Fall Magazine for SMART Holdings USA

SMART Holdings USA – SMARTvt.org Issue # 10, Fall 2014

B U S I N E S S S T A R T - U P A D V I S O R :

S T A R T I N G , G R O W I N G , O P T I M I Z I N G

Entrepreneurs: Two Types SMARTvt Legal Guru Talks About Who He Helps and Why:

There’s never been a time when so few businesses were starting and so many failing. Navigating the perils of a business startup, Mark Oettinger, launching a new practice, offers powerful insight to the nuance of what resources are necessary for a new business launch. Oettinger starts with the two types of entrepreneurs. What type are you?

SMARTvt.org – SMART Holdings USA

John Mayer, Mark Renkert, Michael Kipp, Michael Hussey, Gabrielle Meunier

drive SMART Holdings USA economic Development Engine Crea6ng US

Companies and Jobs . SMARTvt created a task force that provides resources,

educa&on, training, financing solu&ons to business startups for approved plans.

About SMARTvt.org. Vermont's largest solu/on provider featuring teams of

subject-‐ma#er experts with one voice as one firm; SMARTvt.org, a global

Vermont’s Power Center for Business Idea Creation

Happenings

SMARTvt’s Curtis s Ostler leads major recycling, re-use, job creation program for Resource.com.

Clarkson Chemical Engineer , Alex Goyette Completes Rotation at Mylan Labs

USMC Captain Michael Hussey Completes Norwich University MBA Program – Manager, Multisorb, Buffalo, NY

…..An Early Autumn …..

The psychology of entrepreneurship; (1) heritable risk-taking / fortitude, (2) person’s thrust into business by circumstance. One

universal attribute: Business owners radiate professional and personal satisfaction when describing their ascent to starting and growing their businesses. See story next page 2…

consultancy offering sustainable socially responsible applica2ons such as Hands-‐

on Engineering, Accoun-ng, Finance, Marke-ng, New Product Development,

Research, Medical Devices and Technology, Pharmaceu7cals, Telephony, E-‐

enterprise, IT / IS implementa1on -‐ service, Merger & Acquisi/on, LBO, Business

Valua%on, Forensic Accoun%ng, SEC Compliance,

Petrochemical Extrac/on, Defense Systems, and

global manufacturing enterprises.

Mark Renkert to lead Major Research Project on Effects of Joblessness for Unskilled Workers Age 50+

Carolyn Smith, Healthcare Executive Manager To Lead SMARTvt’s HIE/ HIT Applications Education Division SMARTvt Co-Founder Jean Twombly Project: Association of the Americas for Blue Cross Blue Shield – 5M Members

SMARTvt’s Kevin Beal Appointed Director of Development, Navicate.org, a teaching organization.

Enterprise-wide President to Lead Mack Moldings Five Divsions.

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SMART Holdings USA Issue # 10, Fall, 2014

Norwich University’s William Clements, Senior Vice President announced that former US Marine Captain Michael Hussey who manages a unit of Buffalo-based Multisorp, has earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration. Hussey completed NU’s Management Training Intensive. Hussey started the program shortly after exiting the USMC. He also credits his successful onboarding with the unique transition services provided by SMARTvt’s Veterans Services Unit. Hussey enjoys Buffalo, NY, has a five minute commute to work and is able to enjoy the many outdoor adventure sports and especially cycling. Since earning his MBA last month Retained Executive Recruiters have been pitching opportunities inOregon and Washington State to Hussey almost daily.

Hussey completed his MBA / Finance Program at Norwich University near the top of his class. About Multisorb Technologies

Multisorb Technologies has been an innovator in sorbent technology for over 50 years. Founded in 1961 by John S. Cullen to meet the needs for electronics markets in protecting against the damaging effects of moisture. The World Leader in Active Packaging Technology™ Active packaging technology is designed to provide superior protection against moisture, odor, oxygen, and other gases.

SMARTvt Veteran’s Project Honor Graduate Hussey

A Technology Innovator

… Oettinger

Your Product or Service: Each successful business features a product or a service that the customer wants, and is willing to pay for. Much is written about how the would-be entrepreneur identifies that product or service. Cartoons depict the moment with a light bulb and an exclamation point. How many time have we all thought, “Now there’s a million dollar idea!” For my wife and me, long trips afford the time and fertile conversations that hatch big ideas. Invariably, I write them down, and occasionally we do follow-up research.

As example, our honeymoon, while flying to Calgary, then while driving through the Canadian Rockies, my wife and I explored the idea for a technology / device that would alert a “Interest or Search-Subject-Interest” user to another recipient-user whose “profile” has a shows “compatibility” all connected to a match.com-like database. We did a patent search, and discovered that there is an existing patent. I have files on other promising ideas, but I haven’t capitalized on them. Why? Perhaps because I’m not sufficiently entrepreneurial at my core, or perhaps because of risk…or commitment…or timing.

The Elevator Pitch: You have fierce competition. …so much so that supply often far exceeds demand and a prime cause of start-ups failing. Differentiating yourself from the competition is critical. And figuring how to do that is an important step in defining, both for yourself and for your employees, the mission of your business. You MUST package that mission into a memorable and credible sound-byte. Differentiation is a key activity for any organization seeking to become #1 or #2 of its kind and the battle cry of GE’s Jack Welch.

Business Plan: The Road Map to Success and Minimizing Risk, the plan forces you to take a inside look at the viability of the business. Once you a “Proof-of-life”, you’ll need to evangelize the resources that will make your start-up possible, that your concept is sound, and that “the numbers work.” There are free government resources such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) or State Economic Development Authorities, and its state counterparts, help you you create the business plan. They want you to succeed, because in doing so, you provide job creation. Enlist experts to critique your plan.

Funding: A substantial majority of new business fail because of undercapitalization. There are start-up costs that have to be funded long before you have the ongoing sales revenue to pay for them. The other time when businesses become cash-starved is when they grow. Funding your venture can require 100-hour work weeks and telling the organization’s story 100,000 times.

Government Resources: Many government programs support capitalization and cash flow needs of businesses. Providers include: SBA, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im). These agencies offer many programs, including direct loans, and guarantees for banks that provide loans. And, in the import context, sector-specific import specialists from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (formerly U.S. Customs) can assist importers with a myriad of issues that they will confront regarding logistics, duties, labeling and much more. …more page 3…

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Jeff Somple Award president of Mack Molding

Jeff Somple, Named Enterprise-Wide President - Mack Molding and its five manufacturing facilities in Vermont, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as Mack Prototype, a prototyping and low-volume manufacturing facility in Massachusetts, and Synectic, an engineering services group in Connecticut. Don Kendall will remain as CEO and chairman of the privately held Mack Group, which includes Mack Molding and Mack Technologies.

“Jeff has been with Mack for 26 years, and in the plastics industry even longer,” says Kendall. “He quickly moved up within the ranks of the sales organization to VP, Sales & Engineering. Twelve years ago, he took over the helm of Mack Molding’s Northern Division and has delivered sustainable, profitable growth ever since.

I am extremely pleased he has now chosen to accept this new and expanded role.”

Somple has been with Mack since 1988. Earlier, he was northeast regional sales manager for five years for Continental Extrusion Corporation, an extruder, printer and converter of plastic packaging in Garden City, N.Y.

Somple earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College. He and his wife, China, are the parents of three The Somples reside in Manchester Center, VT.

Mack Molding is a leading custom plastics molder and supplier of contract manufacturing services. Mack specializes in plastics design, prototyping, molding, sheet metal fabrication, full-service machining and medical device manufacturing. Founded in 1920, Mack is a privately owned business that operates 11 facilities throughout the world. Don Kendall is CEO and chairman.

Click To Play Video

… Oettinger… Driving Revenue: No matter how good your product or service is, your business will not be successful unless there is a market for it. People have to be aware of your company, and to the extent that there are competing providers of your product or service, they have to be convinced that your product or service is superior. Your product may be of better quality, or be cheaper, or come with better service.

Where do your customers come from? Do they find you on the internet, are they drawn to your bricks & mortar storefront, or are they referred by other happy customers? Is the nature of your product or service such that your customers keep coming back…like a dentist whom you visit every six months, or a hair salon to which you return every few weeks, or a car dealership that sells you a car every five years, and services it every five thousand miles in between?

Find out how you customers are finding you. Ask your loyal customers why they keep coming back. Likewise, ask the ones who don’t come back, why they haven’t. Reward repeat customers, and take constructive criticism to heart. Pay particular attention to customers who refer business. And reward them. Their referrals are the kind of advertising that money can’t buy. Think about it. Are you more likely to consult with an accountant who comes highly recommended by someone whose opinion you respect, or an accountant who has the largest advertisement in the phone book?

Workforce Optimization: The US workforce has limited experience with international transactions. The same cannot be said for foreign businesses, since they depend to a much greater extent on international transactions. If you want to succeed in the international business environment, you have to make a sincere commitment to preparing your workforce for the realities of the international market.

Sales in Development and Fundraising: When I carried my sales experience into development/fundraising, I found that the same skills applied. In development, I am still trying to sell my cause to prospective donors, just as I once sold tangible product to prospective clients. The sales acumen I developed over the years served me well in fundraising, and it was founded upon some basic methods, techniques, and principles.

Five Sales Principles for the Effective Development Person

1. Be presentable – The old salesman credo, “First sell yourself, then sell your company, then sell your product” may sound trite and clichéd, but there is some truth to it. You are the first impression for your organization. Dress well and appropriately, be articulate, and interact whenever possible. This is where being extroverted and charismatic is an advantage, but introverts can be just as effective when exploiting their strengths. Prepare well and pay attention to details, such as always carrying enough business cards, a pen, and something to take notes (I prefer index cards). Keep well-groomed; the mirror is not a vanity tool, but your personal proofreader. And remember - never turn down a breath mint.

2. Be remarkable – Do not work “under the radar.” You want to be a big blip on that radar, with everyone noticing you. At conferences, luncheons, and any event where your constituents are gathered, make sure that during the question phase of the speech, you have a pertinent and intelligent question; always stand when you ask it and introduce yourself and your organization. Be seen, get noticed. Respond to blogs, post articles to LinkedIn groups, tweet positive comments about your group. See more Oettinger page 4…

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…. Oettinger….. 3 . B e k n o w l e d g e a b l e – K n o w e v e r y t h i n g y o u c a n a b o u t y o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d y o u r c a u s e . B e p r e p a r e d t o a n s w e r q u e s t i o n s a n d d e l i v e r t h e im p o r t a n t d a t a . W i t h e n o u g h k n o w l e d g e a n d p r e p a r a t i o n , y o u c a n s p e a k c o n f i d e n t l y o n y o u r t o p i c , a n d c o n f i d e n c e s e l l s . P e o p l e m a y l i k e t o r o o t f o r t h e u n d e r d o g i n s p o r t s a n d D i s n e y m o v i e s , b u t w h e n t h e y i n v e s t m o n e y , t h e y w a n t t o b a c k a w i n n e r , s o s o u n d l i k e o n e . A n d a l w a y s h a v e a c o m m e n t o n t h e d i f f i c u l t t o p i c s , s u c h a s a p e n d i n g l a w s u i t o r r e c e n t b a d p r e s s . I f i t i s o u t t h e r e , a s s u m e t h a t t h e y k n o w a b o u t i t a n d w i l l a s k . 4 . B e h o n e s t a n d d i r e c t , b u t d i v e r s i f y – A n y p r o s p e c t w i t h r e a s o n a b l e i n t e l l i g e n c e w i l l k n o w w h y y o u a r e v i s i t i n g . D o n o t t r y t o f o o l o r d i s t r a c t t h e m – y o u w i l l o n l y i n s u l t t h e m a n d t h e n l i m i t y o u r c h a n c e s f o r a r e t u r n v i s i t . B e u p f r o n t a b o u t y o u r p o s i t i o n a n d i n t e n t i o n s . B u t d o n o t m a k e i t y o u r o n l y r e a s o n t o b e t h e r e . Y o u n e e d t o w i n t h e m o v e r b e f o r e a s k i n g t h e m t o d o n a t e . F i n d o u t w h a t i n t e r e s t s t h e m a b o u t y o u r c a u s e a n d t h e n d e l i v e r w h a t t h e y w a n t . O n c e y o u h a v e e n d e a r e d t h e m t o y o u p e r s o n a l l y , y o u n e e d t o b u i l d t h e i r a f f i n i t y t o y o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n . O n l y t h e n c a n y o u a s k f o r m o n e y w i t h a r e a s o n a b l e c h a n c e o f s u c c e s s . 5 . B e e n d u r i n g a n d r e l i a b l e – J u s t a s i n s a l e s , w h e r e y o u w a n t l i f e l o n g c u s t o m e r s f o r y o u r p r o d u c t , t h e r e a r e f e w p r o s p e c t s i n d e v e l o p m e n t w h o a r e o n e - a n d - d o n e . I n m o s t c a s e s , y o u a r e t r y i n g t o b u i l d a l o n g - t e r m r e l a t i o n s h i p , l e a v i n g t h e d o o r o p e n f o r f u t u r e a s k s e v e n a f t e r a d o n a t i o n , h o p e f u l l y w i t h i n c r e a s i n g a m o u n t s . Y o u d o n o t w a n t t o b u r n e a c h b r i d g e a s y o u c r o s s i t , s o m a k e s u r e t h a t y o u r c o n s t i t u e n t s d o n o t r e g r e t v i s i t i n g w i t h y o u o r w r i t i n g t h e c h e c k . B u i l d e n d u r i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s , i n w h i c h t h e y t r u s t y o u t o k e e p t h em i n f o r m e d , t o b e t h e r e w h e n t h e y w a n t t o c o n t a c t y o u , a n d t o l i s t e n t o t h e i r c o n c e r n s . B e p r o a c t i v e i n c o n n e c t i n g w i t h t h e m a n d d e l i v e r g o o d n e w s wheneve r p o s s i b l e . A v o i d h a v i n g t h e m s a y , “ I o n l y h e a r f r o m y o u w h e n y o u w a n t mon ey . ” B e r e a l i s t i c i n y o u r p r o j e c t i o n s . T a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m a n y s u p p o r t s t h a t g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s h a v e t o o f f e r . L i s t e n t o y o u r c u s t o m e r s . C h o o s e t h e b e s t e m p l o y e e s y o u c a n f i n d , b e h o n e s t w i t h t h e m , a n d t r e a t t h e m w e l l . Y o u r e a l l y c a n l o o k f o r w a r d t o g o i n g t o w o r k .

Mark Oettinger is an attorney with the Burlington, Vermont law firm of Montroll & Backus. He also teaches US and international business law as an adjunct professor at Vermont Law School. He can be reached at (802) 540-0246. Learn more about Mark at www.mblawoffice.com.

Resources: SMART Holdings USA Economic Services Division, Michael J. Kipp, CPA [email protected] 802 318 4136 – All Calls Returned Within The Hour

Chittenden County 11 Lincoln St. Essex Junction, VT 05452 - 802-951-6762 [email protected] www.champlainvalley.score.org

St Albans Branch serving Franklin & Grand Isle Counties. Middlebury Branch serving Addison County. Rutland Branch serving Rutland County. Manchester Branch serving Bennington County. Upper Valley SCORE serving Windsor County 20 W. Park St. Lebanon, NH 03766 603-448-3491 [email protected] www.uppervalleyscore.org

Montpelier SCORE serving Lamoille, Orange, Washington Counties 87 State St., Rm. 203 /P.O. Box 605 Montpelier, VT 05601-0605 802-828-4422 ext. 217

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Former Norwich University Leader, Kevin Beal Drives Development Mission At Navicate - Linking Learning to Life

SMARTvt Board Member, Kevin Beal will play a key role in expanding how students transitions from School to College to Work with increased / improved adaptability attributes that CEO’s want. Says Beal, “Be it work or college – program participants of Navicate will have a significant edge up in finding success using Navicate’s systems.”

A life compass. We provide guidance, wisdom, and confidence for life’s journey by connecting each young person with options, experience, and access to the community. Navicate connects students and schools to businesses to create real world learning opportunities. Every year thousands of students get internships, job experience, and college and career preparation via one of our programs, taking place in high schools all across Vermont. As Director of Development, Mr. Beal is experienced in building and deploying winning philanthropic campaigns and soliciting investors. His education, experience, and determined attitude to partner and engage with Vermont business, volunteers and donors will expand Navicate’s penetration and market recognition. As a believer that there doesn’t have to be a difference between doing "good" and doing "well," his work will be both financially sustainable and civically-minded. While serving as alumni director for the online programs at Norwich University, Mr. Beal successfully enhanced the relationship between Norwich University, its alumni, and the Vermont giving community. He worked with senior institutional leadership and the alumni association to develop a strategy focusing on community building, fundraising, and business development. Mr. Beal is an experienced communicator, problem solver, and a closer—bringing in donations. His work with chambers of commerce, state government, and administration officials will connect Navicate with a global community. While leading well recognized and highly attended programs like the Todd Lecture Series for the graduate school of Norwich University, Mr. Beal personally managed the solicitation, contract, and visits of world thought leaders like Tom Peters. In addition to his professional work, he has strategic campaign

He is a local elected official, having served as a Northfield Village Trustee since 2011 and currently serving as a selectman for the newly merged Town of Northfield. A strong supporter of Vermont Business, Mr. Beal is a member of the Board of Directors for the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce and serves on its public policy committee. Mr. Beal currently serves as an appointee to the Vermont Governor’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD).

Mr. Beal has a passion for service-learning. From December 2011 to January 2012 he embarked on an international project leading 9 undergraduate students to the Village of Pha Chan in Northeast Thailand where the group fulfilled a promise to design-build a community kitchen. (More on this available here.) Nearly $40,000 was raised from community members and friends. The project was completed ahead of time and under budget. Over the term of the project more was built than the kitchen. The most satisfying part of the project was the lasting relationships built with the community.

Mr. Beal builds long term relationships with customers, clients, partners and investors, leveraging these relationships based on need, sense of purpose and available resources. Donors and investors recognize his commitment to the essential relationship between doing “good” and managing the bottom line, allowing him to build partnerships that continue to sponsor his programs.

Mr. Beal holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, both from Norwich University. He and his wife Katherine, a trained architect and designer, live in Northfield, VT with their 2-year-old daughter and their rescued hound, Peabody.

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SMARTvt’s Curtis Ostler Leading Major Development Program seizing opportunity, expanding services, creating new products and building new alliances. In 1991 in Burlington, Vermont, ReCycle North began an innovative program of repairing and reselling household items that otherwise would have gone to the dump. Out of that founding vision, more than 750 people have received job

training and skills essential to gainful employment, 10,000 low-income people have received needed household goods and building materials, more than 10,000 tons of materials have been kept from the landfill, and 50 people now have secure employment through income earned largely from this social enterprise. ReSOURCE’s success to date has proven its sustainability and is replicating this model of environmental sustainability, educational training, and economic opportunity in central Vermont. Says SMARTvt.org’s CEO, Michael J. Kipp, “Mr. Ostler represents the very best of what Vermont talent can bring to an organization. We are certain that his community building expertise and his unceasing passion for making the world a better place will inspire all. SMARTvt is proud to support and endorse and recommend Mr. Ostler in his new leadership role. We look forward to his contributions,” says SMART Holdings USA Chairman, Mark Renkert. Ostler has a Manufacturing Leadership background that sold product directly to the White House. Additionally as a Senior Strategist for Norwich University Ostler refined his experience as a Senior Producer / Foundation Development Officer at Norwich University. Ostler holds and undergraduate degree from Johnson State College, hold a leadership position with the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and resides in Waterbury.

SMART HOLDINGS USA Fund Major Research Project On Unemployed Unskilled Aged 50+ Two Senior Social Researchers, Mark Renkert, Mcsl, and Dr. Mindy Ruth Novick

Career Advisor Clinician’s, Mark Renkert, the firm’s chair, and Clinical Director Dr. Mindy Ruth Novick will begin journalistically and clinically investigating recruitment processes, credit checks, background checks, health physicals, fitness testing, and aptitude testing of employers who hire unskilled labor aged-50+ paying in the range of $8.50 to $13.50 per hour.

Findings will be reported from a Social Constructionist perspective critical of the social sciences perspective in understanding the psychology of work (Chaves, A, Diemer, M., Blustein, D., Gallagher, L., DeVoy, J., Casares, M & Perry, J., 2004 "Conceptions of Work: Journal of Counseling Psychology.)

Social Constructionist hold that many do not view work as a means of self-determination or self-concept implementation which contrasts sharply with prevailing work assumptions such as "Do what you love and the money will follow."

Renkert will do this as an undercover hands-on worker participant much in the footsteps of Barbara Ehrenreich in her book “Nickel and Dimed and not Getting by in America” and Mother Jones Magazine’s Mac McClelland’s “I Worked As a Warehouse Wage Slave.”

Says the firm’s CEO, Michael J. Kipp, CPA, “Renkert will go through the entire hiring process and then proceed as a low-level worker and will be required to work for a period of time that depends on the work and will complete research on average Vermont workplaces.

Renkert will briefly describe the duties, interact and interview colleagues, and will focus on the employer mindset in selecting and interacting with these employers.

Renkert cites one employer who will be identified later who has a policy “If any worker addresses, converses, or engages the CEO of this sports apparel warehouser that person is terminated immediately. “What kind of person looks at their workers that way?, says Renkert who adds, "... it happens more than you think in Vermont."

Renkert hopes the research sheds light on the use and practice and application of:

• The process of being a Temp Agency day-worker • Online aptitude testing (4/2=) • Online veracity testing (T/ F – It is okay, if by accident, you

bring home a pencil used at work and bring it back the next day?)

• Health Physicals performed on workers by non-medical staff • Drug and Alcohol Testing • Random Urine Testing

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…… Research from Previous page… • Pre-work Clinical Assessments by Psychologists who have not disclosed who their fiduciary obligation is critical and often distort the facts. What the process is like for a 50+ year old worker….

Says SMART Holdings USA's Director of Education, Dr. Michael Olson, continuing, "Half in humor, providing Renkert survives the

barrage of pre-employment testing, he will then engage in the actual process of work and report unique findings and it can be tough going especially with some jobs like refuse sorting, asbestos removal, warehouse order picking, Call Center Order

Taking, Driver / Runner Jobs and any kind of manual labor in industrial environments."

Readers will be able to follow the journey in a daily blog and the sum of research will be published.

Unlike the reality show “Dirtiest Jobs” Renkert hopes to reveal how hard life is for many Vermonters who take any work to make ends meet and what happens to them when they do.

SMART Holdings USA then hopes to present its findings to the Vermont Department and Labor to use as a tool in its efforts for workforce development.

The launched 2014 Labor Day and will last a year.

Dr. Mindy Novick, Clinical Director of SMART Holdings USA – Maine Director Seeks Research Answers

As a Director of Career Services providing solutions for displaced mature workers in Maine,

I am interested in seeing the results of SmartVt’s project, “Getting, Attaining Unskilled Work Age 50+” Over the past six years, I have observed

resilient people struggling to regain a sense of self worth, social connection, and income stability after becoming unemployed.

For those less resilient , ongoing stress and increasing frustration sometimes leads to social isolation, addictive coping habits, or health problems.

The SmartVt’s project may confirm preconceptions to expose hiring and workplace practices impacting the quality of life of mature workers in Vermont, and contributing to resolving them to minimize long term negative effects on business and society.

A number of studies are confirming these social trends: ��

• In February 2014, Matthew S. Rutledge, Research Economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, published a paper entilted “How Long Do Unemployed Older Workers Search for a Job?” based on a 1996-2008 sample of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

Statistical analysis of the status of some 5000 unemployed people aged 55-70 revealed that after about a year almost half were re-employed, a small percentage were still looking for work, and almost half had given up seeking work.

Mr Rutledge concludes on page 4: “The study suggests that older workers have little tolerance for the stressful task of looking for work.” In adjusting the statistics for periods of growth and recession, they concluded that this dynamic would remain consistent regardless of economic conditions. http://bit.ly/1CFDsIb

• A study in the March 2014 issue of The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, reported a negative impact of discrimination on subjects’ health and functioning. Based on observation of about seven thousand people with a median age of 67 in 2006, and again in 2010, the authors concluded, in part, that : “Discrimination based on race, age, weight, physical disability, appearance, and sexual orientation, was associated with poor subjective health, greater disease burden, lower life satifaction, and greater loneliness at both assessments and with declines in health across the four years.”

• A study on the effect of anti-discrimination laws showed that stricter laws didn’t help older workers during the Great Recession. The authors concluded that older workers fared worse in states with stricker anti-discrmination laws. http://huff.to/1BkOP6K

The implications of limited protection of older workers through legislation brings us back to the importance of testing and undercover research in providing evidence of discrimination. A exploration of the issue can be found in “The Use of Undercover Testers to Identify and Eliminate Discrimination in the Selection and Hiring of Employees” . This report was prepared by The University of Iowa Clinical Law Programs Law and Policy in Action Project, for the Iowa Human Rights Commission in August 2010. http://bit.ly/1tCQCTC In the section ‘Summary and Timeline of Employment Sector Tester Studies 1991-2010’, starting on page 12, the authors reviewed precedent for using “testers” to document evidence of discrimination.

One dramatic example is an expose of discrimination in hiring of retail employees: “Make the Road New York, Transgender Need Not Apply: A Report on Gender Identity Job Discrimination” . Following this report the employer changed their procedures and hiring behavior. http://bit.ly/WudVAv

Moreover, the Iowa Law Project authors articulated the broader importance of addressing workplace discrmination issues, quoting Marc Bendick, Jr. Ph.D.: “Employer discrimination creates in the minds of its victims a sense of inequity and disenfranchishment that threatens national social solidarity.” from Situation Testing for Employment Discrmination in the United States of America.

This social analysis is echoed in the words of AARP Board Member Eric Schneiderwind, of Lansing, Michigan: “Failing to protect older workers from age discrimination is not only unjust, it is counterproductive for a nation struggling to support an aging population…As a society, we need people to stay in the workforce, and now is the time to put age discrimination in the rear-view mirror.

Click Text To Listen to Statistics on Workplace Changes

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…. Dr. Novick from Previous Page…

For more information on the work of AARP on age discrimination, see “Staying Ahead of the Curve 2013: AARP Multicultural Work and Career Study Perceptions of Age Discrimination in the Workplace” at http://www.aarp.org

If a Work 50+ Loses a Job How Long Does It Take For That Person To Recover – Listen to Economist / Author Paul Krugman’s startling reply:

Clarkson University, Chemical Engineering Senior, Alex Goyette concludes second

Rotation providing soloutions for Mylan Labs.

Click This Text to See Work

Click This Text to See Work

SMARTvt Has a New Healthcare Benefits Expert, Ms. Carolyn Smith. Smith, a Health Insurance C-Suite Executive with over a decade leadership in Governance, Opportunity, and Resource Utilization. Smith has direct expertise in health care policy implementation. She has led

teams throughout the US conceptualizing and executing powerful healthcare programs specific to employee benefits. Smith has ability to create, analyze and present complex financial statements and budgets. Smith is an accomplished leader with an exceptional track record in revenue generation and cost reduction within highly competitive markets. Smith comes from Long Island. American Sign Language first language and allowed her to refine her other senses and explains her business acuity.

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SMARTvt Co-Founder, Jean Twombly starts new project for 5M Members of Blue Cross

Blue Shield providing global Business Analysis as a integral provider to the Association of the Americas and Federal Employees Program (5 million members) and near Lincoln Memorial) in Washington, DC..