SEIA Action Alert!: Senate energy bill moving. Help support pro-solar amendments!

From our friends at the SEIA:

Senate energy bill moving. Help support pro-solar amendments!

Take Action!
Please call Congress NOW!

Senate energy bill moving. Help support pro-solar amendments!Please call Congress NOW!
The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee will hold hearings on the Bingaman energy bill next week. Numerous amendments that will ensure solar deployment are being debated. Your Senator needs to fight for these amendments that will deploy solar in the energy bill. Without specific deployment mechanisms solar will not benefit from passage of the energy bill. Time is short and we need you to email and call your Senator NOW!
Please see the talking points below: I am urging you to please support the Distributed Generation Carveout (the Stabenow amendment) in the energy bill currently being debated in the Energy & Natural Resources Committee. The RPS will fail to deploy solar unless specific renewable energy provisions are included.

A Renewable Electricity Standard must:

• Contain a Distributed Generation Carve-Out that is technology neutral (Pass the Stabenow amendment!)
• Include solar thermal technology
• Include mechanisms to deploy utility-scale solar It is time to diversify our energy
• Resources and expand clean, carbon-free energy in the U.S. Thank you for your support.

Telling your Company Story with Digital Media

UCFTI Lunch & Learn sponsored by Omni New Media Productions

Thursday, June 11th

Time: 11:30-1:00

Location: University Tower (12201 Research Parkway, 2nd Floor, Orlando, FL., 32826)

Fee: $20 (Free to Incubator Clients) Lunch will be provided

Please RSVP to Renee Ayala at 407-882-0202 or via email rayala@mail.ucf.edu

Every company has a story to tell. Whether your audience is made up of prospects, existing
clients or investors, your company's success is determined by how well you tell your story to
every audience. In today's world of advanced communications, successful companies use a
variety of digital media such as Flash, video, websites, SEO, e-mail marketing and many other
tools to help them tell a compelling story.

Join Steve Martin of Omni New Media Productions for an informative and entertaining overview
of how you can use digital media solutions to help you tell your company's story more effectively. In this interactive discussion, you'll see various corporate communication samples produced by Omni. You'll
also get a "behind the scenes" understanding of the strategic objectives, target audience and
techniques used to create them.

Bring your questions and if you'd like to share any samples of digital media that you've used successfully, throw them on a jump drive and bring those as well!

IP Issues Webinar Presentation from Patents on Demand Posted

Today's IP Issues Webinar Presentation from Patents on Demand has been posted to the FPC website Events page: http://floridaphotonicscluster.com/EventsShows.html.

Free Disaster Planning Workshop

The UCF Business Incubation Program would like to provide the attached information to you on behalf of one of our partner organizations. If you wish to register or need more information, please call the SBDC at 407-420-4850.

• Thursday, June 4
• SBDC at UCF6 - 9 pm
• Call 407.420.4850

If disaster hits, will you be open for business or closed? Get the One Plan - Any Disaster applicable for whatever disaster, natural or manmade, that might be thrown your way. This seminar explains the strategies and tools for disaster planning required by small business to reduce economic damages and survive.Learn how to swiftly strike back to safeguard your
business against hurricanes, wildfires, sinkholes, floods, bird flu, or terrorist attacks. Critical components of business continuity planning and insurance will be discussed.

Bring your laptop: This is a hands-on, interactive presentation Workshop is free-of-charge
Training materials provided
Refreshments provided
Seating is limited.
Pre-registration required.

One of the SBDC's two Mobile Business Assistance Centers (MAC), 38-foot mobile RVs equipped to be deployed immediately after a natural or man-made disaster, will be on site to support each workshop.

Presenters: Gene Romagna, SBDC at UCF
Casey Fernandez, Sihle Insurance

How to Cold Call Senior Management, Create Value, and Set Up Your First Appointment

Date & Time: May 21, 2009, 3:00PM to 5:00 PM
Location: 12565 Research Parkway, Suite 360, Orlando, Florida 32826
Presenter: Suzie DeBusk, CxO Value Partners, Inc.
Sponsor: UCF Business Incubation Program
Fee: $20 (Free to Incubator Clients)

Please RSVP to Renee Ayala at 407-882-0202 or via email rayala@mail.ucf.edu

In this economy you must reach out and penetrate qualified senior management prospects to increase your revenues and grow your business. The fastest way to reach your sales goals, increase your sales pipeline and shorten your sales cycle is by cold calling. Yet many salespeople and business owners feel uncomfortable cold calling because they are unsuccessful when they try to break through the senior management "no call zone."

With our approach, you can immediately position your firm to become a peer in the boardroom instead of a vendor in the hallway, and you can start connecting with senior management. Our sales cold calling method is a proven, step-by-step process that has been taught to over 30,000 salespeople worldwide.

If you are trying to cold call Vice Presidents, CFOs, CIOs or CEOs and want success . . . then this seminar is for you.

Agenda

1. Why should a senior executive talk with you? How to create value over the phone
2. Finding clients and penetrating their no-talk zone
3. Developing your sales value proposition to put your business value in front of you
4. Management telemarketing do's and don'ts that most salespeople don't know
5. 9 steps to build tactical telemarketing scripts that work with management
6. How to manage gatekeepers
7. OK you got through, now what do you say?
8. How to set up your first in-person appointment, qualify the prospect and prove to them that you are an industry specialist
9. How to create executive language so prospects see you as a peer instead of a vendor
10. 3 business drivers that force management to buy and how to use them as selling tool
11. 7 questions you need to ask every prospect to confirm they are a qualified buyer, not a professional looker
12. How to position yourself as a thought leader with the prospect on your first appointment
13. How to communicate like a peer to prospects so they openly tell you their business problem.

Suzie DeBusk is president and founder of three companies including her most recent, CxO Value Partners, Inc., an international consulting company focused on sales, marketing, strategy and leadership. She is a risk-taking adventurer, African guide, professional speaker, serial entrepreneur and leadership best practice thought leader.

Suzie's experience ranges from providing executive and leadership coaching to Fortune 50 executives to sharing proven success methodologies to start-up entrepreneurs. Suzie and her team of facilitators integrate practical business
examples with the laws of jungle leadership survival.

Corporate Entity Selection

• Tuesday, May 19th
• Time: 3:00 - 5:00
• Location: 12565 Research Parkway, Suite 360, Orlando, FL., 32826
• Presenters: Marnie Spence, CPA, LarsonAllen and Trevor Brewer, attorney, Brewerlong.
• Fee: $20 (Free to Incubator Clients)
  

Please RSVP to Renee Ayala at 407-882-0202 or via email rayala@mail.ucf.edu

S corporation, C corporation, limited partnership, LLC, or joint venture-what kind of entity should you use for your new business or commercial relationship? What if you've already selected the wrong entity? Now what? Entity selection is one of the most important decisions for a business owner, both at the beginning of a new business and as it grows. This decision involves many factors; two of the main ones being legal and tax. Don't go at this alone! Please join this interactive dialog as we discuss the factors that should be considered in selecting the right entity for your business.

New FPC Member Benefit from the UCF Technology Incubator (UCFTI)

The UCF Technology Incubator (UCFTI) has offered the Incubator Client fee rate for its seminar program (often free) for FPC members! The UCFTI will become a member of the FPC in return.

Below is an upcoming Lunch and Learn seminar that may be of interest to you or others in your company. As a reminder, if you are not on the UCFTI email list, but would like to receive notices of these programs, all of which are free or very low cost now, all you need to do is send your contact information (name, title, organization, address, phone, email) to:

• Carol Ann Dykes
• Site Manager, UCF Technology Incubator, Research Park
• cdykes@mail.ucf.edu
  

Please let others in your company know of this fine benefit that the FPC is able to provide its members, thanks to the fine partnership with the UCFTI.

Jim Pearson
FPC Executive Director

Register for PV America! (June 8-10)

Join us for the premier solar PV event on the East Coast with top keynotes, more than 50 in-depth sessions, Career Center and Expo featuring 200 exhibitors. Presented by the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Why Come to PV America? A YouTube message from SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch and SEIA Directors on the exciting opportunities in the mid-Atlantic region, the fastest growing PV market in the U.S.
Top 5 Reasons to Attend.
Hear Keynotes by Top Industry Thought LeadersFind Out How to Plug in to Economic Stimulus ProgramsExplore Job Opportunities and Meet Quality Employees at the Career CenterVisit the Most Prominent Solar Companies in the ExpoAdvance U.S. Solar Policy in SEIA's Advocacy Booth
Not Just Keynotes. Content-Packed Concurrent Sessions Cover Top Issues.
Build It Bright: Solar and the Green Building MovementHasselhoff, Lederhosen, and Feed-In Tariffs: If It's Good for Germany, Can It Work Here?Follow That REC! Regional Market Strategies and Credit TrackingThis Year's Model: 111th Congress' Energy BillWe're #2! How a Northeastern State Became the Second Leading Installer of PV in the CountryKeeping PV Clean: Best Practices in Panel Life-Cycle
Register by May 11 - Save $100

Benefiting from Trade Compliance: Opportunities to Save and Even Increase Your Profits

Friday, May 22 2009
12:00 p.m. (EST) 11:00 a.m. (CST) 10:00 a.m. (MST) 9:00 a.m. (PST)
Via Web Conference

With increasing trade regulations and decreasing revenues from a recessional economy, there is a silver lining. Join us on May 22, 2009 for an interactive discussion on what your company needs to know about new and imminent rules on imports into the US and elsewhere, and how best to take advantage of available opportunities to find new revenue streams, improve cash flow and lower costs. For more information and to register, please follow the link.www.aeanet.org/TradeCompWebinar

Webinar: Selected Salient Intellectual Property Issues that Scientists/Engineers and Their Managers, and Patent Professionals Need to be Aware of

Webinar: “Selected Salient Intellectual Property Issues that Scientists/Engineers and Their Managers, and Patent Professionals Need to be Aware of”

Presented by: Florida Photonics Cluster and Patents on Demand, P.A.

When: Wednesday May 20, 2009 – 2:00 PM
Duration: 40 minutes followed by a Q&A Period

The FPC is hosting this timely webinar on the topic of intellectual property and patent issues, presented by Neil Jetter and Brian Buchheit of Patents on Demand, P.A. Topics that will be covered include the following:

I. Provisional patent applications; when appropriate to use and when not appropriate to use, and reasons for both.

II. Claims; what a properly drafted claim set should protect, types of claims, and reasons to generally avoid means-plus function claims including the narrow scope currently generally afforded in the U.S. to means-plus-function claims.

III. Recently decided U.S. patent cases including In re Bilski (Fed. Cir. 2008 - en Banc) and KSR (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc.), and their application to and affect on software/algorithm-based inventive subject matter in particular, including patent prosecution strategies following Bilsky and KSR.

Brian Buchheit (brian.buccheit@patentondemand.com) is the founder of Patents on Demand, P.A. and Neil Jetter (neil.jetter@patentsondemand.com) is a principal attorney in the Firm, having a main office in Coral Springs, Florida (http://www.patentsondemand.com/).

Patents on Demand, P.A. provides IP services for clients including IBM, Motorola, and Texas Instruments. Buchheit is a registered patent attorney, has a software engineering degree, and focuses on software, telecommunications, and electronic patents. Jetter is a registered patent attorney, has an engineering chemistry (material science/chemistry) degree and a Masters in electrical engineering, and focuses on electronic circuits, sensors, optics, acousto-optics, and material science.

NOTE: This seminar requires that attendees use a Java-enabled browser with a high bandwidth connection. Audio is via telephone. Long distance toll charges may apply. There is no charge to participate in this on-line seminar. Connection lines are limited, however, so reserve yours now.
The Florida Photonics Cluster supports the growth and profitability of the Florida photonics industry through the strength of a unified voice. The FPC is open to all Florida-based companies and organizations that provide optics and photonics products or services, and to companies and other organizations that provide services to optics and photonics companies.

Smart Marketing is The Key to Success in Any Economy!

UCFTI Lunch & Learn sponsored by tCreative

• Thursday, May 14th
• Time: 11:30-1:00
• Location: University Tower (12201 Research Parkway, 2nd Floor, Orlando,FL., 32826)
• Fee: $20 (Free to Incubator Clients)
• Lunch will be provided
• Please RSVP to Renee Ayala at 407-882-0202 or via emailrayala@mail.ucf.edu

In today's business environment, the companies that thrive are those who carefully consider how they are marketing to the public and how their potential customers see them. It's all about building brand awareness and market share.

Come join Tim Holcomb, the "t" in tCreative, President and Founder of the award winning Central Florida marketing services company. Tim will talk about how the psychology of the sale is changing, and how you may need to re-think the way your company sells it's products & services.

Alumni reunion at CLEO/IQEC

Dear CREOL Alumni and Affiliates,

You are cordially invited to the Alumni reunion at the CLEO/IQECconference, which will be held on Wednesday, June 3, 6:30 - 8:30 pm in The Camden Pub 647 W. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Please come along to network with colleagues and affiliates, currentstudents, faculty and research staff. As usual, CREOL will provide thebeverages.I look forward to seeing you there!

David Hagan
Associate Dean
CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics

President Commits to Raise Federal R&D Spending to 3 Percent of GDP (Source: SSTI)

President Obama announced earlier this week that the U.S. would increase its investment in basic and applied research and science and mathematics education to match the historic levels reached during the height of the space race. The president pledged to raise total government and industry spending on R&D to 3 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), equal to the record set in 1964. In addition to the increases in R&D spending already included in the Recovery Act, President Obama committed to finish the doubling of funds for federal science agencies and create several new programs to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM fields. (4/30)

Courtesy SPACErePORT

Congresswoman Wins Battle to Eliminate Hard Deadline for Shuttle Retirement (Source: Suzanne Kosmas)

Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24) announced that the House and Senate conference agreement on the budget resolution reflects her request to include a provision that removes the hard deadline for Shuttle retirement. The final budget resolution also provides an additional $2.5 billion in FY-2011 for the Shuttle program, giving NASA the flexibility it needs to fly the current manifest beyond 2010.Congresswoman Kosmas voted against the original House version citing the lack of flexibility and funding for the Shuttle program past 2010. Last week, Kosmas sent a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Budget Committees outlining the risks associated with a hard deadline and urging them to include a Senate provision that would give NASA the flexibility to fly the Shuttle into 2011 if necessary. (4/28)

Courtesy FLORIDA SPACErePORT