“Probably the most exciting thing about TouchPoint is its strategy around mobile technology. We live in an age where everybody has a mobile device in their pocket at all times. I see this as a way that our congregants can easily engage with us wherever they are, whenever they’re compelled to act.”

DALLAS (PRWEB)
November 14, 2019

TouchPoint Software, a church management system based in Dallas, Texas, is pleased to announce that Chris Dolan has been named the company’s new Vice President of Product and Strategy. Chris is a church technology thought leader. He brings ten years of experience in developing and applying technology-driven solutions in ministry to TouchPoint.

For ten years prior to joining TouchPoint, Chris served as Director of Information Services at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, a prominent and influential church. Under his leadership, Redeemer became a leader in its use of new technology solutions to streamline ministry processes and effectively reach people. In his new role Chris will oversee TouchPoint’s product development and strategy.

Speaking of his enthusiasm for TouchPoint’s service to larger churches, Dolan said, “TouchPoint has been a strategic partner for us at Redeemer. It’s an essential tool for how we do ministry. I believe in TouchPoint’s direction. When it comes to church management systems, churches have two basic options. They can choose something rigid and off-the-shelf or something custom. Off-the-shelf solutions don’t have the flexibility that larger churches need, which is the ability to do specific things in a particular way. Custom work is expensive to build and even more cost-prohibitive to maintain. It’s a flawed way of doing things. I love the ministry mindset of TouchPoint. I love that we partner with other churches so that they don’t have to resort to developing software solutions themselves.”

TouchPoint’s president, Ross Miller, echoed Dolan’s excitement for the company’s future, and the role he will play. “We have been processing this decision with Chris for some time now, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that he is joining the team,” he said. “Chris is a key leader in developing new ways to make ministry effective through technology. We knew he was the right person to step into this role. TouchPoint has tripled in size in the past three years. Now that the time is right for him to come on board, I’m excited to see where TouchPoint goes in 2020 and beyond.”

In 2017, Chris and his team at Redeemer were instrumental in advancing the development of TouchPoint’s breakthrough mobile app. Through that partnership, the app launched with features and functionality that are unparalleled in the church market.

Chris says, “Probably the most exciting thing about TouchPoint is its strategy around mobile technology. We live in an age where everybody has a mobile device in their pocket at all times. I see this as a way for our congregants to easily engage with us whenever and wherever they are. We no longer have to wait until somebody is in the pew on Sunday morning or in front of their computer at home to sign up for a community group, make a gift, or engage with the church. Now, they can pull out their phone and do that quickly and easily. That experience is something special we can offer to churches.”

Though Dolan acknowledges that he will miss his former organization, he is looking forward to the future. “It was hard to leave Redeemer because I loved my team. I love my church and what I was doing to serve it. But I also believe in the vision of where TouchPoint is going. It’s a team with a ministry-oriented heart that I want to be a part of. I have a lot of ideas that I can contribute to take the product where it needs to go.”

TouchPoint Software, a Pursuant Group Company, is based in Dallas, Texas. TouchPoint originated out of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, with a vision of being built by the church, for the church. It serves more than several hundred churches. TouchPoint’s web-based solution helps churches move believers toward maturity by supplying tools that engage and connect people to community.

For more information, visit http://www.touchpointsoftware.com

For inquiries, please reach out to Leah Davenport, Marketing Manager at TouchPoint Software.

Email: leah.davenport@touchpointsoftware.com

phone: 214.866.7738

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DiscoverLehighValley.com

“Our annual findings show tourism plays a crucial role in building our local communities and economies, as well as the importance of strategically positioning Lehigh Valley as a top destination,” says Alex Michaels, president and CEO for Discover Lehigh Valley.

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (PRWEB)
November 14, 2019

Discover Lehigh Valley® 2018-2019 Annual Report overview:

• 
  16.5 million visitors welcomed
• $1.2 billion in visitor spending and overnight trips
• $6.27 million spent by internationally based Visa cardholders, bolstering Lehigh Valley to rank seventh in Pennsylvania for international visitors

Discover Lehigh Valley®, the destination marketing organization dedicated to promoting tourism in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh and Northampton counties, has announced that Lehigh Valley welcomed 16.5 million visitors in its fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. The steady flow of tourism resulted in an influx of $1.2 billion to the local economy between visitor spending and overnight trips. Discover Lehigh Valley® shared the news at its annual meeting at Vault 634 where it hosted industry and business leaders from across the region.

“Travel and tourism to Lehigh Valley is stronger than ever. Our annual findings show tourism plays a crucial role in building our local communities and economies, as well as the importance of strategically positioning Lehigh Valley as a top destination,” says Alex Michaels, president and CEO for Discover Lehigh Valley. “Through collaboration of business, tourism, and local leaders, visitors are able to experience the heart of our region. As Discover Lehigh Valley looks to 2020, we are eager to provide memorable and inspiring visitor experiences that welcome people for years to come.”

The group also shared findings from its DestinationNEXT Futures Study and its new strategic plan to strengthen the region’s economy through tourism, while enhancing quality of life and regional pride for residents. To accomplish this mission, Discover Lehigh Valley will evaluate strategic tactics through the lenses of authenticity, collaboration, curiosity, and responsibility.

Discover Lehigh Valley also announced it will be launching a Certified Tourism AmbassadorTM (CTA) program in collaboration with Northampton Community College. CTA is an industry-recognized certification that educates local professionals on a destination’s brand experience.

Local leaders and businesses from across the region were also recognized for their efforts in strengthening local tourism in the last year through the following awards:

• The Spirit of Tourism Award was presented to Joan Hanscom, executive director of Valley Preferred Cycling Center for her industry expertise, leadership and accomplishments that add value to the visitor’s experience.
• The Partnership Award was presented to Wind Creek Bethlehem for being a partner that consistently goes above and beyond in promoting the region and driving visitor engagement.
• The Zenith Award was presented to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. This award recognizes an organization responsible for hosting a large-scale meeting that brought a strong economic impact to Lehigh Valley.
• The Tourism Award was presented to City Center Allentown. This honor is given to a local business or initiative that joined the local tourism community in the past year and aided in enhancing the Lehigh Valley brand.

For more information on Discover Lehigh Valley’s Annual Meeting, including photos from the event and the full annual report, visit DiscoverLehighValley.com/AnnualMeeting.

About Discover Lehigh Valley

Established in 1984, Discover Lehigh Valley® makes Lehigh and Northampton counties a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the region.

Discover Lehigh Valley’s official visitor website, DiscoverLehighValley.com, keeps locals and visitors abreast of all things happening in the region. Visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages. Compelling photography and videos, brochures and detailed visitor information make the sites effective trip-planning tools. Along with Discover Lehigh Valley’s social media channels, the online platforms communicate directly with consumers. Travelers can also call and stop into one of the many visitor centers for additional information.

About Lehigh Valley, Pa.

Set amid gentle hills and charming country sides, Lehigh Valley, Pa. is home to Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, as well as dozens of small towns and picturesque boroughs.

The region is steeped in pre-Colonial, Early American and industrial history. Lehigh Valley has an impressive range of tourist attractions including nationally-recognized events like Musikfest, wineries and breweries, the Lehigh Valley Zoo, outdoor activities, world-class sporting events, 10 colleges and universities, and is home to America’s favorite brands such as Crayola®, Peeps®, Mike & Ike®, Martin Guitars and Mack Trucks. The region offers a diverse array of memorable things to do and plenty of dining options to fit every budget and taste.

And, it’s easy to get to and around. Lehigh Valley is located approximately 60 minutes north of Philadelphia and 90 minutes west of New York City by car.

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Fixing the Pensions Crisis: Ensuring Lifetime Financial Security

LONDON (PRWEB)
November 14, 2019

The Group of Thirty (G30) has today published the report of its Working Group on Pension Funds, “Fixing the Pensions Crisis: Ensuring Lifetime Financial Security.” The report highlights the challenges of a fundamentally changed environment: a combination of rising life expectancy and decreasing birth rates in recent decades, slower economic growth, and much diminished expected returns on pension fund investments. It identifies a brewing crisis in pensions across a range of countries, with projected resources falling far short of promised retirement benefits. The report also presents the policy choices that have to be addressed so that people can be assured of adequate lifetime financial security – such that they can meet essential living expenses and maintain the standards of living they expect in their retirement years.

The G30 report estimates the gap between expected lifetime financial security benefits and what existing systems can likely provide to be $15.8 trillion by the year 2050 for the 21 countries analyzed (comprising 90 percent and 60 percent of world GDP and population respectively). This lifetime financial security gap would in fact be even larger if less optimistic assumptions for economic growth, wages, and rates of return on pension investments are made.

The G30 report highlights the basic problem: people cannot save the same amounts during their working years as they do currently, retire at the same age, and still receive the same retirement payouts as today, unless they or future generations pay additional taxes. Countries must hence employ some combination of the following policies to address the gap in a fair and sustainable manner:

1.) Increase the retirement age and strengthen employer responsibility for employing older workers and enhancing their productivity;

2.) Increase private savings and/or taxation to support public pensions; and

3.) Re-calibrate income replacement rates in retirement, while protecting replacement rates for the poor.

“Countries across the globe face a mounting challenge: how to offer adequate financial security for retirees, today and sustainably into the future. If public policies and individual behaviors do not change, many countries’ pension systems will face a severe crisis, threatening either unaffordable public expenditure pressures or inadequate incomes for retirees,” said Chair of the G30 Working Group on Pension Funds Lord Adair Turner, Senior Fellow at the Institute for New Economic Thinking and former Chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority. “Workers and retirees are living longer today. We need to make crucial adjustments to ensure lifetime financial security for retirees, both now and in the future.” He continued: “At the minimum, we recommend countries gradually raise retirement ages in line with the proportional principle, in order to keep stable the proportions of adult life spent in work and in retirement.”

The report emphasizes that reforms to minimize investment management costs must be a priority; otherwise these will reduce returns to pension savers and leave them poorer in retirement. It also encourages policymakers to consider structural changes to pension systems, to better balance the distribution of risks between individuals and scheme sponsors. Such changes include:

• 
  Allowing the pensionable age in traditional ‘pay-as-you-go’ or Defined Benefit (DB) systems to rise automatically with increases in life expectancy, to enhance sustainability across generations;
• Developing hybrid Defined Contribution schemes that reduce the investment risks faced by individuals and hence provide more assurance of adequate retirement income; and
• Complementing Defined Contribution schemes with adequate public safety nets to ensure that no one falls into poverty because they are unable to save.

The report also urges politicians and policymakers to design mechanisms that can better inform public debate about the trade-offs and choices that have to be made, better communicate the costs of inaction, and build consensus around workable combinations of policy solutions.

“Kicking the can down the road will only make the problems larger and impose an inequitable burden on the next generation,” said G30 Chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies in Singapore. He continued: “Longer working careers are unavoidable, and they must be productive years. But changes to pension schemes are needed too. The shift from ‘pay-as-you-go’ or defined benefit schemes to defined contribution has improved financial sustainability, but also shifted risk and responsibility from employers and governments to individuals. It has left individuals worse off in many places. Reforms to defined contribution should enable individuals to benefit from collective investment management, at low cost, and not have their retirement savings hostage to market cycles as much as they are today.”

“We are in a global environment of unprecedented low or negative interest rates, with long-term implications on retirement investment funds,” said G30 Working Group on Pension Funds Steering Committee Member Gerd Häusler, Member of the Supervisory Board of Munich Reinsurance and former Financial Counselor and Director of the International Monetary Fund. He continued: “Against this backdrop and the already high tax rates and soaring real estate prices in a number of European countries we all are faced with quite unpleasant realities. Any combination of measures will have to be tilted towards raising the retirement age, however gradually but consistently. Leaders of all countries, supported by experts, must explain this difficult message to voters over and over again: The need for gradual changes to our pensions systems in order to ensure future retirees are provided for at an adequate level, without overburdening our children and grandchildren. As a first measure, my own country included, we must stop going in the wrong direction for whatever justification. All must give some ground, including the older generations, in order to ensure the sustainability of the pensions systems as a whole.”

Lord Turner, Senior Minister Tharman, and Mr. Häusler led the Steering Committee of the G30 Working Group on Pension Funds, supported by six working group members. The research process was supported by Project Director Colin Brereton, Adviser Miles Kennedy, and PwC.

The Group of Thirty is an independent global body comprised of senior representatives of the public and private sectors and academia. The Group aims to deepen understanding of international economic and financial issues, to explore the international repercussions of decisions taken in the public and private sectors, and to examine the choices available to market practitioners and to policymakers. The Group is led by Jacob A. Frenkel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Chairman of the Group.

G30 Media Briefing: The G30 will convene a live webcast press conference with Adair Turner and Gerd Häusler on November 14, 2019, at 1:00pm GMT (2:00pm CET, 8:00am EST, 9:00pm SGT). After delivering opening remarks on specific topics addressed in the G30 “Fixing the Pensions Crisis: Ensuring Lifetime Financial Security” report, Lord Turner and Mr. Häusler will answer questions.

A recording of this briefing can be found at:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1832487/1C6DF7377477EAE2AEB3CFA40C36CDDF.

A copy of the report can be found on the G30 website: http://www.group30.org.

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