Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As another year comes to a close, we once again take a few moments and reflect on the year leaving us. 2012 gave us three wonderful new employees, several amazing new clients and it also marks Susan’s 35th year at NIN.
We are so very proud of the work we do for, and with, our clients and the work our clients do to help make our world a better, kinder, more humane place. We are grateful for each year we have the privilege to support them and help them prosper and grow.
The horrible recent shootings both violently break our hearts and give us steely determination to work that much harder on behalf of our clients, as it illustrates how critical the work our non-profits do is to our children’s futures.
So with pain in our hearts for those suffering right now, but grace and appreciation for all that we have, we wish you the merriest of holidays, filled with peace, love, and health for you and your families.
Sincerely,
Your friends at Names in the News
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations to the amazing representatives!
Tammy Baldwin– First female Senator from Wisconsin, Tammy has a reputation for taking on corporate special interests and fighting for the middle class. She is the lead sponsor of the Buffet Rule, which would ensure that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share and *not* a lower tax rate than the middle class.
Data Card
Maria Cantwell– Washington State Senator and leading the way to help make America more energy independent, as well as a known advocate for better education and accessible healthcare for all.
Data Card
Tammy Duckworth– Illinois Congresswoman and a former Black Hawk Helicopter pilot, the first woman to fly combat missions in Iraq, until being shot down and losing both her legs. She now leads the way for improved care for our Veterans.
Keith Ellison – Minnesota Congressman whose priorities are building prosperity for working families, promoting peace, pursuing environmental sustainability, and advancing civil and human rights.
Mazie Hirono – Hawaii’s first female Senator, she was previously Governor and is an outspoken leader for better access and education to contraception and choice.
Elizabeth Warren – Massachusetts Senator and former Harvard Law professor, she is credited with the creation of a new consumer financial protection agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Carolyn McCarthy – New York Congresswoman and instrumental to many causes, including the creation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check Database (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act that was signed into law in 2008. NICS is the most significant gun legislation passed in over 16 years.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Working directly with Richard Hammand, founder of NIN and many of the data techniques we now all take for granted, Susan has been at the forefront of progressive direct mail fundraising almost from its modern inception. Under Richard’s professional tutelage, Susan has “grown-up”, so to speak, at Names In the News, spending 35 years honing her skills as a List Broker and Manager. Susan is now regarded industry-wide as one of the most successful, creative and accomplished strategists, helping progressive non-profits she is passionate about raise millions of dollars and donors.
When Susan isn’t squinting at spreadsheets, she can be found biking all over the bay area, sometimes with her daughter. NIN hopes that Susan would and could spend another 35 years here….though Susan would likely say, “Don’t count on it.” The good news is, she has no other plans at the moment except to keep helping our clients succeed. And maybe a trip to Hawaii. Please congratulate Susan on her 35 years at NIN. It’s sort of like a birthday!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
New Managed Lists
FINCA – Foundation for International Community Assistance
Trustees of Reservation
Wisconsin Democratic Party
World Food Program
Alley Cat Rescue
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
With Wonder Woman at the helm, this issue celebrates forty years of fearless reporting with forty “Ms.” and key feminist moments that shaped our history, including; birthday letters from dozens of life-long readers, essays from founding editors Gloria Steinem and Letty Pogrebin, and current Executive Editor Kathy Spillar.
In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provided medical and mental health care to more than 1,000 people uprooted by the storm or trapped in their homes in the New York City boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, as well as in Hoboken, New Jersey…read more
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols. In 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Data Card
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
brought to you by Jennifer Cox
Fun Fact – February 1st is Baked Alaska Day in the United States. A restaurant in New York is said to have first created the dessert in 1867 to celebrate the United States’ purchase of Alaska. However, it was the Chinese who first had the idea of a similar dessert that was encased in a pastry instead of meringue. The French are the ones who introduced the meringue and made the first actual Baked Alaska.
Originally the dessert was placed in a hot oven not so much to “bake” the dessert, but to brown the meringue. Today, the meringue is typically browned using a blow torch in a professional kitchen or can be flambéed tableside. I will give you instructions for both.
How to Assemble a Baked Alaska –
This can be made in any size/shape pan of your liking. The Baked Alaska in the picture was assembled in a small bowl. The instructions I provide are for a loaf pan but can be applied to other pans.
- Ice Cream – Try using different flavor combinations. The sky is the limit!
- Pound Cake
- Simple Syrup – Equal parts of granulated sugar and water boiled then cool
- ¼ c. liqueur – use something that compliments the ice cream flavors
- 1 c. Egg Whites
- ½ c. granulated sugar
- Rum 151 if doing flambé
1) Spray the loaf pan with pan spray, line with plastic wrap with some hanging over the edge. Chill the pan before the next step.
2) Cut strips of pound cake that fit the dimensions of the pan. Have pieces for the ends, side, bottom and top. It’s ok if a section is more than one piece. Place all of the pieces inside of the prepared pan except for the top section. Reserve cake scraps in case you need to fill in some gaps when you remove it from the pan.
3) Combine the simply syrup and ¼ c. liqueur and brush the cake pieces lightly all over.
4) Pack softened ice cream into the prepared chilled pan. If layering ice cream, harden each layer in the freezer before adding the next layer. Add the top layer of cake and brush with simple syrup. Wrap and freeze.
5) Once firm, remove the dessert from the pan and place on your serving dish. Use an oven-safe dish. Freeze again.
6) Place egg whites in a bowl and whip until frothy then add the sugar. Continue whipping until thick and shiny.
7) Pipe the meringue on or swirl it on with a spatula/spoon. Freeze until firm and ready to serve.
8) If “baking” the dessert, pre-heat your oven to 500°. When ready, place the dessert in the oven until the meringue is toasted and golden. It’s ok if any peaks on the meringue get a little dark. Once toasted, it is ready to serve. Alternatively, if you have a blowtorch handy, you can skip the oven and use the torch to toast the meringue.
9) If you want to flambé the dessert, you need no more than ½ oz. of Rum 151. **Use caution when doing this step. Use a small cup/shot glass, with the lights off, ignite the rum and pour over the dessert tableside. Alcohol will burn off on its own fairly quickly. Now dessert is ready to serve!
Tips for success:
Use a metal container to form the dessert. It will help chill the ice cream quicker and holds in the cold much better.
Think about the size of your freezer. Does the dish fit in there?
You will want to assemble this dessert at least one day before you need to serve it. Give it plenty of time to get cold and firm up again.
Return the dish to the freezer if you have to step away or when between steps in the recipe.
***If serving this dish to pregnant women, children, sick or elderly persons please either use pasteurized egg whites or use a recipe for Swiss Meringue