JANUARY 2020
"The law of magnetism really is true: who you are is who you attract." John Maxwell—
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Contents 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
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. Send editorial ideas to Kuanita Murphy, PhD, Editor-in-Chief editor@ruralleadermag.com Contact Us info@ruralleadermag.com editor@ruralleadermag.com
6 Club for the Future enables students to send Space Mail 8 How To Protect Yourself From Fraud This Year 9 Swiping Payment Cards at the Pump Could Put Your Card Information at Risk 11 Smart Tips to Manage High-deductible Health Plan Costs
13 How Small Businesses Crushed 2019 Holiday Sales 15 How Scholarships Can Help Today’s Companies Encourage Top Talent 16 Inspiring Children and Young Adults to Try Computer Science 17 Tips to Prepare You and Your Loved Ones for an Emergency
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Editor’s Note 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, Google +, and LinkedIn. Thanks again for your continual support! Sincerely,
Photo Courtesy of TieFotos
Kuanita E. Murphy, PhD Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
What you do matters. GetRuralLeaderMag.com | January 2020 @RuralLeaderMag
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Club for the Future enables students to send Space Mail Did you know that students can send postcards to space and have the cards returned right back to their mailbox for only the cost of a stamp? The program, started by nonprofit Club for the Future, gives students of all ages around the globe the chance to send and receive space mail. The Club was founded by space company Blue Origin, and was created to inspire students to pursue careers in STEM and help visualize the future of life in space. Unique to the Club is the access to space via Blue Origin’s fully reusable New Shepard rocket - which travels all the way to space past the Kármán Line with students’ postcards on board, then returns back to Earth. For the first mission, Club for the Future flew thousands of postcards to space and back on the New Shepard rocket. The postcards, created by students from around the world, contained their drawings with their hopes and dreams for the future of life in space. Upon landing in West Texas, the cards were officially stamped “flown to space” and taken to the post office where they were mailed back to each student. The Club will fly postcards on future Blue Origin missions, so there is still time to submit your message for its flight to space! Here’s how. * Grab a blank 4” x 6” postcard or thick piece of paper. 6
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* Think about your vision for the future of life in space. How can we use space to benefit the Earth and help preserve the planet? Where could we travel to, or explore? Then draw or write your message on the blank side of the postcard. * Fill out your home address and add a stamp on the back side (so Club for the Future can mail it back to you). * Don’t forget to take a picture of your vision and share it with us using #SpaceMail on Twitter (@clubforfuture) * Place the postcard in a stamped envelope addressed to Club for the Future - PO Box 5759 Kent, WA 98064 * Put the envelope in a mailbox - then it is on its way to space! Your postcard will launch into space on a future New Shepard launch - then the Club will stamp it “flown in space” and mail it back to you. To keep updated join the Club mailing list and follow them on social media (@clubforfuture). The Club will post updates for when the next launch with your postcard will be, and you can watch LIVE as it goes to space! Blue Origin is an aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos that is lowering the cost of access to space with its operationally reusable launch vehicles.—
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How To Protect Yourself From Fraud This Year With a new decade upon us, it is natural to look to the past on lessons learned. When looking at cybercrime, criminals have advanced their techniques over the past 10 years and have become adept at stealing personal information and scamming innocent people. While we can’t control what they do, we can continue being smart and vigilant in protecting sensitive information like account numbers, expiration dates and three-digit security codes on the back of payment cards. As shoppers increasingly buy everything from clothes to gadgets and groceries through a combination of in-store and online merchants with payment cards, there’s more urgency than ever to make sure everyone is aware of ways they can reduce the likelihood or prevent altogether, falling victim to fraud. “Fraudsters love to prey on distracted and unsuspecting consumers,” said Michael Jabbara, senior director, Global Risk, Visa. “Making smart choices and being vigilant whether shopping online or in stores will make a world of difference.” Below, we’ve outlined several simple steps people can take to protect themselves from fraud when making purchases - no matter where they are or what they’re buying. Keep Your Data Safe: Shoppers can greatly reduce their chances of becoming a victim of a major data breach by making smart choices in how they are paying for purchases. Shoppers should use a payment card with a chip or contactless symbol on it to protect their payment card data from being stolen in case of a data breach, and chip-enabled checkout is proven to help reduce fraud by as much as 81%. Check Out Securely Online: Online shopping remains an excellent option for convenient purchases, with many consumers increasingly heading to their favorite websites to get their shopping done. To stay safe when checking out online, it is critical to always check the URL and make sure it begins with “https://”. The “s” at the end confirms a secure connection.
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Also, companies are adding ways to make it faster, easier and more importantly, safer to pay with a card. For example, Visa recently introduced a click to pay button for sites such as Cinemark, Movember, Rakuten, Saks Fifth Avenue, SHOP.com, BassPro, JoAnn Fabrics, Papa John’s, Staples and Tickets.com. This button not only speeds up the check-out process, but also adds an extra layer of protection. Stay Up-to-Date: Fraudsters are always trying new tactics and approaches to access information, and shoppers need to stay vigilant. To stay safe, shoppers should make sure the device they are using, whether it’s a phone, tablet or laptop, has the latest software installed and the latest version of apps loaded to reduce the likelihood of a known vulnerability being present. Shoppers also need to regularly update passwords with strong combinations that are unique to each account. Better yet, switch to biometrics if it’s an option. Using fingerprint or facial recognition for account login and/or payments when available makes it harder for fraudsters to gain unauthorized access to devices, apps and information, but easier and safer for shoppers. Watch Out for Phishing Scams: With online shopping continuing to be popular, phishing scams are out in full force to take advantage. Shoppers need to be careful of unsolicited and suspicious emails or phone calls. Also, they should be wary of “one day only” deals or fake delivery tracking emails that direct them to unknown URLs used to steal information like username and password. Keep Your Data to Yourself: It’s been said many times over that the best defense is a good offense, and that certainly holds true as fraudsters become more adept and technologically savvy. Over the next 10 years, cybercriminals will likely become more motivated to steal your payment information. It’s crucial for people to know and stay up to date on the best ways to protect themselves, so your data remains yours - and yours only.—
Swiping Payment Cards at the Pump Could Put Your Card Information at Risk Have you paid for gas recently at the pump where you’ve had to swipe your credit or debit card? At gas stations across the U.S., criminals are skimming cards and stealing payment card data from consumers paying at older fuel pumps. This is because the majority of fuel stations still use insecure outdoor fuel pumps with point of sale (POS) systems that read the magnetic stripe on the back of a payment card to process the purchase of gas instead of POS systems that use more secure EMV(R) chip card readers. In fact, the U.S. Secret Service estimates that roughly 20 to 30 skimmers are discovered a week on fuel pumps, with an average of about 80 payment cards copied on it when the skimmers are removed. Stolen payment account information can be subsequently printed onto duplicate credit or debit cards, and used by criminals to make unauthorized purchases at stores and fuel pumps that do not have chip-enabled POS systems - draining a cardholder’s checking or savings account or maximizing their credit card balance. The industry calls this counterfeit payment fraud or counterfeit card fraud. Currently, counterfeit payment fraud experienced by fuel merchants at the pump is absorbed by the financial institution that issued the payment card to
the consumer. That’s about to change. Fraud dollars may be absorbed by independent and franchise owners of fuel stations on Oct. 1, 2020 if their pumps are not upgraded to process chip cards. Depending on how much fraud a station experiences, it could become a significant burden to station owners. But this can be avoided. For Visa cards, liability for fraud dollars stays with card-issuing financial institutions and does not shift to station owners if fuel pumps are chip-enabled. Chip technology is proven to prevent counterfeit fraud. In fact, according to payment company Visa, non-fuel merchants that are chip enabled have experienced a significant 81 percent decrease in counterfeit fraud dollars. However, troubling statistics show only about 7 percent of fuel pumps nationwide are processing chip transactions. For station owners, there’s no time to waste - contact your hardware or fuel provider for information on how to upgrade your pumps. For consumers, make sure to pay with a chip card at a fuel pump that is chip-enabled. If you’re not sure if the pump is safe, pay inside with your chip card.—
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Smart Tips to Manage High-deductible Health Plan Costs It’s the same issue every year: Jan. 1 arrives and you need to meet an annual deductible again before your health care coverage takes full effect. For people with high-deductible plans, this can be a big expense at the start of the year. High-deductible plans are increasing in popularity as a way to curb rising health care premiums. Typically, people are offered a plan at a lower monthly cost in exchange for a higher deductible. The IRS defines a high-deductible health plan as any plan with a deductible of at least $1,400 for an individual or $2,800 for a family. For many people, their deductibles are even higher. Whether you have a traditional plan or a high-deductible plan, out-of-pocket costs often hit people the hardest at the start of the year when coverage is minimal due to reset deductibles. Unmet deductibles typically mean you pay for the full cost of prescriptions, clinic visits, treatments and more. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to manage the influx of health care costs at the start of the year so you can save money and stay healthy: Budget. Health care deductibles reset annually, so plan ahead and budget for expected costs. If you or your family members see a health care provider regularly, you can anticipate these expenses and create a budget. If you have access to pretax savings plans through an employer, such as a health care savings account, opt in to save by paying with untaxed dollars. Additionally, consider setting some money aside for a rainy-day medical fund. There are always unexpected expenses and having this cushion can help curb costs. Inside Rx. If you need a prescription but currently
have to pay out-of-pocket costs until meeting your deductible, consider using a free Inside Rx card to access medication savings. Inside Rx helps people who need to pay out of pocket for their medication by offering discounts that average 70% on brand and generic medications. Download the free Inside Rx card at insiderx. com. Remember, not all pharmacies charge the same price for medications. While on the website, use the cost-comparison tool to learn which local pharmacy offers the best price for your prescription so you can save the most. Use in-network providers. Every plan is unique in which providers it considers in network and out of network. In-network providers are typically covered at a higher amount by the health care plan, which means you will be charged less for services. Before visiting a doctor or clinic, call your insurance provider and verify that it’s in network so you aren’t surprised by a bill that’s higher than expected. If your provider isn’t in network, you can ask about comparable providers who are, so you can access savings. Payment plans. If you do end up with medical expenses and can’t pay the balance all at once, call the clinic’s billing office to work out a payment plan. Many health care organizations want to be proactive about finding a reasonable way for you to pay, even if that means specified monthly payments until you’re caught up. Health care costs at the start of the year can be financially crippling, but with a few smart steps, you can manage these expenses with ease while keeping yourself and your family healthy.—
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How Small Businesses Crushed 2019 Holiday Sales Mastering online sales reaps big rewards for small businesses. Ask North Carolina-based business owner Ken Baker of Dream Big Printables. Baker’s decorative and inspirational art prints are sold on Amazon Handmade, where his business has grown over 200%. On Cyber Monday alone, more items were purchased in Amazon’s online store from independent small and medium-sized businesses like Dream Big Printables than ever before on a single day. For Baker, sales were up more than nine times over a typical day, making Cyber Monday his best day ever. Baker’s experience is common among small and medium-sized businesses selling their goods in Amazon’s online stores. Overall, it was a record-breaking holiday season for independent third-party sellers in Amazon’s stores - mostly small and medium-sized businesses - with worldwide unit sales seeing double-digit year-over-year growth, surpassing a billion items sold. For Tennessee-based small business Brittle Brothers, “Amazon has single-handedly taken us from a company ‘getting by’ to a company that is actually paying all our bills and having some extra to throw in the bank,” says owner John Spalding, who was inspired by his great-grandmother’s peanut brittle recipe to create Brittle Brothers. Brittle Brothers’ Amazon sales are up more than 250% over last year. “Our best day ever on Amazon was Dec. 21, 2019, when we sold 164 units in 24 hours,” observes Spalding. How can your business crush holiday sales? Plan ahead. You know the holidays are coming, so plan well in advance, ensuring you have adequate inventory, staff and preparation. “Making the most of the holidays on Amazon for us was making sure we had enough inventory, so that we never ran out. On Valentine’s Day 2019 we ran out of brittle and lost 10 days’ worth of sales. We swore then and there that when the holiday season began in mid-October, we would not run out! And we didn’t,” says Spalding. Wisconsin-based Handmade Artisan Michelle Rutta of Your Heart’s Content agrees. “Because we hand make our items, we need to work ahead of the holidays. We make our products year round just to fulfill orders during the holiday season,” explains Rutta. “It requires projecting sales, cash flow, labor needs, materials needed, purchasing materials and coordinating a production schedule. We do anything possible during slower months, including tweaking listings, taking awesome photo-
graphs, planning social media posts and designing new products. That enables us to better fulfill the influx of orders during our busy months.” Master social media. Having a multi-faceted online presence increases visibility - which is more important than ever when competing with everything else out there. “We have Instagram and Facebook pages and make posts that encourage interaction with our followers. Through the snowball effect of sales, we’ve also had influencers take notice of us,” says Rutta. “They purchase our products, feature them in their homes, post them on their social media platforms, then provide links where they get a small commission. It’s mutually beneficial because they engage their followers and beautifully style our products in their homes.” Social media also goes in two directions: It’s not just about putting your face and products out there, but also watching what others are doing so you know what’s hot - and what’s not. “We invest a lot of time learning the nuances of social media,” explains Rutta, “as well as analyzing home decor trends.” Optimize your sales channels. For small businesses, learning how to use Amazon’s tools and services makes a huge difference: * Baker boosted revenue for Dream Big Printables to two of his all-time best sales days using Lightning Deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. * Baker also uses Fulfillment by Amazon - shipping inventory to Amazon, which then picks, packs, ships and handles customer service for his orders. This enables Baker’s products to be eligible for free One Day Delivery. Amazon reported more than 100 million items sold by independent third-party sellers - mostly small and medium-sized businesses - were shipped with Prime Free One-Day Delivery over the holidays in the U.S. * Spalding expanded The Brittle Brothers’ sales into Canada via Amazon.ca and plans to launch in the Middle East. * Dream Big Printables and Your Heart’s Content boosted visibility with products featured in Amazon’s first-ever Small Business Gift Guide, which drew in hundreds of thousands of U.S. shoppers. To learn more about the millions of small and medium-sized businesses selling in Amazon’s stores, visit: Aboutamazon.com/supporting-small-businesses. To explore opportunities to build your business with Amazon, visit: Amazon.com/buildyourbusiness.— GetRuralLeaderMag.com | January 2020 13
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How Scholarships Can Help Today’s Companies Encourage Top Talent The demand for highly skilled employees continues to rise across various industries, spurring many of today’s top companies to seek creative new ways to encourage and develop the best talent. One obstacle to that mission is the rising cost of higher education. To combat that, some businesses hope to foster tomorrow’s employees by supporting today’s students - in very concrete, targeted ways. Industry leaders with an eye toward inspiring and attracting future talent are providing scholarships in specific fields to help students pursue higher education, such as Syngenta’s “Accelerating a Generation” scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students in the agricultural field. Funding scholarships for students today becomes a very real investment in the future of the business, and the industry as a whole. And ambitious students are eager to take advantage of these opportunities. One such example is Mitch Roth, who earned a national Syngenta scholarship in 2015 while pursuing a doctorate in genetics at Michigan State University. The scholarship support allowed him to focus more fully on his research, which has led him to a position as a postdoctoral research associate in plant pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Roth’s research on the role of genetics in disease resistance in soybeans could one day have a tangible effect on improving soybean crops. The contributions of students like Roth will have a substantial impact on both farmers and on agribusiness in the future. Students with higher degrees in these types of specialized fields are in demand across several trades. Companies like Syngenta benefit from supporting highly educated and well-trained talent, so they are prioritizing their efforts to ensure that more students today receive the educations that will propel them to the top of their fields. Since 2015, the company has awarded a total of $20,000 in scholarships each year. So far, scholarship recipients have pursued degrees at colleges in 18 states. For 2020, the Syngenta scholarships have been re-
named “Accelerating a Generation,” emphasizing the focus on helping ambitious, innovative students find success and bring positive change to the agricultural industry. The scholarship awards eight $1,000 regional scholarships and two $6,000 national scholarships to help support each student’s education. One of the national awards is given to a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree, and the other for a student working toward a master’s degree in crop-related disciplines. The national award winners are chosen from the pool of regional scholarship winners. The 2019 national winner at the master’s level is Nick Lord from Virginia Tech, who is enrolled in the Soybean Breeding Program. His essay encouraged students from various backgrounds to find a niche in the agricultural community. At the bachelor’s level, the winner was Adrienne Blakey from Oklahoma State University, who is a plant and soil sciences major. Her essay emphasized the value of integrity as a building block for the agricultural industry’s future. How to apply. Students interested in applying for an “Accelerating a Generation” scholarship must be a university student currently pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a crop-related discipline, and a U.S. resident enrolled in an accredited agriculture program at an eligible university as of spring 2020. Applicants must submit an initial application at Syngenta-us.com/scholarships by Jan. 7, 2020, followed by a 2- to 5-minute-long video essay by Jan. 15. This year’s video essay question is: “How have your roots shaped the way you view the future of the agriculture industry?” Winners will be announced by late spring. The new graduates each year bring fresh minds with different perspectives to whatever field they pursue, which often leads to more innovation tomorrow. Syngenta uses their annual scholarships to show their commitment to giving these diverse voices the support necessary to lead the agricultural industry into the future.—
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Tips to Prepare You and Your Loved Ones for an Emergency Fires can occur when you least expect it, leaving little time to plan your escape, so the time to prepare for an emergency isn’t when your alarm sounds. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), only 32% of American households have actually developed and practiced an emergency escape plan. Make time to sit down with your family to plan and practice what you would do in case of a fire or carbon monoxide (CO) emergency. Consider the following tips when helping to prepare yourself and your loved ones: 1. Map it out. Begin thinking about a home fire escape plan by first drawing a map of your home, making sure to label each window and door. Identify two ways out of each room and walk through your home to make sure the doors and windows you’ve chosen as exits open easily. If your family’s home has a second floor, consider having escape ladders in each room. You can find templates online to help you get started. 2. Choose a meeting spot. After you have mapped out all of the ways you can exit, pick an outside meeting spot a safe distance away from your home, such as across the street, at a mailbox or in front of the neighbor’s home. Be sure that your family knows that once they are outside, they need to call 911 and stay outside. Additionally, explain it is important that everyone knows never to re-enter the home for any reason and to let a firefighter know if someone is missing. 3. Help your loved ones. Assign someone in your family who can assist infants, seniors or pets during a fire. The responsible person should be in good health and be able to provide the assistance needed. 4. Check your smoke alarms. Having working smoke alarms on each level of the home and in every sleeping area is key to having a safe home. Check that you have alarms properly installed throughout your home and remember to test all of the alarms regularly and replace them at least every 10 years. If you have children, consider installing a First Alert Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm with voice and location technology throughout your home, and especially in their bedroom. This alarm will notify your child of an emergency, distinguishing between a fire or carbon monoxide incident, in a human voice as opposed to a regular alarm. This is especially helpful if a fire strikes at night. Studies have shown children may have an easier time waking up to the sound of a
human voice rather than an alarm. “Smoke alarms are designed to give early warning in case of fire, and making sure your home has properly installed and maintained alarms is the best defense against one,” said Tarsila Wey, director of marketing for First Alert. “As far as CO is concerned, the only way to detect this fatal gas is with a CO alarm, so have one installed on each level of the home and near every sleeping area.” 5. Plan. Practice. Repeat. Once your escape plan is finalized, your job is not done. Gather your family together and put your plan in action. Practice this plan at least twice a year, so if disaster strikes, your family will feel confident in their ability to exit the home safely. To make the drills as realistic as possible, conduct them both during the day and at night. “Planning ahead can save a life,” added Wey. “Talk with your family to make a plan that fits all of your needs.” For more information about escape planning and fire safety tools, visit www.firstalert.com.—
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