Newsletter | The Village Secretary, Virtual Office Support

The Village Secretary Newsletter

27350 Southfield Road · Lathrup Village · MI · 48076

Volume 1 / Issue 3 December 2009

In This Issue

Customer Spotlight

Featured Article

Last Minute Recipe Idea

How Tweet It Is

Special Offers

Quick Links

Facebook Us

Find us on Twitter

Customer Spotlight

Meet Juan Jeffries

Juan Jeffries has over 26 years of experience in the financial services industry. Seventeen of these years have been spent working in the banking industry while the past nine years have been in the investment services arena.

Juan Jeffries is currently a Regional Director for Goldman Sachs covering Detroit and Central Michigan. In this role, Juan is responsible for increasing sales of Goldman Sachs mutual funds, privately managed accounts and 401(K)products in firms such as Edward Jones, Morgan Stanley/Smith Barney, Wells Fargo, UBS Financial Services, and Merrill Lynch.

Juan is a native of East Orange, New Jersey. He received his B.A. in Business from Morehouse College in 1981 and an MBA in Finance from Atlanta University in 1983. He is married with two children and resides in Farmington Hills, MI. Please read on for a short interview with Juan.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

JJ: The most rewarding part of my job is providing ideas and investment solutions to help my clients grow their practice.

If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would do?

JJ: If I won the lottery I would make a huge donation to my favorite charity and then follow my passion which is flying airplanes. I would take some of the lottery money and buy a jet. I would then fly critically ill children and their parents from their home town to the medical facility that would help resolve their medical conditions. I would provide the transportation for free.

What is your favorite restaurant?

JJ: My favorite restaurant is Bacco's in Southfield, MI.

Holiday Reminder

Keep The Village Secretary in mind when it comes to sending your important packages as we offer UPS shipping and packaging.

Thankful in the Mitten

In these economic times, news seems to be focused on all the negative events going on in our state. With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, I wanted to share some GOOD news about developments in our state to be thankful for. This information was found in a newsletter from BUY MICHIGAN NOW. With the upcoming holidays, I encourage everyone to visit this website to search out local products to use in your celebrations and support our local economy.

Good News in Michigan:

New Contracts

The United States Army's Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren was awarded a 5-year, $430 million contract for engineering and manufacturing services.
The University of Michigan secured a $9.3 million award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to fund vaccine research associated with "Innate Immune Receptors and Adjuvant Discovery."

New Jobs

Birmingham-based Glencoe Capital's Michigan Opportunities Fund acquired the inbound telephone customer service business of Novo 1, a call center operation. This customer care and contact center plans to open in western Michigan by early 2010, employing more than 300 personnel.
Governor Granholm signed a new wetlands law last month that experts believe will make cranberry production easier. The new law allows the state to retain control of its existing wetlands and create new ones. The additional acreage would then generate nearly $30 million for the state annually and create 383 jobs beyond bog construction.

Great Grants

Michigan State University is the recipient of the largest grant ever awarded by the US Department of Agriculture's Specialty Crop Research Initiative. MSU scientists will lead a four-year, $14.4 million grant-funded research project to improve the quality and sustainability of fruit.
A team of Michigan Tech researchers have obtained a $452,000 grant to study the impact of climate change on wildfires and the resulting impact on human health from the smoke.

Other Good News

Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge the direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with a net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter.
Ongoing audits and financial reviews within the Detroit Public Schools have brought the district about $19.5 million in savings.
The future of our state is very much linked to the education of its people. Despite the recession, the University of Michgan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University all reported higher fall enrollments.

So let's all be thankful for the opportunites arising across our great state. With neighbors helping neighbors, and businesses and individuals supporting each other we have hope for a brighter tomorrow. Click here for the full article from BUY MICHIGAN NOW.

Last Minute Recipe Idea

Creamy Two-Layer Pumpkin Pie

Prep Time: 20 min

Total Time: 4 hr 20 min

Makes: 10 servings

Ingredients

4 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese

1 Tbsp. cold fat-free milk

1 Tbsp. sugar

1-1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip Lite Whipped Topping

1 ready-to-use reduced-fat graham cracker crumb crust (6oz.)

1 cup cold fat-free milk

1 can (16oz.) pumpkin

2 pkg. JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

BEAT Cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk and sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in whipped topping. Spread onto bottom of crust.

POUR 1 cup milk into medium bowl. Add pumpkin, pudding mix and spices. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Spread over cream cheese layer.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until set. Garnish with additional whipped topping, if desired.

How Tweet It Is

Have you ever found yourself inquiring about the twitter fad and how it can help your business? Well, today you can put your mind at ease as we have done the research for you.

Twitter is a mixture of messaging, social networking, "microblogging" and something called "presence," shorthand for the idea that people should enjoy an "always on" virtual existence.

When a user is logged in through the Web or a cellphone, it asks one simple question, "What are you doing?" Users are then allowed only 140 characters to answer this question, but it's enough to mention products or to direct others to blog sites. Below are some ways you can tweet yourself to success.

Follow People who Interest You - Search for people and businesses who not only interest you but who may provide some sort of benefit for you. Follow those who are not going to waste your time and who will provide you with beneficial information.

Offer Valuable and Interesting Information - Twitter can be much more than a juvenile social tool. Provide useful and interesting information to those who are following you and you will draw attention not only to your platform, but your business as well.

Use the Tools Available to You - Connect your social networking sites to to allow you to update your status on each at once. The TweetLater application allows you to schedule your tweets for when you are away.

Take it in Stride - Do not waste your time going through every tweet. Read and reply to information that interests you.

Twitter is a constant stream of communication. The Village Secretary uses twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest industry news, network and share blogs with followers. The full article can be found on the Duck Tape Marketing website.

Start tweeting today!

	Did You Know?
The can opener was invented 48 years after cans were introduced.

What would you like to read about? Have an article idea for our newsletter? Email us today with your ideas! And remember to choose The Village Secretary for your office support needs.

Sincerely,

Laura Alumbaugh
The Village Secretary

The Village Secretary · 27350 Southfield Road · Lathrup Village · MI · 48076

Phone 248.557.2434 · Fax 248.557.4973 · Email staff@thevillagesecretary.net

One Month FREE	At The Village Secretary ONLY. Sign-up for a 6-month Mail Receiving lease and obtain one month free. We accept any amount of mail you may have incoming to the street address and suite number we assign you.
Expires 12/31/2009