March 2009

Capable employees, who dedicate themselves to their jobs, often carry their companies through challenging times. Whether it’s the hectic, daily grind or the planning of a once-in-a-career centennial event, the job doesn’t get done and get done right without hard work from outstanding staffers. It’s no coincidence that many successful businesses have owners and CEOs

Although other private companies have tried the welcome-to-Columbia business with limited success, Stacey Thompson decided her international experience would be the extra ingredient that makes the new company thrive. In January, Thompson started Columbia Welcome, a home-based business that brings a hearty handshake and a basket full of goodies to Columbia’s newcomers. Thompson delivers gifts,

The relationship of humans and their pets dates back millennia. That special human-animal bond, which started when the first caveman enticed a canine ancestor to team with him on a hunt, is as important, if not as immediately utilitarian, today. With the continual graying of our 21st-century population and the ever-burgeoning population of animal pets