Buzz On Biz

WRDW 1630AM 12-2PM OR STREAMING LIVE AT WWW.WRDWAM.COM

12:20pm – - Aubrey Gonzalez, Community Relations Coordinator for Earth Fare, will join us on the phone to chat about what’s going on at Earth Fare. Good Olde Days dinner night and kids eating free on certain nights etc.  For more info, please visit: www.earthfare.com

12:45pm – - Kelly Preston, owner of Sew Swanky, will join us in the studio to chat about her recent business expansion to a retail space which opened on January 3rd. Sew Swanky is in the old High Cotton space across from Omni down in behind Jump City on Evans to Lock.  For more info, visit: www.sewswankyinteriors.com

1:20pm – - DJ from DJ’s Salon, Spa and Gifts will join us over the phone  to chat about the salon celebrating 20 years  They offer a full service spa that many people aren’t aware of and DJ has a great reputation in the area for his talent with hair styling.  Please visit their website at: www.djandco.net

1:45pm – - We welcome a different member of the Augusta Technical College staff to help our listeners look for some new training options or to plan a new future with studies that will yield a new career. For more information, log on to www.augustatech.edu . Today’s guest: Consuella Carter from the Adult Education Department.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Courtesy: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gov. Nathan Deal has taken aim at cancer deaths in Georgia with a plan to help Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta join an elite group of cancer centers.

The Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center in Georgia, a state where the disease causes more than 15,000 deaths annually. Only top-flight research organizations that are on the forefront of the cancer battle can win the designation and the grant money that comes with it.

A second NCI center could help the state attract more acclaimed cancer researchers and millions of research dollars, Deal said when announcing the plan this month.

“Even more,” he said, “it will place Georgians battling this horrific disease first in line for the newest, most promising therapies and clinical trials.”

The issue is an urgent one for the more than 48,000 Georgians who are expected this year to be diagnosed with cancer. A second cancer center will mean Georgians are more likely to find nationally recognized experts on their type of cancer closer to home.

Deal wants the General Assembly to commit $5 million toward the goal this year, but it will take tens of millions more — and years of work — for GHSU to have a shot at winning the coveted designation. Only 66 institutions across the country currently have it.

Dr. Ricardo Azziz, president of GHSU (formerly the Medical College of Georgia), said each of the nation’s 16 largest states — except Georgia and Florida — has at least two NCI centers.

“We need to address cancer,” Azziz said.

GHSU opened a new cancer research facility in 2006 and a new cancer treatment facility in 2010. It also has recruited some top researchers who have pumped up the flow of cancer research dollars. But GHSU has said it will need $10 million a year from a cash-strapped state government to help build the top-ranked cancer program Deal wants. Other sources of money — grants, philanthropic donations — also would be necessary to build the program.

“Our goal is that we would be competitive for NCI designation over the next seven to 10 years,” Azziz said. “Sooner if we can find greater investment and longer if we don’t.”

Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute earned its NCI designation in 2009, after years of work. While Emory had already attracted significant cancer research dollars over the years, the designation has taken it to a new level.

“Now we’re really in the elite group,” said Dr. Walter Curran, Winship’s executive director.

Winship added more than 100 highly regarded faculty members to gain expertise in many areas of research that it needed to become a cancer center. NCI supports its cancer centers with grants for infrastructure that at Winship have paid for everything from the staff that helps run clinical trials to the lab equipment needed to store tissue samples used in research.

The infrastructure supports the work paid for by other grants, and the NCI designation helps researchers attract dollars. Grant money from NCI for Winship-affiliated research projects — which is on top of what NCI awards for infrastructure — grew from $9.5 million in 2001 to $29.5 million in 2011.

The growth of Winship has meant that Georgians with cancer have a better shot at finding a local doctor who specializes in their type of cancer. Winship is known for expertise in lung, brain, head and neck, breast and pancreatic cancers, as well as leukemia and multiple myeloma. Patients are less likely to leave the state for treatment, and patients from other states now frequently come here for second opinions or clinical trials.

A new emphasis on collaboration also means that cancer doctors throughout the state are working more closely with doctors at Winship. “It benefits the people of Atlanta in many ways,” said Dr. Fadlo Khuri, Winship’s deputy director.

Dick Bowley of Peachtree City went to Winship when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at 57.

“When cancer hits, you don’t know what to do,” Bowley said. Having to seek care out of town, he said, would have made things even more difficult. “I can’t fathom that,” he said.

He spent weeks at Emory Hospital for a bone marrow transplant. Three years — and many treatments later — he is still free of cancer. He said he felt comfortable with Emory from day one and appreciated its ability to mix cutting-edge care with a compassionate approach.

The fight against cancer takes other forms, too. Experts said Georgia sorely needs to ramp up its public education programs that could prevent many cases of cancer since the state has high rates of smoking and obesity — both factors that can lead to cancer.

Helping Winship achieve the cancer center designation was a major goal of the Georgia Cancer Coalition, a $1 billion effort established by former Gov. Roy Barnes that combined state money from the tobacco settlement with private dollars and research grants to make Georgia a player in the nation’s battle against cancer. The coalition was instrumental in helping Emory recruit renowned researchers with its grant programs for distinguished doctors and scientists.

Curran, Winship’s executive director, was named a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar when he was recruited from Philadelphia in 2008. He was awarded a hefty $16 million in research dollars in 2011 from the National Institutes of Health. The other GCC scholars — about 120 around the state — also attract plenty of research dollars. Curran said GCC’s program has resulted in a “return on investment that has been tremendous.”

The tight state budget, however, has diminished the program, even as other states find money to attract research superstars. In Georgia, no new awards have been made in the past two years, and Deal’s budget for 2013 doesn’t change that.

Mike Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, which now includes the cancer coalition, said he’s hopeful that the state will soon be able to restore the money so it can once again attract some of the nation’s brightest cancer researchers. He wants to keep building on the strengths at Winship while also creating a new cancer powerhouse in Augusta.

“We will maintain a focus on cancer,” Cassidy said, “because it is such a big problem in the state.”

——————–

Cancer in Georgia

15,790: Estimated cancer deaths in Georgia for 2012

48,130: Estimated new cases of cancer in Georgia for 2012

Cancer rates for Georgia vs. U.S., 2004-2008*

Men Women

Georgia 571.9 395.7

United States 553 416.5

* Rate is per 100,000

Cancer death rates for Georgia vs. U.S., 2004-2008*

Men Women

Georgia 237.1 149.5

United States 223 153.2

* Rate is per 100,000

Source: American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2012

Karyn Nixon

Executive Assistant to Mayor Deke Copenhaver

706.821.1833 office

706.564.4656 cell

knixon@augustaga.gov

# # #

The Better Business Bureau serving the CSRA, Inc. will hold its first annual Senior Expo on Thursday, February 16 at the East Central Georgia Regional Library located at 823 Telfair St in Augusta. Senior Expo 2012, presented by Bonro Medical, Inc., will give seniors, soon-to-be seniors, and senior health caregivers the opportunity to speak with businesses and organizations that provide a wide range of services for the senior community.

Senior Expo 2012 will be held from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm (Noon).Speakers will beginning at 9:30 am. It is only through the help of our sponsors that we are able to provide this event FREE of charge to those that would like to attend.

Senior Expo 2012. This event is your opportunity to gather information from organizations and senior

service providers that provide programs and benefits to senior citizens.

DATE: Thursday, February 16, 2012

LOCATION: East Central Georgia Regional Library, 823 Telfair St., Augusta, GA

TIME: 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Noon)

COST: FREE ADMISSION

Educational Information · Home Health and Medical Resources · Financial Information · Independent Living Information · Senior Resources · Health Screenings

Popularity: 1% [?]

Next month ground will be broken on an exciting new business in Columbia County. You are cordially invited to the ground breaking of the all new Evans Fitness Club, which is set to open in November of this year. The ceremony will take place Thursday, February 2^nd at 1pm. The new facility will be approximately 53,000 square feet and is on 3.3 acres of prime real estate in the new Marshall Square at the intersection of Evans Town Center Boulevard and North Belair Rd.

Evans Fitness Club will be a state of the art facility that will offer every amenity. “We want to bring Big City Health and Fitness to your backyard.” says General Manager & Operating Partner Mike Montarbo.  The 2-Story complex will include a Rock Climbing Wall, Racquetball Courts, an Indoor Walking Track (and Sprint Track with Field Turf), and the area’s only 2-story Spin Room. The building will also house a new Smoothie King location and Evans Medical Weight Loss Center, which will offer a Physician guided weight loss program.

Here are more features that will be included:

• Sports Specific Training & Cross Fit Training (with Field Turf)
• Cardio Cinema Room
• Yoga/Pilates Room
• Group X Room (which will provide unique classes not offered anywhere else in the CSRA)
• MMA Elite Classes, A Boot Camp Room, & TRX
• State of the art Cardio Equipment
• Handicap Accessible Cardio Machines
• 17,000 Square Foot Free Weight and Machine Training Area
• Steam Room and Sauna
• Full Service Day Care
• Golf Simulator

So come join us Thursday February 2^nd at 1pm on this exciting day for Columbia County as we break ground on the all new Evans Fitness Club in Marshall Square

Popularity: 1% [?]

Click here to hear the podcast with Robin Jones

Robin Jones from First Command Financial stops by the radio version of the BUZZ for her weekly “Money Monday” segment with Bill and John.  This week, Robin first gives the results of a survey taken by First Command and then continues with the final five topics in her financial wellness list.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Click here to hear the podcast with Jennifer Reynolds

Jennifer Reynolds, the owner of Pets Are People Too stops by the radio version of the BUZZ to talk to Bill and John about her “pet sitting” business, a business that’s been going strong for 16 years, which, if you think about it, is 112 in “dog years”….

Popularity: 1% [?]

Click here to hear the podcast with Shelly Craft

Shelly Craft from the Men’s Refinery in North Augusta stops by the radio version of the BUZZ to talk to Bill and John about how business is, four years after opening.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Click here to hear the podcast with Larry Rudwick

Business Consultant Larry Rudwick stops by the radio version of the BUZZ to talk to Bill and John about his latest article in the monthly BUZZ ON BIZ paper, this month Larry talks about New Year’s resolutions, and how the serious business person is making resolution, or goals everyday.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Click here to hear the podcast with Sue Pellerin

Sue Pellerin from Legal Shield stops by the radio version of the BUZZ to talk to Bill and John about the unique way her company, Legal Shield can help people obtain affordable legal advice and help.

Popularity: 1% [?]

WRDW 1630AM 12-2PM OR STREAMING LIVE AT WWW.WRDWAM.COM

12:20pm – - (To be announced)

12:45pm – - Jennifer Reynolds from “Pets Are People Too” will join us in the studio. They are a pet sitting service and has been operating now for 10 years!  For more info, please log on to www.AugustaPet.com

1:20pm – - Neil Gordon, founder of the “Buzz on Biz” will talk about the passing of his friend,CPA, and client Michael Hall. Neil attended the wake on Sunday afternoon. Neil will also share some unique information about the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce annual meeting coming up on Tuesday.

1:33pm – - Robin Jones, regional director for First Command Financial, joins the radio team for two segments we call “Money Monday”.  For more info, visit: www.firstcommand.com

1:45pm – - Robin Jones / First Command Financial (Part 2)

Popularity: 1% [?]

Dino Dakuras, co-founder of “Dino’s Chicago Express” and “Papa-N- Sons” franchise announced on his Facebook that he is selling his lone remaining restaurant on Washington Road in Evans.

Dakuras has begun a job with a food service company servicing restaurants and he will continue consulting with other restaurants.

He had been handling catering, and overseeing his restaurant with the help of a restaurant manager and the tight economy forced his hand to go in another direction. A close family member is also sick and he wants to free up time to be closer to his immediate family (wife and two children) and his extended family.

Dakuras has three options with the sale of his business, the sale of business and equipment, and the sale of his franchise rights and brand.

The restaurant will remain open and be run by his manager through this year until a buyer is found.

Popularity: 1% [?]