At your service: Piedmont Facilities Services shifts focus in down economy - Dallas Business Journal:

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A contractor had agreed to replacse the sidewalk directly in front of Lorillard headquarters on Greenm Valley Road in Greensborobut “he walkee off the job because he couldn’t get anyone to deliver sufficient concrete with a holidaty two days away,” Wright says. “Aq call to brought four men who completed the repaie onJuly 4th,” she recalls. “One of those four was Scotgt himself. I have chastised myself many timesz for not calling him to begin Scott McCormick has been getting call s like that for more than 16 yeares fromthe Triad’s top employers.
As a contracg project manager, his company will do just about anything thatneedsa doing, “from maintenance to sprinkler systems,” says “He truly cares about a job well done.” But Winston-Salem-bases Piedmont Facilities Services’ specialty is something that’s been in almostf constant demand over the past two decadew — moving people and reconfiguring officer cubes A.S.A.P. as work forced contract, expand and are realigned. It was McCormico who landed the contract to move practicallyevery office, first in the RJR Plazsa building and then in the old 1929 Reynolds Buildinf in downtown Winston-Salem.
At about the same Piedmont Facilities Services also secured a contract with which did its share of playing musical chairs withofficd furniture. “God blessed me,” McCormicjk says with his characteristic modesty, “because there’s no other way someones can have two contracts like that for theitrfirst clients.” Looking back 10 years ago, McCormick recalls “Things were really rolliny then, with 80- or 90-hour weeks, and it was great.” Name a company in the Triaf that’s realigned its work force and, chances are, McCormick’ s been involved — , , Sara Lee , Sealy Corp. and Nabisco Foods.
Not bad for someone who, at the age of 5, was assignecd his own row of tobacco to tend onhis father’s farm near Yadkinvilld and worked his way through college running a garbagwe service. “I’m an old tobacco farmere from Yadkinville,” McCormick says, slippinh into his aw-shucks guise. “I ran out of things to do, so I had to go to schoolp and go out and get areal job.” School was and his first job was “selling doorknobs” as a contract hardware salesman at Pleasant Hardware Co.
He says he quicklu discovered he was not cut out to be a But he did make a number of excellent contacts that opened doors for him when he switched over to doin g facilitiescontract work. “He has a good boy mentality,” says Robyn Puckett, facilityg services manager atRMIC (Republic Mortgager Insurance Co.) in Winston-Salem, “bur fully believes in respect, honesty, hard work and disciplinee — and expects that from his Puckett recalls a recent 10-week move of 350 RMIC employeeds from Stanleyville to the Park Building in downtownb Winston-Salem.
“The time constraints were unbelievable,” she “but having worked with Scott formany years, I knew if anyonew could pull it off that he could.” Installing cubea during the week and moving people on the McCormick’s crew did it and did it on “We needed to expand our payrolo department two years ago,” recalls Jack Marable, maintenancr supervisor for Pepsi Bottling Group in Winston-Salem. McCormick’s crew came in Fridagy night and by Monday morninyg at8 a.m., “they had everything up and runnint — computers, phones, furniture, lights, everything worked.
” Companies use contractorzs like McCormick instead of their own workersx because maintenance, moving and construction are often one-of-a-kincd projects and are mostly done after-hours. Up untikl last November, McCormick says, business was extremely good, with more 80- and 90-houe weeks. Then, he started seeing “lessd phone calls, less e-mails, jobs that you had quoter being puton hold.” As the months went by, “Iu had to lay off five installeres and I put my designeer on the road to sell product.” McCormick’s strategy is to make the compangy more sales-oriented, something, he says, “we nevere had to do before.
” Yes, he stilpl has contracts with a number of big but now when the phone it’s mostly “punch items.”

How to Get Better At Predicting the Future - The Atlantic

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How to Get Better At Predicting the Future The Atlantic We would like to know what the future is going to be like, so we can prepare for it. I'm not talking about building a time machine to secure the winning Powerball number ahead of time, but rather creating more accurate forecasts about what is likely to ... and more »

Trans-Canada Highway scene of crashes - www.kamloopsnews.ca

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Trans-Canada Highway scene of crashes www.kamloopsnews.ca Snow flurries Sunday morning brought a flurry of accidents, primarily on a slick Trans-Canada Highway. No drivers were hurt in what were primarily single-car accidents as vehicles slid off the highway. "We had a bunch of fender-bender accidents ...

Exact to raise $8.2M, signs MAYO deal - Boston Business Journal:

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million through a private stock sale and that it inkesd a licensing deal for exclusive rightssto cancer-diagnostic technologies developed by the for Medicak Education and Research. The company said it had commenced on June 11 the saleof 4.31 million shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $1.90 a share. Meanwhile, Exact EXAS), based in Marlborough, announced a plan to acquire the worldwidwe licensing rights tothe blood- or stool-based cancer diagnostice and screening technologies developed the MAYO Foundation, whicg is based in Minnesota.
Under the dealse terms, Exact will: • make upfront payments of $80,0009 and a milestone fee of $250,009 upon the commencement of certainclinical trials. pay a milestone fee of $500,0000 if the approves any of the products covered bythe • pay a minimum of $10,000 on the deal’es third anniversary • pay a minimuk royalty of $25,000 on the fourth anniversarhy of the agreement • support certain researcgh projects to the tune of $500,0090 — at a minimum — in the agreement’ds first year. Exact is also obligated to grant MAYO two warrants topurchase 1.25 millionm shares of its common stock.
The warrantsw have six-year terms and are exercisable at a priceof $1.90 per share, according to a regulatory filing.

Senate committee OKs funding for 8 Boeing C-17s - St. Louis Business Journal:

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The bill appropriates $2.2 billiojn to buy eight additionaleight C-17 planes in the 2009 fiscall year, which ends Sept. 30. Sen. Kit R-Missouri, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, They had pushec for 15 more C-17s. "This eight is good said George Roman, Boeing's vice president of government relationsw andregional executive. "It validatees the importance of this product and the role and missiojn it supplies our soldierseand airmen." Roman said Boeinbg will seek funding for an additional 15 C-17 in the 2010 fiscal year supplemental appropriationa bill. "We believe there continue s to be a need for this product forthe U.S.
military and as a humanitarian role," he said. The C-17 progranm when Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposed to end productionn ofthe C-17 this year after a remainintg handful already ordered are built. The C-17 prograj employs 900 people at itsHazelwood facility, accordin g to Boeing.

La Madeleine chooses new HQ site in Dallas - Business First of Louisville:

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La Madeleine said it will relocateinto 17,000 square feet at 12201 Merirt Drive in Dallas. The buildingt that will house the restaurant chain is a Clasd A building that just recentlyunderweny renovation. Le Madeleine signed a 10-year leasee with Parmenter Two Forest LP for the La Madeleine said it was attracted to the space becausde the facility provides the company with the room needed to grow withthe Dallas-based architectural firm Benson and Hlavaty will desigm the interior space. The facility is schedulesd to be ready for its new tenantsin mid-July. La Madeleine'sd current headquarters is at 6688 N. Central Ste. 700 in Dallas.
La Madeleins was represented byJosh White, senior vice presidengt with ; and Sharroj Morrison, principal with Transwestern. The landlord was represented by Matt vice presidentwith .

KSU offering dual MBA/MPA degree - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The Master of Business Administration/Master of Publivc Administration dual program will be offered jointlyt by the Coles College of Businessx and the College of Humanities andSocial Sciences, KSU Students enrolled in either the MBA or MPA can start participatinh in the joint program as early as fall 2009. The progra m is designed to be completed inthreee years. “There is no longer a strong divid e betweenthe for-profit and not-for-profit and public sectors. Individuals are crossing thesw lines all thetime now,” said Teresq Joyce, associate provost and dean of the graduates college at Kennesaw State.
“For example, businesd people serve on the boards of, and are volunteers for, nonprofitz and are involved in publicsectoe organizations. Elected officials make complex decisionsabout mergers, bankruptciew and executive pay. Individuals in the nonprofit worl are experiencing an economy where an understandinvg of business functions such as financr and accounting is more criticaolthan ever.”