GSA Technology Council

AT&T Inc. has announced that the company’s fourth-quarter 2008 financial results will be released Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009. The company’s earnings release, Investor Briefing and related materials will be available on AT&T’s Web site at http://www.att.com/investor.relations by 8 a.m. ET.

At 10 a.m. ET the same day, AT&T will host a conference call to discuss the results. There will be a live webcast of the call at http://www.att.com/investor.relations, and the webcast will be available for replay at the same address.

via AT&T

CareerBuilder.com has released the results of its latest survey, conducted by Harris Interactive(R), tracking projected hiring trends for 2009. The survey, titled “2009 Job Forecast,” was conducted from November 12 through December 1, 2008 among 3,259 hiring managers and human resource professionals in private sector companies.

“The job market of 2008 suffered as the U.S. economy weakened and entered into a recession,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. “Looking ahead, recruitment levels are expected to be lower in the new year, but employers are not out of the mix completely; instead they’re taking ‘a wait and see’ approach to hiring. Fourteen percent of employers, surveyed by CareerBuilder.com, state they plan to increase full-time, permanent employees and 16 percent plan to decrease in 2009. The remainder of employers say they are unsure or don’t plan to make any changes to their headcount in the new year.”

Full-time

Fourteen percent of employers plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees in 2009, compared to 32 percent who anticipated increasing headcount in 2008. Sixteen percent plan to decrease staff levels in 2009 while 56 percent expect no change. Thirteen percent are unsure.

Part-time

Eight percent of employers plan to increase their number of part-time employees in 2009, down from 21 percent who expected to do so in 2008. Fourteen percent plan to decrease headcount in 2009, 62 percent expect no change and 15 percent are unsure.

Hiring By Region

Staff expansions are expected to be strongest in the South and West in 2009. Eighteen percent of employers in the South and 14 percent of employers in the West plan to add full-time, permanent employees compared to 13 percent in the Midwest and 11 percent in the Northeast. Employers in the Northeast are projecting one of the largest amounts of staff decreases at 19 percent, followed by 17 percent in the Midwest, 16 percent in the West and 14 percent in the South.

Hiring By Industry

Comparing select industries, job creation in Professional and Business Services and Information Technology is expected to carry into the new year. Twenty-eight percent of IT and 23 percent of Professional and Business Services employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in 2009, followed by 20 percent of employers in Transportation and Utilities, 16 percent in Sales, 14 percent in Healthcare and 13 percent in Financial Services. Retail employers are also planning to expand staffs at 7 percent followed by 5 percent of Hospitality employers.

SEVEN MAJOR HIRING TRENDS FOR 2009

#1 Increased Salaries

Even as companies explore ways to cut costs, employers still plan to increase salaries in the coming year.

– Sixty-six percent of employers report their companies will increase
salaries for existing employees in 2009, down from 80 percent in 2008.
Forty-six percent expect to raise salaries by 3 percent or more while
10 percent anticipate increases of 5 percent or more.
– One third of employers expect to increase salaries on initial offers to
new employees, down from 65 percent in 2008. One-in-five (21 percent)
employers will raise salaries by 3 percent or more while 7 percent
anticipate increases of 5 percent or more.

#2 Flexible Work Arrangements

Close to one third (31 percent) of employers say they plan to provide more flexible work arrangements in 2009. These arrangements include:

– Alternate schedules — come in early and leave early or come in later
and leave later — 70 percent
– Telecommuting options — 48 percent
– Compressed workweeks — work the same hours, but in fewer days — 40
percent
– Summer hours — 19 percent
– Job sharing — 13 percent
– Sabbaticals — 7 percent

#3 Green Jobs

Employers plan to become more environmentally aware in the new year. Thirteen percent of employers say they plan to add “green jobs” in 2009, compared to one-in-ten who say they added them in 2008. “Green Jobs” are positions that implement environmentally conscious design, policy, and technology to improve conservation and sustainability.

#4 Recruitment Tools

As recruitment budgets tighten, more employers are leveraging the Internet as a vehicle for finding potential employees. While nearly one quarter (23 percent) of employers say their overall hiring budgets will decrease for 2009, however, they plan to increase their recruitment spend on the following:

– Online recruitment sites — 19 percent
– Newspaper classifieds — 15 percent
– Career fairs — 12 percent
– Staffing firms and recruiters — 12 percent
– Social networking sites — 7 percent

#5 Retaining Retirees

A quarter of employers surveyed report concern over the loss of intellectual capital at their organizations as a large number of baby boomers approach retirement age.

– Nearly one-in-five employers (17 percent) say they are likely to rehire retirees from other companies in 2009. Another 12 percent are likely to provide incentives for workers at or approaching retirement age to stay on with the company longer.

#6 Diversity Recruitment

When asked if there is a particular segment of diverse workers they plan to target more aggressively in 2009, employers pointed to Hispanic workers, women, African-American workers and mature workers.

– Nearly nine-in-ten (88 percent) employers report they will be placing the same or greater amount of emphasis on recruiting bilingual candidates in 2009.

#7 Freelance or Contract Hiring

As the nation waits for the economy to bounce back, employers are turning to freelance or contract workers to help support their businesses.

– Twenty-eight percent of employers anticipate hiring freelancers or contractors in 2009.

HIRING AND COMPENSATION IN Q1

Hiring

Seventeen percent of employers say they increased their headcount in the last three months. Twenty-two percent reduced headcount while 60 percent reported no change. One percent were undecided.

In the first quarter of 2009, 16 percent of employers say they plan to add employees. Sixteen percent will decrease headcount while 62 percent anticipate no change and 6 percent are undecided.

Compensation

With a large number of annual salary increases taking place in the first quarter, 56 percent of employers expect to raise compensation levels in the next three months. Forty-three percent estimate the average raise to amount to 3 percent or more while 12 percent anticipate an average raise of 5 percent or more.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 3,259 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions; non government); ages 18 and over between November 12 and Deceember 1, 2008 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset US Employers, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 3,259 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.72 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced results for its fiscal year ended October 31, 2008. For the fiscal year, the Company reported record net income and earnings per share of $110 million and $1.49 per diluted share, respectively. These results compare with net income of $104.4 million, or $1.40 per diluted share, for the 2007 fiscal year. Chairman, President and CEO Thomas E. Skains commented, “In 2008, we continued our track record of solid financial performance and dividend growth for shareholders. Although not at the upper end of our guidance range, our earnings per diluted share of $1.49 were at record levels due to top line margin growth from continued customer growth and expense reductions from ongoing cost management programs.”

System throughput for fiscal year 2008 totaled 210.3 million dekatherms, compared with 206 million dekatherms for the previous year. The increase was primarily due to colder weather and customer growth. Weather for the year was 5% warmer than normal but 7% colder than 2007.

For the year, margin increased by 5% compared to the prior year. The increase in margin was positively influenced by 2% growth in gross customer additions in the Company’s service area and net adjustments resulting from regulatory gas cost accounting reviews.

Operations and maintenance expenses for the year decreased $3.7 million from the previous fiscal year primarily as a result of lower pension expense accruals resulting from the Company’s restructuring of its defined benefit pension program.

Included in Other Income are results from the Company’s interest in SouthStar Energy Services, which contributed $18.3 million pre-tax income in fiscal 2008 compared with $28.2 million pre-tax income for the prior year. Results in the fourth quarter of 2008 were impacted by a pre-tax reduction of $4.5 million as a result of a lower of cost or market accounting adjustment to lower the value of SouthStar’s gas inventory due to declining wholesale natural gas prices. The Company’s interest in Hardy Storage, which completed its first full year of operations in fiscal 2008, contributed $4.6 million pre-tax income compared with $3.8 million pre-tax income for the prior year.

The GSA Technology Council starts 2009 with a bang. We lead off with a highly interactive session where old media meets new. How does old guard television react to blogging, online video, and social media? Talk to WSPA-TV Anchor Amy Wood as she leads the charge to blend the two.

GSATC Learning Lunch
Topic: Old Media meets New – Social Media Changes Everything
Presented by: Amy Wood / WSPA
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Crowne Plaza (Map: I-385 at Roper Mtn.)
Agenda
11:30 – 11:55 Registration, Networking, Lunch
11:55 – 12:10 Announcements
12:10 – 12:50 Presentation
12:50 – 1:00 Door Prizes, Adjourn

This meeting features easy access from I-385, plenty of free parking, ample networking opportunities, a great presentation, and door prizes. Plan to attend.

Lunch is $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

RSVP Online

Renaissance Weekend, the non-partisan retreat founded in 1981 to build bridges among innovative leaders from diverse fields, began yesterday bringing 1,200 participants to Charleston, South Carolina, for 450 lectures, seminars, discussions, and performances concluding with their singing of “Auld Lang Syne” and “God Bless America” at the stroke of the new year.

The tradition was founded and is hosted by the former US Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s, Philip Lader, who is chairman of WPP plc, the world’s largest advertising/media services company, and his wife, Linda Lader, a Fellow at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture and a director of various education and religious organizations.

“For 28 years,” Ambassador Lader said, “Renaissance Weekend has continued to be a cross-generational conversation among accomplished individuals with widely divergent perspectives. Civility prevails; partisanship is frowned upon; and commercialism is banned.”

“Though strikingly different views of religion, politics, and every other field are represented, there is more light than heat,” Lader added.

The meetings are likened to the reunion of “an extended family” of prominent leaders in business and finance, education, religion, law and medicine, government, the media, science and technology, sports, non-profits and the arts. This year’s gathering includes CEOs, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, artists and scientists, astronauts, athletes and university presidents, judges, journalists and diplomats, as well as government, non-profit, and religious leaders.

Among the New Year’s participants are:

• Director of US National Intelligence Michael McConnell,


• Nobel laureates Robert Richardson, Bill Phillips, and Robert Curl,


• Space Shuttle Discover Commander Mark Kelly,


• former Under Secretary of State and Ogilvy & Mather chair Charlotte Beers,


• Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel Howe,


• former CIA officer Valerie Plame,


• American Conservative Union chairman David Keene,


• Columbia University Medical Center dean Lee Goldman,


• National Cathedral dean Sam Lloyd,


• former Chief of Staff to Barbara Bush Susan Porter Rose,


• former Federal Reserve Board vice chairman Alan Blinder,


• evangelists Leighton Ford and Tony Campolo,


• JFK adviser Ted Sorensen,


• conservative direct mail guru Richard Viguerie,


• Rabbi Harold Kushner,


• financial writer Andrew Tobias,


• former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Shirley Jackson,


• CIA counter-terrorism authority Hank Crumpton,


• software designer Peter Norton,


• MacArthur Prize-winning education professor Howard Gardner,


• CBS News correspondent Rita Braver,


• media venture capitalist Kay Koplovitz,


• Society of Neuroscientists president Mickey Goldberg,


• Yale and Princeton theologians Lamin Sanneh and Elaine Pagels,


• SAS Institute co-founder John Sall,


• Newsweek contributing editor Eleanor Clift,


• Ohio State University president Gordon Gee,


• NPR anchor Scott Simon,


• former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Gillian Sorensen,


• former US ambassador Joe Wilson,


• award-winning nature photographer Frans Lanting,


• linguistics author Deborah Tannen,


• former US Senator and ambassador to China Jim Sasser,


• Kanye West Entertainment president Miki Woodard,


• open-source software pioneer Michael Tiemann,


• former CNN Business anchor Myron Kandel, and


• Washington lawyers Bob Barnett and Thurgood Marshall.

Programs cover a broad spectrum of public policy and personal issues, such as:

• Is It Still “A Wonderful Life”?,


• The Making of 44 — How the Presidential Race Was Won,


• “Oh, Oh” – The Spacecraft’s on Fire & the Urinal’s Backed Up,


• What Christians Don’t Understand about Islam,


• Prescriptions for Healthcare Reform,


• Could I Have Been Taken In by Bernie Madoff?,


• The History of Freedom,


• Why the New Gold Rush Is Green,


• Net Prophets & the Web They Weave,


• How Young People’s Brains Differ from Past Generations’,


• Is the American Way of Life Indestructible?,


• What Governor Palin’s Appeal Tells Us about America,


• The Screening of America,


• Books that Change Lives,


• How Seriously Stretched Is America’s Military?,


• What deTocqueville & Dante Would Tell Barack about Governing,


• Consequences of Mumbai


• How President Obama Can Reverse America’s Estrangement from the World,


• Spirituality Amidst Turbulence,


• Why More Education Spending Brings Only Mixed Results,


• Miracles of Microfinance,


• Can We Fix Government’s Capacity to Avoid & Respond to Crises?,


• What Will the Next Century Treasure from Contemporary Culture?


• What Bush Got Right,


• Will Shrinking Newspapers Still Be Strong Enough to Combat Corruption?,


• Where Should Your Money Be Now?,


• What’s the GOP’s Road Back?,


• Even Saints Have Dark Nights, and


• Redwhiteandbluenecks – Will the Capulets & Montagues Now Lay Down Their Swords to Get Us Through the Nation’s Perilous Times.

The New Year’s gathering, designed to be the largest, is traditionally held in the Laders’ hometown. Additional Renaissance Weekends in 2009 are scheduled in Tucson on President’s Day, Jackson Hole on July 4th, and Monterey Bay on Labor Day.

“Each Renaissance Weekend, with equally distinguished participants, seeks to build bridges across traditional divides of religion and politics, geography and generations, religions and philosophies,” Mrs. Lader explained.

Renaissance Weekend celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005 with past participants Gerald R. Ford and Bill Clinton as co-chairmen. More than a dozen past candidates for US president have attended Renaissance Weekends, and six nominees for President-elect Obama’s Cabinet are Renaissance veterans.

The Apollo Hospitals in Bangalore and Delhi, India, have been accepted into Companion Global Healthcare’s network of international hospitals, meaning Companion Global Healthcare will arrange travel, set appointments and provide other services to its individual clients and U.S. employer group members who choose treatment at either facility. Both hospitals are part of India’s Apollo Hospitals Group.

Companion Global Healthcare network hospitals offer surgery and other care to American patients at rates substantially lower than those charged by most U.S. hospitals. The network includes 13 hospitals in India, Costa Rica, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Ireland and Taiwan. All network hospitals are accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), and all have completed Companion Global Healthcare’s extensive credentialing process.

The hospitals’ fees are up to 90 percent less than those typically charged by U.S. facilities.

“We are proud to have these Apollo facilities in network and to expand our offerings to employers and individuals,” Companion Global Healthcare President David Boucher said. “Some of the employer groups that offer our network pay 100 percent of the cost when a worker elects to have a covered procedure abroad. The company can save tens of thousands of dollars for a single procedure, and the worker is not responsible for a co-payment or deductible.”

“Apollo Hospitals will provide not only great value but also world-class clinical outcomes to U.S. patients at its Centers of Excellence for advanced procedures like cardiac, orthopedic, spine surgery, transplants and cancer treatments,” said Pradeep Thukral, group head, international marketing, Apollo Hospitals. “Apollo has pioneered introduction of the latest technology at its hospitals.”

via: Companion Global Healthcare

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and UEC Electronics have signed a Department of Defense-sponsored Mentor-Protege program agreement to work on several Raytheon programs.

Raytheon will mentor UEC Electronics for three years in product design, test set design and development, advanced electronics manufacturing and development, lean manufacturing, information technology, human resources and quality systems.

“This is an excellent opportunity for us to help UEC Electronics become a better supplier to Raytheon and the DoD,” said Mike Jarrett, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Supply Chain Management. “This agreement will pay benefits to both companies and our customers.”

Located in Hanahan, S.C., UEC Electronics is a small, woman-owned business. The company specializes in custom design, rapid prototyping and manufacturing solutions for system, sub-system and component-level requirements. Under the agreement, Raytheon and UEC Electronics will work on Standard Missile-6, AIM-9X and AIM-120 missiles.

“We are excited to work with Raytheon and learn from this global company,” said Rebecca Ufkes, UEC Electronics president. “The expertise and technology transfer provided by Raytheon will allow UEC to grow our design, specialized manufacturing and integration capabilities.”

The DoD-sponsored Mentor-Protege program pairs large companies with eligible small businesses to enhance the proteges’ capabilities. The program enables small businesses to successfully compete for larger, more complex prime contract and subcontract awards. In 2007, Raytheon subcontracted more than $1.8 billion of work to small and diverse businesses.

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 86 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

via: Raytheon

Interactive. That’s the hallmark of Amy Wood’s anchoring on News Channel 7 and The CW News at Ten.

Amy co-anchors News Channel 7 at 5, 6 and 11, and solo-anchors the interactive “News Channel 7 at Ten on Your CW”, as well as the interactive “What You’re Saying” segment on News Channel 7 at 7.

In 2008, Amy launched CW LIVE CHATone of the nation’s first live chats during a newscast, that she hosts nightly, while simultaneously anchoring on the CW.

She’s been giving viewers a voice for more than a decade. She was first to do interactive news in this market, more than 13 years ago, with Reality Check reports on News Channel 7.

Amy is a huge believer in the relationships she creates with her viewers online. She uses social media extensively to connect with her viewers and keep them updated on her blogs, developing news stories and webpolls.

You can track Amy’s Twitter updates, and Connect with her on Myspace, Facebook, Plurk, Pownce, Tumblr and You Tube. Amy’s links are on http://www.theribbit.com.

For two decades Amy’s been bringing you award winning stories.

Her heart wrenching special report on domestic violence: South Carolina’s Shame, was honored with a first place Associated Press Award in series reporting.

During the initial war with Iraq, she brought viewers exclusive On The Frontline coverage, using the internet to connect with a commander from Chesnee, SC.

Amy also guided viewers through the morning of September 11th 2001, with local wall to wall coverage and a help line. She also anchored News Channel 7’s Emmy Award winning coverage on Susan Smith, the mother who drowned her sons.

Amy grew up in the New York metropolitan area, and started her career paying serious dues, covering blizzards and breaking news in Western Minnesota at KSAX, TV.

Volunteer work led the South Carolina Jaycees to name Amy the state Distinguished Community Service Award winner in 1999. She continues to work with dozens of local charities and events.

Faith and family are number one in Amy’s life. Carolina Crusaders, her documentary on a mission trip to Russia, won a first place award from the Associated Press.

Amy is married to Mike Wood, and a proud mom to three awesome daughters, Brianna, Gracie and Jami.

Amy Wood will speak to the GSA Technology Council January 2009 learning Lunch.

KEMET Corporation has announced that Susan (Sue) Barkal is being promoted to Vice President of Quality and Chief Compliance Officer as of January 1, 2009. Her current position with the Company is Director of Product Management and Central Planning. Sue is replacing Donald Aldworth, VP of Quality, who is retiring at the end of 2008.

Barkal’s role will include all Quality and Corporate Compliance related activity worldwide. The Chief Compliance Officer will be responsible for the oversight of all matters related to business ethics, both internally and externally. All Business Group Quality personnel will continue their local site reporting relationships. However, a dotted line reporting relationship will exist for all Quality related personnel throughout the Company’s three Business Groups. Barkal will report to Robert Arguelles, SVP Operational Excellence, Quality and IT.

“We could not be more pleased to have Sue’s leadership in this most important role. Quality is our number one priority at KEMET,” stated Robert Arguelles. “Sue brings nine years of valuable KEMET experience — she knows and understands our customers, our products and our processes. Sue is a well-respected member of the KEMET organization. She has the complete confidence of our senior leadership team.”

via KEMET

The Worthwhile Company, Inc. of Greenville, SC recently added two new employees, Jared Sutton and Mark Ladygo.

Jared Sutton, Network Engineer | As the network engineer, Jared oversees the Worthwhile network as well as the company’s network infrastructure located at the Immedion building in the ICARR Corridor. He also provides specialized service by personally handling client questions and issues regarding their network services. Jared holds a B.S. in Computer Science.

Mark Ladygo, Software Developer | Mark joined the team as a Software Developer for special projects. He is currently focusing on a private social network programming project for a client. Mark enjoys studying and exploring programming languages and is working towards completing a degree in Computer Engineering.

“We are excited to have Jared and Mark join our team,” said Dan Rundle, The Worthwhile Company’s Chief Operating Officer. “They have expanded the scope of services available to our clients. We are now able to provide specialized network service and to focus on new software products we can offer our customers in the future.”

The Worthwhile Company, Inc. is a Greenville, South Carolina based software development, Web design, and Web hosting team. The eleven year-old company specializes in “Increasing Your Internet Worth” by helping customers enhance how they use the Internet to promote and maintain their business.

via: Worthwhile