Business In Brief

Pass Your Plate announces new Mediterranean Diet meals

Jim and Dana Quillen, founders of Pass Your Plate, announced their new menu of modified Mediterranean Diet meals for two. The company worked in partnership with Dr. Matt Draelos and his staff at Draelos Metabolic Center in Edmond to design the new menu. Pass Your Plate’s Mediterranean Diet meals are designed as a tool for weight management and Diabetes Type 2 patients due to their low glycemic index.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the key components of the Mediterranean Diet are generous amounts of fruits and vegetables, small portions of nuts, healthy fats like olive and canola oils, and regular portions of fish, while consuming little red meat.

For more information, call Pass Your Plate Corporate Headquarters at 216-5100 or your local Pass Your Plate store.

Insurance board adopts increase in premium rates

The Oklahoma State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board recently adopted an overall 13.6 percent increase in health insurance premium rates. The 2009 rates, which are effective Jan. 1, are for current employees and former employees who are not yet eligible for Medicare coverage.

In the past, the board occasionally has been able to offset premium increases by using reserve funds. This action was taken by the board for the 2008 plan year when HealthChoice members had no premium increase. Unfortunately, the board did not feel this was a viable option for the 2009 plan year.

The board also discussed the preliminary rates for the 2009 Medicare Supplement Plans, which are expected to increase an average of 12.6 percent next year. The Medicare Supplement rates will be formally adopted at the board’s Sept. 12 meeting.

Greenbox Technology partners with Silver Spring Networks

Greenbox Technology, creators of energy management software for the home, announced a partnership with smart grid infrastructure experts Silver Spring Networks. Together they will deploy the Greenbox interactive energy management platform for Oklahoma Gas and Electric.

The goal of OG&E;’s Positive Energy SmartPower program is to empower customers to better manage their energy consumption and control costs using Greenbox’s Web-based interface.

Consumers are increasingly aware of their home energy consumption and it is the first and most natural place for them to impact their usage by changing habits. Leading utilities across the country are currently in the process of upgrading their infrastructure and are exploring ways to help customers manage their home energy use. The trial deployment at OG&E; will inform the market about the best ways to meet new consumer expectations for saving energy and inform utilities on how to implement programs with time-of-use rate structures and solutions such as those from Greenbox.

Koontz joins MyDentist office MUG IN WEEKENDER

Natalie Koontz has joined the MyDentist office at Casady Square in Oklahoma City. Koontz grew up in Edmond and graduated from Deer Creek High School. She is a 2003 graduate of Oklahoma State University and a 2008 graduate from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry.

Koontz has a desire to help people and gets enormous satisfaction from the practice of dentistry. By investing in post-graduate education, Dr. Koontz plans to stay current with new developments in dentistry to allow her patients to benefit from new discoveries.

In her spare time, Koontz enjoys running, cycling, wakeboarding and water and snow skiing. She likes to travel and is an avid reader.

The dentist enjoys walking her Boston Terrier, Axel, and her Chihuahua mix, Buster. She also enjoys spending time with her husband, Kyle, and family and friends.

Happenings

Business Events

The “Growing for Markets” workshop will be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Connors State College campus in Warner. It will provide practical advice and hands-on demonstrations to help current, beginning and potential farmers operate more effectively and profitably. Registration costs $45 and is due by Sept. 15. Cost includes lunch. To register, visit kerrcenter.com or call 918-647-9123.

Marcia Brixey, founder of Money Wise Women Educational Services, will be the keynote speaker at the annual women’s conference, “Do It Herself: A Journey to Financial Freedom,” in Oklahoma City. The conference will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Clarion Meridian Convention Center. Tickets cost $10 and include lunch. For more information, visit www.KnowWhatCounts.org or call 1-800-522-8261, ext. 3829.

Careers

Tips

Video won’t substitute for in-person job hunt

Video résumés are being touted more often lately as a way to stand out in a job search, but that might not be a good thing. Just one in four senior executives interviewed in a survey for Robert Half International, a staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance, said their companies accept video résumés from candidates.

The Washington Post

Many employers are reluctant to accept video résumés for fear of bias claims from applicants, and some may even have a policy banning their use. Others simply ignore them, dismissing them as too cumbersome or time-consuming. Besides, few of us really shine on video.

Instead, take the money you would have spent creating a video résumé and sign up for a professional conference. Video will never substitute for a handshake.