporary Art
Styles of puppetry used: Buraku/table top puppetry
Description: A young miner, to keep working, must travel to Chiflon del Diablo, one of the most dangerous mines in Chile. Entire show performed in silence and darkness.
-Great use of FX: light/sound
-Beautiful use of set/light transitions
-Gorgeous movement/manipulation
-Light rig was circular overhanging. Allowed transitions/able to turn off lights manually.
-Buraku was beautifully done, performed entirely in dark to a prerecorded track, puppeteers added sounds themselves live or through the puppets contact with a material/object.
Show #2: Sontana for 4 Feet
Location: Beverly Arts Center
Styles of puppetry used: Hand/Feet/Object
Description: Part-mime and part contortionist: Veronica Gonzalez puts their hands, feet, and knees together to create extraordinarily articulate creatures and stories.
Interests: Vaudevillian/cartoon humor. Variety of suitcases, each told a different story and was filled with props to tell that story. Stories: Hawaiian love story at war/robber/etc. Clothing/puppet parts could easily be changed, SO MANY PROPS, classical vaudeville music/show tunes.
Show #3: Nasty, Brutish & Short: Puppet Cabaret
Location: Links Hall
Description: Short works by international festival artists, regional puppeteers and local talent. A selection of raucous, raunchy, dark, sassy, sad and hilarious puppet anarchy.
Interests: Plastic Bags: Cartoony plastic bags brought to life by 2 puppeteers. Bags would eat each other, eat trash to see who could become the biggest. Discovery of flight if empty, then repeats (slapstick).
Noah Ginex Puppet Company characters hosting. Honey Goodenough Marionettes: Teddy bear escape from box, blanket moves around room, rocks itself to sleep in a rocking chair. Theatre of the Foot: Love story of a Hawaiian Sailor going to war. Silencio Blanco: Dancing/moving to different styles of songs. Mask Puppetry telling the story about what they missed after they moved from their homes. Lazer light puppetry: Improvised storytelling, 2 lasers, hand drawing on a screen that could temporarily hold the light of the laser pens to tell a visual story with live dialogue on a giant screen. Suggestion from the audience: Apple, Raccoon going to an apple tree, eating the apples.
Show #4: Kick the Klown Presents a Konkatenation of Kafka
Location: Victory Gardens Theatre
Styles of puppetry used: Object Puppetry, Glove Puppet/Mask
Description: This show was about a 1-man show telling the story about a father-son relationship. I rarely write bad reviews but this show was just awful. I felt like I was watching an hour-long puppet slam piece. The show overall was just very uninteresting and not executed well. The ideas and concepts were very interesting with certain gadgets/gizmos but they were used so briefly and then tucked away. It was also extremely repetitive in the gags that it did try to present, and the audience was quiet almost the entire show.
-Glove Puppetry: Slapstick comedy in a box, used only very briefly
-Futuristic devices/gadgets
Show #5: Ubu the King
Location: Links Hall, Studio B
Description: Ubu the King was extremely well-executed by Rough house. A grotesque, absurd story about Ubu Roi: a selfish, egotistical dictator on his rise to power. Brought to life by a total of seven puppeteers.
-EVERY ASPECT is performed live, no pre-recorded sounds/music.
-The Puppeteers, aside from bringing the puppets to life, were cleverly involved in the show.
-This was the second time I attended "Ubu the King". I saw it the first time during it's run at "Roughhouse Theatre", it was SO good, I needed to come back a second time.
-There was a total of 7 puppeteers to bring the entire show to life.
-Ubu the King was originally performed with marionettes.
Show #6: Feathers of Fire
Location: Hamid Rahmanian
Styles of puppetry used: Shadow Puppetry, Body/Costume Puppetry/Projection
Description: Visually breathtaking cinematic shadow play for all ages. A magical story of star-crossed lovers from the 10th century.
-Uses a variety of puppets, costumes, masks, scenography, and digital animation
-Cinema-sized screen
Show #7: Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth
Location: Looking glass Theatre
Styles of puppetry used: Buraku/table top puppetry, Hand/Rod, Shadow, Costume
Description: Traveling storytellers: Mr & Mrs Pennyworth captivate audiences with spellbinding tales. But one day, the Big Bad Wolf mysteriously dies before his story is complete. Mr. and Mrs. Pennyworth must journey through the stories to restore order before they are lost forever.
-This show involved so many different styles of puppetry, each performed beautifully!
-My personal favorite show I saw during the entire festival.
-SEE IT OR DIE
In Puppet Festivals Tags Reviews, Puppet Festivals
Project Recap: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Van" for Magic Wheel Chair
We make a living by what we get, but we make a LIFE by WHAT WE GIVE.'
Welcome back to the Creventive recap, where we cover past events/projects.
I'm your host, Connor Asher, I recently had the opportunity to be a builder for Magic Wheelchair: a non-profit organization which helps every kid in a wheelchair receive an epic costume for Halloween.
I was given this opportunity in mid 2016 by Ryan Weimer, founder of Magic Wheelchair, who told me that there was a lead in my area for a great kid named: Samuel Morales.
Samuel is a 5-year old boy, diagnosed with spina bifida L3-4, who loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His dream this year was to be transformed into the pizza-loving, crime fighting ninja turtle: Michelangelo, while driving in the TMNT party bus.
Our team was ready to bring Samuel's dream to life.
Before I head further into the details of the project, I want to go back to a memory which started it all. I started Creventive during my time in High School. While most kids were playing basketball, football, I was running my own business.
My school didn't offer classes to help me with the career I wanted to pursue. We weren't fortunate enough to have art. This lead me to pursuing workshops/classes outside of school. Then I found: Stan Winston School of Character Arts.
It was the perfect medium for learning all aspects of character creation and practical effects. I was finally learning the skill sets I needed to know from some of the best in the industry.
One day Stan Winston School posted about one of their latest partnerships with Magic Wheelchair & the rest was history.
Immediately after seeing the promo, I signed up to volunteer, a few months later...I got the call and began work with Samuel and his family.
The entire process began with fundraising. Between our online campaign, and going door-to-door throughout the Chicagoland area, we are so grateful to have raised a total of $1759.00 from our $1500 goal!
From there, I had multiple meetings with Samuel's family to work on concepts with the rockstar himself. We began with taking measurements of the wheelchair to get an idea of the size and how the costume would attach to his chair. I also went through different examples & references of the cars, and even drew some concepts on-spot.
From there, my teammates & I went on multiple supplies runs to get all the materials together for our project.
Once we had all the materials, we began construction. Our original plan was to use l-200 foam, patterned directly off a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy van. Unfortunately this did not work out, and we had to restart entirely.
We decided to chose a new material that would be lightweight and portable. We went with thin birch plywood with a PVC pipe structure along with many external elements to make his van POP.
The project took a total of 168hrs between conceptualization, patterning, construction, painting, and lots of trial and error.
I'm very grateful to Magic Wheelchair for the opportunity. Their team was responsive to my questions, would assist my needs, and were extremely receptive to my feedback.
Ryan Weimer spoke highly of leaving an impression. The reaction you get from a kiddo when they see their dream come to life is priceless...that couldn't be any more true.
For me, Magic Wheelchair was a chance to go back to my roots. It's why I started Creventive and made puppetry such a huge aspect of what I do.
Puppetry in particular gives so much heart and soul. Kids treat the puppets like they're human beings and the reactions you get are truly priceless...there's nothing quite like it.
Now, I had the chance to do that all over again on a much larger scale. Through meeting and working with people I would've never had the chance to without this, making memories that will last a lifetime.
I am extremely grateful for our entire community for joining Creventive on this journey for bringing Samuel's dream to life, and hope to continue to be involved in great causes like Magic Wheelchair for many years to come.
In Projects Tags Projects, Magic Wheelchair


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SkySafari Pro + SkyBT = Lag Time in Telescope Crosshair? – Simulation Curriculum Corp.
I'm using Sky BT with skysafari 4 android version in Samsung galaxy s 10.5 tab. After 2 star alignment I connect the Sky BT and it connects well with the telescope. When moving the scope the cross hair on the screen is moving very slowly with a lag time no matter I turn off all the graphics, milky way, colours and decrease the star magnitudes and labelling. I increase the Read out rates but there is no any improvement. But the target accuracy is excellent though there is a cross hair lag time. Could you please be kind enough to help me to resolve this issue.
What do you have the Readout Rate set to in the Telescope Setup settings? The default is 4 per second which generally gives a good response.
If that is at 4 per second, have you tried rebooting the Android device? It is possible that it is in some strange state. Generally the responsiveness of the cross hairs is good.
What amount of lag are we talking about? Is this a second or more or is it less?
Sorry for delay. The lag time is about 3 to 4 seconds. I wasn't able to reboot the tab to see whether it is in a strange state because of the bad weather. I will inform you ASAP when the weather permits the observation.
Yeah, that lag is too much. It should be more like 1/2 second. Let me know when you can test again. Note that you don't need good weather to test. I regularly do a fake star alignment and test indoors during the day.
1. Put the batteries to Sky BT and turn on the device.
2. Pair the sky BT with my Samsung galaxy s 10.5 tab.
4. Turn on the telescope and did two star alignment.
I got same result with 3 to 4 seconds lag period between telescope movement and cross hair movement on the screen. This time also I turned off most of the parameters and set the read out rate for 4. This is the log file and hope that it will help you. ....!
Thank you very much for your great cooperation....!
I'm really not sure why you might be getting this extreme lag. I haven't heard of other Galaxy 10.5 users mentioning it. Did you try rebooting the tablet?
If the problem persists, then it is likely there is some interaction with other installed software. All we can probably do is offer you a full refund and our apologies.
Thanks for your keen interest in my issue. Actually I will never leave this software ever. This is the best I have ever seen. Now I'm looking forward for Sky Safari 5 android version. I'm a calm and quiet person who was tamed by Buddhism. So waiting a few seconds is nothing for me. I was shocked when hearing that you are going to refund me. Never think that again. I'm pleased enough to give you a high ratings. Keep informed us regarding your new products. I highly appreciated your effort and the precious time that you allocated for me. Thank you again and again. .....!
Thanks for the kind words. I'm gratified that you think so highly of SkySafari.
It is possible that some future Android update will fix this in your case. I'm sorry I can't offer much more hope right now. You did try a reboot, didn't you?
The company decided they wanted me to work on the Mac version of SkySafari 5 before the Android version. I have about 3 weeks more work on Mac and then its on to Android. Look for it around mid year.


Deanna has over 30 years of experience in public accounting. She offers our clients a wealth of expertise in accounting, payroll, bookkeeping and tax preparation. She is also the head of our bookkeeping department here at Futcher Group where she is dedicated to making our clients' bookkeeping lives a whole lot easier. Deanna enjoys learning new ways of doing things and strives to keep up on new technology.
In the community, Deanna volunteers at Children's Community Resources where she serves on their Board of Directors as Treasurer.
Deanna is a lifelong resident of Longview, WA. She is married to Bill and they have two daughters. When she is away from work, she most enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.


Gardening is a great pastime enjoyed by millions of people every day. One of the reasons gardening is so popular comes down to the fact that it's easy for most people to do – lots of people have their own garden and no matter how small or large it is, there are always different types of plants that you can grow to make the best use of the space.
Even for those that do not have their own garden, there are many allotments around that you can rent space in and even when that is not possible you can grow many different types of plants indoors with the use of pots and bowls.
As well as the obvious benefits of gardening as a hobby there are also lots of reasons why it can be beneficial in other ways.
If you can maintain an outdoor garden then it is a great excuse to get out in the open air. This is good for your body and for your spirit – connecting with nature, breathing in fresh air and being up and about outdoors is beneficial.
Let's not forget that gardening is a form of exercise – by its very nature you are going to be moving around, bending up and down and generally working different parts of your body as you maintain your garden. This is really good and can count towards your daily exercise whilst not feeling at all like exercise – so it's ideal in this respect.
You don't have to get too physical when gardening, you don't have to do it at any sort of pace and there doesn't need to be any heavy lifting involved. Because of these things, gardening is very relaxing. Not only is it relaxing physically but it is also relaxing for your mind. It's a way to slow your brain down, take your time doing something and to not have to think too much. This makes it extremely beneficial for your mind.
This is a amazing benefit of gardening and is applicable whether you have an outdoor garden or just a small spot in your house to grow plants and vegetables. If you grow something that you can later eat then you will get a tremendous sense of achievement at the end of it, you will save yourself money and you will get to eat something that is truly fresh and free from additives, pesticides and other less than healthy contaminants.
If you have an outdoor garden there are lots of different types of vegetables you can grow at different times of the year, ranging from potatoes to strawberries. If you only have access to a small indoor area for growing your plants then you can try something like chilli peppers or even watercress.


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Procura no site Palavras chave:
Membros do Conselho
Comércio de emissões
Consumo e florestas
Apoio ao dessenvolvimento
ACORDOS DE COMÉRCIO LIVRE
Notícias e recursos
Edições da Forest Watch
Declaraçöes de ONGs
Campanhas passadas
News in brief - October 2015
Fern's partner in Malaysia, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), has released a publication on the Penan community outlining the continuing failure of the Sarawak State Government and the Federal Government of Malaysia to resolve indigenous peoples' various land rights and welfare issues. SAM calls for a halt to all logging operations on Penan territories, and urges the gazetting of this land into Communal Forest Reserves. It also calls for the provision of accessible healthcare, education, quality housing, power and a clean water supply and agricultural training.
In past weeks, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), Bangui, has witnessed renewed clashes and numerous deaths. NGOs and the United Nations have been targeted by what some consider to be orchestrated unrest. Fern's local partner CIEDD is concerned that further insecurity could jeopardise the ongoing reconstruction process and governance reforms supported by the EU. Key among these reforms is the adoption of the new constitution, which recognises the rights of indigenous peoples and the need for transparent management of natural resources, and is scheduled for referendum this October 2015. As the transitional government recently recommittedto putting CAR's house in order (FW 205), including the forest sector. It is important that this momentum is sustained and that the EU lends strong support to inclusive reforms.
An event in the European Parliament in September, organised by Conservation International and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), heard representatives from Starbucks, the RSPO, DG Environment and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs speak in favour of EU action on deforestation. It is now up to the European Commission to propose an Action Plan on protecting forests and respecting rights that should be developed together with Member States, the EU parliament, as well as producer countries, NGOs and industry. Such a plan, envisaged by the Commission's Seventh Environmental Action Programme would help it to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 to halt deforestation by 2020 and honour its own pledge to halt deforestation by 2030. A number of Member States, including Germany, expect a communication in 2016 from the European Commission concerning tackling the EU's deforestation footprint.
Current due diligence systems required by the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) are not robust enough. A recent Greenpeace report reveals that illegal timber from Cameroon continues to flow into Europe via Belgium, which – followed by Italy – has the highest European imports of Cameroonian timber. This despite the fact that Greenpeace, Chatham House and others have flagged Cameroon as a "high risk" country, where illegal logging is on the rise, corruption dominates the forest sector (2014 Report of the Independent Auditor in Cameroon). Lack of EUTR implementation undermines VPA implementation in countries like Cameroon. To improve due diligence systems, Client Earth has published a first batch of EUTR enforcement info-briefings for France, Romania, the Netherlands and the UK. Similar briefings for Belgium, Germany and Italy will soon be issued.
The United Nations Environmental Programme released a report on 8 September 2015 looking into the causes of increased pressure on African forests. The study notes that a major driver of deforestation is the lack of legal recognition for customary tenure rights, which undermines local users' incentives to invest in good forest management. It discusses how actions from timber-consuming countries can help resolve the situation, citing the EU's Voluntary Partnership Agreements for their role in improving governance.
The largest hardwood flooring retailer in the United States, Lumber Liquidators, last week pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking of illegal timber in the US. The company had falsely and knowingly claimed that it was importing timber grown in Europe, when in fact it originated in the Russian Far East and other countries where illegal logging is rife. As well as $10 million in fines, Lumber Liquidators has three months to implement a Lacey Act Compliance Plan or face a ban on importing all hardwood flooring until the Department of Justice deems it to be compliant. Lumber Liquidators' violations were first revealed by investigations carried out by Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in 2013. Alongside the EU Timber Regulation, as well as similar regulation in Japan and Australia, the Lacey Act demonstrates a growing recognition that tackling illegal logging requires strong regulatory mechanisms from importing countries across the world.
We hope that you have enjoyed this issue of the ForestWatch newsletter.
We welcome your comments and suggestions, please email info@fern.org
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All About Nigerian Actress, Mercy Johnson Biography
Mercy Johnson Okojie is an actress from Nigeria. Mercy Johnson, also known as MJ, is one of the most, if not the most, dubious actresses in Nigeria. She is constantly surrounded by a diverse range of pundits, both in her films and in real life. She first gained attention when she appeared in the film The Maid, where she played a Nanny. Since then, she has attracted numerous film producers and has clearly appeared in numerous films.
The actress was born in Lagos on August 28, 1984, to a former maritime official, Mr Daniel Johnson, and his mother, Elizabeth Johnson. Mercy Johnson was born in Okene, Kogi State, and grew up in a family of seven children. She is the fourth child, with three older sisters and three younger siblings.
MJ spent her childhood in various sleeping enclosures with her father, who was constantly moved due to his military service. MJ had an unusual childhood for someone who has achieved a high level of success in everyday life.
Mercy Johnson has dropped out of school several times due to financial difficulties. She has sold drinking water and other food items at various events and has worked as a housemaid to help make ends meet.
Due to difficulties in paying for her school expenses and discussing school, she began acting after failing the University selection test.
Movie Career
Mercy Johnson's first film was 'The Maid,' which she auditioned for shortly after graduating from auxiliary school. Her outstanding performance in the film catapulted her to fame and paved the way for a successful career in Nollywood.
MJ was featured in several films, including Hustlers, Baby Oku in America, and War in the Palace, and she later won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2009 African Movie Awards.
Over the years, the showy actress has appeared in over 150 films. Her amazing ability to play any role has made her a fan favorite and a well-organized actress.
She has received numerous awards for her difficult work in acting. Mercy Johnson won best actress for the film 'Dumebi, The Dirty Girl' at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards of 2013, which took place on March 9, 2013. The event was held at the Eko Hotel and Suites. She won the Nollywood Movies Awards for Best Leading Actress in 2012 and 2014.
The Mercy Johnson Foundation was established by the Nollywood star to help less fortunate children and widows. MJ distributed business materials to 5,000 Widows in Uromi, her husband's old neighborhood, on December 23, 2013. Staples, covers, and Khangas were among the materials used.
Mercy Johnson was once barred from acting because she was too expensive. Because of her popularity, the movie advertisers of Nollywood took steps to exclude her from the business on November 3rd, 2013. She and other Nollywood stars, including Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Richard Mofe Damijo, Emeka Ike, Ramsey Nouah, Nkem Owoh, Stella Damasus, and Jim Iyke, were barred from acting for allegedly requesting exorbitant raises in pay per film.
Regardless, the boycott was lifted by advertisers/makers on March 9, 2014, following the actress's expression of remorse.
Mercy Johnson was formally married to Prince Odianosen Okojie, popularly known as Odi, in 2011. Following the traditional marriage on August 26th at Iyana Iba Lagos, the fantastic wedding reception was held at Christ Embassy, Oregun, Ikeja. As expected, numerous dignitaries, including Nollywood stars and top government officials, attended the event. Yvonne Nelson, MJ's main bridesmaid, and other Ghanaian stars traveled to Lagos specifically for the event.
Family Husband, Children
Mercy Johnson and her husband, Prince Odianosen Okojie, have four children.
In the meantime, Prince Odianosen was married to Lovely, with whom he had two children before the marriage fell apart. Despite her husband's previous failed marriage, MJ continues to live a peaceful and happy life with Odi and their three children, and the actress has plans for a fourth child. She has stated her preference in life, which is to prioritize family!
With a total net worth of about N600 million, the veteran actress is Nigeria's third richest actress, charging between N1.8 million and N2 million for each film. Following on from her acting career, Johnson became the Senior Special Assistant to the Kogi State representative in 2017 and is currently the brand diplomat of Mr Chef iodized salt.
MJ's way of life can be portrayed as saved however good humored, yet complex and tasteful. As upscale as she seems to be, with regards to gems and frill, MJ uncovered she will never wear nose rings, including that wrist watches will consistently be among her effortless enhancement.
She has an amazing record of participating in excess of 170 movies. She is notable for her job in the movies, Weeping Soul (2011), Hand of Fate (2012), Brave Mind (2012) and Dumebi the Dirty Girl (2013). Anyway dubious she may be, she is as yet a top class actress who has earned her perspiration as merited. She is clearly a Nigerian lady of class who must be contrasted with any semblance of Rita Dominic, Chioma Chukwuka, Rukky Sanda and Monalisa Chinda. These are probably the best good examples that the youthful African young lady youngster can turn upward to for motivation and inspiration throughout everyday life.
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Shankar comes with wide ranging experience across diverse industries - from technology to engineering with proven track record of delivering year-on-year success for last 20 years. Prior to this, Shankar was with TVS Electronics as Senior Vice President; and helped shape Bartronics as VP and Senior VP - Corporate Strategy and Development.
Shankar has extensive knowledge in building products and brands. He also helped build success stories for two IPOs, acquisitions of over USD 50 M, post-acquisition integration and consolidation.
BalaRamaKrishnan Tanjore who usually go by Bala is originally from Southern Part of India and has a Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence from Dalarna University, Sweden and have been developing successful products in BFS, HealthCare, Retail and Ecommerce verticals for almost all of his professional career , he had a chance to work with big players in BFS & e commerce industry like Bank Of America,Chase Mobile ,Walgreens & Tesco both in Europe and North America.
Big Data Analytics, Natural Language Processing,Machine Learning,Enterprise Mobile ApplicationDevelopment,IOT , Cloud Infrastructure and techno-commercial areas. He is also an Enterprise mobility expert with years of continuous experience in the Internet of Things (IoT) / machine-to-machine (M2M) industry and all its vertical applications.
He was an Entrepreneur and co-founded a mobile social gaming company named Mobile Experts Group in early stages of his career . He has also worked with Fortune 100 companies like Apple and Savant and held highest positions on the technical front.