Memphis-based ServiceMaster brands help military veterans raise money to start businesses

Information provided by GLOBE NEWSWIRE

Four ServiceMaster brands have joined forces with a new online fundraising program called Boost A Hero in an effort to help military veterans purchase franchise businesses. Boost A Hero, available at www.sprigster.com, provides a platform where vets utilize "crowdfunding" to raise the capital they need to purchase franchises like ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec -- which are all ServiceMaster brands.

The four ServiceMaster brands are charter members of the Boost A Hero program, which was recently initiated by Sprigster in partnership with the International Franchise Association (IFA).

"The unemployment rate for military veterans is 50 percent higher than the national average, despite the fact that vets make outstanding team members and business owners," said Beth Solomon, IFA Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Industry Relations. "One of the biggest challenges vets face in starting their own business is funding their initial investment, because they often lack sufficient working capital.

That's why we're working with companies like ServiceMaster, which has a strong reputation of supporting vets in this critical initiative to make more opportunities available for veterans in franchising."

Boost A Hero helps qualified veterans raise money to purchase franchise businesses by posting their opportunity on the www.sprigster.com web site. Family, friends and supporters from across the country can make contributions to the vet's effort online. Contributions to the vet's account are not accepted until the veteran has secured all his funds and is ready to open the business, protecting the crowd's investment.

The program is free to vets, but a five percent fee from the pledges is payable to Sprigster to cover administrative fees. Vets, who must also have a significant financial stake in their business effort, may only raise money to purchase franchises from participating companies like ServiceMaster.

"Currently, about nine percent of our franchise owners are ex-military," said Dave Messenger, Vice President, Market Expansion for ServiceMaster. We're very proud that so many veterans are associated with our brands. They make great business owners and are wonderful employers. We see the Boost A Hero program as an excellent way to help vets get started in business and participate in the American dream. We want to encourage everyone to go to the website and boost a hero."

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About ServiceMaster

With a global network of more than 6,900 company-owned, franchise and licensed locations, Memphis-based ServiceMaster is one of the world's largest residential and commercial service networks. The company's high profile brands are TruGreen, Terminix, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec.

Through approximately 21,000 corporate associates and a franchise network that independently employs over 31,000 additional people, the ServiceMaster family of brands serves more than 8.2 million customers every year. Our brands hold market-leading positions in residential and commercial lawn, tree and shrub care, termite and pest control, home warranties, furniture repair, home inspections, residential and commercial cleaning and disaster restoration. Go to www.servicemaster.com for more information about ServiceMaster or follow us at twitter.com/ServiceMaster or facebook.com/TheServiceMasterCo.

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About Sprigster

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Sprigster is the nation's only crowdfunding platform focused exclusively on franchising. Sprigster's initial franchise platform, "Boost a Hero," was designed to facilitate access to capital for qualifying U.S. veterans. Sprigster was founded by serial entrepreneurs, Mark Mohler and Todd Jones, who have both spent the past

15 years focused on small business formation, with an emphasis on social entrepreneurship-based businesses. For more information about Sprigster, please visit www.sprigster.com. Also, please follow us on Twitter at @Sprigsterllc and check out our Facebook and Google+ pages.

Source: http://germantown.wmctv.com/news/business/70729-memphis-based-servicemaster-brands-help-military-veterans-raise-money-start-businesses

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Arts & Entertainment - Atlantic City Weekly

The June 23-24 Orion Music + More festival is shaping up to be a headbanger's ball for all kinds of music lovers.

Suicidal Tendencies, shown in this vintage shot, have just been added as headliners of the Damage Inc. stage.

Although Metallica's Lars Ulrich told Atlantic City Weekly in a recent exclusive interview that the band's slated summer music festival in Atlantic City will be planned by the "seam of their pants," looks like the metal band is starting a little earlier than expected to plan ahead.

On Thursday, March 8, Metallica's official Web site, announced more of the acts that will performing at the June 23-June 24 music festival at Bader Field in Atlantic City.

Along with a new Orion Festival news ticker added to the band's site, Metallica, which says they're "so excited about our upcoming festival, and so many new cool things will be added in the coming weeks, that we wanted to always have the latest news right here on top of Metallica.com," has added a Damage Inc. stage that will feature "lots of cool, heavy, thrash and punk bands" such as:

Suicidal Tendencies
Sepultura?
Torche
Red Fang
Kyng
Landmine Marathon

Also, Eric Church, Jim Breuer and his Heavy Metal Comedy Tour, Wooden Shjips, and the Soul Rebels have been added to the festival line-up. They'll join Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold, Modest Mouse, The Gaslight Anthem, Lucero, The Sword, and many others.

The band also has a new trailer video for the festival, which you can watch below.

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See all the new bells and whistles at OrionMusicAndMore.com.

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TheDude said...
Mandy Moore is pretty smokin. I wish I was cool enough to date her. Does anybody know how I can get her number?

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' + comment }); numDiv.inject( commentLi ); commentPar.inject( commentLi ); commentLi.inject( commentUl ); } else { msgPar.set( 'html', 'Comment has been sent for approval' ); } } } function displayNewComment() { var msgP = document.getElementById("msg"); msgP.innerHTML = "Thank you for your submission. Your comment has been added below."; if(comment != "") { if(!flagged) { var commentSection = document.getElementById("ajaxSection"); var commentDiv = document.createElement("div"); var timeStamp = 'Mar 9, 2012 at 11:00PM'; commentDiv.innerHTML = ''; commentSection.appendChild(commentDiv); } } } function validateCommentForm(form){ var fieldEmail = document.getElementById("field.email"); var fieldName = document.getElementById("field.name"); var nameValue = fieldName.value; var emailValue = fieldEmail.value; var filter = /^([a-zA-Z0-9_\.\-])+\@(([a-zA-Z0-9\-])+\.)+([a-zA-Z0-9]{2,4})+$/; if (filter.test(emailValue)) { var fieldBody = document.getElementById("field.body") var bodyValue = fieldBody.value; bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/&/g,"&"); bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/,"/g,">"); bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/\r\n/g,"
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Source: http://www.atlanticcityweekly.com/arts-and-entertainment/Metallica-Orion-Music--More-Fest-Adds-Eric-Church-Suicidal-Tendencies-Several-Others--142058033.html

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Santorum: Obama, Romney share distrust of America

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum hugs a supporter during a rally at Battleship Memorial Park, Friday, March 9, 2012, in Mobile, Alabama. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum hugs a supporter during a rally at Battleship Memorial Park, Friday, March 9, 2012, in Mobile, Alabama. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum visits with supporters during a rally at the Battleship Memorial Park, Friday, March 9, 2012, in Mobile, Alabama. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is photographed during a rally at Battleship Memorial Park, Friday, March 9, 2012, in Mobile, Alabama. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) ? Hoping to tap into deep distrust of Washington, Republican Rick Santorum suggested Friday that President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney share a top priority: to take away Americans' money and freedom so they can tell them how to live.

A day before Kansas Republicans weigh in on the party's presidential contest, Santorum looked to shore up support in this Midwestern state that seemed ready to give the former Pennsylvania senator yet another win and further challenge Romney's front-runner status. With sharp rhetoric, Santorum likened Romney to Obama and cast both as unacceptable for conservatives.

"We already have one president who doesn't tell the truth to the American people. We don't need another," Santorum said to cheers. "Gov. Romney reinvents himself for whatever the political occasion calls for."

Santorum has hammered Romney for a health care overhaul he signed into law as Massachusetts governor. Santorum's advisers see the issue as Romney's biggest weakness among conservatives. They make up the bulk of the Republican Party's nominating base but have so far split their votes between Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

"The worst offender is Gov. Romney. He put the template for Obamacare in place in Massachusetts," Santorum said.

Massachusetts requires citizens to buy health insurance. That mandate is central to Democrats' national plan, and Santorum called it unconstitutional.

Campaigning in Alabama, Romney fired back, characterizing Santorum as coming from the Washington establishment he's worked to distance himself from and reminding the former Pennsylvania senator ? and voters ? about a delegate count that puts Romney much closer to the nomination.

"Washington insider Rick Santorum is lashing out at Mitt Romney because he can't accept the fact that it's nearly impossible for him to win the number of delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.

Romney currently has 422 delegates committed to his nomination, while Santorum has 181 out of the 1,144 needed. Gingrich trails with 107 and Paul has 46, according to Associated Press calculations.

Santorum's small-government message resonated with Allan Holthaus, a 63-year-old Topeka contractor and farmer, who said he views Santorum as the most honest GOP candidate and the one most likely to try to deliver on his campaign promises.

Greeting Santorum after the rally, he said: "You help us get the government off our backs, and we'll help you fix it, that's for sure."

Santorum was also hoping to muscle Gingrich out of the race in the coming weeks, if not after Tuesday's contests in Alabama and Mississippi. Gingrich's advisors had said the former House speaker must win both states to stay in the race. Santorum's advisers anticipate Gingrich's conservative supporters would turn to Santorum and perhaps derail Romney's better-organized, better-funded political organization.

"We feel very confident that we can win Kansas on Saturday and come into Alabama and Mississippi and this race should come down to two people," Santorum told reporters.

And as the race turned South, the Santorum campaign on Friday hammered Gingrich on immigration, an issue likely to play prominently among Southern conservatives. Santorum turned to a key supporter and immigration hawk, former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., to criticize Gingrich for supporting legislation that would, among other things, allow some children of illegal immigrants to become citizens.

"This is not just an immigration issue but a national security issue ? and Newt Gingrich fails our nation on both counts," Tancredo said, charging that Gingrich would "adopt the policies of the left."

Gingrich told The Associated Press at a campaign stop in Mississippi that win or lose on Tuesday, he's staying in the race through to the Republican National Convention scheduled for August in Tampa, Fla.

"We'll clearly do well enough to move on, and I think there's a fair chance we'll win. But I just want to set this to rest once and for all: We're going to Tampa."

Even before he arrived in Kansas, a state his rivals largely overlooked, Santorum signaled strength here.

"Since Romney and Gingrich have decided not to campaign in Kansas, we feel pretty confident that we're going to do well," Santorum told reporters before leaving Alabama.

Despite his anti-Washington message, Santorum faced grumbling from tea party activists for skipping their big rally in the state's largest city. They spent $25,000 to rent the Century II arena in downtown Wichita and expected 1,000 to 3,000 people to attend.

"It seems like it is counterproductive to show up for an event that is going to have 300 people in an airplane hangar instead (of) 3,000 people in a nice setting where you can actually contact and really maybe sway somebody," said Craig Gabel, the president of Kansas For Liberty, which organized the Wichita event.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was the only presidential candidate participating in the tea party event.

Santorum appeared not to know the timing of the tea party event and said he had to get to a speech Friday evening in Houston, a commitment he said was made months ago.

__

Associated Press writers Roxana Hegeman in Wichita, Kan., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-03-09-Santorum/id-298ac83a6eab4313b8512279d4018acb

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Pathophysiology Of Multiple Sclerosis

What is multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that is non-contagious. It predominantly affects the brain and the spinal cord. It is mainly characterized by a wide variety of neurological symptoms that are caused by the demyelization of the neurons. Moreover, it is an autoimmune disease in which the body?s very own immune system attacks the central nervous system?s cells and underlying tissues.
What causes it
The ultimate cause of multiple sclerosis remains unknown. This means that multiple sclerosis is an idiopathic disease. According to scientific research, some viral infections or other environmental factors related to childhood are able to trigger the abnormal reactions associated with the immune system.
On a molecular level, a structural similarity can be discovered between an infectious agent that is not identified and some components of the central nervous system. This similarity causes confusion in the immune system?s fighter cells when the body matures later as the body ages. This whole process is termed as molecular mimicry. And since there is no such thing as a multiple sclerosis virus, it can be declared that the disease is not at all contagious.
Where the WBC come in
The body?s white blood cells, more commonly referred to as WBC, have a special subset of cells termed as T cells. These T cells are key players in the development of multiple sclerosis. Normally, these lymphocytes have the ability to differentiate substances or components that belong to the body from those that are foreign. Whenever a foreign body is recognized, the whole immune system is put on alert and the body?s fighter cells attack the foreign body to maintain homeostasis within the body.
However, since multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, it tends to attack itself. The T cells recognize the healthy parts of the central nervous system as something harmful and foreign and attack them as if it is a response aimed at a virus or bacteria.
The T cells attack predominantly attack the myelin which insulates the axons of the nerve cells. This fatty substance is very important, especially when it comes to proper nerve conduction.
About the BBB
There is a normal barrier that goes between the blood and the brain that medical professionals have coined as the blood-brain barrier or the BBB. This BBB is made up of endothelial cells that line the blood vessel walls.
It is during multiple sclerosis that the BBB breaks down and the auto-reactive T cells enter the BBB, when they are clearly not supposed to. After crossing the BBB, the T cells then trigger an inflammatory response that is further mediated by other immune cells namely the cytokines and antibodies. After further inflammatory responses, there is a much bigger opening of the BBB and a wide variety of symptoms are produced.
Moving on, the macrophages are alerted, there is an activation of the MMPs, including other proteases. In short, this all leads to the destruction of the myelin, a process that is termed as demyelization.

Henry Terry has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Diseases Multiple Sclerosis
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Source: http://www.a1article.net/health-and-fitness/pathophysiology-of-multiple-sclerosis-9740.html

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Busy-Dad-E: Fatherhood Uncensored: Mr. Little Brother's Wild Ride

Have you ever had a day...

Where you go with your Dad-E to pick up your Big Brother from Sunday School...

And have to go potty...really bad...

And make it to the potty just fine and in time...

But when you do "go", everything kinda goes in the wrong direction...

Soaking your underwear and pants...

And you want to go naked from the waist down...

But your Dad-E won't let you because you're in a building packed with adults and children...

So you pull up your cotton "swimming pool" and your Dad-E carries you...

And you pick up your Big Brother and walk back to the car...

Only to find that there aren't any dry clothes in your backpack...

So you actually do go naked from the waist down...

And when your Dad-E buckles you into your car seat he tries to cover your bottom with your Bab-E Brother's burp towel...

But that towel lasts for only about 5 seconds before you remove it...

And when you finally get home you want to help...

But your Dad-E asks you not to run down the driveway half-naked to get the newspaper...

And then the next day you find out from Mom-E that there really WERE clothes in the backpack, and you had looked at the wrong pocket...

Just part of your average day around here.

Have a good weekend,

Bring an extra set of dry clothes (and know where they're kept),

Busy-Dad-E

Source: http://busy-dad-e.blogspot.com/2012/03/mr-little-brothers-wild-ride.html

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The Karl Post Home Improvement ? Blog Archive ? Cheap Tools for ...

Many people take pride in their homes want to look good. They want to make the most of their living space, and do the work itself is a great encouragement, because costs can be saved. People these days are concerned about some of the high cost of DIY tools. That is why there are many types of low cost tools available on the market that are ideal for improving your home without breaking the bank. The following low-cost tools are ideal if you want a cost effective way to improve your home. Hammers come in many forms and is one of the important hand tools are used for various purposes. It is a versatile, inexpensive and ideal for tacking pictures on the wall, putting together furniture and other things like nailing carpet. This is a very versatile tool for the home. Make sure you have more than one hammer is available. Probably the best choice of the hammer is of medium size and large size. Medium size depends on the height of the object you the score and the general format is larger and for the hard to reach areas on larger objects.

There is also a cheap laser level that people can buy. Adjusting laser level measurements for things like a picture hanging on the wall, the height of the alignments by the furniture and precision long distance. Laser level is also a shelf with the rest of the room rate. They are portable, can make the display more cleanly and accurately measure your room space so that the artwork and images of good fit and trim for furniture and other features your room.

Good clip to firmly grasp different objects and custom. This proves invaluable when it comes to home improvement, as there are different types of electrical and son of a metal handle. You do not need to spend much on this point and will cost you 5 pounds at least. Measuring tape is very inexpensive and fairly measure the area before an object is placed. For example, if you want a library in the corner and had to choose one you can use a tape measure to measure the area to see if it matches the size of the library you want. That is why the tape measure is essential, while a laser level complex measuring tape allows you to calculate the size of the object, the size of the region and its size relative to other functions in your room.

Screwdrivers are cheap and buy a kit with a screwdriver, you can attach a different head than having to buy a screwdriver. A project can not be solved without a screwdriver. Screwdriver allows tightening and loosening screws that have folded all good, not in place or were installed incorrectly. They are the solution to your problems and the ease and cheapness are important tool screwdriver home improvements. For more help with what you can invest in the key of electric tools, electric drill, which tighten and loosen the screws in a matter of seconds. Exercise your hand without son easier and more preferable to use them. Power drills may also be cheaper if you look in the right places and do not strain your hand, and great for comfort.

Saws exists in many forms, but is useful for hand saws improvement tool for home improvement projects that involve wood habitat. A small saws are good for cutting rack, wooden doors and end panels and can be found at a good price. Safety equipment can be inexpensive and can protect you when using dangerous tools. Good sunglasses to prevent dirt and dust in the eyes and should be used as a security issue when using power tools. Mask to avoid inhaling dust particles and smoke from the exercise of power when cutting wood. Gloves to protect fingers may be cut or is cut by the tool. Finally, using power tools is a very noisy and foam earplugs are very useful here. All safety equipment is very important and inexpensive.

There are many inexpensive tools for DIY home improvement to traditional hand and power tools. Improving your home does not need to cost the earth. The best way to shop for cheap tools and get the best value for money.

Source: http://www.thekarlpost.com/cheap-tools-for-home-improvement.html

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Lisa M. Dietlin: Making A Difference: The World of Giving -- Women's History Month (Huffington post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/208756590?client_source=feed&format=rss

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