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Bat Boy Found in West Virginia Cave 30 Years Ago; Americans Push to Make June 23rd a National Bat Boy Holiday!

Weekly World News

Weekly World News (WWN) celebrates the 30 th anniversary of its ground-breaking June 23, 1992 cover story “ Bat Child Found In Cave. ” WWN introduced the half-human, half-bat child to readers around the world, and its ongoing coverage has fostered a growing national movement to make June 23 an official National Bat Boy holiday! Weekly World News is celebrating the anniversary with a special tribute on its website. It all started in Pendleton County, West Virginia where Dr. Ron Dillon discovered this unique “creature,” who would become known as Bat boy, living in a cave in the Allegheny Mountains. Explorers captured Bat Boy, who was living almost two miles underground. Weekly World News' Bat Boy reporting went “viral,” spreading faster than any news story could in the days before the Internet and social media – it was a peaceful time. Scientists and reporters quickly learned that Bat Boy is a very skittish and elusive creature who is frequently on the run, often disappearing for extended periods of time. Bat Boy has been known to be quite tricky and unpredictable. He even managed to steal a vehicle and drive it at high speed, leading to a multi-state run with law enforcement in pursuit. When explorers discovered Bat Boy in Hellhole Cave, they estimated his age at around 10 years old. But further research has identified a genetic deformity that has locked Bat Boy in the very same age for the last 30 years. It seems Bat Boy will never age, however his intelligence and global interests continue to grow. Bat Boy has long demonstrated a keen interest in political and social issues which have thrust him into the limelight, as he has befriended and advised a range of U.S. Presidents and candidates for national office. Bat Boy’s political interests even led to an unsuccessful 2020 run for the U.S. Presidency. Close advisors admit that cryptid prejudices along with the candidate’s communications challenges and non-traditional demeanor posed major obstacles in the campaign. Dr. Ron Dillon, one of the foremost experts on Bat Boy, describes him as a “human-bat hybrid creature. His father was likely a bat or a creature heavily dominated by bat genomes, his mother, Susan Boy, was a human being. We have since traced Susan’s ancestry to passengers on the Mayflower.” Bat Boy's life has been nothing short of a whirlwind and even spawned an off-Broadway musical. Weekly World News does its best to keep readers up to date on his comings and goings. In the years since his discovery, Bat Boy has met Travis Scott, Elvis, Nelson Mandela, Frank Sinatra, every living U.S. President. He is adored by most celebrities – though given his reclusive nature, very few have been lucky enough to meet him. In anticipation of his run for president, Bat Boy abandoned his pagan ways and converted to Judaism and then to every other religion, seeking to play a unifying role for all people under his “Right Wing AND Left Wing” platform. He’s also had a busy and sometimes stormy romantic life, dating Farrah Fawcett, Jennifer Lopez, Jean Kirkpatrick, Cher, Kim Kardashian and more recently, Taylor Swift, but never really settling down. Bat Boy has no known offspring. Bat Boy has become a reluctant cultural icon and national treasure, who savors hiding in plain sight. He has been a subject in numerous TV shows and films such as The Simpsons, American Dad, The Boys, 12 Monkeys and many others. When Bat Boy isn't evading the paparazzi, law enforcement or government scientists, he apparently enjoys supporting his fans via surprise appearances in pop culture outlets. Recently, Bat Boy was knighted by the Queen Elizabeth and blessed by Pope Francis, and there are growing rumors about another presidential run in 2024 under his healing and unifying right-wing plus left-wing message. Leaders of the Bat Boy holiday movement urge all supporters to contact their elected representatives to voice support for a National Holiday to honor Bat Boy and his achievements and to demonstrate support for cryptids of all shapes and sizes. Supporters also encourage of Bat Boy themed apparel, some of which is coincidently available in the WWN online store! There are rumors that Bat Boy will be biking with President Biden today, but with Bat Boy, one never really knows. BAT LINKS WWN Bat Boy Tribute Page Bat Boy the Musical Book - Going Mutant: The Bat Boy Exposed Bat Boy Mask, Socks, Koozies, Pins, etc. Bat Boy Blanket! I © Bat Boy T-Shirt About Weekly World News Since its launch in 1979, Weekly World News has emerged as the defining brand for reliable tabloid news, known for exclusive coverage of Bat Boy, Manigator, P’lod the Alien, SpyCat, the three-legged, Bigfoot and scores of other notable characters. WWN boasts a global fan base of millions, is regularly profiled in the media and relaunched its reliable reporting online in 2019. The brand is expanding into exciting new areas including an online store, advertising and promotions, licensed merchandise and the recent formation of Weekly World News Studios, to bring its iconic characters and stories to big and small screens across the universe. Contact Details Weekly World News Media Contact Carl Woodward press@weeklyworldnews.com Company Website https://www.weeklyworldnews.com

June 23, 2022 08:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Quest for Speed, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Unveils Wi-Fi 6E

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

The leading networking solutions provider is introducing Wi-Fi 6E, expanding its WLAN OmniAccess Stellar range to connect larger audiences in dense environments and meet the demands of users for bandwidth-heavy usages Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, a leading provider of digital age networks, communications and cloud solutions is developing its Wi-Fi portfolio enabling 6 GHz band with the launch of Wi-Fi 6E access points (AP) OmniAccess® Stellar 14xx series in September. In addition to the comprehensive and competitive Wi-Fi 6 OmniAccess Stellar AP13xx series, the new Wi-Fi 6E access points will deliver an extended access portfolio that can manage the ever-increasing wireless connectivity and bandwidth demands. ALE is first introducing a high-end premium Wi-Fi 6E Access Point which will be followed by a mid-range access point by the end of the year. Wi-Fi 6E extends Wi-Fi into the 6 GHz band, adding a substantial amount of unlicensed spectrum to address the exponential expansion of connected devices. Wi-Fi standards are driving the pace of evolution for ALE’s OmniAccess Stellar WLAN solutions, and the new access points boast a variety of market-leading capabilities. Through its flexibility and scalability, Wi-Fi 6E provides improved performance in dense environments, allowing a large number of clients to connect to one access point at the same time. With the rise of high-bandwidth, low-latency applications (such as augmented/virtual reality, 4K/8K Ultra-HD video and medical IoT), 6 GHz Wi-Fi now has seven super-wide 160Mhz channels available for enhanced performances. Public venues and crowded environments will strongly benefit from these advanced connectivity capabilities and offer significant Quality of Experience enhancements to enterprises and users. Based on a distributed intelligence WLAN control architecture, OmniAccess Stellar products eliminate the need for physical centralised controllers, delivering performances with maximum scalability and real operational simplicity. ALE has been a pioneer in introducing this distributed intelligence architecture. Stephan Robineau, EVP Network Business Division at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, comments: "As our customers’ needs keep evolving, we will continue to meet their ever-changing requirements and deliver exceptional service. Customers in Wi-Fi 6E approved countries can now take advantage of one of the largest unlicensed spectrum offerings, which will boost the performance of next-generation apps in Wi-Fi 6E enabled devices to deliver high quality of connectivity experience." ALE’s OmniAccess Stellar portfolio is developed and designed to meet all clients' needs, profiles, and budgets. Existing clients can choose from different purchasing models, including Network as a Service, to smoothly transition and evolve to new Wi-Fi standards at their own pace, with minimum investment and no financial risk. About Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise delivers the customised technology experiences enterprises need to make everything connect. ALE provides digital-age networking, communications and cloud solutions with services tailored to ensure customers’ success, with flexible business models in the cloud, on premises, and hybrid. All solutions have built-in security and limited environmental impact. Over 100 years of innovation have made Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise a trusted advisor to more than a million customers all over the world. With headquarters in France and 3,400 business partners worldwide, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise achieves an effective global reach with a local focus. al-enterprise.com | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Contact Details Fox Communications Limited Chloe Murray +44 20 3750 6688 chloe@fox.agency Company Website https://www.al-enterprise.com/

June 23, 2022 06:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Microbusinesses Drive Local Economies

YourUpdateTV

There are over 20 million microbusinesses in the United States. According to a recent study by GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative, about half of the microbusinesses in the country are run by solopreneurs and around 94 percent have 10 or fewer employees. But their impact is bigger than you think. Recently, Jeremy Hartman the Vice President of Venture Forward at GoDaddy and Alexandra Rosen the Senior Director of Venture Forward conducted a satellite media tour to help shine a light on microbusinesses, their impact on local economies, and the work GoDaddy is doing to empower entrepreneurs across the nation. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/S4TF6UDwD8U At the beginning of the pandemic, entrepreneurs faced unexpected and unprecedented challenges as many had to move online and adjust their nascent businesses for the new rules of COVID living. Yet over the last two years, these business owners - many of them running microbusinesses made up of 10 employees of less - refused, again and again, to let the pandemic define them; rather, they’ve exhibited the creativity, imagination, hard work, and resiliency that are the hallmark of all successful entrepreneurs. And as they’ve succeeded, this rapidly growing movement of over 20 million microbusinesses is having a substantial impact on the economy, especially in their local communities. Venture Forward has collected data on these microbusinesses since 2018 to better understand how they are doing - and what more that local policymakers and economic developers can do to fuel their growth. According to Venture Forward, about half of all microbusinesses are run by solopreneurs and around 90 percent have 10 or fewer employees. Because many of these businesses have never registered with a government entity, they’re often excluded in official measures of small businesses - meaning many of them succeed based on true people power through hard work, family and personal loans, and access to web and online tools that make online commerce easier and more accessible. The Venture Forward team recently launched the Microbusiness Data Hub to help shine a light on this audience, providing an easily accessible location for anyone to download millions of data points and insights collected from microbusinesses across the country and in Great Britain. This data hub can provide a better understanding of the microbusiness community and help inform policies. At the most recent U.S. Conference of Mayors, Jeremy Hartman announced the launch of GoDaddy Open, where they’ll be taking their expertise in empowering everyday entrepreneurs on the road. GoDaddy Open started as a one-day immersive experience for entrepreneurs focused on those who were seeking ways to start or pivot their business during the pandemic. It has continued to evolve, but remains dedicated to providing entrepreneurs with resources, tools and inspiration. When entrepreneurs have access to relevant training, their businesses thrive! Venture Forward’s research has revealed that 67% of microbusiness owners who receive training at GoDaddy reported at least one positive outcome. o 44% Got more customers o 28% Improved internal processes o 26% Grew revenue o 16% Increased profitability Go to godaddy.com/ventureforward to learn more about Venture Forward and explore the data platform hub. --------------------------- About Jeremy Hartman Jeremy Hartman is the Vice President of Venture Forward at GoDaddy. He was hired to help GoDaddy better advocate on behalf of its 20 million microbusiness customers by quantifying and communicating their impact on the global economy. Jeremy has over two decades of experience developing communication platforms for companies, non-profits and political candidates. Prior to GoDaddy, Jeremy was Director of Applied Thought Leadership at Cisco, chartered to raise Cisco’s relevancy among key influencers. His background originated in politics, where he served as a senior campaign advisor to State and Federal candidates. Jeremy holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s degree from Northwestern University. About Alexandra Rosen Alexandra Rosen is the Senior Director of Venture Forward, GoDaddy’s multi-year research initiative focused on entrepreneurs and their impact on the economy. Prior to GoDaddy, she collaborated with organizations across live entertainment, the Olympics, enterprises and the public sector to launch several first-to-market programs and partnerships as a global manager at Cisco. These included international skills training, new digital platforms and innovative technology deployments. Passionate about empowering people and businesses to reach new goals through technology, creativity, and connected experiences, Alex is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator. She completed her undergraduate degree at Stanford University and her MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

June 22, 2022 02:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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FEC Complaint Alleges Democratic National Committee and Hillary for America Continue to Lie About Trump Russia Dossier

Coolidge Reagan Foundation

The Coolidge Reagan Foundation, an organization dedicated to defending, protecting, and advancing liberty, particularly the principles of free speech enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, announced a new complaint it filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The Complaint follows a recent Coolidge Reagan victory from a 2018 Complaint resulting in the FEC issuing a $113,000 fine against Hillary for America and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for lying about their funding of the Russia Hoax dossier. As part of that settlement with the FEC, Hillary for America and the DNC owned up to their falsely filing opposition research – which is not entitled to attorney-client privilege - as “legal services.” The new Coolidge Reagan complaint alleges that Hillary for America and the DNC violated their settlement agreement with the FEC when they turned around and claimed attorney-client privilege to that work in Special Counsel John Durham’s prosecution of Michael Sussman. The Complaint states, in part: “…The FEC found probable cause to believe HFA and the DNC violated federal campaign finance law by falsely reporting the purpose of their payments through Perkins Coie to Fusion GPS. Caught in their lie, HFA and the DNC scurried to contain the crisis by entering into Conciliation Agreements with the FEC. Each agreement states, ‘Solely for the purpose of settling this matter expeditiously and to avoid further legal costs, Respondent does not concede, but will not further contest the Commission’s finding of probable cause to believe…’ “…HFA’s and the DNC’s intervention, arguments, and supporting declarations in United States v. Sussmann violate their agreement to ‘not further contest the commission’s finding of probable cause to believe’ Fusion GPS’s opposition research into Trump and preparation of the Steele Dossier did not constitute legal services…” The full Complaint is available at on the Coolidge Reagan Foundation website and by clicking here. Dan Backer, Counsel to Coolidge Reagan Foundation, who brought the Complaint, stated, “Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee promised they would not contest the Commission’s findings – but just days later, they already violated the pledge.” “Political elites like Hillary Clinton and the radical left will never learn their lesson. The Clinton machine continues to lie about funding the Russia Hoax dossier even after being caught, fessing up, and paying a fine,” Backer continued. “They don’t care about the truth, but we do. Our determination is unwavering, and we expect the FEC will agree with us again as it calls out this violation of its settlement agreement.” ### Please visit: https://www.coolidgereagan.org/. For more information or to schedule an interview with a CFR spokesperson, contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357 or danrenejr@gmail.com. Contact Details Coolidge Reagan Foundation Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 danrenejr@gmail.com Company Website https://www.coolidgereagan.org/

June 22, 2022 12:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Octane11 Raises $4.5 Million to Accelerate Growth of the Connected Data Platform for B2B

Octane11

Octane11, the B2B data platform company bringing simplicity to enterprise analytics, announced today the closing of a $4.5 million seed financing led by Javelin Venture Partners, with participation from BDMI, Honeystone Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Base Ventures, Circadian Ventures, and AperiamVentures. A number of industry insiders, including Erik Matlick, CEO of Bombora, Zain Jaffer, Founder of Vungle and Partner at Blue Field Capital, Eric Roza, former CEO of Datalogix and leader of Oracle’s Data Cloud division, and Amar Goel, Founder and Chairman of PubMatic, also participated in the round. The new funding will accelerate Octane11’s mission to help B2B sales, marketing, and product executives spend less time wrangling data and more time delivering results. Business-to-Business (“B2B”) enterprises have adopted more software tools than ever across all departments - using an average of 89 applications per company according to Okta’s Businesses at Work Report 2022. This diversity of applications has delivered great new functionality, but has also caused terrible confusion across tools and teams, leading to an explosion of costs for data infrastructure and the personnel required to synthesize it. The Octane11 platform solves this challenge by mapping fragmented data across a myriad of tools and teams to its proprietary, B2B-specific data model. The Octane11 solution not only reduces the cost of managing siloed data by as much as 80%, but also unlocks a range of industry insights, granular benchmarks, and AI-driven recommendations. Launched in late 2020, the Octane11 platform has already been used by its B2B clients to analyze over $500 million in revenue opportunities across 400,000 prospect accounts. “Synthesizing enterprise data is a massive, unsolved challenge that is becoming increasingly urgent,” said Octane11 Founder and CEO Dan Rosenberg. “Previously, as Chief Strategy Officer of a unicorn B2B software company operating across 16 cities, I felt this pain personally and pulled together a team of B2B data, operations, and SaaS experts to solve it.” According to Market Data Forecast, the market for data engineering services - the people costs related to synthesizing enterprise data - is over $40 billion, twice the size of the data warehousing market, and is expected to grow at over 18% per year through 2028. Meanwhile, the cost of hiring data specialists like Data Analysts, Data Engineers and Data Scientists, has exploded in recent years, making Octane11 an ideal solution for driving cost efficiency and business impact quickly. “We had a complex martech and salestech stack with over a dozen legacy tools that required tons of manual work to analyze - and yet we wanted to keep adding, testing and learning,” said Pete Davies, SVP Revenue Strategy at Cardlytics, an Octane11 client. “Octane11 gave us holistic visibility across all our tools in an easy-to-digest format that we could share across the entire team and compare to industry norms.” “The challenge of harnessing fragmented B2B data at scale is already massive and only getting worse with new channels emerging daily,” said Javelin Partner Noah Doyle, who will be joining Octane11’s Board of Directors. “Octane11 is building a unique network-style solution that complements other industry tools and can scale rapidly.” To learn more about how Octane11 can help you wrangle your B2B data and drive more actionable insights and collaboration, visit www.octane11.com and follow us on LinkedIn. To review open positions at Octane11, please visit www.octane11.com\careers Octane11 was represented by Robert Odell of Odell Girton Siegel LLC. About Octane11 Octane11 is a B2B-focused data analytics and collaboration platform that connects paid, owned, and earned marketing, sales, and product usage data to drive real business results. We help B2B enterprises with $100M+ in revenue to integrate, enrich, and analyze data across teams, and compare performance to industry benchmarks. Octane11 is backed by Javelin Venture Partners, BDMI, Honeystone Ventures, Circadian Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Base Ventures, and AperiamVentures. Launched in late 2020, Octane11 is already helping some of the largest B2B enterprises break down data silos and turn every digital interaction into an actionable insight. To learn more, visit www.octane11.com and follow us on LinkedIn. About Javelin Venture Partners Javelin Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm, founded by former entrepreneurs who have first-hand experience developing companies from concept to thriving enterprises. Javelin invests in scalable, high-growth technology companies with large addressable markets and strong competitive advantages. The firm is an active investor with a long-term outlook, and is helping the next generation of founders build world-changing companies. Javelin is located in San Francisco, CA, but invests in companies throughout the world. For more information visit: www.javelinvp.com. Contact Details Press Contact +1 646-397-1631 press@octane11.com Company Website http://www.octane11.com

June 22, 2022 09:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time

DistroTV Adds 120 New Channels, Citing Impressive Channel Growth of 87% YoY, and Launches New Regional Channel Bundles to Continue Global Content Expansion as FAST Market Heats Up

DistroTV

DistroTV, the nation’s largest, independent, free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platform, today announced it has added 120 new channels to expand its core content categories, across news, media & entertainment, sports, and lifestyle. This in addition to growing its multicultural content line-up, to include new channel offerings to cater to English, Southeast Asian / Indian, and Spanish-speaking audiences, as well as a new bundle of channel content targeting the African community. This brings the DistroTV total channel library to more than 270, with DistroTV now available in more than 60 markets through its apps on streaming devices and smart TVs, as well as worldwide through distro.tv on the web. The company continues its rapid global expansion, empowering media companies to break down content barriers and bring diverse and independent content to our global viewers, wherever they may be watching, amidst an evolving free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) market. Through DistroTV’s easy-to-use interface, viewers can instantly watch their favorite channels and shows, with no registration, sign-up, or fees required. “The FAST market is on an incredible and steep upward growth trajectory, with even paid streaming platforms now understanding that if they do not embrace and ride this wave, they’ll get left behind,” said Navdeep Saini, co-founder and CEO of DistroScale, parent company of DistroTV. “At DistroTV, we’ve long been on a mission to break down barriers to entry and provide free TV for global audiences who want and deserve access to free, engaging programming across a range of cultures and languages. If our growth figures are any indication, we’re well on our way to accomplishing our goals, and we have no plans of slowing down.” Key highlights include: An impressive wave of new channels available to stream for free that appeal to DistroTV’s core US, UK, and Canadian audiences which includes a total of: 45 sports channels, doubling the initial channel count to include the most diverse collection of live & linear mainstream sports, combat sports, niche sports and outdoors channels, like beIN SPORTS Xtra, Swerve Sports, IMPACT Wrestling Channel, FightNetwork, ACL Cornhole, MotoAmerica TV and FuelTV. 13 documentary channels, with notable new additions including Goalcast, Beautiful Planet, and True History. Notable new additions to the entertainment & lifestyle category, including AXS TV Now, Heritage+, Planet Eat, and the return of Canadian foodie favorite, GustoTV. A total of 21 Spanish-language channels available in North America, such as Casa Comedy and Spanglish to the existing bundle of entertainment, documentaries, news and sports channels launched earlier this year, for a total of 25 Spanish-speaking channels globally. DistroTV Español is aimed at speakers in the U.S., as well as in Latin America and included the platform’s premiere of its first original movie, Escándalo Secreto: En Plena Cuarentena, which has seen impressive adoption across all LatAm audiences, both in the US and Latin American markets. The expansion of free-to-stream Indian channel content through DistroTV Desi; the bundle doubled since launch from 15 channels to 36 live streaming channels, featuring new additions such as ABP, Bollywood Prime, Epic, FOODFOOD by renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Desi TV, and more. The addition of these channel bundles will bring even more viewing access and content options to a multicultural Spanish speaking and South East Asian audience; The release of a new African channel bundle, DistroTV Africa, featuring 11 entertainment and music-oriented channels available to stream for free globally and available in countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, and in those countries’ native languages; Since its launch in 2019, DistroTV has taken note and delivered on the demand for growth concerning its breadth of content and global audience. The streaming platform continues to focus on building a robust global network that delivers news, entertainment, music, sports, and lifestyle programming to international audiences. To become a part of this international audience, visit https://www.distro.tv or install DistroTV on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS or Android. About DistroTV DistroTV is the largest, independent, free, ad-supported streaming television service on the market. Launched in 2019 by parent company DistroScale, the platform caters to a multicultural, rapidly expanding, globally-minded audience of passionate viewers. Satisfying the growing demand for premium video content in multiple languages, DistroTV delivers premium video content from producers globally across North America, the UK, Bollywood, Latin America, China, Southeast Asia, and growing. With more than 200 channels plus thousands of Video on Demand (VOD) shows, DistroTV cultivates content that covers a broad spectrum of topics to connect with people’s passion points around Entertainment, Lifestyle, Sports, News, Documentaries and International Content in live, linear and video-on-demand formats. DistroTV is available to stream for free on the web, as well as through Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and iOS and Android devices. About DistroScale DistroTV is the first direct-to-consumer offering from DistroScale, a technology company founded in 2013 and known for providing a global clientele of thousands of media properties with the industry’s most comprehensive video platform for web, apps, and streaming. DistroScale is an all-in-one solution providing infrastructure, content delivery, curation, analytics and a full suite of monetization options. Video enabled by DistroScale reaches more than 250 million visitors per month. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. To become a DistroTV viewer, visit www.distro.tv. More information on DistroScale & DistroTV is available at www.distroscale.com. Contact Details Mackenzie Gavel +1 631-739-5716 mackenzie@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://www.distro.tv

June 21, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

The Connected Devices Making a Splash this Summer

News Media Group, Inc.

Contact Details News Media Group, Inc. Karl Wayne +1 334-440-6397 karl@newsmg.com Company Website https://newsmg.com/

June 21, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Spokane Natives Christy and Scott Johnson Buy 32-Year Business Plese Printing and Marketing, Rebrand as Minuteman Press – Spokane

Minuteman Press International Inc

Plese Printing & Marketing, which has been in business for 32 years and is independently owned by Kim Plese, has been sold to Spokane natives Christy and Scott Johnson. Christy and Scott have rebranded the business as Minuteman Press – Spokane and are operating out of the same location at 4201 E. Trent Ave. On the sale of her business, Kim Plese says, “I had no intention of selling my business as we were growing rapidly after the pandemic. Suddenly, my longtime production manager of 12 years had passed away and I was devastated. He was only 36 years-old at the time of his passing. When Minuteman Press Regional Vice President Chris Jutt contacted me, it happened to be two months later and I decided it was time to think about selling. I took his call seriously and we moved forward from there.” She continues, “My business was my ‘baby’ and it’s an emotional process to sell. Minuteman Press and Chris Jutt’s patience and understanding were enormous in guiding me during this time.” “Minuteman Press had qualified buyers (and Spokane natives) Christy and Scott Johnson ready to purchase a company like mine. I was able to transition out of the business with ease and there was little I had to do in regard to training. I am so grateful to Chris Jutt and Minuteman Press for making this happen for me. I am now able to transition to the next chapter of my career.” -Kim Plese, former owner, Plese Printing & Marketing (now Minuteman Press – Spokane) Spokane Natives Return Home to Realize Their Dream For Christy and Scott Johnson, buying a business in Spokane enables them to return to their hometown and be near family and friends. Christy says, “ We enjoy getting to know our customers many of whom are also small business owners. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to support our customers and the many causes and entities that they represent. Scott is originally from Spokane and I grew up in Cusick. Buying this business has allowed us to move back to Spokane, which has been fantastic.” They chose to buy Plese Printing & Marketing and join the Minuteman Press franchise network so that they could hit the ground running with established business while also being fully supported and trained in the industry. Scott says, “We loved meeting with Kim Plese and learning how she built her business over the past 32 years. Minuteman Press has a program that connected us with Kim and helped us transition into ownership of the business. It’s a dream come true to buy this business and also receive training and support along the way.” Before buying the business, Scott worked as a Mechanical Engineer and Christy worked as an Accountant. Scott says, “I spent 24 years as a mechanical engineer working in semiconductor quality and reliability and building technical teams around the globe. Christy is an accountant and started in corporate America. Over the last decade, she has been working for small businesses filling many roles in Finance, HR, and Operations Management. She has broad experience working in and with small businesses.” He continues, "Several of my family members have owned successful businesses in Spokane so it seemed natural to take this step." “We are so excited to serve our customers in Spokane and the surrounding areas with the products and services they need to market, grow and operate their businesses. Our services include: Every Door Direct Mail, Variable Mail Service, Banners, Yard Signs, Business Cards, Product Labels, Rack Cards, Tri-Fold Brochures, Personalized Letterhead, Envelopes, 2 part & 3 part customized carbonless forms, Custom made to order spiral bound books, Self-Covering Booklets, and Promotional Products. We also offer solutions for branding your physical office space, such as customized wall wraps, window graphics, and Indoor and Outdoor Signage. We intend to add vehicle wraps in the future. The business we purchased already has the equipment, employees, and capability to do this work. Bring us your wish list and together we will make it happen!” -Scott Johnson, co-owner, Minuteman Press – Spokane When asked what he loves most about owning a business vs. having a job, Scott answers, “We love that we set our own schedule and that the time and the hard work we put in is for our own benefit. We have our own vision how we want to run our business as well as the internal workplace culture we like, and owning our own business allows us to make it what we want.” Reflections on the Purchase and Sale of the Business With the sale of Plese Printing & Marketing complete, Scott Johnson and Kim Plese reflect on their experiences as buyers and sellers, respectively. Scott Johnson says, “We had tried to purchase other small businesses in the past, but it’s daunting to evaluate and try to find a good fit. With Minuteman Press, there was someone available to help with the process, give advice, and answer questions. I would suggest doing a lot of research to find a good fit with your goals and expectations. The education process took many years for Christy and I and to find a good fit, and we found it with Minuteman Press – Spokane.” Kim Plese concludes: “ As the Owner/President of Plese Printing and Marketing in Spokane, Washington for over 32 years, I can say without hesitation that my experience with Minuteman Press and Chris Jutt, Regional Vice President PNW, has been amazing to say the least. I would highly recommend Minuteman Press to anyone who might be considering selling their independent printing business. The family-owned Minuteman Press business enterprise has 45 years of success in the printing industry. I was able to sell my business for a fair market price knowing that all my years of hard work was going into good hands. My entire staff stayed on after the sale and my customers are satisfied knowing that they have the great service and quality products they've known for years. I was able to transition out of the business with ease and now I am able to pursue a career in politics and run for an important seat as a County Commissioner for Spokane! I am so grateful to Chris Jutt for making this happen for me. It's been a complete pleasure from beginning to end.” Minuteman Press – Spokane (formerly Plese Printing & Marketing) is located at 4201 E. Trent Ave., Spokane, WA 99202. For more information, call Christy and Scott Johnson at 509-534-2355 or visit their website: https://minuteman.com/us/locations/wa/spokane/ Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. To find out how to sell your printing business through Minuteman Press International, visit https://bit.ly/minutemanpressconversions Contact Details Minuteman Press International Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

June 20, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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trooVRS Launches as the First Editorial Platform Built for the Metaverse at Cannes Lions 2022

Troo Media

Troo Media, the creators of media platforms for the metaverse, today launched trooVRS, the first fully virtual and immersive editorial platform designed for the metaverse dedicated to reimagining men’s editorial, at Cannes Lions. Through immersive, VR-powered environments, trooVRS will deliver high quality editorial content and experiences in written, video, and audio-based formats that will empower male audiences across generations, race, nationalities, sexual orientation, and more with the tools and practical knowledge to positively impact their well-being. The trooVRS platform is built around the concept of “solutions journalism”, which is focused on curating content designed to provide practical knowledge and offer solutions, and elevate the quality of life of readers. On the platform, this content will target the interests and needs of men from all backgrounds by focusing on core subject matter like relationships, work, physical and mental health. The launch of trooVRS coincides with Men’s Health Month to reinforce the company’s commitment to serve as a constant voice of awareness for men’s health and encourage positive living choices. trooVRS will recruit writers and content creators from across the globe that represent a diverse set of ethnicities, nationalities, and perspectives in order to deliver a comprehensive experience for men of all backgrounds. This immersive editorial content is delivered through high-quality pixel streaming 3D “virtual worlds” which offer readers a safe space to discuss topics and build communities. The first virtual world, a remote, Scandinavian-inspired home built directly into a mountainside, is accessible today for brands and agencies to begin ideating customized experiences and activations on the platform. In addition to its core editorial offerings, trooVRS will also deliver curated NFT offerings across its environments with male audiences that support the editorial’s initiative of fostering self-care and community. trooVRS was conceptualized by Adrian Whant, a digital media and advertising veteran who has held leadership positions at companies like NBCUniversal, Univision, ABS-CBN, and digital startups, and Lisa Cavalli, the creator of influential digital Latina-focused publications HipLatina and BELatina. The two saw an opportunity to revitalize the stagnant men’s editorial space by capitalizing on the rapid expansion of metaverse-based solutions and the need for more modern and nuanced content that breaks down the dated stereotypes of masculinity. “While new media companies are emerging to connect with an increasingly diverse spectrum of audiences, we have seen very little in terms of platforms that reflect the modern values and ideals of men, which now cover a vast range of identities, interests and aspirations. The metaverse presents us with an opportunity to deliver content in a more immersive, intimate and effective environment, and its inherent decentralization will allow for the amplification of and participation from audiences that have been historically shut out in traditional media formats. With this in mind, we’re excited to introduce trooVRS as the new way for men to validate their own experiences and focus on self-improvement,” says Adrian Whant, Founder and CEO of Troo Media. The trooVRS platform also offers brands the opportunity to deliver highly curated and branded metaverse experiences to connect more deeply with male audiences. The virtual worlds are purpose-built with several environments where brands can hold activations such as presentations, tutorials and demos in relevant environments such as stages, kitchens, gyms, showrooms and more. They will also be able to offer exclusive real and virtual goods and services, including NFTs powered by blockchain technology. trooVRS is already in advanced discussions with leading brands to conceptualize initial activations on the platform. “It has been my long held belief, through direct experience, that culturally hyper-relevant content is the future of publishing success, for both media companies and brands. With trooVRS, our goal is to take the concept of solutions-driven journalism and disseminate it through new and exciting ways to create more enriching and fulfilling experiences and pave the way forward in the metaverse-driven era,” says Lisa Cavalli, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Troo Media. The virtual worlds on the trooVRS platform are designed by SPINE, an award-winning interactive media and 3D visualization studio. In collaboration with the trooVRS team, SPINE focused on constructing highly detailed, photo-realistic environments that set the platform apart from the standard gamified experiences with most current metaverse solutions. “I’m very excited to be working with Troo Media to bring their vision to life and to be building something that is both meaningful and forward-thinking. trooVRS is headed in the direction of where I see digital media evolving towards and I’m looking forward to pushing the platform to its highest potential,” says Kevin Smith, Founder and CEO of SPINE. trooVRS launches at Cannes with one virtual world already live and with an additional 5 nearing completion. The company is focused on building out its editorial roster, activating brands on the platform and continuing to build out the technology infrastructure. Troo Media will also be focused on building strategic partnerships in the coming months to bolster the growth and development of the platform. To learn more about trooVRS, please visit: https://troovrs.io/. About Troo Media Founded in 2022, TrooMedia is a purpose-built platform that serves as the foundation for trooVRS, an immersive media platform for users to engage with non-stereotypical men's lifestyle content across virtual editorial environments, shared experiences and worlds. TrooMedia was born out of the desire to create solution-driven storytelling that provides practical knowledge to readers, elevates the voices of global creators, and, most importantly, builds content that positively impacts people's lives. TrooMedia, with its partner SPINE 3D, builds virtual worlds in the metaverse designed to deliver cutting edge immersive and collaborative possibilities that deliver highly curated experiences between brands and consumers. The company is led by media, technology, and publishing leaders and is a proud minority, LGBTQ+, and women-owned digital media company. Contact Details North 6th Agency for Troo Media Kevin Pryor +1 212-334-9753 kpryor@n6a.com Company Website https://troovrs.io/

June 20, 2022 09:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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