(Rock Island, IL)– Kristina Brown founded the non-profit organization, Integrity Arts & Culture Association (IACA), in 2002, because she realized the power and potential the arts provide for positive change. She will receive a check for $3,500 from Royal Neighbors of America's Nation of Neighbors^SM Program to help her continue to provide forums for artists of all disciplines, cultures, ages, and backgrounds to showcase their talents as well as earn an income. Her current goals include producing high quality art programs with an emphasis on positive morals and values; provide arts education to underserved children, and equip young people with the knowledge and skills to become successful, upstanding individuals.

What: $3,500 check presentation to Kristina Brown

Where: Davenport Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 4444 W. Kimberly Rd., Davenport

When: Friday, Nov. 30; 7:15 p.m.

Local contact: Dorian Byrd, (563) 326-3352 or Darcy Smith, (309) 236-3034

Focusing on its history of standing strong for women, Royal Neighbors has given more than $1 million to assist 900-plus families and individuals in reaching their goals and rebuilding their lives through its Nation of Neighbors Program. The program, which was launched in 2007, demonstrates the neighbor-helping-neighbor philosophy on which Royal Neighbors was founded in 1895.

Through the 2012 program, determined women of strength and courage are empowered with financial assistance to achieve their full potential, realize a sense of renewed personal growth, and give back to their communities. Each year, Royal Neighbors members and sales agents across the country are asked to nominate individuals they know who want to change their lives for the better. A panel reviews each nomination and determines the recipients and the monetary amounts awarded.

Royal Neighbors of America, one of the nation's largest women-led life insurance companies, exists for the benefit of its members. It offers insurance products to fulfill financial needs of growth, savings, and protection. Members receive valuable benefits and can participate in volunteer activities through the organization's local chapters to help make a difference in their communities. The organization's philanthropic efforts are dedicated to changing women's lives through its national programs, including the Nation of Neighbors^SM Program, and through the Royal Neighbors Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity.

Headquartered in Rock Island, IL, with branch offices in Mesa, AZ, and Austin, TX, Royal Neighbors serves more than 200,000 members and is licensed to do business in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information about Royal Neighbors of America, call (800) 627-4762, or visit www.royalneighbors.org.

 

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DAVENPORT, IA - November 29, 2012 - Midland Communications, a leading provider in unified communications, announced today that the company is helping customers take advantage of a large tax-break for small to mid-sized businesses with Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 179. Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if a business owner buys (or leases) a piece of qualifying equipment, he can deduct the full purchase price from his gross income. Essentially, it's an incentive created by the U.S. government to encourage businesses to buy new equipment and invest in their companies.
The recession has taken a toll on many businesses and this program provides a means for business owners to access much needed savings on major purchases of technology equipment, software or business phone systems. If business owners act by December 31st, 2012 they can write-off the entire purchase price of qualifying phone systems in the first year up to $139,000. While every transaction is different and tax professionals should be consulted on specific situations, the potential rewards of this program have nudged many business owners to invest in the technolgy they need to gain a competitive advantage for 2013. This year, Section 179 also extends to cover off-the-shelf software purchases in addition to traditional equipment. Many business owners have installed new business phone systems as a result of this addition to the tax code, because recent breakthroughs in unified communications are enabling businesses to collaborate better, faster and more efficiently with one another.
"We were stunned to find out that so many of our customers had not yet heard of Section 179," commented Jason Smith, Vice President of Midland Communications. "We may specialize in delivering technology solutions to our customers, but we treat our customers like partners. When we find something as powerful as this program we have always considered it to be our duty to share this information to our customers. Our goal is to introduce our customers to technology that not only enhances their productivity, but more importantly increases their bottom-line. That approach has contributed largely to our success over the years and we plan on continuing to serve our customers in a proactive manner for years to come."


ABOUT MIDLAND COMMUNICATIONS

Midland Communications began more than 60 years ago in 1946 as the Worldwide Marketing Arm of Victor-Animagraph Projectors. In 1977 a communications division was formed due to a partnership with NEC America. Today, As a distributor of NEC America, for 33 years, Midland Communications has a customer base of more than 3,000 satisfied customers that include general businesses, government agencies, Universities, colleges, hospitals, and hotels.
Midland provides a wide range of communication services including VOIP, PBX and key systems, Wide Area and Local Area networking, computers, Computer integration, voice mail, CCIS, and video conferencing and paging systems. Our philosophy is simple, provide quality products at a fair price, backed by an average emergency response time of twenty minutes, and the best service in the industry. For more information on Midland Communications, call (563) 326-1237 or visit www.midlandcom.com.


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WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to focus on lowering Russian barriers to U.S. agricultural products including beef, pork and poultry during a trip to Russia next week.

"U.S. farmers deserve to be treated fairly by our international trading partners.  You have an opportunity next week to continue advancing that case for our farmers," Grassley wrote to Under Secretary Michael Scuse of the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Scuse will lead a mission to promote U.S. agricultural exports to Russia, Dec. 3 to Dec. 7.  Representatives from the states of Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Kansas, as well as 23 American companies, will attend.

Grassley said the United States has missed key opportunities to address Russia's unscientific barriers to U.S. agricultural products including beef, pork and poultry.  A prime opportunity was prior to Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.  As Congress moves closer to allowing Russia to have Permanent Normal Trade Relations status, the Obama administration needs to keep the pressure on Russia to eliminate safety standards not supported by sound science, Grassley said.

As the U.S. Department of Agriculture notes, agricultural trade between the United States and Russia is significant.  The two-way trade was valued at roughly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2012, with American farm exports accounting for 97 percent of the total.  Last year, U.S. beef, pork and poultry exports collectively ranked second only to aircraft engines in total U.S. export value to Russia.

The text of today's letter is available here.  A June letter to President Obama from Grassley and 33 other senators on Russian barriers to U.S. agricultural products is available here.

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