Galveston Capital Tourism and Marketing Attractions Offer More Than Just Beaches
An hour from Houston, the biggest city in Texas, Galveston island has long been the playground of the Texas Gulf Coast. Since Hurricane Ike, the island has seen a revitalization in its tourism bringing great developments to the area. In addition to "what's new", Galveston has a rich history and amazing locals.
Galveston's architecture dates back to the late 1800's and reflects the prosperity of this port town as well as the devestation of catatrophic hurricanes. Historians of all ages will enjoy theornate homes, Victorian store fronts and military hardware available for touring.
Children of all ages will love what the island has to offer with year round water fun at Sclitterbahn Galveston Island, the only indoor, heated water park in Texas; Moody Gardens brings fun and education with its rainforest pyramid, aquarium, and Palm Beach attractions; The Pleasure Pier with 16 rides, concessions, music and an amazing view and much more.
Of course there are always activities and events on the beach, Galveston Mardi Gras, numerous musical events, Art walk, kayak tours, Christmas on The Strand, plays, operas, performances and more. With mild winters, the calendar stays full! If you are just visiting the area and aren't used to the heat, chances are, anywhere you go will have air conditioning. Just make sure you pack your sunscreen and stay hydrated.
10 THE GRAND
The Grand has survived multiple storms and hurricanes and is one of the few surviving theatres in Texas from this era. The theatre is a fully functioning theatrical performance venue with touring shows and local performances year round. Patrons are treated to top notch touring acts, amazing acoustics and beautiful venue. There is not a bad seat in the house. During the summer, The Grand Summer Theatre Camp offers free performances by the children enrolled in the program. The theatre is open for tours as well. Step inside and imagine all of the performances that have taken place there. Make sure you call ahead to schedule.
9 THE BISHOP'S PALACE
Constructed from 1887 - 1892, the Bishop's Palace comes complete with a variety of attractions for history aficionados. Fireplaces from around the world adorn several rooms, and the ballroom's mantle won first prize at the Philadelphia World's Fair in 1876. The octagonal mahogany stairwell is forty feet tall surrounded on 5 sides with stained glass. Recognized as one of the nation's most significant architectural structures, the palace also includes woodwork fashioned from white mahogany, rosewood, maple, and satinwood. Young visitors will feel like they are in a castle with carvings of mythical animals and decorative plaster on the ceilings and walls.
8 MENARD HOME
With its Greek Revival architecture, The Menard Home (1838) has been restored to its original beauty and charm earning it's spot on the National Register of Historic places as the oldest historic home in Galveston. In fact, the founders of Galveston and Houston once owned the house. The current owners saved the home from demolition in the 1990's and worked on the research, repair and restruction of the home. Today, tourists visit the home to explore its array of mid-19th century Neoclassic antiques and take a tour to learn about its long history. The home is available for private events and provides a beautiful backdrop for an islands wedding.
7 MOODY MANSION MUSEUM
The 28,000 square foot, 4 story Moody mansion was once inhabited by one of Texas's most influential and affluent families, headed by W.L. Moody, Jr. The family's prominent ties reached into cotton, banking, and eventually hotels. Their mansion in Galveston provides an excellent example of how one of Texas's foremost families lived around the turn of the 20th century. The family spent over 80 years in the home before opening it to the public. Visitors will enjoy the hand-carved décor, coffered ceilings, and stained glass as well as the Moody family possessions that still inhabit the rooms. Open tours occur daily on the hour.
6 HAUNTED MAYFIELD MANOR
Haunted Mayfield Manor is a year round haunted house located on The Strand- Galveston Island's historic shopping district. The Manor consists of "12 rooms of terror that will leave you screaming!" The attraction gives participants some history as well as some scares. Paranormal investigations do occur at the Haunted Mayfield Manor. Call for time and availabilty if you would like to be a part of this unique experience. The Pirates! Legends of the Gulf Coast is the sister attraction that gives your family a chance to attend Pirate school, get their faces painted and participate in a scavanger hunt. Special rates are available if you attend both.
5 TEXAS SEAPORT MUSEUM
Only Ellis Island has welcomed more immigrants than Galveston's port, and the Texas Seaport Museum chronicles their amazing stories through displays and historical records. One of the museum's high points is the Elissa, an 1877 iron-hulled sailing ship that saw many immigrants safely into port. Another attraction is the museum's database of over 133,000 immigrant names and records, which is a veritable goldmine for genealogists looking for relatives who first set foot on American soil in Galveston. While you are there, you can see Galveston Harbor by boat tour aboard the Seagull II. On this tour, you can see dolphins and evidence of the recovery from storms and hurricanes in the area.
4 SCHLITTERBAHN GALVESTON ISLAND WATERPARK
You don't want to miss an opportunity to experience all that Schlitterbahn has to offer. A great family destination, you'll find something that appeals to the more adventurous in your crowd and milder attractions for the kids. Don't forget to take a ride on the Dragon Blaster, an uphill water coaster or get a bird's view of the park on the Soaring Eagle Zipline. The park is situated within a lazy river, rather than sidewalks to get around the park. Rental lockers are available as well as private cabanas and "luxury lounges". There are shaded areas to sit around the park but be sure to bring your sunscreen. That Texas sun is powerful!
3 GALVESTON ISLAND STATE PARK
This 2,000-acre state park provides all the necessary elements that attract outdoor lovers. The campsites are complete with electricity and water hookups, and the barbecue pits and picnic tables provide a little luxury for the family. When everyone is ready to go exploring, they can choose from hiking or biking trails, surf fishing for red fish and flounder, or just exploring the great Gulf Coast environs. The naturalist in the group will appreciate the park's wildlife, which features a variety of tidal birds, armadillos, and raccoons. Join the Friends of Galveston State Park for beach walks on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10 AM. Turtle tours are Thursdays at 10 AM and 1 PM. Call ahead to make reservations.
2 MOODY GARDENS
Moody Gardens offer a variety of activities, including two state-of-the-art theaters, a vast aquarium, several playgrounds and pools, and an expansive botanical garden. With a full hotel, spa, convention center and golf course, the attraction is perfect for business, pleasure or both. Visitors should make time to visit the 13-story Rainforest Pyramid, which boasts an impressive display of flora and fauna from places like Africa and Asia. Another attraction is the Discovery Pyramid, which NASA helps make interesting with over 40 interactive exhibits. If the clan wants something extra, schedule a private cruise on an authentic replica of an 1800s paddlewheel boat.
1 THE PLEASURE PIER
The Pleasure Pier opened in May of 2012. With the island recovering from the devastation cause by Hurricane Ike, Galveston native (or as the locals say B.O.I.- born on island) Tillman Fertitta, owner of the Landry's restaurant chain, redeveloped the pier to bring a nostalgic boardwalk-style amusement park to the island. The Pleasure Pier has 16 rides for all ages, concessions, shops and lots of shady places to sit. A wrist band gets you in and out of the park for the entire day. The rides include the Pirate's Plunge- a water ride to cool you down from that Texas heat, a double decker carousel, 2 sizes of bumper cars- for big kids and the little ones, The Texas Star Flyer- a 200 foot swing set over the ocean, and a dozen more. At night, the pier is transformed with lights and often times, live music. The view of the island from the carousel and the evening breeze are a perfect end to a day of fun.
Tyre&Auto Southbourne Group Review- A top-notch service with a resilient team
A dependable and trusted service, Tyre&Auto Southbourne Group has it. What’s more is their amiable and knowledgeable team. Customers were often satisfied with their services and good reviews about them were abundant on the internet.
Taking care of your car has never been this special with Tyre&Auto Southbourne Group. George Mandair, along with other seasoned managers, frequently receives good feedbacks from their customers because of their trustworthy and good service. They always give their best shot in assisting people with car related concerns.
With their years of experience in this field, Tyre&Auto Southbourne Group has also been active in the trades on South Coast of Hampshire. Their good service has been known to a lot of people there for more than a decade already.
Defined as a reliable family run company, Tyre&Auto Southbourne Group could indeed handle properly any of your car issues. They can assist you in brake checks, car servicing, looking for good tyres, MOTs, along with free seasonal checks. With their current online service, you can also get a quick tyre quote as well as reserve your tyres for fitting.
In order to provide a fair convenience to their customers, Tyre&Auto depots also provide a local collect and a return service to them. It is recommended to ask their team about the service once you booked.
Stated earlier are some of the services that their entire depots offer to customers. But the company has more to offer and it includes checking of your car’s windscreen wipers and doing a full engine overhaul to your vehicle.
A lot of customers had seen their good skills and capability in handling car-related works, and most of them were pleased with the company’s honest service. In addition, Tyre&Auto Southbourne Group offers a good array of free service checks as well. You may inquire at their local depot to find out more about their services.
Preventing Fraud - What Would a World Without Insurance Look Like?
It’s easy to feel like there’s no benefit to buying insurance unless you file a claim.
Yet a look into what the world would look like without insurance proves otherwise. That’s because insurance acts as a sort of glue that helps society function.
After all, there was insurance well before there were insurance companies. “Before most people bought insurance from an insurance carrier, local social clubs and alliances of businesses banded together to form, in effect, tiny mutual insurance companies,” says Michael Barry, vice president of Media Relations at the Insurance Information Institute. “Insurance enables behavior that would not take place if it wasn’t available.”
So what would a world without insurance look like? Here are nine likely realities.
- Home ownership would only be for the very wealthy. Imagine if you had to pay for everything after a fire or other disaster wiped out your home and its contents. Would you still buy a house knowing you could go bankrupt after one unfortunate event? Even if you would, mortgage companies might not be willing to lend you a large sum of money if there was no way they’d get quickly reimbursed after a large loss.
“Who could buy a house—which is most people’s single largest asset—and take the risk that a fire might destroy it, leaving them homeless?” says Barry.
- Driving a car would be an incredible financial risk. Even safe drivers get in accidents. And while fender benders often creep into the thousands of dollars, the real costs pile on when someone is injured or dies. In a world without insurance, people would probably still drive—but they’d face much more risk when they did.
- It would be nearly impossible to start a business. Just like a home mortgage lender, a business lender wants to know they’ll receive quick reimbursement if a building or a key piece of equipment was destroyed, damaged or stolen. In a world without insurance, aspiring business owners would have a hard time qualifying for a needed loan.
“Without insurance, people and businesses would be unwilling to take risks, so there would be less invention and less investment in money- and life-saving innovations,” says Barry.
- People would shy away from risky—but necessary—jobs. Professionals from financial advisors to doctors to architects purchase professional liability insurance policies to protect against errors, omissions and malpractice allegations. If people with particularly risky jobs (like surgeons) knew they could lose everything over an accidental error (or even defending a baseless claim), they would be much less likely to enter a certain profession. And that could leave many critical positions unfilled.
- The economy wouldn’t be as strong. The property-casualty insurance industry employs approximately 2.3 million people in good-paying jobs. Property-casualty insurers also invest approximately $1.4 trillion in the stock market through stock, corporate and government bonds, and real estate mortgages.
“These investments are a major source of borrowing for municipalities, states and corporations,” says Barry. “Without insurers’ investments, borrowing would be more expensive, making many projects unaffordable.”
- Communities would be less strong. In addition to employing millions of people in good-paying jobs, insurers and insurance agents donate billions of dollars to worthy causes and charities each year.
- We’d probably pay more taxes. An insurance policy helps people overcome misfortune. Without it, it’s very likely that many more people would rely on the government if their house burned down or they became bankrupt after a lawsuit wiped out everything they had.
- Things probably wouldn’t be as safe. Insurance companies incentivize us to live safer by offering discounts for safe driving, having fire alarms and more. Many insurance companies also employ risk control consultants who can help business owners make their workplaces safer. A world without insurance would lack many of these incentives to live safely.
- We’d probably have a lot more ulcers. Having to constantly worry about being financially wiped out after an accident or an unfortunate event would be a huge source of stress for most people. Many people would also build up huge emergency funds, which would reduce the amount of money they had for vacations, hobbies or simply a fun night out. Not having the means to enjoy the good stuff in life would also contribute to an increase in stress levels.
As the list above shows, insurance plays an important role in virtually every person’s life. Not sure if you have the right coverage? Then contact an insurance professional like an Erie Insurance agent to get the right coverage at the right price.
Business Journal names "Healthiest Employers" winners: Dr. Richard Isaacs
Attendees at the Healthiest Employers 2011 awards luncheon walk around the exhibitors area before the awards.
Five Sacramento-area companies won top honors at a luncheon Friday for theie employee health and wellness efforts. Rood & Dax Advanced Insurance Services Inc. of Sacramento won in the micro category (10 – 50 employees).
Dr. Richards Isaacs accepts a Healtiest Employers award on behalf of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Kaiser won in the mega category (10, 000-plus employees). The health care nonprofit, which has made healthy living a central message in its advertising years, has had a wellness program since 2002.
Maxillomandibular fixation with intraoral cortical bone screws
Richard S. Isaacs MD and Jonathan M. Sykes MD
The Laryngoscope
Volume 105, Issue 1, page 109, January 1995
Article first published online: 29 OCT 2009
DOI: 10.1288/00005537-199501000-00023
Copyright © 1995 The Triological Society
Meir Ezra: How to Get People to Trust You
If people cannot trust you, you will not succeed. You need people to believe you, have confidence in you, depend on you.
Losing trust is easy. You forget a promise you made. You fail to do what you said you would do.
When business owners, executives and managers cannot be trusted, no one will buy from them or work for them. Bankruptcies, lawsuits and government investigations start with broken agreements.
Governments also run into trouble when they break their word. When its citizens or other countries expect one thing and get another, they demand new leadership.
Trust is essential to marriages. In fact, you could say most divorces stem from broken agreements. "She agreed to not have an affair!" "He was going to treat me well!" "I thought I was going to be getting a husband/wife who ________."
"One's regard for another is based, in no small degree, on whether or not the person keeps his or her word. Even parents, for instance, would be surprised at the extent they drop in the opinion of their children when a promise is not kept."
"People who keep their word are trusted and admired. People who do not are regarded like garbage. Those who break their word often never get another chance."
"One should never permit another to give his or her word lightly. And one should insist that when a promise is made, it must be kept."
"Keep your word once given." - L. Ron Hubbard
from The Way to Happiness
Three Recommendations
- Make firm promises.
When you know you can do something or provide a specific result, don't hesitate to say so. Look people in the eye and tell them the truth. "I will complete that project by Friday, without fail." "If the car won't start, call us and we'll send a tow truck within an hour." "You can deposit the check today."
- Keep your small promises.
Many people see nothing wrong with breaking small promises. For example, you say, "I'll call you Tuesday" but then you don't call until Thursday. You say, "I won't tell anyone about your wife's drinking problem," but then you tell a few people anyway. You say, "I'll pay you back tomorrow," but then completely forget. Meir Ezra
If you don't take small promises seriously, you damage your reputation. You appear disorganized or irresponsible. You make the other person feel unimportant which makes him or her treat you the same way.
When people see that you keep your word on small things, they are more likely to believe you can keep your word on big things.
People will say things like, "Thanks for remembering to send me the file this morning." "You're the only one who paid me for yesterday's lunch." "You stopped by on Saturday, just as you said you would. Thank you."
- When keeping your word is difficult, do it anyway.
If you can't hold up your end, don't rationalize or make excuses. "He won't care that my payment is late." "She knows I USUALLY arrive on time." "They don't treat me with respect, so I don't need to honor their contract."
Instead, make it go right. "Even though my car had to go to the shop, and even though someone bounced a check on me, here is your payment, as promised, on time." Even better, simply say, "Here's your payment."
Stay up late, break a sweat, push yourself, find solutions, work harder, persist, push, demand, get your hands dirty and make it go right despite EVERYTHING.
