A few nice example business plan images I found:
FCC program offers child care, career - FMWRC - US Army - 100916
Image by familymwr
PHOTO CAPTION: Kasey Tanner, a Fort Jackson Family Child Care provider, shows 15-month-old Elija Kirkland how to play with an educational toy Tuesday. (Photo by Kris Gonzalez, Fort Jackson Leader, cleared for public release, not for commercial use, attribution requested.)
www.armymwr.com
FCC program offers child care, career
Sep 16, 2010
By Kris Gonzalez, Fort Jackson Leader
FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- When Kasey Tanner gave birth to her second child in 2006 while she and her husband were stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany, she said she realized she needed to earn money to help support their growing family.
But with the costs of child care, and a desire to stay home with her new baby, Tanner decided she should start a business she could operate within her own home.
With the advice of a friend, Tanner became certified as a Family Child Care provider.
"One of the best decisions of my life," she said.
Four years later, here at Fort Jackson, Tanner continues to provide to children what she calls "a home away from home."
"It's a place the children can come, that's familiar to them, in a home environment, where there's one person they know is going to be there every day to take care of them," Tanner said.
It's a job that she absolutely loves, she said.
"I really love being able to see the children learn," she said. "Just watching them put something together, reaching milestones - being able to watch them grow and knowing that you're a part of that, I think it's amazing."
She said she encourages other Army spouses to become providers.
So does Inza Downing, Fort Jackson's FCC director.
Currently, Fort Jackson only has three FCC providers on post, and three off post, Downing said.
"A lot of providers (made permanent changes of duty station) during the summer, but we know we have new families who have recently moved on post," she said. "We want these new families to learn more about FCC because we need more providers to come on board."
Downing said that Fort Jackson's FCC program offers free training and helps defray start-up costs for military family members interested in becoming providers. Fort Jackson's FCC gives up to 0 worth of start-up materials, and many furniture items, toys and other materials can be borrowed from the FCC's Lending Library.
FCC providers must first register and go through a certification process that includes background checks; home inspections by fire, safety and health officials; 40 hours of initial child care training, including caring for special needs, child abuse prevention, CPR and first aid training; completion of activity schedules and plans; and successful completion of training on contingency plans, discipline and touch policies.
"FCC providers must meet many of the same requirements staff at the child development centers on post must meet," said Edie McFaddin, Fort Jackson's FCC Training and Curriculum Specialist.
"The quality of care is just as high in a Family Child Care home as it is in the center setting," McFaddin said.
But as independent contractors, FCC providers set their own operating hours, decide their own fees and negotiate their own contracts.
"Often, they can be more flexible in meeting the parents' needs," Downing said. "And with a small ratio of children, they a lot of times offer more one-on-one time with each child."
Many FCC providers operate multi-age homes with a mandated limit of six children. Their own children younger than 8 count in the ratio.
For example, Tanner, who cares for her own children, ages 6 and 4, can only provide child care services for four additional children in her home. No more than two children can be younger than 2, and infant/toddler homes can have no more than three children younger than 3.
Downing said the FCC program will certify homes off post that are registered with the Department of Social Services. HOPS, as they are called, abide by both Fort Jackson's FCC regulations, as well as South Carolina's child care laws, adhering to those that are the most stringent.
"A lot of providers find that it works for their families," McFaddin said. "They're able to stay at home, enjoy being with their own children and earn additional income."
Downing said anyone interested in becoming an FCC provider should contact her immediately to register for the next training orientation, which is scheduled for Oct.18-22. She said she and her team will work with any transferring provider from another installation to "fast-track" the process and get them on board much sooner.
For more information, contact Downing at 751-6234.
In the know
The next Family Child Care orientation/training is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 18 through 22 at the Joe E. Mann Center. The FCC program offers an employment opportunity for military spouses who enjoy working with children. The program is recruiting for "best-qualified" applicants who have space and are willing to take full-time children younger than 2.
Military spouses living on Fort Jackson and Department of Social Services-registered off-post child care providers may apply to become certified to provide home child care to military families. An amnesty program is available for those currently providing child care on post without certification. Applications will be accepted through Oct. 8.
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Carew Tower and The Genius of Water
Image by elycefeliz
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carew_Tower
Carew Tower is the tallest building in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It stands 49 stories tall in the heart of downtown, overlooking the Ohio River waterfront, and is a national historic landmark. It contains the Netherland Plaza Hotel (currently a Hilton, and formerly the Omni Netherland Plaza). Palm Court, the former lobby of the hotel, and now the restaurant, is described by the hotel as the "finest example of French Art Deco architecture in the world." (The building; however, will be eclipsed by the Great American Insurance Building at Queen City Square in 2011 rising 86 feet higher than the Carew Tower.) The building was designed by the architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates, the designers of the Empire State Building. The Carew Tower, built before the Empire State Building was conceived, served as the basis for the design of the larger Empire State Building.
Construction began in September of 1929, just one month before the stock market crash on October 24 that triggered the Great Depression. Because of this, construction was continued on a modified plan. The grand details (architectural motifs, friezes, and decorative metal) that are common on art deco buildings were stopped at the third floor and plain bricks were used on the floors above. Art deco themes can be found throughout the building, particularly in the metalwork and grillwork of the elevators and lights. Rookwood Pottery floral tiles add the Cincinnati touch to the building. Sculpture on the exterior and interior of the building were executed by New York architectural sculptor Rene Paul Chambellan.
Visitors can pay a small fee to access the observation deck, which is located on the 49th floor. On a clear day, visitors can see for several miles in all directions and three states (Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio). Modern elevators transport guests only as high as the 45th floor. A trip to the observation deck requires a ride in a rickety, phone booth-sized elevator to the 48th floor and a climb up some gray steel stairs to the deck. This building, along with the PNC Tower (which was called the Central Trust Bank tower at that time) was prominently featured in the opening and closing sequences of the daytime drama The Edge of Night prior to 1980. Cincinnati's skyline was used as a stand-in for the show's setting, Monticello. Procter & Gamble, who produced The Edge of Night, is based in Cincinnati. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has identified the Netherland Plaza Hotel as one of its Historic Hotels of America, and additional information about the facility can be found at www.nationaltrust.org/historic_hotels.
Until I can take more photos of the interior, here are some sites with photos:
www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/CVGNPHF/index.do
forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=153758
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Davidson_Fountain
The Tyler Davidson Fountain (the Genius of Water) is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is regarded as the city's symbol and one of the area's most-visited attractions. It is the centerpiece of Fountain Square, a plaza at the corner of Fifth and Vine Streets in the downtown area. Dedicated in 1871, the “Genius of Water” is a fountain cast in bronze. It features a nine-foot tall bronze statue of a woman with outstretched hands out of which flow streams of water. Below the "Genius" are figures dramatizing the allegory of water. On the north side is a workman on a burning housetop imploring the help of water. On the east a reluctant boy is being led by his smiling mother to the bath. A farmer prays for rain on the south side and on the west a girl offers a drink of water to an aged man on crutches.
Four outer figures with animals on the rim of the basin represent the pleasures of water. These were formerly working drinking fountains; water pours from each animal’s mouth. One boy is riding a turtle; another is riding a dolphin; a third straddles a large bird; and the remaining figure is a boy with a snake that has coiled itself around his leg. t is estimated that 500 gallons of water flow through it every minute.
After the death of Tyler Davidson, his brother-in-law and business partner, Cincinnati businessman Henry Probasco went to Munich, Germany in search of a suitable memorial to him. Many years before, artist August von Kreling had collaborated with Ferdinand von Miller at the Royal Bronze Foundry of Bavaria to design a fountain which would glorify mankind. When Miller could find no patron to sponsor the fountain, the designs languished until Probasco came to him with an interest in a similar theme. Probasco requested the addition of four figures with animals that would act as drinking fountains. The fountain is turned off each winter and turned on again in April for the first home game of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds, the oldest professional baseball team. In the winter, when the water is turned off, twinkling lights take the place of the showers of water that fall from the fountain's hands.
www.myfountainsquare.com/
Along The Mother Road In B&W
Image by pam's pics-
Luna Lodge
National Park Service
Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program
As traffic grew along Route 66 after World War II, so did the need for roadside businesses, including gas stations, restaurants, and motels. Evolving from the primitive campgrounds of the 1920s and the motor cabins of the 1930s, motels offered greater comforts such as private bathrooms, daily linen service, and eventually television, phones, and swimming pools. At the peak of Route 66 in 1955, 98 motels lined the Mother Road in Albuquerque. Today, fewer than 40 pre-1955 motels remain. Among these is the Luna Lodge. Built in 1949, the motel was one of the easternmost motels along Albuquerque’s commercial strip.
Luna Lodge consists of two one-story buildings and a third building with a two-story portion. The buildings have flat roofs, white stucco walls, and concrete foundations. Details reflect a modest use of the Southwest Vernacular style including a parapet, flared stucco hoods over the doors, and slightly articulated stucco sills. Classic features of the Pueblo Spanish Revival style are also featured, such as projecting wooden vigas (roof beams), blunted and rounded corners, irregular stuccoing, exposed lintels, and a stepped back roofline. The property is organized in a broken U-shape plan with 28 units surrounding a long interior courtyard that faces Central Avenue with an office and residence at the front of the property. A neon sign with a large arrow at the entrance points down toward the motel.
Rooms at Luna Lodge
National Park Service
Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program
Luna Lodge faced an increasingly difficult economic time during the 1960s and 1970s. After Interstate 40 bypassed Albuquerque and as national chains with greater amenities competed with the smaller motels, the number of locally-owned motels gradually dwindled.
Today, Luna Lodge remains in use as a long-term rental facility, with a few rooms available for overnight lodgers. The property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 and described as one of the best examples of a largely unaltered tourist court remaining along New Mexico Route 66. In 2006, the motel was documented for the Historic American Engineering Record by University of New Mexico, Historic Preservation and Regionalism students.
