(Photo courtesy: Fox 9)
On Oct. 24, more than 7,000 girls attended KMSP-TV Fox 9’s Girls & Science event at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Thomson Reuters was a proud sponsor of the event.
Leading science and technology companies from the Twin Cities metro area came together to demonstrate how science and technology affect everyday life.
At the Thomson Reuters booth, several hundred girls had the chance to create their own Web sites. At other booths, girls experimented with weather-prediction technologies with Fox 9 meteorologists, explored human biology with St. Jude Medical, and learned about the latest in energy technologies and science from Flint Hills Resources.
Twelve women from Thomson Reuters’ technology organizations volunteered at the event.
“Having a presence in the local community is really important,” said Elizabeth Psihos, president and chief technology officer, Westlaw Business. “As a woman technologist, I have a personal interest in seeing young girls become excited about and educated in the science and technology fields.”
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Laureen Abdulla-Stumps had never spent much time with a John Grisham novel or movie based on his books before she entered a West contest this year to select a name for one of the characters in one of his upcoming stories. Well, she won that contest. So, she now plans to get caught up on her Grisham reading as soon as she can.
I talked with Abdulla-Stumps, a litigation specialist in Case Assignments at Bank of America in San Francisco to find out what name she picked. She chose “Dana” in honor of actress and activist Dana Reeve who died of lung cancer in 2006 and was the wife of actor Christopher Reeve. (Hear Abdulla-Stumps talk about choosing the name Dana in this audio clip.)
Abdulla-Stumps is hoping the character of “Dana” makes it on more than a few pages in a Grisham novel but understands that’s his call in the end. We don’t know at this time what book the name will be included in.
The Name Your Character contest from West’s Corporate & Nonprofit group was part of West’s support for The Innocence Project, which Grisham also promotes. In fact, his nonfiction book The Innocent Man tells the true story of a case involving Dennis Fritz (who we interviewed during a visit to West) and Ron Williamson.
West has worked closely with The Innocence Project of Minnesota, which provides pro bono investigative and legal assistance to prisoners trying to prove their innocence.
We’ll let you know when Grisham’s book with “Dana” is available.
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Employees at Thomson Reuters in Eagan took part in the second-annual Got Talent? Competition in support of the “Because We Care” Employee Giving Campaign.
Employees showcased their talents for the chance to have $5,000, $3,000 or $1,000 donated to the charity of their choice. The field of 12 acts was narrowed down to five finalists whose performances were judged by nearly 600 employees to determine a winner.
Finishing in third place was Pete Mohs, principal publishing specialist, who wowed the crowd with an acoustic guitar performance. A $1,000 check will be donated in his name, from the company, to VH1’s Save the Music Foundation.
Our second-place finisher was Aishwarya Sundar, software engineer, who braved the stage to perform dances of India. A check for $3,000 will be donated in her name to GiveIndia.
And our first-place finisher was Sue Denkinger, senior director, Customer Operations, who secured a $5,000 donation in her name to The Arc. Sue sang a medley of Hank Williams songs while playing the guitar. Check out a video replay of Sue’s performance here.
Along with the company match, this year’s Eagan-campus Employee Giving Campaign raised almost $2.2M for nonprofit organizations around the world.
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Thomson Reuters, Legal, is committed to helping the legal system perform better – everyday, worldwide. One of the ways we deliver on that commitment is through Pro Bono Connection.
Similar to how our Do Justice initiative supports our customers’ efforts to provide pro bono services, Pro Bono Connection encourages employees who want to use their law degree to provide legal counsel for individuals and organizations unable to afford an attorney. We are making it easy and convenient for them to do so.
We’ve formed key partnerships with five nonprofit agencies in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, each focused on a different field of legal practice. Employees can choose the organization that best matches their skills and passions.
With the guidance of a pro bono committee and a pro bono policy, employees are allowed to use both work time and resources, including Westlaw, to complete their pro bono cases or activities.
Ed Friedland, general counsel, Thomson Reuters, Legal, recently kicked off the program and encouraged action. “When we step outside of our routines, we have the opportunity to do something memorable,” Friedland said.
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(Peter Warwick (left), president and CEO of Thomson Reuters, Legal, presents Rob Zeaske of Second Harvest Heartland with a donation)
The Eagan, Minn. based-employees of Thomson Reuters recognize the growing needs in their communities. On July 15, Peter Warwick, president and CEO of Thomson Reuters, Legal, presented Rob Zeaske, executive director of Second Harvest Heartland, with a check for $125,000 to help distribute more than 400,000 meals to those in need.
Warwick said the contribution to Second Harvest Heartland is the first to a Twin Cities-based organization as part of Thomson Reuters, Legal’s new Basic Needs Campaign. This community outreach campaign provides resources and financial support to address hunger, homelessness and other staple needs in the community.
“This contribution is one way we can give back to the community that has given so much to our business, and provide immediate support to the families who truly need it now,” said Warwick. “These issues take on even greater urgency when they occur in our immediate community.”
“With this gift, Thomson Reuters has taken a very ambitious step toward addressing the shortfalls of food in families in need right here in the heartland,” said Zeaske. “We are humbled by their generosity.”
Thomson Reuters, Legal, and its employees – through West and Westlaw – have had a longstanding relationship with Second Harvest Heartland, by supporting by volunteering at their facility, awarding charitable grants, and hosting food drives.
You can see the check presentation and and a video interview with Rob Zeaske here:
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Thomson Reuters in Eagan, Minn. believes strongly in being a good partner to the community. Part of that commitment involves hiring a diverse work force.
In partnership with Lifeworks Services, a local nonprofit that helps people with disabilities have lives that are fuller and more integrated within the community, the Eagan manufacturing facility has provided employment for seven individuals for more than 16 years.
Recently, one of those colleagues, Glen Martinek, was nominated by his Thomson Reuters co-workers for a personal achievement award through Lifeworks – and he won! Glen was honored for his strong work ethic, positive attitude and perseverance.
“Even though he has decreasing physical ability, Glen has not let that become a reason to decrease his dedication to his job,” says Troy Mattick, workflow coordinator at Thomson Reuters. “He is an amazing man whose desire and effort to be a contributing member of the Thomson Reuters team has been an inspiration to me and others.”
A video feature was created to share Glen’s story:
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During National Volunteer Week, the Community Relations team at Thomson Reuters in Eagan, Minn., put out a challenge to employees. For every employee who attended a volunteer fair to learn about nonprofit agencies and how their needs have changed in the current economy, the company would donate a meal to Second Harvest Heartland.
Needless to say, employees in Eagan rose to the challenge. In all, 940 meals will be donated.
“Not only is there an increased need with individuals suffering these tough economic times, but nonprofit agencies – and food shelves in particular – have seen an incredible increase in demand as more people need help and fewer are able to donate,” said Martha Field, manager, Community Relations.
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The character of Jack Bauer on Fox’s “24″ has nothing on a team of 10 FindLaw employees.
At least in terms of the know-how and expertise for Web site design and deployment.
The group representing FindLaw was one of 12 teams that was selected to participate in Sierra Bravo’s Overnight Website Challenge, Feb. 28-March 1, in St. Paul.
The teams were assigned to overhaul the Web sites of 12 non-profit organizations, who had been chosen by Sierra Bravo. FindLaw was paired with Global Citizens Network (GCN).
We chronicled the FindLaw effort over the course of the 24-hour competition in this Westcast video podcast (on YouTube or Vimeo):
Collin Gravalin was team leader for the FindLaw group.
“FindLaw is so big on promoting giving back to the community,” Gravalin told us at the end of the challenge. “They even let you take a paid volunteer day and this is one of those things that we all wanted to do. We all wanted to be here and I think the end result, the end product, is something to be proud of.”
“GCN is very lucky to be working with this amazing team. They’re brilliant! Everything we asked for, they’re making it happen,” said Linda Stuart, executive director of GCN. “It’s like a dream come true.”
“Our team tackled many challenges that we’ve never seen before or rarely see in our daily work at FindLaw,” said Gravalin. “When everything is done, Global Citizens Network will have a main Web site with more than 80 custom written and optimized pages. They’ll also have a separate blog and a separate client forum. GCN is essentially getting three Web sites.”
In addition to Gravalin, the members of the FindLaw team included Matt Biersdorf, Clay Chelmo, Derrick Gall, Nathan Hein, Patrick Noonan, Jessica Skrebes, Ryan Tvenge, Susan Staupe and Nate Weber.
Besides our video podcast about the FindLaw team, Sierra Bravo also posted some great videos from throughout the day and night on their Inside the Nerdery blog, including this one.
You also can read the news release from Sierra Bravo for a recap of the event.
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The Star Tribune recently highlighted the Thomson Reuters partnership with Eagan (Minn.) Community Television.
We first mentioned the arrangement in a previous post (“Broadcasting from our basement”) here on WestBlog.
The partnership with the city has resulted in a broadcast studio within the headquarters of our legal businesses in Eagan. The studio also received coverage last week in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
(Photo: David Brewster, Star Tribune)
E-TV also has gotten coverage in the community newspapers that serve Eagan, including an article and video in This Week Eagan and a story and video on YouTube from the Eagan Sun-Current.
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The city of Eagan, Minn.’s community access television studio, E-TV, has a new home on the Eagan campus of Thomson Reuters.
When word spread that the city needed a new location for its community access television studio, Thomson Reuters opened its doors – making this a first-of-its-kind public/corporate partnership in the country.
A grand opening launch took place on Feb. 25 featuring a live broadcast with Peter Warwick, president and CEO of the legal businesses of Thomson Reuters and Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire. (Watch a video interview with Maguire)
Warwick believes this partnership promises benefits both to Thomson Reuters and the city of Eagan. (Watch a video interview with Warwick)
Tom Garrison, communications director for the city, was quick to recognize the potential of this unique partnership. “We’ll be able to provide the professional, reliable public access television coverage the community has come to depend on while working collaboratively with Thomson Reuters.” (Watch a video interview with Garrison)
In addition to giving community members access to world-class video and editing equipment, Eagan Community Television develops a broad range of programming including community, government and school news across six channels. The E-TV studio is now open to the public.
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Thomson Reuters, Legal, President & CEO Peter Warwick offered his perspective on the company’s approach to the current economic reality in a panel discussion, “Adapting and Thriving in a Challenging Economy”, at the Minnesota Venture & Finance Conference.
The launch of WestlawNext brings a significant advancement in the way professional legal research is done.
Andrew F. Popper, a professor at American University, Washington College of Law, talks about his award-winning novel “Rediscovering Lone Pine.”
