Market Newsdesk

Beamsville, ON, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) would like to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. As Biden prepares to take on the responsibilities and challenges ahead, the CVA watches with great interest, given his proclamation to Americans and the world that health and addiction policy decisions will be science based under his administration. This commitment to fact-based policy development offers some encouragement that positive vaping policy changes in the United States may be on the horizon. While we understand that the new administration is rightfully focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, we truly hope that they do not overlook the 480,000 Americans that will die within the first year of their mandate from smoking related diseases.

 In 2016, the Royal College of Physicians concluded that, “the hazard to health arising from long-term vapour inhalation from the e-cigarettes available today is unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm from smoking tobacco.” Since these findings, annual independent studies have been conducted by Public Health England and to date all have shown the same remarkable results – vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking.

 Due to the vast amount of misinformation surrounding vaping in the United States, poor public perception and misguided legislation have created the perfect storm, causing many vapers to return to combustible tobacco and discouraging smokers from transitioning to much less harmful nicotine vapour products. England has been a world leader in vaping research and an early adopter of vaping as a tool to assist their citizens in quit smoking. Despite their many years of progress, the continual anti-vaping campaigns dominating American media created such an impact in the UK that Public Health England felt it necessary to release a series of statements reassuring the public of the health benefits of transitioning to vaping from combustible tobacco and correcting the vast amount of misinformation surrounding vapour products. Public Health England’s release stated, “E-cigarettes are not completely risk free but, when compared to smoking, evidence shows they carry just a fraction of the harm. The problem is people increasingly think they are at least as harmful, and this may be keeping millions of smokers from quitting. Local stop smoking services should look to support e-cigarette users in their journey to quitting completely.” As a global leader, it is crucial that the United States set a positive example surrounding vaping as the most effective harm reduction tool, as the positions taken by the US administration have deep impacts not only domestically but on a global scale.

 Biden has said in previous statements that, if elected, he would halt the sale of vaping products until more research is available. However, he has also said he “will follow the science” on vaping. In the past year alone, an overwhelming amount of credible and compelling science has emerged demonstrating vaping’s profound harm reduction potential and effectiveness. An international review produced by Cochrane, a global network of independent researchers, examined 50 of the top studies on vaping’s efficacy. The review found that smokers who used vaping to quit were most likely to be successful, concluding that vaping is 70% more effective than any other nicotine replacement therapy. With the reaffirmation of vaping’s effectiveness, we implore President-elect Biden, who ran on a platform of science driven policy, to ensure vaping policy is founded on research and not rhetoric.

 In her acceptance speech, Vice President-elect Harris described Biden as a “healer.” This encompasses what the vape industry values most – helping millions of smokers finally quit smoking so that they may begin to heal. Political leadership, medical professionals and vapour industry experts must all work together to ensure a responsible market based on the conclusive science that vaping is the most successful harm reduction platform for smokers. Only through a collaborative effort can we save the lives of millions of smokers and land on the right side of history.

 The CVA extends our sincere wishes for the success of the administration and Presidency.

BEDFORD, Mass., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aware, Inc., (NASDAQ: AWRE), a leading global provider of biometrics software products, solutions and services, today announced the appointment of its CEO and President, Robert (Bob) A. Eckel, to the Board of Directors of International Biometrics + Identity Association (IBIA). Mr. Eckel has over three decades of experience and significant expertise in biometrics, secure identity, air traffic control and defense systems, and as a member of IBIA’s Board of Directors will help advance the transparent and secure use of biometric technologies to confirm human identity in our physical and digital worlds.

IBIA is the leading voice for the biometrics and identity technology industry and advances the transparent and secure use of these technologies to confirm human identity in both our physical and digital worlds. As Aware’s CEO and newly appointed member of IBIA’s Board of Directors, Mr. Eckel will help support the enhancement of security, privacy, productivity and convenience for individuals, organizations, and governments through the use of biometrics solutions and services.

“My passion has always been to build and lead companies that enable individuals to experience the life we deserve through technology, which includes the ability to Own your identity™,” said Bob Eckel, Aware’s chief executive officer and president. “This aligns directly with the mission of IBIA, and I am honored to be elected to their Board of Directors to help drive forward the adoption and responsible use of biometric technologies for managing human identity in a way that remains frictionless for the user.”

As a member of the Board of Directors for IBIA, Mr. Eckel will have a far reaching and unified view across the biometrics and identify management industry, enabling him to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, regulations and policies impacting Aware and its customers. His responsibilities will include supporting association initiatives to aid in the adoption of biometrics for the greater good, correct misconceptions about the technology, and demonstrate how the transparent use of biometrics can add value.

“With Mr. Eckel’s years of experience and passion for the biometrics and identity management industry, he was the clear choice to join our Board of Directors,” said John Mears, IBIA’s chairman of the board and Tech Fellow, VP, at Leidos. “We are thrilled to have him on board and know he will make a great addition to the team, helping us to continue providing valuable insights and expertise to our members when it comes to the adoption and responsible use of technologies for managing human identity.”

Bob Eckel has served as Aware’s CEO and president since September 2019. He is responsible for strategic transformation, growth and operations for Aware’s biometric solutions and services for government and commercial customers and industry partners. Mr. Eckel also serves as a strategic advisory board member of Evolv Technology, and as a consultant for Digimarc Corporation. Over his distinguished career, he has held many positions of note within the biometric and identity space, including: Regional President and CEO of IDEMIA’s NORAM Identity & Security division; President and CEO of MorphoTrust USA, LLC; Executive Vice President and President of the Secure Credentialing Division of L-1 Identity Solutions Company; and President of the Identity Systems division of Digimarc Corporation. Mr. Eckel received his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California Los Angeles, and his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut.

About Aware

Aware, a global leader in productized biometrics software products, solutions and services, provides critical biometric functionality to collect, manage, process, and match biometric images and data for identification and authentication. With their decades-long experience, Aware leads the market in liveness detection and multi-modal fusion to protect client and business processes through fingerprint, face, iris, and voice matching algorithms, mobile biometric capture and authentication software, a biometric workflow and middleware platform, and a fully-scalable ABIS. Their device-agnostic, integration-ready, and customer-managed products enable ease-of-use for enterprises to empower individuals to own their identities. Aware serves customers across a multitude of industries, including financial services, enterprise security, healthcare, human resources, citizen ID, border management, law enforcement, defense, and intelligence. Aware is a publicly held company (Nasdaq: AWRE) based in Bedford, Massachusetts. To learn more, visit https://www.aware.com or follow Aware on Twitter @AwareBiometrics.

Aware
is a
registered trademark of Aware, Inc.

CONTACT

Company Contact                
Gina Rodrigues                                                        
Aware, Inc.                                                        
781-276-4000                                                                
[email protected]  

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e54f5d6e-498c-453a-bd97-be2db42abb41

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Qlik® today announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Databricks through Qlik’s integration with the newly launched SQL Analytics capability. The integration is part of an expanded partnership that already includes integration with Qlik’s data integration platform. Databricks customers can now leverage the full capabilities of Qlik’s end-to-end data integration and analytics platform with Databricks’ Lakehouse architecture to increase the use and value of all the data residing in their data lake.  

“Databricks’ strategic partnership with Qlik helps customers maximize the value of data by delivering analytics and ML with a modern data platform,” said Michael Hoff, SVP of Business Development and Partners at Databricks. “With SQL Analytics, data analysts can easily deploy Qlik’s complete data integration and analytics portfolio alongside Databricks’ Lakehouse architecture for an optimized BI experience on their entire data lake.”

With the integration with SQL Analytics, Qlik uniquely provides customers the ability to both optimize the data ingestion process feeding data into Lakehouse, as well as leverage Qlik Sense’s modern approach to analytics to create value through insights from data in Databricks. The new integration also enables Qlik Sense® to deliver a powerful and improved customer experience for SQL users with optimized data access through a familiar interface in Databricks. Together, Qlik and Databricks can now deliver a fully automated data lake pipeline, with governed, trusted and near-real time data that is optimized for analytics.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing customers looking for joint solutions that can impact the entire data and analytics lifecycle,” said Itamar Ankorion, SVP Tech Alliances at Qlik. “At any point along the chain – from access to ingestion, to transformation and insight discovery that triggers action at the point of decision – customers can confidently combine Qlik’s end-to-end data integration and analytics solutions with Databricks to drive more value from their data.” 

To explore how to build highly scalable and reliable pipelines for analytics that deliver deeper insight into Apache Spark and Azure Databricks, including the latest updates with Delta Lake, join Qlik and Databricks for an upcoming virtual workshop on December 8. Attendees will learn how unified data analytics can bring data science, business analytics and engineering together to accelerate data and ML efforts. Register to attend here.

About Qlik

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. Qlik provides an end-to-end, real-time data integration and analytics cloud platform to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik does business in more than 100 countries and serves over 50,000 customers around the world.  

© 2020 QlikTech International AB. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.

The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In addition, the development, release and timing of any product or functionality described herein remain at the sole discretion of Qlik and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision, nor as a representation, warranty or commitment to deliver specific products or functionality in the future.

Media Contact:
Derek Lyons
[email protected]
617-658-5310

Michigan, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Former lawyer, lobbyist, Democratic Congressional primary candidate, and Vice President of Worldwide Government Relations for Kellogg Company, George Franklin, has published his third book, Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise. Franklin takes a humorous look at the world of economic development with politicians, corporations, and a cast of rogue characters all wallowing in the government trough in the name of capitalism and free enterprise. Franklin draws on his years in government and Washington DC’s political landscape in his first foray into fiction.

“The world of politics has been exhausting for all of us these past few months,” said Franklin. “Incentives is the perfect way to find some comedic relief and poke fun at the hypocrisy in the world of public policy. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, we can all use a few laughs while our political leaders’ trip over each other in spectacular fashion.”

Within Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise, no group is off-limits to Franklin as he pokes fun at gun nuts, hapless elected officials, religious zealots, economic developers, Republicans, Democrats, and more. Everybody and everything is fair game in this laugh-out-loud satirical novel. If you like the writing of Carl Hiaasen or Christopher Buckley, you will love this book.

The following Incentives excerpt gives insight into Franklin’s mind. “No sooner than the government lends you money you find out it comes with all sorts of strings…Why they even want reports on how it is being used to advance the common good. Totally unreasonable demands by feckless bureaucrats who clearly don’t understand the free enterprise system.” 

“I take readers on a journey into the world of economic development with unforgettable personalities and laugh-out-loud storylines,” said Franklin. “Readers will encounter political stereotypes and dynamic characters who are each attempting to use the mechanisms of government for their own financial and personal gains. Each character within the novel has motives more ironic than the next.” 

Prior to Incentives, Franklin authored Raisin Bran and Other Cereal Wars: 30 Years of Lobbying for the Most Famous Tiger in the World, and So You Think You Want to Run for Congress: The True Grit of a Political Campaign. In both political non-fiction books, Franklin shares his perspective on what it is really like to run for a seat within our nation’s capital and work in a government that’s controlled by red tape and bureaucratic agendas.

“I want readers to have a good laugh and be completely entertained from page to page through each character’s storyline,” said Franklin. “Take Skeeter and Bogey, two rednecks, who try to cement themselves in a multi-billion-dollar-industry with no education, all on the government’s dime. Throughout the book, I bring characters to life in a variety of locations, all representative of my career, life, and experiences. I’ve never had more fun writing a book.”

In addition to a career as an author, George Franklin has held a number of positions, including the Vice President of Worldwide Government Relations for Kellogg Company, member of the Industry Sector Advisory Committee on Consumer Goods of the U.S. Department of Commerce, member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Advisory Committee, Chairman of both the State Affairs Committee and the Washington Representatives Group of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, and Democratic primary candidate for Michigan’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House.

Franklin has spoken at several universities and organizations such as the University of Michigan, the University of Georgia, Michigan State University, economic development organizations, political clubs, think tanks, and more. In each of these engagements, Franklin has touched on a variety of topics, including his books, business, and politics.

Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise is available online here. For more information on George Franklin and his other books, visit www.georgefranklinauthor.com. 

About
Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise

George Franklin takes a humorous look at the world of economic development with politicians, corporations, and a cast of rogue characters all wallowing in the government trough in the name of capitalism and free enterprise. Incentives is a book of pure, unadulterated fun, filled with laugh-out-loud moments. It is an uproarious, entertaining, comical story of the hypocrisy which permeates public policy today. Nothing is sacred, and everybody and everything is fair game.

About George Franklin

George Franklin is a lawyer and former Vice President of Worldwide Government Relations for Kellogg Company. He has held numerous positions in and out of government, including, member of the Industry Sector Advisory Committee on Consumer Goods of the U.S. Department of Commerce, member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Advisory Committee, Chairman of both the State Affairs Committee and the Washington Representatives Group of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, and Chairman of the American Frozen Food Institute.

In addition to having testified before Congress as the representative of the food industry, he has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Western Michigan University and had his own weekly radio segment called, “Ask the Lobbyist.” He is also President of Franklin Public Affairs LLC.

In 2014, George published his first book, Raisin Bran and Other Cereal Wars: 30 Years of Lobbying for the Most Famous Tiger in the World. A go-to source for anyone interested in learning more about the complex and stimulating confluence of business, law, lobbying, and politics, Cereal Wars provides unique insights into the widely misunderstood role of corporate government relations and how it affects public policy.

In 2018, George was a Democratic primary candidate for Michigan’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House. While he lost the primary, he survived to write about it with humor and insight in his tell-all book, So You Think You Want to Run for Congress: The True Grit of a Political Campaign, published in 2019.

In 2020, he published his first novel, Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise. A humorous look at the world of economic development, Incentives is an uproarious, entertaining, comical story of the hypocrisy which permeates public policy today.

Attachments

• George Franklin Author
• Incentives Book Cover

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — InvestorWire (“IW”), a multifaceted financial news and publishing company part of the InvestorBrandNetwork (“IBN”), today announces that it will collaborate with Benzinga to provide extended coverage for the inaugural Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference, which will be held in an entirely digital format on December 9, 2020.

Benzinga has earned a deserved reputation for hosting a series of invaluable conferences, including the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference and the Benzinga Global Fintech Awards. Benzinga events are designed to educate, inform and celebrate the latest breakthroughs and developments across a myriad of global industry sectors.

On a similar vein, the company’s recent launch of the Global Small Cap Conference is designed to help bridge the gap between small-cap companies, investors and traders, providing an invaluable outlet for publicly traded companies seeking to network and interact with a broad and diverse investor base. Moreover, this year’s event will also seek to provide newcomers to the sector with an introduction to small-cap investing through the use of a series of clearly defined educational modules while also introducing them to a specially curated group of small-cap investment opportunities.

Following its previous successful engagements with Benzinga’s conferences, IBN has been engaged as an official media partner to leverage upon its extensive array of corporate communications solutions to increase recognition of the new event series among investors, journalists, consumers and the public. Effective brand awareness strategies offered by IBN include financial news and content distribution, syndicated placement, content curation, social media, global and audio press releases, and more.

“We are delighted to partner with the IBN team for this event,” said Nicole LaPointe, EVP of Operations at Benzinga. “Their powerful tools and communication solutions create a robust online presence, which strengthen the valuable connections our team creates between executives and investors.”

“Our team is always thrilled to work with Benzinga’s event organizers,” said Jonathan Keim, director of communications for InvestorBrandNetwork. “The organization is known throughout the space for its innovative events, and we are very excited to be working alongside them to attract further attention within the global small-cap listed universe.”

For additional details about the Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference, including registration, visit: https://www.benzinga.com/events/small-cap/

About InvestorBrandNetwork

The InvestorBrandNetwork (“IBN”) consists of financial brands introduced to the investment public over the course of 15+ years. With IBN, we have amassed a collective audience of millions of social media followers. These distinctive investor brands aim to fulfill the unique needs of a growing base of client-partners. IBN will continue to expand our branded network of highly influential properties, leveraging the knowledge and energy of specialized teams of experts to serve our increasingly diversified list of clients.

Through NetworkNewsWire (“NNW”) and its affiliate brands, IBN provides: (1) access to a network of wire solutions via InvestorWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets; (3) enhanced press release solutions to ensure maximum impact; (4) full-scale distribution to a growing social media audience; (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions; and (6) a total news coverage solution.

For more information about IBN, visit https://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com.

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the InvestorBrandNetwork website, applicable to all content provided by IBN, wherever published or re-published: https://IBN.fm/Disclaimer

Corporate Communications

InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN)
Los Angeles, California
www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com
310.299.1717 Office
[email protected]

Please find enclosed the presentation of the preliminary third quarter results to be held November 12, 2020, in the link below.

Attachment

• SFL – Third Quarter 2020 Results Presentation

PHOENIX, Ariz., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Uncommon Giving Corporation today introduced a new workplace giving initiative for companies to enhance their employee engagement and corporate social responsibility programs. The new, integrated charitable giving solution will be led by industry veteran Earl Bridges who serves as President and CEO, Uncommon Workplace Generosity.

Uncommon Giving Corporation is a financial services start-up that launched its first of several planned generosity-related tools, UncommonGiving.com, in July 2020. Through the online giving platform, people can discover nonprofits, explore causes and donate to 1.2 million 501(c)(3) charitable organizations from one, digital giving wallet – a democratized donor-advised fund. The company is developing investment portfolios with risk-based, cause-based and faith-based options through its SEC registered investment advisory affiliate, Uncommon Investment Advisors, and recently announced plans for what is believed to be the first “generosity index” for ESG investing.

“Uncommon Giving provides a unique opportunity to bring together not only charitable giving tools for employees, but also impact investing and democratized donor advised funds that haven’t really existed in the workplace before,” said Bridges. “Uncommon Giving is the platform that can help companies connect with employees and grow their presence in the community.”

With more than 20-years’ experience in nonprofit-focused technology, Bridges is no stranger to the workplace giving space. In 2009, he founded Good Done Great, an industry pioneer in corporate grant management, employee giving, volunteer hour tracking and employee engagement programs for large and small businesses. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Good Done Great served more than 60 companies and 3.5 million employees before being sold to YourCause in 2017. YourCause was subsequently acquired by Blackbaud in 2019 for approximately $157 million. Bridges went on to become host of a PBS travel-documentary series, “The Good Road,” where he and co-creator Craig Martin travel the globe highlighting stories of philanthropic individuals making a difference in difficult situations. With nearly 20 million viewers nationwide, “The Good Road” is the most-viewed television program focused on global philanthropy.

“Uncommon Giving provides a platform to support the charities we feature on our series, but it goes beyond that,” Bridges said. “By leveraging our technology to create sustainable change for good, profitable corporations can create a positive company culture and provide a triple-bottom line to their stakeholders.”

When Uncommon Giving Corporation was founded in 2018, no one could have imagined the tremendous needs the United States and the world would be facing today. Uncommon’s leaders believe it’s more important than ever to provide a workplace giving solution accessible to people wherever they may be located.

“As companies become increasingly focused on social responsibility and employee engagement in remote environments, we see a tremendous opportunity to become a workplace partner for all things generosity,” said Ron Baldwin, founder and CEO, Uncommon Giving Corporation. “We are thrilled for Earl to join our team and lead this effort.”

In July 2020, Uncommon Giving Corporation closed a 506(b) founders’ round of $13.5 million in capital from more than 80 private investors to develop its online giving platform. The company later announced it has confidentially submitted a preliminary offering statement on Form 1-A with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed public offering pursuant to Regulation A.

About Uncommon Giving:

Uncommon Giving Corporation, The Generosity Company™, is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. The for-profit business is focused on a triple bottom line – economic, social and spiritual return on investment – by awakening generosity and encouraging giving. Company leaders bring decades of experience in financial services, banking, investments, technology and charity, and provide unique capabilities and innovative solutions for maximizing generosity.

All securities products or other advisory services are provided by affiliate Uncommon Investment Advisors, an SEC registered investment adviser. Uncommon Giving Corporation is not registered as an investment adviser with the SEC.

Learn more about Uncommon Giving Corporation and Workplace Generosity at https://uncommon.today/.

To experience the Uncommon Giving online platform, visit https://uncommongiving.com/.

Workplace Contact: Earl Bridges, President & CEO, Uncommon Workplace Generosity, 843.330.3974

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