Press Releases

ROSELAND, N.J., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Ronald McDonald House Charities® of the New York Tri-State Area (RMHC®-NYTSA) is awarding over $500,000 in scholarships to local graduating high school seniors. Students in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut (Fairfield County) Tri-State Area can download an application at www.rmhc.org or call 1-866-851-3994. The submission deadline is February 16, 2010.

RMHC and its local Chapters provide aid to outstanding graduating high school students who cannot afford the cost of a college education and strive to offer these students the chance to fulfill their educational goals to become the future leaders of tomorrow. The scholarships are distributed based on demonstrated academic achievement, financial need and community involvement.

"The RMHC U.S. Scholarship Program is part of our ongoing commitment to support students from communities with limited access to educational and career opportunities," said Gerald McCoy, president of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the New York Tri-State Area. "It is always rewarding to see the results of our winners, as we watch them graduate college and pursue their dreams."

The RMHC-NYTSA Scholarship Program is comprised of four individual scholarship programs:

    --  RMHC®/ASIA -- Asian Student Increasing Awareness Scholarship --
        Applicant must have at least one parent of Asian/Pacific-Islander
        heritage
    --  RMHC®/AAFA -- African American Future Achievers Scholarship --
        Applicant must have at least one parent of African American or Black
        Caribbean heritage
    --  RMHC®/HACER -- Applicant must have at least one parent of Hispanic
        heritage
    --  RMHC® Scholars -- All students may apply regardless of ethnic heritage.
        Asian, African American and Hispanic students are welcome to apply for
        the RMHC Scholars program provided they have not applied for one of the
        three scholarship programs listed above

Scholarship awards are selected based on demonstrated academic achievement, financial need and community involvement. Students who have difficulty applying online at rmhc.org can call the RMHC Scholarship hotline at 866-851-3994, submit a hard copy or ask their guidance counselor for assistance.

RMHC began its support of scholarship programs in 1985, by committing $50,000 toward the first scholarships awarded through the Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources (HACER) program. In 2001, the RMHC/ASIA (Asian Students Increasing Awareness) and RMHC/AAFA (African American Future Achievers Scholarships) began. By 2007, the U.S. RMHC Scholarship Program had awarded more than $29 million in scholarships. To date, RMHC National has awarded more than $32 million to help high school seniors attend college.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities of the New York Tri-State Area

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the New York Tri-State Area is working to better the lives of children and their families in our communities, by creating and supporting programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children in the areas of health, education, the arts, and civic and social services. Since 1992, RMHC-NYTSA has provided more than $10 million dollars to local non-profit organizations whose programs improve the well-being of children and their families. For further information on the Ronald McDonald House Charities New York Tri-State Area, visit www.rmhcnewyorktri-state.org or call 973.287.1476

(c) 2009 McDonald's

SOURCE Ronald McDonald House Charities of the New York Tri-State Area

MOLINE, Ill., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $.28 a share on common stock, payable February 1, 2010, to stockholders of record on December 31, 2009.

SOURCE Deere & Company

IRVINE, Calif. and ATLANTA, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Thompson National Properties and The Dawson Company announced today they have formed Thompson Dawson Real Estate Services (TDRE); the company is committed to helping governmental and institutional clients navigate the current challenging real estate market. TDRE will offer an array of real estate management and consulting services to domestic and foreign clients by leveraging the combined expertise and capacity of the parent companies. The complementary lines of business, national scale and global reach signified by this partnership uniquely combine to create and support a truly world class real estate advisory services firm.

Developed under the vision of founding partners Anthony W. "Tony" Thompson and Harold A. Dawson, Jr., the new venture will offer asset management and receivership services, real estate investment management, consulting and development services. The firm will have a strong government and public-private partnership (P3) focus, with a suite of services tailored specifically for public sector clients. The services will include build-to-suit capabilities, asset management, business planning/consulting, P3s, and development management with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and "green" construction.

Thompson National Properties brings a scalable international platform for providing accounting and investment services, along with extensive commercial asset and property management operations, and long-term relationships with capital investors. These unique capabilities and resources will complement The Dawson Company's expertise in sustainable development, including smart growth and green building technology, its proficiency in government-owned asset management, and its capacity for multi-level financial structuring, integrating public and private financial resources in creative P3 transactions.

"I'm thrilled to be working with Harold and his very experienced team in this venture," said Thompson, CEO of Thompson National Properties. "In the current environment, experience, track record and integrity are key drivers and Dawson's 50-year legacy is unparalleled in providing consistent results with owners, lenders, tenants and public agencies."

"This is an exciting undertaking and I'm really pleased to have found a great partner with whom to work," Dawson, president and CEO of The Dawson Company said. "This venture is synergistic because of the firms' combined experience and complementary attributes. Our company's skills and background in all aspects of development and real estate endeavors with local, state, and federal governments, coupled with Thompson's asset management and capital-raising capabilities, truly give Thompson Dawson Real Estate Services an unmatched ability to build and deliver value."

The Dawson Company is a second generation African-American real estate firm with expertise and proficiency in environmentally sustainable mixed-use development. It also boasts a long history of working with governments at the municipal, state and federal level in a myriad of activities from P3s to asset management and advisory/consulting assignments. The Dawson Company honed its asset management skills working with the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) as the only 100% African-American owned SAMDA contractor with a portfolio of approximately $400 million of real estate assets and performing/non-performing loans.

Thompson Dawson Real Estate Services is headquartered in Irvine, CA and Atlanta, GA with regional offices nationwide. The firm will initially focus on expanding the portfolio of assets already managed, marketing its government and public-private partnership expertise and showcasing its experience in asset management, build-to-suit and development. Thompson Dawson Real Estate Services' affiliates currently manage 97 properties located in 30 states consisting of approximately 15.7 million square feet and with projected 2009 gross rental revenue of $200 million.

SOURCE Thompson Dawson Real Estate Services

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7f5a1f/child_tracking_stu) has announced the addition of the "Child Tracking Study, Level One Subscription, with tracking data" subscription to their offering.

CHILD TRACK is a quantitative survey designed to monitor changing behaviour, attitudes and preferences amongst British children aged 5-14, and has been in operation since 1993.

Each month interviews are conducted with 650-800 7-14 year olds extending to 800-950 5-14 year olds four times a year. Interviews are conducted face-to-face at approximately 50 randomly selected sampling points throughout GB, and are usually done in-home (not in school) through our omnibus surveys.

Questions cover a wide range of topics pertinent to children and are repeated at regular intervals in order to track trends and spot developments.

Reports fit into dedicated ring binders and can also be provided electronically. They come in table format with analysis by age, sex, age within sex, social grade; by multi-channel TV homes or by anything else which is relevant. For each wave 20-30 (PowerPoint) charts and various trend tables (in Excel) are provided to show key findings.

The Level One subscription includes:

Reports 4 or 6 times per year according to client needs.

    --  Tracking data for each Module showing top trends over several years (in
        Excel).
    --  Charts for each Module highlighting important trends and developments
        (in PowerPoint).
    --  Consultation with subscribers on an annual basis and for each survey.
    --  FREE nomination of TV programmes, characters, web-sites for inclusion.
    --  Client input into specific questions.
    --  Opportunity for clients to include extra questions in the Omnibus
        without payment of the normal entry fee

Key Topics Covered:

    --  Module A - Television, Videos and Radio
    --  Module B: Characters and Personalities
    --  Module C: Leisure, Sport, Crazes and Collectables
    --  Module D: Toys, Games and Christmas presents
    --  Module E: Readership and Cinema
    --  Module F: Video Game Consoles, Video Games and Computers
    --  Module G: Income, Spending and Influence on Purchase
    --  Module H: Shops
    --  Module I: Food and Drink
    --  Module J: Concerns
    --  Module K: Fashion and Style
    --  Module L: Vocabulary
    --  Module M: Brands, Advertising, Sponsorship and Promotions

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7f5a1f/child_tracking_stu

    Source: Research and Markets

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 2, 2009) - United Reef Limited (TSX VENTURE: URP) ("United Reef" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the exploration and drilling program being carried out on the Nickel Offsets property by URSA Major Minerals Incorporated ("URSA Major") (TSX:UMJ). URSA Major has an option to earn a 70% interest in the Nickel Offsets property by making exploration expenditures on the property totalling $1.25 million over a period of three years and making total cash payments of $75,000 to United Reef. See press release dated March 6, 2008 for terms of the option agreement. Initial assay results from the drilling program were announced yesterday by URSA Major.

The following is quoted from a press release disseminated by URSA Major on December 1, 2009:

"Drilling at the past-producing Nickel Offsets Mine, located in Foy Township, 40 km northwest of Sudbury, Ontario has intersected a new lens of high-grade massive sulphides. Hole U15-02 intersected 1.6 meters grading 3.12% nickel, 1.15% copper, 0.12% cobalt, 1.39 g/t platinum, 2.04 g/t palladium and 0.21 g/t gold.

As reported on November 11, 2009, URSA Major's drill program is targeting massive and disseminated sulphides in proximity to the existing workings of the past producing Nickel Offset No.1 Mine in the Foy Offset Dyke, located in the footwall of the Sudbury Complex. The high grade intersection in U15-02 is a newly discovered mineralized lens and is located at a relatively shallow level within the former mine workings at a down hole depth of 250.4 to 252.0 meters. The hole was drilled at an inclination of -530 and the lens is interpreted to have a sub-vertical dip. In the present program, five holes have been completed for a total of 1,807 meters of drilling. URSA Major is also currently conducting borehole EM geophysical surveys to test for additional conductive mineralization and to evaluate the extent of conductive mineralization in drill hole U15-02. Assay results on mineralization in additional holes are pending.

Richard Sutcliffe, URSA Major's CEO stated "We are encouraged with the initial exploration results on this property. We have identified a new high-grade lens of mineralization and with limited drilling have developed an understanding of important structural controls on mineralization that should lead to further discoveries. In addition, assays demonstrate that the Nickel Offsets mineralization contains significant precious metal concentrations." "

The Nickel Offsets property consists of twelve contiguous patented mining claims and five unpatented mining claims covering a total of 358 ha (884 acres). The property hosts the past-producing Nickel Offsets (Ross) Mine which between 1943 and 1957 produced 208,551 tons of nickel and copper ore with reported recoveries of 4.56 million lbs of nickel and 3.32 million lbs of copper. Historical underground exploration and mining development at the Nickel Offset property included 1,599 feet of shaft sinking, approximately 10,000 feet of drifting and 3,980 feet of raising on 9 levels at the No. 1 Mine and 1,056 feet of shaft sinking, approximately 6,000 feet of drifting and 410 feet of raising on 5 levels in the No. 2 Mine. The property covers a 2.25 km strike length of the Foy Offset Dike.

For further information about United Reef please visit our website at www.unitedreef.com.

Shares issued: 84,019,980

Fully diluted: 102,061,030

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
        United Reef Limited
        Michael Coulter
        President
        416-368-3332
        info@unitedreef.com

Source: United Reef Limited