Essentials Magazine | Vol. 73 No. 4 | Page 25

INDUSTRY NEWS Construction, KYDZSafe® Edges and KYDZTuff® finish ensuring safety and durability. The Jonti-Craft Commitment to Care promises that Jonti-Craft products are a safe choice not only for the environment, but also for little ones with certifications such as GREENGUARD Gold and CPSIA. We have even added a lifetime warranty to this new product to prove it will withstand the rigors of everyday use. SAFARI LTD® is expanding its collections with more than 70 new hand-painted products for 2014. New additions include mythical creatures, wildlife, sea life, life cycle sets, miniature figures and dinosaurs, including the Carnegie Tyrannosaurus rex authenticated by Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologists. Select Safari Ltd® products in the Incredible Creatures® collection are also now suitable for ages 18 months and up, breaking Safari Ltd® into the baby market for the first time in the company’s history. Each new product can take years to release as specialized sculptors work to perfect the anatomy of each figure. TEACHER CREATED RESOURCES, a leading publisher of supplementary educational materials, has acquired the decorative and handwriting product lines of Frog Street Press, a Texas-based publishing company. Frog Street is known for its “couture line” of classroom decorations. The acquisition launches Teacher Created Resources’ new Signature Line of upscale products for use by teachers and parents. The sale of decorative and handwriting product lines enables Frog Street to move toward their goal of developing more content that will support early childhood teachers and help assure the success of children ages 0-8. MANAGEMENT NEWS AVID AUDIO PRODUCTS has hired Florence Montegu in a new position as Director of Product Marketing. Ms. Montegu will be responsible for refining and expanding AVID’s diverse line of audio related products that serve the Educational market. Ms. Montegu formerly owned her own marketing consulting firm after holding a number of successful marketing management positions at large business-to-business firms such as GE Energy. She holds a Masters Degree in Foreign Trade and International Finance from The University of International Affairs in Le Havre, France. EDUCATIONAL MARKETING SERVICE is very proud to announce that they have teamed up with Barker Creek Publishing in 13 Midwest states. With 20 years of experience, Barker Creek offers award-winning educational products for schools such as their NEW Chevron Designs, Pop-Out Letters, Double-Sided Trim, Computer Paper, Charts and Posters, Library Pockets, File Folders, Accents, Homework Helpers and much more. CATALOG SOLUTIONS is pleased to announce that they have acquired Creative Catalog Concepts (CCC). The well respected brands of CCC will be integrated into the growing CSI brand. CSI is assuring all dealers that they will be doing whatever is necessary to continue to deliver the service level and dynamic products that will exceed expectations. LEARNING ADVANTAGE, a leading wholesaler of educational games and math manipulatives, is under new ownership by private investors. In addition, the company has acquired the Crusader Education brand, known for the original, wooden simple machine models and the mental math game series, ‘I Have Who Has…?’. TEACHER CREATED RESOURCES is happy to announce that Stephanie Brown, who led Frog Street’s marketing efforts in the educational retail industry, has joined the TCR sales and marketing team. Stephanie has two decades of experience in the industry and has developed strong relationships with many store owners. She will play a key role in the growth of Teacher Created Resources’ new “Signature Line” of products. _____________________ IN MEMORIAM KAREN LYNN SEVALY passed away Sept. 21, 2013. Karen always presented energy, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit that enabled her to launch Teacher’s Friend Publications, Inc. Her concept of writing creative books for elementary teachers was an instant success. Her publishing business took off within the first year. Karen ran this business for twenty years. Scholastic Inc. purchased Teacher’s Friend Inc. in 2002. Karen and Richard (her husband) worked for Scholastic for five more years before retiring. Karen wrote and produced more than 2,000 products for the educational market during her career making many life-long friends. Karen’s books and products are still enjoyed by elementary children today. WE LOVE NEW IDEAS! NSSEA is currently looking for your ideas, feedback, opinions, and insights, as well as your observation of the educational market and its trends. Got a comment, idea, artcle, opinion or tips? CONTACT NSSEA: Essentials Editor Sherron Washington [email protected] essentials | WWW.NSSEA.ORG 25