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Wednesday The Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God

Luke 2.16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.

Let us begin this new year by dedicating it to Mary, she gave birth to the Prince of Peace. Today we celebrate World Day of Peace – and we pray that peace comes to us all, and that all people of goodwill may promote peace and justice in the world.

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The 6th edition of the Godswill Akpabio International Scrabble Classics was held at the prestigious Le Meridien Ibom Hotels Uyo Akwa Ibom State from the 28th to 30th September 2012. 308 players gathered to play the game of Scrabble at the Nwaniba Hall in an event which has the highest total prize monies in Scrabble worldwide.

Pakorn with Rex final game

Pakorn with Rex in the final game

Mr Pakorn Nemitrmansuk from Thailand, is an architect by profession and a former Scrabble World champion. After 28 games over 3 days, he garnered 21 points +1636 to take home a beautiful plaque and the star prize of $15,000 (fifteen thousand US dollars) at the just concluded Godswill Akpabio International Scrabble Classics. The event is the 6th edition of the annual yearly Scrabble competition sponsored by His Excellency Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State which extends an invitation to professionals from outside the shores of Nigeria. Mr Pakorn Nemitrmansuk had participated in two previous editions (the 3rd and 4th edition) placing 7th and 5th respectively.  Forty-four (44) Masters players took part in this year's competition including the winner of the last edition, Mr Sammy Okosagah and several professional Scrabble players from Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, UK and the USA. Mr Ogbakpa Rex placed second in the Masters while Paul Sodje finished in the third position.

In the Intermediate category, Mr Idahosa Bright of Edo State edged out 99 other players to place first with 21 points and a margin of +1184. He took home the grand prize of one million naira (N1,000,000) and a beautiful plaque. In Closing ceremonythe 2nd and 3rd position were Quickpen Ben 19.5 +803 and Touyo Wawe 19.5 +622 respectively. Predictably the Open category which had 124 entries was dominated by comeback Scrabble Master Seidu Ayorinde. Out of 24 games, he won 22 and finished with a margin of +2015 to pick the grand prize of N700,000 (seven hundred thousand Naira) in that category. In second place was Ezinore George (18 points +1524) while Ofidi Emmanuel came third with (16.5 points +1542).

The Veteran category created for players over 55 and captains of Industry had 40 (forty) entries. After 28 games, former Chairman of Akwa Ibom State Scrabble Association, Elder Bob Okoridem garnered 20 points  +1654 to place first.  Mr Hakeem Kareem (20 points +1341) and Barr.  Aquaisua Edet (19 points +531) were first and second runners-up respectively.

The top 3 best performing female players were also awarded cash prizes. Mrs Bukunmi Afolayan placed 22nd  after winning 14 games in the overall classification in the Open category but she was adjudged the best performing female player.  Ekaba Dorcas and Adebisi Adekansi were awarded the second and third best female players respectively.

The competition drew players from all the states of the federation including secondary school students of Queen's College Lagos and Master  Salem Emmanuel an 11-year-old student. The chief host and sponsor of the tournament His Excellency Governor Godswill Akpabio supported by Senator Helen Esuene (Chairman of the Occasion) was on hand to host players to a buffet dinner at the beautiful State Banquet Hall. The Governor played a quick game with the winner of the tournament Pakorn Nemitrmansuk and later handed over trophies and cash prizes to winners. All the female participants and foreign players were also given cash by the Governor to offset their transport fare back to their homes. The Governor was presented a customized steel Scrabble board by the Akwa Ibom State Scrabble Association chairman, Umoh Bassey. The next (7th) edition of the Godswill Akpabio Scrabble Classics has been scheduled to hold from the 26th to 29th September 2013 in Uyo.

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Are we being sold a fast one, friends?

Do you believe a whole heap of rubbish about yourself and God that’s holding you back from grabbing hold of everything He has for you, no matter what life’s thrown at you?

If you’re anything like me the answer’s yes, YES, YESSSSSS!!

What we need is some good ol’ fashioned truth to nip these niggling mind games in the bud.

Those lies that shout until we don’t know which way is up, need to be silenced and put in their place.

Am I right?

As we carry on with the Breathe Again Online Book Tour my friend and author of Everything’s Under Control, Jennifer Dukes Lee, dives into chapter 2 – The Truth We Need When Our World is Rocked.

You’re not going to want to miss this. Here’s how she begins …

I went on Instagram this afternoon, which isn’t anything unusual for me, let’s be honest. Instagram is probably my social-media platform of choice, and I enjoy indulging in a guilt-free scroll there now and again.

But once in a while, I catch myself feeling those old feelings of “not enough” because Instagram is the one place where you can feel like you don’t measure up, simply by sliding your forefinger up a screen.

In the squares scrolling by, I see:

  • a woman who is killin’ it with her hand-lettered art.
  • a mom who managed to create the most gorgeous outdoor, princess-themed birthday party for her little girl.
  • a couple toasting champagne on a yacht, while celebrating their anniversary
  • a business owner announcing that she just hit 100,000 followers on Instagram
  • a home that looks like it could have been ripped right out of a Joanna Gaines book.

It would be burdensome enough if we thought we had to be like one of those women. But what happens is this: we think we need to be ALL of those women.

We gather up all those squares in our minds, stack them on top of one another, and suddenly we believe this: I need to be all of that.

Continue reading the rest of Jennifer Dukes Lee’s post here

Make sure you don’t miss a week of the online tour by following me on Instagram where I’ll post reminders or grab one of my free resources here on my website and become part of our Thrive Tribe to get updates.

Not got your copy of Breathe Again just yet?

No problemo.

Just grab a copy here or snag the first couple of chapters for FREE HERE.

I’d hate for you to miss what’s coming. Just look at these ladies!!

Keep in Touch

Get all my best stuff in your inbox + a free audio download


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Two truths and a lie book

6.54  ·  1,018 ratings  ·  790 reviews
two truths and a lie book

Two Truths and a Lie: It's Alive! | Kidsreads

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William Allen White Children's Book Award -BBT - Two Truths and A Lie

Two Truths and a Lie: It's Alive! and millions of other books are available for Amazon Kindle. . Inspire a love of reading with Prime Book Box for Kids Discover.

Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive!

The availability of items requested from other libraries may depend on the policies of the other libraries. Did you know that there is a fungus that can control the mind of an ant and make it do its bidding? Would you believe there is such a thing as a corpse flower -- a ten-foot-tall plant with a blossom that smells like a zombie? How about a species of octopus that doesn't live in water but rather lurks A brief but savvy guide to responsible research methods adds further luster to this crowd pleaser.

JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Research guide. Answer guide. Black-and-white and full-color maps, illustrations, and photographs. Nonfiction Elementary Plus. Samuel Morse, That's Who!

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Did you know that a young girl once saved an entire beach community from a devastating tsunami thanks to something she learned in her fourth-grade geography lesson? Or that there is a person alive today who generates her own magnetic field? Or how about the fact that Benjamin Franklin once challenged the Royal Academy of Brussels to devise a way to make farts smell good?

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Meet The Redesigned 2015 Nissan Frontier #Fresh #Redesigned #PickUpTruck #TeamMelloy

Hello everyone Rob Melloy from Melloy Nissan here.  I’m happy to announce  the wait is over, and it’s been a long wait.  The current model Nissan Pickup, or Nissan Frontier has been around since 2005 we all love this truck but agree the time for a total makeover has come.  Meet the All-New Nissan pickup the NP300 to be exact.  I’m 100 % positive that this vehicle will take the place of the current Nissan Frontier in the States.  I’m also 100 % positive that this pickup will still be called the Nissan Frontier.  Meet the New Nissan Frontier:

See my selection of Nissan Vehicles

The suspense has been a rather long suspense for me as I’ve waited many years to see a fresh new version of Nissan Pickup Truck series, and i’ll be honest that wait has paid off.  I love the look of this truck.  The vehicle looks Nissan, and stands out from other manufactures pickup lines. I can’t wait to see this truck in person!  I’ll keep everyone posted as to when these bad boys will be on sale at Melloy Nissan.  Below I have posted the original article from on this sleek new pickup.  Thumbs up to Nissan this truck is a home run in my books. Remember when you contact me at Melloy Nissan you save!  See our vehicle selection today! See my selection of Nissan Vehicles  Here is the original article from

Buy a Nissan today

Following a series of teasers, Nissan has finally revealed the all-new Navara (known as theFrontier in North America), the 12th generation of its pickup truck. Nissan says the new vehicle boasts a “highly competitive fuel economy, improved acceleration and easier operation, a more rigid and durable frame, as well as modern yet tough and strong design.”2015-Nissan-Navara-18 Nissan says the new Navara achieves lower overall running costs thanks to more fuel-efficient engines and a reduction in body mass. Design-wise, the new Navara looks sleeker thanks to a new front end featuring the “V-motion” motif and including an imposing chrome grille, redesigned headlights with LED daytime running lights and chrome contours for the fog lights.

When viewed from the side, the Navara features a smooth silhouette thanks to the high beltline and blacked B-pillar, while the door section’s convex and concave surfaces along with the bulged wheel arches convey power. Finally, two new color choices, Savannah Yellow and The Earth Bronze, are designed specifically for the new Navara.

Nissan says the roof is placed lower than before, ground clearance is higher, while the loading area is larger. The Navara will be offered with a wide range of body types and powertrain options, through narrow- and wide-body type, king and double cab models, as well as all-wheel drive and two-wheel drive types.

On the inside, the Navara features a redesigned dashboard including easy-to-read dials and a multifunction steering wheel, along with aluminum-like finish on the center cluster and console and stitches on the seats.

The new Nissan Navara will be offered with improved versions of the 2.5-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine and 2.5-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine. The former is available is two states of tune, 161hp and 188hp, with a maximum torque of 403Nm (297 lb-ft) and 450Nm (332 lb-ft), respectively.

According to Nissan, fuel economy has been improved as much as 11 percent over the previous model. Transmission options include a seven-speed automatic and a six-speed manual.

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Regional Unclaimed Vehicle Sale Happening Now At Cottonwood Mall.

(Remember you heard and discovered this event from a post on Facebook or Social Media).

Thursday, April 23rd – Sunday, April 26th a giant car sale will be hosted at Cottonwood Mall – outside of the Old Navy Store!!!!  Many months have been spent preparing for this car sale that will last for four days only.

Over 500 vehicles will be available at this sale and they’ve got to go.  To move these vehicles:  Prices will be reduced and banks will be on site offering guaranteed credit approval,  no payments for 90 days, and rock bottom rates starting at 1.99% APR o.a.c. All makes and models will be on ground for this sale.

If you’ve been searching for a pre-owned, or new vehicle, but have been turned down by high prices, or bad financing you should stop by cottonwood mall for this vehicle sale!!!

The sale will take place in front of the Old Navy Store.  Don’t miss this buying opportunity with over 500 used vehicles on sale now at Cottonwood Mall.  We will be open 4 days only from 9am to 8pm Thursday, April 23rd – Sunday, April 26th.

For more information please call (888) 599-8669

We look forward to seeing you at this used car sale being hosted at Cottonwood mall. If you’re looking to save thousands on a used vehicle you’ll do so here. Sale ends on Sunday evening, so hurry in and save thousands on your next vehicle. (Please mention you Discovered This Sale On Facebook, or Social Media).

Below are photos taken from Saturday April, 25th 2015.

This is just a glimpse of what is on ground at Cottonwood Mall.  We’ll see you at this automotive sales event (Behind the Old Navy store)

IMG_5652IMG_5655IMG_5656IMG_5673 IMG_5672 IMG_5701-0 IMG_5669 IMG_5663

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Occupational Health Courses

NIVA offers courses, webinars and conferences related to a variety of occupational health- and safety related topics.

Occupational Skin Diseases

5th – 8th of October 2021
Scandic Grand Central, Helsinki, Finland

Nanoparticles at Workplaces

26th – 28th of October 2021
Scandic Grand Marina, Helsinki, Finland

Non-standard Employment, Work Environment and Health

23rd – 25th of November 2021
IDA Conference Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark

Can’t find what you’re looking for?


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EDISON — New Jersey’s largest hospital system said Friday that a ransomware attack last week disrupted its computer network and that it paid a ransom to stop it.

Hackensack Meridian Health did not say in its statement how much it paid to regain control over its systems but said it holds insurance coverage for such emergencies.

The attack forced hospitals to reschedule nonemergency surgeries and doctors and nurses to deliver care without access to electronic records.

The system said it was advised by experts not to disclose until Friday that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack. It said that its network’s primary clinical systems had returned to being operational, and that information technology specialists were working to bring all of its applications back online.

Hackensack Meridian said it had no indication that any patient information was subject to unauthorized access or disclosure.

It quickly notified the FBI and other authorities and spoke with cybersecurity and forensic experts, it said.

Hackensack Meridian operates 17 acute care and specialty hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient centers, and the psychiatric facility Carrier Clinic.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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North Kansas City-Oak Park - That's the RSS Feeds of my Blog en-us Wed, 20 Jan 2021 13:33:31 -0500 5 Invitation to Lunch
There is a group of '66 classmates who regularly meet for lunch on a monthly basis. Most who attend live in the KC area or joing the group when they are in town for a visit. Becky Tillman makes the arrangements for these gatherings and has asked ...
 Thu, 03 May 2018 00:00:00 -0400 Birthday Bash Set for June 23
For those of you who wish to collectively celebrate our 70th birthday year, we have planned on June 23 at the Brass Rail from six to ten in the evening. Many thanks for the emails and calls advising me of your preferences. Do contact as many classmat...
 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0400 Seventy is the new fifty?
Happy Birthday to Us!!! We are or will be 70 this year and, quite frankly, we don't look it. There has been chatter among the '66 grads about celebrating together in a single blowout 70th birthday party. So the question is, what do YOU think?...
 Sun, 04 Mar 2018 00:00:00 -0500 Photos, photos and more photos
The professional pictures are in and I am in the process of posting them to the website. The first of three batches is on the Photo Albums page and the other two will be added shortly. I have sent the link to the photographer to those attendees for w...
 Sat, 29 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400 A good time was had by all
Two week now since the 50th reunion gala and lots of happy memories of reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. The professional photos won't be ready for another few weeks, but you should be able to post your photos to the website by g...
 Fri, 30 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0400 Yikes! It's here . . .
Here we are--ready to reconnect and ready to party. Just a few last minute notes regarding the weekend festivities. First of all, if you haven't browsed the FAQ page, please do that. I know the website makes it look like you should have a ticket ...
 Thu, 15 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0400 Very soon . . .
We are less than two weeks away from the reunion and I know I'm excited. There are still a few of you who have RSVP'd and not bought tickets. As a teacher I am loathe to do this, but the deadline for buying tickets will be extended until next...
 Tue, 06 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0400 ONE MONTH AWAY
One month away and the excitement is building. If you haven't already had your Botox it may be too late (unless you want Jack Nicholson eyebrows for the event), but no worries--you look much younger than all those other people shuffling on the da...
 Wed, 17 Aug 2016 00:00:00 -0400 Getting closer
Here we are less than three months away from our 50th high school reunion. And let me just say, "No! It can't be. You look much too young to be having a fiftieth high school reunion." The information in the previous blog still stands...
 Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0400 Six months and counting
Six months until the reunion! This time will pass quickly and it will be here before you know it, so here are some things you need to do:      * Bookmark this website for easy access and check periodically to keep up to date with pe...
 Thu, 17 Mar 2016 00:00:00 -0400


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Krill logo

Krill is a free, open source RPKI Certificate Authority that lets you run delegated RPKI under one or multiple Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). Through its built-in publication server, Krill can publish Route Origin Authorisations (ROAs) on your own servers or with a third party.

Delegated RPKI, Simplified

Krill offers several advantages over hosted RPKI offered by the RIRs. It is a great solution when you have address space from multiple RIRs, as you can manage ROAs for all global resources seamlessly within one integrated system. Krill is also ideal if you need to be able to delegate RPKI to customers or different business units, so that they can manage ROAs themselves.

Get Started with Ease

Written in the Rust programming language, Krill is extremely robust and lightweight, letting you run it on minimalist hardware. Getting started with Krill is simple. From a fresh system you can build, configure and run Krill with just seven commands. Debian and Ubuntu users can also download, install and run a package from our package repository.

Krill is available as a 1-Click App through the DigitalOcean Marketplace and the AWS Marketplace. It provides a fully integrated solution that includes Krill, NGINX, Rsyncd, Docker, TLS certificate management and Prometheus endpoints. All the elements are tied together by Krill Manager, which offers a setup wizard, backups, log streaming and automated updates. A dual CPU, 2GB RAM virtual machine is fine for most workloads, but you can scale up in a few simple steps.

Powerful ROA Management

Through an intuitive user interface, Krill lets you create and maintain Route Origin Authorisations (ROAs) based on the BGP announcements that are made with your certified address space. This makes it incredibly easy to manage ROAs.

Krill will tell you what the effect is of all ROAs that you created, indicating which BGP announcements are authorised and which ones are not. This ensures your ROAs accurately reflect your intended routing.

Krill ROA Management

For scripting and automation, a command line interface and API are also available.

Professional Services

Professional support services are available for Krill, Routinator and RTRTR, offering premium support, consultancy hours, early security warnings under non-disclosure, as well as priority feature requests.

Krill is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. All libraries that are built to support the RPKI project are licensed under the BSD 3-Clause License.


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Clothing Union Corruption

According to Rep. Hoekstra’s subcommittee, the bosses of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees are profiting from their members job losses due to a special industry proviso in federal labor law.
The May 27 report states UNITE receives “liquated damages” from companies for contract breaches which include relocating production overseas. UNITE treats the payments as its own since no explicit obligation exists to distribute the money to its members.

“So as contracts leave the country and UNITE’s members lose their jobs, UNITE itself continues to receive ‘a piece of the action’… Over the past few decades garment unions have lost more than half of their membership to overseas competition. Yet during that same time, UNITE and its predecessors became the richest of all unions, as measured on an assets per member basis. UNITE not only on owns the Amalgamated Bank of New York, but also owns much prime real estate in New York City. Despite its wealth, UNITE’s fully vested pensions, we are told, are worth an average of only $85 per month,” said the report.

Hoekstra’s committee is also monitoring a RICO suit filed against UNITE in N.Y. and a separate suit by CA employees. Also, a FBI probe recently had 12 members and associates of the Luchese, Gambino & Genovese crime families indicted for an extortion racket in N.Y.’s garment district. Though no UNITE officials have been indicted, the FBI has said the investigation will probably go “into the union.”

Sens.: Cohen Approval Doubtful
Lawrence J. Cohen, President Clinton’s and the unions’ choice for general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, will not be approved predicted Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK) and Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR). Both Senators statements came at the Associated Builders & Contractor’s legislative conference on Jun. 10.

“We aren’t quitting until we kick the butt of Northwest Airlines.”
-AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard L. Trumka at a union rally near Minn.-St. Paul’s airport [Star Tribune 05/23/98]. NWA pilots authorized a strike in May. Trumka invoked the 5th Amendment to avoid federal investigators’ questions on the Teamsters scandal. Allegedly, he routed $200,000 to Carey’s campaign.


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PayPal, Salesforce Strategize With Pro-Transsexual Activists; Ignore Customers, Shareholders

Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff

After a tumultuous election year in which homosexual activist groups targeted battleground state North Carolina over a law that stifled inappropriate public restroom usage for self-declared transgenders, two northern California tech companies are strategizing with LGBT activists to further immerse themselves in state policies and politics over gay issues and religious freedom.

Liberal Web site Buzzfeed reported last month that San Jose-based PayPal and San Francisco-based Salesforce co-hosted a summit on November 16 – in conjunction with groups including Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal and the ACLU – to strategize against expected legislation in 2017 that does not comport with their radical agenda. The online news site said up to 100 leaders from business and LGBT groups attended the meeting.

“An invitation to the event…said the agenda would cover battleground states for next year’s legislative fights and ‘a strategic discussion around the various ways we can collaborate in each state,’” Buzzfeed reported. “Justin Higgs, a spokesperson for PayPal, added by email, ‘Through this event, we strive to play a part in helping businesses protect employees, customers, and families from discriminatory actions in communities where they live and operate.’”

Earlier this year North Carolina’s General Assembly passed legislation, effective statewide, which overturned a Charlotte ordinance that would have allowed individuals to use restrooms based upon which gender they identified as on a given day. The city council’s order would have imposed the policy on private businesses, as well as public facilities. The state law instead requires users of public restrooms and locker rooms to do so according to the gender they are identified as on their birth certificate, but allows businesses to decide for themselves how to establish their own policies.

After Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill into law in March, homosexual pressure groups such as Human Rights Campaign and state-based Equality NC activated a national campaign – an economic war, actually – to attempt to shame the critical battleground state as “homophobic” and “discriminatory.” Besides the presidential campaign, a U.S. Senate race and the entire slate of state legislators, McCrory’s incumbency was also at stake this year, and Democrat Attorney General Roy Cooper succeeded in (barely) taking him out. He will become the next governor in January.

As for the aforementioned California technology companies, they played a significant role in assisting the gay activist groups’ efforts. In mid-March PayPal had announced it would expand activities at its Charlotte facility by adding 400 jobs, but in early April CEO Dan Schulman canceled those plans, citing the state law that overrode the ordinance.

“The new law perpetuates discrimination, and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture,” Schulman said at the time. “As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into Charlotte.”

Even more aggressively, Salesforce (a cloud computing company) CEO Marc Benioff waged a national campaign to pressure North Carolina over the law, known by its official bill filing number as “House Bill 2” (HB2). Benioff is known to enlist fellow corporate leaders to attack states that assert religious freedom rights on behalf of their citizens, such as Georgia and Indiana did over the last couple of years.

That’s exactly what he did against North Carolina too, after HB2 was enacted. Whereas in Indiana – where Salesforce has significant operations – Benioff could wield threats to move jobs and investment out of the state over the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, he had no such leverage in the Tar Heel State. Instead, according to the Wall Street Journal, he reached out to Brian Moynihan, CEO of Charlotte-based Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank AG co-CEO John Cryan, to enlist their help in exerting pressure on McCrory and the Republican-led NC General Assembly.

Like PayPal, Deutsche Bank in April announced it would halt plans to expand operations in North Carolina that would have added 250 jobs. Also, Benioff helped gather commitments to endorse a protest letter against HB2 circulated by Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC, which was signed by more than 100 CEOs of major corporations, including Moynihan.

“We’re not attacking Gov. McCrory or any other politician,” Benioff told the Journal. “We’re protecting our employees from being unfairly discriminated against.”

This turned out to be a lie. McCrory’s Democrat challenger, Cooper, initiated the corporate action against his home state by contacting Benioff, so as to try to gain a political advantage in the governor’s race. And as Charlotte TV station WBTV reported in July, when a potential compromise was reached between Republicans and Democrats in the NC House of Representatives to amend HB2, Cooper intervened and pressured the legislators of his party to back off so as to preserve his attack issue against McCrory.

Unfortunately, rather than serve the interests of the broadest range of their shareholders and customers, too many corporation presidents are either willfully or begrudgingly catering to the political demands of the high-pressure Left. Companies like PayPal and Salesforce have now carried it so far as to actively strategize with the pressure groups to implement their agenda, as they did at their summit last month.

They have lost customers, but how much they pay for it with their bottom lines is yet to be seen.

Paul Chesser is an associate fellow for the National Legal and Policy Center.


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Phase 2 Rebound: The Digital Marketing Strategy Roller Coaster

Great news! It looks like the economic freefall is over, and getting back to marketing during coronavirus makes sense for most businesses.

It’s easy to see that consumers are getting more comfortable with returning to spending money. There’s confidence from stocks and home prices being at record highs and unemployment rates creeping down.

But continued spikes in COVID-19 infection rates, evolving government public health measures, a looming election and reduced consumer confidence have these gains hanging by a thread.

Buckle up, because this train is moving fast, has unpredictable drops, twists and turns, and there’s no going back.

Ride the Digital Marketing Strategy Roller Coaster

Welcome to The Rebound Phase of the three phases of marketing during coronavirus.

The React Phase, Phase 1, began as the economy rapidly shut down, and consumer behavior shifted in a blink of an eye. Embracing agile marketing for survival was critical. Messaging shifted, media placements disappeared, we all watched “Tiger King” and downloaded TikTok.

The Rebound Phase, Phase 2, is well underway with mass quarantine restrictions lifted and commercial activity returning. Now is the time to adjust operations and communication planning to an elastic marketplace.

The Recovery Phase, Phase 3, which feels distant, is reserved for a time when COVID-19 infection and mortality rates are insignificant, presumably after a treatment or vaccine is widely available and adopted. Workers will be able to work from offices, and business travel will be common. Generally, businesses will be able to optimize operations in a stable environment free of fear and frenzy.

Aligning an Online Marketing Strategy to Market Conditions

We embrace being the Change Huggers at Noble Studios, and we recommend you do the same to address the unknown factors in the economy. As always, these conditions will work themselves out over time (and make this article feel old), but they’re very real today.

We’re not macroeconomists, but we pay attention to current events, do extensive research and talk to our clients, peers and friends about their business. We agree with the general consensus that the parallel threats below will impact how all consumers do business:

  • Cycles of high and low infection rates followed by government restrictions that hamper commerce
  • High unemployment combined with a deep recession
  • Continued stimulus packages for the unemployed and for businesses
  • Potential long term solutions to lessen the impact of COVID-19 infections
  • Working at home will persist
  • A contentious presidential election

Competitors, old and new, are facing the same challenges as your company, so while there is volatility, everyone is feeling the same pressure. Each one of us has a personal story of how we’ve been affected by COVID-19.

Flexibility is Crucial When it Comes to Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Volatility can be your ally if you play it right. Playing it right requires staying focused on goals and objectives but being flexible in how they’ll be met. Bruce Lee captured this concept best in his classic quote:

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.” – Bruce Lee

As we move through the Rebound Phase, consider how demand has shifted. Has your target audience changed? Moved? Will the marketing landscape change? The answer of course, depends on your industry, but likely – you will say yes to all three. You may see the demand shift within your target markets, and you should be ready to develop a content plan to address that.

Online Marketing Strategy for the Rebound Phase

Audience Targeting During the Rebound Phase

You will still want to target your existing audiences, but consider if the age range has changed. For example, in the travel and tourism industry, most DMO’s are projecting that younger generations will travel first, followed by older generations. Those types of nuances should be tied into campaign targeting and timing.

Perhaps you need to change what you are marketing or how you are talking to your potential customers. For example, if you write a small business blog, you likely shifted your content strategy to include blogs with resources for small business to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, or how to communicate with employees or how to save money – whereas you previously may have served your target audience articles that were more focused on marketing.

Geo-Targeting for the Rebound Phase

While you are building your rebound and recovery plan, consider if your target market shifted.

For example, if you are a travel organization driving visitors to your destination, people might not want to fly, and you need to assess changing your paid advertising targeting to focus on a drive market radius. Or if you have a local storefront business, you may no longer want to solely reach your local city or town – it’s not enough traffic, especially with people not being able to browse and the losses you experienced while business were closed. You now need to expand your audience targeting via your digital efforts and ramp up your online store so your reach spans across the country and you meet an increased online demand.

Rebound Campaign Budgeting

You likely cut back or paused advertising efforts during the React Phase. Now is the time to take any unspent funds and build budgets for your upcoming recovery marketing campaigns.

For COVID-affected clients with a healthy annual marketing budget, we recommend you should have a maximum budget but do small tests before you spend it all to ensure that the engagement and conversions are where they need to be to justify the spend. If the campaign timeline is delayed or demand shifts, you can move funds to consequent months when demand is forecasted. This rationale is to budget for money in case you need it. It’s easier to scale back spending when the money is in the bank, but if it was never there in the first place, you’ll never get it. Consider budgeting for paid advertising efforts, content writers, website maintenance and CRM – especially as we enter the competitive recovery phase.

During the rebound phase and especially the recovery phase, competition will be high. The more money you have to compete – either across a broad array of channels or via a highly specific channel approach, the more potential revenue you will generate for your business, paving a path for your own recovery.

Coronavirus & Digital Marketing: Top Marketing Channels to Consider

Many businesses have launched brand awareness campaigns during the rebound phase across social media and display. As we get closer to recovery, they’ll layer in additional channels and campaigns, like paid search marketing.

It’s important to develop an integrated digital marketing campaign that includes all channels, which will give flexibility in which channels you activate and where you can scale back. Still, you always have your plan to ladder back to. It’s important to know who you are trying to reach, budget per channel, your target market, what channel you want to prioritize first and what goal you want them to accomplish like a form completion or newsletter sign-up.

Channel Breakdown for Your Rebound Internet Marketing Strategy

SEO Strategy

Now is the time to publish that new content and track performance. During this time make sure your top pages are optimized for your target keywords. SEO optimized content is the top priority because organic CTR (Click Through Rate) is up to 5x that of a paid ad. Plus, it takes longer for search engines to index content.

  • Consider updating your site navigation titles to match the target keywords for their respective pages. Check and optimize your URL structure. Optimize images with useful file names and relevant metadata. Search engines weigh this effort towards improved organic rank.

Paid Search

Intent-based channels that capture people most likely interested in your products or services. Developing a paid search marketing strategy relevant for after a crisis includes making campaigns beyond the brand campaign you’re likely running. You can include relevant non-brand campaigns like inspirational or planning-oriented campaigns. As you move through the rebound phase and towards recovery, you can increase your acquisition efforts. Ensure your paid search campaigns are optimized and ready for when people begin searching for what your business has to offer.

Display Media

Display ads are an effective way to create brand awareness as you move through the rebound phase. As market conditions improve, display ads can become more targeted by showcasing strong calls to action or value-based offers.

Capturing and locking in a user’s intent is a valuable paid strategy. Use retargeting techniques to get more from your site traffic by presenting ads to site visitors once they leave your site. This “warm” audience is likely to convert at higher rates and at a lower cost than a similar audience that hasn’t visited your site.

Organic Social

Continue running organic social and show up well. Take an inspirational, sensitive approach (especially at the beginning of the rebound phase). You can layer in messages that you are there for your followers. If you shifted a physical store to an online store, you can tell followers that and note any discounts you’re offering. Social media marketers may begin to post updates on location planned openings (like beaches and outdoor spaces).

Email Marketing

All the relationship-building you did during the React Phase can now bear fruit. Engage your email list by sending business updates, promotional messages and make sure to include existing and past customers.

  • Leverage Traffic Analytics: What are people searching for in regards to your brand? Take that information and use it as communication pieces in your email marketing.
  • Segment your email lists to deliver content that’s relevant, timely and sensitive. If your niche has been economically hard-hit, consider focusing more on-brand messaging and unique selling propositions instead of strong calls to action that will likely fall flat. Remind users why you’re the best in your vertical and track their interactions for re-engagement campaigns.

Content Marketing

Start planning how you’re going to launch your full content marketing campaign in recovery and what this looks like. Focus on research that pinpoints how customer behavior has changed. What buyers value and how they purchase may have radically changed. Capitalize on the opportunity by developing new content that addresses changed behavior.

Web Design

  • You don’t want to have a tone-deaf approach on your site, but you don’t have to be in alert mode. Shift your COVID-19 messaging to explain opening updates, regional updates, local business changes, etc.
  • Coming out of the React Phase you still want to ensure that your messaging and imagery are sensitive.
  • Make sure CTA’s and Headlines have evolved to match what’s being impacted. If your storefront was previously closed, but is now open, create messaging welcoming consumers back and thanking them for their patronage.
  • Ensure your COVID-19 page is updated to highlight new policies and procedures for how your brand is operating in the new phase. This should include limitations for how many people are able to be in the business at one time and how your handling employees coming back to work. Also, include a date with each policy update, even if nothing has been updated, so customers have confidence that this is the most current information.

The Rebound Phase, the second of a three-phased approach to marketing during the global pandemic, has created marketplace stability despite an erratic economy in recession. Where businesses were able to “be there” for their customers during the React Phase, now consumers can “be there” for businesses as they reengage, reopen and restrategize.

The Rebound Phase has been characterized by marginal improvement powered by flexibility. New opportunities will appear as conditions evolve, and creative digital performance marketing is an increasing aspect of finding success. Businesses can find the right channels with the right messaging can scale up or down, back or forth, as consumer confidence changes.

Has your business remained agile during the Rebound Phase? How has your business found new opportunities in a changing economy?