PowerPoint; Peace Corps; Alzheimer's

In addition to that, we are a residential program, so we have this captive audience of enthusiastic young Americans ready and willing to do whatever needs to be done in our communities. All right, now let's go to the flip side of this, to the Peace Corps. And Katrina, tell us, I know after 39 years of service, you know, the Peace Corps pretty much has made it, obviously, made a name for itself, but tell us has the mission changed in any regard over the last 30 years? I think our mission overseas hasn't changed. We're still there working in education, health, business environment, agriculture, and a number of other fields. That mission hasn't changed. I think our message domestically or our mission domestically has changed, and that is to incorporate more minorities to make the Peace Corps more reflective and more representative of the U .S. population. So we're definitely looking for more minorities and trying to recruit more minorities. What to what level, I mean, have you had much success? Well, it's an ongoing process. I think we have had some success. We are definitely hearing the southeast because we have so many historically black colleges and universities. We do cater. We're trying to put that

message out to black college students and in general, but to Hispanics, Asians, the minorities, the Native Americans that make up our minority population. So we have had success, but we have found that we have to not necessarily change the message, but definitely cater to the needs of the different minority populations. Dana, you were a Peace Corps volunteer. Tell us a little bit about your story. Well, I was a Peace Corps volunteer. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Finan, small country in West Africa, and I did environmental work. I worked with village groups to help them with everything from tree nurseries to soil conservation. And then that was during my first year. Then during my second year, I worked more with educators on teaching environmental education to school children. Oh, okay. Now Tara, who is online, is a guest who is also involved in AmeriCorps, a volunteer.

Tara, tell us about how you got involved. Well, I recently graduated from school in Florida, and I wanted to do something. I wanted to do something with my time, but in between undergraduate school and graduate school, but I wanted to do something important that truly impacted society. I didn't want to just, you know, work and run -in -the -mill job, so I chose to do AmeriCorps and sort out the application and what did the process of becoming a core member this year. What did you do exactly? Well, there's a, you can receive an application from the Corporation for National Service, or you can receive one over the internet. And there is an essay that you still out, and then after you send the essay in and the application, you will receive a date for a telephone interview. And after the interview is conducted, you either receive an acceptance or not, and then they go on to tell you exactly where you're going to be at what

campus and at what point you need to be there, and, you know, I'll be at other logistics involved. Now, where were you stationed as exactly? Where did you go? I'm currently in San Diego, that is my home base. And we... Okay, you're still involved in it now? Exactly. Okay, now, what's your tour of duty, so to speak? It begins in October, the particular tour that we're on, I suppose you could say, begins in October and ends in July, and then there's another, at two other campuses, they begin in January and end in October. It's a ten month stretch of time, just depending on when you begin the program. Now, Lou, exactly where do people go? I mean, what kind of facilities do you have and where, throughout the country, would they start and where might they end up? Well, I keep in mind that we're federally funded. So, we try to do everything as cheaply as we can. We don't throw away the taxpayers' dollars. With that idea in mind, when this program was established, they were all were on downsized or closed military bases.

So, the price is right, for instance, I'm in San Diego and I'm at the Old Naval Trading Center, and I pay three cents a foot for space. And, you know, it's... So, the bottom line is, we go to downsized or closed military bases, and that's where we are based at. But each region has several states that they send their members to the Duke Community Service. I've got the nine western states in that's Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah. So I send my people and all the other campus directors do the same thing for the states that they have. They send them to the various states that submitted project requests to do projects. So, we will build homes with Habitat for Humanity, we teach English in the schools. We run after school, homework programs, we do a lot of work in the environment. As I said, we respond to national disasters, we fight forest fires, do a lot of work with stream restoration, we work with the elderly, the homeless, and you name it, we do it. And essentially, we do any projects that will benefit the definite need in

the community for that project to be done. Then you're there. We respond, and essentially, we have a pipeline where you submit a request for a project, and we don't charge for the project. We essentially provide the human resources to get these projects done. And if I could just say who these people are, they're 18 to 24, they're just totally and completely motivated, enthusiastic. They come to work in the give back, and 40, 50, 60 hour weeks are just a norm. I mean, we've had projects in North Carolina last year with the Special Olympics in this year in Alaska, when they were averaging 70, 80, 90 hours a week just because the need was there. So these young people are, in my opinion, it's what's great and wonderful about this country, that they are giving back, they are working, they're looking for things to get involved in that help us in these communities. It's fantastic. And I wish more people knew about it. Well, we're trying to put the word out there, Lou. And I am certainly grateful for this opportunity. Okay, let's talk to Marsha and Jackson, Mississippi. Good evening, Marsha.

How are you doing? Great. Push a question and comment. I guess I have a question, two questions. I guess I'm a lot like Tara right now. I'm a senior and I'm graduating in May. And when I was in high school, I've always wanted to join the Peace Corps because I've always known about it. My question is, will they defer student loans until I get back? Or, you know, what is the process, you know, dealing with, because we do have student loans, stuff like that? Okay. I'd be glad to answer that question. We certainly do defer. And we have a four -bearance clause. We will actually pay the interest on that loan while you involve the national service in one of our programs. Oh, that is wonderful. Okay. Now, you're interested in Peace Corps or AmeriCorps? Actually, I'm interested in both, but more self -peace Corps. Okay. And then I may have spoke out of turn, but I think - That's okay, Lou. But it might be tempting for, let's put that to Katrina. It may be tempting.

In the Peace Corps, we actually don't defer your loans, but the loans can be deferred. For Peace Corps volunteers, that is a benefit. The actual Peace Corps doesn't do it, but your lending institution does. Okay. And you can actually call your lending institution and find out for the type of loan that you have if the principal or interests are both or deferred. But unfortunately, we do not pay on the interest, but for the benefits that you get of serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, all the additional benefits, then I definitely would say it is worth it even though we don't pay the interest on your student loans. Okay. Martia, where are you interested in going? Or would that be a preference that she might have? It's not a preference at all. Mm -hmm. Wherever you need it. Well, that's fantastic, Martia. We're all needed. Great. What would she need to do? Okay. Thanks, Martia, for you call. Where would she start? Well, she can actually start on the web. We have online applications now, or she can call our 1 -800 -number -1 -800 -424 -8580, and she can request an application from her regional office. And I'll fill out the application, send it in within two weeks. A recruiter will contact you.

You'll be interviewed and nominated into an assignment. And we definitely try and base the country where you serve. We try and base that on the language that you studied in high school or college. Uh -huh. Because we definitely try and accommodate you. We want you to be happy for your two years, although it is probably best for a person to be flexible. Be flexible about where you end up. I wanted to go to Guinea. I wanted to go to West Africa. I did not care what country, but I wanted to be in a French -speaking country. I studied French for four years, so that Peace Corps was able to work with that. Oh. It's the same way with going to South America. People who want to go to South America, but they've never studied Spanish, that's really not going to happen. It's a little bit difficult because you have so many people who have studied Spanish. We can give those opportunities to them. Oh. So we try and work with you, so to accommodate your preferences, but, you know, in the end, it helps with the country and it helps you if you're flexible. Or bilingual. That helps a lot too. All right. Our number is 1 -888

-667 -3224. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. Let's go to Kathy in New York. Good evening, Kathy. Hi. How are you doing? Great, Kathy. I think how are you tonight? Good. I had a question from Mr. Witherspoon. Go ahead. I'm a teacher in New York, and I was wondering what you're doing to help improve our education system and how I could possibly become involved in that. Well, I actually have one of my team leaders as a teacher, and we don't have any age limits on teachers. But specifically, what we're doing is we do a lot of work in schools and education. I'm sure you've heard of America reads. All of the local campuses traditionally have local reading programs. Schools present us with products, and we go into schools full -time, and we assist in the classroom with helping the teachers. We take kids that have issues with reading or behinding their reading, and we do one -on -one whatever the teacher asks us to do. We also are there for after -school homework programs to assist them. In San Diego, we work directly with a program called San Diego reads, and they have been trying to

get more books into their classrooms and more tutoring for kids to try to improve their reading levels first through three, first through third, a K through three, to increase their reading levels to get them up to speed. Essentially, we would do whatever you need us to do, and all you have to do is request a team through the paperwork process, which is not that extensive, and then when we bring a team to the campus or to your school, then you provide us with information and a list of things that you want us to do to help increase the reading levels for the kids in your school. Super. And what campus covers New York? New York, where you've got two campuses up there, you've got the Capital Reach and Operated by Kate Becker, and you've got the Northeastern Reach and Operated by Ken Bixler. And Ken Bixler is in Perry Point, Maryland, and Kate's in Washington, D .C. And the best way to get in contact with them would be to do what? Well, a couple

of ways. Number one, we have a website as well, but probably the more, I can give you the phone numbers for those individuals' questions, frankly. The Northeast region with Perry Point would, and I can repeat this later on if I need to, but if Ken's number would be Erickode 410 -642 -2411, extension 685 -0, Kate Becker in Washington, D .C., and that's called the Capital Region, and her phone number is 202 -561 -1382. Great. But like I said, we do have a website, and that's essentially www .americore -AMERI -CRR -P -S dot org, ORG, and you can access all of us through that as well as all the information on projects, as well as all the recruiting information. Okay. Hi, Kathy. Long information. Good luck. Thank you for calling. Our number one more time, 1 -888 -667 -3224, that's 1 -888 -667

-3224. Dana, why did you join the Peace Corps? I was looking for a very multicultural experience. I grew up in Hawaii, and I was surrounded all the time by many different ethnicities, and I enjoyed that. And so often here in the U .S., you know, it's a multicultural country, one of the best in the world, but interaction is not always the best, unfortunately. And I was looking for more of a forced interaction where I could meet others and learn their culture. I've always been interested in going overseas. I thought, wow, Peace Corps offers the best opportunity for all of that. And you wound up in Benin? Yes. Tell me about your experience going over there where you concerned at all about what you might face or what you were going to be doing. A little, maybe a few butterflies? Of course. Yeah, always. You don't know. You have no concept. And when you get there, it's never like you imagined at all. It's not. You can visualize up to

a certain point, and then you get there and it's not at all like you figured. So you just start from with what you have. Yes. I'm sure. Now, Luke, what is your job exactly as regional director? What do you do? You kind of round them all up and send them out? Well, essentially, I just oversee the operation. And I've got about 250 young men and women and a staff of about 23. And essentially, my entire organization, we go out and tell people who we are and what we do. They come back and provide us with post projects. We select the projects. And then we send our teams out to get those projects done. And that also involves, you know, housing, them feeding them, getting them there and transportation, making sure that they're safe. And making sure that the projects are well coordinated to the point that when they get there, there's sufficient work for a team of 12 to 14 young men and women can do daily without having to sit around. Because that's the worst thing we could do to have a young people that doesn't have enough work. That's right. Certainly. Well, I understand that there is a benefit for you. If you join AmeriCorps, we'll talk about that in a moment. We'll continue with PowerPoint.

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-888 -682 -6500 for a copy of any PowerPoint broadcast. Katrina, a little bit earlier, we were talking about minorities enjoying the Peace Corps that that's a real focal point that you're all trying to work on. I'd like to put that question to Lou. Are there any programs aimed at attracting African Americans particularly or is everything just fine in that regard? Well, no. I think we share some of the same concerns in antitrusty or AmeriCorps that she does in the Peace Corps in that... We're lagging or lacking in males as well as minorities in our programs. So we spend some additional time trying to recruit specifically males and minorities. Right now, our percentages are about 72 % of our young people are women and 20 % are men. We're in single digits with regard to minorities in all of our programs, all of the NCC programs. So we're constantly trying to bring more males and

minorities into the program because, quite frankly, this program should be a reflection of the demographics in this country and we're just not there yet. Now, before the break I was talking about an added benefit for, especially for those in education, can you talk a little bit about the Education Award? Well, sure. It's pretty much the same for all of the AmeriCorps programs, $4 ,725. And you get that after accumulating 1 ,700 hours of service. And our people do that in 10 months. And they've got seven years to use it and they can use it in bits and pieces. And it has to be used for education. They can use it also to defer on a student loan, is that correct? Yeah, they could pay off pre -existing student loans. They can go to graduate school. They can go to trade school, become an EMT. Anything that they want to do with it, that's education related. But it has to be used in this country. You can't use it to go to a university and a foreign country. Okay, and speaking of education, we have a caller online for Dr. Chowdryv

and Philadelphia listening to WHY. Good evening, sir. Good evening. I have two questions. One is that website. I'm sitting in front of computer and I put, you know, AmeriCorps. A -M -E -R -I -C -O -R -E. CRP? Yes. Okay, CRP. Okay, yes, sir. All right. The second question is, I teach in college, Lincoln University. And we could use somebody, you know, I mean, some help too. I mean, do you provide help for colleges? Are you talking about, oh, are you talking about my problem? Yes. We provide help to communities. We don't discriminate, well, against anybody, but specifically not against colleges. But you have to have a need, a compelling need in your community and you have to have a situation where this particular problem that you have that we could assist you with would be something that would be valuable to the community and would not

get that unless an organization like ours does it. We do not do things that would put somebody out of work. No, not out of work, but we could use somebody for the student help, you know, I mean, like for math and... For tutoring? For tutoring. Okay, keep in mind that we traditionally do not focus on colleges and universities because there's typically expertise, there are tutor system tutoring programs that, you know, I think you pay for that in college. Normally, we spend a lot of time trying to get kids started. So we spend a lot of time in educational projects working in elementary and middle schools and occasionally in high schools. I don't know if we've ever done a project in college because when we look at the broad spectrum of things in terms of need, traditionally, the kids at the earlier age are the ones that need to help more. Yeah, that's true. All right, Dr. Chaudry,

thank you so much for your phone call. Is AMERICORPS, correct? Yes. All right. Tara, tell me a little bit about what you're looking forward to doing. Well, I have been in the program like I said since October. We were involved in a project here in San Diego working at a botanical garden. And we also were in Washington State working with an Easterseals camp. We worked outside at the actual camp doing trail restoration. And we also worked with those disabilities during respite weekends is what they were called. So those are the, what we have done. We're currently working on a historic restoration project restoring some sites here that are historical to California. Yes, are you picking up a hammer and all of that sort of stuff? Yes, I am. You're really going to get into it. Right. We do get down and dirty work a lot of times. A lot of the work is, you know, in schools and things like that. And

then there's also a lot of work that is manual labor, you know, getting down and really getting your hands dirty and doing some serious work out there. Now, what have you learned so far? What are you taking away from this now? You have your, your bachelor of science, right? Right. What are you getting on a more, I guess, a more real life level here? Well, probably the most important lesson that most of us are running here is being able to work with people from all different backgrounds from so many different perspectives. They're on the team that I am on. And we are mostly from the East Coast and the Midwest. So it's just a variety of different people from, you know, different college, different education levels. We have some that just graduated from high school. Some of us that have graduated from college. And we're just really running to get along with one another. And it's like a family. You don't pick your family. You know, you get who you get. And then you learn how to cope with them and deal with them the best way that you can. And that's a really, you know, it's a wonderful thing to have because everybody doesn't have that experience. So once the team is

together, Lou, do they kind of like, are they really family? I mean, do they really have to learn how to get along and resolve disputes in things of that nature? Absolutely. Essentially, we put teams together very beginning of the program. But at the very beginning for the first three to four weeks, we spend, and I call it, we teach them how to walk before they run. We spend a lot of time training them or talking about team building, a conflict resolution, diversity, you know, all about the program, healthy lifestyles, all of those things that they need to know to live and grow in a community, as well as just go out there and do what they came here for and that is to get things done in our community. So it's kind of, initially, they get together and they stay together for the entire ten -month period. And they travel around to these various products in a 15 -passenger van. And when they get to a site, you know, we typically people that need help don't have a lot of money. So we may go to a location to help somebody get some work done. And then they may give us for lodging a two -bedroom house. So we may have six or seven women in one room and six or

seven guys in another sleeping on the floor on mattresses, I mean, for two months. Wow. You know, and they learn to live with that. So it's not, you know, this isn't staying in the walled off the story or any hotels traditionally. We stay in locations where this sponsor will be able to provide us with adequate lodging and then sometimes food, but, you know, we have a budget for food as well. So it is close quarters when they go out on what we call a spike. When they're at their home campus, they traditionally are two to three in a room and, you know, with all the amenities of the room. More creature comforts there. Right. But even on the road, I mean, we may be staying in a hotel or staying in a basement of a church or a YMCA or a National Guard Armory. Whether permitting, we will even camp. Whatever we need to do. How long we usually do these Bibwex last, so to speak? I mean, how long are you usually out? Well, I would say probably the short side would be a month and the long side may be as much as 10

weeks. Just, you know, I can't, we don't want to spend a lot of money to send somebody too far and not be able to justify sending them there. Sure. But, um, it depends on what needs to get done. But, you know, I would say six to eight weeks is the average size for a project lengthwise and they'll be gone for that entire duration of time. Okay. Now, earlier you heard from President John F. Kennedy, here's another famous voice that you just might recognize. What's up? This is Ella Okoo, Jay. And I make my own rules. And my first rule of business is the support of our communities. Have you heard of AmeriCorps? Well, I've met some people who have. They say AmeriCorps is a way to help kids in your neighborhood. It's also a way to get a better education. Find out more about AmeriCorps. Call 1 -800 -942 -2677. AmeriCorps. Peace and love. Well, there you have it. How did you get LL involved in this? Did he just, was it just something that, I know it probably wasn't just you by yourself, Lou. But was it something that, um, it's just like us getting a celebrity involved with it, kind of helps to bring it home to more minorities as well? Well, you know, I think he's always had a commitment to serve. And then,

um, he was approached by some of our corporate staff members in Washington, D .C., and he graciously agreed to do the PSA. But we've also had them by Colin Powell, Grant Hill. Um, Maggie Johnson just recently got involved. And, um, you know, it's nice and refreshing to see some of the people that are, that are focal figures out there in our communities making their commitment to national service. Certainly. And so, uh, we're, we've been very fortunate in that regard. Here's our number one eight eight eight six six seven three two two four. Had a little momentary lapse. It will sing your moment one six six seven three two two four. If you have a question about the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, back to recruiting more minorities for AmeriCorps, what, and besides getting maybe celebrity voices and whatnot, can you offer some other incentives right now to our listeners for them to get involved? Sure. You know, and I, you know, this may, may sound just a little corny, but I,

I really think that the biggest significant, you know, issue here is that for the young people get an opportunity to, to work with young enthusiastic Americans giving back and contributing to our society far too often you hear about. You know, you always see the news on the papers you said about, you know, who's gotten shot recently or what this kid is doing here and there. But the majority of very young people in this country are doing wonderful things like this. So, but in addition to that, yes, we, in an intruple C, the National Survey and Community Corps, we provide room and board, medical coverage, and a living allowance of about a hundred bucks a week, or four thousand dollars in ten months, and at the end of that program, after they've completed 1 ,700 hours of service, they get that 4 ,725 dollar educational award. We also provide them transportation to the campus at the beginning of the program and back home at the very end of the program. In addition to all of that, they, most of them, and I would say all of them obviously, it's a light changing experience.

They grow, they learn, they live in diverse environments, they meet people that they never would have met otherwise if they hadn't come to a program like this. But as I said earlier, the most, I think, important thing to them, and then I'm not, you know, you could, I guess the best thing to talk to one of the members, but is that they have an opportunity to work in communities that truly need the help, and they can see the results of their labor, you know, oftentimes immediately. Tara, do you want to give an amen to that? It's true. Actually, the project we worked on in the past two weeks, we restored an Adobe, which is a type of building material. I'm not sure if everyone has ranch house. And it took us probably a week and a half to do it, you know, which is a short period of time, I guess, for such a large building. And you, we watched it just from being basically kind of falling apart to just, we built it back up, we replastered, we painted, and just really restored the building. And it's so nice to see all of your hard work and your sweat, a pan of paint fell on

me earlier this week. I mean, we really struggled through the week, but at the end of the week, it's just a really awesome, you know, experience, because you've done something so important that wouldn't have been done, really. You know, the organization we worked with doesn't have the funds to hire someone to come do it. And if they did, that would take them a month. You know, we had 12 people working on it. So it takes us no time to do something, whereas if one person came out and did it, it would take them, you know, all that much longer. So it certainly is gratifying. Yeah, it is gratifying. You know, working with people is one thing that, you know, we didn't necessarily work with anyone in particular, but in the end, when the people that, you know, that walk by and run by on a trail to see this ranch, you know, they just tell us, wow, that's, you know, that's a really great thing that you did, we're so glad that it's being restored, because that's part of California history. Great. We hope to restore some of it. Well, good for you. Let's talk to John in Atlanta, listening to WCOK. Good evening, John. Hi, how are you? Hi, thanks for holding your question and comment, please. My question is, I am a member of the

famous Tuskegee Airman to you for me with that. We now exist primarily, specifically, as a mentoring group in 43 different states and the United States. However, specifically in Atlanta, my question is to the AmeriCorps, what's the possibility of AmeriCorps and Tuskegee Airman? What's the possibility of a Tuskegee Airman getting some of your employees and resources to assist us in our program and into the high school, elementary school, and middle schools of Metro Atlanta? You know, I'd love these kinds of questions, as someone said, if you're setting me up. But I would tell you, I could give you a phone number and a name, and the guy's name is Jeff Beale, B -I -E -L. Great. And he's the director of the South -East Student Campus in Charleston, South Carolina.

Charleston, South Carolina? That just happens to be my hometown, by the way. But anyway, his phone number is area code 843. Okay. 743. 8601. 8601. Give me the name again, please. Jeff Beale, B -I -E -L. And what you mentioned is exactly the kinds of things that we have been doing more and more of. When we started this program in 94, we were doing more work in the environment, but we determined that the greater need was in urban inner cities, particularly with weeding. Yeah. And you know, Colin Powell has really gotten going with America's promise. We're spending a lot of time in the schools trying to improve the reading level and just assist kids in general. So this is perfect. That is specifically what we're trying to do. And improve the reading level of our students. And of course, science. And of course, the internet and this type of thing. All right, John. I hope that helps you. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. We appreciate that. And here, give Jeff Deal a call. Lou, I was going to ask you now with

the urban reading programs. Do you find that in the years that you all have been in existence that these programs have helped maybe breed more or foster more volunteers for AmeriCorps? Well, they truly have. Because one of the things that we do in addition to doing the project, we do what we call community outreach to try to encourage and improve sustainability of the various projects. So when we go into a community, we don't just go in there and do the work. We go in and do the work. And we send our young men and women out into the community to invite the local citizens to come and work with us in these various projects. So that when we leave, they can remain and they could continue to be connected and they could sustain these projects. And when that happens, people wonder who you are and what you're doing. And then they see their local citizens there as well. So then they come aboard. We recently had a project in Pittsburgh, California, which is an urban minority, primarily African -American community. We went in there and we restored some homes of elderly people that were on fixed incomes with, and their homes are literally falling down around them. So we went in and

restored a lot of homes. We got a lot of donations from the various places, like Home Depot, etc. We restored several homes, and then the neighbors started fixing up their homes. But in addition to that, they started helping neighbors get back on their feet and clean up their place. And then they started community meetings. They established neighborhoods, watches. Wow, that's a lot of things happening at the outgrowth of the program. That's fantastic. Katrina, are there any physical requirements? For this, for being in the Peace Corps? I noticed that Dana's in pretty good shape. And, you know, you look like you've been working hard. I'm sure of everything. But I'm just wondering, are there, because the work is strenuous. Tara was just talking about, you know, paint cans falling and hammering and doing all this sort of stuff. I mean, do you have to be in tip -top physical shape to do this? Well, there is a medical clearance. You do have to pass medical and there are certain conditions that can be accommodated more so than others. But generally, yeah, most of Peace Corps volunteers would be in pretty good shape. They would be able to, I mean, a lot of times you're not very accessible. So you would have

to write a mountain bike about 10 miles or so or walk at least that distance to get to another town, to buy paint cans or to do different things that you have to do. So I would say it requires a modicum of health, good health. Okay. We'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. PowerPoint continues in just a bit. Stay with us. And welcome back to PowerPoint, where we're talking about volunteering here in the U .S.

and abroad here with AmeriCorps, and abroad with the Peace Corps. Our number is 1 -888 -667 -3224. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. If you have questions, comments or concerns by either organization. Let's go to Carla in Philadelphia listening to W -H -Y -Y. Good evening, Carla. Hi, good evening. Great. What's your question to comment? Actually, my comment is just that I'm African American woman and I served in the Peace Corps in Guatemala in 1994 to 1996. And it was kind of a strange situation only in that what I found, when I graduated from high school here in New Jersey anyway, is that if you were black and you had even half a brain, you were pushed towards business or engineering. Those are really the only two choices that you were sort of pushed towards. And people were just about kind of making money. Now, do what you can do to make money. And I think that maybe that's an issue with African Americans that didn't have a chance to do that for a long time. When it came to Peace Corps, I told people what I was going to do and they were just all about getting out and getting paid. And I just thought that there were maybe some more important things to do, and this was one of them. Is that what you're finding?

Yeah, that's part of the challenge that we are definitely facing and recruiting minorities in general by African Americans specifically. Carla, what did your friends think when you said you were going to the Peace Corps instead of just jumping right out there and hitting the bricks? I mean, the first question with friends and family was, why? I mean, I can't understand that, but it's just that I don't know. My family were just really taught to serve, whether it be in church, or community, and doing whatever and volunteering. And I just saw that there are a lot of people who are really willing to help and do things in this country. And maybe fewer people are willing to leave the country. And I was one of them willing to go. I mean, I think America was an incredible program. I see City Corps working in Philadelphia. I'm sorry, City Year. And I just think those are terrific programs. And I took advantage of being able to travel a little bit and see a different part of the world. I ended up being from a Peace Corps poster child and a place in a mangrove forest you'd only get to by boat. Wow. And my mother just got the biggest kick out of it. So what was your life like in Guatemala for those two years? Very different. I learned more about myself. I've probably spent more time with myself than any of my peers. I mean, actually, you can't have too much time

with yourself. You're in the rainy season. You know, when it doesn't light up for days on end, you and your hammock. But I was working with sea turtles and iguanas. My background is actually landscape architecture. Sea turtles and iguanas. Yeah. Oh, what were you doing with sea turtles and iguanas? We had hatcheries for them working with people to conserve them. Both of them are endangered species. And we were trying to find ways that people could still make money in selling them. And they're both popular to eat actually the turtle eggs and the grain of guan itself. And how to conserve the species but without taking away a vital part of people's income. And your background was in what in school? Landscape architecture. It's a big difference. Well, it is a big difference, but you learn. I mean, boy, when you get there, I did things I never thought I could do. But when faced with the situation, when I got there, we had to build a house. That was the first volume here in my site. So I used learn. You just start out learning. Well, great, Carla. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. One other quick thing I would like to say is just that people, one thing people may be concerned about that I've spoken to other

minorities is that I think they'll find the situation is really almost 100 % different than what you'll find in the United States. The most prejudiced thing or the most bigoted thing said to me in my two years was from another volunteer. Wow. Well, that's certainly a vote for joining. Thank you so much, Carla. Thank you for taking my comment. Is that something else Katrina that you find is that most black people are afraid of what they might face when they go over there? They're definitely apprehensive. Sometimes wanting to know, you know, I don't deal with the best treatment here in my own country. Will it be worse if I go elsewhere? And I'm definitely not looking for worse. And I can say from my own experience, it was definitely, I haven't been the victim of anything, you know, that here. But it was definitely, I didn't have those problems. I definitely did not have any. Did you run into anything at all day and why you overseas? You run into both. Katrina and I both served in West Africa. And so our perspective is different from volunteers who, you know, serve in Russia or South America, obviously. And I, I honestly would run into both them, but in some people would say, wow, you know, look at you. You really look like an African. And I would say, well, you know what?

And then I got to give my whole history lesson, which was great. But there were also people who would look at me and say, you know, I think you're just an African. You're just like us. You're not special. You're not really American. And that's hard to hear because we are Americans. And, but that's also another goal of Peace Corps is to show all the faces of America and explain. And it wasn't just me. It would be, you know, Asian American volunteers also ran into the same thing. No, you're not really American. Well, but we are. And that's something that we need to get out there. Because what is portrayed about America is your typical white middle class happy. But America is more than that. But Carla was just saying that she found out a lot of things about herself. Yes. Did you find the same situation while you were there? Do you have a lot of downtime or not downtime, but time when you just really had, were forced to spend it with yourself and finding out more about what you're really are like? Definitely. Yes. And time just moves at a different pace in the developing world. And so you do have time to sit and think and really think about your own culture and yourself

and how you fit into society as a whole. Now, it's a two year commitment. Is that correct? Yes. Two years, 27 months exactly, three months of training on the front ended and 24 months of service. And then if you liked it so much that you wanted to go back, can you? You can re up for a third year. And there are people who come back home after two years and they reapply and they go and do another two years in another country. I just placed a guy who was going back. It will be his third time. So it will be about six years. Wow. Yeah. Great. Now tell everybody how they can find out about joining the Peace Corps. You can log on to our website at www .peacecora. That'll be one word for the website with an s on the end .gov .gov. Or you can call us at 1 -800 -424 -8580. All right. Lou, last word, AmeriCorps. Tell people how to get involved. Well, you can call us at 1 -800 -942 -2677. Or log in to the website www .americororg -amiricorps .org. Tara, would you recommend it? Yes, I would, especially for

minorities. It's an incredible opportunity to meet people from different places and to see so many different places. You know, I'm from Florida and this is just a completely different world on the West Coast. And I'm just grateful that I'm able to experience it. All right. I said I was going to let Lou have the last word. But I'm going to have to ask Dana, do you recommend it for anybody? And would you go back without a doubt? Yes. All right. Thank you all for being with us. We appreciate it very much. Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. Now coming up next on PowerPoint, coping with Alzheimer's. Phone in with your questions to the PowerPoint hotline. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. We're back in a moment. To order an audio cassette of tonight's program or any past edition of PowerPoint or for listener comments, please call PowerPoint at 1 -888 -682 -6500. That's 1 -888 -682 -6500.

PowerPoint news is produced by Bruce Dorton. The production manager is Glenn Simmons with production assistance from Marquis Lofton. PowerPoint studio engineers aren't sweat. The call screener is Cherry Anne Holder. Katina Carbohalis is the marketing intern. The associate producer for PowerPoint is Rosemary Holmes. The executive producer is Reggie Hex. PowerPoints theme is from the CDF stops by Craig Harris. Production assistance for PowerPoint is provided by WCLK FM, a broadcast service of Clark Atlanta University. PowerPoint comes to you live from the studios of Peach State Public Radio, a 12 station network serving all of Georgia. PowerPoint is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the National Legacy Foundation. This is PowerPoint, a production of Hicks and Associates. PowerPoint is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Production and broadcast of PowerPoint is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the National Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit

organization committed to enhancing, preserving, and restoring the legacy and history of life in America. This is PowerPoint, an Information Age Clearinghouse for News, Issues, and Ideas that impact the African -American community, the nation, and the world. The disease not only takes its toll on its victims, but also family members and caregivers. The causes are unclear, and there is no cure. Coming up, Alzheimer's disease,

and is there a ray of hope? But first, to the PowerPoint news desk for a wrap -up of this week's news. To empower the community, this is PowerPoint. Good evening, I'm Bruce Dorton. Vietnam has free thousands of prisoners on this 25th anniversary of its victory over the United States and South Vietnam. The release of 12 ,000 prisoners is the country's biggest ever amnesty. One man who was free after serving 15 years from murder says he feels like he's been reborn. The anniversary of the end of the war was also celebrated with a nationally televised parade in the city once known as Saigon. Goose -stepping soldiers and brightly dressed women marched before a palace decorated with a huge portrait of legendary communist leader Ho Chi Minh. An estimated 20 ,000 people gathered at the Reunification Palace, which during the war, was headquarters for the U .S.-backed South Vietnamese government.

Diabetes may be added to the list of diseases linked to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposure during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam Veterans of America has asked the Veterans Affairs Department to add the illness to the list of diseases linked to the chemical spring during the war so veterans can get service -based compensation. The VA's Agent Orange Task Force last year concluded there was a link between the disease and exposure to the chemical and other herbicides. Last month, the Air Force also released a study that found the strongest evidence to date that Airmen exposed to Agent Orange had a significantly higher incidence of diabetes. But the head of the VA has asked the National Academy of Sciences to review the data before any recommendations are made. The Reverend Desmond Tutu, who has urged the United States to come to terms with its history of slavery, has been honored by a group name for the early anti -slavery movement. Tutu will be the second recipient of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Human

Rights Award. The first Civil Rights Activist Award was awarded to Rosa Parks. The 69 -year -old Tutu, a Nobel laureate and former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, will be presented the International Freedom Conduct Award August 5, according to Freedom Center Officials. Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to dismantle apartheid in South Africa. He's currently completing a two -year stay as a visiting professor of theology at Emory University in Atlanta. The Clinton Administration reportedly has designated AIDS as a threat to national security. The Washington Post reports the National Security Council is directing a reassessment of the government efforts to combat AIDS. The newspaper says it's the first time the council has ever been involved in fighting an infectious disease. The Post says the new effort is being driven by intelligence reports that considered the broadest consequences of the AIDS epidemic for foreign governments and societies, especially in Africa. The Post says one study predicted AIDS could cause ethnic wars and

toppling of governments. The newspaper says a White House Interagency Working Group has been created to develop a series of proposals to help fight AIDS overseas. President Clinton is using a new study to bolster his push to add prescription drug coverage for all Medicare recipients. A study by a group backing Clinton's prescription proposal says prices for drugs that older Americans use most often rose higher than inflation last year. Since 1994, families USA says drugs come into seniors have soared 30 percent on average. Clinton says seniors living on fixed incomes simply can't cope with these kinds of price increases forever. Congressional Republicans oppose the administration's plan instead they propose providing a prescription drug benefit only for the neediest seniors. In entertainment news, Ice Cube will be shedding some light on the inner workings of the music industry in a new series he's doing for HBO. The Hollywood reporter says the cable channel has signed a deal with Ice Cube to develop and produce a dramatic

series titled Be Careful What You Wish For. The series will be about a musician's rise to fame but not necessarily fortune. Ice Cube will write the pilot and probably direct it. The Hollywood reporter says the series is expected to feature real rap artists and cameo roles. Ice Cube made his acting debut in Boys in the Hood and most recently was in Three Kings and Next Friday, a film in which he also wore the hats of co -writer and executive producer. Well, she was able to turn the beat around but was unable to beat cancer. Disco, Diva, Vicky, Sue Robinson has died at her home in Wilton, Connecticut. She was 46. Robinson's 1976 hit turned the beat around was among the top hits of the dancing decade. Her publisher says Robinson had been ill for several months with a type of cancer that eventually spread to her lungs. Robinson died Friday. In recent years, Robinson enjoyed a disco revival, touring with Casey in the Sunshine Band, the Village People and Gloria Gainer.

And Tony Braxton says she expected Oprah Winfrey would be a lot nicer to her when she was being interviewed back in 1998. Braxton told Newsweek Magazine when she went on the show while she was still in the midst of financial struggles. She expected Oprah to give her a hug in a kiss and told me it was going to be all right. Instead, Oprah grilled her about things like spending $1 ,000 on Gucci Silverware. Braxton tells Newsweek that if dropping 100 C notes on some forks and spoons made her broke, then she really would have been in bad financial shape. Besides, she says she has given the company so much free publicity. She gets a discount so she can really shop. And you thought OJ was old news? Well, CBS plans and OJ Simpson mini -series variety says it'll focus on the attorneys, not Simpson. No actor will play Simpson, but someone playing him will narrate the mini -series. Samuel L. Jackson and Albert Finney are two of the names being considered for the project. It'll air in two parts for a total of four hours.

And that is the news on PowerPoint this evening. I'm Bruce Dorton. Good evening. And welcome to PowerPoint, broadcasting live from Atlanta,

Georgia. I'm Carmen Burns. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that can ruin a person's ability to reason or remember. All too often, family members attribute a relative's chronic forgetfulness or... can tanker a behavior to aging when the problem goes much deeper. Research has shown that as we age, African Americans are as much as four times more likely to develop Alzheimer's than whites and Hispanics were twice as likely to get it. What are the early warning signs and at what stage should we start looking for them? We'll try to answer those questions tonight and more. African Americans and Alzheimer's. And that is the subject of tonight's PowerPoint. And joining me in our studio is Dr. Bobby Khan, a cardiologist and primary care physician, Ms. Veronica Brown -Darrity, a multicultural outreach social worker who works directly with African American families affected by Alzheimer's disease, and John Tame's information and referral coordinator for the American Alzheimer's associations at

Atlanta Area Office. Good evening to all of you. And thanks for joining us here on PowerPoint. And remember, you are always invited to join in on the conversation by calling the PowerPoint hotline at 1 -888 -667 -3224. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. Dr. Khan, I gave a thumbnail sketch of Alzheimer's disease. Can you broaden it a little bit more? I think that Alzheimer's disease is becoming more prevalent in American society. I believe now it is the fourth most prevalent disease over the age of 65, following cardiovascular disease, cancer, and stroke. And that's probably because of our increased awareness of the fact of Alzheimer's disease, but also that our population is getting older. Now, is this something, I mean, when we were growing up, we always thought of, you know, as our grandparents, great -grandparents aged, that they

could be cantankerous or forgetful, but that was just a normal sign of aging. At what point did we discover Alzheimer's was something other than just getting old? I think that, you know, you talk about aging. There was a term called hardening of the arteries. That was the specific term used about that. And I think now that we have determined that there's actual brain operations that are ceasing or slowing down, which we have found through neurological studies, through radiological studies, that has become more prevalent. I think the initial thinking about Alzheimer's disease actually started by a neurologist in Germany, or a psychiatrist, I believe, Dr. Alzheimer's, which is the name Alzheimer's disease, where he actually determined that a lady who was in her 50s of symptoms that were not really known at the time, I believe this was around the turn of the 20th century.

And they found out in autopsy that she had significant degenerative brain processes that had happened. And I think that's where the thinking happened, but I think it really wasn't until the 70s, where you started to see some information showing that there are some genetics that are involved, some molecular mechanisms that are involved, specifically with Alzheimer's and neurological diseases. There is a condition called crutsfeld -yakub syndrome, or Kuru. These are very slow virus processes. And a number of the studies actually onset from University of California at San Francisco, who is Stanley Pruciner, who just won the Nobel Prize, had determined this concept called preons. And preons, they think, might have some implication in these neurological degenerative processes, such as Alzheimer's. Well, John, let's talk a little bit about the Alzheimer's Association. What is it all about? Well, the Alzheimer's Association is set up to help families deal with the disease.

And one of the big problems we have with Alzheimer's disease is there's usually a three or four -year lag between the time that a person shows the early warning signs and the time that they are formally diagnosed with the disease. Okay, well, let's back up a second. The early warning signs of Alzheimer's are... ...are memory loss that affects day -to -day functioning, difficulty performing familiar tasks like cooking, putting on your seat seat belt and car language problems that you might have for getting names. Now, some of us go through that. And we, you know, I mean, how do you differentiate? I mean, does it get any more involved? Because I could say, I have memory loss. I forget where my car keys are. That's true. But what happens is that there are also mood and behavior changes. It may be depression. It may be other things lack of initiative. The person stops doing

things that they normally would have done. And to church, they stop going to church. These are some of the signs that the person may be developing most serious problems. Now, what about depression? Depression is one of the real early warning signs and it sometimes may come even before the memory loss. Really? Yes, so that it's hard to differentiate between depression that has a cause that we know somebody is going through a difficult life situation and depression that may be caused because of the early signs of Alzheimer's disease. Now, Dr. Kahn, are there any warning, I mean, any test that can determine that this is something, you know, something different than Alzheimer's though. A is Alzheimer's. Usually, Alzheimer's is what we call a diagnosis of exclusion. Usually, if somebody will come in with changes consistent with altered mental status. They may have significant memory loss. They may come in

psychotic, whatever. A lot of times, that's in a hospital situation. But in an office setting, there really isn't any test. Usually, you will try and rule out some of the potential metabolic causes. Certain conditions like diabetes, severe diabetes can cause changes. Some electrolyte imbalances can cause changes. Anemia fever can do that. So, you usually have to rule that out before you come with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. So, whatever it wasn't, then you just kind of go down the line and just eliminate. It's a process of elimination. Pretty much. And then there's many mental status examination that a lot of physicians will perform on their patients. And that does help us to assist in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Okay, here's our number 1 -888 -667 -3224. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. If you have a question, a concern or comment about Alzheimer's disease. Now, Veronica, you are a multicultural outreach social worker. Please explain. Well,

at the association, we would like to say that there are two victims of the disease. Of course, the people who have them have the disease, rather, and the caregivers. And to meet the needs of the caregivers, the Atlanta chapter has designed a program called The Family to Family Multicultural Outreach Program. And the program is designed to meet the needs of families who care for their loved ones in their home. Specifically minorities. Now, we were just talking about African Americans being more, it seems to be more at risk or more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Why? Is there a reason, do we know? There may be some genetic reasons for that. And in fact, you mentioned an introduction that I'm a cardiologist where I'm doing my work is in Vascular Biology Department at Emory University here in Atlanta, where we're studying a lot of the genes that are turned on and often in various vascular conditions. Well, in Alzheimer's disease, and

specifically in the African American population, there's a situation where they think there may be some genetic mutations that might be undergoing. We see that, for instance, in hypertension. There's a condition called the ACE gene mutation. And what that means is that there's a higher prevalence of hypertension in the African American population because of that, one of the reasons. It's also true, I think we're finding that out in the Alzheimer's situation as well. We don't have as much data on that. There is a study that's ongoing, believe it, Morehouse University is one of the primary sites for the study. There are other studies that are involved nationwide as well. And we were talking about that before the show went on. Veronica, tell us a little bit about that. It's called the Mirage Study. Yes, the Mirage Start Study. And it's a genetic study geared toward African Americans. And what they do is go into the home and do a home

assessment of the family tree, shall we say. And then if they meet that criteria, they draw blood and do their physical background. So you have to have a person in your family that has Alzheimer's currently, is that correct? I believe so. Recently, they've changed rather their criteria. So I do believe that someone does have to have Alzheimer's to be in the study. Our number is 1 -888 -667 -3224. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. We kind of touched a little bit on some of the warning signs. And you mentioned that genes can be turned on and off by vascular diseases. Or did I hear you correctly? Well, genes can be turned on and off, inducing certain diseases. One of them being Alzheimer's, others. So you have a gene that may be like on the off switch and then something may kick it in.

Exactly. I think that the population or population getting older, we have gene studies where have been investigated to look at one of the genes that we have available is that our cells are programmed to die at some point. And that we are not really here in this world forever. And, you know, despite all the technology that we have had in the last few years and tremendous strides in medical therapy and the treatment of diabetes, infectious diseases, cancer, vascular disorders, we have an increased the lifespan of our population significantly in the last 30 or 40 years. And a lot of that is because we are really programmed to die. Our cells have that program. So really, to looking at the molecular level or at the cellular level, if you can remove that gene, potentially there might be some changes that we can do to prolong life and improve the quality of life. Oh. Looking at a fountain

of youth here maybe a little bit. Possibly. Exactly. That would be interesting. John, at what point do you do your organization kind of step in when a person is diagnosed? A lot of different ways. One way is that they would call the helpline. That's what I do. And I will get calls from families that have just gotten a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. And they're like some suggestions on what steps that they should take. We would urge them to join a support group. And we have many of those in the metropolitan area and they're throughout the country. In addition to that, we would send them descriptive literature on things that they could do. Resources that are available. Respect, health, and home daycare. We would urge them to consider using adult daycare. And so these are some of the services that we would talk about and try to get them to make use of. Is there a national number? Is there a main number that people can call and probably get more health and information about Alzheimer's disease? Yes. Thank you. The national number is 800 -272

-3900. That's 800 -272 -3900. And if they call that number, then they will refer them to the local chapter that is closest to them. Our number is 1 -888 -667 -3224. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. If you have a question, a concern, or a comment about Alzheimer's disease. And pretty much most of us, at some point in time in our lives, have been affected by this disease, haven't we? Yes, correct. Both of my parents had the disease. And that's the way I got interested in it initially. This was back in the 70s and in the 70s, the doctors did not know a great deal about what to do. And in addition to that, there were not that many facilities set up to help people with Alzheimer's. They here did not really exist. Assistant living facilities were not in existence, especially in Alabama. So these were, I mean, these are new innovations that we've developed in the last 10 years. All right. Let's talk to Elaine in Philadelphia,

listening to WHY -Y. Good evening, Elaine. Hi. Are you a question or comment? Yes, I have a question. My sister had an MRI and a showed a mild atrophy of the brain. She's 71. Is that an indication of Alzheimer's or is that a normal aging process? I would, I would want to ask some more questions to ask, is there any symptoms that you are seeing that are consistent with Alzheimer's? No, she had it done for her sonuses and they just found that. I would think most of the times an MRI scan will show that in patients or in people of that age better than that is a normal situation that's happening. Usually with Alzheimer's disease, you will see some distinct changes on the MRI scan. You'll see significant atrophy, or wearing a way of brain tissue. And I think that you'll see multiple areas of the brain that are being affected with Alzheimer's

disease. Is that like a typical pattern for Alzheimer's that they see? Well, I think, again, as we get more and more information about it, it's not clear. I think that MRI scans are good to do, but they're also extremely expensive. As you know, we can't just order an MRI scan on everybody. Well, how do you know, I mean, how do you specifically diagnose it? Is it always subjective? It generally is subjective. I think that, again, some of the warning signs that we just brought up earlier and I think we'll talk about it again. We'll give us some real indicators of that. I see. Okay. All right. One of the fault of a listener. Thank you, Elaine. Okay, go ahead. Yes, and that is that the family members can sometimes observe the subtle changes that are going on. And so my suggestion would be that if you have a suspicion that it's developing, what I would suggest is that you write down some of the changes that you

observe in the relative that you're concerned about. And this will help the doctor in making a diagnosis. All right. Let's talk to Emica. I hope that pronounced that correctly in Philadelphia listening to WHY. Good evening. Yes, it is. Good evening. Thank you very much for taking my call. I guess the discussion has been so far moved in the direction of genetics. It's the causes of depression and Alzheimer's disease, particularly among so -called minorities in this country. And I was wondering if the physician and the other partner could discuss the psychosocial and cultural factors, the stresses that persons of color have to endure and endure in this country 24 hours a day. And to what extent that might exacerbate or even trigger depression, high blood pressure or in and even Alzheimer's disease? I think that's a very important concern and question there is that it's true that genetics may play a role. But I think why are we seeing a higher incidence of these diseases? Go ahead, go ahead, Dr. Khan. Why are we seeing a higher incidence of these diseases in minority

populations, notably African Americans. We also see a lot in Hispanics, some of the other disadvantaged minorities. And I think that most diseases we talk about genetics and genetics, but it's a combination of genetics and environment. And that's true in cardiovascular diseases, it's true in diabetes, it's true in cancer as well. You have to have a combination of the genetics and the environment. And thereby the environment is whatever the psychosocial situation is going to play a very significant role in what is going to happen. All right, our number 1 -888 -667 -3224, that's 1 -888 -667 -3224. What about age? I mean, we look at it as a disease of the elderly, but you mentioned someone 50 or so. One of the earliest cases we're working with out of the Atlanta office is a person who's 36 years of age, a woman who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. And she has four children and the grandmother is trying to take care of that entire family. She's African American.

And so this is one of the 36. 36. Why? When we look at this as a disease of the elderly, but it's striking someone of that age. Well, it is very unusual. I mean, I think that the recent studies have shown that at the age of 65, only one out of 50 people have exhibited signs of Alzheimer's. And it climbs up to about one in five by the age of 80 and by the time you're in the 90s, about one in two people will have some form of Alzheimer's disease. It's true that somebody earlier than 40 is very unusual. We don't see that quite often. But it can happen. It's also true for other diseases as well. And it's also true that family history does play a role that there is a higher incidence of Alzheimer's disease in patients where you have had a sibling or a parent who's had Alzheimer's disease. Now, I would imagine that she probably had a pretty rough time being diagnosed at that age. Oh,

she had a very rough time. And we think that one of the factors was stress because she dealt with abuse in the family and abuse from, you know, spells. So I would say that that was a contributing factor. Wow. That's certainly environmental. Oh, my gosh. That's terrible. Well, listening to your listening to PowerPoint, where we're talking about Alzheimer's disease. If you have a question or comment, call us at 1 -888 -667 -3224. We're back in a moment. PowerPoint and conjunction with this male travel presents the first annual empowerment cruise. The cruise features empowerment for life seminars with nationally known motivational speakers December 2nd through the 7th, 2000. All proceeds benefit PowerPoint affiliate stations. For more information, the number is 1 -800 -908 -2883. That's 1 -800 -908

-2883. Or the website is www .powerpointradio .com. Thank you. And welcome back

to PowerPoint. I'm Carmen Burns. If you need to know more about Alzheimer's disease, here's your opportunity right now. I'll hear our PowerPoint hotline is available just for you 1 -888 -667 -3224. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. Let's go to Aboon in South Carolina, listening to WLJK. Good evening. Hello. I wish your question. My question is, I think possibly while I was dialing summit was answered, but I wanted to know where did the medical profession get the data that blacks are more apt to get all hammers than whites and expanding people twice as much as blacks. I'm a little skeptic because it seems like all of these diseases that are becoming known nowadays, it gets to a place

where blacks are more apt to get it than anybody else. All you have to do is look at AIDS. When it first came out, it broke out here in this country, but then a few months later it was because of people in Haiti and people in Africa that brought all this forward. And yet people in Russia were coming up with AIDS. So I'm a little skeptic. I'll hang up and make an answer. All right. Thanks for your call. Go ahead, Dr. Kahn, you want to answer that one? Yeah, I think that the situation of Alzheimer's and like AIDS, Alzheimer's is a degenerative process that's taken years and to occur before something happens. I think that this is where the environment does play a significant role because it's only been recently that African Americans have been able

to obtain medical treatment along the lines of what they should have been receiving. And I think that more education is still needs to be done. I still have a very significant patient practice of African Americans over the age of 65. And I think that they grew up in South Georgia and South Carolina where conditions were not good at all. And I think that the diet played a very significant role. I think lack of obtaining medical care did play a significant role. I think that's where the environmental issue does play a significant role here. Now it will be interesting to see what happens 50 years from now. All right. The list of brought up a good point though. I think that that's the reason why studies like the Mirage study is going on is to substantiate exactly how adversely affected the African American population is.

Our number 1 -888 -667 -3224, that's 1 -888 -667 -3224. Veronica has a social worker. At what point do you start talking to families about maybe mom or dad or grandfather shouldn't be here anymore? Maybe you should put them in an assisted living facility. And how do you ease that transition? Well, it's the position of the association, the Atlanta chapter, not to suggest anything. What we try to do is allow the family to vent what they would like to happen or what they think should be the best thing to do. And what we do is try to help them with whatever decision that they make. So you try to keep the family together as much as possible if that's what they want to do. Yes, I do. And I want to add that we've talked about the physical aspects of it. But as a social worker, I advocate for people who have the disease through their caregivers. And of course, people who are caring for

loved ones with Alzheimer's, it's very, very stressful. And they need outlets and they need community resources. And again, that's what I do in the Multicultural Outreach program. Try to help them link up with services in the community as well as educate them about the disease. And we also trained them on the daily, on the day -to -day challenges of dealing with some of the behaviors that are exhibited with the disease, which are very frequent, their behaviors. And that's what most people have problems with. Okay, let's take a call, Janay and Philadelphia listening to WHYY. Good evening. Hello, is that me? Oh, yes, I'm sorry, I look like Janay on my screen. Go ahead. Very beautiful, Janay. Okay, we are Janay now. Hi, yeah, I'm taking care of my mother. She's going to be 89 years old. And for the last five years, my daughter and I have been

caring for her. And I've learned a lot about Alzheimer's and also dementia. And the idea that dementia is really an umbrella term and that it could be something vascular and you can't really diagnose Alzheimer's until the person is dead. I mean, I've heard that Alzheimer's, once it starts going downhill, it never comes back. And we had an experience, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. But last summer, she was hallucinating for five months in a row. We had to finally hospitalize her for a couple of months and she came back home to us. But they said that that has to be dementia then because Alzheimer's would never reverse like that. Is that true? And I loved what one one social worker there was saying that one of the hardest things to deal with is the emotional and the behavioral situations. We have my mom in a day program right now. And she will, she's starting to bite her teeth and she won't go out into the van and the van's sitting there waiting. And

it's getting to be a struggle. It's getting to be a power struggle. And I'm just, you know, I just thought I was out riding around and I memorized the number and I ran back in just so good to talk to somebody. So I'll be quiet. You want to answer your question. Thank you, Janay. Go ahead. I think, you know, the point is very well taken on the problems that she's facing. I think Alzheimer's is really much harder on the family and the loved ones than it is on the patient. A lot of times the patient is not aware of what is happening. And I think we were just talking in the break. I think the one person or the one family that has done more to advance the awareness of Alzheimer's is the Reagan family. With Ronald Reagan having significant Alzheimer's disease. For many years, he didn't have any knowledge of it. And then physically he was doing well. And I think only now are we starting to see some real physical deterioration in him. But anyway, back to the question of what is Alzheimer's and what is dementia. Dimension really is, it's right.

It is the umbrella term. It is consists of many forms of dementia. I talked earlier about these slow viral type diseases called Kuru, Kretzfel Jakub. Alzheimer's, I think, is the most common and most prevalent form of dementia. So it is a dementia. I'm not sure what happened when she was talking about, they said, well, this couldn't be Alzheimer's. This is dementia. Because it was reversible. I mean, is that possible? Well, yeah, there's reversible dementia. That's why I talked about somebody who has maybe a severe infectious cause. I can treat it with antibiotics and reverse it. The other factor is that there are some medications that help deal with the memory laws, such as aerosol and a new medication called exolone. And so these medications could have helped that person deal with the disease just for a temporary period of time. Now, this is progressive. There is no reversal at all whatsoever. And generally, how long is the span from probably the first recognition of that it is Alzheimer's disease until

it just gets to a really, really, for lack of a better word, a bad state. Right. I think that unlike heart disease or cancer where, you know, that the onset of the disease to the actual terminal stage, which is maybe two years to five years to six years, I think some of the studies I've seen is that Alzheimer's disease, which is diagnosed early, would last up to 18, 20 years. I mean, that's the significance of it. And that's true. There is no reversal that we know of yet. There's no cure of it. We do have some drug therapy that is designed really to at best stall it or slow the process down. And what John was talking about, there are a couple of drugs that have been available. One was called cognics, which came out a few years ago and recently another drug called aerosept. And these drugs are

designed to increase the hormone in body called acetylcholine, which we think may increase memory. Well, there's a new drug. This just came out was actually just approved by the Food and Drug Administration called exolone. I think it's called ribostigmean. And I think it works along the same way. But these drugs are just really there that might have some benefit in somebody who has diagnosed early with Alzheimer's disease. Ending the process. Okay, let's go to Carla in Pennsylvania, listening to W -H -Y -Y. Good evening, Carla. Hello. Hi, your question. Very interesting. Could I make a couple of statements and then ask the question? Sure, go ahead. I did hear him say that this is genetic that genes are a part of it each time and that it's also true for cancer and diabetes and heart disease.

And I have a book that shows how that cancer and diabetes and heart disease are degenerative, fatty degenerative diseases. And when you speak of the brain degenerating as well, I'm wondering if that can come in under this to be in the same pool of something going wrong with the way the body handles fat. This book is called Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill. I've seen that book. I would really love it if this wonderful man you're having as a guest would get it and read it because it's research that goes many years back and also most contemporary. So you're looking at basically more of a diatetic cause quite possibly. Exactly. We were talking about that earlier as well. So hang with me Carla one second because I want John because he had mentioned diet to

me. Well, diet I think can be important for instance. We are some of the doctors are recommending a vitamin E supplement which is an antioxidant which Dr. Khan I think can elaborate upon what the advantages are of taking that. I think that your point is very well taken about diet and because then it's also true that a lot of these diseases actually start very similar if you look in the genes and the molecular studies that on go. It's interesting to see how similar that Alzheimer's is to cancer to heart disease. Now what differentiates it we're not sure. But the treatments are quite interesting because antioxidants which include several different compounds. Vitamin E and vitamin C a combination of the two are very powerful antioxidants which have benefits in diseases such as cancer and heart disease. And also Alzheimer's there's been some good evidence to show that. In women also there's been some evidence to show that

estrogen hormone replacement therapy has some benefits in the warning off or at least slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease which is also similar to what we see in heart disease. But then there are some other side effects with hormone replacement therapy that. Well again there's always going to be a side effect of anything that you take and you know there's quite a bit of data coming out right now in hormones where we'll have to see what happens. It's also true with the drugs that we have for that are quote unquote treated for Alzheimer's disease, the cognics and the excellent because they have significant side effects with nausea vomiting which are quite serious in certain instances. Okay we have a gentleman in Virginia listening to WNSB. Good evening sir. Good evening. Yeah good evening. Hi your question please. My question is pretty hard to to to come through and explain exactly what I'm trying to say. But I will make an honest effort.

I remember things 70 years ago real well names of people and and currently my memory is pretty good. It's okay now not bad but certain things I feel like I should be able to remember from yesterday that they just don't come right out. How old are you now? 84. Are you concerned about possibly having Alzheimer's? I guess so. I mean whether it's going to deteriorate more. But why is it that my memory serves me so well for so many years ago? That's what sort of I remember the names of my first, second, third right on through school of every teacher. And but currently the names of people that I meet and greet and can't seem to remember. What we have learned is that there is a difference between your short -term memory and your long -term memory.

Okay that sounds interesting. Correct and so that your long -term memory is working very very effectively but it's the short -term memory which is being affected possibly by age but possibly by some disease process. Right. And so you need to observe other signs before you need to be seriously concerned. Right. But there are other things that you, are there any things that you find that you cannot do now that you used to be able to do? Quite right. Well you just don't have to get up and go. Okay. Well, I'm not going to do that in my own run anymore can you? But what about misplacing things? Do you, do you lose keys or do you lose your wallet? I was for a while but I've sort of gotten my ducks in a row sort of speaking sort of make up my mind that I'm going to do things a certain way with each little detail, sunglasses, glasses, keys, etc. etc. Well what we found is

that the mind has a great deal of excess capacity and even if you are being adversely affected by memory we can make use of some of that great capacity to compensate for some of our lost abilities. So congratulations on being able to deal with the issues you're dealing with. Well, you straight me out. I mean, I've learned a lot from this little short session. Well, good. You sound like you're doing pretty well. Congratulations. All right. Thanks so much for calling. Let's go to Baba and is that Barbara or Baba? Baba. Okay. In Philadelphia. Good evening. What's your question? My question is some years ago I was exposed to some information that linked all of the time to aluminum intoxication or exposure to aluminum. Dr. Kahn's nodding his head over there. Yeah. Please comment on that. Sure. I think that a lot of this came about around 10 years ago and then people saw that aluminum foil or anything

cooked in aluminum would cause a high incidence of Alzheimer's disease. But I think it's sort of a red herring. I don't think that you can attribute aluminum exposure to Alzheimer's because there are people who we cook all the time in it and we people who don't get Alzheimer's and vice versa. So I think a lot of that is tended to drop off. I think that 10 years ago we didn't know what was happening. We did not know that the Gen X played a role. We didn't know that other things are implicated as well. And I think we're just using a lot of different things to the potentially see an association. Okay. Thank you so much for your call, Baba. I hope that helped out. Let's go to Thedra in Georgetown, South Carolina. Good evening, Thedra. Good evening. Hello. Right back. Are you ready to get her? I was waiting so long. I'm so sorry you had to hold her mouth.

I ran off and got her to cook. You ran off and cooked dinner. Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. My question. That's no problem. Go ahead. Well, I have another point of view of looking at this situation which has not been discussed tonight and that's the caretaker who's taking care of these people or will be which will give the family the freedom that they need. However, I think caretaker ought to come in in the early stages, be in the home with the family and let them see how they're perfect. That's absolutely correct. If you want to still hold on, we'll talk to you again right after the break. You'll be my first conversation. Okay. Okay. And we'll be back at the moment. Thank

you. And welcome back to PowerPoint where we're discussing Alzheimer's disease. More than likely you or someone you know has been affected by this debilitating disease. Our number 1 -888 -667 -3224. That's 1 -888 -667 -3224. We're joined by Dr. Bobby Khan, a cardiologist and primary care physician. Ms. Veronica Brown -Darty, a multicultural outreach social worker

who works directly with African American families affected by Alzheimer's disease. And John Thames, information and referral coordinator for the American Alzheimer's Association's Atlanta Area Office. Deidre, you still with me? Yes, I am. Oh, good. Okay. Now go ahead. We have been discussing caregivers because Veronica's been giving us some very, very good information about that. Oh, I hadn't heard that part of it. That's okay. That's all right. Yeah, I believe that the caretaker ought to come in early and stay in the home for a little while so the family is comfortable with that caretaker. Then I believe that the victim should be placed in a senior citizens group with the caretaker because the senior citizens are so kind and help. And when you put them down to play bingo, they will help. It keeps it mine is going and they have people their own age and. You sound like you have some some experience. Well, I have had experience with this with.

I was a director of that and I worked with South Carolina Council on aging with senior citizens. And I had senior citizens in my home to take care of. But I do believe it's best to keep the all the time this victim in their own home rather than in another home so they won't get confused. And when they want to go to walk the caretaker is with them at all times so they don't get lost because they can do that so many times. And to create things that the all time as victim can know what they're doing as long as they can. But it takes a lot of insight from the person who's taken care to understand what this woman wants or this man wants. And just to go along with them never, never push in any way for something they don't want to do.

That's a good point, Thedren. Thanks so much for calling with a caregiver and do you train families on how to handle it? Today, for example, my father is in a rehab unit at a local hospital and we ran into a woman who just popped into his room who has Alzheimer's disease. And we really didn't know how to handle that situation. There was another nurse with her but it's a delicate thing and how do you tell someone how to handle if you come face to face with someone who has Alzheimer's disease? Well, first of all, we believe that it takes a skilled person to deal with those behaviors. And at the Atlanta chapter, we do have a training institute to which we train professional caregivers as well as everyday caregivers like your collar who just called us. Now, what we would do probably is send out tips that would help caregivers deal with those behaviors. Of course, there are no concrete ways of dealing with

behaviors dealing with Alzheimer's because it's an individual disease. It affects people differently. And however, we found certain tips to do work and we tried to pass those along to the caregivers. But like Thedren was just saying, you want to be gentle. I mean, you don't want to push. You can't be, I mean, we did, I hope we handled her the right way. She was very sweet lady and we did, we were very gentle with her and trying to understand what she was trying to get across. But it's a difficult situation. It really, really is. Well, of course, we do recommend gentleness and a calm voice and very reassuring words. That goes across very good with people with Alzheimer's. If they feel like you care about them, of course, it takes, it takes the individual person, I mean, to take care. Let's go to Joanne and Jackson, Mississippi, listening to W. Joanne, did I lose her? Okay, well, let's go to Lucy in Orangeburg, South Carolina,

Lucy. And I've got lost Lucy, okay, we'll go to Brenda in Philadelphia, listening to W .H .Y .Y. Hi, Brenda. Hi, how are you? Good. Good question. My father was diagnosed with dementia about a year and a half ago. And what he does, when he wakes up in, now he's been, he's with my sister now. So we had to take him out of his home for various reasons. And what he's been doing now, when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he will go in a bucket. He will defecate or urinate in a bucket and attempt to take it outside. During the day, it's no problem. He'll go to the toilet and we have no problem at all with him. But it's just when he, if he wakes up in the middle of the night and has to go, he'll go in a bucket. Okay. Well, first of all, you probably want to try to eliminate some barriers at nighttime. Maybe cutting on some light, you've probably already done that. But you probably want to try to make sure that

he eliminates, purges himself before bedtime. That would be something great to do and watch what he eats. And those are things that you, it takes practice and learning your different love one. What is good for them and what is not. Again, there's no concrete way of dealing with behaviors because you deal with your love one on a daily basis, you know him better. And so you could probably tell me what he doesn't do this and doesn't do that. But we can give you roundabout tips that can help you. Okay, Brenda, we're going to give you the number in just a minute. Again, if you're interested in getting more information, so stay with us. All right, thank you all so much for being with us tonight. Our number, the hotline number again. Did I write it down? 1 -800 -272 -3900. That is correct. That is it for the American Alzheimer's Association. We'll give you to the National Office. 1 -800 -272 -3900. And they'll refer you to the office that can help you. Joanne, thank you so much for holding for us. I

appreciate it. I'm sorry we couldn't get to your phone call tonight. Veronica, thank you, Dr. Bobby Khan. Thank you so much and John Tane, thanks again for being with us. Thank you. And you have been listening to PowerPoint. PowerPoint News is produced by Bruce Dorton. The production manager is Glenn Simmons with Production Assistance from Marquis Lofton. PowerPoint Studio Engineer is Art Sweat. The call screener is Cherianne Holder. Katina Carvajalis is the marketing intern. The associate producer for PowerPoint is Rosemary Holmes. The executive producer is Reggie Hex. PowerPoint's theme is from the CDF Stopps by Craig Harris. Production Assistance for PowerPoint is provided by WCLK FM, a broadcast service of Clark Atlanta University. PowerPoint comes to you live from the studios of Peach State Public Radio, a 12 station network serving all of Georgia. PowerPoint is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

and by the National Legacy Foundation. This is PowerPoint, a production of Hicks and Associates. Thank you.

That's true. And furthermore, aren't you connected to the Weeder organization? No. Weeder? No. No. Hard to sow is a black magazine. It's written by black writers, black editors, sold by black advertising staff. But black organizations, as you know, black publications, black anything. When we need financing, in the past it's been very difficult for black startup companies to get financing from white corporations, even though many of these corporations are making their money through selling to African Americans. So there's no reason why white corporations shouldn't finance a black magazine. So you're like vibing? Well, in good. But it's also my understanding that

now this is here. People say that black employees have not been treated particularly well at that magazine. I've read the magazine a couple of times and it has the feel of a magazine that is not run, let's say, with blacks at the top. Put it that way. But you're not affiliated with any larger organization you're saying? You're a stand -alone magazine? The magazine is owned by Rodel Press. Okay, that's what I meant. Now, if you're owned by Rodel Press, which puts out a number of publications. Do you know what publication? In magazine for one. Pardon me? I said Rodel Press puts out a number of books. Do you know what magazines that Rodel Press publishes? Right. So it doesn't have something to do with your ability to refuse tobacco ads. I mean, you're backed by a very large organization. Well, we're backed by a... We're owned by an organization because they finance the magazine. But we're a stand -alone magazine. We have to... We have

our own budget. We have to produce our own revenue and make our own way. We have our editor -in -chief who's Stephanie Stokes -Oover, who's been in this business for over 20 years in the magazine publishing business. I've been in it for over 20 years myself. Our editorial staff is all African -American, mostly women. Our advertising staff is also African -American. And where will you put the magazine? Not provide a cushion for you in the event that... In other words, there is a magazine called HealthQuest, which truly is a stand -alone magazine. Diane, hold on with us as we come up on 49 minutes after the hour. We're going to have to take a break soon. But we're talking about tobacco, alcohol advertising, and black or black targeted publications, billboards. What can be done about them? How can we spend our money better? Our discussion on this will continue when we come back. We're going to take a break.

Welcome back to PowerPoint. I'm Kenneth Walker. We're talking about alcohol, tobacco. It's a fact on the community. How we can get a lot less of it. If I understand Rob the question that Diane is putting to you, basically it is that if you're owned by a media conglomerate, if you will, do the financial resources of that organization enable you to take this principled stand against alcohol and tobacco advertising? Or, in fact, does that magazine entirely on its own in terms of finances and budgets and revenue and expenditures? Well, we're on our own in terms of we have a budget that we have to pursue and try to stick with. And we do indeed have tremendous financial pressures. I'm not exactly sure what the caller's complaint is or

we're talking about cigarette and alcohol tobacco advertising. And is she saying we should take alcohol and tobacco advertising or is she trying to say well? I don't think so, but letter letter letter letter. Don't be ridiculous. I mean, don't try to run a scurry away from my comment by putting words in my mouth. I'm simply trying to make an observation, which is that roaddale press is a huge organization that puts out lots of publications. And if you've got them behind you, then you can very easily refuse these ads and come out looking very principled when, in fact, you know, it's just luck that enables you to be able to do that. We are the number of other black publications. I would love to see no tobacco ads, but realistically, I know that they can't survive without them. Thanks a lot. If you, Diane, may I say a few were listening earlier, you might recall that we indeed said that there are black publications out there that probably if we got the kind of advertising support

from the advertising committee that we should get, they may in fact not have to do that. Take alcohol and tobacco advertising perhaps. I don't know. And you don't know either because we don't know what their financial situation are. The main magazines, black and apprised Ebony and Essence are doing very well. And whether or not they can't survive without tobacco advertising or alcoholic beverage advertising. I don't know. You'd have to check with them. But I assure you that heart and soul does not take tobacco advertising because it's not consistent with the mission of the magazine. That's plain and simple. It's a health and fitness magazine directed to African American women delivering a positive message to live a healthy life. I think. I'd be consistent to take alcohol or tobacco advertising. If I'm not mistaken, vibe magazine, which is also not black owned but claims to be black run also declines to take those kinds of ads if I'm not

mistaken. But unless I want you to help us out here on the broad range of communications and marketing efforts that the alcohol and tobacco companies target at the black communities. Everything from billboards to magazines to newspapers to organizations to these new frequent smoker and frequent drinker programs you get a prize and all that. Just give us if you can some sense of the scope of that bombardment. It's in the billions of dollars in terms of bottom line. And I guess what happens is that we're very emotional people and we are targeted. We're targeted. If you look across the board, we use, we're very creative. We use music. We pay attention to powerful images. And I think those many times those images have not been accurate or appropriate. But I think across the board is the social marketing effort. If I can just say that, it's the social marketing effort. The same way I could market a new

pair of shoes, a new pair of tennis shoes. And I can make millions of dollars in amount of six months by putting certain images and creating certain images, repealing to the basic things in human beings. And cigarette advertising has been targeted directly to us. Reverend Brown, with this kind of widespread blanketing, if you will, they sponsor concerts, other organizational events, social events. Is there any organization that tries to look at it systematically and tries to confront it with any kind of systematic approach? I know your organization has been famous in dealing with certain product targeting. But is there somebody that's looking at the whole picture here? Well, part of what the National Association of African -Americans does is look at how do we preserve and protect and uplift the positives for images of African -Americans and the

elimination of those negative images. We look at it from a legislative standpoint, whether or not laws are being enforced around the advertising of tobacco and alcohol products, which they are not, in most cases. They are even violating the industries, both tobacco and alcohol, violate their own voluntary agreements around these issues. But particularly in cities are these in the African -American communities. You will find that there's more advertising, particularly on billboards, storefronts, and store windows, in and outfines on the counters at point of purchase. You probably will find more tobacco and alcohol advertising than you will find in any other community around those issues. Is that because we buy more of it? No, it's because that's the incentive that they give the store owners. They pay them to place the products in certain places or place their placemats or all of those kinds of things. We have enormous amount of what is known in the billboard industry as H

-sheets. They tend to be far more prevalent in poor communities and black communities throughout this country in the urban areas, than the larger billboards which are much less seen and seen in other places outside the community. All of those things have a direct impact. Whether or not the states enforce where liquor stores go, and why is it that in most urban areas you have an enormous amount of liquor stores, even in states that own their own state stores. An enormous amount of those kinds of things. It's a conglomerate of issues. Less quickly because we're kind of running out of time. Is there an opening here for a new market for companies, maybe like yours, to begin to get new advertising for these billboards and these publications? Yes, I think you're going to see in the future you're going to see organizations such as Reverend Browns and a lot of other grassroots organizations teaming up with firms like myself who have not been involved with tobacco and advertising, who have been a disease prevention health promotion oriented. Okay, I want to thank Les

Butler, the American Lung Association, and Butler Communications, Rob Newton, Associate Publisher of Heart and Soul Magazine and Reverend Jesse Brown with the National Association of African Americans for a positive image. I'm Kenneth Walker, and this has been PowerPoint. Next week on PowerPoint, we go behind the cameras and the back lots of Hollywood to look at how blocks are breaking through barriers of race, creative control, and economics. Be sure to join us as PowerPoint takes a fascinating look at Black Hollywood. The makers of PowerPoint include executive producer Reggie Hicks, senior producer Tony Regusters, show director Debbie Williams, news presenter Verna Avery Brown, associate producer Tom Woodward, technical director Neil Tevolte, phone screener Kay Marshall, legal affairs Theodore Brown. PowerPoint's announcer is Candy Shannon. PowerPoint's theme is from the CDF Stopps by Craig Harris. For PowerPoint, I'm Kenneth Walker.

PowerPoint is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's radio program fund. This is PowerPoint, a production of Hicks and Associates.