JANS — The 2012 State of the African American Consumer Report is scheduled to be released on Friday September 21, 2012 at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Conference in Washington DC. This is the second report to be released as part of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)/ Nielsen three-year partnership agreement. “This is an important time for our industry. The consumer report is a powerful tool that can be used to support the use of Black media publications for advertising and communications purposes,” stated Cloves Campbell, NNPA Chair. The press conference will be held at 9 a.m. at the Washington Convention Center. In conjunction with the CBC legislative weekend, NNPA members have scheduled a board meeting on Sept. 19 (closed to the nonmembers) and a Leadership Reception on Sept. 20 at the Washington Court

JANS – The Mobile WIN Job Center will set up shop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, August 30 at Hinds Community College, Performing Arts Complex, 34175 Mississippi 18 W in Utica. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security has four mobile WIN Job Centers that travel across the state, visiting towns and cities that don’t have permanent WIN Job Centers. The mobile units have 12 Internet-connected computer stations and are wheelchair accessible. Staff members are available to help job seekers. The mobile units are valuable tools for job searches, creating and updating resumes and other services. Customers are welcome to visit one of our Mobile WIN Job Centers, any of our 55 WIN Job Centers across the state or mdes.ms.gov.

Naomi Wright is excited about her new business venture she started recently, and well she should be! It’s Naomi’s Hat Boutique, located at 156 South Denver Street in Jackson, MS. Stop by and see her handmade hats. She promises a wide variety of colors, styles and designs. We’ll tell you more about this talented hat designer in a later issue. But for now, call her at 601-503-4683.

Fans, air conditioners and ‘smart strips’ given to elderly, disabled customers

JANS – Some 75 Hinds County residents left Shady Grove Recreation Center feeling a little better and a tad smarter about the heat today. After all, they had a new fan or air conditioner in hand, and a ‘smart strip’ power outlet, courtesy of Entergy Mississippi, Inc.’s Beat the Heat fan give-away program. This marks the 14th year of the program, which has provided more than 7,300 fans and more than 600 air conditioners to thousands of low-income, elderly and disabled customers in the state. This year, employees are distributing 200 oscillating fans and 36 window-unit air conditioners to pre-qualified Mississippi residents. Sixty-two of those fans and 13 air conditioners went to the Hinds County residents. For the first time, Entergy Mississippi is also giving away some 200 “smart strips” with every fan and air conditioner. These multi-plug power strips are more energy-efficient than standard power strips. ‘Smart strips’ monitor power consumption and can sense whether computers and other devices are on or off. When a device is off, it shuts off the power, eliminating the idle current drawn from them. “Our elderly customers are the most vulnerable when it comes to high heat,” said Louis Wright, customer service manager for Entergy Mississippi, Inc. in Jackson. “So we are thrilled to be able to give them these fans and air conditioners, and to help them offset any additional electrical use by providing the new power strips.” Entergy Mississippi partners with county action agencies and the Mississippi Department of Human Services to bring the Beat the Heat program to customers.

Over $2 million in prizes and money-saving offers

JANS – “Explore The Store,” the highly popular collect-and-win game returned to participating fred’s Super Dollar stores Monday, July 23, with more than $2 million worth of prizes, including $10,000 family vacations, a Ford F-150 Pickup, a Ford Mustang, and even a cash prize of $150,000. Store visitors are now able to play the game through November 4, 2012, or until all game tickets have been distributed. Thousands of gift cards, free products and money-saving discount coupons also will be available to shoppers as part of the “Explore the Store” collect and win game. “This is a unique contest that has been tremendously popular with our customers,” said Ursula Roman, marketing director for Fred’s Inc. “This year there are more prizes, which means shoppers will have an even better chance to win. At fred’s Super Dollar, we’re all about making people smile and nothing puts a smile on customers’ faces like winning exciting prizes.” Visitors at participating fred’s Super Dollar stores have a chance to win $150,000 his-and-hers luxury vehicles, a $150,000 home mortgage, and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Other prizes include $5,000 TRX 250X four-wheelers, a $2,500 MacBook Pro, $1,000 worth of gas, $600 Apple iPads, $500 shopping sprees, and $400 Wii Systems. Roman said fred’s Super Dollar customers also have the opportunity to earn fred’s smartcard points when purchasing specially marked fred’s brand bonus items or by redeeming fred’s brand “Explore the Store” cents-off or free item coupons. “Explore The Store” is easy to play. Customers will receive a game ticket each time they shop at a participating fred’s Super Dollar, plus they will also be awarded bonus game tickets with purchases of specially marked bonus products throughout the store. Shoppers can pick up an “Explore the Store Collect & Win” game board at their local participating fred’s Super Dollar. They can then attach the various game markers found inside their game tickets to the appropriate prize grids on their game board. When a prize grid is complete with the matching game markers, the customer wins the prize pictured on that particular prize grid. All the game marker spaces in a particular prize grid on the board must be matched and completed in order to win the prize represented in that prize grid. “It’s easy, plus the more you visit a participating fred’s Super Dollar, the more game tickets you can collect,” said Roman, who pointed out that shoppers will also receive either a 25-cent discount coupon or a free product coupon inside each game ticket. The Official Rules and Odds Chart are posted at every participating fred’s Super Dollar store and is also available

JANS – The Jackson CVB is introducing the Attractions Passport program that will allow consumers to purchase tickets for participating local attractions on-line. The first nine attractions included at this time are: the Jackson Zoo, the Margaret Walker Center, the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) Center, the Museum of Natural Science, the Children’s Museum, the Mississippi Museum of Art, the Sports Hall of Fame, the Old Capitol Museum and the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. Patrons can purchase tickets for both general admissions to the attractions as well as to special events. For attractions such as the Old Capitol Museum and the Margaret Walker Center that are free to the public, and other paid attractions, the program features Google maps, attraction information including hours and a description of the attraction. Attraction tickets are processed securely through PayPal. Once the user creates a profile and is in the Passport system, tickets can be purchased for any attraction. The user will receive a secure email conformation to bring to the attraction to redeem. For more information on the Jackson Conven

MPB receives awards for “Freedom Writers”

programming and “Job Hunter” series

JANS – Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) received two bronze 2012 Telly Awards for the series of “Freedom Riders” public service announcements and the “Job Hunter” television show. The Telly Award is the premier award honoring the finest broadcasting productions. “The Freedom Riders” public service announcements (PSAs) document the Freedom Rides of 1961, which began in Washington, D.C. and ended in Jackson, Miss. The series of 40 PSAs illustrate that although the violence and turmoil in Alabama are often emphasized, the experience in Mississippi eventually brought the efforts of the Freedom Riders to a head, yet remains largely unknown. The Freedom Riders experience in Mississippi led to lasting change in America; however, this aspect of their story had not often been told,” said Edie Greene, MPB producer of the “Freedom Writers” PSAs. “Being honored with a Telly is always great, but the real honor is telling Mississippians about this aspect of their history.” “Job Hunter” explores careers in the local manufacturing business and features Mississippi companies in the automotive, aerospace, heavy metal, and polymer industries. The television series shows viewers where to acquire skills they need to be competitive in the advanced manufacturing job market. “My goal is to make each “Job Hunter” episode as fun and exciting as possible while maintaining high production value,” said Katie Savage, MPB producer. “A combination of great editing, camera work, a clever script, important information and a talented and professional host is what played a major role in receiving the Telly Award.”

JANS – Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. joined officials for the grand opening celebration for the Stuart C. Irby Company and Sonepar USA’s new 85,000 square-foot state-of-the-art building at the corner of Silas Brown and President Streets. “We are pleased that the City of Jackson was able to work with the Irby Company in their decision to expand in the Capital City,” said Mayor Johnson. “This facility marks a new chapter in the history of the Irby Company, but the exceptional products, great customer service and commitment to community remain the same.” The project represents a company investment of over $6 million and will create 10 new jobs, bringing the total number to 156 in Jackson. Both Commercial and Industrial and Utility Sales operate in the new building. A 50,000 sq. ft. warehouse is adjacent to the retail space. Office space makes up 17,000 sq. ft. And, a 100-seat Training Center is available for employees. Irby opened its doors over 85 years ago as a single branch in Jackson, MS. The Irby footprint now includes 50 branches in 21 states. In April 2011, the city passed a resolution that granted a partial ad valorem tax exemption for the project. The partial ad valorem tax exemption is an incentive program intended to encourage new businesses to locate or existing businesses to expand and create new jobs in Jackson Irby was incorporated in Jackson, MS in 1926— eighty six years ago. In 1939, Stuart C. Irby purchased a small lot at 815 S. State Street for $3,600. In 1974, additions occurred allowing for a newer and larger sales counter. Sonepar USA, the leading international electrical equipment distributor, acquired the Stuart C. Irby Company in 2005.

JANS – Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. presented the City Council with a contract with Immix Technology for the procurement of an electronic time and attendance system at last week’s City Council meeting. The recommendation comes a week after the presentation of a Technology Assessment Plan to the City Council by technology consultants, Berry Dunn. The Plan was developed after an extensive technology review and, among other things, cited the need for an automated timekeeping system as a critical component to more efficient City operations. “We are pleased that our administration had already foreseen the need for automation of our payroll processes, allowing us time to conduct an extensive vetting process and identify a vendor who can best meet all of our needs around time keeping and attendance and absence management,” said Mayor Johnson. Among other things, the proposed solution will create greater accountability by ensuring that non-exempt staff are paid for actual time worked, reduce costs by allowing the City to more effectively manage controllable overtime, reduce payroll expenses by eliminating payroll errors created by manual entry of time worked and leave taken, ensure the accurate interpretation and consistent application of pay practices across all City departments, and reduce the need for physical storage space to house paper records. The proposal came from Kronos Incorporated, a leader in time and attendance solutions and a vendor with proven success with numerous public and private sector organizations in Mississippi and throughout the country. According to Lee Unger, Director of Administration, Kronos was recommended because of their fully integrated approach to implementation of the system. “Far from just providing us with the hardware and software to ensure a working product, the Kronos team will provide assistance with pay rules analysis to help optimize our pay practices, position classification guidance and change management to help ensure a successful implementation process and increase staff utilization,” said Unger The Kronos System will be fully implemented by October and employees will log attendance using a biometric signature (fingerprint) and a pin number. The City Council unanimously approved the $755,389 contract.