Rural Leader Magazine August 2024

AUGUST 2024

Cover Story

When will rural areas get good Internet?, pg. 15 GetRuralLeaderMag.com | AUGUST 2024 1

Contents

5 Giving Health

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Kuanita E. Murphy, PhD Rural Leader Magazine, LLC is a digital publication that highlights every day people doing extraordinary things nationally and abroad. www.RuralLeaderMag.com www.GetRuralLeaderMag.com

About Us

9 Ready for school?

Here’s your ultimate back-to-school toolkit 13 Parents of college-bound students: How to help pay for school COVER STORY 15 When will rural areas get good internet?

17 Expertly manage the back-to-school bustle 18 How does sleep affect the weight loss journey? We asked a husband-and-wife team of medical experts 20 Study suggests how to improve employee proficiency with AI

Send editorial ideas to Kuanita Murphy, PhD, Editor-in-Chief editor@ruralleadermag.com Contact Us info@ruralleadermag.com editor@ruralleadermag.com ruralleadermagazine@gmail.com

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Dear Readers, Inside this issue, there are a number of great articles about leadership best practices, building positive self-esteem and productivity! We hope you enjoy this issue.

As always, I hope you enjoy this issue and continue to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Thanks again for your continual support!

Sincerely, Kuanita E. Murphy, PhD Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Launched in March 2014, Rural Leader Magazine, LLC is a digital publication with a mission to highlight every day people doing extraordinary things in business, education, music, community, art, sports, and leadership nationally and abroad.

Rural Leader Magazine honors exemplary individuals on a variety of levels, such as the 20 under 20 Honors, 40 under 40 Honors, Best Small Town Restaurant, Small Town America’s 100 Most Influential People, the Scholars of Collegiate Distinction, Fifty under Fifty, and the Eagle Elite Club.— Reproduction in any manner, in whole or in part, in English, or other languages, is prohibited without written consent.

Editor’s Note

What you do matters. @RuralLeaderMag

Tell us what you think about our publications, if you have a great idea for a story, or to just share. We may print your comments in Rural Leader Magazine. By sending us your comments, you’re giving permission to call you for an interview. Please be sure to include your name, address, email address, and phone number so we can reach you. Write to us at info@RuralLeaderMag.com—

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Ready for school? Here’s your ultimate back-to-school toolkit No matter how old your child is, the back-toschool transition is always exciting, busy and sometimes stressful. Moving from less scheduled summer days to a regular routine takes planning, as well as the best available tools.

To ease your family’s transition, here are some useful tips and tricks to have in your toolkit from Five Star®, makers of school supplies built to last all year long, including notebooks, folders, academic planners and the Five Star Study App to help your child get back into the school groove.

Evaluate daily schedules. Look back at last year to remember what was successful - and less effective about your previous routine, so you can make improvements heading into the new school year.

Were mornings always rushed? Build a cushion of time each day by getting everyone up 15-20 minutes earlier. Consider adjusting bedtimes so your kids will not be sacrificing too much of their much-needed sleep. You could also make time every evening to set out tomorrow’s clothes, pack lunches and fill backpacks to save time each morning. As your kids grow older, they may be ready to take on one of these responsibilities themselves.

Did you have too many activities after school, making it harder to get schoolwork done? Limit these activities, perhaps establishing a day or two that are always left open for a bit of breathing room during the week.

Use the best tech tools to aid schoolwork. Technology is a regular part of students’ school days at younger ages, providing opportunity to utilize digital tools to enhance study habits and simplify homework organization.

In time for back-to-school, Five Star has expanded the compatibility of their free study app to pair with Five Star wide ruled notebooks, composition books and filler paper, making it ideal for younger students.

This means students in their first days of kindergarten, all the way through college graduation, can benefit from combining paper learning with digital tools to enhance their academic experience.

Handwritten notes are generally accepted as helpful to improve retention, and the Five Star Study App makes it easier for students to take their handwritten notes from Five Star compatible notetaking products and instantly create digital flashcards to study anywhere, anytime. This helps your students organize and avoid losing - important information on hand8

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outs from their classes, making them easily accessible anytime, so they can study during the drive to school, while waiting for siblings at after-school activities and more.

Download the free Five Star Study App in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and learn more at FiveStarBuiltStrong.com.

Discover the best study times. Every child (and family) is different, so experiment with times and places that are best for your child to complete schoolwork. Consider dividing assignments, working on their toughest subjects when they’re at their sharpest and saving less challenging schoolwork for times of day when they seem more distracted.

If your child is a morning person, set aside study time while you’re getting breakfast ready. If they’re hungry and tired right after school, save homework for after they’ve had a snack or meal. Fortunately, the Five Star Study App opens up more possibilities for studying anytime, even when you’re on the go.

Teach children how to plan. Establish a calendar (on paper or digital, whatever works best for your child) to track school events, assignments and tests.

Encourage your child to review their calendar each week or whenever their teachers provide information about upcoming assignments, making sure the most important or time-consuming tasks stand out visually.

For major projects, show your child how to divide them into smaller steps to avoid last-minute panic the day before they’re due - and put those steps on the calendar, too. An academic planner like the Five Star Student Planner can help keep track of these smaller steps and with its Study App compatibility provides the best of paper and digital organization.

Helping kids learn to plan ahead and break up larger assignments into more manageable chunks are valuable techniques that will carry them through many years of their educational journey.

Do a dress rehearsal. Especially for younger children, transitions can be stressful. Explain how your routine will change, and do some practice runs by starting the new schedule a few days ahead. This will give everyone (yourself included!) a chance to adjust.

No matter what the school year ahead will bring, taking time to get ready now, and using the best tools available, will help everyone have a more fun, fulfilling and successful year ahead.— GetRuralLeaderMag.com | AUGUST 2024 9

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Parents of college-bound students: How to help pay for school The summer months before college begins are exciting, as everyone anticipates the journey ahead and the educational dreams of every parent and child become realized. It can also be a stressful time, however, as educational costs - plus many other expenses - become a reality and quickly add up. A recent College Ave survey found that parents overwhelmingly believe in the importance of a college degree for their child’s future (89%), but also agree the costs of college are stressful and surprisingly high.

In the survey, 67% of parents say the cost of room and board was much higher than expected, while 65% also find tuition and fees to be more than anticipated. Over half (55%) say they were surprised by the amount their family was expected to contribute when financial award letters arrived. Parents also mention spending more on things like electronics, transportation and dorm room essentials.

How parents and students are meeting the challenge. Because college is viewed as crucial to their future, families use a combination of methods to fund their child’s education. The first step in the college funding process is filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which can be completed online and will determine eligibility for financial assistance like grants, merit aid, work-study jobs and federal student loans.

While 3 out of 4 parents report setting aside money for their child’s college education, just over half were comfortable with their current level of savings.

To cover financial gaps, families often use a mix of methods to pay. More than half (62%) say they are using scholarships and grants, 45% will borrow federal, private or parent student loans, and 17% say the parent will take on a side hustle or second job to help cover college costs.

Parents also report using strategies to save money such as placing emphasis on their child graduating within four years (56%) and working while in college (46%). Most parents manage extra costs by using more of their income and savings, as well as having their child apply for student loans and encouraging them to seek more scholarships.

Bridging the last-minute gap. One of the fastest

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ways to immediately cover any college financing gap, especially when time is running short, is through student loans. First, make sure to take out any federal student loans in the student’s name, as these loans come with unique benefits such as income-based repayment plans that are not typically offered by private student loans.

However, because there’s an annual maximum amount you can borrow in federal student loans, many families also need to explore other options like private loan options. It pays to shop around for the best private student loan lender, as each one offers different rates and repayment terms.

To help determine how student loan repayment will impact your family’s budget, you can use an online Student Loan Calculator to better understand the total cost of the loan and estimate what your monthly payments will be. One customer-friendly student loan provider to explore is College Ave. They offer competitive rates and a variety of loan repayment terms that can fit your family’s budget. Better yet, the application process takes less than three minutes.

Although many scholarship deadlines have passed, you can still find options to supplement college costs. Consider searching for smaller or local options with flexible deadlines or less competition, such as through your child’s high school career counselor, civic and community organizations, local businesses or your (or your child’s) employer. Keep in mind that the College Ave $1,000 scholarship sweepstakes is continuous, so you and your child can enter online every month.

The college journey is an important milestone in every young person’s life, so it’s crucial to provide them the support they need. With continued effort, you can help them achieve their dream, so they can earn the education they deserve.

Find more information and tips on funding college at CollegeAve.com.—

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When will rural areas get good internet?

Do you live in a rural area? How’s your internet service? Is it good, bad ... or just not there?

People in big cities usually have at least one good option to get strong internet. It’s a different story if you live in a small town. There is a big gap. And good internet is about more than watching TV shows or your kids playing video games. Good internet can help with: Economic equality. With a strong internet connection, small businesses in rural areas can sell products online. Individuals can even start businesses right from their homes. This means someone in New York City can buy honey directly from a little business outside of Tupelo, Mississippi. Without the internet, that sale can’t happen.

Remote work. With good internet, people can work high-paying jobs remotely - no matter where they live. They don’t have to choose between a wellpaid job and a nice life in a small community. Many people move away from big cities because they want a better quality of life, lower cost of living and more time in nature. When people can work remotely from rural areas, this brings more money - people spend money locally, and the tax base grows.

Educational opportunities. Good internet gives rural students the same opportunities as everyone else. They can access research materials, take online courses, and easily work with peers and teachers.

Kids do not have to do homework in the parking lot of the local diner because they do not have internet at home.

Health care. In rural areas, the closest doctor or hospital might be many miles away. Broadband enables them to use telehealth, which helps people see a doctor online, without leaving home. A good Wi-Fi network in a rural area can also make it easier for first responders to provide potentially life-saving services.

There is a big need for good internet in rural areas.

But delivering good internet takes time. Starting a local internet service is very complicated and expensive. The good news is the federal government is providing a lot of money to help rural areas get connected.

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One program, BEAD (Broadband, Equity, Access & Deployment), provides $42.45 billion to expand internet access - specifically for remote and rural communities. Any business that applies for and wins this funding can plan, install and deliver broadband internet to rural areas.

But there’s a problem. The funding process can be complicated. If local providers do not apply for these funds, big telecom companies that don’t understand these communities as well might take over in their areas.

Local broadband providers are great for rural communities. In some cases, they are cooperatives (owned by members) or municipal utilities. They know their communities well and can offer a lot of exciting internet services, at a fair cost. They are flexible, open and understand the needs of their customers.

That is why the Calix Funding Consult Program is important. By offering expert advice, along with tools like automation and data analysis, the program helps local internet providers with every step of the BEAD process. This includes planning, applying for the money and following the rules of the program.

Over the past three years, this program has helped local broadband providers get nearly $2 billion in funding. This free program is available for any local business - not just Calix customers. It has been so successful that almost 75% of all government-funded broadband providers are Calix customers.

Calix has been in the broadband industry for 25 years. They have invested a lot in creating a complete broadband platform that helps local internet providers succeed. Calix is dedicated to helping local providers with Build America Buy America (BABA) solutions.

Are you a customer of a local broadband service company? Do you work for one, or do you know someone who does? Ask them to contact Calix for a free consultation about applying for federal funding.

Because good internet means good living for all rural communities.—

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Expertly manage the back-to-school bustle With the school year just around the corner, it’s time to start preparing for an exciting season of educational growth, evening sports games and school lunches. All busy parents know the importance of not only preparing accordingly but also brainstorming ways to make their child’s new school year extra special.

You may not be able to do all your school supply shopping now, but there are other ways you can prepare yourself for a new school year. Check out these five expert tips that can help you effortlessly manage the hustle and bustle of the back-to-school season.

1. Plan ahead. The first thing you can do to set yourself up for success is to plan ahead. Start by setting up a family calendar in the house or utilize a shared online calendar. Your calendar is bound to fill up with school events, project deadlines and sports schedules, so there is no better time than now to put pen to paper.

By having an organized calendar with your family’s schedule ready before the academic year starts, you’ll be able to sail smoothly through the back-to-school months. Your future self will thank you for taking this step, as it may lower your stress levels during the busiest days of the school year.

2. Create a routine. Daily routines provide a sense of stability and help streamline your family’s schedule. What should you include in your daily routine?

From sleeping and study schedules to mealtimes and family-focused activities, a structured routine will help create healthy daily rhythms. This will also ensure a balance between home and school life.

3. Bring joy to lunchboxes. Lunchtime can be a highlight of the day, not just for kids but for parents, too! What you pack in your child’s lunchbox can really brighten their day. Of course, it’s important to include a balanced and nutritious meal with items like sandwiches, carrots and fruit. But why not add a touch of fun with a tasty snack?

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Consider packing Hostess® CupCakes or Hostess® Kazbarsâ„¢ to bring a smile to your child’s face during lunchtime. Both snacks offer a delightful treat that will make lunchtime something to look forward to. For an extra special touch, include a note of encouragement in your child’s lunchbox.

And remember, you deserve a treat, too. Whether you’re packing your own lunch or keeping snacks on hand while running errands, don’t forget to enjoy a fun snack for yourself.

Find Hostess® snacks and other treats at grocery stores nationwide and visit HostessCakes.com to discover a variety of delicious, joyful snacks.

4. Set up a homework station. In an age of technology and distraction, homework can feel like a chore, but setting up a homework station can help your child focus on their tasks. To create a successful homework station, designate a quiet place in your home and organize the space with a sturdy desk, pencils, pens, paper and any other supplies your student may need to complete their assignments with ease.

5. Be prepared for sports events. If you’re the parent of an athlete, you know that showing up for the games isn’t the only way to show your support.

Bringing fun snacks, treats and drinks to sports events can show your child how much you’re invested in their sport.

You won’t always have time to prepare homemade snacks before the big game, so save time and stress by picking up a delicious premade snack such as Hostess® Kazbarsâ„¢ that the whole team, including parents, will enjoy. This simple act can bolster team spirit and help celebrate the big win.

Beat the back-to-school bustle with these five simple tips. Not only will it make your life easier, but you’ll set your family up for success all year long.

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How does sleep affect the weight loss journey?

We asked a husband-and-wife team of medical experts As a sleep medicine specialist, Dr. Christopher J. Allen knows well the importance of sleep health, which is not only defined by the number of hours the individual sleeps, but also the quality of the sleep and the absence of sleep disorders1. He regularly sees patients who have conditions like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where obesity can be a significant risk factor. And when it comes to helping those patients address weight challenges, he knows another doctor who comes highly recommended: weight management specialist Dr. Dafina Allen. As a husband-and18

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wife team, the Allens often share patients between them because of the significant interplay between obesity and sleep health.

OSA is sleep disordered breathing that occurs when the throat muscles relax during sleep, blocking the airway, and it affects more than 54 million Americans2. It can lead to drowsiness and fatigue during the day, but can also increase the risk for heart attack, heart failure, stroke and contributes to high blood pressure3. By some estimates, moderate-to-severe OSA can increase mortality risk by 33%4. Obesity is

a significant risk factor for OSA, occurring in an estimated 41% to 70% of patients with the condition5,6.

Sleep health and the challenge of weight loss.

“When patients come to see me, they often know that weight plays some role with sleep apnea,” says Chris.

“And it’s true that, for many patients, weight loss can reduce the severity of sleep apnea. But achieving that is where getting the right treatment and support matters.”

“I have patients - many of whom wind up working with Chris - who realize that their weight loss isn’t progressing because they’re not getting quality sleep,” Dafina adds. “When you aren’t sleeping well, your cortisol levels are higher, increasing your visceral fat.

You tend to be more irritable; you may want to snack more and be less motivated to be active. Having an untreated sleep condition like OSA is going to be a major barrier to managing your weight in a healthy way.”

Research has shown that the relationship between OSA and weight can be reciprocal with some studies showing that obesity increases the risks of developing OSA, but also that treating OSA may help spur weight loss7.

Chris relies on positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy, using a device such as ResMed CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines as the first line treatment for OSA. CPAP uses airflow to keep the airways open during sleep, and provides relief from the symptoms of OSA, which can make it easier to make the lifestyle changes needed to address obesity concerns, according to Chris.

“Sleep apnea can be overwhelming, but once a patient begins using CPAP, they often start to notice a difference,” adds Chris. “That extra energy from proper sleep may help kickstart healthier lifestyle choices. When we work with patients on sleep health issues and start to educate them about how weight may affect those conditions, they are in a better spot to adhere to treatment plans and achieve better health outcomes.”

“Simply starting the conversation is a critical part of a health journey, and with the addition of GLP-1 medications as a tool for weight management, we are seeing more people interested in engaging their doctors about weight and health in general,” Dafina adds.

“As part of that, I’ve heard many more questions about sleep health. Sleep is such a critical piece of the weight loss puzzle. If a patient isn’t sleeping well, it’s going to be harder to follow a plan that requires them to change how they eat and increase their activity level, even with the help of new medications.”

Healthy weight management and successful OSA

treatment. “We’ve been prescribing these medications for diabetes for some time, and with more people being prescribed GLP-1s for obesity, we’re constantly increasing what we know about how effective they are and the role they can play in healthy weight management,” adds Dafina.

While weight loss can reduce the severity of sleep apnea, her husband chimes in that it’s important to keep your healthcare professional involved in your sleep health decisions even if you have lost significant weight and feel less tired during the day.

“I’d usually want to do a sleep study to determine the impact of the weight loss on the sleep apnea before making any changes to treatment,” he says. “But we also want to make sure that if you are using one of these new medications that the weight you’ve lost remains or continues to improve once you come off the medication. If it goes back up, you are at risk of your sleep apnea getting worse once again, so we want to see people making long-term sustainable changes and make sure they stay vigilant if anything changes regarding their sleep health.”

Sleep apnea: Are you at risk? “The hardest part of my job is that I have to talk to patients about things that happen when they’re unconscious,” adds Chris.

“Many people don’t know that they have a sleep disorder and so it’s important to know your risk factors. If you have a bed partner, rely on them to let you know if you’re snoring or gasping for air at night, because that is a common sign of sleep apnea.”

For people who sleep alone, other signs that may indicate OSA include waking up frequently during the night or waking up with headaches. Diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea requires talking to a health professional, but signs and symptoms include feeling tired during the day, snoring loudly at night, waking in the middle of the night gasping for air, having a body mass index over 30, or history of high blood pressure8.

It’s estimated that up to 80% of adults with sleep apnea are undiagnosed and untreated, so knowing your risk factors and having a conversation with your doctor is critical9.

To learn more about the risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea and to find out how to talk to your healthcare professional about them, take a look at the sleep resource page at resmed.com.—

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Study suggests how to improve employee proficiency with AI Have you set your employees up for success?

While you may think you’ve given them all the tools needed to perform proficiently, if generative AI (GenAI) isn’t one of them, employees are operating at a disadvantage and you risk falling behind.

How can GenAI help your employees? According to Coveo’s EX Industry Report, “Can Generative AI Empower Employees to Do More on Their Own?” 40% of U.S. and U.K. employees think GenAI can help them find things faster by personalizing their intranet use.

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The report’s findings provide other powerful insights into what employees want from workplace GenAI. Check out these six findings and the key takeaways you can implement at your organization.

1. Humans preferred. Employees continue to be the foundation of a great customer experience. Even when customers prefer self-service, 64% of them say the experience would be improved if they had a human on standby should something go wrong.

Key takeaway: Using GenAI isn’t about replacing human employees. Rather, it’s a tool that enables

customers and employees to improve the customer experience and their own proficiency.

2. Lacking the right information at work leads to frustration and burnout. When employees can’t find the answers or resources they need to do their job, dissatisfaction is sure to follow. According to the study, one-third (34%) reported frustration and burnout due to inadequate tools. Also, 30% felt less confident in their work quality and information-sharing skills.

Key takeaway: Customers want information, so it’s imperative to empower your employees to give them accurate answers. Tools like GenAI-powered search can enhance your workforce’s capability, ultimately decreasing employees’ frustration, fatigue and turnover.

3. Knowledge of GenAI workplace policies is limited. Do you have a GenAI policy in place, and are your employees aware of it? Nearly 60% of respondents in the U.S. and U.K. said their workplace lacked a GenAI policy or they were unaware of one. Interestingly, awareness was highest among executive and senior management (75%), while junior staff at the largest organizations were least likely to be informed.

Key takeaway: If you don’t have a GenAI workplace policy, it’s time to create one. Many publicly available GenAI tools can expose organizations to risks from security, IP, hallucinations and more. It’s important for employees to know how to benefit from GenAI while protecting your brand, themselves and your customers. Once you have a policy, it’s vital that everyone in the company in every department is informed about the policy.

4. Is it a hallucination or not? Employees often can’t tell if they’ve encountered a GenAI hallucination. Hallucinations are convincing, inaccurate answers generated by AI, and they’re more common than you may think. One-quarter of survey respondents said they had encountered a hallucination, while almost a third were unsure. Hallucinations can potentially bog down employees with inaccurate information that they may pass on to clients.

Key takeaway: GenAI workplace training can help employees spot hallucinations and protect your company’s integrity. You can take it a step further by providing your workforce with a trusted GenAI platform vetted by your organization that is known to provide accurate information. Who are large enterprises trusting? Many are using AI platforms like Coveo’s that leverage more than a decade of AI experience to help bring search, recommendations, personalization and now generative answering to every point of the employee experience.

5. Employees are keeping guardrails up due to a lack of trust in GenAI tools Employees are curious about GenAI, but they have their misgivings. Because of hallucinations and a general lack of trust in GenAI tools, employees are wasting valuable time checking AI-generated answers. In fact, over one-third always fact-check generated answers. Staff and management trust enterprise-approved tools more than public ones but still fact-check.

Key takeaway: Help your employees become familiar with uses for GenAI at the workplace and provide them with tools they can trust. By doing so, they’ll be less likely to waste time double-checking AI-generated answers and more time serving customers.

6. While companies evaluate GenAI tools, employees are forging ahead using publicly available (and potentially untrustworthy) tools If your company hasn’t selected and implemented GenAI tools, you risk your employees using non-permitted tools on their own. How prevalent is non-permitted tool use? According to the report, the phenomenon was shockingly highest among IT personnel (24%) and executive leadership or software development (21%).

Key takeaway: Given the prevalent use of GenAI among executives and tech-savvy workers, companies must clarify the rules and risks around the use of public generative tools. To avoid the risk altogether, organizations should consider leveraging tools that meet the security, accuracy and relevance that will benefit employees and deliver measurable business results.

Enable your people or risk being left behind. It’s clear that implementing GenAI tools in your organization is paramount to staying relevant in today’s fiercely competitive digital arena, where employee and customer expectations have changed. If you’re not leveraging AI today, you are choosing to compete against it. And if you don’t enable your people with the right tools to be successful at their jobs, you run the risk of them using unsafe tools on their own.

If you’re hesitant to do so because you think it will require a complete overhaul of your existing intranet, think again.

You don’t need to overhaul your tech stack to empower your employees to work more effectively and productively using AI. There are flexible and composable tools like the Coveo AI Platform that can integrate with the tools you already use, and the tangible business results you can track will be worth the investment. To learn more, visit Coveo.com.— GetRuralLeaderMag.com | AUGUST 2024 21

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