CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

To honor the 2012 Westwood Success Stories from Illinois, Westwood College is donating $10,000 to A Better Chicago, whose mission is to create opportunity through early childhood development, K-12 education and workforce development. A Better Chicago provides funding and management support to high-performing nonprofit organizations that are dramatically advancing opportunities for the regions low-income population.

The 2012 Westwood Success Stories is a group of 100 graduates demonstrating exceptional success in pursuing careers in the face of a tough economic environment and personal challenges after getting a degree from Westwood College. From a variety of degree programs and located across the country, this groups collective determination and dedication are an inspiration to current Westwood College students, faculty and staff showing them through personal accounts how the hands-on training students receive from a career college education pays off.

Of the 100 graduates recognized, 18 are from the Chicago area and include:

River Oaks Campus (Calumet City, IL)

DuPage Campus (Woodridge, IL)

Chicago Loop Campus (Downtown Chicago)

OHare Airport Campus (Chicago)

The Westwood Success testimonials are presented in personal profiles, photos and videos featured online at http://www.WestwoodSuccess.com and are seen across campuses on signs and in books made available to students. The stories represent the diverse student population of Westwood College and provide straightforward, first-person insights into the obstacles and challenges many people face when making a decision about furthering their education.

It is such an honor for all of us in the Westwood College family to share in the success of our Westwood Success graduates, said Bruce McKenzie, Campus President at Westwood College - River Oaks in Calumet City, IL. The power in each individual story speaks to the determination, hard work and personal sacrifice our students and graduates undertake to achieve their goals. This is not an easy economic climate for any job seeker, but our graduates have embraced their education, the support provided here on campus and overcome sometimes overwhelming challenges to launch their careers.

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Westwood College Donates $10,000 to a Better Chicago in Honor of 2012 Westwood Success Program

A Lees Summit man has earned a congressional Gold Medal award for service.

Corey Austin Daughenbaugh, 23, is one of 276 gold medalists recognized nationally in Washington, D.C. for achievements in four areas - physical fitness, voluntary public service, personal development, and expedition or exploration.

Daughenbaugh, who is a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2011, and was sent directly to St. Johns College in New Mexico to start and complete a Masters Degree. After finishing this August he intends to return to regular duty with plans to teach in the Philosophy Department of the Air Force Academy sometime in the future.

The minimum requirements for completing the Gold Level Medal requirements are the following: a minimum of 200 hours of personal development, 200 hrs of physical fitness activities, 400 hrs of voluntary public service, an expedition consisting of at least four consecutive nights, and a minimum of 24 months work in progress.

Daughenbaugh said he completed 212 hours of personal develop in a variety of leadership or management roles in the Boy Scouts, Air Force Junior ROTC (at Lees Summit North HS), Missouri Boys State, and Civil Air Patrol. For public service volunteer service included ime with the Boy Scouts, Food for the Poor (we worked in Kansas City primarily), AFJROTC, the Mid-Continent Public Library, the Elks Club, Lees Summit Public Works Day, and the Lees Summit Social Services.

He was unable to attend the June ceremony which had CNNs Wolf Blitzer and Thomas P. McDevitt, president of the Washington Times, sharing duties as masters of ceremonies and entertainment by Earth Wind and Fire.

The award is funded by charitable foundations.

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Daughenbaugh receives congressional Gold Medal

Sarah Davidson, 18 July, 2012

Ruddick was chief operating officer at the network from 2006 until June 2010 when he made made director of IFA services.

He had been with PTFS since 1998 as compliance director and as an IFA since 1994.

Walton joined the network in October 2010 to oversee the Personal Touchs team of 10 regional sales managers who were recruited by the company that year as part of a new business structure.

Dev Malle, sales and marketing director at Personal Touch, said: "We wish Andy well in any new challenge he takes on and on behalf of everyone at Personal Touch I would like to thank him for his hard work during his time here."

Walton, who could not be contacted for comment, is rumoured to have taken a position elsewhere in the mortgage market.

He was formerly a national account manager at Aegon and spent 12 years at Legal & General where he was a national account manager and broker consultant.

Ruddick could not be reached for comment either.

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Andy Walton and John Ruddick quit Personal Touch

WOODSTOCK, GA--(Marketwire -07/18/12)- PeopleClues, an industry leader in workplace assessments, today announced the release of "FeaturingU2.0," an eBook designed to help individuals identify their personal strengths and assets, develop a personal brand and navigate changing employment models. Authored by PeopleClues president Julie Moreland -- with contributions from PeopleClues chief strategy officer Bryan Wempen and client relations manager Cathleen Carlos -- the complimentary eBook is now available for download at http://www.featuringu.com.

A major paradigm shift has occurred in today's workforce, as free agency gains popularity and employees become more opportunity driven. To help individuals understand what it means to be a free agent, even for those who are employees, "FeaturingU2.0," explores real stories of several professionals who have embraced the concept and gained personal and business success. Moreland, Wempen and Carlos also provide resources and exercises to help readers identify their personal assets and possible derailers, and to position themselves as would a company in light of this evolving workforce model.

As president of PeopleClues and co-author of the recently released best-seller, "Women Who Mean Business," Moreland draws on decades of experience in employee assessment, employee selection, HR technology, training and development, and business leadership to help readers highlight the skills and behaviors that make them an asset to companies. Contributing authors and HR industry bloggers, Wempen and Carlos, offer their talent acquisition and social media expertise to deconstruct the workforce paradigm and perception shift and suggest new methods for connecting employers with the right talent.

"Free agency empowers the workforce in a way it hasn't before," said Moreland. "But this shift also requires that each individual be responsible and accountable for their development, brand and positioning. 'FeaturingU2.0' is a guide for individuals across industries, backgrounds and professions that provides the resources and real-life inspiration needed to craft a personal brand and recognize that which makes an individual stand out from the crowd to drive success along their career path."

About PeopleCluesPeopleClues is an award winning global provider of employment assessments for measuring job fit, attitude and level of engagement for candidates and employees. These assessments are built for pre-employment screening, career development, team development as well as training and development. Based in Woodstock, Georgia, PeopleClues provides the assessment tools that allow thousands of companies in 8 countries to make better hiring and training decisions. PeopleClues has also recently launched an industry game changer with its "ACE" "Automated Candidate Experience" product providing Clients a huge strategic advantage in allowing their candidates who have taken the assessments to instantly receive personalized feedback on how to improve the way they present themselves in their resume and interview. PeopleClues strategic partners include Insperity (formerly known as Administaff), CareerBuilder, Bond International (formerly known as VCG Software), Success Performance Solutions, Reliant, Prophecy Healthcare and Getting Hired. For additional information, contact info@peopleclues.com or visit http://www.peopleclues.com.

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PeopleClues Executives Share Expert Insight on Identifying and Building a Personal Brand in New eBook

CHICAGO, July 17, 2012 ThoughtWorks, Inc.(www.thoughtworks.com), the global leader in custom software development services, today announced it was named one of "Chicago's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For," by the National Association of Business Resources (NABR). ThoughtWorks employs more than 200 of the brightest software and IT professionals out of its Chicago headquarters, with an additional 1,800 employees ("ThoughtWorkers") working from offices around the globe. The company continues to add people and is a highly sought-after technology employer due to its cutting-edge technology development, opportunity for both personal and professional growth, and corporate culture built upon Attitude, Aptitude and Integrity.

Recognized companies will be honored at a symposium and awards luncheon on Mon., Aug. 20, 2012 at the Chicago Oak Brook Marriott. To learn more, please visit (http://www.101bestandbrightest.com/winners).

"Creating a stimulating and challenging work environment helps attract outstanding people that share our passion to change the world for the better, whether that's through our social justice efforts or revolutionizing software development and deployment for enterprise IT," said Craig Gorsline, managing director for the Americas. "The fact that we were rated in the 80th percentile or higher on parameters such as: Employee Engagement and Retention, Employee Education and Development and Diversity and Inclusion is very satisfying."

The selection of the 2012 "Best and Brightest" companies is a result of an independent research firm that evaluates each company's entry in the following categories: Benefits and Employee Solutions; Employee Enrichment, Engagement and Retention; Employee Education and Development; Recruitment, Selection and Orientation; Employee Achievement and Recognition; Communication and Shared Vision; Diversity and Inclusion; Work-Life Balance; Community Initiatives and Strategic Company Performance.

"The selection, recognition and awarding of Chicago's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For allows businesses to showcase their best practices and demonstrate why each of them would be an ideal place for employees to work. This year's winning companies represent high standards and are an example for other companies to emulate," said Jennifer Kluge, NABR president. "We are proud to honor this year's 101 winners."

As a global leader in helping organizations adopt and leverage Agile development to transform IT and business operations, ThoughtWorks is recognized for both its business success and contributions to the larger IT community. Company employees are active in developing and sharing best practices that help shape the industry. ThoughtWorks also has developed some of the earliest free, open source Agile tools (Selenium and Cruise Control) that were integral in helping Agile become the mainstream practice it is today. In addition, ThoughtWorks contributes countless hours of support for non-profit causes.

About the National Association of Business Resources The National Association for Business Resources (NABR) advocates and represents small and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States. NABR specializes in providing businesses the benefits, programs, services, and assistance required to operate as efficiently and successfully as possible. Best practice solutions are available to members in the areas of human resources, healthcare, legal, transaction, compliance, marketing, and office services. For more information about NABR and its offerings, please visit http://www.nationalbiz.org or call 1-866-321-1822.

About ThoughtWorks ThoughtWorks, Inc. is a global IT consultancy providing Agile-based systems development, consulting and transformation services to Global 1000 companies. It has pioneered many of the most advanced and successful Agile methods of software development and best practices used in the industry today. At its core, ThoughtWorks helps its clients maximize investment and performance across a portfolio of complex, business-critical applications, while reducing time and risk. Its products division, ThoughtWorks Studios, offers tools to manage the entire Agile development lifecycle through its Adaptive ALM suite, comprised of Mingle, Go and Twist. ThoughtWorks employs 2000 professionals to serve clients from offices in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information please visit: (www.thoughtworks.com).

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ThoughtWorks Named One Of The Best And Brightest Companies To Work For In Chicago

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Aromatec Inc., a company engaged in the development of new products for the personal care and spa markets, today announced the launch of its patented new product, Essio, which creates an aromatherapy experience in the shower. Essio attaches to virtually any shower and works in conjunction with Aromatecs disposable pod, which slowly releases a blend of pure essential oils into the shower water to create an aromatic effect. The product is made from premium materials, assembled in Australia and uses only 100% USDA-certified organic essential oils sourced sustainably from around the world.

Aromatecs signature product the Essio Starter Kit - comes with the shower device plus three essential oil pods and requires no tools to set up. The starter kit is priced affordably at $44.99 and provides healthy lifestyle consumers a hassle-free way to enjoy one of the most ancient therapeutic traditions. A variety of blends, from a lavender-infused Night blend to a eucalyptus-based Breathe blend, are also available for purchase on the Essio website and are designed to suit the emotional state of customers at any given point in their day.

Consumers usually associate aromatherapy with an expensive treatment at the spa, said Peter Friis, the companys CEO and co-founder. With Essio, consumers can now take the spa home and enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy in the comfort of their personal shower. Essio transforms the traditional shower into a therapeutic and revitalizing experience that leaves the mind relaxed and the body refreshed, all at an affordable price.

A startup based out of Santa Monica, California, Aromatec has filed for and received patents for Essio in the U.S., Europe and China and has patents pending in Australia, Japan, Brazil and Canada. In tandem with the launch of its flagship product, Aromatec also announced the launch of its website (http://www.essioshower.com) where consumers can learn how the product works, and order products directly online. Essio is currently available for pre-order only, with inventory arriving later this year. In addition to selling Essio online, Aromatec will also sell the starter kit in upscale spas, high-end hotels and personal care, specialty retail channels.

Aromatherapy doesnt have to be complicated or expensive, added Friis. At the right price and convenience, consumers will embrace the concept wholeheartedly and thats exactly how we plan to position Essio, an affordable luxury for the healthy lifestyle consumer.

About Aromatec, Inc.

Aromatec, Inc. is a development company that is engaged in the development of new products for the growing spa and personal care markets. The company was founded by a family of experienced entrepreneurs, including Dr. Nils Friis who is the recipient of five previous patents, which have generated in excess of $1 billion in royalty income; Candace Friis, a leading real estate broker for the Corcoran Group, with cumulative sales in excess of $500 million; and Peter Friis, a former marketing and product development executive at Amazon.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50344349&lang=en

MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE:http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50344349&lang=en

Excerpt from:
New “Essio” Aromatherapy Shower Kit Brings the Spa Experience Home

A couple of local teens are learning the value of public service and personal development through a program offered by the federal government.

Caleb Vissier and Dallas Ernst are two of the teens who have gotten involved in the Congressional Award program who say the experience is a rewarding one.

Sherry Ernst was appointed to spearhead the program by Vicky Hartzler for the local district and said she wants to see more names from Missouri on the gold award list. In order to make that happen Ernst is asking schools, civic organizations and individual families to encourage youths between the ages of 13 and a half and 24 years-old to sign up.

The Congressional Award recognizes youth who finish certain amounts of hours in voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness and expedition/exploration at several different levels.

According to the program brochure, voluntary public service is providing service to others and the greater community at large. For example, Dallas Ernst spent the last year tutoring band students in music as part of his voluntary public service, while Caleb will be volunteering at a special needs camp towards the end of the summer.

Personal development is the time program participants spend developing their personal interests, social interests or employment skills. As part of his personal development time, Caleb Vissier said he volunteers his time with Backyard Bible Club, a Vacation Bible School type of experience that is held in people's backyards. Saxophone

The physical fitness portion of the program encourages youth to improve their quality of life through fitness activities. To fulfill the fitness requirements, Caleb trained to do a Volkslauf and Dallas has been setting goals to achieve while playing baseball.

In the area of expedition/exploration the program asks youth to undertake an outdoor, wilderness, or venture experience that is either historical, cultural, or environmental. Dallas said he was planning a kayaking trip on Lake Taneycomo for some of his hours in this area.

Sherry Ernst said she would like to point out that the boys are doing things they enjoy and getting rewarded for some things they would be doing anyway. Youth involved in things like 4H, Scouts, Sports, part-time jobs and leadership programs are already fulfilling a large part of the requirements for the Congressional Award.

Originally posted here:
Local teens work toward Congressional Award

VAIL, CO--(Marketwire -07/16/12)- Respect Network Corporation, a San Francisco based technology company, today announced it is forming a global network for the trusted exchange of personal data and has secured Neustar (NSR) and Swisscom (SCMN.VX) as founding partners. The announcement was made during the Open Identity Exchange Meeting taking place here during the 2012 Cloud Identity Summit this week.

"As personal data continues to be recognized as a source of macro-economic growth, it is vitally important to explore innovations which can both protect privacy and unlock value," said William Hoffman, head of the Rethinking Personal Data Initiative of the World Economic Forum. "This announcement moves the dialogue from concept to reality and demonstrates an approach for achieving a balanced ecosystem that can be locally based and globally scaled."

Specifically, the Respect Network is the first network being built from the ground up to give people control of their personal data and the ability to realize that data's value. Unlike centralized social networks, the Respect Network is a decentralized, multi-provider network much like today's email or banking networks. Additional partners in the network include Kynetx, Gluu, The OpenXDI Project, Project Danube, The Customer's Voice, Planetwork, and Bitworld. Ctrl-Shift and the Searls Group have also joined as lead consulting partners.

"Behavioral tracking, aggregation of personal data and the steady erosion of privacy have become pervasive concerns on the Internet today," offered Drummond Reed, Managing Director and former executive director of the Information Card Foundation as well as the Open Identity Exchange. "It is time we finally had an open standard network where individuals have direct control over where, when and how their personal data is being shared."

Founding partner Neustar is a trusted, neutral provider of real-time information and analysis to the Internet, telecom, entertainment and marketing industries throughout the world. "We are excited to work with a consortium of companies and personal data experts in the development of key infrastructure for the personal data ecosystem," said Mark Bregman, Neustar CTO.

Swisscom, the second founding partner, is Switzerland's leading telecom provider and one of the most trusted brands in Europe. "Individuals want to be able to share their personal data because it improves and enhances their life, but they want to do so in a secure manner where they are in control of their personal identity," suggested Daniel Gerber, VP of Business Development at Swisscom's Outpost in San Francisco. "We embrace the Respect Network vision of individuals exercising full control over their digital life."

Respect Network will be inviting select global brands to participate in this new consortium, enabling them to directly connect with customers in a way that has never been possible. For more information and details about participating, visit http://www.respectnetwork.com.

About Respect Network Corporation Respect Network is the world's first trusted personal data network. All members subscribe to the Respect Trust Framework, the new model for personal data sharing that is listed with the Open Identity Exchange and won the Privacy Award at the 2011 European Identity Conference. Individuals can join the Respect Network today through the Connect.Me personal recommendation service available at http://connect.me/.

About NeustarNeustar, Inc. is a trusted, neutral provider of real-time information and analysis to the Internet, telecommunications, entertainment and marketing industries throughout the world. Neustar applies its advanced, secure technologies in routing, addressing and authentication to its customers' data to help them identify new revenue opportunities and network efficiencies, and institute cyber security and fraud protection measures. More information is available at http://www.neustar.biz.

About SwisscomSwisscom is Switzerland's leading telecoms provider, with 6.1 million mobile customers and around 1.7 million broadband connections, and is one of the most trusted brands in Europe. For more information visit swisscom.ch.

Continued here:
Respect Network Brings Together Neustar and Swisscom as Founding Partners of World's First Trusted Data Network

By Tony Daltorio - July 16, 2012 | Tickers: ASML, INTC, NINOY.PK, TSM | 0 Comments

Tony is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

One of the companies that is often pointed to in the technology sector as a bellwether and as the world's top chip equipment maker is the Dutch company, ASML Holding NV ADR (NASDAQ: ASML). It not long ago gave a rather upbeat forward assessment of its business (thanks to smartphones and tablets), and now more good news is flowing for ASML shareholders.

The world's biggest semiconductor manufacturerand one of ASML's largest customers,Intel (NASDAQ: INTC)agreed to invest $4.1 billion into the company. Intel is putting $1 billion towards ASML's research and development costs as well as buying a 15 percent stake in the company for $3.1 billion.

Intel's major investment into ASML may soon be followed up by other sizable investments from other major customers. These customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ADR (NYSE: TSM) and Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC: SSNLF). It has been reported that ASML has asked its three biggest customers, accounting for 41 percent of its revenues, to help fund its R&D in exchange for up to 25 percent of the company.

Why would these three semiconductor companies be so anxious to help out ASML? Because they are very concerned about maintaining the progress in chip miniaturization over the coming years.

In particular, the money from Intel, Samsung and TSM will help ASML accelerate the development of the next step beyond laser technology, extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. This is a new process that is seen as key to producing smaller chips; it involves bouncing a laser beam off molten tin to produce a light ray just 13.5 nanometers in thickness. It also requires a vacuum inside the machine and mirrors instead of lenses to focus the light on the silicon. Current production techniques have a 193 nanometer width.

ASML is seen as the leader in the field, and it believes that the new technology will be able to be used for mass production of chips below 20 nanometers beginning in early 2013. The research money should allow it to break the 10 nanometer barrier later this decade.Transistors in today's chips are separated by a channel of 22 to 28 nanometers.

In addition, the money injections will be used to help with the development of equipment that can handle larger-sized, circular wafers from which chips are cut. The next generation 450 millimeter diameter wafers will contain roughly double the amount of chips as existing 300 millimeter wafers. Development of this technology should result in cost savings for chip makers of 30-40 percent.

From ASML's viewpoint, these investments will be key to it remaining number one in semiconductor equipment and ahead of its Japanese rival Nikon Corporation ADR (NASDAQOTH: NINOY.PK). That company is also working on EUV lithography technology and has ASML a bit worried. But the good news here is that it is believed Nikon is at least two years behind ASML in developing EUV technology, with its version of EUV technology not coming out until at least 2015. And the cash injection from Intel and the other major chip makers into ASML is sure to put Nikon even more behind the proverbial eight ball.

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ASML Strengthens Its Leadership in EUV Technology

Photo by Karen Quincy Loberg, Ventura County Star

KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Bert Beltran, video production artist, creates a template in an editing bay at Flow Motion Inc., a multimedia production company in Camarillo.

While most companies downsized when the economy took a dive four years ago, Christopher Mattock and his team at Flow Motion Inc. in Camarillo took a different route.

During that time, the company operated in Oxnard and worked on postproduction audio for personal development and other informational media.

While similar companies were slashing their prices for postproduction services, Mattock said, he decided to attract specific clientele based on a fair price point, quality work and first-class service.

"We were not looking to be the cheapest guy on the block," Mattock said. "We wanted to be about value and the first-class experience. That's what was most important to us."

During the past decade, Flow Motion Inc. has grown into a multimillion-dollar company. The company provides services including audio and film editing. Clients can send material to Flow Motion for editing or can record or film at the Camarillo facility, where the team edits the material.

Flow Motion also offers graphic design and Web development and manufactures CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray.

Founded by Mattock, 37, and his wife Jaime, 35, the company has grown into an international business at its 8,500-foot facility at 20 N. Aviator St., which also has a filming studio.

The couple moved their business from Boston in 2002 not only to escape the East Coast winters but also to seek new opportunities. Starting off in a new area with a business had its challenges, especially when the Mattocks decided to run their company from their 1,500-square-foot home.

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Camarillo film, audio company Flow Motion continues to grow