Released on: November 21, 2008, 10:14 am

Press Release Author: The Mark Houston Recovery Center

Industry: Healthcare

Press Release Summary: Jana Triplett will be responsible for national business development at Mark Houston Recovery. Jana’s arrival is creating buzz.

Press Release Body: Austin, TX – Mark Houston Recovery, the Texas drug and alcohol recovery center responsible for helping hundreds of men reclaim their lives from addiction, is pleased to announce the addition of a new staff member. Jana Triplett will be responsible for national business development at Mark Houston Recovery.

Jana’s arrival is creating a buzz because she brings with her a plethora of experience which includes:

• Director of The Teach Program at Sober Living by the Sea (Newport Beach) where she was featured on a national radio show for being one of the experts on implementing education into treatment.

• Director of the Morningside Academic Institute at Morningside Recovery (Newport Beach) where she developed the program from the ground up, handling business development and admissions.

Jana received a degree in Business Administration and Corporate Communications from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. Presently, she owns and operates her own women’s sober living home, and given her history of success with the work she has done for treatment centers, she is extremely excited about the opportunity to serve the all-male community at Mark Houston Recovery.

Not to be confused with “treatment” centers, recovery centers are slightly different but just as effective. Voluntarily maintained, lifestyle composed and characterized by sobriety, personal health and citizenship- this is what Mark Houston Recovery is all about.

About Mark Houston Recovery: The Mark Houston Recovery Center is a Texas drug and alcohol recovery center that offers a 90-day program for males designed around the principals of the traditional 12 steps to recovery. The team is passionate about its mission to help men free themselves from alcohol and drug addiction and recreate and reclaim their lives.

Web Site: http://www.markhoustonrecovery.com

Contact Details: Mark Houston
The Mark Houston Recovery Center
11503 Parsons Road
Manor, TX 78653
512-278-4550
recoveryinfo@markhoustonrecovery.com

Released on: November 21, 2008, 10:00 am

Press Release Author: Gregory Pennington

Industry: Financial

Press Release Summary: Following the first rise in consumer confidence since December 2007, debt management company Gregory Pennington have said that while this may bode well for the health of the economy in some respects, it is by no means a sure sign of economic recovery, and consumers should not be complacent about their finances in the coming months.

Press Release Body: Following the announcement from Nationwide Building Society that consumer confidence has improved for the first time since December 2007, debt management company Gregory Pennington commented that this is an encouraging sign that the Government’s recent actions aimed towards economic recovery may be working, but warned consumers that difficult times may still lie ahead – and those facing financial worries, particularly debt problems, should tackle those issues as soon as possible.

Nationwide’s overall Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) rose 8% in the month, bringing the index up from 51 in September to 55 in October. Most significantly, this is the first rise since December last year – a sign that some form of economic recovery could be on the horizon, possibly as a result of the recent Government bank bailout scheme.

The number of people who thought the economy would be performing better in six months time almost doubled from 14% in September to 27% in October.

However, Nationwide’s figures showed slightly less optimistic opinions amongst consumers regarding the current state of the economy: three quarters (75%) of those questioned believed the current economic situation is bad, compared with two thirds (66%) in September.

A spokesperson for debt management company Gregory Pennington said that increased consumer confidence for the future is encouraging, but added that consumer confidence should not be confused with expert’s predictions.

“The Consumer Confidence Index is to do with how people feel,” she said. “It’s likely that consumer confidence has improved on the back of the recent Government bank bailout scheme, as well as cuts in the base rate. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we are much more likely to avoid any of the issues highlighted by economists in recent months.

“On the one hand, consumer confidence is very important for the economy and could be pivotal in terms of how soon and how quickly the economy recovers. When consumer confidence is high, people are more willing to spend their money and less inclined to save, therefore pumping more cash into the economy and maintaining a healthy cycle. Conversely, when consumer confidence is low, less money flows through the economy – and that puts the economy at risk of recession.

“The Consumer Confidence Index is a reasonable indicator of how the economy could fare in the coming months, as long as attitudes remain the same. But it doesn’t tackle the underlying issues that continue to threaten the economy – issues which could cause consumer confidence to fall back down.”

The spokesperson added that even though consumer confidence on the whole is recovering, there are many people facing financial hardship due to fast-rising inflation over the past year, many of whom find themselves struggling with debt.

“We have been through an unusual situation for the economy over the past year, in which affordable living costs suddenly became unaffordable for many households,” she said. “The sharp rises in food, energy and petrol prices have prompted many people to cut back, but many people who were already stretched financially may have been forced into debt in order to make ends meet.

“We advise anyone who finds themselves struggling with debt to seek professional debt advice. The right form of debt management could help to bring down monthly outgoings and really relieve the pressure on those hardest-pressed by the financial crisis.”

Web Site: http://www.gregorypennington.com

Contact Details: Gregory Pennington Ltd.
Pennington House,
Carolina Way,
South Langworthy Road,
Salford
M50 2ZY

Released on: November 21, 2008, 9:58 am

Press Release Author: Tracesmart

Industry: Internet & Online

Press Release Summary: Missing person Blog to be launched by Gill Whitley in collaboration with Tracesmart with the aim of helping reuniting people with their loved ones.

Press Release Body: Tracesmart is to launch a new website on behalf of ‘Searching for a Memory’, a voluntary tracing service run by Gill Whitley. The organisation is sponsored by Tracesmart, the leading online people search facility, and consists of Gill and a team of three other tracers working from home; their aim is to help find relatives or friends for people who have no idea where to start.

Gill, the founder of the service, has been tracing families since 1998 and since then has helped thousands of people hoping to find relatives. The new blog style website will allow visitors to share with Gill as she posts her success stories, and post comments or questions live on the site allowing her to reply personally.

The blog has been created as part of the collaboration between Tracesmart and the ‘Searching for a Memory’ team, an alliance which began early in 2008, and has been flourishing ever since. The union was formed with the aim of becoming an exceptional team in the people search arena, mixing the experience of the research team together with Tracesmart’s extensive online people search facility. Tracesmart’s Missing Person campaign launched in February of this year, with the intention of raising the profile of its vast electoral roll search facility, resulted in countless enquiries and in some cases, the information offered by the person searching was very limited, consequently it became beneficial to refer the trace to Gill and her team.

Gill commented, “I started Searching for a Memory in recognition of my late mother-in-law, who had been estranged from my husband for 34 years. I found her 11 months before she died, and thought as a tribute to her I would continue tracing to help other people find their loved ones. Over the years I would like to think I have had a great deal of success. I have used various resources during this time, but none better than Tracesmart’s excellent onlineaddress search and people search facility.” Gill added, “The facility makes tracing so much easier compared to the earlier days and can very easily be used by anyone.”

Tracesmart’s Communications Manager, Owen Roberts, commented, “The ‘Searching for a Memory’ website has been created by our in-house technical team to help Gill, we are very pleased to be able to facilitate and help Gill and her team because of the excellent voluntary service they provide. I anticipate many people will interact with the new website, and enquire with Gill for help with any Missing Person search, with the hope people will also share their success stories or questions with each other on the blog.”

Released on: November 21, 2008, 9:48 am

Press Release Author: Virgin Money

Industry: Financial

Press Release Summary: Pre-paid cards are set to take a major slice of holidaymakers annual spending on plastic this year as tourists bid to keep summer spending under control, Virgin Money believes.

Press Release Body: Over £20 billion* spent on plastic overseas by UK travellers each year, Virgin Money says

Worries about the soaring cost of living and rising debts will boost the popularity of the cards, which enable customers to spend overseas and withdraw money but not to run up debts, Virgin Money says.

Currently up to 40 pre-pay cards are available on the market with more providers expected to launch over the coming months.

Virgin Money analysis** shows average one-off application fees for the cards are £7.08 with some firms charging as much as £19.95. However customers also need to be aware of monthly fees.

Around 40% of providers charge a monthly fee to users ranging from £1 to £5.95 while customers also need to take into account fees on spending and overseas use when budgeting for holiday spending. Typically debit and credit cards charge handling and commission fees for overseas usage which can add up to as much as £5.95 for a £100 withdrawal.

Virgin, which was among the first to launch into the market with its Pre-Paid MasterCard in July last year, has already seen strong interest from customers and expects the market to continue to grow.

Virgin Money spokesman Grant Bather said: “Everyone needs to keep their spending under control as the credit crunch and soaring inflation take a big bite out of household budgets.

“Pre-paid cards remove the temptation to run up debt while you’re on holiday as you can only spend the amount that is loaded on your card. They’re a good discipline to get into to avoid the risk of the sun going to your head and burning up your bank balance on holiday.

“And they can be more secure to carry than cash as if you lose the card you can get a replacement sent out. Plus if you really do lose control of your finances relatives or friends can load the card up with emergency cash.”

The Virgin Prepaid MasterCard charges a £9.95 application fee but unlike other cards does not charge a monthly fee. Customers can load it up for free by debit card, at Post Offices or through a bank transfer. There’s a 2.95% charge each time you use it in the UK rising to 3.5% when you use it overseas for transactions or to withdraw cash.

Customers also qualify for a range of discounts including 10% off at zavvi, first month free with Virgin Media, 10% off Virgin Wines (for over 18s), a free month’s membership at Virgin Active gyms, 20% off at Virgin Experiences and 10% off Virgin Car, Home, Pet and Annual Travel Insurance.

To apply online go to http://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/prepaid-card/

Notice to editors:

*APACS
**Virgin Money research

Web Site: http://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/prepaid-card/

Contact Details:
Phil Towers
Virgin Money
Discovery House
Whiting Road
Norwich
NR4 6EJ
01603215909
info@virginmoney.com