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Ghost Writing

Message to Veterans from Co-CEOs

Good afternoon Military Veterans and Military Spouses,

We want to take a moment to thank you for your service to our country. Whether you were on the front lines or supporting those at home, you play an integral part in keeping our country safe and free. We truly appreciate all of the personal sacrifices you made or are making.

To those of you who served, thank you for taking that time away from your family to protect our country. You have our gratitude for your willingness to put yourself in harm’s way for the sake of every American. You are heroes and we wouldn’t be the nation we are without people like you.

For those of you at home who hold down the fort and support your families when our soldiers are called to duty, we appreciate the sacrifices you make.

Wishing you a Happy Military Spouses Day and Military Appreciation Month!

Informative Series

These blurbs were shared in a daily newsletter to spread awareness and understanding of a newly launched resource

Part 1:

The Agent Help Center is a robust tool, but do you know all the secrets of this resource? Check out these six facts that may just surprise you!

The more you search, the better the content becomes! Because we can see what terms people are searching for, we can see what content you need most – even if it’s not already housed on the Help Center.
You can submit a request for specific content right in the Help Center. Click on “Submit a request” in the upper right-hand corner to let us know what you would like to see added.
The Agent Help Center is not hosted on Voyager, but instead on the same platform that we use to host our customer-facing Help Centers. That is why you are asked for a password when using the Agent Help Center.
You only have to login one time a day. You should only be asked to log in to the Agent Help Center once a day or if you restart your computer. If you are asked to log in every time, please contact Tech Support.
You can still easily get back to Voyager from the Help Center. Simply click on “Back to Main Site” at the top right-hand corner to be redirected back to Voyager.
You can download a file from the Help Center. Sometimes you will have an article with a file attached. You can find the file at the end of the article and simply have to click on it to download.

Part 2:

Imagine that you are cooking pasta. You want to test the doneness of your noddle so you grab a spoon. If you grab a spoon with no holes in it and scoop your pasta out of the hot water you would have to risk burning your fingers to get to the noddle. However, if you grab a slotted spoon then all the hot water will fall out and let you easily grab your noddle. The hot water is still an important part of the process, otherwise, we wouldn’t have a cooked noodle. However, we just need to use the right tools at different stages to make the entire meal come together.

This is the same concept behind why we use the Agent Help Center instead of Voyager for many of your agent resources. Using the Agent Help Center allows us to get you to your noddle faster and easier. It allows all the other things that we house on Voyager to slip away so that you can get to what you need. The more robust search and reporting capabilities on the help center platform allows us to ensure that you are getting the information you need in your day to day activities – perfectly al dente!

Internal Policy

Columbus’ Commitment to Give Back

Columbus’ social commitment is to enable nation building through community development and the development of social assets. Columbus and its brands are committed to demonstrating good corporate citizenship through the following core pillars:

i. Conquering the digital divide by promoting learning through technology and resource capacity building.

ii. Fostering prosperous communities by promoting national identity through arts and culture, building stronger communities through sports and community partnering.

All the Columbus’ brands are committed to fulfilling these philosophies in the communities that they serve.

i. Conquering the Digital Divide

Promoting Learning Through Technology
Columbus is proud to support the education of individuals at all levels by providing schools, colleges, and universities with the technology needed to keep up with worldwide competencies. Across Flow territories, all public schools that pass by our network benefit from free Cable and Broadband services to enrich the educational competencies and keep the Caribbean youth competitive in the world landscape. More than 250 schools have benefited from this program to-‐date.

In addition, we partner with various service groups to improve the teaching and learning environment of schools through computer donations, access to educational software, mentoring and specific skills building. To date, more than 10,000 children have
benefited across the region.

Resource Capacity Building
Columbus supports initiatives that increase technology competencies for business’ and companies within the region. Our focus is on teaching organizations to leverage technology to do things better, as well as to continue growing and increasing individual competencies. Columbus is focused on supporting local business organizations, leading enrichment seminars and sustaining local communities with the tools to grow competencies, ensuring not only individual but regional success.

ii. Fostering Prosperous Communities:

Promoting National Identity Through Arts and Culture
Columbus is committed to sponsoring the rich and diverse culture of the region it serves. Embracing the communities it enters, Columbus is dedicated to persevering and encouraging the growth of the local cultures and arts through programs at local and national levels. Leveraging technology to sustain the vibrant cultures it serves, Columbus is proud to put an emphasis on music, film and other cultural activities.

Building Stronger Communities Through Sports
Columbus is committed to being a part of the game in the countries, communities, and neighborhoods we serve. Columbus shares our customer’s passion for sports and we strive to play a meaningful and relevant role across the region by supporting local events. Focused on building the region from the bottom up with strong local programs, Columbus is proud to sponsors community programs and youth leagues.

Community Partnering
Columbus is committed to partnering with the communities it serves. Working with both public and private sector partners across the region to identify areas of greatest need, Columbus supports a myriad of initiatives that benefit the underserved. Committed to supporting initiatives that improve the lives of the entire community through both children and adult programs, Columbus is focused on enriching the region at all levels.

Newsletter Articles

What a Catch! HOK 2015 Raises a Record Amount for Sheridan House

As the sun set over the bay on August 6th, the Annual Hooked on Kids Fishing Tournament began what would be the biggest event yet. This year HOK raised over $113,000 for Sheridan House, bringing the overall seven-year event total to over half a million dollars.

BBI clients, employees, and friendlies, along with Sheridan House representatives, came together for the Waterfront Captain’s Dinner at the Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort.

Welcoming guests to the event, BBI President Robert Taylor joked “We don’t have a hurricane this year, so that’s reason to be thankful right there!” before going on to speak about the real reason for coming together, Sheridan House. “It is a great event for a great cause. It is a charity that our company and my family have supported for many years. They fundamentally assist children, families, single mothers, and they truly do the work of angels. BBI is happy and proud to support them.”

Before guests lined up for a delightful dinner featuring made to order steaks and mashed potato martinis, among other delicacies, Dr. Bob Barnes, President of Sheridan House, took a moment to share some thoughts. “I want to tell you what you are doing because it is a big. One of the things we do is we help families with information. We have a daily radio broadcast across the state and have now gone over the 1 million mark. We’ve had opportunities to speak at seminars all around the country with 136,000 people reached last year. Our podcast, Parenting on Purpose, had 309,000 listeners.”

Barnes continued, “This past year 3,618 single moms and their children got help. Our counseling centers will provide over 5,000 sessions this year. And when these things do not work, we have our 60-acre campus where children come live with us. You need to know the impact you are having; it is bigger than, oh we are giving money to this place called Sheridan House.”

The kickoff event featured a Silent Auction with popular items like a Hard Rock Energy Guitar and Garmin Sports packages keeping partygoers on their toes and raising even more money. Shelby, Robert’s daughter, and Sheridan House volunteer pulled the winning Raffle ticket with the lucky winner, David , receiving a trip to NAPA Valley and San Francisco.

The following morning participants fueled up on a hearty breakfast before embarking on their missions for the longest and the most. Boats scoured the seas within 40 miles of the event, enjoying the Florida flats before heading back inside for an afternoon snack of sliders and tacos. The awards ceremony took place on Friday afternoon. Congratulations to our winners!

Conquering the Giant for Good

It was a brisk morning as Burdette Beckmann employees gathered on the Sheridan House Campus to take on the challenging Goliath Gauntlet. The team amped themselves up at the starting line, jumping and laughing in nervous excitement as the speaker blared the countdown. Ready. Set. Off they went on a 3.5-mile course that featured 20 physically and mentally challenging obstacles. The brave participants negotiated walls and tires, water and mud crawls, each harder than the last, to conquer the course.

Participants included BBI President, Robert Taylor Jr., who after crossing the finish line reflected, “I am very proud of the turnout for this event. Our employees are not getting paid to be out here on a Saturday; they are doing this out of the kindness of their hearts, in support of a great cause. I could not be more impressed at the quality of their character.”

Several representatives from the company came out to cheer on the team that finished 8th among the 31 teams competing in the time trials. All participants finished the course in under an hour and fifteen minutes.

All of the proceeds from the Goliath Gauntlet go to support the children’s homes at Sheridan House. Sheridan House is committed to offering community services, which give children and families the opportunity to reach their full, God-given, potential; opportunities that might otherwise not be available due to impending circumstances in the home.

In addition to residential care for at-risk middle-school aged children, Sheridan House conducts Marriage and Parenting Seminars and offers parenting help through ParentingOnPurpose.org. Sheridan House also has two counseling centers with professional counselors who worked with 3,801 individuals in 2013. Sheridan House also helps single moms. In 2013, 3,618 single moms and children received training and assistance (food, clothing, school supplies, financial assistance, furniture and other material items). The Single Parent Ministry is a “hand-up”, not a handout… to receive ongoing assistance single mothers attend classes designed to equip them for life.

Nothing Is Impossible: Hector’s Story

There will always be moments in life when we face challenges that seem insurmountable. These can be as small as learning a new computer system or as heartbreaking as facing devastating life altering accidents.

There is a story about a granddaughter who goes to her grandmother for advice after she learns that her life is falling apart. The grandmother says nothing but goes to the kitchen and put three pots of water to boil. In one she puts carrots, in the second she puts an egg and in the third, she puts coffee beans. After a while, she pulls the pots off the stove and explains.

The boiling water represents life’s challenges. The carrot has turned to mush in the water, falling apart as she pulls it out. You see, she says, the carrot lets its challenge make it weak. The egg, now hard boiled, has let its challenge make it hard and unyielding. However, as she shows the granddaughter the pot with the aromatic coffee she explains, you see the coffee beans transformed its surroundings during its challenges. It did not let its challenges change them, but rather changed the challenges into something rich and good.

When Hector Picard had more than 13,000 volts of electricity pass through his body in a devastating work accident, he faced a choice. He could be a carrot, give up and spend the rest of his life letting his new physical challenges define him. He could have become angry and bitter about his circumstances and become like the egg, or he could transform himself like the coffee beans and continue to fight for not only for normalcy but excellence. Since the accident that left him as a double amputee, Hector has completed 115 triathlons, including four Ironman-distance races. He has cycled from Miami to Spokane, Washington, and from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to New York City.

When we face challenges, whether they are at work or home, we should remind ourselves of Hector’s story. As individuals, we must remember that there is nothing greater than the power of our determination and fortitude. We must always strive to be the coffee, strong and powerful when facing the greatest of tests.

Click here to find out more about Hector’s story and determination to continue living life to the fullest.

Hunger Activist Inspires Employees

On March 16^th and 17^th BBI South Florida had a unique visitor, hunger activist Kylee McCumber. When Kylee was only ten years old, she was surprised to see children at her school eating on campus when she arrived. Discovering that the reason behind this was their lack of food at home, she decided to do something about it. Along with the help of Lori, her grandmother, Kylee founded Kylee’s Kare Kits for Kidz.

Starting with ten kids, Kylee’s Kare Kits for Kidz has grown exponentially in the last few years. They now support over 200 children with Kare Kits every weekend. These fortunate children are sent home with plastic bags filled with non-perishable food items every week, an endeavor that costs the non-profit $900 a week. Beyond the Kare Kits, the organization has also started planning small events for the children, like a gift program at Christmas time or an ice cream social; where one little boy got to try the sweet treat for the first time.

Kylee has also made strides towards raising awareness about food insecurity outside the confines of her Massachusetts home. She is one of the spokespeople for an inspirational campaign sponsored by Unilever called Project Sunlight. She was invited to speak in India, was a guest on the Queen Latifah show and was featured in a series of commercials as a future leader and activist.

During her visit, BBI was proud to support Kylee in her cause by presenting a donation of $5,000, which will be used to feed children over the summer months. Kylee was invited to visit BBI by President, Robert Taylor, and efforts are being made by the leadership team to support her initiative whenever possible.

Kylee shared her amazing message of giving with employees, many who were touched and teary after hearing her amazing story and call to action. No matter where you are, this young food activist wants people to recognize the struggles that many face just to keep their families fed. Whether it’s donating money or items to a local or national effort, or sharing this important message with the youth in your lives and encouraging them to embrace the spirit of giving, we can all do our part to help to fight hunger.