Huddle up: You’ve done it again, intrepid innovator! Another workweek conquered, another weekend earned, another chance to “enjoy” some New York football.
Yes, even with rookie sensation Jaxson Dart calling the signals, we can logically expect the undefeated San Diego Chargers to steamroll the hapless Giants Sunday afternoon, though we’ll have to wait until Monday night to watch the 0-3 Jets fumble … er, rumble … with the 0-3 Dolphins. Futile football aside, a weekend’s a weekend and we’re ready for this one – but first, a week-in-innovation review to fuel your Friday.
Love stack: Pile them up on National Pancake Day.
Breakfasts of champions: Today is Sept. 26 and with quick nods to the European Day of Languages (encouraging multilingualism across Earth’s third-most-populated continent) and National Human Resources Professional Day (giving it up for often-underappreciated people managers), we’re focused on food – beginning with Better Breakfast Day, kickstarting your day with nutritional balance.
Tip those scales with National Pancake Day, which doesn’t necessarily promote balance but does better your breakfast. (For the record, the flapjack fiesta also falls on Mardis Gras, the “Fat Tuesday” before Ash Wednesday – bit it enjoys a less-secular, more-official celebration on this date.)
Save some room: We love breakfast, too, but don’t spoil lunch and dinner – not on National Dumpling Day (filling dough will all kinds of meats and veggies), National Chimichanga Day (filling deep-fried dough with all kinds of meats and veggies, plus rice and beans and queso sauce) and National Key Lime Pie Day (giving dessert a citrusy spin), all served Sept. 26.
Three-egg omelet: We can only assume Thomas Jefferson, John Jay and Edmund Randolph enjoyed healthy breakfasts on this date in 1789, when they were appointed, respectively, as the first-ever U.S. secretary of state, chief justice and attorney general.
New glue review: Hey, that’s not pancake batter – it’s Portland cement, the limestone/clay/gypsum powder that mixes with water to create a sticky concrete binder, patented by Pennsylvania-based inventor David Saylor on Sept. 26, 1871.
Trade-off: Also sticking with it (for now) is the Federal Trade Commission, another independent agency caught in the White House’s crosshairs – but more focused on price discrimination, packaging regulations and general fairmindedness in interstate commerce when it formed 111 years ago today.
Plenty of good seats available: You won’t find a bad one inside the St. James Theatre.
On Broadway: Still putting asses in the seats (catch “The Queen of Versailles” with Kristin Chenoweth through March 29), Broadway’s St. James Theatre – known first as Erlanger’s Theatre, renamed in 1932 after a favored London playhouse – opened in Midtown Manhattan on this date in 1927. (First up: The George M. Cohan musical “The Merry Malones.”)
That’s Hollywood: And from stage to screen, as the infamous “Hollywoodland” sign – standing above Beachwood Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains – was rechristened as the “Hollywood” sign on this date in 1949.
Suffering serious disrepair, the circa-1923 landmark was resuscitated by the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission, which voted to replace the dilapidated 50-foot “H” and drop the last four letters. (Repair-and-restoration sequels would follow.)
Seed fund: American pioneer John Chapman (1774-1845) – known best as folk hero Johnny Appleseed, an adventurous nurseryman who planted apple orchards extensively through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois (to benefit future pioneers, according to legend, though research suggests he was more of a calculated businessman) – would be 251 years old today.
Something must have worked: Because LaLanne stayed fit to the ripe age of 96.
Also born on Sept. 26 were Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), a Nobel Prize winner and arguably history’s most famous dog owner; English engineer and inventor Sir Barnes Wallis (1887-1979), who created the Dambuster Raid’s famous “bouncing bombs”; American composer and pianist George Gershwin (1898-1937), an innovative and influential music man who created a unique sound blending classic and popular styles; American fitness guru Francois Henri “Jack” LaLanne (1914-2011), who overcame a sugar addiction to motivate millions; and Australian English singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022), a 100-million-record-selling superstar of Pop, Country and Adult Contemporary.
Making quite a racquet: And take a bow, Serena Jameka Williams! The American former professional tennis player – a four-time Olympic gold medalist and immensely successful entrepreneur who still holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era (23, with 14 Grand Slam doubles titles to boot) – turns 44 today.
Wish the swinger well at editor@innovateli.com, where our net gains depend on your news tips – and we reach our break point without your calendar events.
About our sponsor: St. Joseph’s University-New York, has provided a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. The independent and coeducational university provides a strong academic and values-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual rigor, social responsibility, spiritual depth and service. Through its Long Island, Brooklyn and online campuses, the university offers degrees in 100 majors, special course offerings and certificates and affiliated and pre-professional programs. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Up, up and a Sway: Kudos to our friends over at Melville-based marketing master EGC Group, who’ve launched an outer-borough spinoff agency focused on “performance PR.”
Putting a modern spin on old-school marketing techniques, Performance PR is a results-driven model that mitigates risks and strengthens agency-brand relationships by setting target results – measurable metrics that determine when, and if, the client pays the promoter. To identify and craft the best brand stories for the right audiences, EGC Group has created Sway Performance PR, a Brooklyn-based subsidiary staffed with “passionate PR veterans, social-first thinkers, journalistic minds and steadfast communicators,” EGC Group said a statement.
Balancing decades of experience, cutting-edge artificial intelligence and the latest content-consumption algorithms, Sway is a 21st Century engine for supercharging branding impact, according to EGC Group and Sway Performance PR Chief Executive Nicole Penn. “We’re leveraging both the backend tools we’ve used to measure engagement for decades in digital media … and developing proprietary AI machines to craft effective communications strategies,” Penn noted. “Sway is born of the recognition that there’s simply a stronger, smarter way to approach PR.”
This looks bad: But Zucker School EMT students were up to the task on Mass Casualty Incident Day.
Worst-case scenarios: It was another of those days Sept. 19 in Hempstead, when whatever could go wrong did.
Welcome to the annual Mass Casualty Incident Day at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy, where dozens of first-year students from the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell – marking eight weeks of Emergency Medical Technician training – faced one nightmare scenario after another: a terrorist bombing, an active-shooter situation, a Long Island Rail Road derailment, a serious car accident, even a hazardous-material spill. The disasters were staged (with the help of actors), but the learners battled real fires, billowing smoke, blinding darkness and wailing sirens as they triaged the wounded, administered emergency care and otherwise navigated scarily realistic hazard zones.
The Zucker School of Medicine has become a national model as the first medical school to incorporate EMT training into its standard curriculum. “At our school, we learn clinical medicine as well as the science,” noted Northwell Health Physician-in-Chief and Zucker School Dean David Battinelli. “Our EMT training forces home the fact that our students are going to be active learners, participating on teams as they learn the science and how to apply it to patients.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Molloy’s got Talent: Molloy University is upping its workforce-development game with the Molloy Talent Solutions program, which pushes tomorrow’s executives toward their degrees – while filling regional employers’ real-time skill gaps.
Give them a chance: You’ve given them time, mind and muscle – now give your innovation team a gift that strengthens all three. Subscriptions to this thrice-weekly, intel-packed newsletter – including the subscriber-only Monday Calendar Newsletter – are always easy, always free.
ICYMI
Long Island’s leading tourism agency has joined forces with the Island’s biggest regional airport on a high-tech, multistate marketing campaign promoting the region as an Autumnal paradise for “upscale leisure travelers.”
LIVIN’ ON THE EDGE
Kendra McQuilton: I will survive.
The Entrepreneur’s Edge presents words of wisdom from Energia CEO Kendra McQuilton, who knows all about infrastructure energy efficiency – and the very real physical and emotional dangers of job-related stress.
Something you’d like to add? The Entrepreneur’s Edge is open for business! Innovate Long Island’s exciting promoted-content platform provides a direct link from startups, established corporations and nonprofits to our innovation-focused audience – their future clients. Progressive product to promote? Singular service to sell? Sociopolitical position to push? Here’s your chance to shine a bright light on the big picture, the little details and everything in between, from the perspective of your innovation-focused enterprise. Learn more here!
BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)
Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:
From New York City: Wellness brand GORGIE partners with Gen Z-focused instant-commerce platform Gopuff to float limited-edition Sparkling Cosmic Berry energy drink.
From Washington State: Seattle-based carrier Alaska Airlines and frequent flying partner Hawaiian Airlines uplift rookie business travelers with reward-filled platform.
From New York City: Skill-based gaming studio Toast integrates with social-gaming innovator Sparket to set seamless, scalable standards for real-money gameplay.
ON THE MOVE
Jaylin Miller
+ Jaylin Miller has been appointed assistant to the athletic director at Farmingdale State College. The 2022 graduate of Farmingdale State’s Sport Management program was an assistant coach for the college’s Men’s Basketball team.
+ Alexandra Cruz has been hired as vice president of finance and administration at Nassau Community College in Garden City. She was director of financial affairs for the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
+ Sarah Jourdain has been named Stony Brook University’s first-ever executive director of teacher education. She was most recently chairwoman of the university’s Department of Languages and Cultural Studies.
+ Christine Donnelly has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Dix Hills-based Art League of Long Island. She is an art teacher in the Seaford Union Free School District.
+ Mitch Kase has been appointed executive director of Hofstra University’s Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Assessment. He was most recently the university’s executive director of education and research technology.
+ Marla Peckman has been hired as director of children’s programming at East Hills-based Sid Jacobson JCC. She was director of the URJ Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, Mass
+ Alan Schwartz has been appointed associate justice of the Village Justice Court in the Incorporated Village of Huntington Bay. He is also an associate village justice in the Village of Centre Island, secretary of the Williston Park-based Nassau County Magistrates Association and managing attorney of the Law Offices of Alan J. Schwartz in Garden City.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know – on Long Island, and soon, across New York State (just ask St. Joe’s). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Rapture Edition)
Going up?: Humanity has been spared the End Times … once again.
Heaven can wait: This wasn’t the first end-of-world prediction to miss the mark.
Half empty: When it finally comes, most Americans think they won’t be saved.
Now what? Rapture didn’t happen! How do true believers carry on?
Chapter and verse: Please continue supporting the innovative institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including St. Joseph’s University, where the better parts of the Bible (love, grace and faith) shine across the cutting edge of education, forging smart and socially responsible professional leaders. Check them out.
