Daily Archives: July 20, 2012

by Kyle Szymanski Thepress.Net

Freedom freshman Kelsey Almassey painted the press box in Freedom High Schools football stadium as part of her end-of-the year leadership project.

So when freshman Kelsey Almassey came to him and said she wanted to leave her mark on the school as part of her end-of-the year leadership project, he was hesitant. But when she showed him some of her old drawings, and a design to paint the press box in Freedoms football stadium, he was sold.

Here at Freedom, we try to enable the students to do the best they can, Amaro said. If all of a sudden we realize a project is going to take place that would benefit the entire campus, the best thing we can do is try to eliminate any obstacles.

After 15 hours of work, the press box now reads Freedom Falcons.

I just wanted to make my mark on Freedom, Almassey said. I thought: what better way to do it than to add some school spirit?

Now that the project is complete, and receiving rave reviews from the schools administration, Almassey isnt afraid to admit it was the first time she used outdoor latex paint. It was a lot of work, but it wasnt too awfully difficult, said the student who carries a 4.0 grade point average. After she convinced Amaro and later Principal Erik Faulkner to allow her to carry out the art project, the hard part was over.

To start the project, Almassey laid out the letters on her computer. After enlarging the letters to scale, she stenciled them onto the press box and painted them.

Im proud of her for wanting to add some school spirit to the school, said Nicole Almassey, Kelseys mother. I try to support anything that has to do with school.

Almasseys idea came to life while she visited other schools during her middle school track career. She noticed that most of the tracks press boxes were decorated.

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Freedom freshman leaves indelible mark

Freedom from Religion, an atheist group based hundreds of miles away in Wisconsin, is making waves in East Tennessee.

It's a name you have likely heard recently. They have made themselves known by questioning prayer at school events and public meetings, Ten Commandment statues, and police patches in East Tennessee.

This year alone, Freedom from Religion has written 39 letters to Tennessee government bodies and school systems asking them to stop their practices and threatening lawsuits. The foundation's focus is to remove religion from government.

Freedom from Religion has more than 19,000 members with 300 of them in Tennessee.Co-president Laurie Annie Gaylor said they have had much success in their more than 30 years of existence. But some East Tennessee governmental bodies seem unfazed by their demands.

They succeeded in getting Lenior City schools to stop praying before school board meetings and football games, but this week the city refused to remove the word religion from their police patch.

Thursday morning, Knox County Commission also rejected their request to stop praying before the meetings. Instead, the Rules Committee recommendeded a written prayer policy to the full commission that Knox County's Law Director, Joe Jarret, said would protect them in a lawsuit.

"I'll have to disagree with their [Freedom from Religion's] interpretation of the law. It is certainly legally permissible for the commission to do so, especially in the matter in which they have done it in the past," said Jarret. Jarret said the law however does draw a line of distinction with schools.

"They pray in the federal House and Senate and in the state House and Senate. It's been a tradition and I don't think we should change it," said Knox County Commission Vice Chairman Brad Anders.

Anders doesn't understand why the group is involved in local affairs.

"I think they need to let communities be the community that they are," he said.

Originally posted here:
Who is Freedom from Religion?

July 20, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom O'Fallon,MO-The Florence Freedom took an early 2-0 lead against the River City Rascals Thursday night, but the Rascals offense proved to be too powerful, coming away with a 10-7 win over the Freedom. The Rascals improved to 29-26 on the season, while the Freedom fell to 28-27 with their fifth straight loss.

John Malloy started the game off well for Florence, launching a game opening solo homer over the 38 foot wall in right field to put the Freedom ahead 1-0. It was Malloy's 6th homerun of the season. In the same inning, Junior Arrojo doubled, which was one of his three hits on the night. Two batters later, Eddie Rodriguez hit an RBI double scoring Arrojo which gave the Freedom a 2-0 lead. Rodriguez finished the game 3-4 with 2 RBI.

Maxx Catapano who was fresh off the 7 day DL, couldn't maintain the early lead that his offense provided him. In the 1st inning, a wild pitch allowed one run to score, and a throwing error by catcher Jim Jacquot allowed another one to come home to tie the game at 2-2. A two run double by Matt Serna later in the inning extended the Rascal lead to 4-2.

The Rascals built an 8-2 lead against Catapano(4-2), who only went 3.2 innings giving up 10 hits, on 8 earned runs. The Freedom battled back though in the 6th inning. After Rodriguez and Drew Rundle singled, Jacquot walked to load the bases. David Harris then hit one deep into right center field as right fielder Jeremy Synan dropped the ball on the run which allowed Rodriguez and Rundle to score to cut the deficit to 8-4. The Freedom then made it closer in the 7th on a SAC Fly by Peter Fatse, and an RBI single by Rodriguez. The Rascals however, scored twice in the their 7th, as Chris Andreas scored on a wild pitch from Brandon Mathes, and Curran Redal provided an RBI single to push the lead to 10-6.

In the 9th, the Freedom made it interesting against Brandon Cunniff. Arrojo lined a double down the left field line which he later scored on a Rundle RBI single. With two runners on, and with only one out, Cunniff then buckled down to strikeout Jacquot, and get Harris to bounce out into a game ending fielder's choice.

The Freedom and Rascals will continue their series Friday night as Andres Caceres will start for Florence, while River City sends Keli'I Zablan to the mound. Friday's game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 7:50 pm on Real Talk 1160 and realtalk1160.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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Freedom's Late Rally Comes up Short

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Citigroup today announced that it has been selected to receive the 2012 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense (DoD) agency. Fifteen employers will be honored with this year's Freedom Award, the DoDs highest recognition given to employers for exceptional support of Guard and Reserve employees. Citi is the only bank to receive the 2012 Freedom Award. These recipients distinguished themselves among the 3,236 nominations submitted earlier this year by Guardsmen and Reservists, or family members acting on their behalf. Thirty employee-service members nominated Citi for the award.

Citi is honored to receive the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, said Vikram Pandit, Citi CEO. The Guard and Reserve are essential to the strength of our nation and the well-being of our communities. We currently employ nearly 2,000 self-identified veterans across our business, and were dedicated to their professional development. In addition, we are working with our businesses and community partners to promote and preserve homeownership for military families and empower them to manage their finances. We are committed to providing Americas veterans and men and women in uniform with professional opportunities and to ensuring that military families around the country have the support they deserve."

Freedom Award recipients go above and beyond what the law requires of Guard and Reserve employers. The nominations for Citi reported that Citi has distinguished itself in supporting members of the Guard and Reservists through its Citi Salutes initiative, which includes employee networks and hiring commitments, including onboarding an additional 1,000 veterans by the end of 2012. In 2011, Citi hired nearly 700 veterans, became a founding member of Veterans on Wall Street and continued its leadership in Joining Forces. Citi also joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerces Veterans Employment Advisory Council and developed a training program to ensure recruiters and hiring managers are equipped to translate military experience into job-specific qualifications.

"On behalf of the Secretary of Defense, I thank the 2012 Freedom Award recipients for taking such exceptional care of the Guard and Reserve members they employ," said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Jessica L. Wright. "Our military could not meet todays national security demands without the Guard and Reserve, who in turn could not provide such dedicated service without the cooperation of their employers at home. These Freedom Award recipients have distinguished themselves nationally for their remarkable efforts, and we greatly appreciate their unwavering support."

A selection board comprised of senior DoD officials, business leaders and prior awardees selected the 15 recipients. Out of the 30 nominations for Citi, a specific nomination from an Air National Guardsman employed by Citibank in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was highlighted by the selection board in naming Citi a Freedom Award recipient.

Since 1996, only 160 employers have received the Freedom Award. The 2012 honorees will be recognized at the 17th annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C. on September 20th.

Citi is an official partner of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, and in 2011 Vikram Pandit signed the Department of Defenses Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve Statement of Support. Citi was also named among the top ten Best for Vets Employers for 2012 by Military Times EDGE.

For more information about the Freedom Award and this years recipients, visit http://www.FreedomAward.mil. For more information about Citis work to support U.S. Armed Service members, veterans and their families, visit http://www.citisalutes.com.

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Original post:
DoD Names Citi as 2012 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award Recipient