The Super Bowl is two short weeks away and MAF is launching a special SUPERBOWL challenge to all of our pro-troops supporters to donate more care packages for the troops. The team with the most donations will win!!!

Last year you, our donors, picked the winning team who went on to win the game! Wow. Will you do it two years in a row?

In addition to the care packages sent out because of the generous gifts by you, if your team receives more donations overall, they will be named the MAF SUPERBOWL TROOPERBOWL Champions.

We will be sending a special shipment of care packages to a unit in Afghanistan from the winning teams' state. So a lucky unit from either California or Maryland will receive a special shipment of boxes with Super Bowl gifts and information about our MAF SUPERBOWL competition!


SO, we want to know, can 49er's fans donate more to the troops than Ravens fans?

The Super Bowl will be an incredible game between two of the league's best teams. Both have playmakers on both sides of the ball and it's impossible to say who will win. As you get ready to watch the game you can decide to help the brave troops who watch over you by sending them a care package

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement after Barack Obama was sworn in for the second time as the President of the United States.

"As we look forward to the next four years, we have many issues that must be addressed, and none is more important than boosting the economy and setting our country on a sustainable path.  It is days like today where one sees such bipartisan camaraderie that always helps to restore our faith that we can tackle the big issues and move past the partisan politics that have for too long paralyzed Congress.  I will continue to reach beyond party lines, as I always have, to move policies that help middle class Iowans who have been struggling.  It is critical for our nation's future that we rebuild our economy from the middle out.

"The peaceful reaffirmation of power that was again displayed today highlights the truly exceptional nature of our country. I believe that our best days are in front of us and with hard work and commonsense, we will be able to move our great country forward."

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Today, retired Hy-Vee CEO Ric Jurgens received the supermarket industry's most prestigious honor -- the Food Marketing Institute's Sidney R. Rabb Award, recognizing an individual for excellence in serving the consumer, the community and the industry. The award was presented to Ric at FMI's Midwinter Executive's Conference in Scottsdale, AZ.

To read more about the award, and view the video shown during the presentation, visit the FMI website:

http://www.fmi.org/news-room/latest-news/view/2013/01/21/hy-vee-s-jurgens-receives-food-retail-industry-s-highest-honor

As a Cancer Survivor and U.S. Marine, I Once Looked Up to Him
By: Jay Platt

What is a hero? Webster's dictionary defines a hero as someone who's admired for his achievements and noble qualities, and one who shows great courage. Fortunately, today we have many examples of  real heroes. Look no further than the U.S. military, police and firefighters -- men and women who put their lives at risk for others.

A real hero also is the person who is fighting cancer or some other chronic illness, and does so with great dignity and grace. Though they may be in pain or discomfort, they somehow make those around them feel better, do better, and be better.

Which brings me to Lance Armstrong.

I was a supporter of his since his first Tour de France win. Coming back from cancer the way he did, and racing the way he did drug-free (supposedly), inspired me to no end. When others questioned how he was able to do the things he did without any help from performance-enhancing drugs, I defended him as if he were a personal friend.

As a cancer survivor myself, and someone who continues to battle the disease daily, he inspired me. He gave me strength when I felt like I had none. He even motivated me to challenge myself by attempting demanding physical feats, like hiking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail beginning to end. When I got tired and wanted to quit, I'd think to myself, "If Lance can do the things he does, I can do this, too."

So, his recent revelations to Oprah Winfrey hit me like a 50-pound sledgehammer to the chest. When he admitted to lying about taking performance enhancing drugs, I felt like he had personally lied to me. And that's when I knew that he is nothing more than a fake hero.

Fake heroes have none of the qualities of a real hero. Rather, they lie, cheat, steal, and do whatever it takes to make themselves look good and heroic. Winning, to them, is the most important thing, and who they hurt in the process really doesn't matter. All of which, sadly, describes Lance Armstrong.

I know he still will have his defenders. I've already heard from people who have basically said, "Well, what about all the good he's done for cancer research?" While that is true, and I certainly hope that Livestrong is not negatively affected by Armstrong's admission, the fact is that the whole organization was started based on a lie.

He never would have had the millions of dollars, the fame, and the incredible story if it had not been for the lie that he told for so long. And, although it is uncomfortable to say so, how do we know that he did not get cancer because of his taking performance enhancing drugs? Would that have changed his story? I'm sure, for many, it would have.

And what of his admission now? Surely, that took courage? It was heroic, right? Hardly! First of all, look at to whom he chose to tell all of the details. Oprah Winfrey. I have no doubt that was a well-thought-out strategy on his part. He, undoubtedly, was advised to go where he would most likely garner sympathy and do it before an audience that probably knows little about cycling, and that is most likely to give him a pass on his transgressions.

Even with all that though, he still could have done the heroic thing. But he did not. He could have looked into the camera and said in the sincerest way he could muster that steroids are not the way. That he, in all likelihood, gave himself cancer in his quest for fame. Think of the kids who could have benefited from hearing such a thing. Instead, however, he defiantly said that since everyone else was supposedly doing it, he felt justified in doing it, too. Very hero like, huh?

About Jay Platt: Jay Platt was medically retired from the Marine Corps in 1998 after suffering complications from the cancer von Hippel Lindau (VHL), a genetic disease that resulted in brain and spinal tumors, kidney cancer, and the loss of his left eye. Told his future would be considerably dimmer than his past, Platt set out to rebuild himself physically, mentally and spiritually, and to challenge himself by setting demanding physical goals. He is one of fewer than 300 people to have hiked the 2,100-mile southbound Appalachian Trail; one of three to swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco with hands and feet tied; and the only person to swim across the Mississippi while blindfolded, handcuffed and shackled. Proceeds from his adventures and sales of his documentary benefit non-profits, including the VHL Family Alliance. For more information, visit: www.livingunstoppable.com.

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - January 21, 2013 -Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) is pleased to welcome Andrew Wheeler as their new Public Relations Coordinator.   The Pleasant Hill native begins his new role January 29.

As Public Relations Coordinator, Wheeler will work through media, social media and public event channels to connect farmers with a growing Iowa and national audience.

Wheeler earned his undergraduate degree from Drake University and a Master of Arts in Communications degree from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.  Wheeler has more than a decade of public relations, writing and media engagement experience, both while serving in the Drury University Athletics communications department and as regional field director for the 2008 Mitt Romney Presidential campaign.  Wheeler currently serves as Assistant Director for Kids Haven, a federally-funded academic mentoring program for Des Moines middle school students.

"I've long respected Iowa Farm Bureau for the many ways they connect today's farmers to consumers. I've always had a passion for Iowans and the strong character and values of its leaders.  I'm looking forward to sharing the stories of Iowa farmers and the diversity and values they represent," said Wheeler.

Wheeler and his wife live in Clive.

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When: Saturday, January 26, 2013 2:30 PM until 7:00 PM

Where: The New Fair Center at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds (on the west side of the fairgrounds) in Davenport, IA (map)

Tickets: $8 per person at the door. Booths will be providing free chili samples to the attending public.

Raffle Prizes: $5 tickets and $20 tickets prizes inlcude: iPhone, iPod, $250 Cash, 42" Flat Screen TV, Pandora Bracelet, Dell Laptop, Blu-ray Player, X-box Kinect, DeWalt Power Tools, Kindle Fire, Weber Genesis Grill, Case of Bison Burgers, $500 Best Buy Gift Card.

2:30 PM: Event begins. People's Choice tasting and voting begins.
5:30 PM: Judges award / voting concludes
6:00 PM: Peoples choice awards ... Best Chili in the Quad Cities!
6:15 PM: General silent auction concludes
6:30 PM: Raffle Drawings
7:00 PM: Cook-off concludes...Thanks for supporting Hand-in-Hand's children with disabilites

There will be a People's Choice ballot box for the general public to vote on best chili and best booth. Ballot cards will be distributed upon entry and will be tallied throughout the event. At the end of the evening, the peoples choice awards will be announced and presented.

Join us for chili tasting, cash bar, silent and live auctions. Help celebrate Hand-in-Hand's very special children.

If you can't attend our Chili Cook-off but would still like to support our programs for children with special needs, please consider sending a tax deductible donation. Visit our donate page or our sponsorship or silent auction donation letter for more information.

For more information, please visit the webpage:  http://www.handinhandqc.org/chilicookoff.php

BETTENDORF, Iowa - Supporters of fifteen nonprofit organizations contributed over $1 million to help those nonprofits succeed in the 2012 Endowment Challenge issued by the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend (CFGRB). The endowments funded by these donations and $75,000 in matching grants from the CFGRB will create a permanent, consistent source of income, allowing organizations to fulfill their missions for years to come.

Nonprofits that raised $15,000 in new gifts for their endowment at CFGRB received a $5,000 matching grant for their endowment. Alternatively, nonprofits that raised $30,000 in new gifts had the option to add the $5,000 matching grant to their endowment or use it for current operations. Every year, 4.5% of endowment assets held at the CFGRB are distributed back out to the community to support the work of nonprofit organizations, while the principal remains intact as a permanent resource.

Because gifts had to come from at least ten people, organizations had to spread the message of the importance of endowment. Jay Morrow, Superintendent of United Township, had conversations with alumni about how they could support the United Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to students and mini-grants to teachers. "We let them know that they could be significant in the future of our foundation, giving tomorrow's students the same opportunities that they had."

CFGRB Vice President of Programs Matt Mendenhall agrees. "While the $5,000 award is certainly helpful to these organizations, increased stakeholder awareness of endowment as permanent support for a mission they care about will have much greater value over the long run." In total, 397 donors contributed to the 2012 Endowment Challenge.

For all but one organization, the 2012 Endowment Challenge was their first time raising funds specifically for endowment. Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities, already an Endowment Partner, took the opportunity to grow their endowment. "In today's economy, a lot of organizational energy is focused on the 'now' - making sure we can provide services today," says George McDoniel, Executive Director. "The Community Foundation through their challenge match encourages us to focus energy on securing our future with endowment."

Both Endowment Partners and CFGRB staff stressed the value of the partnerships they built through this process. Barb Melbourne, Vice President of Development at the CFGRB, says, "I am very proud of our partners who committed to building endowment for a sustainable future." Mark Drake, Executive Director of Youth Hope, says, "We are so excited about our new
endowment with the Community Foundation! We received a generous match, a new partnership, new income, and unlimited long term potential."

Each Endowment Partner who met the match will be featured on the CFGRB Facebook page as "Endowment Partner of the Week" beginning January 28th. To learn more about the impact of these organizations and how you can make a difference, Like our Facebook page.

2012 CFGRB Endowment Challenge

Bettendorf Community Schools Foundation
Catholic Diocese of Davenport
Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities
Eastern Iowa Community College District Foundation
Family Resources, Inc.
German-American Heritage Center
Habitat for Humanity
Handicapped Development Center
Midwest Writing Center
Oakdale Memorial Gardens
Saint Anthony's Catholic Church - Davenport
Scott County Family Y
United Education Foundation
Women's Choice Center
Youth Hope

CFGRB 2012 Endowment Challenge - By the numbers:

Successful Endowment Partners: 15
Total gifts: $956,680.31
Total donors: 397
Total match: $75,000

If you have questions, please contact the Community Foundation at 563-326-2840, or info@cfgrb.org.

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The Quad City International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) will hold a FREE
Seminar on Monday, February 11, 2013 at MRA, 3800 Avenue of the Cities, Suite 100 in Moline, IL.
The speaker will be Monica Poe, MVA, GVA, Founder and Owner of MoPoe & Associates. Monica
will be presenting "Virtual Meetings, Virtual Teams: How the Move to Virtual Is Affecting Admins".

Following the presentation, a Chapter meeting will be held.

Networking/Gathering begins at 5:30 PM, Dinner at 6:00 PM (reservation is required - meal cost is $8.00) and the speaker will begin at 6:30 PM.

To register, please contact Stephanie Noyd by 11:00 AM on Friday, February 8, 2013 at (309) 764-8354 or email her at Stephanie.Noyd@mranet.org.

For More Information, go to our website at http://www.iaap-quadcity.org.

IAAP is the world's largest international association of administrative professionals. IAAP offers professional development, leadership training and networking opportunities for administrative professionals. IAAP is a non-profit, volunteer association.

Joining a professional organization demonstrates your commitment to your career. Work is most rewarding when we do it with enthusiasm and give it our best. Through IAAP you will gain knowledge, confidence and contacts that will help you advance professionally. IAAP works to build a professional image of administrative professionals in the workplace.

IAAP membership is open to all persons working in the administrative field, along with business educators, students, firms and educational institutions. There is no test of sponsorship required. Through IAAP qualified professionals can test for the certification rating, the benchmark of excellence in the administrative profession.

For more information please contact Kathy Riley at (309) 786-2705

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Although the World's Toughest Rodeo is known as one of the nations' most exciting professional rodeo live events, it is also respected for another special attribute; each show opens with God and Old Glory. 2013 brings a tribute to our heroes, including local firemen, policemen, and EMTs, as well as the military, both veterans and active duty soldiers. But through a unique Facebook promotion, fans of World's Toughest Rodeo were able to nominate a Hometown Hero and a unique individual was selected that is a hero in many hometowns across the nation.

 

Larry Eckhardt from the Quad Cities area, known as "The Flagman," has taken it upon himself to honor soldiers that have paid the
ultimate sacrifice in a very heartwarming fashion. Though Eckhardt never served in the military, he assumed his patriotic duty after attending a funeral six years ago in Galesburg, IL. "We had a local soldier go down and the citizen turnout was great, but I didn't think there were near enough flags," the former International Harvester employee says. Eckhardt purchased 150 flags and began hauling them in the back of his pickup truck to military funerals across Illinois, soliciting help from American Legion and
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts to stake the Stars and Stripes. He now has over 2500 flags and awaits the call and travels to the hometown of soldiers all across the nation.

He arrives the night before and solicits local volunteers to line the funeral route with the flags he has purchased through donations as well as personal investment. provided these communities the ability to support the families in a very meaningful way
and this outpouring of group support helps the families begin to heal. Taking little credit for this, Larry is a true hero in every sense of the word. World's Toughest Rodeo will provide the first 1,500 fans each night with a flag as we raise them in praise of a man that has raised the spirits of so many through his personal initiative.

The 2013 edition of the World's Toughest Rodeo will feature top professional rodeo competitors in Bareback Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bull Riding and Women's Barrel Racing, comedy of John Harrison, Professional Rodeo's 2012 Comedy Act of the year,
award winning bucking horses and bulls of Three Hills Rodeo as well as the greatest show on dirt...But the finale event is BACKWARDS Bull Riding, as Brandon Lindsey, World's Toughest Rodeo Bull Fighter attempts to wrap his legs around the bull, Crazy Train's horns, lay face down and ride for 8 seconds. You won't see it anywhere else.

It's an action packed, star studded show.  Tickets start at just $18 and kids tickets half price every day at www.ticketmaster.com or iWireless Box Office.

For more ticket information: www.iwirelesscenter.com. For event and entertainer information : www.wtrodeo.com. For more information about Larry "The Flagman www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNJ9umv10EM

January 21, 2013
By John W. Whitehead

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."?  Martin Luther King Jr.

~

As one who came of age during the civil rights era, I was profoundly impacted by the life and teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. He taught me so much more than just what it means to look beyond the color of a person's skin?he taught me that life means nothing if you don't stand up for the things that truly matter. And what are the things that matter? King spoke of them incessantly, in every sermon he preached, every speech he delivered and every article he wrote. Freedom, human dignity, brotherhood, spirituality, peace, justice, equality, putting an end to war and poverty?these are just a few of the big themes that shaped King's life and, in turn, impacted so many impressionable young people like myself.

Fast forward 40 years, and we find ourselves living through historic times, with the nation's first black president embarking on his second term in office. The comparisons between President Obama and King have been inevitable and largely favorable, helped along by Obama, who spoke at King's Ebenezer Baptist Church in 2008, a year before taking office?accepted the Democratic nomination on the anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech?presided over the installation and dedication of a national monument to King in Washington, DC?and took his oath of office using one of King's Bibles on the national holiday dedicated to King.

Clearly, there are similarities between the two men. As a McClatchey news article noted: "Both battled enormous odds to build historic multi-ethnic, multi-racial coalitions?one to advance the cause of civil rights only to be assassinated in 1968, the other to win the nation's highest office. Both won the Nobel Peace Prize. Both could use soaring rhetoric to inspire millions. Both also had to overcome critics who accused them of socialist or communist sympathies, as well as black activists who maintained that they weren't strong advocates for African-Americans."

Yet as Fredrick Harris, the director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University, reminds us, "it is easy to assume that the president is an extension of King's legacy and the civil rights movement. For black America, in particular, Obama has already joined the pantheon of great African American leaders, alongside Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X and, of course, King. He has joined their ranks not for his activism or his efforts to break down racial inequality, but for the symbolic weight of being the nation's first black president."

We'd be doing King and his legacy a profound disservice, however, if we do not insist that Obama do more than pay lip service to the man he credits, alongside Abraham Lincoln, as being one of his two heroes. Indeed, Obama spent much of the last four years campaigning for re-election and will likely spend the next four attempting to establish a lasting legacy for his presidency.

If Obama wants to be remembered for anything more than the color of his skin, he would do well to brush up on King's teachings, which were far more radical than the watered-down pap about him being taught today. The following key principles, largely absent from Obama's first term in office, formed the backbone of Rev. King's life and work.

Practice non-violence, resist militarism and put an end to war.

"I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today?my own government."?Martin Luther King Jr., Sermon at New York's Riverside Church (April 4, 1967)

On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before his murder, King used the power of his pulpit to condemn the U.S. for "using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted." Insisting that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America can ignore its part in the Vietnam War, King called on the U.S. to end all bombing in Vietnam, declare a unilateral cease-fire, curtail its military buildup, and set a date for troop withdrawals. In that same sermon, King warned that "a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

Contrast this with Obama's use of the power of his office to expand America's military empire at great cost to the nation, authorize drone strikes which have wreaked havoc on innocent civilians, and defend indefensible police tactics used in SWAT team raids and roadside stops. Obama's national security budget for 2013, which allots a whopping $851 billion to be spent on wars abroad, weapons and military personnel, significantly outspends the money being spent on education, poverty and disease.

Stand against injustice.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere... there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."? Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (April 16, 1963)

Arrested and jailed for taking part in a nonviolent protest against racial segregation in Birmingham, Ala., King used his time behind bars to respond to Alabama clergymen who criticized King's methods of civil disobedience and suggested that the courts were the only legitimate means for enacting change. His "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," which makes the case for disobeying unjust laws, points out that "a just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust."

Contrast this with Obama's ongoing endorsement of clearly unjust laws and government practices, some of which he has publicly acknowledged to be problematic or altogether wrong. For example, Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act, which respectively authorize the military to indefinitely detain American citizens, as well as spy on Americans who communicate with people overseas, whether they are journalists, family members, or business associates. Obama's Justice Dept. has also urged the U.S. Supreme Court to grant police more leeway to strip search Americans and raid homes without a warrant. As King warned, "Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."

Work to end poverty.

"True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."?Martin Luther King Jr., Sermon at New York's Riverside Church (April 4, 1967)

Especially in the latter part of his life, King was unflinching in his determination to hold Americans accountable to alleviating the suffering of the poor, going so far as to call for a march on Washington, DC, to pressure Congress to pass an Economic Bill of Rights. In recounting a parable about a man who went to hell because he didn't see the poor, King cautioned his congregants: "Dives didn't go to hell because he was rich... Dives went to hell because he was passed by Lazarus every day and he never really saw him. He went to hell because he allowed his brother to become invisible. Dives went to hell because he maximized the minimum and minimized the maximum. Indeed, Dives went to hell because he sought to be a conscientious objector in the war against poverty."

Prioritize people over corporations.

"When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered." ?Martin Luther King Jr., Sermon at New York's Riverside Church (April 4, 1967)

With roughly 25 lobbyists per Congressman, corporate greed largely calls the shots in the nation's capital, enabling our elected representatives to grow richer and the people poorer. One can only imagine what King would have said about a nation whose political processes, everything from elections to legislation, are driven by war chests and corporate benefactors rather than the needs and desires of the citizenry.

Stand up for what is right, rather than what is politically expedient.

"On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right."?Martin Luther King Jr., Sermon at National Cathedral (March 31, 1968)

Five days before his murder, King delivered a sermon at National Cathedral in Washington, DC, in which he noted that "one of the great liabilities of life is that all too many people find themselves living amid a great period of social change, and yet they fail to develop the new attitudes, the new mental responses, that the new situation demands. They end up sleeping through a revolution."

As King recognized, there is much to be done if we are to make this world a better place, and we cannot afford to play politics when so much hangs in the balance. It's time, Mr. President, to wake up. To quote your hero: "[O]ur very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change. The large house in which we live demands that we transform this world-wide neighborhood into a world-wide brotherhood. Together we must learn to live as brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools."

This commentary is also available at www.rutherford.org.

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