Rob Emrich to Speak at Metropolitan Club Forum
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’: what to make of tomorrow’s leaders

Details:
Date: September 23, 2008
Time: 5PM -7PM
Location: COSI – Center Of Science and Industry 333 West Broad Street Columbus, OH 43215

Here is the Video

Description

The titans of business today look eerily similar, most are older, white men with solid “brick and mortar” business experience gathered while working for the same company for the last two or three decades.

Will the next generation of leaders be so easy to describe?

Join our multi-generational panel to discuss the future of organizational leadership in Columbus, the differences between today’s leaders and the leaders of tomorrow. And ultimately, find out if Dylan’s lyrics are true, thirty years after they were written…

“The times, they are a-changin”?

Our Panel
Bob Milbourne
President, Columbus Partnership

Dawn Tyler Lee
Assistant VP,
Office of Government Relations, OSU

Rob Emrich
Founder
Road of Life Cancer Prevention for Kids
& President,
B.A. Mensch Consulting & Publishing

Moderated by:
Artie Isaac, Founder, Young Isaac

Rob Emrich, founder of Road of Life: Cancer Prevention for Kids, was selected to represent Ohio at the Nonprofit Congress National Meeting, to be held October 16 – 17 in Washington, DC. Over 400 individuals from 48 states and the District of Columbia applied to be delegates for this unprecedented initiative to unite nonprofits and strengthen the charitable sector.

The Nonprofit Congress is a national movement to build a diverse network of local leaders to identify and address the challenges that all nonprofits face in meeting and advocating for community needs. Nonprofit Congress organizers Audrey R. Alvarado, executive director of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, and Robert Egger, founder and president of D.C. Central Kitchen, were recently honored as NonProfit Times’ Power and Influence Top 50, an annual list of “leaders shaping the nonprofit world.”

At the National Meeting, hundreds of delegates from across the country will converge on Washington, DC to identify the values that all nonprofits share, develop a vision and priorities for the nonprofit sector, and exercise a collective voice. Their work will be informed by data gathered from over 100 Town Hall meetings in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

Nonprofit Congress delegates will represent the broad interests of the nonprofit sector and mirror the geographic and issue diversity of charitable organizations. Additionally, delegates will bring forward the concerns of traditionally underrepresented groups.

Registration for the National Meeting is open to at-large participants at www.nonprofitcongress.org/nationalmeeting.

“I am honored to represent Ohio at the Nonprofit Congress National Meeting,” said Emrich, the primary founder of Road of Life. “It will be invigorating to meet a group of committed individuals interested in strengthening charitable organizations. I hope to bring new strategies and connections back to Ohio.”

Backing up your business’s data might not seem as important as making sales, but without a proper strategy, you risk losing much more than sales if your data is compromised or lost.

It was hard for Rob Emrich to justify spending money for anything that wasn’t directly involved with daily tasks. The chairman and founder of Road of Life, a nonprofit that educates children on cancer prevention in Columbus, Ohio, stored all of the company’s financial information on an external hard drive attached to the USB port of his server. However, a year ago, Emrich came to work and discovered that he had been robbed. The computer to which the hard drive was attached was gone — and so was the drive with all of his financial records. The employees of Road of Life spent the next two weeks unable to continue their business; instead, they had to re-build their database, pulling together paper copies of donation records and looking through old e-mails saved on personal computers.

Backing up a company’s data may seem like a second-tier priority, particularly for small businesses looking to put all of their resources into generating immediate revenue or providing services, but in the face of a disaster, a business’s backup files are all they have to keep the business alive. Without proper backup, data loss can keep a business from operating for weeks, even months, resulting in severely decreased productivity as staff members work to recover the lost information.

Right now, tapes are the most common form of data backup. However, with evolving technology, online backup services and DVDs also are becoming popular methods, and with the proliferation of inexpensive external hard drives, many companies are using them to create network attached storage that can be used for larger scale backups. It’s also common for companies to combine the different means of backup, to ensure that their needs are met within their budget.

Here are some things to think about when comparing the different strategies for backing up your company’s data.

•  Tapes. Tapes are a very efficient way of backing up data: They are inexpensive and can store large amounts of data. For this reason, “they are the best option for long term, off-site archiving in high capacities,” says Steve Berens, senior director of marketing and product strategy for the storage devices business unit at Quantum, based in Irvine, Calif.

Data tapes operate similarly to cassette tapes in that the information is stored sequentially on a magnetic strip. This means that the files are saved in chronological order, so file retrieval is very convenient if a full recovery is required. In the event of a single file being lost, however, tapes are extremely inefficient because they require someone to rewind and fast-forward the tape in order to find the file. Like cassettes, data tapes require meticulous care; in extreme weather and humid conditions, tapes can easily be ruined and the data on them lost.

•  CDs, DVDs, and external hard drives. CDs and DVDs have a number of advantages over data tapes: Storage and file-specific recovery are quicker, and these media are fast becoming ubiquitous. The problem with CDs and DVDs is that they can’t store as much data as a tape can.

•  Attached storage. An external hard drive, which can be connected to a computer through a USB port or attached to a network, also is a good, inexpensive option for storing data. The key to using an external hard drive, as with any data storage device, is to back up frequently and then take the files off-site. Experts recommend making duplicates of the hard drive and storing a secondary copy somewhere else, often in a different region, and occasionally in a different country. “Even if you’re storing your data in the biggest safe on the planet, guess what? It’s still just in one place,” says Nishank Khanna, CEO of UnderTag.com, an online coupon aggregator that had its own experience with massive data loss. “If something happens in that one place, all of your data is gone.”

•  Online backup. Online backup is still a relatively new option, but its popularity is increasing because backups can happen automatically, and typically only require a quick file setup. “Online backup is a lot more secure and reliable than other options because all of the data is encrypted,” says Jennifer Walzer, founder and president of online backup service, Backup My Info (BUMI), referring to the ease of password-protection on online backup servers. Proponents for online backup also point out that because it is automatic, there is less chance for human error.

“We have a program (script) on our server that kicks off every 57 minutes and does a backup and a compression of several databases and then sends them to the off-site vendor’s server,” says Al Canton, owner of Adams-Blake Company, the makers of JAYA123, a Web-based enterprise application for allows small businesses. “It also deletes previous backup files that are over 10 hours old,” he
adds.

The negative side to online backup includes its comparably high costs and speed of total recovery. Because back ups are done entirely over the Internet, your best bet for efficient backup and fast data recovery are to use high speed connections, such as broadband cable or a T1 connection. Dial-up connections are less than desirable for this method of back, especially if you move large amounts of data on a regular basis.

When considering what might be the best options for your company’s data backup, keep the following points in mind:

•  Security. Not only should you keep your records secure for your company’s sake, but you should also protect investor and customer information. Data encryption, or making data unavailable without a password, is possible on each of these forms of data storage, including tapes. Make sure that even if your data is stolen, others won’t be able to open your files.

•  Redundancy. Canton notes that even though using online backup is fast, convenient and secure for his business, he uses more than one backup method to help guarantee the safety of his company’s critical information. “Redundancy is the key for any backup scenario,” he says. “We also do a daily backup to a third location; we make sure that no geographical location can have the same weather pattern as the others.”

•  Testing. Be sure to test how well your backup system is working by recovering a randomly selected file each month. This way you can be sure that your system will work when you need it to.

•  Plan for the unexpected. Even if you keep your own office secure, there’s no telling what your neighbors are up to. Despite how much care you take to keep your office safe from fire or theft, your neighbors might not be as diligent: A fire in an adjoining office can quickly turn into a major disaster for your business.

“Your computer is 100% guaranteed to fail,” Walzer says. “The question is: Will you be prepared when it does?”

Making a data backup plan is as vital to your business as selling your product or service. Road of Life’s Emrich learned this the hard way, but eventually decided on an online backup plan that would keep his organization from having to experience data loss disaster ever again. “The amount of productivity we lost from losing that information exceeds any price that we would pay for data backup,” he says.

See the full PDF article “Backup Plan from Inc.com.

Road of Life chairman-emeritus and founder Rob Emrich lost his younger sister Keren to cancer when he himself was very young. Those feelings of despair and helplessness were brought back to him in college, when cancer again struck his family, taking the life of his cousin, Seth, a young rabbi. Rob felt compelled to do something, to strike back at this disease in a tangible, meaningful way. It was out of this desire that Road of Life was born.

In 2002, the Keren Emrich Foundation, named in memory of Rob’s sister, was incorporated and Road of Life was chosen as the public business name of the organization. Road of Life was originally envisioned as a fund-raising entity for innovative cancer research. Shortly thereafter, it was realized that a great need could be met and a bigger difference could be made, by working on prevention, specifically cancer prevention for children.

The mission of Road of Life is to educate children about the smoking, fitness and nutrition decisions they can make to grow up healthy and greatly reduce their risks of developing cancer later in life. Road of Life accomplishes this goal by designing and implementing innovative curricula aimed at third and fourth graders. These curricula use existing Ohio academic content standards, but incorporate them in an engaging health framework. So, as students learn about proper nutrition and the dangers of smoking, required math and social studies material are simultaneously reinforced.

Walking is one of the cornerstones of this program. In 2003 and 2004, Road of Life produced long-distance walks across the state of Ohio, from Cincinnati north to Cleveland. The first event, called the Bicentennial Walk, was a one-man trek completed by Emrich. The walk, presented in association with the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, raised public awareness about Road of Life and its mission.

Every mile of the journey was dedicated in honor or memory of someone who suffered from cancer. These names were then commemorated in a virtual monument hosted on Road of Life’s website, and the list was later commemorated by the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives. The Bicentennial Walk received a great deal of attention from the media and raised thousands of dollars for cancer prevention.

Road of Life was extremely satisfied with the results of The Bicentennial Walk, but wanted to create an event that would encourage others to get active and provide an outlet for that activity. With that goal in mind, in May 2004 the organization presented a second walk – Road of Life: Ohio 2004 – a relay which again stretched from Cincinnati to Cleveland. The relay format allowed members of the public to participate at any point along the route, as well as at special events in Columbus and Cleveland. The event also attracted the participation of several dignitaries, including the Mayor of Cincinnati, Charles Luken, and Ohio State Senator Ray Miller. Road of Life: Ohio 2004 was an opportunity to raise public awareness about cancer prevention, specifically using physical fitness and nutrition as an important and undervalued means of prevention. It also served as the backbone of Road of Life’s prevention program for fourth graders.

Road of Life’s programming works to change the fitness and nutrition habits of children by creating a program that encourages activity and healthier dietary decisions. In 2004, the program included:
1.  A 10-unit curriculum based on the Bicentennial Walk and Ohio’s fourth grade academic content standards,
2.  A three-lesson prevention sequence concentrating on nutrition and exercise, administered by college mentors, and
3.  Participation in a 2.5-mile walk along the route of Road of Life: Ohio 2004.

This program was piloted in two Columbus City Schools, Hubbard Avenue and Franklinton Alternative elementary schools. Approximately 50 fourth-grade students participated in the program, along with six college mentors from The Ohio State University. The program was met with great enthusiasm from teachers, students and mentors. Especially encouraging was the enjoyment students derived from something as simple as a long walk on a nice day. Road of Life is currently working to expand this program throughout the Columbus City School District and, eventually, throughout Ohio.

In 2005, Road of Life is excited to present the next step in its commitment to improving community fitness through walking. Road of Life is the sponsoring charity of the new walking division of the 28th Annual Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K, taking place on May 22, 2005 in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. For the first time in its history, this event is offering a walking division for both the marathon and half marathon. Road of Life is thrilled to be able to give walkers everywhere a chance to fully participate in this amazing event.  Road of Life is working with marathon directors to ensure that the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K will be a positive experience for walkers and that this marathon can become a destination race that attracts walkers from around the country. To that end:

• Walkers will begin the race at the same time as runners
• The course will remain open for a full 8 hours, allowing plenty of time for completion of the race
• Water and food stations will remain open throughout the race
• Medals will be awarded to all participants.

Road of Life encourages men and women of all ages to come out in support of this event. A portion of the entry fee from every walker will be donated to Road of Life and its children’s cancer prevention programs. Participants are also urged to raise charitable dollars independently, through “per mile” or “completion” pledges. To register for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K, please visit  www.clevelandmarathon.com. To learn more about Road of Life, its programming, and how you can help, please visit www.roadoflife.org.

Click here to see the full PDF article on Rob and Road of Life from Walk! Magazine.