June 24, 2009, Houston, Texas: Women Business Owners (WBO’s) annual National Business Convention, presented by Office Max, Inc. is being held October 22-24, 2009 in Houston, Texas.

500 women entrepreneurs from around the world will experience a convention of educational workshops, a live business expo and networking.

A semi-formal reception will be held at the Houston Marriott North at Greenspoint on Thursday, October 22^nd, followed by live, hands-on interaction with each panelist-led workshop and keynote speaker on Friday, October 23rd at the Humble Civic Center. Each 3-Day attendee will have the opportunity to showcase their business during the Business Expo (open to the public) on Saturday at the Humble Civic Center.

WBO President and Founder, Anna Campbell stated, “Learn how to work effectively and efficiently so that your personal life does not suffer in the beginning years. Learn how to join together and create mastermind groups, support groups, and other related teams of women that support, guide, and stimulate each other. It is a phenomenal experience to join together and share wealth of knowledge and to know that you’re not alone.â€�

Women Business Owners (WBO) is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in February 2004. WBO provides education and support for more than 41,000 women business owners throughout the world with online and offline resources. You may visit www.womenbizowners.org to find out more information about Women Business Owners.

WBO offers members online networking chats, classes, seminars, and other events, the annual offline convention, and more! WBO’s mission is to Educate, Empower and Enhance your business.

The 2009 Annual National Convention is being sponsored in part by:

Houston Marriott North at Greenspoint, Communication Transformation, Firelight Web Studio, CCDesignz Business Services, LLC, VBS Virtual Assist, LLC, Jr Apprentice US, My Business Journals, Julie-Marie Bags, Delaney Imaging, Savvy Ladies, Design2Train, Accents of Home, Lisa’s Art & Horses, AlphaWomen Media, Inc., Occasions To Savor, Independent Chocolatier.

For more information about becoming a sponsor, vendor, speaker or attendee at WBO’s upcoming convention, contact Cindy Clark, info@womenbizowners.org or call 877-209-9461, ext 708. All event forms, including registration information, can be found at http://www.womenbizowners.org/convention/. Register today and receive ALL the benefits of this amazingly affordable convention.

Give Peace Another Chance: World March for Peace and Nonviolence Takes Yoko’s Bed-In Around the World
40 years ago, John and Yoko invited the world into their bed and asked us to give peace a chance. Today, with the threat of nuclear confrontation more real than ever, it is time to loudly affirm that the will for peace is stronger than the will for war, and to proudly engage in nonviolent acts of support for a world without wars or violence.

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence invites you to join us on on Sunday, June 21 at 1 PM in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow to commemorate and celebrate the spirit of nonviolence, an idea whose time has come.

www.newhumanist.us/PDF/Bed-in_Central_Park_Invitation.pdf
The World March is backed by hundreds of endorsements including Nobel Laureates, heads of state, mayors and artists, such as Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, President Michelle Bachelet and Penelope Cruz. The World March was launched by the international organization World Without Wars and the Humanist Movement. For more info: www.worldmarchusa.net

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s Bed-In, the organizing committee of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence will be holding a “Bed-In for Peace and Nonviolence.” Participants will gather at Sheep Meadow at Central Park on June 21st. at 1 p.m., where they will pay tribute to John Lennon, and Yoko Ono, and the timeless cause for peace by building a giant peace sign in commemoration. Yoko Ono has endorsed the March and received a special invitation to attend the Bed-In.

The press is invited to come at 2 p.m. to speak to the World March’s spokesperson in the US, Chris Wells, who has characterized the bed-in as a, “tribute for two remarkable beings that dared to dream and used their imagination to promote and support the planet’s most urgent need.” This event is part of the initiatives that started last month in Montreal and is now taking in place in New York City for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. Bed-In celebrations have been organized in Montreal, Rio, Prague, Helsinki, Ireland, San Clemente, Munich and Berlin.

The World March will be held in seven continents, starting in New Zealand on October 2nd, the International Day of Nonviolence, and will bring together more than one million direct participants in 95 countries, who will celebrate and demand peace for all countries. The message carried by all is the end of wars, the dismantling of nuclear weapons and for an end to all forms of violence.

An international team of marchers will travel through the seven countinents, where marches, festivals, exhibits, concerts, forums, conferences and social, cultural, educational and athletic events will be taking place. The march will conclude in the Andes Mountains, in Punta de Vacas, Argentina, on January 2, 2010.

Tuesday, 2 June 2009

By Barbara Plett
BBC News, Surki Dheri and Islamabad

“Just over the mountains from Pakistan’s north-western Swat valley lies Surki Dheri, a village of 10,000.
Its deputy mayor, Sajjad Ali, is a landowner with a large estate. Tenant farmers work his fields of wheat, maize and tobacco.
But this year he and his brother, Javed Iqbal, have become hosts to unexpected guests: 15 families of refugees - or 150 people - who have fled Pakistan’s latest war against the Taliban in Swat and neighbouring districts.
“I was coming home one day and I saw these families, women and children, sitting beside the road,” says Mr Iqbal. “I brought them here. They were in need.”
The newly homeless Pakistanis get food from the UN, but Mr Iqbal and Mr Ali provide everything else - water, electricity, and a roof.
Nor do they expect them to leave anytime soon. The brothers have begun building an extension to their guesthouse.

Solidarity
The influx of displaced people has swelled the village population by a third.
This is traditional Pashtun hospitality, which can never turn away “a guest”.
Indeed, the vast majority of those displaced are living with kin or generous strangers.
Such solidarity has strengthened the government’s military campaign in Swat.
It has also encouraged Washington, which wants to see the war taken to Taliban and al-Qaeda havens in the tribal areas near the Afghan border.

Public opinion has generally shifted against the Swat Taliban since they broke a peace deal earlier this year.
“I think this happened because in the public perception the Taliban moved from a political actor to a criminal actor,” says Aijaz Gilani, chairman of the polling agency Gallup Pakistan.
“It was the very clear and vivid pictures of beheadings, floggings, and occupation of other peoples’ property. So when there was a wide view that the Taliban were in breach of Islamic rules about the respect for property, life and honour, a majority turned against them.”
Just outside Islamabad another group of refugees also receives support from concerned Pakistanis.

A builder, Syed Liaqat, has allowed 75 mostly women and children to move into his unfinished block of flats. Their needs are being met by a number of middle-class women from Islamabad.

One of them, a law teacher and civil society activist Ghazala Minallah, tells me how one baby was born during the five-day trek through the mountains.

“I’m motivated by anger that this should be happening in our country, and a feeling for these people,” she says. “It could be us in this position!”

Fauzia Minallah, an artist who has encouraged the children to draw and paint, says they need help to exorcise their fear of both the Taliban and of army shelling.”

Ref: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8079496.stm

Join us as we learn about the world of Chiropracting, meet Dr. Kyle Buchan and learn from him why he chose this profession, what unique skills he needed, and what education was required to be a chiropractor.

http://www.kingwoodchiro.com

Enjoy a tour of their facilities, meet their staff, and earn 2 Jr Apprentice Educational Credits (students 10-18 in age).

Learn more about our Jr Apprentice US program and how you can actively participate as a student, educator or community partner.

About Jr Apprentice US Program

The WBO Jr Apprentice US program
launched in January 2009.

We are creating opportunities for students 10 to 18 years of age to learn basic and advanced professional and life skills.

We are forming alliances with local, national and global partners to better insure the quality of skills the students receive.

We are giving our children the skills they need to provide a better future for themselves and for generations to come.

http://www.jrapprenticeus.org
This program is made possibly by Women Business Owners. http://www.womenbizowners.org

Join us as we learn about the world of Radio News, meet CEO Elisea Frishberg and learn from her why she chose this profession, what unique skills she needed, and what education was required to become a radio show host.
Friday, July 17, 2009 from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM (CT)

BizRadio Network
3050 Post Oak Blvd, Ste 1680
Houston, TX 77056

Enjoy a tour of their facilities with CEO Elisea Frishberg, meet their staff, and earn 2 Jr Apprentice Educational Credits (students 10-18 in age).
Learn more about our Jr Apprentice US program and how you can actively participate as a student, educator or community partner.

About Jr Apprentice US Program

The WBO Jr Apprentice US program launched in January 2009.

We are creating opportunities for students 10 to 18 years of age to learn basic and advanced professional and life skills.  We are forming alliances with local, national and global partners to better insure the quality of skills the students receive.  We are giving our children the skills they need to provide a better future for themselves and for generations to come.

http://www.jrapprenticeus.org
This program is made possibly by Women Business Owners. http://www.womenbizowners.org
About BizRadio

We serve the audience that uses their brains to get a better deal - and a better life. The world is getting more complex every day, but we believe that this is the best time in history for those that have the courage to think critically, to take informed risks, and to take responsibility for creating the life they want through their own actions. We educate and entertain our audience about the markets and about the many strategies for creating wealth. At the same time we expose them to a broad spectrum of leaders and visionaries that inspire them to find, explore and apply the approaches that best fit them as individuals.

There are a thousand reasons to be afraid of investing: fears of recessions, interest rates, inflation, international capital flows, market meltdowns, etc. Welcome to life. There has always been risk and if it just keeps getting more complicated then you just have to keep getting more sophisticated. Stated differently, there are always a thousand excuses for sitting back passively and letting other people dictate your place in the world: intimidation, fear of failure, rationalizations, to name a few.

It’s easier for most people to avoid taking responsibility, even when it means that the quality of their life will ultimately suffer. Those people don’t listen to us. Our programming revolves primarily around investing, but it is also about a way of life.

http://www.bizradio.com

The Fort Bend Conservative Club and BizRadio Hosts: A Lunch with Elyse Lanier
Information
When: Tuesday June 23, 2009
Where: Petroleum Club of Houston
Time: 11:30AM to 1:00 PM
Cost: $30

Reservations
To RSVP please contact Rita Karpel
Phone:713-490-8706
E-mail: RitaK@bizradio.com

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About Elyse Lainer

Elyse Lanier, wife of former Mayor Bob Lanier, is a native Houstonian committed to advancing her hometown and its business community, cultural amenities and diverse lifestyle.

As first lady, she served as a representative of the city of Houston, often meeting with foreign and trade delegations from around the world. That experience has been put to work since her February 2006 appointment as a commissioner to the Port of Houston Authority.

She is actively involved with the Texas Medical Center and its institutions, serving on the board of the TMC, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Texas Heart Institute. She is particularly interested in Dr. James Willerson’s stem cell research programs at the Texas Heart Institute.

Education is another area of interest for Lanier, who served on the University of Houston’s Board of Regents from 1994-1997. She and her husband continue a formal relationship with the John F. Kennedy School of Public Affairs, specifically with its Leadership Program headed by former presidential advisor and journalist David Gergen. They are also actively involved in the Houston Community College System and oversee the Lanier Public Policy Conferences at the University of Houston, where the Bob Lanier Chair in Urban Public Policy is endowed.

Lanier is a strong booster for the nation’s fourth largest city, serving as chairman of the Houston Image Group from 1996 through 2002. Her accomplishments led to the University of Houston’s alumni association naming her the Houston Communicator of the Year in 1997.

Urban beautification is another priority for Lanier. She served as chairperson for the Houston Beautification Foundation and has worked closely with the city’s leading horticultural urban foresters and parks’ planners.

A recipient of the Urban League Heritage Award and the YMCA’s Texas Star Award, she was saluted by Trees for Houston for her leadership for urban forestry initiatives. She and her husband were awarded the Distinguished Service Award from Leadership Houston; have been honored by Talento Bilingue de Houston Cultural Center and the American Horticultural Society and have been honored as “Champions of Children” by the Children’s Defense Fund.

Elyse Lanier was born in 1947, raised in Houston and is a graduate of Bellaire High School. She attended Oklahoma University and the University of Houston, where she studied business. Prior to her marriage to Bob Lanier she worked as a sales manager for David Webb Jewelry.

She and her husband continue to maintain an active interest in urban issues, advocating for transportation, parks and neighborhoods and diversity.

Mayor Bob and Elyse Lanier live in Houston as do their seven children and 11 grandchildren.

DST HOME -Home Ownership, Maintenance, and Education
Bay Area Houston Alumnae (BAHA) Chapter
In Partnership with:
Money Week Houston
PRESENTS
SUPER FINANCE SATURDAY
“Are You Financially Healthy?�

Saturday, May 30, 2009
10:30a.m. to 4:00p.m.

LOCATION: Clear Lake City-County Freeman Branch Library
The Charles A. Bassett Activity Room
16616 Diana Lane, Houston, Texas 77062 Ph: 281-488-1906

REGISTER NOW!!! FREE ADMISSION
Seating is limited to 40 persons for each seminar.
RSVP: Bus 832-969-5363 or fwu1949@yahoo.com

Chrisalorus Jackson, CCCFLC, CMMV
Financial Wellness University, LLC
Certified Consumer Credit and Financial Life Coach
Certified Money Management Volunteer

What Does Your Credit Report Says About Your Credit Health? 10:30a.m.-11:15a.m.

Your Money - Do You Have a Healthy Debt Payment Plan? 11:15a.m.-12:00p.m.
Questions and Answers - Networking - Visit Information Tables - Complete Surveys

LUNCH BREAK

Alverna D. Austin, CHHBC
Austin Properties Unlimited
Real Estate Broker
Certified HUD Home Buying Counselor and Realtor®

RSVP: Bus: 713.532.9333 Email: austinenaustin@aol.com

How Can Home Ownership Build Wealth? 12:30p.m.-1:15p.m.

Property Maintenance – How Can You Increase Your Property Value? 1:15p.m.-2:15p.m.
Break- Questions and Answers - Complete Surveys
Home Preservation: How You Can Prevent Foreclosure!!! 2:30p.m.-3:45p.m.
Question and Answers - Complete Surveys

One of the best places to network is in volunteer organizations. Besides putting your skills to good use at a cause you believe in, you demonstrate your expertise and commitment to other like-minded individuals, who may become, or refer you to, prospective clients, partners, or employers for you.

Nonprofit organizations all over the world are benefiting from the addition of virtual volunteer opportunities to their volunteer programs. With these online opportunities, volunteers often find that they have more time to give because there is no travel time required and they can often be even more efficient in their own environment. Listed below are some of the types of projects that are easy for virtual volunteers and valuable for the organization.

Typical virtual volunteer job opportunities include:

•  
  • Web development - An online community must have a strong web presence designed to provide maximum ease and efficiency of participation
     
  • Translations - With global online networking there is more and more need to have websites, press releases and other literature available in numerous languages so that diverse communities can connect.
     
  • Writing press releases - Writing and sending press releases online can make the difference in a cause getting public attention and support.
     
  • Writing and Proofreading - Sites that want people coming back on a regular basis have to keep updating their information and must make sure everything is accurate and professional
     
  • Graphic design - Graphics are compelling and help to paint an emotional picture and create a powerful image of the problems and solutions addressed by online communities
     
  • Research - If you love to surf the internet, you’ll love this. And you’ll be generating valuable information for a good cause.
     
  • Track legislation - If you are fascinated by the ins and outs of government, you could be a valuable resource for a nonprofit advocating legislation to further their cause.
     
  • Creating online forums - These organizations need people who are tech savvy to host chat rooms, create online forums, develop blogs and other internet activities.
     
  • Writing emails - You can be a valuable resource by helping to respond to the many emails that these online communities are generating
     
  • Generating sponsor support - Utilize your sales, marketing, and negotiation skills to get sponsorships, support and alliances that help further their cause.
     
  • Database management - You can help an organization be more efficient and effective with their online contacts
     
  • Professional advisor - If you have legal, financial or management expertise, you could be a valuable on call advisor or member of a virtual advisory board
     
  • E-zine and newsletter development - Making regular contact with members of an online community are vital for its longevity.
     
  • E-mentoring - Depending on your background and expertise, you might be a great e-mentor at an executive, management or leadership level; or as an e-mentor for volunteers in the organization or the people served by the organization.

Some people don’t like to donate their services, thinking that it somehow devalues them. In truth, there is nothing that demonstrates the value of what you do more than to put it to good use for a cause you believe in.