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'Tis the Season-ally Inspired Holiday Menus at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

500NewsWire

Charlotte, NC ( 500NewsWire ) -- Firebirds Wood Fired Grill introduces new holiday lunch and dinner menus just in time to make any celebration a memorable one this holiday season. From hand-cut wood-fire grilled NY Strip, and certified Duroc pork chop with cognac cream sauce, to Bananas Foster Bread Pudding for dessert, Firebirds’ limited time scratch-made menus are available now through January 3. Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is known for its signature hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood hand-fileted in-house and seared over locally sourced hickory, oak, or pecan wood on Firebirds’ exposed wood-fired grill. Firebirds’ seasonal Lunch Menu includes suggested wine pairings, and features: NY Strip (10oz.) BLT butter / choice of side Suggested wine pairing: Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon Parmesan Crusted Mahi Coal-roasted tomato-basil sauce / “loaded “ember-grilled corn / fresh asparagus Suggested wine pairing: Decoy Chardonnay Lump Crab Cakes Bold remoulade / wonton slaw / seasoned steak fries Suggested wine pairing: Firebirds Private Label Chardonnay Guests can enhance their entrées by adding: Lump Crab Cake Lobster Mac & Cheese Dessert Bananas Foster Bread Pudding Vanilla bean ice cream / spiced pecans / crispy cinnamon-sugar tortilla Firebirds’ seasonal Dinner Menu includes suggested wine pairings, and features: NY Strip (14oz.) BLT butter / choice of side Suggested wine pairing: Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon Tomahawk Prime Pork Chop Wood-grilled, certified Duroc pork chop / cognac cream sauce / red wine-poached apples / green chile mac & cheese Suggested wine pairing: Acrobat Pinot Noir Parmesan Crusted Mahi Coal-roasted tomato-basil sauce / “loaded “ember-grilled corn / fresh asparagus Suggested wine pairing: Decoy Chardonnay Lump Crab Cakes Bold remoulade / wonton slaw / seasoned steak fries Suggested wine pairing: Firebirds Private Label Chardonnay Guests can enhance their entrees by adding: Lump Crab Cake Lobster Mac & Cheese Dessert Bananas Foster Bread Pudding Vanilla bean ice cream / spiced pecans / crispy cinnamon-sugar tortilla Many of the restaurant’s dishes are created using fresh seasonal ingredients. Gluten-sensitive menu items, such as Grilled Tenderloin Salad, Wood Grilled Salmon, and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, are also available. Firebirds offers catering, online ordering for ToGo and delivery options. In addition, Firebirds is offering a holiday gift card promotion. For every $100 in gift cards purchased in-store or online, guests will receive $20 in “bonus cards.” This special offer is available now through December 31st and “bonus cards” are valid for redemption from January 1 through February 9, 2023. For more information visit firebirdsrestaurants.com/gift-cards/. Firebirds Wood Fired Grill’s FIREBAR® offers an impressive array of seasonal cocktails, craft beer, bourbon, after-dinner drinks, Firebirds’ private label wine, hand crafted mocktails and more. Popular specialties include Wine Down Mondays, and happy hour in the FIREBAR® and on the Patio every Monday through Friday from 4PM – 7PM. Happy Hour times vary. Visit FirebirdsRestaurants.com to make a reservation, order ToGo online, or register to become a member of Firebirds’ Inner Circle and be the first to hear about upcoming events, promotions, new menu items and exclusive offers. Members receive a gift for joining and a gift for their birthday. About Firebirds Wood Fired Grill Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, a polished casual American restaurant, is an energetic twist on the traditional grill featuring a boldly flavored menu in a stylish, fire-centric atmosphere. Signature menu items include hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood hand-fileted in-house and seared over locally sourced hickory, oak, or pecan wood on Firebirds’ exposed wood-fired grill. Complementing its inviting dining room, a patio with seasonal comforts and the award-winning FIREBAR® are additional gathering spaces inside the restaurant. Firebirds has been named one of ten ‘Breakout Brands’ by Nation’s Restaurant News, and the 2022 Diners’ Choice Winner awarded by OpenTable. Firebirds supports sustainability efforts and partners with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, having surpassed $3 million raised for childhood cancer research through the sale of fresh-squeezed lemonade. To become a member of Firebirds Inner Circle, order ToGo online or to make a reservation visit firebirdsrestaurants.com. Contact Details Firebirds Wood Fired Grill Lesley Gamwell +1 404-309-6915 lgamwell@rountreegroup.com Company Website https://firebirdsrestaurants.com/

December 07, 2022 08:59 AM Eastern Standard Time

This Project Might Give Web3 The Radical Refresh It Desperately Needs

Radix

Radix DLT is the world’s first full-stack for DeFi, with the team behind it set on building the foundations for Web3 to truly scale and obsolete traditional finance for good - a feat still to be conquered by those building in the space. While the project isn’t to be fully launched on the public network until next year, after 9 years of building, on December 8, the dedicated and focused minds behind Radix will be unveiling how they plan to radically change the face of finance at the free virtual event, RadFi 2022. Find out more here. Despite the impressive growth registered by DeFi throughout 2021 and beyond, Ethereum and other smart contract platforms have been beset with problems of security and scalability, which has made it difficult for platforms to develop production-quality DApps. The Ethereum network, which first launched smart contracts several years ago, uses its native programming language Solidity, which is fairly easy to learn for simple smart contracts but gets incredibly complex and difficult to make secure. Many who’ve tried it suggest it would take years of programming experience with Solidity before it can be used to create secure and stable code. As a result, it’s prone to hacks, exploits, and failures even when built by experienced developers. If DeFi is to go mainstream, it needs to be able to radically improve in order to support a global shift for the $400 trillion banking and financial system that currently hosts billions of users worldwide. Why Have Web 3.0 And DeFi Development Suffered? At the core of what it takes to enable a digital ecosystem to thrive is its developers - a demographic who, ironically, has had one of the toughest onboarding journeys into Web 3.0 so far. Despite the growth of developers in Web 3.0 continuing to somewhat increase, only a small percentage of the world’s software engineers currently work in Web 3.0. The number of developers working specifically on DeFi projects is even smaller, and there are nowhere near enough programmers to achieve the scale of DeFi envisioned by its proponents. Of the almost 30 million developers globally, those trying to break into Web 3.0 are just a fraction. Here are some stats from the Electric Capital Developer Report (2021) on Web3 developers: 18,000+ monthly active developers commit code in open-source crypto and Web3 projects. 34,000+ new developers committed code in 2021 alone, which is the highest so far. 2,500+ developers are working on DeFi projects. Less than 1,000 full-time developers are responsible for over $100 billion in total value locked in smart contracts. The team building Radix believes there are four major barriers DeFi developers face that are hindering the growth of DeFi. Its goal is to solve these problems through four crucial technologies that build the backbone of the Radix network: Achieve scalability without breaking DeFi composability, for which Radix developed Cerberus consensus protocol Avoid smart contract app hacks, exploits, and failures through its Radix engine Build interoperable DeFi dApps faster through the creation of a DeFi blueprint catalog of reusable code Incentivize the decentralized development community through its developer royalties program, which is directly managed by the platform After nine years of innovative development leading to an impressive roadmap, those behind the project are about to finally unveil exactly how Radix’s radically different infrastructure will finally take Web3 mainstream. Radix is building “the future of DeFi” on an asset-oriented approach, which is fundamentally different from Ethereum and almost anything else currently existing within the ecosystem. With Ethereum smart contracts, users don't actually hold or directly control their tokens, and instead rely completely on the smart contract and its ability to maintain a list of balances that defines the “ownership” of each token. Unlike most smart contract platforms where your tokens aren’t actually stored in your wallet, with asset-oriented DeFi built on the Radix Engine, users will actually hold their tokens within their own smart contract account on ledger and would not need the approval of other smart contracts to spend their own tokens. They can also define exactly how many tokens they intend to pass to or receive back from smart contracts - vastly improving security and enabling the concept of a “trustless” ecosystem to thrive. To make the advantages of an asset-oriented paradigm real and usable for developers, Radix has built its own custom programming language, Scrypto, which enables the Radix Engine’s unique features while maintaining a much-improved development experience with expressive logic. Scrypto’s asset-oriented features, and the lifecycle of a “component” (a Scrypto smart contract), would naturally allow developers to focus on their own business logic and lean on the Radix Engine for intuitive, safe handling of assets. Once the final deployment of Radix is complete, developers who build on the network will be able to build efficient, secure, and usable products much easier than ever before, and in a way that resembles the fast-adopted simplicity of traditional fintech. The team behind Radix doesn’t seem to do anything by halves. Ahead of the release of ‘Babylon’ next year – the DeFi ecosystem that will enable Scrypto “component” smart contracts to run on network – Scrypto was made available in a private environment earlier this year for developers to experiment with early builds & tests. Within mere months, excitement was buzzing among the developers who took up the opportunity, with many pointing out the considerably cleaner experience in comparison to other smart contract languages. Scrypto has been gaining more and more traction since, with more than 130 projects now having been built onto the platform before it’s even public. Here are some excerpts from those building on the project so far: “Using Scrypto is kind of like bowling with the bumper walls up so you can't hit the gutter (hacks, bugs, composability issues) and it's faster/easier to get a strike.” “Scrypto is a game-changer. Once folks from the other ecosystems figure it out, they will come to Radix to build. We'll see an explosion of DApps being built for the network.” One analogy is a visual comparison of a poor man's toolbox with a hammer, wrench, and ruler (solidity tools) vs a fully sponsored workshop with power tools, a lathe, a table saw (scrypto tools) Recurring events like that of FTX’s demise prove the crypto industry needs to migrate from trusting centralized institutions often held to little accountability, to public decentralized ledgers – where all holdings and transactions are transparent, and where users actually control their own funds. If the Radix technology roadmap is delivered, the project might just be the first to truly build what’s needed to enable a new, improved, financial ecosystem powered by Web3. On Dec 8, Radix is hosting a free virtual event — RadFi 2022 — with over 10,000 people pre-registered, where the minds behind the project will unveil how they plan to take DeFi mainstream. Find out more here. Read Radix’s whitepaper on DeFi here to educate yourself on the company’s ambitious and transformative project before heading to RadFi 2022. To read the most recent Benzinga articles on Radix click here and here. If you would like to know about Radix’s journey and its products, visit the company website. DeFi needs to be better - and it’s about to get radically better with Radix. Get your free ticket to join RadFi2022 on December 8 and learn what the future holds for decentralized finance. Find out how. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Amy Wilkinson amy.wilkinson@rdx.works

December 07, 2022 08:15 AM Eastern Standard Time

What Are Functional Beverages And Why Are They All The Rage?

Real McCoy Tea Company (DBA KombuchaTown)

Interested in investing in Kombucha Town’s campaign? Click here to get started. Functional beverages encompass a range of familiar drinks you can find in your local supermarket that includes dairy-based beverages, probiotic drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, meal replacers, caffeinated beverages and vegetable or fruit juices. Functional beverages are different from drinks like soda because they include desirable nutrients and bioactive compounds like antioxidants and vitamins. Functional beverages are designed to address different body concerns and improve overall health. Take kombucha as an example. Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage that, when done right, can have great health benefits. The tea is made by adding a symbiotic colony of good bacteria and yeast to sweetened tea. The culture feeds on the sugars during fermentation, which produces alcohol and amino acids. This process helps with gut health and digestion, among other health benefits. Functional beverages have been known to improve overall physical health and even decrease the risk of disease progression. Kombucha has been known to help with some of the neurological effects of Alzheimer's disease. COCID-19 accelerated an already-growing interest in the wellness industry, including functional beverages. According to Precedence Research, in 2021 the global functional beverage market was valued at $129.21 billion. The industry is projected to be worth $279.4 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of 8.94% from 2022 to 2030. Digestive health products like kombucha are among the fastest-growing categories in the functional beverage industry. However, despite the interest in the functional beverage space, many of the products on the market may not be as healthy as they seem. Nutritionists warn consumers to be wary of brands offering healthy drinks and to always read the labels. The beverage industry is fraught with sugary drinks and artificial ingredients. Kombucha Town is a functional beverage company determined to back its health claims. It debuted its first kombucha product in 2011 and since then has expanded its product line to include kombucha, balanced energy drinks, seltzer and a sports drink line. Each product is designed to maximize health benefits and provide customers with functional beverages that actually work. What sets Kombucha Town apart is its isolated, highest-quality kombucha culture. The team chooses the healthiest cultures from each batch and between 170,000,000 and 240,000,000 live active cultures to thrive in each serving the company offers. Kombucha Town is also dedicated to helping the environment. Standing out from its competitors, Kombucha Town was the first kombucha brewery to package products in a 16-ounce aluminum can. This packaging is recyclable, lightweight and space efficient which helps cut down on distribution waste. The cans are also made in the U.S. The facility is 100% offset by renewable energy through Puget Sound Energy. Kombucha Town also has a partnership with One Tree Planted. When Kombucha Town has held investment raises, One Tree Planted has planted trees corresponding with different raise amounts. Could Kombucha Town Be Well-Positioned To Become A Leader In The Functional Beverage Industry? Kombucha Town reports flourishing and becoming a pioneering company in the kombucha space with its canned kombucha. Kombucha Town is sold in over 1,200 stores nationally, including Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Safeway/Albertsons and Sprouts. In 2019, the company brought in $1.2 million in revenue. In 2021, the company had over $555,000 in sales. In 2022 Kombucha Town has sold over $850,000 they are on track to surpass their pre covid numbers in 2023 and do it profitably. Kombucha Town is holding a crowdfunding raise on Republic to help with its growth. Founder Chris McCoy is hopeful that Kombucha Town will continue to grow into even more of a leader in the functional beverage space. Having forecasted a return to pre-COVID sales in 2022, the company expects to keep growing from there. Click here to read more about Kombucha Town’s raise and how to invest! Founder & CEO Chris McCoy brewed his first kombucha in 2007 while studying Environmental Science and Economics in college. He founded Kombucha Town in 2011 to support his mother with early onset Alzheimer’s. Now he is on a mission to disrupt the toxic food system and repair environmental damage done by large manufacturers. Kombucha Town’s mission is to enable healthy and active lifestyles. We believe in being good for and good for the planet by being fair trade and organic certified. Kombucha Town is based out of Bellingham Washington where we do all our manufacturing with the natural ingredients to bring you healthy and delicious beverages. Kombucha Town is focused on doing business a better way by better good for consumers and good for the planet. We embody environmentalism in our partnership and certification such as 1% for the planet and 1 tree planted. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Chris McCoy Chris@KombuchaTown.com

December 07, 2022 08:15 AM Eastern Standard Time

Holiday Cheer gift ideas with Chassie Post

News Media Group, Inc.

Contact Details Karl Wayne +1 334-440-6397 karl@newsmg.com Company Website https://newsmg.com/

December 07, 2022 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Video

CleverTap Unveils RenderMax

CleverTap

CleverTap, the World's #1 Retention Cloud today unveiled RenderMax – a proprietary technology that can increase mobile push notification render rates up to 90% on low-end Android devices. Push notifications have the power to increase customer retention rates anywhere from 3 - 10 times. Most marketers just focus on their push notification delivery rates, but a “delivered" notification that doesn't render on the user’s device is a wasted effort. For those who equate delivery and rendering as equal, render rate is the percentage of the number of push notifications the end user received (and were rendered) on the user’s device compared to the total number of push notifications that were sent. All Chinese OEM devices use a custom variant of the stock Android OS. To optimize battery consumption, these OS variants are configured to bypass the Google/Firebase push delivery service, resulting in low delivery rates and even lower render rates. RenderMax gives CleverTap customers a significant competitive advantage as they can now engage users they could not before and elevate the ROI from their push campaigns. This is especially true for devices that are in battery saver mode or cannot be reached due to inactivity. “RenderMax is a testament to our continued commitment towards product development and innovation. Low render rates stifle the true potential of mobile push notifications. We are confident that with RenderMax, brands will be able to harness the full power of push notifications. What’s interesting is that we are offering RenderMax to all customers at no additional cost to any brand that wants to try it out.” said Anand Jain, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, CleverTap. Betterhalf, India's first and only marriage super app was provided an early access to RenderMax and their push notification render rates more than doubled! Shankar Krishnamurthy, Group Product Manager, Betterhalf said, “At Betterhalf, mobile push notifications are critical for our business. With CleverTap’s innovative RenderMax solution our push notification render rates have skyrocketed to 85%.” RenderMax powers up the render rates of customers’ push notifications, amplifies the push notification reach, and maximizes user engagement. Enhancing the reach of push notifications can help CleverTap customers lower costs, increase engagement and conversion rates, and reduce churn. “The CleverTap platform has a great breadth of capabilities, and this innovative mobile push solution will certainly help them stay much ahead of the competition,” Shankar added. CleverTap RenderMax works with Android OEMs such as Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo, One Plus, POCO, Realme, and Samsung. About CleverTap CleverTap is the World's #1 Retention Cloud that helps app-first brands personalize and optimize all consumer touch points to improve user engagement, retention, and lifetime value. It's the only solution built to address the needs of retention and growth teams, with audience analytics, deep-segmentation, multi-channel engagement, product recommendations, and automation in one unified product. The platform is powered by TesseractDB™ - the world’s first purpose-built database for customer engagement, offering both speed and economies of scale. CleverTap is trusted by 1500 customers, including Gojek, ShopX, Electronic Arts, TED, English Premier League, TD Bank, Carousell, AirAsia, Papa John’s, and Tesco. Backed by leading investors such as Sequoia India, Tiger Global, Accel, and CDPQ the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with presence in San Francisco, New York, São Paulo, Bogota, London, Amsterdam, Sofia, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Jakarta. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn and Twitter. Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release may represent CleverTap's belief in connection with future events and may be forward-looking statements, or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. CleverTap cautions that such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties that could result in the actual outcome being absolutely different from the results anticipated by the statements mentioned in the press release. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions affecting our business, future market conditions, our ability to maintain cost advantages, uncertainty with respect to earnings, corporate actions, client concentration, reduced demand, liability or damages in our service contracts, unusual catastrophic loss events, war, political instability, changes in government policies or laws, legal restrictions impacting our business, impact of pandemic, epidemic, any natural calamity and other factors that are naturally beyond our control, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different, from those anticipated by such statements. CleverTap does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated or revised status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will CleverTap and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or any related damages. Contact Details Sony Shetty sony@clevertap.com Company Website https://clevertap.com/

December 07, 2022 05:07 AM Eastern Standard Time

Travelers Institute and Cambridge Mobile Telematics Release Educational Guide to Help Curb Distracted Driving

YourUpdateTV

The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV ), recently released “ Every Second Matters®: Reducing Distracted Driving, One Voice at a Time,” an educational guide published in partnership with Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), the world’s largest telematics company. “The guide highlights new statistics that show how risky driving behaviors, such as speeding and texting behind the wheel, accelerated during the pandemic,” said Joan Woodward, President of the Travelers Institute and Executive Vice President of Public Policy at Travelers. “Throughout the report, we provide an eye-opening account of the dangers of distraction and arm drivers with important resources for staying safe on the road.” The Every Second Matters guide outlines steps motorists can take to improve their driving habits, including: · Adopt a professional driver’s mindset: Hands on wheel, eyes on road, mind on driving. · Don’t be a distraction: According to the 2022 Travelers Risk Index, nearly 80% of drivers make or take calls while driving, so avoid becoming the distraction – don’t call or text employees, family members and friends while they are on the road. · Activate “Do Not Disturb”: Use this setting while driving to silence notifications and avoid distractions. · Speak up: Let risky drivers know of their dangerous behavior and encourage others to do the same when they are passengers in a car. · Get feedback: Consider enrolling in a telematics program that provides feedback as well as incentives for driving safely. The report also highlights the benefits of telematics programs. Data from CMT shows that drivers who open their telematics app more than three times a week are 65% safer and 57% less distracted than those who don’t. “Telematics programs are changing behaviors and reducing distractions on the road,” said Ryan McMahon, Senior Vice President of Strategy at CMT. “By joining a telematics program, drivers are learning about their habits and improving roadway safety for all. Consumers are seeing these benefits, and telematics programs are more popular than ever as a result.” Other key findings from CMT include: · More than 35% of car trips involve some type of phone distraction. · More than 35% of distracted driving happens over 50 mph. · The most distracted drivers are 2.2 times more likely to crash than the least distracted drivers. Through the Every Second Matters distracted driving education initiative, the Travelers Institute publishes materials and hosts events that encourage drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians to play an active role in changing roadway behaviors. To learn more about the Travelers Institute and read the Every Second Matters educational guide, visit travelersinstitute.org. About Cambridge Mobile Telematics Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) is the world’s largest telematics service provider. Its mission is to make the world’s roads and drivers safer. The company’s AI-driven platform, DriveWell®, gathers sensor data from millions of IoT devices — including smartphones, proprietary Tags, connected vehicles, dashcams, and third-party devices — and fuses them with contextual data to create a unified view of vehicle and driver behavior. Companies from personal and commercial auto insurance, automotive, rideshare, smart cities, wireless, financial services, and family safety industries use insights from CMT’s platform to power their risk assessment, safety, claims, and driver improvement programs. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with offices in Budapest, Chennai, Seattle and Tokyo, CMT serves millions of people through 80 programs in 18 countries, including 21 of the top 25 US auto insurers. For more information, visit cmtelematics.com. About the Travelers Institute The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc., engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of importance to the insurance marketplace and to the financial services industry more broadly. The Travelers Institute draws upon the industry expertise of Travelers’ senior management as well as the technical expertise of many of Travelers’ underwriters, risk managers and other experts to provide information, analysis and solutions to public policymakers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. For more information, visit Travelers.com. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

December 06, 2022 04:33 PM Eastern Standard Time

Matthew Coleman Joins AmeriLife as Vice President of Annuity and Life Product Innovation

AmeriLife

AmeriLife Group, LLC (“AmeriLife”), a national leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities and retirement planning solutions, announced today that Matthew Coleman has joined the company as vice president of Annuity and Life Product Innovation. In this newly created role, which will report to AmeriLife’s Senior Vice President of Product Innovation Brad Shelton, Coleman will partner with the company’s valued carrier partners to expand AmeriLife’s proprietary life insurance and annuity offerings to better meet the increasing demands of the company’s affiliates and their agents and clients. “Matt brings a powerful combination of actuarial expertise and leadership experience within both carrier and distribution organizations,” said Shelton. “His addition comes at a perfect time given AmeriLife’s continued growth in the life and annuities space. We’re thrilled to have him join our team.” Coleman brings nearly 30 years of industry experience to AmeriLife, most recently serving as a director at Willis Towers Watson, where he led business and product development, actuarial support and distribution strategy for the fixed, indexed and variable annuity markets. Previous to Willis Towers Watson, Coleman worked in progressively senior positions for BMA Insurance Company and financial services company CreativeOne. He also co-founded the Ideal Producers Group, where he spearheaded the actuarial department and led product innovation, design and marketing. Coleman, who holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Kansas, is also a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. “At a time of increased distribution aggregation in the life and annuity markets, the integration of product development and distribution is a key business accelerator,” said Coleman. “Quality and insightful product development turns insurer relationships into long-lasting partnerships and maximizes the value delivered up and down the vertical. I look forward to helping deliver that on behalf of AmeriLife.” “Matt’s appointment comes at a critical time of increasing demand for solutions that deliver on consumers’ total financial wellbeing," added Pat Fleming, executive vice president of Product Innovation and corporate actuary. “We look forward to Matt’s contributions with the development of proprietary life and annuity products, which will expand our growing product portfolio and provide unique solutions for our carrier partners as well as our marketers, agents and consumers.” ### About AmeriLife AmeriLife’s strength is its mission: to provide insurance and retirement solutions to help people live longer, healthier lives. In doing so, AmeriLife has become recognized as the leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities and retirement planning solutions to enhance the lives of pre-retirees and retirees across the United States. For more than 50 years, AmeriLife has partnered with top insurance carriers to provide value and quality to customers served through a distribution network of over 300,000 insurance agents and advisors and more than 100 marketing organizations and insurance agency locations nationwide. For more information, visit AmeriLife.com, and follow AmeriLife on Facebook and LinkedIn. Contact Details Media Jeff Maldonado +1 321-297-1112 jmaldonado@amerilife.com Partnership Inquiries Patrick Nichols +1 727-726-0726 pnichols@amerilife.com Company Website https://amerilife.com/

December 06, 2022 01:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

AREAS USA Awarded 15-year Contract to Operate West Virginia Travel Plazas

Areas USA

Areas USA is pleased to announce it has been awarded a 15-year contract to operate three West Virginia Parkway travel plazas and one snack bar on one of the busiest highways in the United States. The contract is estimated to generate approximately $272 million in revenue over the term of the contract while employing hundreds of local residents. The contract represents a partnership between Areas and the West Virginia Parkways Authority. The WVA Parkways Authority’s mission is to operate and maintain the West Virginia Turnpike safely and efficiently. It provides for the construction, development, and maintenance of 88 miles of interstate roads that constitute the West Virginia Turnpike. The three travel plazas and snack bar are located on Route 77 where nearly 37 million vehicles cruise each year. The route treks along West Virginia’s scenic 88-mile-long parkway, running parallel to the spectacular New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Areas will invest over $15 million into the project and beginning in early 2023, each location will be completely redesigned featuring state-of-the-art amenities encompassing the surrounding natural beauty. Travelers will be greeted by celebrated brands such as Starbucks, Wendy’s, Popeye’s, and Firehouse Subs. In addition, each location features Areas’ own Mountain State Market travel convenience stores offering an authentic sense of place with natural design elements, local artwork, and artisanal offerings from the surrounding community. During the warmer months, Areas will host farmers’ markets featuring local entrepreneurs and musicians to showcase the eclectic bounty from the West Virginia Mountains. Areas strives to become part of the fabric of each community it serves by partnering with local community organizations. This includes cultivating employment opportunities through the “Second Chance Act” program, as well as developing a training and recruitment program with the New River Community and Technical College and the ProStart Restaurant Management program for high school students. Other decisive factors in Areas’ successful bid include innovation in sales formats, a focus on new technological solutions, and a robust customer service platform exuding authentic southern hospitality. Areas will also collaborate with the West Virginia Tourism Commission and the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association to cross-promote the state’s tourism marketing plans. This partnership will ensure Areas remains connected and engaged with the local community throughout the life of the 15-year term. “Areas USA is a world-renowned leader in travel plaza operations, and we could not be happier that they will partner with the WV Turnpike in the operations of our upcoming world-class facilities,” says Jeff Miller, executive director of the West Virginia Parkways Authority. “Through a competitive bid process Areas submitted a proposal that absolutely fit our vision for what we want to offer motorists and patrons who travel our road and visit our facilities. From outstanding food concepts to outdoor dining ideas and their concept of establishing a Mountain State Market, we are very pleased that they have joined us in developing what we feel will be a first-class service experience while embracing and showcasing all that WV has to offer.” “We are thrilled to be a part of the West Virginia community and look forward to showcasing the magnificence of the Mountain State,” says Carlos Bernal, CEO of Areas USA. “Guests will encounter an exceptional experience rich in local heritage at all three travel plazas. From outdoor spaces featuring farmers’ markets, craft shows, and pop-up local attractions to celebrated national brands and local concepts. These plazas are destinations for refueling but also for recharging, relaxing, and preparing for the journey ahead.” About Areas Areas USA is a subsidiary company of Areas. Established in 1968 in Barcelona, Spain the company has become a global leader in the travel hospitality industry generating over $2 billion in annual revenue. The global company has operations in 87 airports, 236 motorway plazas, and 80 train stations in 10 countries. Each year, Areas welcomes 350 million customers in 1,900 restaurants and stores located in major transportation hubs, exhibition centers, and leisure parks. In 2006, Areas entered the US market with its first hospitality contract at Miami International Airport. The US company continued to secure long-term contracts to operate all travel plazas on the Florida Turnpike in 2009 and the Maryland Turnpike in 2012, in addition to winning long-term contracts in several additional major airports. Today, Areas USA operates in 9 airports and 10 travel plazas across 11 US states and currently manages a total of 136 outlets. Areas USA is poised for rapid growth and remains a core focus of the company’s international expansion plans. Contact Details Areas USA Pauline Armbrust +1 305-798-3081 pauline.armbrust@areas.com

December 06, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Mozzeria, a Deaf Owned-and-Operated Pizzeria, Names Richard Horrell New CEO

Communication Service for the Deaf

Mozzeria, an award-winning and internationally recognized pizzeria, welcomes Richard Horrell as its newest CEO after successfully leading as interim CEO since June 2022. Horrell succeeds Ryan Maliszewski, whose impact and accomplishments on the Mozzeria community will be long-lasting and unforgettable. Horrell plans to build upon Mozzeria’s trailblazing foundation, overseeing its strategic growth by creating more equitable spaces and more opportunities for positive representation of the Deaf community. Richard Horrell is a hard-of-hearing member of the Deaf community with more than 20 years of experience spanning law, business, and education. Before accepting the role of Mozzeria CEO, he was a Senior Program Operations Manager for CSD Social Venture Fund (SVF), a venture capital firm dedicated to funding Deaf-owned businesses. There, Horrell worked closely with Deaf business owners to ensure stability in their operations and prepare them to expand their businesses. “As I humbly and gratefully step into this role, I recognize that Mozzeria is not solely about pizza or profit,” Richard explained. “I believe the real work we are doing is about raising up the community. It's about equity. I believe that Mozzeria, more than anything else, can be a place where Deaf and hard of hearing people can look and see their peers modeling excellence.” “Richard has already had such a positive impact on Mozzeria as interim CEO and through his work with CSD SVF,” said Chris Soukup, Board president of Mozzeria. “We are certain that his diverse professional background uniquely positions him to continue to lead the growth of the Mozzeria brand. We are excited for what the future holds.” Mozzeria was founded in 2011 in San Francisco, making history as the city’s first-ever Deaf-owned restaurant, and it has continued making history ever since. The pizzeria quickly received global acclaim for its authentic, delicious cuisine by the International Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. Six years later, Mozzeria partnered with CSD Social Venture Fund in hopes of expanding nationwide. Thanks to this partnership, in 2020 Mozzeria was able to open a second, flourishing location in Washington D.C., despite the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. Nearly three years later, Mozzeria is poised to continue making an impact under Horrell’s leadership. “As Mozzeria grows, we are gifted with more opportunities to create equitable spaces and model Deaf excellence, showing that Deaf people are capable of anything we set our minds to,” said Horrell. About Mozzeria Mozzeria was founded in 2011 with the goal of providing customers with a welcoming, memorable, and visual environment to experience Deaf culture while working to increase career placement opportunities for Deaf people. Since then, people across the globe have flocked to Mozzeria to get a taste of our famous authentic wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas. Mozzeria is proud to be a place where employees can show their talent and feel a shared sense of belonging, all while serving delicious pizza and cuisine inspired from the Campania region in Italy to our customers! Visit http://www.mozzeria.com and follow @EatMozzeria on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. About CSD Social Venture Fund CSD Social Venture Fund (CSD SVF) is one of the only venture capitals in the world supporting Deaf entrepreneurs and Deaf-owned and operated businesses. CSD SVF provides equity investments to Deaf-led businesses that exemplify CSD's values: enhancing Deaf economic power, employing Deaf people, and creating social change. CSD SVF is committed to the success of each business, providing not only financial investment, but also access to tools and resources, enabling each Deaf-led business to thrive. Existing portfolio members include Mozzeria, National Deaf Therapy, DeafTax, Bus Door Films, and Hands on Travel. For more information, please visit https://csdsvf.com/ and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. About Communication Service for the Deaf Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) is the largest Deaf-led social impact organization in the world. For more than four decades, CSD has been a leader in creating and providing accessible and innovative solutions for the Deaf community. Today, CSD continues its work to create opportunities for personal and economic growth within the Deaf community, specifically addressing leadership and employment. For more information, please visit CSD and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Contact Details CSD Katie Murch media@csd.org Company Website https://www.csd.org/

December 06, 2022 09:37 AM Central Standard Time

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