MarketingAction.com - Practical Marketing Solutions and Karen's other comments on the world around Loomis, CA

Sierra College trains Vets in CCC for Energy Jobs

January 24, 2012 – 11:46 am

Sierra College CACT announced: “Veterans who served as medics, ammunition specialists and security forces are transitioning to civilian employment as the result of a Sierra College Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT) and California Conservation Corps (CCC) partnership. Nine veterans who are on the CCC crew [were] awarded Energy Technology and Lighting Systems Completion Certificates from Sierra College CACT” on January 20, 2012.

Auburn Journal: http://auburnjournal.com/detail/198396.html

Marketing Action is honored to be part of the team working on this collaboration to put veterans to work in skilled jobs.

By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Clients, Clients in the news, Sacramento Business | Tagged CACT, CCC, employer training, Rocklin, Sierra College, Sierra College Training, veterans | Comments (0)

Sierra College Mechatronics – New Movies

October 26, 2011 – 3:39 pm

Sierra College Mechatronics students are learning real skills needed for real jobs and readily finding employment in the Sacramento region.

Watch this movie about what students should know about Mechatronics: STUDENTS Learn Real Skills for Real Jobs

See what employers and graduates say about opportunities for those with Mechatronic skills: EMPLOYERS Your Source for Well Prepared Technicians

By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Clients, Sacramento Business, Uncategorized | Tagged Career Technical Education, Mechatronics, real skills real jobs, Sierra College, Sierra College Training, technician training | Comments (0)

Soroptimist: Cowboy Chow with Poets Nov 11-12

October 26, 2011 – 3:32 pm

Cowpoke Fall Gathering dinner tickets available now

Tickets are now on sale for Friday & Saturday dinners, including mealtime entertainment, with cowboy poets who will gather in Loomis on Nov. 10-13 for The Cowpoke Fall Gathering.

Soroptimist International of Loomis Basin will be serving up large baked potatoes stacked with hearty beef and a bazoo of tasty toppings, salad and dessert from 4-6 PM on Friday night, Nov. 11, for just $10.

Tri-tip, baked beans, salad, cornbread and dessert are on the menu for Saturday, Nov. 12 from 3-6 PM at $15 per person.

A no host bar will be available both days. Meals will be served at the Loomis Veterans’ Memorial Hall, located at 5945 Horseshoe Bar Road in Loomis. Tickets are available by calling (916) 652-6113 or online at cowpokefallgathering.com. The meals are open to the public.

17^th Annual Cowpoke Fall Gathering performers will attend the dinners. “All Hat, No Cattle” will be performing on Friday during the meal. The band is known for a very unique cowboy-country style mixed with a little blues and distinctive originals. On Saturday, John Kintz will perform poetry and songs during dinner. Kintz resides in Loomis, raises cows and horses, and performs for trail rides and cowboy gatherings.

Funds from the dinner ticket sale will support Cowpoke Fall Gathering charities: Ride to Walk, Tough Enough to Wear Pink and the South Placer Heritage Foundation as well as Soroptimist International of Loomis Basin community projects.

To learn more Soroptimist International of Loomis Basin, visit a Wednesday 8 AM weekly meeting at ‘The Train Depot’ (Taylor Rd. & Horseshoe Bar Rd.) in Loomis, or contact Nancy Hogan, President at 530-613-1541.

Soroptimist (soroptimist.org) is an international volunteer service organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. Soroptimist International of Loomis Basin is a 501(c)(3) organization. The club supports Loomis LIFE center, women’s transition home and other community projects.

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By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Reflections on Loomis, Uncategorized | Tagged 2012, Cowboy poetry, Dinner at Cowboy poetry, Fall gathering, Loomis, Meals, Soroptimist, Soroptomist Loomis Basin, The Cowpoke Fall Gathering | Comments (0)

Spooktacular Dance benefits Military Oct. 7 in Loomis

September 21, 2011 – 1:51 pm

The 3rd Annual Red, White & Blue “Spooktacular” Benefit Dance dedicated to American Armed Forces and Veterans will be held on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 PM at the Blue Goose Fruit Shed, located at 3550 Taylor Rd, in Loomis. Bring your friends and neighbors for a fun evening of dancing, contests and showing your appreciation to our military.

Enjoy dancing to live 60’s & 70’s music by the 9.5 band, a no-host bar, raffle prizes and supporting the Armed Forces. Entertainment includes Miss Placer County helping with Halloween Costume and Hula-Hooping contests. Come early to take part in a Free Group Swing Dance Class 6-7PM. Tickets are $25 per couple and $15 for single and available at Camelot Costumes, 3717 Taylor Rd in Loomis and the Loomis Chamber of Commerce, 6090 Horseshoe Bar Road in Loomis, as well as by calling 916-652-8441, or at the door.

All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit Wounded Warriors Family Support Division (http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ ) and Courage For The Journey military and veterans services offered through the Gold Country Chaplaincy (http://www.goldcountrychaplaincy.com/).

This year special recognition will be given to survivors of Pearl Harbor, according to Red, White & Blue Spooktacular Dance organizer, Sheila Lee. “I have been privileged to hear many stories from our veterans that they usually don’t share,” said Lee. “It makes me so proud and I am passionate about making this benefit a success so we can give support to military families.”

Lee is also collecting photos to post at the dance and encouraged people to drop off copies of photos of their military experience at her store, Camelot Costumes, 3717 Taylor Rd in Loomis, email them to camelotcostumes@sbcglobal.net or call her at 916-652-8441.

Demonstrating her patriotism by organizing this event, Lee wants to give others a way to show their support to those who serve or have served our country. She often quotes G.K. Chesterton – “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” “Join us for a great evening that will make you proud to be an American,” said Lee.

Event sponsors include 92.1 KHITS, Black Bear Outdoors, Loomis Brewing Company and Camelot Costumes. Soroptimist International of Loomis Basin and 17 other businesses, organizations and individuals are also contributing to the benefit.

By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Reflections on Loomis, Uncategorized | Tagged benefit, dance, Loomis, Military, Oct 7, Red White & Blue dance, Soroptimist, spooktacular dance | Comments Off

Teachers teaching teachers MasterCam

June 6, 2011 – 6:58 pm

On June 6, the Sierra STEM Collaborative coordinated a MasterCam training for high school and college instructors.

Two high school teachers guided the group as they made aluminium dominoes and stacking blocks.

Learn more at www.sierraschoolworks.com and http://sierraschoolworks.com/section/curriculum/stem-academy/mastercam-training-inspires-teachers/

By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Clients | Comments (0)

Loomis Soroptimist Presents Awards

March 26, 2011 – 2:18 pm

Soroptimist International of Loomis Basin (SILB) presented community awards on Wednesday, March 23 at the Train Depot in Downtown Loomis. The club’s fundraising efforts such as the recent Tostada Bingo, held March 12, enable the club to support women and children in our community.

Violet Richardson Award

Sarah A. Dietz (16), a student at Del Oro High School, received the Violet Richardson Award that recognizes young women who make the community and world a better place through volunteer efforts. She won a cash award and selected the Senior L.I.F.E. Center of Loomis as the non-profit organization to receive the other half of the award. Dietz also volunteers at the Sacramento Crisis Nursery. “When we were there, we played with the children cooked dinner and did an activity,” said Dietz.

Women’s Opportunity Award

Ashley Day of Citrus Heights, a single mother of two children, won the Women’s Opportunity Award that aids women who must support their families and need additional training to upgrade their employability. Day attends Intercoast College with the goal of becoming an Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Instructor Donna Brint said that passion, desire and education are essential elements for a counselor. “Ashley has passion and desire and with the help of Soroptimist will gain her education,” said Brint.

Ruby Award

Amy Beazizo, R.N., BSN, OCN, won the Soroptimist Ruby Award for Women Helping Women that is given to those who improve the lives of other women or girls through their professional or personal activities. Beazizo is the Clinical Manager of the Breast Health Center at Sutter Roseville, a Not for Profit Organization that provides support and education to women and men diagnosed with breast cancer. According to Brenda Newsom, SILB Past-President, Beazizo helps women who seek emotional, intellectual and physical support as they begin their journey with Breast Cancer. “Amy meets with each woman seeking help, listens to her story and moves the woman into their program of counseling and free services,” said Newsom. “She is making a dramatic improvement in the lives of countless women who have heard the words, ‘You have breast cancer’ by moving them out of the terror zone and into the educated zone.”

Senior L.I.F.E. Center of Loomis

Fred & Acsa Hitchen received a grant to continue their work at the Senior L.I.F.E. Center of Loomis, a place where adults over 55 years of age can enjoy leisure through social and educational activities. Soroptimist International Loomis Basin helped establish the center and has supported the program since its inception.

Teacher Grants

SILB provides small grants to help fund teachers’ long-term projects that will benefit numerous classes over time.

Laurel Nichols, Second Grade Teacher at H. Clarke Powers, will use her grant for DVD Listening Center to expose children to wonderful stories and teach them phrasing, expression and accuracy.

Steve Harber and Linsey Dalben, Sixth Grade Teachers at H. Clarke Powers, received a grant to help pay for the shipping of 50-60 care boxes being sent to soldiers stationed in Afghanistan with the daughter of the school clerk.

Tiffany Senkbeil, Fourth Grade Teacher at Franklin Elementary, expects to purchase a set of 30 Island of the Blue Dolphin books for her class with the grant. The story consistently engages and interests students in reading and other cultures.

Carolynn Basque and Kathryn Leupp, First Grade Teachers at Franklin Elementary, plan to use the grant to purchase sets of leveled reading books to teach each child at his or her reading level or ability.

Christie D’Ambrosio, First Grade Teacher at Loomis Basin Charter School, intends to use her grant funds to help purchase an incubator and heat lamps to raise chicks and teach students about embryonic development.

Justin VonSpreckelsen, Second Grade Teacher at Loomis Basin Charter School, received a grant to purchase MP3 players so that students can record themselves reading and then classmates can listen to the recording as they read to improve fluency, compression and expression.

The club supports Loomis Women’s Shelter, Loomis LIFE center, Relay for Life, and other community projects.

To learn more Soroptimist International of Loomis Basin, contact Rhonda Morillas, president, 916-652-5276. Meetings are held weekly on Wednesdays at 8 AM (first Wednesday excepted).

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By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Reflections on Loomis | Tagged Community awards, Loomis, Loomis soroptimist, Marketing Action, Soroptimist | Comments (0)

Increase Capacity without Adding Costs April 5/6

March 18, 2011 – 2:53 pm

Is your company struggling to meet increased demand with limited staff? If your organization is missing deadlines or has a backlog of unfilled orders, this workshop on how to Increase Capacity without Adding Costs will help you improve capabilities to meet customers’ needs. Learn how to apply Value Stream Mapping tools to use existing assets more effectively.

Discover ways to boost your profits at this Increase Capacity without Adding Costs workshop on applying Lean Value Stream Mapping tools. Sierra College Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT), offers this training at the Gateway Campus, 333 Sunrise Rm. 123 in Roseville from 8:30 to 4:30 on April 5 & 6. Jes Vargas, DPMG Corp. and CACT Trainer is the presenter. The fee is $50. Learn more at www.sierracollegetraining.com.

Using this mapping tool, one company discovered that it took 23 days to do three minutes of work. Another saved $800,000 revamping cell phone contracts and policies. The most common time wasters are redundancy, unnecessary steps, waiting for material and information, and redoing work because information is missing. Value Stream Mapping enables employees to look in depth at current business activities, depict what’s happening visually and make changes that increase capacity to meet demand using existing resources.

At this workshop, learn how to draw a picture of what is happening and identify improvements:

Look in detail at each step of a specific business process
Diagram what happens and who works on it
Show bottlenecks and wait times
Gather data on how much time each action takes
Distinguish the steps that add value for the customer and those that don’t

A Sacramento firm used Value Stream Mapping to review an accounting process. Employees discovered that they spent time on scanning, printing, creating duplicates and filing documents that contained information that was stored on computers. They used Value Stream Mapping to reduce six steps to three, cut the process time in half and save over 250 hours annually.

Gain a competitive advantage by attending this interactive workshop with industry examples:

Learn how Value Stream Mapping works and how to apply it
Identify methods for gathering data, timing activities and showing steps on a process map
Experience making Value Stream Maps that reflect the current situation and desired state
Use maps to engage employees, support initiatives and link waste to cost savings

For information and to sign up, go to the Sierra College Training & Development web site, www.sierracollegetraining.com, call (916) 660-7801 or email training@sierracollege.edu.

By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Clients, Innovation, Sacramento Business | Tagged Business Training, employer training, Increase business capacity, Lean Enterprise, Lean Training, office process training, Roseville, Value Stream Mapping, Workshops in Roseville | Comments (0)

CCC Completes Training to Energize Careers

March 3, 2011 – 7:18 pm

Congratulations to the California Conservation Corps (CCC ) Placer Energy Center in Auburn: The Technical Education in Energy Efficiency and Construction training developed by Sierra College CACT for the CCC was approved as pre-apprenticeship by the Northern California Laborers Union.

As part of the last week of classes, speakers from SMUD and the Laborers Union addressed participants, answered their questions and provided career advice. The presentations were inspiring.

The 128 hour Technical Education in Energy Efficiency and Construction (TE³C) training included building science basics, worker safety, weatherization measures, energy efficiency and alternative energy fundamentals. The goal was to prepare Corps members for entry-level employment in the Energy Efficiency Construction Industry. Over 50 Corps members participated in at least one of the five hands-on classes.

Education programs like this and at high schools and colleges benefit from industry support. Many Sacramento area employers generously share their expertise. How can your business help?

Be a speaker about your company, the industry, and what a typical day is like on the job
Provide career advice to students
Allow a student or an instructor to spend several hours or days at your business doing a “job shadow”
Hire a student intern
Take a recent graduate to your professional association meeting
Serve on an advisory committee to help educators understand the skills your business looks for in new hires
Donate equipment that classes can use to develop real world skills

Your contribution may energize a young person’s career.

By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Clients in the news, Sacramento Business | Tagged Auburn, CCC, Energy Efficient Construction, Energy training, future workforce | Comments (0)

Sierra School Works makes math matter

January 28, 2011 – 6:41 pm

Watch the movie: STEM Tech-Explorer Catapult – Sierra School Works Applied Math entered in the STEMposium contest.

Middle and high school students are being introduced to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers by making catapults. In addition, Sierra School Works (www.sierraschoolworks.com) with Sierra College in Rocklin, CA won a National Science Foundation grant to develop and test the impact of integrating mathematics curriculum into the hands-on catapult building experience.

Students converted fractions and decimals from English and metric measurements on drawings. They used scales, protractors and compasses to measure and mark catapult parts. Once the catapults were built using mills, lathes and other power tools, the students measured the distance, height and speed of launches and inserted the results into the parabolic equation to determine the best launch angle. Learning by doing, they discovered why math matters.

Making math matter to students is critical to their success in pursing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers. They need a reason to keep taking math classes. Sierra School Works developed this Tech-Explorer catapult project to engage students and give them experiences applying math.

Accurately converting fractions results in parts that will fit together to make a catapult.
Applying the parabolic equation to select the best launch angle will allow their balls to fly the farthest.

It is harder than it looks to develop math lessons, insert them into hands-on projects and use the lessons to reinforce the math skills and interests of students of various ages and expertise. Oakmont High School students in Roseville, CA were the first to test the Sierra School Works math-enhanced Tech-Explorer catapult project developed with Sierra College and National Science Foundation support. It successfully modeled how to engage students in applying math. Learn more at (www.sierraschoolworks.com ).

By Karen Fraser-Middleton | Posted in Clients | Tagged catapults, hands-on learning, integrated curriculum, Math, project based learning, sierra school works, Sierra STEM, STEM, STEM education, stemposium | Comments (0)

Jan. 26 — Lean tools to boost success in 2011

January 18, 2011 – 11:05 am

Learn how to cut waste and improve your business process at “Lean Principles to Sustainability” hosted by Sierra College Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT) in conjuction with DPMG Corp. on January 26, 2011 at the Roseville Gateway Campus, 333 Sunrise Ave, Roseville, CA from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. $50 registration.

This one-day lecture and interactive educational forum introduces Lean Thinking as a methodology to identify and eliminate waste from processes in any organization and achieve sustainability. Gain tools to boost your competitve edge in 2011:

Get an overview of lean principles to begin to recognize how to identify and eliminate waste in your own organization
Learn to leverage Lean Thinking to achieve sustainability
Define and understand the different types of waste as viewed by your customers
Get the “Big Picture” – transform your business
Remove the Myths about “Lean Thinking”
Apply Lean Principles to “do it right the first time”
Learn how Lean Principles can create a collaborative partnership between people and valued partners
Experience a real world practical application through simulation of the how the lean principles can generate measurable outcomes
Learn from professionals; begin to practice the process in this educational forum to save time and money

Upcoming Lean Workshops: Feb 22-23 Business Process Mapping — Identify the steps and practices for breaking down a process and create a System and Relationship Process Map and April 5-6 Value Stream Mapping (VSM) — See the step-by-step development of current and future state value stream maps and how they can be used with improvement initiatives.

Learn more at Sierra College CACT and Training & Development under 2011 Lean workshops.