Capitol Lighting offers paid internships

The Boca Raton-based company is taking applications for Bright Start, a four-week training program. Up to eight interns will be paid $10 an hour during training. The top interns have the potential for a full-time job at the company with eight stores in Florida and New Jersey.

Sales experience would be helpful. "If you were successful selling cell phones or draperies or cars, you would be a terrific candidate for this program," he said. "A good sales person understands that it's asking the right questions and understanding the needs of the customers.

"That said, I am in a fashion industry, so what is traditional vs. contemporary and the colors popular now are also part of the education," he said.

People from the home furnishing and design fields are welcome to apply, "but that's something that can be taught," Lebersfeld said. "We're looking for the work ethic, the positive attitude and a sense of humor in an individual. The product knowledge and sales techniques, that's what we're going to try and do in the four weeks of training."

The right candidates will also be motivated "by the desire to make a lot of money," if they're eventually hired, he said. "It is a commission sales position, with benefits after 90 days of employment.''

The training will also include certifications in the Lighting Associate program of the American Lighting Association, the industry trade association, and other industry programs.

Capitol Lighting will pay for the course. "It gets them a base of knowledge as a starting point," Lebersfeld said. "If they do a site visit to a customer's home, and if they don't know what's new in LED lighting or the nuances of under-cabinet lighting, they're short-changing their customers."

Lebersfeld's brother, Ken Lebersfeld, the company's CEO, is designing the training program. He described it as "basic retail-type training, some industry specific training from design and technical concepts, and salesmanship appropriate for any type of customer service and retail organization. "It's a way for us to get some very robust people into our organization," he said.

Eric Lebersfeld said they're hoping for a pool of about 25 candidates for the internships. The idea came to him from the executive business group Vistage, and is based on the 2006 Will Smith movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness."

"The point of view is a person in a job they're not happy with, or who has been on the sidelines because they haven't found a job in their own profession," he said.

Entergy Mississippi Offers Customers Power-to-Save Tools

Winter blew into the state with its typical chilly introduction, leaving many Mississippians challenged with both staying warm and managing the costs that go with it.

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. reminds customers to save money and stay comfortable by following a few simple steps.

"Heating a home can account for as much as half of your monthly energy bill," said Gloria Johnson, customer service director for Entergy Mississippi, Inc. "Cold air can be an expensive, unwanted visitor, finding its way through many openings that often go unnoticed, such as wall seams, attic doors, and electrical outlets.
"Small spaces can add up to big energy losses."

While there are many things homeowners can do to protect themselves from cold weather, here are the top five energy-savers:

Adjust the thermostat. During winter months, set the thermostat to 68 degrees. Every degree higher can add three percent to your energy bill.

Conserve hot water. Wrap your electric water heater with a water heater blanket and set the thermostat to 120 degrees or medium. Insulate pipes running to and from the heater and check for leaky faucets.

Replace air and furnace filters every 30 days. Air conditioning and heating remain the top energy cost for a home, so keeping them in good condition makes sense.

Use energy-efficient bulbs when replacing light bulbs. Entergy recommends ENERGY STAR(r)-qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use 70 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

Seal and insulate your attic and any location where there may be a path from the inside of your home to the outside. That includes places you may not think of - such as attic hatchways, electrical outlets and switches.

Find answers to a variety of energy-related topics, including what influences energy costs in a home. Entergy also encourages customers to consider one of the many billing options the company already has in place that can simplify managing and paying monthly energy bills. Level Billing protects against spikes in electricity bills even when usage is higher than normal. Pick-A-Date allows customers to choose a due date that is most convenient for them.

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to more than 435,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations.

Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Nordic Naturals is First NSF Certified Dietary Supplement Company

Nordic Naturals has become the first NSF certified supplier and marketer of dietary supplements in the US to build a new LEED Gold certified facility. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), is an internationally recognized green building certification system that promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability. At 87,000 square feet, Nordic Naturals' two-story Watsonville, CA headquarters with warehouse and fulfillment is the largest LEED Gold certified building in the tri-county area and sits amid 108,500 square feet of undisturbed wildlife habitat.

According to Joar Opheim, Nordic Naturals Founder and CEO, "Visitors are surprised to see that most of the flooring is cork. Cork oak bark can be harvested up to 20 times during its lifetime and is extremely resistant to heat, sound, and wear, making it an ideal green building material. Employees have commented on enjoying a nicer work environment and increased productivity due to improved lighting, sound, air circulation, and a noticeable absence of chemicals used in typical construction."

Some of the building highlights include: skylights and localized radiant heat in warehouse; gym/workout/shower area with recycled rubber flooring; manually operated folding partitions and flexible lighting controls to divide conference rooms into smaller areas; water purification systems in kitchens and coffee bars; bathroom wall and floor tile made from 40% recycled material without solvents in their glazes; bicycle parking; landscaping that uses 55% less water; 44% water savings from low-flow toilets, faucets, and  showerheads; electrical energy use reduction by 31%; recycled material use throughout the structure accounts for almost 26% of the total material costs; local products and regional materials at 32% of the total material costs; reduction of indoor contaminants; and no PVCs, VOCs, formaldehyde or heavy metals in wall coverings. At each step, Nordic Naturals partnered with green builders and designers to incorporate products that conserve resources and improve health.

Nordic Naturals' builder Ausonio Inc., a design & construction company in Castroville, won a prestigious Tilt-Up Achievement Award for the new headquarters. The project management and interior design was completed by Vivian Gunnerengen with Interior Lighting and Design of Santa Cruz.

Since 1995, Nordic Naturals has been the industry leader in fish oil supplementation, setting standards of excellence in the areas of purity, freshness, taste, and sustainability. With their reputation for efficacy and potency, Nordic Naturals fish oils and EFA blends are regularly chosen for study by independent research institutions and universities.

G2E a hit despite uncertain economy

Although you might think a trade show dedicated to the gaming industry might not be the most well-attended event after three years of recession, organizers of this year's Global Gaming Expo, G2E, would beg to differ.

Held Oct. 3-6 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, the world's largest trade show and conference for the gaming industry attracted nearly 26,000 attendees and 440 exhibitors covering some 250,000 square feet of exhibit space.

The show included 70 exhibitors from overseas, according to American Gaming Association officials. In 2010, the event attracted 24,941 attendees and 520 exhibitors during the last year of its decade-long Las Vegas Convention Center run.

Despite the decline in exhibitors, "attendance was very strong," said Judy Patterson, senior vice president and executive director of the gaming association in Washington, D.C., which organizes the trade show in partnership with Reed Exhibitions.

"The gaming industry is on the right track and the show exhibited that recovery," Patterson said in a phone interview. She said the show benefited from a move to a new, smaller venue.

"We moved to this new venue and were able to reconfigure the show floor," Patterson said. "It worked well with all the exhibitors on the same floor."

She said the Sands Expo and Convention Center was small enough to allow the association to accomplish one of its "primary goals" of giving smaller exhibitors more viability during the three-day show.

Moving the show also allowed G2E to move its dates from mid-November to early October to give buyers a chance to investigate or sample new products before closing out their annual budgets.

Also, the International Association of Gaming Advisors and the National Center for Responsible Gambling met at the Venetian around the same time, making it easier for attendees to visit all shows.

Presentations by Rio headliner Penn Jillette and MGM Resorts International Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren highlighted keynote addresses during G2E.

Murren said MGM Resorts, which has 10 casinos on the Strip, is looking at Asia and the Internet for future growth for the company. He said "two or three" new gaming markets are expected to open in Asia in coming years and MGM Resorts "will be there."

While the potential for Internet poker legalization in the United States was a large topic of conversation during G2E, Murren said MGM Resorts would continue to explore social media as a way to attract customers and possibly prepare for the legalization of Internet gaming.