drawPosts({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-10-16T20:07:16.740-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Lenoir News"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":""},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/full"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/full?alt\u003djson-in-script"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/02046788228360676260"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"20"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-8610092367954049107"},"published":{"$t":"2009-09-23T14:31:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-09-23T14:39:40.363-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Community Block Party Benefit"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Google"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Inaugural Community Block Party Benefit Raises Awareness, Funds"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\" align\u003d\"center\" style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; font-size:9pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eNearly $1,000 raised and more than 2,300 canned foods donated to support the Lenoir Soup Kitchen and the Caldwell County Yokefellows, Inc.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:9.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\" align\u003d\"center\" style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\" align\u003d\"center\" style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"   style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"   style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"   style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-size:13px;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"   style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-style-span\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\" background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eThe first-ever Community Block Party Benefit, held Sept. 19 in downtown Lenoir, connected local families and friends together for fun, food and charity. The result was a stronger community and nearly $1,000 raised to feed and clothe those in the region who need it most.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cu1:p\u003e\u003c/u1:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-attachment: initial;-webkit-background-clip: initial;-webkit-background-origin: initial; background-position:initial initial\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eGoogle and the City of\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003cst1:city st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/st1:city\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cst1:city st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eLenoir\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e\u003c/st1:city\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eco-hosted this inaugural event\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eto help stock the shelves at the food bank and raise awareness of the needs of those in the community. Proceeds benefited the Lenoir Soup Kitchen and the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc., area non-profit organizations, which are experiencing record increases for their services. More than 2,300 ca\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003enned/boxed food items were collected.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cu1:p\u003e\u003c/u1:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eThough the event, which included live music from area bands, a bouncy house, face painting, balloon art, a raffle and other surprises, was free and open to the public, attendees were strongly encouraged to donate canned or boxed-food items. Each item was redeemed for a ticket towards activities. Those who brought 10 canned/boxed food items, received a wristband. If they forgot to bring a food donation, select downtown businesses sold\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background:white\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background-image:initial;background-repeat: initial;background-attachment:initial;-webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial;background-position:initial initial\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003ewristbands for $5 each. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background-image:initial; background-repeat:initial;background-attachment:initial;-webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial;background-position:initial initial\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eSeveral hundred raffle tickets were purchased to win an iPod, a Netbook, Wii, solar device charger and gift baskets, to name a few. The raffle was sponsored by the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. and the Lenoir Soup Kitchen. Raffle prizes were provided by Google that matched proceeds from the raffle at $1,000 for each organization.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-attachment: initial;-webkit-background-clip: initial;-webkit-background-origin: initial; background-position:initial initial\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eThe Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce, the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission, the Lenoir Uptown Business Association (LUBA), representatives from the City of\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003cst1:city st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/st1:city\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cst1:city st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eLenoir\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e\u003c/st1:city\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e's police, fire, emergency management and health departments were among other community organizations that provided assistance for the event. Abigail's, Corner Creamery, Chix with Stix, F. Futs and Company, Java Joe's, Rococo Rionel and Kicks-FM 103.3 radio are among companies that also contributed to the success of the event\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background-image:initial; background-repeat:initial;background-attachment:initial;-webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial;background-position:initial initial\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:#000099;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-attachment: initial;-webkit-background-clip: initial;-webkit-background-origin: initial; background-position:initial initial\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-style-span\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eFor photographs from the event, please visit\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\" background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-style-span\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://idek.net/Vhh\" title\u003d\"Community Block Party Benefit\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003ehttp://idek.net/Vhh\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-attachment: initial;-webkit-background-clip: initial;-webkit-background-origin: initial; background-position:initial initial\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-style-span\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"background:white;font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eAbout the Lenoir Soup Kitchen\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eThe Lenoir Soup Kitchen serves between 70 and 130 plates a day. From January to August of this year, 19,000 plates have been served, an increase of 2,000 plates from last August. For more information, please call 828-758-1411.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cu1:p\u003e\u003c/u1:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"apple-style-span\"\u003e\u003cu1:p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eAbout the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/u1:p\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-style: normal;\"\u003eThe Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. provides low-income citizens with emergency food, clothing, household goods and financial assistance primarily for fuel, utilities, rent and medical needs. This year, the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. has made more than 8,700 assists (681 financial assistance assists; 670 food donations; 217 clothing vouchers and 7,200 clothing and household items sold at the thrift store) – up 30 percent from last year. For more information, please call 828-754-7088.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Georgia;color:black;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-8610092367954049107?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/8610092367954049107/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d8610092367954049107","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/8610092367954049107"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/8610092367954049107"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2009/09/inaugural-community-block-party-benefit_23.html","title":"Inaugural Community Block Party Benefit Raises Awareness, Funds"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-1633113860164477451"},"published":{"$t":"2009-09-16T14:17:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-09-23T14:22:18.008-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Google Community Grant"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Caldwell County"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Caldwell County Nonprofit for At-Risk Youth Receives Google Community Grant"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Caldwell Friends, Inc. (CFI), a nonprofit organization that provides programs for at-risk youth, has received a $15,000 Google Community Grant from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation to purchase computers, equipment and supplies to support its technology literacy and mentoring programs.\u003cdiv\u003e“With the Google Community Grant, we will be able to provide young people in our community with an updated computer lab to assist with their homework and research projects,\" said Tana Murray, executive director of CFI. \"Our youth come from homes where access to computers and the Internet is not always available. It is our goal that these tools will assist youth in developing their computer skills and their knowledge of the Internet for future success.” \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWith the supervision of the youth's adult mentors, the computer lab will be available for their use during afterschool and weekend hours. CFI hopes that the computer lab will also increase the grade point averages and the computer literacy skills of their participants. CFI is an after-school one-on-one mentoring program in Caldwell County and the only mentoring resource for the area's court system. Adult mentors and the staff provides assistance to youth by enhancing their social skills, improving their cognitive skills through dialog and listening and serving as role models and advocates. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"CFI is just another example of how successful programs, involving area community partners, can be an effective tool to help our young people who need it most,” said Tom Jacobik, Google's Operations Manager for North Carolina. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe Google Community Grant comes from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation, which offers donor-advised funds and other grant-making vehicles, as well as professional philanthropic advice.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor more information about the Google Community Grants Program, go to www.google.com/lenoir and visit the \"Community Outreach\" page. Interested parties can submit an online application through this Web page on or before the first day of each quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1). All grant applications must be submitted online.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eABOUT CALDWELL FRIENDS, INC. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCaldwell Friends, Inc. (CFI) is a community-based 501C3 nonprofit organization providing adult mentors to at-risk youth ages 6 to 17. CFI was established by a grant from the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in July 1983, with a mandate to serve 17 to 22 youth per year. In July 2006, CFI began providing the mentoring component for the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, which expanded the program to 21 to 26 youth per year. Sixty percent of the youth are referred by juvenile court, law enforcement or school resources. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e###\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-1633113860164477451?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/1633113860164477451"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/1633113860164477451"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2009/09/caldwell-county-nonprofit-for-at-risk.html","title":"Caldwell County Nonprofit for At-Risk Youth Receives Google Community Grant"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-3783246797719059716"},"published":{"$t":"2009-04-09T18:20:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-04-29T18:26:47.748-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Philanthropy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lenoir"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Caldwell County"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Community in Schools"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Entrepreneurship Program for Caldwell County"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Philanthropy Journal\u003cbr /\u003eApril 9, 2009\u003cbr /\u003eCommunities In Schools of Caldwell County received $30,000 from Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation. In partnership with Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce, Caldwell County Schools and Caldwell Community College \u0026amp; Technical Institute, grant will be used to develop community's first school-based entrepreneurship program, \"Business 101: A Blueprint for Teen Success.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/nc/nccharitablegiving/entrepreneurship-program-caldwell-county\"\u003ehttp://www.philanthropyjournal.org/nc/nccharitablegiving/entrepreneurship-program-caldwell-county\u003c/a\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-3783246797719059716?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/3783246797719059716/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d3783246797719059716","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/3783246797719059716"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/3783246797719059716"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/entrepreneurship-program-for-caldwell.html","title":"Entrepreneurship Program for Caldwell County"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-6550530679618852436"},"published":{"$t":"2009-03-01T18:29:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-04-29T18:33:37.542-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Google Community Grant"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Caldwell County Arts Council"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Caldwell Arts Council Receives Google Community Grant"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"N.C. Arts Council\u003cbr /\u003eMarch/April 2009\u003cbr /\u003eThe Caldwell Arts Council received a $7,000 Google Community Grant from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation.\u003cbr /\u003eThe Google Community Grant will be used to provide technology education to arts non-profits in the region. The Caldwell Arts Council will be trained in the use and application of the many Google products and in turn will become the trainer of the products to other arts non-profits across Western North Carolina.\u003cbr /\u003eThe Caldwell Arts Council is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to establish and maintain an awareness and appreciation of cultural arts in Caldwell County by encouraging participation in a variety of arts events, promoting the arts, by cultural planning for the community, and by offering various educational opportunities and administrative services in support of artists, arts agencies and audiences. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.caldwellarts.com/\"\u003ewww.caldwellarts.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ncarts.org/email/MarApr09/\"\u003ehttp://www.ncarts.org/email/MarApr09/\u003c/a\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-6550530679618852436?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/6550530679618852436/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d6550530679618852436","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/6550530679618852436"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/6550530679618852436"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/caldwell-arts-council-receives-google.html","title":"Caldwell Arts Council Receives Google Community Grant"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-2573788620988472742"},"published":{"$t":"2009-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-04-29T18:44:05.630-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Caldwell County School District"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"pilot program"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lending Laptop"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Caldwell County Schools \"Lending Laptop\" Initiative"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"WHKY\u003cbr /\u003eFeb. 24, 2009\u003cbr /\u003eGoogle is teaming up with the Caldwell County School District to provide laptops for students on an overnight check out basis. This effort is part of our mission to make sure that data center communities receive technological assistance and resources that we can provide. Google donated 150 laptops for the “Lending Laptop” pilot program that is being developed by the Caldwell County School District. The school district will be in charge of the program's oversight and implementation. Google will provide technical assistance and advice, as needed.Read more at \u003ca id\u003d\"yczb\" title\u003d\"http://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode\u003d\" articleid\u003d\"6187\" href\u003d\"http://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode\u003ddetail\u0026amp;articleID\u003d6187\"\u003ehttp://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode\u003ddetail\u0026amp;articleID\u003d6187\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-2573788620988472742?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/2573788620988472742/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d2573788620988472742","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/2573788620988472742"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/2573788620988472742"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2009/02/caldwell-county-schools-lending-laptop.html","title":"Caldwell County Schools \"Lending Laptop\" Initiative"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-4629764186112396977"},"published":{"$t":"2009-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-04-29T19:15:11.502-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Google Community Grant"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Philanthropy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Shelter Home of Caldwell County"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Shelter Home of Caldwell County Receives Google Community Grant"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv align\u003d\"left\"\u003eFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align\u003d\"left\"\u003eFOR MORE INFORMATION:\u003cbr /\u003eKen Thomas\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"mailto:KennethDThomas@Gmail.com\"\u003eKennethDThomas@Gmail.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e336-455-3619\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLenoir, Caldwell Co. Nonprofit Receives Award for Technological Upgrades\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e(CALDWELL COUNTY/LENOIR, N.C.) – Feb. 16, 2009 – Free Internet access and computers are now available to those in Caldwell County who are in need of a helping hand. The Shelter Home of Caldwell County, a nonprofit organization that serves the needs of domestic violence and sexual assault victims, received a Google Community Grant of $12,000 from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation. The Google Community Grant was used to acquire 10 computer systems, two printers and network equipment.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe new hardware was purchased from Lenoir-based ComputerScope (www.computerscope.com) and Google data center employees Don Dresser, Enoch Moeller and Nicholas Snowden installed the systems.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eShelter Home’s Executive Director Melissa Teague explained that seven of the new systems replaced obsolete and incompatible computers that were being used by the shelter’s staff, and three are being used to provide basic computer training to residents of the shelter.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“These systems will help make our staff much more efficient in the future - but we’re especially excited to be able to provide, for the first time, the benefits of Internet access to our clients,\" said Teague. \"This opens opportunities for job training, educational advancement and house hunting for our clients as they work to build a new life.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eKen Thomas, a member of Shelter Home’s Board of Directors, explains “We are also exploring ways that Shelter Home can use some of Google’s other offerings, such as Google Applications and applying for Google AdWords. When we launch our new Web site, we think it could be a good product to increase our organization’s exposure in our education, recruiting and fundraising efforts.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eCaldwell County resident Tom Jacobik, Google's Operation Manager for North Carolina, adds \"Through the Google Community Grants Program, local nonprofits like Shelter Home of Caldwell County, can benefit from the technical know-how of our data center employees. We are committed to helping to address the needs of our local community that supports our data center.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe Google Community Grant comes from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation, which offers donor-advised funds and other grantmaking vehicles, as well as professional philanthropic advice.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFor more information about the Google Community Grants Program, go to www.google.com/lenoir and visit the \"Community Outreach\" page. Interested parties can submit an online application through this Web page on or before the first day of each quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1). All grant applications must be submitted online.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAttached Photo: Press Release Photo - SHCC-07FEB09.jpg\u003cbr /\u003ePhoto Caption: From left to right - Google volunteers Don Dresser, Nicholas Snowden and Enoch Moeller are pictured with Melissa Teague, executive director of the Shelter Home of Caldwell County.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e###\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-4629764186112396977?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/4629764186112396977/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d4629764186112396977","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/4629764186112396977"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/4629764186112396977"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2009/02/shelter-home-of-caldwell-county.html","title":"Shelter Home of Caldwell County Receives Google Community Grant"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-812598167682902058"},"published":{"$t":"2009-02-10T06:40:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-02-10T06:58:11.910-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"cool"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lenoir"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Google data center"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Cool Gig at Google"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eThe Charlotte Observer \u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eThe Cool Gig at Google\u003ca href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pWXjAwNm4Fo/SZGSpYfBe4I/AAAAAAAAAok/83EvFz9IkjE/s1600-h/Google+Pic.jpg\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003cimg id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301179476036647810\" style\u003d\"FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 316px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px\" alt\u003d\"\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pWXjAwNm4Fo/SZGSpYfBe4I/AAAAAAAAAok/83EvFz9IkjE/s320/Google+Pic.jpg\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eBy Jen Aronoff\u003cbr /\u003eFeb. 8, 2009 \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eLENOIR- It has twentysomething guys in jeans and T-shirts playing pool and video games within view of a beer tap, abundant racing-themed decor and some of the tightest security imaginable. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eIs it a bar? Someone's top-secret man cave? Nope. It's a workplace: Google's data center here in the N.C. foothills, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eAnd amid economic upheaval, it's evidence that distinctive workplace cultures and perks can persist, even as a range of companies sacrifice benefits and look to cut costs. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e“We are very cognizant of the economy, and we have done a bit of scaling down,” data center manager Tom Jacobik said. “But it hasn't prevented us from giving employees the right tools to do their jobs.” \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eIn Google's culture, that goes beyond a desk and a computer, as a recent visit to the Lenoir workspace made clear. It marked the first time the Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet search giant had opened one of its highly private data centers to a media tour. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eThat's partly because of an ongoing effort to be more open, and also because the Lenoir work area was not completed until December, said Matt Dunne, the company's U.S. manager for public affairs. The warehouse-sized hall of computers processing search requests and other data remained strictly off-limits, in a burly-guys-in-polo-shirts-guarding-the-doors kind of way. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eThe center, which was announced in January 2007 and held an opening ceremony in May, is expected to eventually employ about 200 people. The company declined to say how many work there now. It's one of at least four rural centers Google has and was lured with more than $250 million in state and local incentives.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eThe bright, open work area is located on the building's second floor, with large windows offering a view of the Blue Ridge mountains. It's accented in red, blue, green and yellow, and has a racing theme in homage to Carolinas heritage – think checkered flags, race car pieces on the wall and conference rooms named for NASCAR tracks. The setting is a far cry from the furniture and textile plants that long formed the economic backbone of the area, which has struggled with high unemployment most of this decade.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eEmployees can play Rock Band on an Xbox and 46-inch flat-screen television, shoot pool at a locally made custom table, play pingpong and foosball, shoot Nerf guns or sit in a black leather massaging chair. Free snacks, drinks and coffee are always available, and lunch from a different local restaurant arrives around 1 p.m. On Friday afternoons after work, Googlers can gather at a bar area and chat with colleagues over company-provided beer. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eEmployees say the laid-back atmosphere offers stress relief and socialization. For the company, it leads to workers that are devoted and focused during long hours, keeping hundreds or possibly thousands of computers humming with hardware, software, ventilation and electrical acumen.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eSuch a tradeoff gained favor in the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, but in years since some firms have winnowed their perks. Google has kept them, with officials noting the upfront costs of buying games and decor and the recurring food and drink expenses are small compared to the long-term payoff.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eThe benefits encourage the creativity that will keep the company moving forward, Jacobik said. “That's what has gotten us to where we are now,” he said. “We didn't want to lose that startup feel.”\u003cbr /\u003eGoogle has been comparatively spared by the recession. Its revenue increased 31 percent to $21.8 billion in 2008. Earnings were roughly flat at $4.2 billion. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eBut it isn't immune. The company's stock is down about 26 percent in the last year, compared with 30 percent for the Nasdaq as a whole. The company has also reined in hiring, laid off members of its recruiting staff and delayed the opening of a data center in Oklahoma. It's also trimmed some lightly used perks such as the 4 p.m. tea at its New York office and the high-end video production studio at its headquarters, Dunne said. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eMore dramatic cuts, however, would alter Google's identity and not help it survive in the long run, Dunne said.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eCompanies across the country are grappling with the same dilemma, trying to hold onto what defines them while also weathering the economy. Often, they have little choice but to cut: 92 percent of human resources executives surveyed last month by placement firm Challenger, Gray \u0026amp; Christmas said their companies were initiating cost reductions.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eSeveral other local companies known for distinctive workplace cultures said they, too, were trying to preserve their amenities. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eMitchell Gold + Bob Williams, a Taylorsville furniture manufacturer, continues to offer a chef-run cafeteria, free gym and indoor walking track, and a concierge-like center that offers services such as car service drop-off, cards, gifts and DVD rentals for its more than 650 employees. The on-site day care just celebrated its 10th anniversary, spokeswoman Eloise Goldman said. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eThe benefits have helped attract and retain high-quality workers, she said, and remain worthwhile even as the home furnishings industry has been hit hard and people might be willing to accept lesser working conditions.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e“If you started stripping away some of those things, it would take away who we really are,” Goldman said. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eTech-oriented companies have led the way with relaxed workplaces. Those such as LendingTree and Microsoft, both of which have local offices, say that remains a key part of their culture. Neither plans changes right now: LendingTree's bean bag chairs, pool and foosball remain, spokeswoman Allison Vail said, though employment at its Ballantyne office is down to 450, from a peak of about 1,200. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eBack at Google, a Boston terrier belonging to data center technician Jennifer Crump rocketed by – yep, dogs are allowed here – while employees gathered for lunch. Among them was systems administrator Aaron Joyner, who had just wrapped up a videoconference with three other offices. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eJoyner, 30, a Kernersville native, has worked for Google about four years, including at its headquarters in California. In addition to analyzing software problems, he's developed formidable foosball skills (“to the point that no one will play me,” he notes). \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eGooglers get plenty of free T-shirts, and his feeling about the atmosphere, he said, is best summarized by one he wore when recruiting employees for another data center. “When,” it says, “was the last time you wanted to jump out of bed and go to work?”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/522587.html\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003ehttp://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/522587.html\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e*Photo credit: Technicians Logan Anderson (shooting) and John Hall (left) play a game of pool to unwind and refresh during work at the Google Data Center in Lenoir. Google employees' workspace is littered with toys and diversions. The goal is to foster creative discussions among the technicians. PHOTOS BY JEFF WILLHELM\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-812598167682902058?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/812598167682902058/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d812598167682902058","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/812598167682902058"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/812598167682902058"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2009/02/cool-gig-at-google.html","title":"The Cool Gig at Google"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pWXjAwNm4Fo/SZGSpYfBe4I/AAAAAAAAAok/83EvFz9IkjE/s72-c/Google+Pic.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-7360906299941830466"},"published":{"$t":"2009-02-03T11:44:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-02-03T12:01:21.006-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A Glimpse Inside Google"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eLenoir-News Topic\u003cbr /\u003eA Glimpse Inside Google\u003cbr /\u003eBy Paul Teague\u003cbr /\u003eJan. 29, 2009\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pWXjAwNm4Fo/SYigWmCehPI/AAAAAAAAAoM/-KwBCJHg6II/s1600-h/NewsTopic.jpg\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003cimg id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298661271629890802\" style\u003d\"FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 181px\" alt\u003d\"\" src\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pWXjAwNm4Fo/SYigWmCehPI/AAAAAAAAAoM/-KwBCJHg6II/s320/NewsTopic.jpg\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eA pool table with the company name emblazoned on the felt. Offices designated by the names of NASCAR race tracks. And, yes, security akin to the protection of the coveted treasures at Fort Knox.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGoogle offered local media representatives a first peek inside its Lenoir data center Wednesday, providing a glimpse of the work - and play - of the people who are the driving forces for the Internet search and applications giant.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLocated off Morganton Boulevard along Harrisburg Drive and Overlook Drive, the data center is a part of Google's planned $600 million investment in Caldwell County. From the outside, the alabaster facade is punctuated on one side by the building's intricate cooling systems for Google's banks of computer servers and an outdoor basketball hoop on the other.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eBeyond the walls, the Lego-inspired colors of the company accent the railings and the furniture of the second floor home of the Googlers. A racing theme dominates the sprawling, convertible area that blurs the line between where the labor ends and the mental relaxation begins.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGoogle Operations Manager Tom Jacobik said the NASCAR motifs - which include sheet metal from Sprint Cup and Nationwide cars, a cutout photo of the late Dale Earnhardt and a copy machine known as Junior Johnson - serve a purpose.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\"We've tried to really be adaptive to some of the things that are intrinsic to this area,\" Jacobik said. \"This provides an opportunity to get a local feel to our area.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eJacobik noted that Google has made an effort to purchase products, including the \"Google-Lenoir\" felt-lined pool table, from local businesses. The catered food in the break room, delivered this day from downtown Lenoir eatery Piccolo's, also is provided by local companies. Google, which received generous tax breaks from Caldwell County, Lenoir and North Carolina to locate here two years ago, also has made itself a part of the community in other ways with grants to local charities and civic organizations.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\"We're trying to keep things in the local area,\" Jacobik said. \"It's more beneficial for us to do that. The community has rolled out the red carpet for us, and we know that.\"Of course, life at Google does not revolve solely around bank shots, Nerf gun battles, XBox 360 video games and Lucy, a staff member's Boston terrier who roams the floor. The employees spend a majority of their time in the intensive, in-depth world of computer code and applications processing. And what might appear to be play, Jacobik noted, also could be the inspiration to the solution of complex conundrum.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\"We believe the conversations that take place (on the floor) are just as beneficial as the ones in the conference rooms,\" Jacobik said. \"If you don't give them some other outlet, they are going to fry on what they do.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWhen meeting times arrive, Google personnel assemble around tables with yellow- and red-backed chairs, sort of like a grade school lunchroom for techies. Known as the Garage, the area can be cordoned off by an automatic overhead door to conduct internal seminars or video conferences with other locations in Google's worldwide network, including the mother ship in Mt. View, Calif.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe challenge for Google, as with all companies fighting through the severe national recession, is to remain on the cutting edge of the Internet age. The company still dominates Internet search, grabbing a 70 percent share of the domestic market in December, more than triple struggling rival Yahoo. Meanwhile, Google's stock price, which fell more than 60 percent from its all-time high, has rebounded in recent days thanks to another solid earnings report.\"We know the dynamic of technology is changing,\" Google U.S. Community Affairs Manager Matt Dunne said. \"We need to be prepared at lightning speed.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003eAnd in examining Google's meteoric rise from a Stanford University dorm room to the pop-culture phrase, \"I Googled it,\" perhaps the racing ideal indeed does fit. In little more than a decade, the company has lapped better-known or now-defunct challengers, many of whom arrived at the track far earlier. While the pace at first blush may seem oddly pedestrian to the uninitiated outsider, the reality of Google's turbo-charged, 24/7 operation within an ever-evolving Internet shows no sign of reaching anything close to resembling a finish line.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://newstopic.southernheadlines.com/index.cfm?section\u003d86\u0026amp;story\u003d10308\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003ehttp://newstopic.southernheadlines.com/index.cfm?section\u003d86\u0026amp;story\u003d10308\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:georgia;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-7360906299941830466?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/7360906299941830466/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d7360906299941830466","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/7360906299941830466"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/7360906299941830466"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2009/02/glimpse-inside-google.html","title":"A Glimpse Inside Google"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pWXjAwNm4Fo/SYigWmCehPI/AAAAAAAAAoM/-KwBCJHg6II/s72-c/NewsTopic.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-3982168068373956789"},"published":{"$t":"2008-12-15T10:00:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-01-14T17:22:41.635-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Google Acquires Additional Property at Data Center Site"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Google is expanding its 220-acre site in Lenoir with the acquisition of six parcels of land west of the main site, totaling approximately 60 acres, company officials announced today. The acquisition has been part of Google’s plan since the company decided to construct a $600 million data center in Caldwell County/Lenoir. Google’s North Carolina campus will total approximately 280 acres.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“Google’s additional purchase of land is a great sign of their commitment to Lenoir and Caldwell County,” said Lenoir Mayor David Barlow. “Since coming to town, Google and their employees have been active members of our community. We are proud that Google calls this community home and we’re glad that they are here.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eBen Griffin, chairman of the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners, noted, “The people of Caldwell County are continuing to find Google to be a very good neighbor and an excellent addition to our community. We’re excited about the news of the purchase of additional property and are thrilled that the data center calls our community home. This new purchase will be a welcomed addition to our community’s economic base.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGoogle purchased the property for $3.13 million. Though there aren't any near-term plans for the property, some tentative uses for the property could be to support the needs of the data center operations and the gradual expansion of data center capacity consistent with previously announced plans for the Google campus.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTom Jacobik, manager of the data center in Lenoir, added, “Everyone at Google is very happy about our North Carolina operation. We’ve been working hard and really appreciate the community’s support. This is a strategic location for our company. We look forward to a long and active presence here. Lenoir and Caldwell County are great places for us.”\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-3982168068373956789?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/3982168068373956789"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/3982168068373956789"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/12/google-acquires-additional-property-at.html","title":"Google Acquires Additional Property at Data Center Site"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lilyn"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04989552537407864670"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"09685038608963920645"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-6127742481878932355"},"published":{"$t":"2008-09-17T09:48:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-09-17T09:50:47.526-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Greenhouse to Greenhouse: Caldwell County, Google and Greenhouse Gas Services Would Turn Landfill Methane into Energy and Education Asset"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"A public-private project in Caldwell County may use greenhouse gas to power a research greenhouse.  The initiative, approved in concept by county commissioners, would mark the first time Google has co-developed such a project in the United States from the very inception, working through every step of the process.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSpearheaded by county officials, the proposed project would capture methane gas - one of the most potent forms of greenhouse gas emissions - at the Mount Herman landfill.  Google, a champion of renewable energy, and Greenhouse Gas Services LLC (GHGS) would use the capture to generate greenhouse gas (GHG) credits.  The credits would help to fund the development of a new research greenhouse at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (CCC\u0026amp;TI).  \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAreas of study involving the greenhouse would include new horticulture technologies, tissue culture propagation and an expansion of the horticulture curriculum. Caldwell is one of the state's top three counties in nursery agricultural production.  Officials expect that the N.C. Agriculture Extension Service, which assists the nursery industry, would also benefit from the greenhouse.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe Greenhouse to Greenhouse project would follow a series of steps:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eAs part of the first emission reduction co-development project in the U.S., GHGS would invest, design, build and operate the facility to capture landfill gas for more than 120,000 CO2 equivalent tons over ten years. \u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eGHGS would then retire the credits on behalf of Google, which plans to add these offsets to its carbon portfolio and advance the goal of company wide carbon neutrality.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eThe captured methane gas would be flared -- destroying the greenhouse gas before it enters the atmosphere -- or converted as a power source for the new greenhouse.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003eStay tuned for more developments.  And thank you to all the great folks involved in this project!\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-6127742481878932355?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/6127742481878932355/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d6127742481878932355","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/6127742481878932355"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/6127742481878932355"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/09/greenhouse-to-greenhouse-caldwell.html","title":"Greenhouse to Greenhouse: Caldwell County, Google and Greenhouse Gas Services Would Turn Landfill Methane into Energy and Education Asset"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-708400477497546610"},"published":{"$t":"2008-06-03T10:31:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-06-13T13:41:12.732-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"data center"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lenoir"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"easley"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Caldwell County"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Google"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Governor, Local Officials, Community and Google Open Lenoir/Caldwell County Data Center"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Whether you're shopping for shoes, planning a trip or watching a funny video, you probably don't think much about where that website you're on actually \"lives.\" Though they seem just to exist in some \"cloud\" out there in \"cyberspace,\" all websites are actually hosted on computers, similar to the one you have at home or work. But millions of websites processing terabytes of data every day -- all of those shopping and video queries -- require much more than a single machine, and they need to be housed somewhere. While some webmasters may run their website off of a small server in their basement, more commonly websites are run off of a stack of computers (a server rack), which lives in a warehouse-type building called a data center. Almost any company that stores or processes information either owns data centers or leases space in them, including banks, insurers, airlines and of course, technology companies. To process the millions of searches, emails, documents and more that come across our servers every day, and to keep all of our services both fast and reliable for our users, we require significant computing power, and have invested heavily in servers and data centers across the world.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eOn May 21st, an official ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of our newest data center in \u003ca title\u003d\"Lenoir, North Carolina\" href\u003d\"http://www.ci.lenoir.nc.us/\" id\u003d\"yi9t\"\u003eLenoir, North Carolina\u003c/a\u003e. The Lenoir facility has set a precedent for Google community involvement: hundreds of our closest friends -- the citizens of Caldwell County -- came on site for what we called a \"Googley BBQ.\" Along with pulled pork from the locally-acclaimed \u003ca id\u003d\"hi69\" title\u003d\"Hannah's BBQ\" href\u003d\"http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID\u003d449\"\u003eHannah's\u003c/a\u003e, attractions included Google-colored snow cones, cotton candy, a local cover band, Google demo stations, a \"Meet-a-Googler\" tent, and a kiddie area with face painting, stickers, crafts, and (of course) a bouncy house in Google colors.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLenoir sits in the heart of \u003ca id\u003d\"nt-b\" title\u003d\"Caldwell County, North Carolina\" href\u003d\"http://maps.google.com/maps?f\u003dq\u0026amp;hl\u003den\u0026amp;geocode\u003d\u0026amp;q\u003dcaldwell+county,+nc\u0026amp;layer\u003dc\u0026amp;ie\u003dUTF8\u0026amp;z\u003d10\u0026amp;iwloc\u003daddr\"\u003eCaldwell County\u003c/a\u003e, which is known for its spectacular views of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, its close-knit communities, and its hard-working citizens, and is along the famous \"20 miles of furniture\" on N.C. highway 321. Though many furniture industry jobs in the area have been lost in recent years, now technology companies are moving to the region, and a focus on technology education is helping to usher Caldwell into the 21st century.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSeveral speakers at the ribbon-cutting, including the Mayor of Lenoir, David Barlow; County Commissioner Herb Greene; and the Governor of North Carolina, Mike Easley, voiced this sentiment, each hopeful that other technology companies will consider Google's presence and set up shop as well. What's not to love about an area with a beautiful landscape, a home-town feel, and such a wonderful and welcoming community? Yeah, we couldn't find anything either.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLenoir Googlers are still floating on at least cloud seven or eight about playing host at our new site. We couldn't have done it without the local firefighters, police, Chamber of Commerce and government representatives who went out of their way to make sure everyone had fun that day -- helped, of course, by the hundreds of folks who joined us in celebrating. But what's more, we are excited that we will soon be bringing this newest data center online, as another step to ensure that our services remain lightning fast and nearly 100% reliable, no matter where on the planet you may be.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTo view pictures from the days event please visit our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://picasaweb.google.com/gregbehr/LenoirDataCenterGrandOpening02\"\u003ePicasa Web album\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-708400477497546610?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/708400477497546610/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d708400477497546610","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/708400477497546610"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/708400477497546610"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/06/governor-officials-and-community-open.html","title":"Governor, Local Officials, Community and Google Open Lenoir/Caldwell County Data Center"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-1757075660679105122"},"published":{"$t":"2008-04-22T07:39:00.001-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-04-22T07:47:54.591-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Cloud Camp Comes to Charlotte"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The Google Apps team is setting up shop today, April 22, at a Backyard Burgers restaurant in Charlotte, N.C. to celebrate the cities recent honor as one of the top four most \u003cspan class\u003d\"blsp-spelling-corrected\" id\u003d\"SPELLING_ERROR_0\"\u003eentrepreneurial\u003c/span\u003e cities in the country.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe Backyard Burgers restaurant chain is just one of many small businesses to benefit from using the free applications offered by Google.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe team is hosting a Cloud Camp to show small business owners how they too can benefit from Google applications like Gmail and Google Documents.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe event is being held at the \u003cspan class\u003d\"blsp-spelling-error\" id\u003d\"SPELLING_ERROR_1\"\u003eConlan\u003c/span\u003e Circle Backyard Burgers in Charlotte and will be occurring from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Food and refreshments will be provided by Backyard Burgers.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eBackyard Burgers\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cst1:address st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:street st\u003d\"on\"\u003e13736 \u003cspan class\u003d\"blsp-spelling-error\" id\u003d\"SPELLING_ERROR_2\"\u003eConlan\u003c/span\u003e Circle\u003c/st1:Street\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eCharlotte, N\u003c/st1:address\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"javascript:void(0)\" tabindex\u003d\"10\" onclick\u003d\"return false;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cst1:address st\u003d\"on\"\u003e.C.\u003cst1:city st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003c/st1:City\u003e\u003c/st1:address\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-1757075660679105122?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/1757075660679105122/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d1757075660679105122","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/1757075660679105122"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/1757075660679105122"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/04/cloud-camp-comes-to-charlotte.html","title":"Cloud Camp Comes to Charlotte"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-4327751692284508095"},"published":{"$t":"2008-03-25T12:58:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-12-09T05:15:50.106-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Lenoir Data Center Featured in Western North Carolina Magazine"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R-ldeKBraBI/AAAAAAAAAAs/EFtasrky0WU/s1600-h/photo_feature2.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;\" src\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R-ldeKBraBI/AAAAAAAAAAs/EFtasrky0WU/s320/photo_feature2.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181775618935318546\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eWestern North Carolina \u003c/span\u003emagazine featured the Lenoir data center in its March/April edition. Writer Jess Clarke interviewed individuals from the community, Google and Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute to craft the article, \"The Package Deal: How Lenoir landed a second career.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eYou can read the article \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.wncmagazine.com/feature2.html\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-4327751692284508095?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/4327751692284508095/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d4327751692284508095","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/4327751692284508095"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/4327751692284508095"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/03/lenoir-data-center-featured-in-western.html","title":"Lenoir Data Center Featured in Western North Carolina Magazine"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R-ldeKBraBI/AAAAAAAAAAs/EFtasrky0WU/s72-c/photo_feature2.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-1318171407113018733"},"published":{"$t":"2008-03-07T11:48:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-12-09T05:15:50.316-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A New Hope With a New Industry"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R9GcgH0AkdI/AAAAAAAAAAc/B0NpxuEVDJ0/s1600-h/Picture+009.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R9GcgH0AkdI/AAAAAAAAAAc/B0NpxuEVDJ0/s320/Picture+009.jpg\" border\u003d\"0\" alt\u003d\"\"id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175089522492346834\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eOver the past 26 years in Lenoir and Caldwell County, Paul Bowman has witnessed a transformation. \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAn economy once tied directly to the furniture industry struggled for years with one of the highest unemployment rates in North Carolina after manufacturing jobs moved elsewhere.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003ePaul, whose parents grew up in Lenoir, was laid off not once, but twice from manufacturing jobs in the area.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“Just a little more than a year ago it looked like the job market was all but drying up and no new industry would come to the area,” says Paul. “I was looking at a two-hour commute each way to find a job.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThen came Google’s announcement that it would build a $600 million data center in Lenoir and Caldwell County and with it came a new belief that manufacturing was not the only industry for this can-do community. Paul had been interested in electronics since he was just a boy and Google’s presence in the community reinvigorated his old desires. \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“We are witnessing the Google announcement jumpstart this community, as more and more 21st century businesses are taking a second look at us,” says Paul. “Folks are going to school to learn the skills needed so they can compete for these new high-tech jobs. Enthusiastic competition fueled by new industry, that’s something we haven’t seen in awhile.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFor Paul, wife, Tonya, four children and 11 pets, Lenoir is home and while it may have been easier to find a job elsewhere, they never considered leaving. After hearing Google’s announcement, Paul decided to return to school and enrolled in Caldwell Community College \u0026 Technical Institute’s inaugural IT Institute where he found the work challenging, but excelled to the top of his class. He has joined Google’s Lenoir Data Center team as a Data Technician Assistant.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-1318171407113018733?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/1318171407113018733/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d1318171407113018733","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/1318171407113018733"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/1318171407113018733"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-hope-with-new-industry.html","title":"A New Hope With a New Industry"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R9GcgH0AkdI/AAAAAAAAAAc/B0NpxuEVDJ0/s72-c/Picture+009.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-2606478872697362770"},"published":{"$t":"2008-03-06T12:10:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-12-09T05:15:50.439-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Mother Returns to Workforce at the Lenoir Data Center"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R9BQRW6gxqI/AAAAAAAAAAU/cmwBpFNRoRc/s1600-h/Jennifer,+Eric+%26+Daniel.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R9BQRW6gxqI/AAAAAAAAAAU/cmwBpFNRoRc/s320/Jennifer,+Eric+%26+Daniel.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174724230987695778\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eFor Jennifer Crump, Google’s Lenoir, N.C. data center is the most recent in a long list of blessings and hard decisions that helped keep her family in the town they call home.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eA lifelong Morganton resident, Jennifer grew up in a close knit community so typical of Western North Carolina. A community she never once considered leaving, even when times were tight.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eJennifer says she counts herself lucky as plant closings, a lack of opportunities and decrease in morale had little affect on her husband, Eric, and two young children. “Many friends and family members faced layoffs at local plants, but our faith helped guide us through tough times,” says Jennifer.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAs a stay at home mom, Jennifer dedicated herself to the development of her sons, Aaron, 13, and Daniel, 9, but made the promise to herself that as soon as her youngest son entered school, she would find a job to help support her family.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“The same day I took my youngest son to school, I went to Western Piedmont Community College and enrolled in the Internet Technologies program,” says Jennifer. “The summer I graduated from the program was the same time rumors began circulating about Google coming to Lenoir. Of course, this made me very excited, especially since the skills I had learned were perfect for Google.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eJennifer made it her personal goal to be one of the first employees to work at the Lenoir data center.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eShe enrolled in the Caldwell Community College \u0026amp; Technical Institute’s inaugural IT Institute and earned her position today as a Google Data Technician Assistant.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-2606478872697362770?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/2606478872697362770/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d2606478872697362770","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/2606478872697362770"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/2606478872697362770"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/03/mother-returns-to-workforce-at-lenoir.html","title":"Mother Returns to Workforce at the Lenoir Data Center"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/R9BQRW6gxqI/AAAAAAAAAAU/cmwBpFNRoRc/s72-c/Jennifer,+Eric+%26+Daniel.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-20955292895712621"},"published":{"$t":"2008-02-05T08:52:00.001-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-02-05T09:03:43.775-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\"Silicon Valley Meets Catawba Valley\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The City of Lenoir, Caldwell County and the Google data center were recently featured in an article in the Jan. 24 edition of The Charlotte Observer. Observer reporter Jen Aronoff covers the Catawba Valley and spent many hours speaking with the community to write the article, \"\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.charlotte.com/business/story/460421.html\"\u003eSilicon Valley meets Catawba Valley: Google, Lenoir settle in with each other\u003c/a\u003e.\"\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-20955292895712621?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/20955292895712621/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d20955292895712621","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/20955292895712621"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/20955292895712621"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/02/silicon-valley-meets-catawba-valley.html","title":"\"Silicon Valley Meets Catawba Valley\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-6658222645198358251"},"published":{"$t":"2008-01-09T08:14:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-01-09T08:26:02.513-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Data Center Aids Ambitious Google Cloud"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Google’s data centers, including the one going up in Lenoir, are central to the company’s bold vision of ‘cloud’ programming.  To learn more about what the ‘cloud’ is and how it would use the power of data centers, visit Business Week’s Dec. 13th cover story.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/blogspotting/archives/2007/12/bw_cover_google.html?chan\u003dsearch%29\"\u003eBusinessweek, Google and The Cloud\u003c/a\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-6658222645198358251?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/6658222645198358251/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d6658222645198358251","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/6658222645198358251"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/6658222645198358251"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2008/01/data-center-aids-ambitious-google-cloud.html","title":"Data Center Aids Ambitious Google Cloud"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-7892651175857802500"},"published":{"$t":"2007-11-20T14:28:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2007-11-28T11:39:34.277-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lenoir"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Caldwell County"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"David Barlow"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Faye Higgins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AdWords"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Google AdWords Seminar Aids Local Organizations"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;\"  \u003eGoogle AdWords, an Internet marketing tool, was the subject of a special community seminar designed to support businesses and non-profit groups in Lenoir and \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCaldwell\u003c/st1:placename\u003e \u003cst1:placetype st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCounty\u003c/st1:placetype\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!--[endif]--\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003eGoogle specialists were on hand at the \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eJ.E.\u003c/st1:placename\u003e  \u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eBroyhill\u003c/st1:placename\u003e \u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCivic\u003c/st1:placename\u003e  \u003cst1:placetype st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCenter\u003c/st1:placetype\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e on Thursday, Nov. 15 to explain the capabilities available through the online advertising service.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e      \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;\"  \u003eGoogle's Lindsay Stradley and Matt Dunne presented separate no-cost seminars, one for businesses and one for nonprofits. They surprised business people attending with $100 gift vouchers to use for their AdWords campaigns.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!--[endif]--\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003eNon-profit groups, as always, are eligible for special Google Grants, a program supporting organizations that share Google's philosophy of community service in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\"The Google Grants Program is a tremendous opportunity for nonprofit organizations in our community to deliver their messages to the masses,\" said David Barlow, mayor, City of \u003cst1:city st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003eLenoir\u003c/st1:place\u003e\u003c/st1:city\u003e, who addressed attendees at the seminar for non-profit organizations.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!--[endif]--\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003eDesigned for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, Google Grants offers free AdWords to organizations that apply to the program. Google facilitates AdWords seminars in major cities throughout the \u003cst1:country-region st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003eUnited   States\u003c/st1:place\u003e\u003c/st1:country-region\u003e and teaches nonprofits how to apply to the Google Grants program. Google's new data center in Lenoir prompted the company to bring the Google Grants program and AdWords seminar to \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCaldwell\u003c/st1:placename\u003e \u003cst1:placetype st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCounty\u003c/st1:placetype\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAvailable to all types of businesses, AdWords allows companies to deliver messages on the Internet to as broad or specific an audience as possible by utilizing Google's search engine—the most popular in the world. For example, American Meadows, a Vermont-based supplier of flower seeds, used AdWords to make sure individuals searching for words like \"wildflowers\" and \"wildflower seeds\" saw its advertisement. The company has grown from a local business to one of the largest suppliers in \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003eNorth America\u003c/st1:place\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\"We're glad they've taken the initiative to share their ideas with others here in Lenoir and \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCaldwell\u003c/st1:placename\u003e  \u003cst1:placetype st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCounty\u003c/st1:placetype\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e,\" said Faye Higgins, chairwoman, Caldwell County Board of Commissioners, who briefly addressed attendees at the seminar for local businesses.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAs in all of its places of business, Google is committed to giving back to the community in a number of ways, including special events such as the AdWords seminar.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\"This community has done so much to welcome Google,\" said data center manager Tom Jacobik. \"It's a pleasure to now welcome community members to learn more about how Google's services can help them.\"\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cobject width\u003d\"425\" height\u003d\"355\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"movie\" value\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/WqHpm7OLWWY\u0026rel\u003d1\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cembed src\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/WqHpm7OLWWY\u0026rel\u003d1\" type\u003d\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" wmode\u003d\"transparent\" width\u003d\"425\" height\u003d\"355\"\u003e\u003c/embed\u003e\u003c/object\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTo apply for Google Grants, non-profit organizations can visit www.google.com/grants. At the bottom of that page, click on 'Program Details.' Please review the 'Who is Eligible' section.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-7892651175857802500?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/7892651175857802500"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/7892651175857802500"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2007/11/google-adwords-seminar-aids-local.html","title":"Google AdWords Seminar Aids Local Organizations"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-8811507745063211336"},"published":{"$t":"2007-11-06T11:20:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2008-12-09T05:15:50.646-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rhett Weiss"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"data center"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lenoir"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Caldwell County"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AdvantageWest"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Community and Google Honored for Economic Strides"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/RzC_O8auiGI/AAAAAAAAAAM/N5ew5EdgUY8/s1600-h/Advantage+West+Event++RW+aw.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 277px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/RzC_O8auiGI/AAAAAAAAAAM/N5ew5EdgUY8/s320/Advantage+West+Event++RW+aw.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129810239032297570\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003eGoogle’s data center in Lenoir and  \u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCaldwell\u003c/st1:placename\u003e \u003cst1:placetype st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCounty\u003c/st1:placetype\u003e was in the spotlight at the annual  \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003eAdvantageWest banquet at the Grove  Park Inn \u0026amp; Resort in \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:city st\u003d\"on\"\u003eAsheville\u003c/st1:city\u003e, \u003cst1:state st\u003d\"on\"\u003eN.C.\u003c/st1:state\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e on Nov. 1. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003e Rhett  Weiss accepted the \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003eGolden Eagle award for Community  Impact “for [Google’s] positive impact through investments and job creation on  behalf of the people of \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003eWestern North  Carolina\u003c/st1:place\u003e.” \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003eRhett noted that the project was a  team effort and profusely thanked the leaders of Lenoir and \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCaldwell\u003c/st1:placename\u003e \u003cst1:placetype st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCounty\u003c/st1:placetype\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003eRhett was on hand to accept the  award and to deliver the keynote address at the banquet. His presentation,  “Creating Tomorrow: The Web, The World and \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003eWestern North  Carolina\u003c/st1:place\u003e,” highlighted Google’s history, corporate culture and  societal impact. In addition to information regarding Google, Rhett explained  exactly how the Lenoir/Caldwell County data center fit into Google’s overall Web  strategy.  \u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\"The AdvantageWest staff and I  have received a tremendous response from Rhett Weiss' address. His thoughtful  remarks, multi-media presentation and entertaining wit held the attention of  our audience of more than 525 citizens from across the region,” said Dale  Carroll, CEO, AdvantageWest Economic Development Group. “It was extra special to  conclude the evening with Google receiving our prestigious Golden Eagle Award  for Community Impact and to have Rhett with us in person to accept on behalf of  the new data center in the AdvantageWest community of Lenoir in \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCaldwell\u003c/st1:placename\u003e \u003cst1:placetype st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCounty\u003c/st1:placetype\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e.\" \u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  \u003cp class\u003d\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;\"  \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:Verdana;\"\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c/o:p\u003eSince announcing that Lenoir and  \u003cst1:place st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:placename st\u003d\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:city st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCaldwell\u003c/st1:city\u003e\u003c/st1:placename\u003e \u003cst1:placetype st\u003d\"on\"\u003eCounty\u003c/st1:placetype\u003e\u003c/st1:place\u003e would become the home of a $600  million Google data center earlier this year, the community has seen an upswing  in new business and job creation. Working together, Google and the community  have created a new buzz about an area once struggling due to the exportation of  its established economic engines.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-8811507745063211336?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/8811507745063211336/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d8811507745063211336","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/8811507745063211336"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/8811507745063211336"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2007/11/community-and-google-honored-for.html","title":"Community and Google Honored for Economic Strides"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k7iGp3JqTa8/RzC_O8auiGI/AAAAAAAAAAM/N5ew5EdgUY8/s72-c/Advantage+West+Event++RW+aw.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935351745795412077.post-5325100670047362926"},"published":{"$t":"2007-10-22T10:30:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2007-11-06T12:32:56.618-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Community Leader, Data Center Manager Share Their Google Stories"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003eTom Jacobik, Google's data center manager in Lenoir, recently spoke to the Happy Valley Ruritans Club. Tom received a welcoming introduction by the chairperson of the Caldwell County Commissioners, Faye Higgins.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFaye's commitment to the future of her community was instrumental in bringing Google to Caldwell County. She and other local leaders made a strong case that their area was right for a data center.  She was tireless in her efforts -- but somehow still made time to be a wife, mother and grandmother.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eA native of Caldwell County, Faye just received the Distinguished Woman of the Year award from the Caldwell Council for Women. These excerpts from her introduction of Tom offer a good idea of how she approaches progress and opportunity:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic; font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003eAs you all know, the datacenter has been quite the talk in our community and for good reason. Google anticipates hiring up to 100 workers -- direct and contract -- over the first year of actual start up. The plan is to hire approximately 200 people for the Lenoir data center. These employees will get good salaries plus benefits. That's great for the people who'll work at the data center. But it's also good for everyone in Caldwell County. The Googlers of Caldwell County will pay taxes, shop at local stores, eat at local restaurants and contribute in many other ways to the richness of our local life.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic; font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003eBeyond the jobs, the data center diversifies our economy. This organization - the Ruritans - has long championed the economic engines that made our community and our state great. And together, we're keeping those industries strong. Not only that, we're strengthening our overall economic picture by ushering in new business and industries to stand beside those that have served us so well for so long. The data center puts a big piece of the so-called 'new economy' right here in Caldwell County. And that bodes well for our future. \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic; font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003eSo, in the spirit of the Ruritans' slogan \"Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service,\" I am pleased to introduce to you now, Tom Jacobik. Tom is the site manager for the Google datacenter in Lenoir. Prior to joining Google, Jacobik was director of tactical operations for the Oracle Corporation and has served in IT leadership positions throughout his career and has more than 15 years experience in the technology industry.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic; font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003eTom is like his colleagues at Google. He's down-to-earth and easy to like. At the same time, he wants to succeed. Not just as an individual, but as a team. And that team includes the people of Caldwell County. \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic; font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;\" \u003eI'd like to also say that Tom's skills as a manager are proven out by the fact that he's the father of seven children, including a set of triplets. The fact that the man could even get up this morning shows just how tough he is.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4935351745795412077-5325100670047362926?l\u003dlenoirnews.blogspot.com'/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/feeds/5325100670047362926/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4935351745795412077\u0026postID\u003d5325100670047362926","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/5325100670047362926"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4935351745795412077/posts/default/5325100670047362926"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://lenoirnews.blogspot.com/2007/10/community-leader-data-center-manager.html","title":"Community Leader, Data Center Manager Share Their Google Stories"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Google PR"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/02046788228360676260"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"16191693374819478749"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}}]}});