Update From The South Beach Diet

Chinese-Style Broccoli

This nutrient-dense, fiber-rich side dish comes together quickly, so it saves you time in the kitchen. This Asian-inspired creation tastes great with grilled meat or seafood.

Ordinary broccoli springs to life with this garlicky lemon-soy dressing. Serve it with any Asian-flavored dish or even a simple grilled chicken or shrimp skewer.
Makes 2 (1-cup) servings
Prep time: 10 minutes Start to finish: 8 minutes
Ingredients 1/2 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon canola oil 1/2 (1 1/2-pound) head broccoli, cut into florets (3 cups) 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce 1 garlic clove, minced 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions Heat oil in a large wok or high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccoli and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, garlic, and lemon juice; continue to stir-fry until broccoli is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Charlotte #8 in US

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Chamber Update

March 28, 2008** Don't miss the 2008 Business Showcase, presented by the Charlotte Chamber East Chapter and the Greater Charlotte Hospitality and Tourism Alliance, on April 2. The annual expo, held at the Charlotte Merchandise Mart from 3 to 7 p.m., has become one of the city's largest business-to-business networking events. Admission is free for Chamber and HTA members. Click here to register.** If you're looking to start a company, you've come to the right place! Charlotte has ranked eighth on the list of 100 Best Places in America to Live and Launch according to Fortune Small Business. To read how the Queen City's business environment was rated, click here.** ENCOUNTER Charlotte!, a new initiative presented by Leadership Charlotte, is a day and a half orientation to community involvement and leadership. The program is designed to introduce newcomers to a wide-range of community leaders and various topics so participants will come away with new relationships, a greater knowledge of leadership opportunities and specific ways to get involved in the community. Applications are now available for the upcoming sessions. Visit www.leadershipcharlotte.org or call (704) 688-2888 for more information.** UNC Charlotte Continuing Education will offer five core courses in Diversity and Inclusion Programs during the fall 2008 semester, beginning in September. For additional information, contact Margaret Rozzi at (704) 687-7397 or click here.** Charlotte Center City Partners will honor former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt at the 2008 Vision Awards, a showcase of the contributions of individuals, businesses and organizations that create our vibrant urban core. Three others that have had a major impact on the Center City's on-going transformation will also be recognized with special achievement awards at the event, which will be held on April 10 at the Charlotte Convention Center. For details or ticket information, click here.** Get the attention your high-growth company deserves! The Charlotte Chamber is joining Inc. in its search for the 2008 Inc. 5,000, the annual list of the fastest growing private companies in America. Every company honored will be profiled on Inc.com and the top 10% will be featured in Inc. magazine. The Inc. 5,000 also recognizes the top 100 companies in every major metro area and several other categories. Click here to apply by the April 30 deadline.** On April 23, more than 150 of Charlotte's top business leaders, neighborhood leaders and school volunteers will gather at Devonshire Elementary School, where they will transform an empty field into a field full of the dreams of an entire elementary school. The Business Volunteer Council's 6th Playground Build is co-chaired by Art Gallagher (Johnson & Wales University) and Jeannie Falknor (Charlotte Business Journal). The playground is just one on a list of "dream projects" that the group will tackle to help transform the school's grounds into a more inviting place for gathering and learning. For information on how to become a build partner, contact Donna Lockhart at (704) 446-3000 or Donna.Lockhart@carolinashealthcare.org.** The 2008 Women's Executive Leadership Series will be held May 19-21 and June 23-24 at the Center for Creative Leadership located in Greensboro, NC. This series, for mature women-owned firms that are looking to take their business to the next level, is co-sponsored by the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, the Women's Business Center of North Carolina and the Minority Executive Education Institute. The application deadline is March 31. For more information, visit www.ncimed.com or contact Atrayus Goode at (919) 956-8889.

Value Driven Marketing

Note: The following article came to me from a mortgage lender. It speaks of business networking and referral systems that actually benefit everyone but primarily the consumer because everyone wants to provide a better service at a profitable dollar. Ultimately, I would argue that is exactly what the best clients want from us. Read the article and visit www.YourCharlotteContractor.com and in the lower left corner of the page you can visit our featured contractors list.

Many companies are like acquaintances who always want something from you, but never give anything in return. They bombard you with offer-driven marketing, a strategy designed to generate new business through endless discounts and special promotions.
While offer-driven marketing focuses on transactions, the goal of value-driven marketing is to create business through long-term relationships. Value-driven marketing is particularly important to salespeople and business owners whose customers don't need their services very often. Examples include home loans, real estate purchases or home renovations. In these cases, marketing that centers on offers for more of the same product or service lacks relevance, and does little to strengthen your relationships with past clients.
Expensive products or services that dramatically impact consumers usually create a need for more information. That's where value-driven marketing hits the target. An example is a newsletter with high quality information that helps customers better use, understand, enjoy or gain value from the product or service you sold them months or years ago.
All strong business relationships are built on the mutual exchange of value. If your transactions with customers are by nature infrequent, then you must use value-driven marketing to maintain and strengthen your relationships. Value-driven marketing creates gratitude, positions you as an expert and provides information that customers actually need. Use it consistently and watch your referrals and repeat business grow!

South Beach Diet

Sensible Eating on Easter

Although the religious celebration of Easter doesn't historically involve a feast, people often gather over a big meal to honor this holiday. While the South Beach Diet is a weight-healthy lifestyle that embraces special occasions, we also encourage you to stick to the principles as much as possible — focusing on nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods, like fruits and vegetables; healthy fats, like extra-virgin olive oil and omega-3s found in fatty fish; and lean protein sources, including chicken, fish, and lean cuts of beef.

Indymac Update

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New Change Benefits Homeowners

As part of the Economic Stimulus package recently passed by Congress, limits on conforming home loans have been temporarily raised from $417,000 to a maximum $729,750 in certain high-cost areas across the country ($793,750 in some locations in Hawaii). Other real estate markets have also seen an increase from the old maximum of $417,000. Instead of paying the higher interest rates associated with jumbo loans, larger loans will now carry the lower interest rate of a conforming loan. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans also benefit from this increase.

Park & Recreation Update

Park Operations and Athletic Services:
Ø New Athletic Division General Manager: The Park and Recreation Department welcomes Phil Fleischman as the newly hired Athletic Division General Manager. Previously, Phil was employed by the Greensboro Park and Recreation Department as the Assistant Athletics Director, where he managed adult sports programs and city swimming facilities. Prior to serving in Greensboro, Phil worked as a Recreation Facility & Program Supervisor III for the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department.

Ø North Park District - Sailing Center: A meeting was recently held with a member of the Lake Norman Marine Commission in reference to the proposed Sailing Center at Blythe Landing. As a result, there will be a presentation concerning the proposal at the next Lake Norman Marine Commission Meeting scheduled for April 14.

Ø South Park District Easter Event: This year's major Easter event will be held at Colonel Beatty Park on Saturday March 22 from 10 – 2 p.m. The event will feature three egg hunts: ages 0-4 at 10:30 a.m.; ages 5-8 at noon; and ages 9-12 at 1:30 p.m. Family activities include games, rides and a petting zoo.


Administrative Services:
Ø Barack Obama: With short notice, staff was able to successfully deploy wireless capability for the media crew of reporters covering Wednesday's town hall meeting at Grady Cole Center for Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama.