Rebutting the Austin Statesman on cutting vocational ed for prisoners

The Austin Statesman today editorialized against providing post-secondary vocational courses to Texas prison inmates, and made this flawed argument (rebutted over the last few days in the comments to this Grits post):

So far, the state has spent $26.9 million on the program, which is based on the proven notion that recidivism rates can be lowered if inmates leave prison with more education than they had when they arrived.



The cost of the program was to have been borne by the inmates in it. After being released from prison, they are supposed to repay the state for the college-level and vocational courses they took while incarcerated.



Predictably, the repayment rate has been less than adequate. The American-Statesman's Mike Ward reported this week that only 6,630 of the 22,000 former convicts who took the courses have made full repayment. Overall, the state has received only $4.7 million in reimbursements.



And that means criminals are getting a taxpayer-funded higher education deal unavailable to folks who aren't criminals.



A case to shut this program down could be made even if we were not in a budget crunch of epic proportions. We're with House Corrections Committee Chairman Jerry Madden, R-Richardson, who noted, "We don't provide free college tuition for anyone else like this, so with the budget crisis we're facing, why should we for convicted felons?"

Several things are wrong with this pronouncement. For starters, comparing post-secondary vocational classes available to prisoners to "higher education" of the type received at colleges is disingenuous. There aren't any prisoners taking English lit, philosophy, sociology, women's studies, etc.. The cuts under discussion are to vocational programs which, though recidivism studies have never been done, have proven successful at boosting employment rates after release for those who participate in them.



The Statesman editorial overlooks incarceration cost while drawing these false parallels between in-prison vocational training and traditional higher viagra, ignoring the long-term costs of recidivism. Texas releases some 72,000+ convicted felons per year from prison, so the cost to taxpayers is much greater if, when they leave, they're unprepared, fail, and end up back in lockup instead of successfully reentering society. Prisoners receiving post-secondary vocational training are 1.6 times more likely to be employed one year after leaving prison than those who receive none. Given that unemployment is a pivotal predictor of recidivism, future incarceration for these offenders (in the near term, within three years of release) would cost substantially more than fronting costs for vocational programs today. If legislators cut vocational cialis, drug treatment and other prison programming, taxpayers pay more overall because of higher recidivism. That's not speculation, it's exactly what happened last time vocational programs at Windham were slashed.



Even more flawed is the economic analysis presented by the newspaper about inmate repayment rates. According to the Mike Ward's reporting, the program is only ten years old and inmates can't participate until they have 7 years or less to go. That means many participants are still incarcerated and have had no chance yet to pay. So for 30% to have paid in full is really quite extraordinary. And presumably others have paid some but just not yet "in full," just like many people have outstanding student loans.



So in context, that's a relatively high rate. And of course since repayment happens through parole fees, there's arguably a stronger mechanism for securing repayment than there is for student loans. How many people have paid off their student loans in full two or three years after leaving school? If students in or out of prison could afford to pay up front, they wouldn't need to borrow or in inmates' case pay in installments after the fact.



Finally, and this is really my biggest complaint about the whole debate, legislative leaders are still talking about teeny-tiny numbers compared to the hundreds of millions in cuts needed at TDCJ, another instance of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Cutting programming that costs $4.4 million per biennium but that increases post-release employment rates and reduces recidivism is a meaningless, even counterproductive gesture when the Governor and budgetmakers in the House have demanded $786 million in cuts from TDCJ in the next biennium. To get there, they must reduce the number of inmates and expand community supervision programs, or else risk having to lease private beds for up to 12,857 extra inmates by 2013, which would cost an additional $200 million per year, give or take. So making a big deal out of a $2.2 million cut is really just a distraction. Nobody at the Legislature is talking yet publicly about real budget solutions, in corrections or for the most part anywhere else, and it's getting pretty late in the game.



See related Grits posts:

• Vocational ed boosts ex-offender employment: The counterargument to cuts at Windham School District   
• Cuts to vocational ed for prisoners will increase recidivism, near-term incarceration costs
• Waste alleged, budget cuts sought at TDCJ's Windham School District

Prevenience

See also: order cialis | cialis | 

Ensconced in my cushy desk chair and looking fixedly at the title of my blog, I realised that i haven’t really written anything introspective to justify my use of the words “labyrinth of thoughts” and Introspection. I always believe that words should not be chosen in a spurt of vanity as part of the blog title but rather, they should be used to serve as an indication of the type of content that is archived within the blog.

Hence, i reckoned that i should start archiving my musings, no matter how ludicrous or callow they are. If there are any readers who happen to chance upon my blog, do take my musings with a pinch of salt and other condiments you fancy.

***

Although im generally a deferential and accommodating person ( and many people can attest to that), there is one particularly thing that will never fail to tick me off.

And that is being ignored by people whom i thought i was important to.

I contemplated about the source of the catalysis of my eventual chagrin and i came to an eventual conclusion that perhaps, i crave for attention like many others and am simply acerbated by the notion that the significance of my existence is ebbing away. Instead of pledging vendetta against those who has ignored me, i tried to swap perspectives with these people and inquire into the source of my growing inadequacy. And i came to a very dismal conclusion.

I am just not important enough for people to invest their attention in. And i realised that i am not so much different from them.

Humans belong to the animal kingdom after all and when placed in an increasingly competitive society that is a microcosm of the predator-hunts-prey natural wildlife environment out there, innate survival instincts surface.

For eg. people invited to a social event will pick the most interesting and influential person to talk to in hope that they can augment the progress of their lives and interests and climb a notch higher in the social ladder. By talking to the Mr Influential, people also deny others the chance to socialise with him and this is akin to climbing up the social ladder and removing the rungs along the way. The faster one climbs, the faster one can emerge at the top of the “food chain” and claim the rewards of his efforts.

This is true even in everyday interactions with people and is not only exclusive to social events.

“Why should i reply this Mr Moronic’s SMS when i should be saving my SMSes for Mr-I-so-wanna-get-his-attention-so-that-i-can-get-promoted? In fact its not that i do not want to waste my SMSes but rather, by replying to his SMS, im augmenting his delusion that i am keen to invest my attention and time in him. So yeap, the next best thing to ask him to sod off is to well, don’t reply.”

This train of thought is by no means congruent in the people who has ignored me and has sent me a strong signal that i should just get out of their lives and preferably, help them get out of mine too. But i daresay that their train of thoughts rests somewhere on the very same spectrum when they decided to ignore me.

Detractors argue that perhaps there may be unforeseen circumstances involved that resulted in them being unable to communicate with me effectively at that point of time and as a rational and reasonable human being with a self-sufficient level of intelligence and emotional quotient, i do take that point into consideration as well. However, it’s their lack of initiative to explain why they ignored me that sent those signals to inform me that i should just sod off and carry on with life with or without their presence whatsoever.

Nevertheless no matter how it seems like it, this is not an incessant diatribe against these people because every homosapien or even animal is bound to behave in such a manner due to the very fact that attention is a scarce resource.

The scarcity of attention is the very foundation of the Theory of "Relativity" in Human Relationships. In a group conversation of three, one cannot converse simultaneously with two people at the same time and hence, one has to rank and choose a person to talk to first based on how worthy that person is of his attention relative to the other person. People whom we deem more important and worthwhile of our investment of attention due to a multitude of factors such as looks, talent, wealth and personal interests make us more keen to accede to their most farcical request or to even influence them to invest their attention in us, relative to the rest of the human population which is just wallpaper.

I’ve read an article that says that attention is like a transaction whereby when A has accepted B’s attention, A is also obliged to offer its attention to B. Perhaps by ignoring other people’s SMSes for example, it is an indication that we do not accept their attention and hence there would be no need for us to offer our own time and attention to them as well.

However, what people have overlooked is the process of offering one’s attention to others.

Shouldn’t one’s effort and time in crafting an SMS message be awarded with at least a reply, even if the reply says “SOD OFF and JUST DIE! Bitch!” ? At least that person would be able to know that she is no longer important in the guy’s life and should just move on with life and drop any further plans to invest her feelings or attention in him, instead of waiting endlessly and having delusions about the deformed relationship.

Even if that guy just so happened to be caught up in tragedy whereby his mother’s friend’s father’s pet kitten died when it fell into a strawberry patch, he should still take the initiative to explain his lack of reply the moment he has recovered from his intense grief. Otherwise it just shows that he reeks of irresponsibility and discourtesy.

Which is why i’ve always tried my best to reply an SMS message that demands my reply and have always replied to people’s comments/tags on this blog because i believe that i should always reciprocate the time and effort spent by others to invest their attention in me. Its really a basic principle. No more, no less.

As humans, the primacy of self has made us demand respect and attention whenever we are expected to offer them to others as well. If people were to deny us respect and courtesy, we would find it entirely equitable to reciprocate in the same manner.

Should a person ignore his friend’s SMS messages from time to time, his friend would eventually do the same to him and his level of importance to his friend would no doubt be diminished very rapidly.

Humans in general, have vulnerable egos that they seek to protect and hence, when their egos’ are threatened, they will defend it offensively by withdrawing their observation of the conventions of good manners too. The consequence of this is misunderstandings that will spiral into the vicious circle of petty hatred.

Hence, only by being generous and sensitive to the basic emotional needs of our fellow human beings will such a consequence be hampered from materialising.

Neil Sol PhD -Marketing Profile

Neil Sol, Ph.D.

(925) 552-5186 Danville, California

(925) 389-8528 drsol52@mac.com

Seasoned C-Level Operations & Marketing Executive
Well-Regarded as a Pioneer in the Healthcare & Fitness Industry
for Passionate Leadership and as Noted Author, Speaker,
New Business Developer, and Delegation Leader to China

Reputation of Providing Innovation and New Ideas to
Create New Business • Identifying Revenue-Generating
Programs Unencumbered by Insurance Restraint

Broad Experience in Virtually Every Aspect of Business, i.e. turning around and stabilizing underperforming facilities, growing revenue from new and non-traditional sources, diversifying institutions, improving the cost effectiveness of programs, services, facilities, and personnel, developing new programs, and recruiting highly qualified and committed talent

Solution-focused, innovative top-level executive with 20+ years of Valued Experience Managing and Marketing for Academic, Commercial Health Clubs, Health Care, and Equipment Manufacturing Organizations with Revenues up to $1 Billion

Career of providing distinctive leadership and consultation to over 100 hospitals and alternative health institutions, 25,000 students, 4,000 businesses, 300+ personnel, 20 multi-recreational health clubs, and 6 directors in 21 states and on 3 continents

Deliverer of high-quality, leading edge services and products to every aspect of health care & preventive medicine, holistic & alternative health, wellness, rehabilitation and sports medicine, and equipment manufacturing

Recognized as a pioneer for inventing real-time telemedicine programs that link physicians and nurse practitioners to provide collaborative triage, diagnosis, and quality of care in mobile, satellite, and remote clinics, and for developing facilities to extend the healthcare continuum into new markets, which today are found in 6,000 hospitals

Record of spearheading diversification strategies and new business models that spur significant revenue growth and offset losses, developing innovative new products to generate income, and increasing business volume through the original concept of “patient mining”

Selected to lead the first People-to-People Citizens Ambassador Health/Fitness and Sports Medicine Delegation to the People’s Republic of China

Noted author, Editor, Public Speaker, and Consulting Reviewer for Numerous Publications

Selected Milestones

¨ Established a $35 million to $100 million market by designing, in six weeks in collaboration with an engineer, 10 pieces of customized Nautilus strength equipment for wheelchair bound and able-bodied users

¨ Invented a real-time collaborative informatics telemedicine program to link physicians and nurse practitioners to provide medical treatment and business solutions to mobile, satellite, and remote clinics

¨ Boosted revenues 5X from roughly $5 million to $25 million by boosting the number of monthly physical therapy visits from 150 to 5,000

¨ Generated $10 million in revenues with a net profit of $1.5 million after debt service for a full service athletic facility that included a preventive medicine center, spa, and fine dining restaurant

¨ Realized $500k in new purchase cialis revenue by providing consulting services to three area hospitals

¨ Launched a successful Sports Medicine Division to provide full-time trainers and game-day physicians a conduit for attracting injured athletes to the cheap cialis system to increase patient roles and boost revenues

¨ Pulled in $7–10 million with about $1 million profit by combining insurance and private-pay dues to cover new personal memberships

¨ Negotiated a partnership and contract to provide drop-in retail clinic to Walmart

¨ Brought in $15 million in additional revenue by providing 4,000 local businesses with health and drug screenings, wellness services, accident-prevention programs, ergonomic worksite assessments, health fairs, smoking cessation and weight management programs

¨ Converted 30% of acute-illness patients to private memberships, increasing private memberships from 2,000 to over 9,500 in three years

¨ Maximized hospital profitability by diversifying the institution’s revenues to include non-traditional revenues from health promotion programs

¨ Restored annual profit after debt service for one of the most reputable health clubs in the U.S. from a $3 million loss to a $1 million profit within 12 months

¨ Significantly boosted monthly patient volume from 200 to 1,500 visits, a 650% increase, within 24 months, revitalizing a floundering occupational health program at two clinics

¨ Implemented student health service programs that serviced over 200 students a day at two community colleges with a total student population of 25k plus

¨ Touched and enhanced the healthcare of many lives by setting up screening clinics in churches, identifying 5% as high-risk symptomatic

¨ Resolved service problems and cut member complaints by virtually 100%

¨ Earned an ASMBS Center of Excellence distinction by creating the first bariatric surgery program in the San Francisco Bay area

¨ Received a rarely given award from the California Association for Professional Excellence for writing an application for the state version of the Malcolm Baldridge award

¨ Chosen for an Academy Fellowship by the National Advisory Board Company, obtaining an MBA-equivalent in Elevating Health System Strategy, Leading Human Capital, Leading the 21^st Century Health Care Enterprise, Achieving Breakthrough Operations, and Maximizing Health System Financial Performance

¨ Recognized as one of 120 Healthy American Fitness Leaders by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce

Further Accomplishments

· Originated the Houstonian Institute, a subsidiary of the Houstonian Club, to provide consultation services to other fitness firms

· Set up local clinics that trained 400+ amateur and professional athletes in sports conditioning performance and injury-prevention programs

· Developed an innovative capitation-billed corporate preventive health program that interfaced with managed care plans

· Created and marketed entrepreneurial cash businesses not reliant on third-party payers

· Key participant in transitioning the successful sale of a leading manufacturer-distributor of commercial and home fitness equipment

· Managed a six-month project that brought major improvements to rehabilitation services, occupational health, physician relations, and other targeted growth areas for an acute-care hospital

· Architected a 70k square foot integrated medical fitness facility – LifeStyleRx – that offered wellness, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, physical therapy, personal training, and weight-loss services

· Provided medical care to underserved rural committees by deploying a mobile multi-service health clinic

· Launched an osteoporosis awareness and treatment program and baseline evaluations to improve the care and lifestyle of the local aging population

· Established a Medical Products Division to design, manufacture, market, sell, and distribute Nautilus equipment and products to the rehabilitation medicine market

· Supplemented a four-year college program by introducing a Master’s Degree Program in Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiovascular Health, graduating 20 to 30 students per year, overseeing the full Master’s Thesis

· Built a team of high-quality personnel, including the IHRSA/CYBEX Fitness Director of the Year

PRIMARY EXPERTISE

§ Author, Editor, & Consulting Review	§ Ambulatory Care
§ Bariatric Surgery	§ Budgeting & Forecasting
§ Capitation Billing	§ Clinical Outpatient Service
§ Commercial Health Clubs	§ Consulting Services
§ Contract Negotiation & Management	§ Corporate Medicine
§ Cost Containment	§ Equipment (Sports) – Design, Manufacturing, Sales, & Distribution
§ Finance Administration	§ Health Care
§ Health Care Institution Diversification	§ Health Care Reform
§ Healthcare Program Design	§ Health Clubs – Multi Recreational & Athletic Facilities – Full Service
§ Health & Fitness Products & Service Management	§ Health & Preventive Care
§ Health Promotion Programs	§ Holistic & Alternative Health
§ Home Care	§ Instructing & Student Supervision
§ Integrated Medical & Fitness Centers	§ Managed Care Plans & PPO’s
§ Marketing – Products & Services	§ Medical Talent Training
§ Medical Business Development	§ Medical Fitness
§ New Program, Product, & Market Development	§ Networking
§ Occupational Health	§ Operations Management
§ Orthopedic Programs	§ Outpatient Services & Clinics
§ Partnership Building	§ Performance-Based Reporting
§ Personnel Recruitment, Training, & Retention	§ Physical Medicine
§ Physician Relations	§ Presentations & Public Speaking
§ Profit & Loss Optimization	§ Purchasing Oversight
§ Recruitment – Market Talent	§ Rehabilitation Services – Cardiac, Psych, Substance Abuse
§ Resource Maximization	§ Retail Medicine
§ Revenue Generation & Optimization	§ Satellite & Mobile Services
§ School Health Centers	§ Sports Medicine, Performance, & Conditioning
§ Start Up Designs & Launch	§ Strategic Collaborations & Alliances
§ Strategic Planning & Execution	§ Supply Chain Optimization
§ Team Collaboration & Building	§ Technology Innovation
§ Telemedicine	§ Turnarounds
§ Union/Non-Union Labor Relations	§ Wellness

CAREER HISTORY

Independent – Danville, California 2009 - Present

Executive Consultant

Valleycare Health System – Livermore & Pleasanton, California 1997 - 2009

Vice President of Outpatient Services & Program Development

Health Vantage, Inc. – Houston, Texas 1993 – 1997

Founder & President

University of Houston at Clear Lake – Clear Lake, Texas 1989 – 1991

Adjunct Professor

The Houstonian Club – Houston, Texas 1988 – 1993

General Manager

Nautilus Sports Medical Industries, Inc. – Dallas, Texas 1987 - 1988

President, Medical Products Division

Earlier Experience

Methodist Hospital of Memphis – Memphis, Tennessee — Director, Department of Health Promotion

George Williams College – Downers Grove, Illinois — Administrative Director, Preventive & Rehabilitative Cardiovascular Health Program ((PARCH) – a Master’s Degree Program

Consulting Experience

§ Allen Town Racquet Club - Allen Town, Pennsylvania

§ (The) Atlantic Club - Wall, New Jersey

§ Aultman Hospital - Canton, Ohio

§ Baptist Hospital - Miami, Florida

§ Baptist Medical Center - Birmingham, Alabama

§ Barnes Jewish Hospital - St. Louis, Missouri

§ Baxter General Hospital - Mountain Home, Arkansas

§ Baylor Health Care System and Medical Center – Dallas, Texas

§ Bethesda Memorial Hospital - West Palm Beach, Florida

§ Calhoun County General Hospital - Calhoun, Massachusetts

§ (The) Center for Integrative Therapies, Holistic Physical Therapy Clinic - Boulder, Colorado Columbia Hospital - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

§ Corpus Christi Athletic Club - Corpus Christi, Texas

§ (The) Court House - Florence, Alabama

§ Cullman County General Hospital - Cullman Alabama

§ DeKalb General Hospital - Decatur, Georgia

§ Forrest General Hospital - Hattiesburg, Massachusetts

§ Fort Bend Hospital - Sugar Land, Texas

§ Fort Sanders Medical Center - Knoxville, Tennessee

§ Grant Medical Center - Columbus, Ohio

§ HCA Palmyra Hospital - Albany, Georgia

§ Health Industries of America - Memphis, Tennessee

§ HealthEast - Allentown, Pennsylvania

§ Healthworks Health & Fitness Club - Meriden, Connecticut

§ Hospital Corporation of America - Nashville, Tennessee

§ Huntsville Humana Hospital - Huntsville, Alabama

§ International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, Vanguard Project Focus Group – city, state

§ Lewisville Sports Medicine Center - Lewisville, Texas

§ Loudoun Memorial Hospital - Leesburg, Virginia

§ Lourdes Hospital - Paducah, Kentucky

§ Magnolia Hospital - Corinth, Massachusetts

§ Memorial Health Systems - Houston, Texas

§ Mercy Hospital - Portsmouth, Ohio

§ Meriden Wallingford Hospital - Meriden, Connecticut

§ Nautilus Racquet & Swim Club - Paducah, Kentucky

§ North & South Shore Racquet Club - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

§ North East Georgia Medical Center - Gainesville, Georgia

§ Orlando Regional Medical Center – Orlando, Florida

§ Peak Health and Fitness Center - Nederland, Colorado

§ (The) Phoenix, Holistic Center for Health Excellence - Denver, Colorado

§ Presbyterian Hospital - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

§ Price Investments - Idaho Falls, Idaho

§ Price Waterhouse Health Care Division – city, state

§ Riverside Methodist Hospital - Columbus, Ohio

§ Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center - Chicago, Illinois

§ San Jacinto Methodist Hospital - Baytown, Texas

§ Schoeber’s Athletic Clubs - San Francisco, California

§ Southern Hills Medical Center - Nashville, Tennessee

§ Sporting Club at Cherry Creek - Denver, Colorado

§ Sports Plus - Huntsville, Alabama

§ St. Barnabas Medical Center - Livingston, New Jersey

§ St. Francis Medical Center - Cape Girardeau, Missouri

§ St. Luke’s Hospital “Lifewise Program” - Kansas City, Missouri

§ Sugarland Athletic Club - Sugarland, Texas

§ Texas Club - Houston, Texas

§ Texas Osteopathic Hospital - Fort Worth, Texas

§ Trotter Treadmill, Inc. - city, state

§ Western Athletic Clubs - San Francisco, California

§ WillisKnighton Hospital - Shreveport, Louisiana

§ Wimbleton Sportsplex - Memphis, Tennessee

§ Winter Park Memorial Hospital - Columbus, Ohio

Other Experience

§ Visiting Professor – AFAA Japan

§ Visiting Professor - Toyama Wellness University at Toyama, Japan

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

Ph.D., Physical Education with a specialty in Exercise Physiology – Kent State University, Ohio

MS, Exercise Science – University of Massachusetts at Amherst

BS, Physical Education – Brooklyn College, City University of New York at Brooklyn

· Advanced Fitness Specialist Certification – YMCA

· Health/Fitness Director Certification – ACSM

· Preventive and Rehabilitative Exercise Program Director Certification – ACSM

PUBLICATIONS & RESEARCH

· “Fit Trend” (Monthly Column) - Health and Fitness Magazine at Houston, Texas

· “Fitprints: Bulletin of Abstracted Research” - Association for Fitness in Business Publication

· “Health Care Connection” (Monthly Column) - Club Insider News at Marietta, Georgia

· “Optimal Health: Strategies for the Integrated Health Care Systems” (Editorial Column) - AB Publishers at Madison, Wisconsin

· Sol, N. and Foster, C., Editors, “ACSM’s Health/Fitness Facility Standards and Guidelines” - Human Kinetics at Champagne, Illinois

· Sol, N.; Golaszewski, T.; Miller, R.E.; Pfeiffer, G, “A Functional Description of Directors of Fitness/Health Promotion Programs in the Occupational Settings” - Journal of Fitness in Business

· Sol, N., “Can Hospitals Provide Successful Wellness Programs?” - Corporate Fitness and Recreation Vol. (3), Apr/May, 1985

· Sol,N.; Buyze, M.; Foster, G.; Pollock, M.; Sennett, S.; Hall, J, “Comparative Training Responses to Rope Skipping and Jogging” - Physician and Sports Medicine

· Sol, N. and Wing, C., “Guidelines for Pre-Exercise Health Screening” chapter in The Stairmaster Fitness Handbook. Editor, Peterson, J.A. and Bizant, C. Master Press at Indianapolis, Indiana

· Sol, N. and Speros, C., “Health Fairs - A Lucrative Product for Hospitals” - Optimal Health

· Sol, N. and Speros, C., “Health Promotion and Wellness Programs: Marketing Lifestyle Changes,” Chapter in Competitive Strategies in Health Care Market - J. Wiley Publishers at City, State

· Sol, N. and Wilson, P., Editors, “Health Promotion in Health Care Setting” -Human Kinetics Publishers at Champagne, Illinois

· Sol N., “Modification for Health Conditions and Special Populations,” Chapter in Personal Trainers Manual edited by Sudy in San Diego, CA

· Sol, N., “Optimal Health: Strategies for the Integrated Health Care Systems” - AB Publishing Company at Ithaca, Michigan

· Sol, N., Forward in the “Standards Book for Exercise Programs Professional Reports Corporate” – Publisher at Canton, Ohio

· Sol, N., Gladwyn, L., Editors, “The Emerging Profession - Manual for the Fitness Professional” - AFAA Publication at Sherman Oaks, California

· Sol, N. Ebel; H.; Bailey, D.; and Schecter, S., Editor. “The Fitness Manual” - Fitcom at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

· Sol,N. and Speros, C., “The WELLTH Program of Health Promotion,” Chapter in New Business Development in Ambulatory Care -American Hospital Publishing, Inc.

Consulting Review

· Aerobic Theory and Practice, AFAA Publishing

· (The) Fitness Center Planning Guide, True Fitness Technology

· Fitness Leader Handbook, Human Kinetics Publishing Co.

· Fitness Participant Handbook, Human Kinetics Publishing Co.

· Health Fitness Instruction Handbook, Human Kinetics Publishing Co.

· Implementing Health and Fitness Programs into the Corporate Hospital and Community Setting, Watsworth Publishing

· Marketing Health & Fitness Program, Human Kinetics Publishing Co.

· Wellness & EAP Program, Human Kinetics Publishing Co.

Editorial Review

· Corporate Fitness and Recreation Journal – Editorial Advisory Committee

· Journal of Fitness in Business (AFB Publication) – Editorial Advisory Committee

· Sports Care & Fitness Publication - Board of Editors

AWARDS, HONORS & RECOGNITIONS

· Name of award – California Association for Professional Excellence

· American College of Sports Medicine, Fellow

· Association of Worksite Health Promotion, Charter Fellow

· Center of Excellence Distinction - ASMBS Center of Excellence

· Distinguished Administrator of the Year – Medical Fitness Association

· Healthy American Fitness Leaders Award – U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce

· “People to People” Citizens Ambassador Health/Fitness and Sports Medicine Delegation to the Peoples Republic of China

· The Academy Fellowship in Healthcare - National Advisory Board Company

WORKSHOPS & PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

· “A Look into the Future for the Health/Racquet Club Business” – International Racquet Sports Association National Convention

· “Administrative Aspects of a Wellness Program” – National Wellness Conference

· AFAA Practitioner Workshops – list workshop titles

· “Business of Employee Wellness” – 10^th Annual Conference on Fitness in Business

· “Certification Examiner” – ACSM Program Director Certification Workshop

· “Detecting Health Promotion Needs throughout a Church and Community Screening Program” with Speros, C. - Proceedings of the Patient Education in Primary Care Education Conference

· “Economic Realities of Hospital Health Promotion” – Optimal Health Seminar

· “Enhanced Sales Through Computerized Sales Tracking” – AFB Annual Conference

· “Health and Fitness” – China Association of Science and Technology

· “Health Promotion: A Means to Increase Hospital Revenue” – American Society of Health Educators and Trainers National Conference of the American Hospital Association

· “Health Promotion as a Component of the Integrated Health Care System” – LaCrosse Health and Sports Science Symposium

· “Heart Rate Response in 35 Year Old Denervated Coronary Transplant Patient to a Bout of Submaximal Exercise” with Crutchfield, M. and Fischer, S. - ACSM Convention

· “Hospital Health Promotion: A Premier” – Third Annual Optimal Conference

· “Hospital-Health (Racquet) Club Joint Ventures” – Mutually Beneficial International Racquet Sports Association National Convention

· “How to Develop a Hospital Health Promotion Program” – Optimal Health Seminar

· “How to Track Patient Referral as a Result of Hospital Health Promotion” – AHA National Conference on Community Health Promotion

· “Opportunities for Clubs Within the Changing Health Care Paradigm” – TCMA, California Clubs of Distinction Conference

· “Physician/Hospital Joint Venture Through Health Promotion Programs” – American Society of Health Care Educators and Trainers of the American Hospital Association

· “Selected Physiological Response to Varied Handgrip and Crank Styles in Maximal Arm Ergometry” with Town, G. and Woodward, J. - ACSM Convention

· “The AFAA Fitness Practitioner” – AFAA Japan

· “The Future of Health Clubs and Health and Fitness in the Changing Health Care Paradigm” – IHRSA National Convention

· “The Health Care Connection – Positioning Your Club for Future Success” – IHRSA National Conference

· “The Status of Preventive Health in the U.S.” – Toyama Wellness University

· Numerous presentations in the area of Health and Fitness, Health Care, Health Reform, Preventive Health, Professional Certification and Licensure in Health and Fitness Industry, and Selling Capitated Health and Fitness Services

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

· ACSM Health and Fitness Professional Summit - Planning Committee

· ACSM - Ad Hoc Committee on Health and Fitness Professionals

· ACSM – Chairman, Fitness Instructor Certification Sub-committee for Preventive and Rehabilitative Exercise Committee

· ACSM – Chairman, Marketing Sub-committee for Preventive and Rehabilitation Exercise Committee

· ACSM - Sub-committee for Health and Fitness Standards and Certification

· Aerobic and Fitness Foundation of America – Trustee

· AFAA – Chairman, Board of Advisors, Fitness Practitioner Certification

· AFB – Chairman, 11th Annual Conference

· AFB – Founder & Chairman, Fellowship Selection Committee

· AFB – National Education Director for the Board of Directors

· American Alliance of Health Physical Education, Recreation and Dance

· American College of Sports Medicine – Fitness Instructors Certification Sub-committee for Preventive and Rehabilitation Exercise Committee

· American Heart Association

· American Society for Health Care Educators and Trainers

· Association for Fitness in Business – Board of Trustees

· Association for Worksite Health Promotions - President

· Illinois Governor’s Council for Health and Fitness – Governor Appointee

· International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association

· International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association – The Association of Quality Clubs

· Las Positas College Foundation - Board of Directors

· Matol Botanical International – Health and Nutrition Advisory Board

· Medical Fitness Association

· Memphis Cardiovascular Society

· National Association of Healthy American Fitness Leaders

· National Board of Fitness Examiners

· National Health Network – Advisory Board Member

· National Wellness Institute

· North American Health & Fitness Network

· Optimal Health Seminars – Conference Chairperson

· President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped – Presidential Appointee

· Tennessee Heart Association Cardiac Rehabilitation – Sub-committee