Heard on the Street

BREAKFAST ... WITH BENEFITS

An informational seminar on a different aspect of long-term care insurance is offered this month to area businesses. The seminar features Claude Thau of Kansas City, a former senior vice president for Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company. A continental breakfast at 8 a.m. April 25 at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Building will be followed by the seminar from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thau, who managed Transamerica's entire long-term care insurance business until 1999, also has consulted with the federal government for its long-term care employee programs. What has not been covered in many benefit plans has been "nonskilled, chronic, ongoing care," according to Cathy Powell of Ollis & Company Insurors, the seminar's underwriter. "It differs from formal health care coverage ... (for) when you need a nonprofessional to do bathing, dressing" and for respite care for the usual caregiver. For more information on the seminar, call 417-881-8339, ext. 101.

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

It's easy to understand why "Tucker: The Man and His Dream," a 1988 Frances Ford Coppola film, was ranked as the No.1 choice by a business advocacy group in its list of pro-business films. But "Batman?" "Our top 10 list includes movies that offer stirring messages about and tributes to entrepreneurs and business," said Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business Survival Committee, on its Web site at www.sbsc.org. The Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan, nonprofit group listed "Batman" as the 10th pro-business film because the hero, Bruce Wayne, was an industrialist and a superhero, Keating stated. The top 10 are:"Tucker," "Schindler's List," "It's A Wonderful Life," "Casablanca," "Sabrina" (1954 version), "White Christmas," "The Greatest Show On Earth," "The Fountainhead," "Father of the Bride" (1991) and "Batman." Kapowie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

This year the United States of America is 225 years old. The U.S. Postal Service thinks we should wish her well in the time-honored tradition of sending cards and letters. To that end, and since April is National Card and Letter Writing Month, Postmaster General William J. Henderson urges all Americans to send birthday wishes to America. The Postal Service hopes to set a world record for the most birthday wishes ever received by one addressee. To send a card or letter use this address: Birthday Wishes to America, c/o The National Postal Museum, PO Box 44100, Washington, D.C., 20026-4100. All the wishes must be received by July 4 to be counted. Does that mean the post office will deliver on a legal holiday this year?

EMPLOYEE EXCITEMENT

Working on ways to excite employees and make them feel valuable to their employer is one of the big challenges facing employers, said Steve Vaught, chair of the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership. That's why the group will host its second annual regional summit April 26 at the James River Assembly in Ozark. The 56-member council has partner members in a 10-county area, Vaught said. "We feel like all our partners are having the same type of problems." For example, just getting employees to be on time is a problem, he said, as well as retaining those employees after training. "All in all we want to work together as an entity" to figure out how to challenge employees and make them feel valued, Vaught added. Sessions will feature information about work-force characteristics, as well as the Workforce Investment Act, presented by Tom Jones, director of the Missouri Division of Workforce Development. For more information on the summit, call Allen Kunkel, the partnership's manager of regional development, at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, 862-5567, or see the Web site at www.ozarkspartnership.com.

SLICE OF NICE

Regional cyclists will gather April 20 in Branson and ride together the next day to raise money for Kids Across America, a nonprofit Christian sports camp for inner-city youths. The April 21 cycling event, The Ozarks 110, is a one-day ride starting in Forsyth's Shadow Rock Park. Participants will travel 50, 100 or 150 miles through Mark Twain National Park, before returning to Forsyth. Registration and check-in is at Branson's Ramada Inn, followed by a dinner and show at Dixie Stampede. This is the first year for the event, which originated from The Great Bike Challenge a five-day fund-raising ride in its fourth year. The Great Bike Challenge will be held April 16-21. Kids Across America will host more than 5,800 urban youth and 600 of their leaders this summer alone. To enter The Ozarks 100, call Tricia Nicholls, Kids Across America special events coordinator, at 417-335-8400. More information about the event can be accessed on the World Wide Web at www.kidsacrossamerica.org.