Help make an impact tomorrow night during the One Family, One Night event at River Music Experience featuring The Lion in Rome, Bailiff, and Tambourine. Proceeds from the night will go to one local family in need. Centered on live music just for kids, Kidz Days at RME returns Saturday with Steve Couch. Later that evening, chart-topping blues/rock artist, Anthony Gomes, takes the stage with Winter Blues All-Stars in the Redstone Room!

 500 free flu shots, a job fair, national anthem tryouts, and more...find it all at Modern Woodmen Park on Saturday when the River Bandits and Genesis Health System host Community Day. Those looking for employment opportunities have a chance to speak with employers from main Street Amusements, the River Bandits, and Professional Sports Catering. Interested in entertaining fans prior to home games? Be sure to check out the National Anthem and talent auditions.

 Looking for ways to expand your artistic abilities? Downtown businesses and organizations provide TONS of opportunities to do so. Whether you're interested in painting your own masterpiece at Re-Cre8 Studio or taking a class at Atom Studio + Gallery, there's no shortage of art classes right at your fingertips. Don't forget the Figge has monthly art classes, too!

 The Adler has a handful of hits coming up in February, so get those calendars ready! The Quad City Symphony Orchestra kicks off the month with Masterworks IV: Musical Cathedrals on February 7. Spend the evening after with Patrick Kennedy presented by Vera French. Back by popular demand, Blue Man Group bring their wildly theatrical show to Davenport February 10 and 11. And on February 12, four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Martina McBride, takes the stage. Check out more Adler events here.

 Enjoy exclusive downtown deals and information when you download our downtown Davenport app for Androids or iPhones. This FREE app provides a quick list of local events, hotels, shops, and more when you're on the go. There are even some tips for parking downtown!

The work of innovative thinkers is why the world has smartphones, laptop computers, toaster ovens and numerous other gadgets and creative approaches to problem solving.

Yet groundbreaking ideas aren't always welcome in the corporate world or within other institutions.

Instead, those who suggest a different approach often find their ideas shot down by co-workers or blocked by an organizational system that is unwelcoming to change, says international speaker and innovation consultant Dr. Neal Thornberry.

That doesn't mean innovation can't happen, though.

"The innovator needs to know how to operate in these less than friendly cultures without waiting for some miraculous transformation in corporate policy," says Thornberry, author of the book "Innovation Judo: Disarming Roadblocks and Blockheads on the Way to Creativity." (www.NealThornberry.com)

He says there are five innovation "killers" within organizations that a person with ideas can expect to confront.

•  People. Sometime it's an individual, sometimes it's a group. Regardless, people often resist innovation, and many times for illogical reasons. "The more rigid people reject innovation simply because they are uncomfortable with the new or don't want to spend the energy to try something different," Thornberry says. They may be quick to point out flaws in your ideas.

One way to counteract that, Thornberry says, is to be your own worst critic. Discover those flaws first and highlight them yourself. Then you can address how you plan to mitigate them, thus stealing the critics' thunder, he says.

•  Politics. You can usually get around one or two individuals who try to block your idea, but it's more challenging when the organization is rife with politics. "I hate working in highly politicized organizations," Thornberry says. "They make work a lot harder and make you spend considerable time on non-value-adding activities." In fact, Thornberry devotes an entire chapter in his book to "Right Mindedness" so that innovators practicing his seven secret judo skills are not seen as innovating for personal gain or exploitation, but as enablers of company success.

•  Organizational design. An out-of-whack organizational design usually is not generated on purpose or with malice, Thornberry says. Instead it develops over time, with one well-intentioned move after another leading to unintended consequences. Often the result is a proliferation of controls, along with structures and processes that create barriers to innovation.

When an idea is blocked by layers of decision-making, one solution is to use leverage, Thornberry says. Enlist the aid of a customer who would benefit from the innovation, he says, because paying customers have huge leverage.

•  Company values. Here the innovator has both a challenge and an opportunity. Many companies articulate their values, but don't always live by them. "The upside for innovators is that values can be used as leverage for innovation even if they aren't true," Thornberry says. For example, if the company declares, "The customer is No. 1," then it becomes difficult to ignore an innovation that is positioned as being for the customer.

•  Corporate culture. The corporate culture essentially is how the people, politics, organizational design and values interact. "The greatest challenge to any innovator, and to embedding and sustaining innovation over the long term, is culture," Thornberry says. To make it even more challenging, often organizations have micro-cultures within the culture. That means, he says, you will need to adapt the use of innovation judo principles depending on which micro-culture you are dealing with at any given moment.

"Innovators throughout history have faced both roadblocks and blockheads on their path to creativity," Thornberry says. "And so will you."

But with a little courage and some counterbalancing skills, he says, these challenges can be overcome.

About Neal Thornberry, Ph.D.

Neal Thornberry, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of IMSTRAT, LLC a consulting firm that specializes in helping private and public sector organizations develop innovation strategies that create economic value by increasing an organization's effectiveness and efficiency. A respected thought leader in innovation, Thornberry is a highly sought-after international speaker and consultant. He  also serves as the faculty director for innovation initiatives at the Center for Executive Education at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Thornberry, author of "Innovation Judo: Disarming Roadblocks & Blockheads on the Path to Creativity" (www.NealThornberry.com), holds a doctorate in organizational psychology and specializes in innovation, corporate entrepreneurship, leadership and organizational transformation.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2015–Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of 30 university students to attend USDA's 2015 Agricultural Outlook Forum titled "Smart Agriculture in the 21st Century" to be held Feb. 19-20, 2015, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va. Twenty university juniors and seniors were chosen based on an essay sharing their thoughts on "Agriculture as a Career." Additionally, 10 graduate students were chosen based on their essay, "The Greatest Challenge Facing Agriculture over the Next Five Years."

"The Outlook Forum," said Secretary Vilsack, "will help give these students the chance to lay the groundwork for their future, hear speakers from diverse backgrounds in ag-related professions and, like previous program winners, the Forum will help the students expand their opportunities in their chosen fields."

USDA's Agricultural Outlook Forum Student Diversity Program is designed to introduce students to contemporary agribusiness, future trends, scientific research, and agricultural policy in today's real world environment. The students are from 1862 and 1890 Land-Grant Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Non-Land-Grant Agricultural and Renewable Resources Universities.

Since the Program's inception in 2007, annual sponsorship has been provided by CHS, Inc. and Farm Credit. USDA's Economic Research Service, Agricultural Research Service, and Natural Resource Conservation Service also provide support. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore partners with USDA to make the program possible. Several of the 2015 winning essays are found here: www.usda.gov/oce/forum/diversity/diversity_program.htm.

The undergraduate student winners are: Alexis Allen, Tennessee State University; Nicole Bayne, Oklahoma State University; Taylor Benedict, University of Arizona - Yuma; Darryl Blakely, Pennsylvania State University; Rycal Blount, North Carolina A&T State University; Rodrigo Bonilla, Washington State University; Ariel Bourne, University of Maryland College Park; Nathan Carson, University of Florida; George Collier, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Jamie Duggan-Lara, San Diego State University-Imperial Valley; Conlee Fry, Prairie View A&M University; Morgan Fortune, Tuskegee University; Onelisa Garza, Texas A&M University - Kingsville; Petros Maskal, California State University - Stanislaus; Kaylin McNary, Prairie View A&M University; Jamal Palmer, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Fatma Rekik, Cornell University; Martin Sanchez, Oregon State University; Gianfranco Santaliz-Rogers; University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez; and Malcolm Smith, Iowa State University.

The graduate student winners are: Parker Byington, Washington State University; Latisha Judd, University of Maryland College Park; Heather King, Humboldt State University; Alison Leathers, Tennessee State University; Emily Loehmer, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale; Holly Mayton; University of California, Riverside; Joshua Moore, University of Arizona; Wallace Seda-Calderon, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico; Cassandra Skenandore; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Melissa Woolpert, University of Vermont.

Registration for the public, 2-day event is $450. Plenary speeches will be webcast after 6:00 p.m. EST on Feb. 19. Program details and registration information are available at www.usda.gov/oce/forum.

Writers, reporters, and editors may call Press Room Coordinator Mike Illenberg at (202) 694-5448 or Forum Coordinator Brenda Chapin at 202-720-5447 for more details.

WAVERLY, IA (01/28/2015)(readMedia)-- Wartburg College has recognized 521 students who made the 2014 Fall Term Dean's List. Those honored include :

Taryn Eggers of Bettendorf

Markel Mommsen of Bettendorf

Alison Schuetz of Bettendorf

Elizabeth Trizzino of Bettendorf

Rachael Wauer of Bettendorf

Mallory Weaver of Bettendorf

Abby Zimmerman of Bettendorf

Cody Birely of Davenport

Elizabeth Mallon of Davenport

Anthony Skinner of Davenport

Mallory Weaver of Davenport

Brooke Chapman of De Witt

Emily Kremer of De Witt

Andrea Weiss of De Witt

Gretchen Henningsen of DeWitt

Kaitlyn Ketelsen of DeWitt

Allison Coe of Dixon

Brady Frieden of Donahue

Lindsay Heinen of Eldridge

Eric Huber of Eldridge

Sarah Schwarz of Eldridge

Benjamin Polley of Muscatine

Paris White of Muscatine

Paris White of Muscatine

Brooke Moeller of New Liberty

Emma Evans-Peck of Geneseo

Tyler Turner of Reynolds

Anthony Skinner of Rock Island

The list cites students who earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above in at least five course credits during the term. Four of the five course credits must be graded with a traditional letter grade.

Wartburg students take four courses during Fall Term, which runs from September to December.

Wartburg, a four-year liberal arts college internationally recognized for community engagement, enrolls 1,661 students. Wartburg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and named after the castle in Germany where Martin Luther took refuge disguised as a knight during the stormy days of the Reformation, while translating the Bible from Greek into German.