NORWALK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE • JUNE 2011 3TO ADVERTISE CALL 800-901-7211

MEMBER NEWS

Franklin Career College is a vocational training school, located at 12440 Firestone Blvd Suite 2000 in the city of Norwalk, CA. They un-derstand the high demand for skilled employees in the medical and machine repair fields and currently offer three courses that fit the need for that de-mand. The courses are Medical Bill-ing and Coding, Clinical Back Office Medical and Office Machine Repair.

The Medical Billing and Cod-ling course is a 15 week course and prepares the individual to work at an entry-level position in a Medical and Dental office (Doctor, Chiropractor, Medical supply store, Dental Office,) independent billing offices, or Hospi-tal Billing Offices. Upon completion, the graduate will understand the ex-pectations of the Medical and Dental Industry, will have gained job knowl-edge and mastery of the skills needed to perform the job as a Medical and Dental biller using the personal com-puter to generate billing documents

The Clinical Back Office Medical program course is a 16 week course and will prepare the individual to work at an entry-level position in a medical providers’ office as a Medi-

cal Assistant. Upon course comple-tion, the graduate will understand the expectations of the Medical Assistant in the field of Allied Health and will have gained job knowledge and mas-tery of the skills needed to perform the job of a Medical Assistant.

The Office Machine Repair pro-gram is a 15 week course and will prepare the student for entry-level employment in the diagnostics, opera-tion, service and/or repair of Office Machines such as Photocopiers, Fac-similes, Laser Printers and Personal Computers. Additionally, students will enhance their skills in practical electronics and public relations includ-ing territory management and cus-tomer satisfaction. Possible positions available to graduates of this program are but not limited to: Customer Ser-vice Technician, Dispatcher, Bench work, Electro Mechanical equipment repair Technician.CAREER PLANNING AND PLACEMENT AVAILABLE

Please contact Linda Estrella to schedule a tour of the campus and learn more about the programs that we offer. Financial aid is available for those who qualify call (562) 651-1626.

Energy Solutions Help Lowe’s Build a Healthier Business and Environment

Just as leading retailer Lowe’s continues to help customers improve the places they call home through a wide array of product solutions, the company demonstrates an ongoing commitment to energy management solutions.

In 2010, the company installed demand control ventilation (DCV) systems in more than 20 of its ap-proximately 60 stores in SCE’s service territory, with an SCE incentive of approximately $312,000 and projected savings of more than 1.7 megawatts of demand and nearly 1.5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually. The DCV system monitors the carbon dioxide levels in the stores, allowing the HVAC systems to operate more efficiently by matching the ventilation to the changing occupancy rates.

Also last year, Lowe’s completed a company-wide five-year sales floor lighting retrofit project that put in more than 3 million new energy-e4fficient T8 fluorescent fixtures as replacements for older metal-halide high-intensity discharge lamps. Ac-cording to Lowe’s, the project – which started with retrofits at 16 stores in SCE’s service territory about five years ago – provides an estimated 546 million kWh in savings annually.

Operating Responsibly“The company’s store energy

efficiency initiative is an element of its broader focus on operating more responsibly, from the expanding line of efficient products it sells to the initiatives it undertakes that reduce resource use across the supply chain,” said Lowe’s Director of Energy Man-agement and Utilities Charlie Martin. “The choices we make are critical to our impact on the environment,” Mar-tin said, noting the company belief that building a healthier business and a healthier environment go hand-in-hand. “We have to be good envi-ronmental stewards. We’re trying to make our buildings more sustainable,

and the first step is to manage energy consumption.”

In addition Lowe’s also reduces en-ergy demand in SCE’s service territo-ry by taking part in the Capacity Bid-ding Program (CBP), through which participants opt to reduce power use during CBP events. Participates make monthly nominations and receive in-centive payments based on the amount of load (capacity) reduction elected each month, plus payments for actual energy reduction (based on kWh) when an event is called.

Demand Response Reduction of 50 kW Per Store

Martin said Lowe’s typically drops about 50 kilowatts per store during a CBP event by reducing both sales floor lighting and store cooling. For cooling, the stores rotate turning off tow of about 16 HVAC units for 30 minutes as a time, helping the com-pany meet if reduction targets.

This commitment to both energy efficiency and Demand Response gets noticed. Among its notable industry distinction, in 2010 Lowe’s became the first retailer to receive the EN-ERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award, presented by the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy. This was the company’s eight consecutive ENER-GY STAR honor overall.

Martin said the company benefits greatly from its collaboration with SCE, including Major Account Man-ager Cynthia Martin.

“My experience with SCE has been very positive,” he said. “They have been very responsive and have a great account manager program. I look at them as a partner.”

For more information on how you also can benefit from SCE’s wide ar-ray of energy management programs and services, contact your account representative or visit www.sce.com/solutions and www.sce.com/drp.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHTFranklin Career College

New member Bob Marlowe of says "No human being is capable of doing, or being, all that is necessary to do that thing we so thoughtlessly call 'Safe Driving.' " As a Traffic School instructor, Police Academy instructor, and MADD's national volunteer of the

year Bob will motivate your drivers to Do It Right. Contact Bob for more information at 800-400-4262 or visit him on the web at www.BobSaid.com.Bob Marlowe www.BobSaid.com, www.BobSaw.com.

W.R. Marlowe Educations Services

NORWALK CHAMBER OF COMMERCEMEMBERSHIP INCENTIVE

Do you know a business that should be a member of the Norwalk Chamber, but isn’t?

Do you know an industry that should be represented as a Chamber Member, but isn’t?

Do you know a business that could benefit by the net-working opportunities that the Chamber offers?

The Norwalk Chamber of Commerce is offering an incentive to its members during the months of June and July. If you refer a business and

they sign up for Norwalk Chamber Membership during May or June, we will discount your renewal dues by $25.00.* There is no limit to the number

of members you can refer for Membership ~ you will receive a discount for each member!

* This is a one year only offer for your next annual renewal, not a permanent dues reduction.

pointed out that since 2008, fewer than 30 of the 1,500 local public agencies in the CalPERS network (the largest pension plan in the coun-try) have adopted a lower level of benefits for new hires. Nearly 200 public agencies in CalPERS contin-ued to increase retirement benefits for current workers, even as pension portfolios shrunk and tax revenues dropped.

The commission pointed out that the lack of uniformity clouds trans-parency, invites mischief and abuse, such as pension “spiking,” creates a “compensation arms race” among communities and “delegates com-plicated decisions to often inexperi-enced” local officials.Addressing Pension Liabilities

The commission recommended reforms to address current and future pension liabilities, includ-ing a “hybrid” pension model that combines a lower defined-benefit pension formula with an employer-matched and risk-managed defined-contribution plan.

The commission also suggested that the state explore extending Social Security old-age benefits to uncovered state and local employ-ees, as is the case with the federal workforce.

The full report is available on the Little Hoover Commission website at www.lhc.ca.gov.

{PENSIONS- Con't from page 2} Unfair Distraction of Employees

Do your employees ever get calls from creditors or collection agen-cies about their personal financial affairs? Certainly, this hinders their productivity. Did you know that un-der the Fair Credit Collection Prac-tices Act it is illegal for collectors to contact a debtor at his/her place of employment if the collector is made aware that it is against the person-nel policy of the employer for the employee to take such calls?

Smart solution – add to your per-sonnel policy that it is a violation for any employee to accept a call from a creditor or collection agency about his/her personal financial or busi-ness affairs. Communicate such to your employees and make sure they understand that they are to tell any creditors that contact them at work of the company policy, their knowl-edge of the Fair Credit Collection Practices Act, and that any violators will be reported to the Federal Trade Commission.

For a copy, go to: http://business.ftc.gov/legal-resources/fair-debt-collection-practices-act.

Chamber installation June 23rd! See page 4.