Latest news with #TerryRice
Entrepreneur
13-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Influence That Converts: How Entrepreneurs Use Social Media to Drive Real Business Growth
Join us for this free webinar and learn content strategies that lead to engagement, trust, and new business opportunities. Social media is no longer optional; it's a growth engine for modern entrepreneurs. But how do you get started? And once you're up and running, how do you maximize your time and results? Join us for a free webinar, Influence That Converts: How Entrepreneurs Use Social Media to Drive Real Business Growth, presented by Cruise Planners and Entrepreneur. In this dynamic 60-minute webinar moderated by Entrepreneur's Business Development Expert-in-Residence Terry Rice, discover how business owners are building influence online to drive serious revenue offline. Rice will be joined by a panel of speakers who have first-hand, real-world experience building and engaging audiences over social media: Cruise Planners' Social Media Strategist Brianna Taylor, and Cruise Planners franchisees Matt and Chelsy Hoffman (@HoffmanHappyTravels on YouTube), and Nick Pena (@cubancruiseguy on Instagram). You'll hear how they turned content into connection and connection into conversions. With lessons from the travel industry that translate across any business, this session is a must for anyone looking to grow their brand, audience, and bottom line through social media. With lessons from the travel industry that translate across any business, this session is a must for anyone who is looking to grow their brand, audience, and bottom line through social media. Topics we'll explore during this webinar will include: Content that converts: Discover the content strategies that lead to engagement, trust, and new business opportunities. Discover the content strategies that lead to engagement, trust, and new business opportunities. Start before you're ready: Learn how to get over the fear of creating content—and why the most effective posts are often unscripted and authentic. Learn how to get over the fear of creating content—and why the most effective posts are often unscripted and authentic. Credibility through consistency: Understand how regular content reinforces your brand, builds trust, and grows your audience over time. Understand how regular content reinforces your brand, builds trust, and grows your audience over time. Influence that drives results: Learn how to move beyond likes and followers to build real relationships that generate revenue. Learn how to move beyond likes and followers to build real relationships that generate revenue. The power of franchising: See how Cruise Planners franchisees benefit from built-in marketing support, name recognition, and access to exclusive promotions. See how Cruise Planners franchisees benefit from built-in marketing support, name recognition, and access to exclusive promotions. Bonus: All attendees will receive a free copy of Cruise Planners' Guide to Social Media—a practical resource to help you create content that converts and scale your brand with confidence. The Influence That Converts: How Entrepreneurs Use Social Media to Drive Real Business Growth webinar will be held live on Tuesday July 15 at 2 p.m. ET | 11 a.m. PT.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Senate narrowly OKs dissolution of State Library; bill heads to House
Sen. Terry Rice (left), R-Waldron, asks a question during debate over Senate Bill 536 in the Senate chamber on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) The Arkansas Senate narrowly endorsed the elimination of the Arkansas State Library on Wednesday, but the bill did not receive enough support to go into effect July 1 if it becomes law. Senate Bill 536 would transfer the authorities, funds, contracts and employees of the agency and its board to the Arkansas Department of Education. The State Library is already under the department's umbrella but operates independently, and its board disburses state funds to public libraries on a quarterly basis. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, is the bill's sponsor and has repeatedly promised to dissolve the State Library Board. Sullivan broadened his intention to dissolve the entire State Library last month after he said the board did not satisfy the conditions he gave them for its survival. Most laws go into effect 90 days after the end of a legislative session, around Aug. 1, but SB 536 had an emergency clause that would have allowed it to go into effect July 1. This provision was one of many aspects of the bill that library directors opposed Tuesday before it passed the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs. Misty Hawkins, regional director of the Arkansas River Valley Regional Library System, said it would be impossible to rework the interlocal agreements in the four counties she serves within three months to account for the language of SB 536. Several library systems in Arkansas encompass multiple counties. Emergency clauses need the support of two-thirds of lawmakers, which is 24 votes in the Senate. SB 536 instead received 18 votes, the minimum for a simple majority. Republican Sens. Breanne Davis of Russellville and Bryan King of Green Forest joined five of the six Senate Democrats in voting against the bill. Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, and Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, were absent. Three Republicans voted present and five did not vote. The Senate subsequently approved a clincher motion from Sullivan with a voice vote. A clincher prevents a bill from receiving another vote in the applicable chamber, so the House will consider SB 536 without its emergency clause. Bill to abolish Arkansas State Library and its board advances despite librarians' opposition Hawkins and three other library directors said Tuesday that SB 536 might cost them the state funding they need to operate their libraries. The bill's criteria for receiving state funds include 'prohibit[ing] access to age-inappropriate materials to a person who is sixteen (16) years old or younger.' One-room libraries do not have segregated spaces to ensure that children under 16 cannot access specific material, and SB 536 says the Department of Education 'may' disburse funds to libraries that meet the proposed criteria but does not mandate it, the library directors said. Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, repeated these concerns on the Senate floor Wednesday. SB 536 defines 'age-inappropriate material' as 'books, media, or any other material accessible at a public library containing images or explicit and detailed descriptions' of sexual acts, sexual contact and human genitalia. The State Library Board approved a motion at a special meeting March 13 to create 'non-binding policies to protect children' while honoring First Amendment freedoms and libraries' material selection policies. Sullivan had asked the board to pass a motion to protect children in libraries and to detach from the American Library Association; the board rejected two separate motions to these ends. Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, said he also asked State Library Board members to ensure that libraries keep inappropriate content away from children. 'It's time for drastic things to happen if this incompetent bunch is going to continue to put our children at risk,' Rice said. 'There's going to be fallout, but we'll fix the fallout.' Tucker said the Legislature has the authority to reconstitute the State Library Board instead of dissolving it and its parent agency if lawmakers are dissatisfied with its actions or inactions. Library directors and State Library Board members have repeatedly said, including at Tuesday's committee meeting, that libraries already organize books on shelves in an age-appropriate manner in accordance with existing standards. The location and availability of books based on 'appropriateness' for minors was the thrust of Act 372 of 2023, also sponsored by Sullivan. The law would have given local elected officials the final say over whether to relocate challenged library materials some consider 'obscene' and made librarians legally liable for disseminating such materials. A federal judge temporarily and later permanently blocked portions of Act 372; Attorney General Tim Griffin appealed the ruling in January. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposal to eliminate Arkansas State Library and PBS governing boards passes Senate
From left: Arkansas Sens. Mark Johnson, R-Ferndale; Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro; Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville; and Terry Rice, R-Waldron listen to debate on the Senate floor on Monday, February 17, 2025. The Senate passed a bill Sullivan sponsored that would abolish the Arkansas State Library Board and the Arkansas Educational Television Commission. Leding voted against the bill while Johnson and Rice voted for it. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) A proposal to abolish the boards that oversee public libraries and educational public television programs in Arkansas passed the state Senate on Monday and will go to the House next. Twenty-three Republican senators voted to approve Senate Bill 184, which would transfer the powers and authorities of the Arkansas State Library Board and the Arkansas Educational Television Commission to the state Department of Education. The Arkansas State Library Board oversees public libraries and disburses state funds to them on a quarterly basis, and the Arkansas Educational Television Commission oversees Arkansas PBS' programs and finances. Both boards are already under the umbrella of the education department but act independently. Similarly to Thursday's meeting of the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs, lawmakers spent more time Monday debating the bill's potential impact on Arkansas PBS than on the Arkansas State Library. Democratic Sens. Jamie Scott of North Little Rock and Clarke Tucker of Little Rock expressed concerns that Arkansas PBS would lose both federal and private funding if its governance were no longer independent of the executive branch. CEO and Executive Director Courtney Pledger made similar comments Thursday before the committee; Tucker was the only panel member to vote against SB 184. Arkansas PBS' funds include approximately $5.8 million from state general revenue, $2.5 million from the federal Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $1.7 million in private donations, agency Chief Financial Officer Jason Kunau said Thursday. 'Local projects that tell the stories of Arkansan people and their stories and their histories and their struggles — those stories could be lost if they lose this funding,' Scott said. Tucker noted that the education department would have to apply for the network's Federal Communications Commission license, which the Arkansas Educational Television Commission currently holds. He also mentioned that Arkansas PBS provides emergency alerts throughout the state, and Scott added that funding cuts would hurt PBS' ability to broadcast high school sports. Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, asked Scott if she was 'familiar with the audit findings' that put Arkansas PBS under legislative scrutiny in 2023. Its regularly scheduled 2022 audit indicated that administrators might have sidestepped state laws related to contract bidding. Scott said she was 'aware that the audit finding was bad' but did not think dissolving the network's board was the solution. A specially requested audit of the network's expenditures, purchasing procedures and 'internal controls' from July 1, 2021 to Dec. 30, 2023, concluded last year, with auditors referring the findings to a prosecuting attorney. Pledger told lawmakers in September that the agency had learned from its 'mistakes and errors.' Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, is the sponsor of SB 184 and one of the Legislature's most vocal critics of Arkansas PBS. He told the Senate that both the Arkansas Educational Television Commission and the Arkansas State Library Board should have taken action in situations that drew concern from lawmakers and members of the public. 'Our libraries are great resources. AETN and PBS are great resources,' Sullivan said. 'They're not operating well. There's poor leadership, and that poor leadership falls to the board.' Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Sullivan's wife, Maria, to the Arkansas Educational Television Commission last June. Arkansas State Library Board refuses to reject American Library Association, withhold funds The State Library Board held its first quarterly meeting of 2025 on Friday. Former Republican Sen. Jason Rapert of Conway urged his fellow board members to reject the American Library Association and to withhold funds from libraries where 'sexually explicit' content is accessible by children. Both motions failed. Sullivan criticized the State Library Board for its continued relationship with the American Library Association, which is a nonprofit trade organization that advocates for public libraries and helps them secure grant funding. Rapert and Sullivan have both repeatedly decried ALA's statement that access to libraries should not be restricted based on a person's age. Far-right conservatives nationwide have claimed this statement is proof that the ALA believes in forcing content about sexual activity and LGBTQ+ topics onto children. Sullivan said Monday that ALA's stated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is a reason to detach from the organization. He is sponsoring Senate Bill 3, which is on Sanders' desk and would 'prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment' by public entities in Arkansas if she signs it. He is also sponsoring Senate Bill 181, which is expected to be heard in committee Tuesday. The bill would loosen the current requirement that library directors hold a master's degree 'from an accredited American Library Association program.' It also would allow someone with 'work experience in the field of library operations' but without a master's degree to run a library with approval from its local governing board. Sullivan told his colleagues that any emails they've gotten urging them to vote against SB 184 are mostly 'false' and a result of 'mass hysteria.' Arkansas PBS is based at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, which is represented by Sen. Mark Johnson, R-Ferndale. Johnson said one reason he supported the bill was because the Arkansas PBS Foundation has been lobbying him to vote against it. 'I'm not against lobbyists, I used to be one, but I think there should be a line between what private people do with their money… and when funds that are raised to support an institution such as this [are] channeled to hire lobbyists to come defeat specific legislation,' Johnson said. 'I'm bothered, and I would be bothered by it if it were something unrelated to this entity.' Republican Sens. Jane English of North Little Rock and Jimmy Hickey of Texarkana joined the chamber's six Democrats in voting against SB 184. Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, was absent. Three Republican senators did not vote: Alan Clark of Lonsdale, Jim Dotson of Bentonville and Missy Irvin of Mountain View. Irvin declined to comment when asked why she did not vote. She and Tucker agreed during the debate that the Legislature has the power to restructure the Arkansas Educational Television Commission without abolishing it, such as shortening members' eight-year terms or removing the eight current members to allow the governor to replace them. Arkansas State Library Board members also serve eight-year terms. Sanders' most recent appointment to the board is Sydney McKenzie, wife of state Rep. Brit McKenzie, R-Rogers. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
