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Orange Tree Employment Screening Accelerates Momentum with Expansion of Senior Leadership Team

Orange Tree Employment Screening

Orange Tree Employment Screening, a technology-driven services company in the background screening industry, today announced that it has expanded its leadership team to include three new senior roles. Justin Jovle will serve as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO), while Bridget George will be the new Vice President of Client Services, and Brooke Boeser will help guide company expansion as the new Vice President of Marketing. The new hires will help the company continue to accelerate its strong growth while delivering unparalleled client service. “Over the past 18 months, Orange Tree has grown significantly, both organically and through acquisition. To continue this growth, it is important to strategically expand our leadership team,” said Renee Ernste, CEO of Orange Tree. “We are not stopping here. We have expansion plans which require expertise to enable the successful integration of the companies we’ve purchased and to support future acquisitions.” In addition to growing via acquisition and new sales, Orange Tree recently released an innovative online buying experience which provides buyers new levels of choice and pricing transparency. Available to all businesses, the online platform is targeted to the midmarket and small business customer who wants help in choosing the best solution with full visibility to pricing previously reserved for only enterprise businesses. “The buyers’ preferences have changed, and we are delivering what today’s customer expects and deserves,” said Jeff Ernste, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. “Customers want to buy solutions tailored to their needs, in a way and at a time that is convenient for them, and with full transparency to the pricing and terms of their program. We are delivering a solution which aligns precisely with their needs. “The strategic decision to bring in tested leadership and launch a game-changing online buying platform means that Orange Tree’s growth momentum is just beginning,” concluded Ernste. About Orange Tree Employment Screening For more than 30 years, Orange Tree has provided technology-enabled background screening, drug testing, and occupational health services that are fast, easy to use, and can be tailored to the unique needs of each employer. Orange Tree streamlines hiring decisions, integrates with HCM and ATS platforms, and empowers employers in Healthcare, Manufacturing, Hospitality, Retail, Staffing, and other major industries to quickly fill open positions while delivering an engaging candidate experience. Learn more at www.orangetreescreening.com. Contact Details Razor Sharp PR Ray Young +1 512-694-6097 ray@razorsharppr.com Company Website https://www.orangetreescreening.com/

March 28, 2023 08:30 AM Central Daylight Time

NAVEX 2023 Global Incident Management Benchmark Study Reveals Shifts in Workplace Culture and Reporting Trends

NAVEX Global

NAVEX, the leader in integrated risk and compliance management software, has released its 2023 Hotline & Incident Management Benchmark Report. The bellwether annual benchmark report provides valuable insight into the workplace culture of 52 million employees across 3,430 organizations, examining the trends of 1.52 million reports from across the globe. "We use NAVEX's annual benchmark report to help inform our risk management strategy," says FedEx Chief Compliance Officer Justin Ross. "As an industry leader, we do our best to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the latest incident reporting and risk management trends. The insight this report provides helps us do just that." “NAVEX has long been the gold standard for risk and compliance data analytics in the industry. This annual benchmark study is derived from the world’s largest incident reporting database by far,” says Carrie Penman, NAVEX chief risk and compliance officer. “Our expanded analytics in 2023 allowed for a deeper examination of the issues and behaviors that are most impactful to today’s workplaces. Chief among them is workplace civility, which is likely driven by increased societal tension generally.” This year’s analysis of the data revealed four key themes and several notable findings: Reporting at an all-time high, but reporters proceeded with more caution. This year’s analysis revealed the highest median level of Reports per 100 Employees (1.47) in the history of this report. Further, 21% of organizations received five or more Reports per 100 Employees, a positive finding. However, data also showed a return to higher levels of anonymous reporting (56%), indicating more reporter concern about providing their name. HR-related reports are still the majority, but more granular analysis reveals workplace stresses. The median organization had nearly 54% of its reports in the HR, Diversity & Workplace Respect category, up from 50% in 2021. Reviewing the reporting frequency across deeper issue types offers more insight into organizational stresses and behaviors – particularly an increase in workplace civility concerns involving abusive or disrespectful behavior. The data also shows the frequency of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and substance abuse reports in 2022 all increased. These metrics are important to watch as a measure of cultural health and potentially a measure of mental health risks. People want to talk live, but a written web-based report is more likely to be substantiated. While general communications modes move more to texting and instant messaging, this year's data shows an increase in telephonic helpline reports, from 31% in 2021 to 34% in 2022. Hybrid work models have made it easier for employees to make a telephone report from home and more challenging to report in person. However, more thoughtful written reports, submitted via the web, are more likely to be substantiated than phone reports. In 2022, the median Substantiation Rate for web reports was 39% compared to 33% for phone. Size matters – smaller organizations have higher reporting rates; mid-size companies are experiencing some challenges. The 2022 analysis reveals that smaller organizations with fewer than 2,500 employees registered the highest Reports per 100 Employees at 2.99. In contrast, the largest organizations, with over 100,000 employees, had a much lower rate of only 1.20 Reports per 100 Employees. Mid-sized companies with 2,500-49,999 employees had the lowest rate of all, with fewer than 1.0 Reports per 100 Employees. Organizations with 2,500 to 5,999 employees recorded the highest rate of anonymous reporting at 60%. "Data is at the heart of making smart decisions about risk management and spotting potential problems throughout the organization. This is particularly important for issues affecting workplace culture. NAVEX's integrated data platform provides industry-leading insights and a unique window into the performance of their risk and compliance program, which in turn helps them achieve the business outcomes that matter most," says A.G. Lambert, NAVEX chief product officer. Additional notable findings include: The frequency of bribery and corruption reports increased in 2022, as did product quality and safety reports. Conflicts of interest reporting dropped significantly but is still in the top five. Data privacy and protection also made the top five. While overall Substantiation Rates remained steady at 41%, the five issue types with the highest frequency of substantiation were: global trade (76%), imminent threat to a person or property (75%), environment (71%), Data privacy and protection (68%), misuse or misappropriation of assets (67%) and health and safety (65%). More than half of organizations have a median Case Closure Time under 30 days. The largest organizations had the shortest Case Closure Time. Notable, and perhaps concerning, is a median of 18% of cases were closed on the same day they were received. This finding indicates instances that may have been forwarded to a different department and resolved prior to complete resolution, implying that a case classified as "closed" for compliance does not necessarily denote closure for the organization. For more insights on the 2023 Incident Management Benchmark Report, join Justin Ross, FedEx chief compliance officer, Carrie Penman, NAVEX chief risk & compliance officer, and Anders Olsen, NAVEX senior data scientist, for an informative webinar where they will discuss the results of this year’s analysis in detail. Register here or, read our blog, Don’t Miss Out – World’s Leading Hotline Webinar & Report Released March 28. NAVEX is trusted by thousands of customers worldwide to help them achieve the business outcomes that matter most. As the global leader in integrated risk and compliance management software and services, we deliver solutions through the NAVEX One platform, the industry’s most comprehensive governance, risk and compliance (GRC) information system. For more information, visit NAVEX.com and our blog. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Contact Details NAVEX Scott Levesque +1 617-388-5773 scott.levesque@navex.com Company Website https://www.navex.com

March 28, 2023 08:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Pepper Content releases Pepper CMP, a powerful platform to empower businesses to scale content marketing by marrying enterprise workflows, expert talent, and AI

Pepper Content

Pepper Content, an AI-powered content creator with an expert-led talent marketplace, is today announcing the launch of its much anticipated Content Marketing Platform (CMP), an all-in-one platform that brings together the power of AI, human creativity, and seamless workflows and software that can empower the modern marketer. Content marketing is a $400 billion industry and has seen a massive boom over the last decade. Pepper’s new platform seeks to address the many pain points that content marketers face and fills in the gaps by automating content operations and integrating technology with creative experts, all within one content workflow. “As a content company at heart, we understand content marketers' hurdles. These range from finding the right talent and subject matter experts, managing content operations smoothly, and the hard work of manoeuvring through multiple tools to create, manage and analyse their content efforts. Our content marketing platform sits at this perfect intersection where we have utilised the capabilities of our AI-powered content assistant, Peppertype.ai, and created never-before-seen workflows to manage content from strategy to analytics, all within one tool,” says Anirudh Singla, Co-founder and CEO of Pepper Content. Key Features Content Workflows that Work for You Most content tools work in isolation. Marketers subscribe to one tool for keyword research, sign into a marketplace to find the subject matter experts to actually create the content, use multiple spreadsheets to manage their editorial calendar and the content production process, and a plethora of other tools for analysis and more. Pepper’s Content Marketing Platform will be the place with the most efficient tools in the hands of a marketer. Instead of function-first, it is built with a workflow-first approach, keeping the marketer at the front and centre of its technology. Content hub for multiple tools Unique AI-powered tools like Pepper Docs, Pepper’s very own workspace An intuitive, step-by-step interface State-of-the-art AI Technology The platform leverages the expertise gained via Peppertype.ai, launched two years ago with a global base of 400,000+ users. Not only has AI been integrated into the content creation process through powerful prompts, but it is also placed strategically along the entire content marketing process, to shortlist and assemble the perfect team of creators and experts for a customer, define strategy through smart keyword research and smart features like Content Audit and Content Refresh. Templatized prompts to beat the blank page blues Enhanced AI firepower to create a strategy and assemble the right team Content Audit and Refresh tools built into the workflow The Power of Human Creativity Finding the right talent and subject matter experts and getting the best out of them is still a major challenge for marketers. Pepper’s 150,000+ expert creative talent marketplace combined with the capabilities of the Content Marketing Platform enables customers to create easy content briefs, find the right creators for the job, and track the delivery and monitor quality, all within the platform. Top 3% of global talent filtered through an intense editorial process Leverage the power of AI to ensure error-free, high-quality content Get matched to the right people based on your niche and needs “Pepper Content is a hidden gem! You can create content with AI and hire top 3% of freelance talent. The AI can tell you what keywords are relevant, and can create the first draft which is then shared with editors, and everything is managed in this one cool platform!” said Kieran Flanagan, CMO, Zapier. Simplify with Seamless Integrations The true value of any platform lies in its ability to integrate with various tools that are already a part of the modern marketer’s army. Pepper’s Content Marketing Platform has seamless workflows integrated with tools such as SEMrush, Google Analytics, Copyscape, Grammarly, and WordPress, to name a few. As and when the need arises in the content marketing process, each tool presents itself - almost like magic. Deep-dive into insights with the power of tools you already use Current partners include SEMrush, Google Analytics, Copyscape, Grammarly, and WordPress. More to follow soon. “We spoke to 200+ global marketing leaders in the past few months who validated this platform that we set out to build. Hearing leaders from companies like WordPress, Hubspot, Snowflake, and Evernote - to name a few - talk about what their ‘dream CMP’, would look like and then mapping it to our product roadmap gave us an amazing insight into what the next revolution in the content marketing landscape was. We believe that with this platform, we are ushering in the future of content marketing that is all about the right technology, people, and processes.” says Rishabh Shekhar, Co-founder, and COO at Pepper Content. With a vision to manage content every step of the way, the platform enables building an SEO content strategy, content operations, content analytics, and distribution. It solves three main objectives that most marketers struggle with when it comes to content: growing organic traffic, scaling content efficiently, and providing content ROI. About Pepper Content Pepper Content is a content marketing stack that combines a powerful Content Marketing Platform with an expert-led, global talent marketplace. It enables enterprises and SMBs to streamline their content marketing efforts with the help of state-of-the-art AI-powered tools that supercharge every aspect of the content marketing workflow, from content creation to operations and analytics. AI + Human creativity Pepper makes content marketing easy through its unique approach to the entire content marketing process. It leverages technology and talent to create high-quality content at scale with the objective of helping businesses scale organic growth and prove content marketing ROI, in a hassle-free manner. Global expert talent With a network of over 150,000+ content creators Pepper caters to 2500+ global brands like Amazon, Adobe, Google, to name a few. Contact Details Pepper Content Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.peppercontent.io/

March 24, 2023 11:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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BIO-key: Meet The Team Behind This Pioneering Security Company’s Growth

BIO-key International, Inc.

By Johnny Rice, Benzinga Galen Rodgers, Vice President of Channels and Chad Carter, VP North America Sales for BIO-key International Inc (NASDAQ: BKYI) was recently interviewed by Benzinga. BIO-key is a trusted provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Identity-Bound Biometric solutions that offer an easy and secure way to authenticate the identity of employees, customers and suppliers while managing their access across devices and applications. The company is innovating in a competitive space, growing its book of business. Watch the interview here: This article was originally published on Benzinga here. BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software managing millions of users. Its cloud-based PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy to deploy, convenient and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key's patented software and hardware solutions, with industry-leading Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) capabilities, enable large-scale Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized on premises solutions. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Catalyst IR- William Jones, David Collins +1 212-924-9800 BKYI@catalyst-ir.com Company Website https://www.bio-key.com/

March 23, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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CleverTap Gaming Unveiled at GDC 2023

CleverTap

CleverTap, the all-in-one customer engagement platform, today at Game Developers Conference 2023 unveiled CleverTap Gaming – soon to go live in the summer of 2023. Through full player management, the latest offering will help boost revenue from LiveOps, Lifecycle Marketing, and Remote Configuration by 3x with personalization across the entire player journey. The platform is powered by TesseractDB™, CleverTap's proprietary data engine, which is built for real time triggering & segmentation with high performance, low latency, and massive economies of scale. CleverTap Gaming brings holistic and sophisticated multi-channel campaigns inside and outside the in-game experience. With a simplified UI, it reduces the dependence on technical teams and increases operational efficiency. By leveraging CleverTap’s proprietary TesseractDB™, it offers rich granularity with unlimited data points and no restrictions on lookback period. Previously, the lack of these features could have been a limiting factor for game studios trying to maximize retention and lifetime value, but CleverTap Gaming unlocks these use cases enabling game studios to scale their personalization efforts to new heights. Also, given its versatility, CleverTap Gaming offers a vast array of benefits within various functions in typical game studios: LiveOps: With over 2000 unique player attributes (10x more than the industry average), LiveOps Managers can improve the relevance of their offers with much more granular insights into user behavior and preferences. Marketing: Consumers have vastly different preferences and a single journey does not fit each and every one of them. As such, conditional logic, advanced branching, and unified composition flow across all channels can help marketers plan campaigns with contingencies in mind. The advanced segmentation feature can also help marketers create better-targeted campaigns from the outset. Development: The ability to integrate with existing backend solutions lowers the barrier to transition for gaming studios with other solutions. Native Unity SDK means the platform can enhance developer productivity and shorten release cycles considerably. “Modern gaming is evolving. They are no longer static endpoints – and with features like LiveOps and Remote Configuration, developers are empowered to make changes in real-time without the constraints of approvals and a relaunch.” said Lawrence Hsieh, Principal Product Manager at MobilityWare. “CleverTap Gaming gives us an all-in-one cost-effective solution that ensures consistency and efficiency while not only developing but also promoting an update.” “With over 2.6 billion mobile game players globally, it is only a matter of time before the growth trajectory flattens out and retention becomes a bigger area of focus. We hope that CleverTap Gaming can accompany those studios looking to stay ahead of the curve by maximizing their pre-existing user base via personalized and relevant messaging,” said Sunil Thomas, Co-founder and Executive Chairman at CleverTap. “When we acquired Leanplum last year, we looked to strengthen our footprint within various verticals and geographies. CleverTap Gaming is another step in this direction, and we are confident that it will further accelerate our growth journey.” About CleverTap Gaming, powered by Leanplum CleverTap Gaming is powered by Leanplum and helps gaming studios achieve engagement and revenue goals by providing the tools and expertise to deliver more personalized player experiences at scale. Learn more about what CleverTap can do for your brand at clevertap.com. For a platform demo, visit clevertap.com/live-product-demo/ About CleverTap CleverTap is the all-in-one customer engagement platform that helps brands personalize and optimize all consumer touch points to improve user engagement, retention, and lifetime value. It's the only solution built to address the needs of retention and growth teams, with audience analytics, deep-segmentation, multi-channel engagement, product recommendations, and automation in one unified product. The platform is powered by TesseractDB™ – the world’s first purpose-built database for customer engagement, offering both speed and economies of scale. CleverTap is trusted by 2000 customers, including Electronic Arts, TiltingPoint, Gamebasics, Big Fish, MobilityWare, TED, English Premier League, TD Bank, Carousell, AirAsia, Papa Johns, and Tesco. Backed by leading investors such as Sequoia India, Tiger Global, Accel, and CDPQ the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with presence in San Francisco, New York, São Paulo, Bogota, London, Amsterdam, Sofia, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Jakarta. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn and Twitter. Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release may represent CleverTap's belief in connection with future events and may be forward-looking statements, or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. CleverTap cautions that such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties that could result in the actual outcome being absolutely different from the results anticipated by the statements mentioned in the press release. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions affecting our business, future market conditions, our ability to maintain cost advantages, uncertainty with respect to earnings, corporate actions, client concentration, reduced demand, liability or damages in our service contracts, unusual catastrophic loss events, war, political instability, changes in government policies or laws, legal restrictions impacting our business, impact of pandemic, epidemic, any natural calamity and other factors that are naturally beyond our control, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different, from those anticipated by such statements. CleverTap does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated or revised status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will CleverTap and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction. Contact Details Sony Shetty sony@clevertap.com Company Website https://clevertap.com/

March 23, 2023 04:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Velocity Global Announces New Financial Metrics; Crosses $200M ARR

Velocity Global

Velocity Global, the leading provider of global talent solutions, today announced new financial metrics and corporate momentum to include: Crossed the $200M ARR threshold. More than 40% organic growth YoY. Profitable YTD in 2023, as it has been seven of the last nine years. Nearly 1,500 customers, including Databricks, Penguin Random House, Linksys, International Justice Mission, Crunchbase, Dragonfly, and Schwans International. Enhancements to the employee and employer experience through partnerships with companies like Upflex and strategic integrations with leading HR technologies like BambooHR, Greenhouse, HiBob, and Namely. Platform updates including automated quoting and faster, self-service employment contract creation, which is already helping early customers experience 50% faster onboarding times as well as a forthcoming simplified UI to improve the customer experience. The increase in demand for technology platforms that make it possible to compliantly hire and pay talent around the world has provided significant tailwinds for Velocity Global. That demand has been accelerated by economic uncertainty and other macroeconomic issues that make remote work, global expansion, and access to talent mission critical. Earlier this month, nearly 20% of Velocity Global’s client base was directly affected by Silicon Valley Bank, accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in payroll. The good news: redundancies built directly into the Global Work Platform - alongside a strong balance sheet and ample liquidity - allowed us to ensure our clients' payroll would not be disrupted. “Velocity Global’s growth is a testament to our team’s commitment in building a solution that is defining the future of work, while navigating the complexities of compensating employees across the world in a compliant way,” said Ben Wright, CEO and co-founder. “In our industry, being right is just as important as being fast, and that’s reinforced by 70% of our customers who cite compliance measures as to why they chose our platform. The fact is that recent developments in the financial sector reminded us that building redundancies around payroll and compliance are non-negotiable. We are building a platform that isn’t just reactionary to the industry, but pioneering its future.” Other Notable Milestones & Company Updates: Key Technology & Product Hires: Across design, engineering and technology including Winnie Wong, Vice President of Design, Kumar Ramanathan, Vice President of Engineering & Chief Architect, and Chuck Kim, Vice President of Cloud and Corporate Infrastructure. Global Expansion: Offering support in more than 185 countries with more than 7,500 supported employees across more than 60 entities around the world. This includes recent additions like Ghana, Egypt, Uruguay, Ukraine, and Argentina, with several more planned for Q2. Customers: Velocity Global continues to expand its enterprise clientele with more than a dozen major universities, 50+ global retail brands, dozens of nonprofits including three NGO’s, and thousands of other large companies in every major industry spanning rocket builders to amusement parks to publishers to technology companies to cutting-edge investment firms. New Partnerships: With Upflex, whose platform gives people access to 10,000 locations from more than 1,250 providers - including Wework, Industrious, and The Office Group, Velocity Global now has the capabilities to offer non-traditional benefits options for clients and supported employees. Industry Analyst Recognition: Velocity Global was named as a leader in NelsonHall’s Vendor Evaluation & Assessment Tool (NEAT) for global employer of record (EoR) services as well as Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2022 for employer of record (EoR) solutions. Integrations: New integrations with Bamboo HR, Greenhouse, HiBob, and Namely to source talent, onboard, and manage the workforce, remove the friction of dealing with multiple systems and data transfers. Most companies already use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and HR Information Systems (HRIS), so by integrating these into Velocity Global’s EoR solution, Global Work Platform, expanding and maintaining a global workforce becomes as easy as a click away. “We’ve seen double-digit growth in the EoR market over the last few years and expect this growth to continue as the model addresses a very real need for companies to attract and retain top talent anywhere in the world,” said Jeanine Crane-Thompson, Principal HR Analyst at NelsonHall. “As an early player in the industry, Velocity Global stands out with its deep in-country expertise and continued technology innovation providing its customers with peace of mind and speed as it comes to employing talent across the globe.” For more information, visit www.velocityglobal.com. About Velocity Global Velocity Global helps you compliantly hire, pay, and manage anyone, anywhere. We simplify the employer and talent experience—combining cloud-based technology and unmatched human support in 185+ countries. Start hiring across borders at VelocityGlobal.com. Contact Details Media Contact press@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

March 22, 2023 07:01 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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News Release

NuggMD Launches Its Leading Marijuana Telemedicine Service in Louisiana

NuggMD

NuggMD, the nation's leading medical marijuana telemedicine platform, today announced it has launched its service in Louisiana. For $179, Louisiana residents can now use NuggMD’s platform to speak with a medical professional and access cannabis to treat qualifying medical conditions. As in some other states, medical cannabis is legal in Louisiana, but the implementation of the law has been slow, which has created uncertainty and inconsistencies for both businesses and consumers. Louisiana legislators passed H.B.697 last summer, which allows physicians to recommend cannabis via telemedicine for both follow-up and initial evaluations. However, the state’s medical board refused to change regulations to fully enact the new legislation, citing sections of existing law that it claimed conflicted with the legislative intent of the Act. Legislators spent months in tense debate with the medical board, attempting to convince it to allow physicians to use telemedicine for cannabis recommendations, as the law stipulates. Upon reaching an impasse, State Rep. Joseph Marino (I) sent a request to Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry objecting to the board's stance and requesting an opinion. Landry's response was that the law is clear and that a physician may see a patient via telemedicine if they deem it medically appropriate and follow all other guidance. In his opinion, Landry responded by pointing out that: The distinction between a recommendation and a prescription is valid and was affirmed by case law. Therefore, the prohibition against prescribing certain controlled substances via telemedicine does not apply to the recommendation of marijuana. The legislature clearly intended to make this distinction when it changed the state's medical marijuana laws to remove the references to "prescribing" cannabis and replace them with "recommending" cannabis. "Stated succinctly," he wrote, "neither Louisiana's statutory law nor the regulations promulgated by LSBME currently require physicians to conduct an in-person visit prior to recommending therapeutic marijuana to a patient through telemedicine." Alex Milligan, co-founder and CMO of NuggMD, commented, "Attorney General Landry's clarification is commendable because it finally allows physicians to deliver care to patients in a safe way that eliminates risk from unnecessary exposure to illness and difficult travel." “It's not uncommon to see regulators push back on bold new legislation, especially in an area as contentious as cannabis. When a regulatory environment is constantly in flux, businesses have to make difficult decisions about how and where to operate in light of these constantly changing directives. This holds true for most any industry, not just cannabis," said Milligan. NuggMD co-founder and CEO Kim Babazade added, "We chose to wait to offer our platform to physicians in Louisiana until we had complete clarity on this issue. Our physicians and patients are the most important consideration for us, so we strongly focus on compliance for everyone's protection." NuggMD's platform is available from 8 am until 10 pm local time, seven days a week. No appointment is needed, and patients who are deemed not to qualify for Louisiana’s medical cannabis program won't be charged for their evaluation. Since its founding in 2015, NuggMD has helped more than 1,000,000 patients access medical marijuana in nearly half of the nation's states. About NuggMD NuggMD is the nation's leading medical marijuana technology platform, serving patients in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. They've connected over 1,000,000 patients face-to-face with their new medical marijuana doctors via their state-of-the-art telemedicine platform. They believe every human being has the right to explore the benefits of medical cannabis and are fully committed to helping each patient explore every option in their journey to wellness. For further information, visit NuggMD.com. Contact Details Andrew Graham andrew.g@getnugg.com Company Website http://www.nuggmd.com

March 20, 2023 12:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Angie Avers Shares Why She Left Corporate World to Buy & Grow Minuteman Press Franchise in Phoenix, AZ

Minuteman Press International Inc

Angie Avers has owned her Minuteman Press franchise in Phoenix, Arizona since July of 2021. In this interview, Angie shares how she no longer felt valued as an employee working for others, why she felt comfortable taking the leap into business ownership with Minuteman Press, and how she has successfully grown her business. Angie’s Minuteman Press center is located at 2432 W. Peoria Ave., Suite 1023, Phoenix, AZ 85029. What does it mean to you to be a business owner? Why did you choose Minuteman Press? Angie Avers: “I left the corporate environment after nearly 30 years because I was tired of working for someone else and not feeling valued as an employee. I also struggled with finding a new job for over 2 years as well. One day on LinkedIn, the Minuteman Press opportunity presented itself and I inquired about it. I thought to myself, I have nothing to lose at this point so why not? I was later contacted by Brady Rockwell from the Minuteman Press Int’l team and it all started to become real. I started to panic and almost walked away from this opportunity, but after looking at what Minuteman Press International has accomplished and what they were about, I was sold! I knew they wouldn’t judge me for my age or my background and the key part of it all was ‘we’ll train you.’ My background is in marketing and communications, and why wouldn’t I want to help other business owners build their business with print and promotional products? I thought “this is a no brainer!” What has the support from Minuteman Press International been like for you? Angie Avers: “Minuteman support has been great. Whenever I have a problem with FLEX the team always helps me and if I have other issues, I’m always directed to the correct person. There is so much information in FLEX that I still would like to learn even more. Jack Panzer, my local RVP in Arizona, and Sky Hittle, our Field Rep, are always there to help and be there for when I need help or they direct me to where I need to be.” What do you think sets you apart from the competition? Angie Avers: “I describe my business as a ‘full-service print and marketing design company exclusively ran by women.’ We have a plethora of resources at our fingertips and if we can’t do it in-house, we always have resources to help. I believe what sets us apart is our strong work ethic, our honesty with our customers, and our customer service.” What are your high-demand products and key growth areas? Angie Avers: “It’s really hard to say what our high-demand products are. Our core is still paper products, but we are growing other areas. One area we have grown substantially is our design services. New business owners come into our shop all the time. We discuss what their initial needs are and we start with their logo and colors. From there, we build upon what their other needs are and help them brand other products they may need for their business. One customer comes to mind, where we started from scratch with their logo, then brochures and flyers, labels, and now trade show equipment and promotional products. It’s been super fun helping them build their brand and grow their business.” What are some of the key ways you’ve grown your business? Angie Avers: “One of the biggest ways I grew my business was through an acquisition and it doubled my business last year. I also network with BNI and other organizations when I have a chance. I have started doing more email marketing now that my learning curve has minimized some. Our foot traffic into the shop has also grown. When I took over the business, we put up all new window graphics and added two 14-ft. flags in front of the shop which is located on a main road. We have customers tell us all the time they saw our flags outside.” Why do you think printing remains so vital to businesses today? Angie Avers: “Print is vital because without it, everything would just be shapes and images. A world cannot go without print. We wouldn’t even know how to read if we didn’t have print. So, it is vital for sure.” What are the biggest personal and professional rewards of owning your business? Angie Avers: “Personally, I like answering to myself and making myself accountable for what is happening in my business. I thrive on giving my all to our customers and having a team that gets the job done without me chasing after them all the time. My goal is to be a million-dollar shop before I retire and professionally speaking, I just love helping businesses in my community come alive and building those relationships to sell other products.” What advice would you give to other business owners right now? Angie Avers: “Do your research, put together your pros and cons on being a business owner, and while it’s scary to take the plunge, you’ll never know unless you try. Change is hard for a lot of people, but you don’t grow staying in the same place where you are unhappy. Challenge yourself to be the best you. I did and it was the best decision I ever made. I love what I’m doing, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.” Angie Avers’ Minuteman Press franchise is located at 2432 W. Peoria Ave., Suite 1023, Phoenix, AZ 85029. For more information, call or visit their website: https://minuteman.com/us/locations/az/phoenix20/ Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities and read Minuteman Press franchise reviews at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com Contact Details Minuteman Press International Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

March 20, 2023 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Shareholder Activist: Entire Disney Board Presided Over Last Year’s Disaster and Does Not Deserve Re-election

National Legal & Policy Center

National Legal and Policy Center, a shareholder in The Walt Disney Company, is calling upon investors in the company to take the extreme step of voting to oppose the entire slate of nominees for the board of directors, all of whom are carryovers that presided over the entertainment giant’s worst year since the 1970s. That’s right – after Disney emerged from a disastrous 2022 that saw extremists take control of their programming, the degradation of its valuable intellectual and creative properties, and the worst performance of its stock price since 1974, all the existing directors (minus one) have decided that each of them deserves to return to their company oversight roles. The Disney annual meeting is on April 3. NLPC is sponsoring Proposal No. 5, which asks the board to produce a report that identifies and itemizes the company’s risks from its extensive business ties to China. NLPC also issued an extensive memorandum for shareholders, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, that outlines why the directors – including CEO Robert Iger – don’t deserve another term after Disney’s dysfunctional 2022, in which they extended the contract of former CEO Bob Chapek mid-year, only to terminate him within five months. The report also highlights several concerns pertaining to the company’s exposure in communist China. Following are excerpts from the memorandum to shareholders that was filed at the SEC on Wednesday: Disney – with its wealth of creative intellectual properties, automatic revenue generators at theme parks all over the planet, and nearly recession-proof entertainment- and media-delivery mechanisms – has seen an inexplicable decline in shareholder returns compared to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. As of January 10, 2023, the Company’s share price fell short against the Wall Street measuring stick over one year (by 24 percent), three years (by 60 percent), five years (by 66 percent), and ten years (by 116 percent). By March 15, 2023 – the date of the filing of this report with the SEC – the share price had descended even lower. Only two years ago Disney stock traded at its eight-year peak – $197.16 – and over the course of 2022, its value dropped by 44 percent. It was the worst year for the Company’s stock since 1974… The Company has squandered, wasted, devalued and ruined much of its content and beloved brands with the pursuit of a far-left political agenda – known in current-day parlance as “wokeness.” For that and because of those poor business decisions, we call for an overhaul of the current board, and also seek support for our own proposal (“Report on Operations Related to China”)…. Disney’s executive suite and its Board have allowed its signature brands and its once-beloved properties to become infected with divisive political agendas…. This is untenable for a Company that built its reputation on family-friendly programming and offerings, if it hopes to continue to attract a broad swath of viewers and customers…. While Disney was more than willing to go to battle (with Mr. Iger’s blessing) against Florida over the parental rights bill that opponents falsely nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the Company proactively waved the surrender flag in order to access TV audiences in the Muslim world….The Company only cares to “fight” for LGBTQ+ rights where they are free to do so. Otherwise, Disney is perfectly happy to bend its “principles” at the behest of dictators and oppressors in pursuit of revenues…. Mr. Iger has come under criticism for his succession planning…. Shareholder Abigail Disney (whose politics largely align with Mr. Iger’s), granddaughter of Company co-founder Roy O. Disney and grandniece of Walt, told Time in November, “The bottom line is that this was very poor succession planning and the onus of that has to land squarely on Bob Iger’s shoulders as well as the shoulders of the board of directors.” She also said, “I hope it triggers some reflection at the board level because ultimately, this is the board’s job, to hire and fire CEOs. I hope to see something better happening next time around. I hope Bob [Iger] has one foot out the door. The brand is taking a terrible beating right now for a lot of reasons….” “Disney shareholders may think we’re crazy for asking that they oppose the entire board’s re-election, but all the vote means is that it is a statement of no-confidence,” said Paul Chesser, director of NLPC’s Corporate Integrity Project. “After the company’s catastrophic 2022 and the persistent mundane performance of its share price, the current directors have failed miserably. A signal from shareholders would force them to revisit their board makeup and tell them to refresh their ranks.” You can read NLPC’s shareholder proposal on China risks at its website, and the full memorandum to Disney shareholders at the SEC website. Founded in 1991, NLPC promotes ethics in public life and government accountability through research, investigation, education, and legal action. ### For more information or to schedule an interview with Paul Chesser, contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357 or drene@nlpc.org. Please visit http://www.nlpc.org. Founded in 1991, NLPC promotes ethics in public life and government accountability through research, investigation, education, and legal action. Contact Details National Legal and Policy Center Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 drene@nlpc.org Company Website http://www.nlpc.org

March 16, 2023 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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