Author, columnist, speaker and founder of the Learning Makes a Difference Foundation, Jackie Gingrich Cushman has been nominated for a Georgia Writer's Association (GWA) Georgia Author of the Year Award for her book, 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours, which she co-authored in 2009 with her father, former Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The book has been nominated in the Creative Non-Fiction category, and the winner is set to be announced in June at the GAYA ceremony.   

"As a longtime resident of Georgia, it's an honor to be nominated by the Georgia Writer's Association this year for a book that has such importance to me and my family, and was inspired by the students in the Learn, Earn and Achieve program run by the Learning Makes a Difference Foundation," said Cushman. "5 Principles for a Successful Life can help every reader move closer to achieving their dreams, and I'm thrilled about the opportunity to share its message with fellow Georgians." 

In 5 Principles for a Successful Life, Cushman and her father show how one can live life to the fullest by following just five principles: Dream Big, Work Hard, Learn Every Day, Enjoy Life and Be True to Yourself. 

In addition to being an author, Jackie Gingrich Cushman is a nationally syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate, writing a weekly column that focuses on current events and political issues from a mom's perspective, and is a sought-after public speaker represented by WorldWide Speakers Group. Cushman serves on The Georgia Advisory Council for the Trust for Public Land, the board of Genesis: A New Life, and the board of the Learning Makes a Difference Foundation. She has been a guest on the Mike Huckabee Show, Geraldo At Large, Fox and Friends, CNN and NPR. 

The Georgia Writer's Association was founded in 1994, sponsoring conferences, seminars, and monthly writing workshops. GWA is currently housed in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA. 

GWA sponsors the annual Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA), first given in 1964 by the Dixie Council of Authors and Journalists. Commercially and independently published authors from Georgia are eligible for nomination. Awards in a variety of categories are announced and presented at the GAYA ceremony. 

Executive Director, National Council of University Research Administrators

Currently, Dr. Mault is the CEO and Chairman of HealthyCircles (MyTeleHealth Solutions, LLC), a first of its kind online platform designed to deliver an integrated suite of products and services that connect patients, families, and healthcare professionals.  Previously, he was the Director of New Products and Business Development for the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft Corp.  A frequent speaker at global health and connectivity conferences, Dr. Mault offers exceptional knowledge, astute insight and unparalleled perspective on the critical role of technology in the future of healthcare. 

Paulson: Banks Will Repay

By: Steve Jordon, Omaha World-Herald

The world's financial system came close to "Armageddon" in September 2008, but the crisis was turned back by the U.S. government's intervention and emergency action, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in Omaha today.

Paulson, interviewed by Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, said then-President George W. Bush understood the potential crisis and gave his support to the government bailout. So did the two senators running for president, Barack Obama and John McCain, Paulson said.

Paulson predicted the U.S. government will regain every penny given to the nation’s banks during the economic meltdown and may even profit. Buffett agreed with Paulson that the bank bailout will eventually be profitable for the nation.

If Congress hadn't quickly approved the bailout package for the nation's major financial service provides, Paulson said, unemployment likely would have hit 25 percent in the United States. Other nations also would have suffered severe economic downturns, he added.

Paulson and Buffett discussed Paulson's new book, "On the Brink," which describes what happened during the months of economic crisis and government response.

They spoke to about 2,400 people at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting. The size of the crowd prompted the chamber to move the meeting from the second-floor ballroom of the Qwest Center Omaha to the larger first-floor exhibition hall.

Paulson and Buffett have been longtime friends, dating to Paulson's position as CEO of Goldman Sachs, the New York City-based investment bank.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment company that Buffett heads, invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs in the fall of 2008, at the time a sign of his confidence in Goldman and the nation's financial system that helped calm fears of a financial breakdown.

In the book, Paulson gave Buffett credit for proposing a two-tiered dividend rate that financial companies would pay to the government for money to shore up their capital. The lower rate would encourage the banks to take the money, while the later, higher rate would encourage them to pay it back in a few years.

Congress eventually approved the plan with the two-tiered dividend structure, and the government's willingness to provide hundreds of billions to support the financial companies helped avert the financial crisis.

Attendance at the meeting set a record for the chamber's annual meeting, passing the 2004 talk by then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, which was attended by about 2,200 people. In 2007 about 2,000 attended the meeting to hear Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Don is also an award-winning leadership columnist for CNET Networks, and the author of six acclaimed management books including Your People are Your Product.  He has published more than 200 articles in leading publications on leadership and change management. In addition, Don is a subject matter expert for the American Management Association on managerial coaching, managerial trust and mentoring as well as developing AMA management courses and serving on its faculty.

By now a seasoned veteran, Jason took his place on the U.S. team one more time when he qualified for Beijing’s 2008 Olympics.  At 32, he was the oldest man on the U.S. swim team and a tri-captain. Jason anchored the U.S. men’s 400-meter freestyle relay team to a come-from-behind victory, stealing gold from the French and swimming the fastest 100-meter relay split ever -- at a searing 46.06 seconds.  Jason also dominated the last leg of the 4x100m men’s medley relay, winning gold for his team and securing Michael Phelps’ record-setting eighth gold medal for a single Olympics Games.

Cullen proved he is one of the swiftest swimmers on the planet when he became the second African-American swimmer ever to win Olympic gold at Beijing’s 2008 Olympics. An ambassador for African-American swimmers, Cullen wants to shatter stereotypes one lap at a time; he’s an ardent advocate of demonstrating minority talent in the pool.  Jones accomplished this by helping the 4x100 freestyle relay team win the coveted Olympic gold medal in a comeback for the ages. In a race soaked with high drama and sub-plots, the Americans snatched victory at the very last moment and shattered the world record they had set just hours before in the preliminary heats—by blistering through the water in 3 minutes, 8.24 seconds!