Here's one last look at our spectacular agenda! Our General Sessions kick-off is on Friday with Comfort Keepers Franchising, Inc. CEO, Sarosh Mistry, who will welcome us all and set the stage for a jam-packed three days. Following on Friday is Chip Eichelberger, a motivational leadership speaker that will get the passion ignited for our conference and talk about strategies to operationalize this asset, even when pressures and tensions challenge its delivery. Saturday's general session welcomes Bruno Vanhaelst, CEO of the Personal & Home Services division of Sodexo followed by healthcare futurist, JD Kleinke who will take the future and offer advice for the present. Both keynote speakers will do a breakout session to keep the conversations going!

Breakout sessions will be arranged in Learning Paths to help franchisees and staff better understand the breakouts that focus on specific roles in the office. Join us for an awards night called "A Night in Boca" where our new Operational Excellence awards will be presented. Attendees are encouraged to dress either "Florida style"or dressy (depending on your style). Either way you will experience the mood for our special entertainment by one of the top Jimmy Buffet tribute bands in South Florida, "Caribbean Chillers." It promises to be a fun-filled evening!

Register for our Leadership Conference in Boca Raton, Florida, April 11th -13th, by visiting Member's > Training > Leadership Conference.

Thirteen franchisees threw their hats in the ring to be considered for the NBF Advisory Committee, and we would like to thank these franchise owners for their willingness to invest their time to the launch of the NBF. The existing committee members reviewed each application carefully and have selected the remaining five (5) committee members. They are Vincent A. Maffeo - San Rafael, CA; Melissa Fairbanks - Columbus, IN; Brent Watson - Birmingham, AL; Russ Knopp - Traverse City, MI; and; Michael Craig - Claremont, CA. These five (5) franchisees join committee co-chairs, Jim Vercruyssen and Robert Myer, and two (2) CKFI staff members to complete the committee. We thank these individuals for committing their time and energy to launch a successful National Brand Fund.

The committee is currently reviewing the RFP documents. The RFPs will ultimately be distributed to multiple vendors across the nation to provide expertise in creative development, strategic media planning and placement, and, call routing. Watch for more communications from the committee on the precise timing of the RFPs. The process is moving forward and the committee will keep the franchise community apprised of process and decisions.

We have received several questions regarding the Opt-Out Form and what happens if franchisees send that form rather than signing the addendum? Now that the Brand Fund has been voted in, if your franchise agreement has language regarding a brand fund, you are automatically a participant in the brand fund and brand fund contributions will begin April 28th. Initial monthly contributions will be the same whether you sign the addendum or opt to contribute under the terms of your franchise agreement: 2% of your gross revenues or $600, whichever is less. The addendum will amend the brand fund language in your franchise agreement to include more specificity regarding the rights and obligations of both CKFI and you with regard to the brand fund. If you choose not to sign the addendum, you should sign and return the Opt-Out Form.

There are a small number of agreements signed prior to April 2004 without any brand fund language. If you have one of those agreements, unless you choose to sign the addendum, you should sign and return the Opt-Out Form. If you do not sign the addendum, you will have no obligation to contribute to the brand fund until you sign your renewal franchise agreement. At that point, you will automatically begin participating in the Brand Fund contributions.

If you have any questions about the addendum or Opt-Out form, please contact Jim Brown Vice President Franchise Development, jimbrown@comfortkeepers.com, (937) 665-1300.

As you can see in the press releases (links are provided below), Univita is aggressive in the transitions and the readmission reduction areas. They are working with large national health insurance companies to ensure members have the information and services they need to reduce readmissions. Comfort Keepers needs to be a part of the readmission reduction solution tool set available to Univita care managers.

Press Release - December 11, 2012
Press Release - January 29, 2013

To become a part of the readmission reduction tool set, you will need to complete a little work. Univita has three steps in their Provider Verification process: Certification, Credentialing, and Contracting.

Click here to access the memo that lists the documents that you are required to provide to complete the Verification process. Please scan all the documents and email them to Jennifer Frost, Supervisor Univita Health, at JFrost@UnivitaHealth.com. You MUST include a copy of your published price list along with a price discount. A 5% discount off the published list price of companionship and personal care services is recommended. You may contact Jennifer if you have questions at (317) 706-8117.

Be sure to complete the automated data collection form. CKFI will provide the information collected via the form to Univita. To access this form click here. Preferred Provider Contract can be viewed by clicking here.

To give you a feel for the extensive list of major corporations working with Univita, Click here to see the attached list of some of Univita's large customers.

Congratulations to franchisees, Mike Painter in Houston, Texas and Larry & Tracy Morgan in Victoria, Texas, who were awarded $5,000 as part of the Build the Brand Referral program. Mike referred Ryan Harkey, who purchased a new territory in Beaumont, Texas. And Larry and Tracy referred Obaid Memon, who purchased a new territory in Missouri City, Texas.  

Would you like to be awarded a $5,000 Build the Brand Referral Fee?
Don't forget that the Build the Brand Referral program applies to existing franchisees, caregivers and staff members who refer new, potential franchise candidates to CKFI for consideration.

If you have any questions about this program, or know someone who you would like to be considered for the purchase of a new franchise, please contact Larry France at LarryFrance@ComfortKeepers.com or call (888) 329-1368.

Congratulations to Marc Cayle and the entire Sheboygan, WI office on winning the $100 Visa gift card this quarter. The Sheboygan office collected $700 by selling soup and donated the proceeds to The Salvation Army Food Pantry.

Don't forget to register and update your Nourish Senior Life activities for a chance to win the next $100 Visa Gift Card or the grand prize of an iPad mini! Our next drawing will be for March thru May activities/updates and awarded in early June, so please click on the icon the home page of members and register to win! The registration and update forms are easy to fill out and will only take you a short amount of time. Registration and/or updates will earn you one entry each for a chance to win.

Register or Update now!

Do you know how many visits you had on your website last month? Do you know how many pages those people went to? How about what keywords they searched for to find your website? The answers to all of those questions and MUCH MORE can be found through Google Analytics. And whether you knew it or not, this powerful tool is already installed and tracking data on your website.

Our Internet Marketing Manager, Shaun Worcester, will hold a webinar on Friday, April 5th at 3:00 PM EST to take franchisees through a tour of this valuable resource for your office. If you'd like to join us, here is the login information:

http://comfortkeepers.adobeconnect.com/websitesupport/
Dial-in: 866-244-8528
Passcode: 190797

We will be recording the webinar and posting to CK Brand soon after the scheduled time above for those that aren't able to make that meeting time. So make your plans today to join us on April 5th to learn more about this incredibly valuable marking tool for your business!

This month's HR Hot Topic is a legal brief designed to give you a comprehensive look at a variety of pending legal matters that could affect your business. This edition is provided by Audrey Moss, a labor and employment attorney with Munck Wilson Mandala, LLP.

This newsletter covers over 15 topics including impacts to FMLA, the Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA), updates on legal issues from various states and more.  

Don't miss out on any of this important information. Click here to begin reading.

This discussion is designed to provide a framework for the Train the Trainer session at the upcoming Leadership Conference. This call will focus on the Herrmann Whole Brain Model of Learning and Thinking, which examines the variety of learning styles your employees bring to the training room. Additionally, we will discuss different training strategies for impacting the different learning styles.

Please join Learning and Development Specialist, Michael West, for the April MasterMind call, Train the Trainer: Pre-Conference Discussion on Learning Styles, scheduled for this coming Thursday, April 4 at 11:00 AM, EST. To join the meeting online, click on the "Conference Link" below and follow the directions.  CONFERENCE LINK

Make sure when you are prompted to enter your phone number to be joined to the audio portion of the call.  If you are unable to participate in the webinar feature, but would still like to listen to the call, dial (800) 591-2259 and use the participation code 886411 for access.

Did you miss a previous edition of the Friday Flash?
March 22
March 15
March 8
March 1