text:
Your girlfriend likes my crotch rocket better
Beginners Bike Guide
Updated Apr 29, 2008
Updated Items:
-New bikes and descriptions added
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Motorcycle Training and Safety
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USA's Motorcycle Safety Foundation:
CANADA's Gearing Up Training Program:
How To Stay Alive Aboard a Motorcycle (written by me)
Quick Safe Riding Tips
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Well well well. You want to get a bike, do ya? I don't blame you, motorcycles are a ridiculously good time. Before you jump onto that Hayabusa for your first cruise though, it's important to know a number of things about bikes and riding in general. When I was looking for my first bike and wanted information about what models were good for beginners, what safety precautions I should take, etc etc, I found there wasn't much in the way of beginner tailored articles. So here's what I've come across in my travels. Hopefully if you're looking to buy your first bike you can get lots of good information here and can make an informed decision. Cheers!
The Bikes!
Intro and Purchasing Tips
First, the basics; you're shopping for your first ride, there's about a million different bikes out there, and most of them people will say will kill you. So, I give you some things to consider when buying your first bike:
-Weight: Heavy bikes are easy to drop, often difficult to handle, and are NOT fun to pick up if/when you drop them. They CAN provide some extra highway stability, although the aerodynamics of the bike is a bigger factor here.
-Handling: Basically, the more forgiving and responsive the handling, the better. A slug of a bike will make you crash if you run a corner a bit too wide or hit the brakes too hard, while a good handling bike will give you the extra edge that may allow you to recover. A good handling bike also inspires confidence, which I suppose could also be a bad thing depending on your personality (ie. will you realize you are not Valentino Rossi after you've been riding for two months).
-Upkeep: Obviously, cheaper is better here. Cheap means fuel consumption, reliability (and the associated maintenance) and cost of parts and labour. You'll notice I don't mention any Ducati Monsters as good beginner bikes below; that's because they're Italian. Lots of routine maintenance, pricey parts, and pricey dealer labour are the norm with Duc's. Buy a nice 748 or something as a 2nd/3rd bike.
-Power: This is an obvious one. You want a bike that will not loop (flip over backwards) when you screw up with the throttle, or slide out from under you coming out of a corner or something. Power delivery is usually much more important than peak power and torque figures, however. A sub 700cc twin is great for beginners, as it'll provide smooth, linear power delivery (more traction with the power on…Google "Big Bang engines", used in MotoGP bikes). Most of the bikes I recommend have such an engine.
-Resale: You will eventually want to sell your first bike. Because of this, and the fact that you will likely cause at least a bit of damage to the bike during the learning process, I fully recommend a safe, serviceable, but older and used bike as your first. The devaluation of a few scratches won't hurt NEARLY as bad on an already scratched '95 EX500 as it would with an '08 fresh from the dealership.
Also, a general note on insurance costs: Anything classified as a "sport bike" will be obscenely expensive to insure. Usually anything over 750cc will be obscenely expensive to insure. Bikes under 500cc are pretty cheap to insure, and under 250cc are VERY inexpensive. But if you're 19 and want a 1000cc sportbike, I hope you're independently wealthy. Oh and you'll probably die before you make your first insurance payment anyways.
Voila, Beginner Bikes
Okay, now what I want to do is list specific models that are suitable for beginners along with pros and cons for each model. I also recognize that some people will refuse to start on anything but a 600cc or bigger supersport, so I've included a "Not Recommended But Okay For Beginners" sports bike section near the end of the guide. Read on!
First up, the Honda Rebel 250. It's small, light, cheap, reliable, excellent on gas, low to the ground semi-decent handling, and the list goes on. It is probably *the* bike for your first 15 hours of riding. The problem is that if you weigh more than 140lbs you will probably get very bored very quickly with it's motor. Additionally, because of it's small size, it can be a bit of a chore on the highway. It is, however, unquestionably the cheapest bike here to buy, maintain, and insure.
Weight: A few pounds heavier than your Huffy.
Handling: Light, good for a cruiser. Cheap suspension, obviously.
Upkeep: About the same as your Honda lawnmower. You changed the oil on that maybe 5 years ago right? Yeah….
Power: Just right for an absolute beginner, but a bit pedestrian for full size adults after logging a few thousand miles.
Resale: They're cheap to buy and cheap to sell. Minimal/no body work means dropping it won't destroy resale like dropping a sport bike would.
Overall: If you're smaller build, it would be a fantastic first bike. If you're edging up to 180lbs or more, you'll probably want to pass on this bike (LOL CUZ U WON'T BE DOING THAT ON THE HIGHWAY LOLOL)
Next, the Yamaha Virago 250. This little bike is quite similar to Honda's Rebel, but is a little more upscale. It rides a little nicer and is of slightly higher quality.
Weight: Same as the Rebel
Handling: Same as the Rebel, but with slightly uprated suspension and brakes.
Upkeep: Same as the Rebel.
Power: More than the Rebel. About 7-8hp more, in fact. This sounds like nothing, but when you're moving from 15hp to 22hp, it's significant.
Resale: Same as the Rebel
Overall:Same as the Rebel
I'm not sure if this is available in the US, but in Canada and elsewhere the CBR125R is a fantastic bike to look towards as a starter. Even smaller, lighter, and easier to handle than the Ninja 250 listed below, this little four stroke, single cylinder bike will be sure to put a smile on your face. Last year Honda had a deal with the bike and all the required gear for about $4000 CAN...pretty impressive. The 2008 looks even better with an underseat exhaust. It even has fuel injection, a luxury that should not be overlooked in this price category.
Weight: 280 lbs....WITH ALL FLUIDS AND A FULL GAS TANK. That is ridiculous. Messed up a parking job? Just lift up the rear end and move it.
Handling: Perfect for an urban setting, it's small, quick, and stable. Brakes and suspension are more than enough for any beginner. The definition of a light, flickable bike.
Upkeep: As with the Rebel, it's a simple, reliable Honda engine that will last longer than you. It gets an almost unbelievable 94 mpg. Take that OPEC!
Power: Well...honestly not much at all. It will get you up to highway speed, and you'll have fun rowing the gears, but don't be expecting to get going much faster than 130 km/h downhill with a tailwind. More than enough for around town, however.
Resale: Hard to say...the bike is pretty new still. It's very cheap to start with and a good looker, so it would be tough to lose a lot of money by selling one after a year or so.
Overall: A great option for someone who is pinching pennies, does a lot of urban riding/commuting, or is of small/light body type. It looks great, can dash through a 30" hole in traffic, and gives a big hug to mother nature and your wallet while simultaneously telling OPEC where to go and how to get there.
Now here's a beauty...the new Ninja 250. It's an updated version of the venerable 250R that survived for about 7 eons relatively unchanged. Now it's got great looks and a bit more performance than the old one, and just about anyone could feel cool riding it. So you can buy the new one if you need great looks for your first bike, or you can save about $1500 and get an older one in decent shape.
Weight: Picture a butterfly dancing on the breeze
Handling: Good brakes, lots of lean angle, light steering, forgiving. Excellent for the beginner.
Upkeep: The engine is a carbureted parallel twin of 80's design, and it's bulletproof and cheap to maintain.
Power: It'll do zero to 60 in about 5 seconds and can even wheelie if you REALLY work it, but it won't spit you on your ass if you get a bit hamfisted. Power is pretty peaky, though. You'll have to rev the heck out of it to get it really moving.
Resale: Buy one of these from the early nineties and you'll almost get your entire investment back when you upgrade. A new one is only $3500 MSRP though, so how much can that really depreciate?
Overall: The definitive small-person sports bike and the baseline for which all other beginner bikes are judged. And rightly so: it handles well, has enough power to be entertaining, gets great mileage (about 80 mpg), is cheap, and looks a proper sport bike.
Some people simply must buy American, and for these people there is the Buell Blast. Overall, the Blast IS a good bike for beginners, but there are myriad quality and maintenance issues that must be recognized and dealt with.
Weight: Light as a feather dancing on the breeze.
Handling: It's light and maneuverable, BUT the suspension is noticeably cheap, and it won't impress or instill a ton of confidence in corners as a result. Keep speeds reasonable (which you should be doing anyways) and it handles better than a beginner needs. It's also got a very low seat height, which is perfect for small-of-stature folk.
Upkeep: Yikes. Earlier generations were so unreliable that Buell's parent company Harley Davidson actually faced lawsuits. Apparantly there was a problem with oil leaks springing and spraying oil on the tires, resulting in a crash. Newer models (2002+) should be fine, but the Blast still won't be as reliable as it's Japanese counterparts. Expect to pay for regular maintenance. Also, there are many reports on the net from people who have had problems with Buell/Harley dealerships. Problems range from jerkoff customer service people ("buy a REAL bike kid", while nodding at the Harleys in the corner) to incompetent mechanics. There are also reports of frames cracking and random manufacturing/quality control issues. So basically your shiny new Blast might break down right outside the dealership and their tech guy won't be able/willing to help you. You've been warned!
Power: Not bad, it puts out just under 35hp in a very mild manner. Just about perfect for lighter riders or for your first thousand miles on a bike.
Resale: Really, really not very good. They ARE cheap to begin with, so you won't lose a whole bunch of money, but in terms of percentages you won't do very well.
Overall: A light, low, nimble little bike that is perfect for new riders (especially lighter ones/ladies) and is made in the US of A. Just beware maintenance, and stay far away from older models.
Next up is the Suzuki GS500. It was originally made as a naked bike, which was discontinued. I recommend the naked/old/used variant because of the upright riding position and the lack of expensive fairing. If you absolutely MUST have a new sport bike, however, the faired version is a great way to go. The bike is powered by an old, air cooled Suzuki twin that is low tech (cheap to maintain) and sufficiently powerful.
Faired Version
Weight: Pretty light. Slightly heavier than modern supersports.
Handling: Cheap suspension, but it turns, brakes, and accelerates as well as a beginner will ever need.
Upkeep: Minimal. It's made of a bunch of old Suzuki parts that you could probably find at a bike wrecker for the approximate cost of DIRT, if need be.
Power: Somewhat spirited. Enough that it can be wheelied if you thrash it hard enough, and you'll have passing power on the highway. It has a very linear (easy to control) power delivery.
Resale: Buy a used one and your resale will leave you happy. Buy a new one….probably not so much, but you'd get a pretty fairing.
Overall: Very good bike for a beginner. The suspension is it's biggest limiting factor, but unless you're doing track days regularly in your first year of riding you won't care. It's cheap, decently quick, and forgiving.
Now I bring you my first bike, the Kawasaki Ninja EX500 (500r in Canuckistan). This is where things start to get a little sporty: you can in fact get into trouble in a hurry on this bike of ~50hp. It gets upwards of 45mpg, handles reasonably well, and is easy to maintain. This is usually what is recommended for riders who feel they are too big to start out on the 250 Ninja. It's powered by a liquid cooled parallel twin that is basically an old ZX-9 engine chopped in half.
Weight: It's no Harley, but is actually heavier than the supersports of today.
Handling: Budget suspension, but better than the GS500. Good brakes, good tractable motor, good highway manners.
Upkeep: Minimal, and parts are plentiful at any wrecker's.
Power: Spirited; its undeniably faster than the vast majority of the cars on the road, but it isn't peaky like 4 a cylinder motor.
Resale: Pretty good. You'll lose some for scratches on the body work, but you were smart enough to buy used anyways right? RIGHT?
Overall: Great bike to get if you don't plan on upgrading within a year. It's a good compromise of power, gas mileage, handling, and cost. Naturally I'm biased because I ed my bike, but in my mind this could be the bike that keeps the most beginners both entertained and alive.
A not-so-subtle competitor for Suzuki's very successful SV650, the Kawasaki Ninja 650r is very similar in all respects. It has a more upright seating position, lower seat, slightly less peak power, and more compliant suspension, making it a better choice for the commuter. It's attributes are so comparable with the SV650, however, that I won't go into more detail; for all intents and purposes, beginners will have the same degree of success on both bikes.
Weight: See SV650
Handling: See SV650
Upkeep:See SV650
Power: See SV650
Resale: See SV650
Overall: See SV650
The Suzuki GSX 650F is basically a Bandit with a revvier engine and sporty bodywork. It has fuel injection, slightly fancier body work, better suspension, a more advanced instrument cluster, and a price that's $2500 higher than the GS500F. This is Suzuki's attempt to catch some of the SV650's glory. As it is based off of the Bandit (which was NOT a sport bike), the GSX650F will have softer suspension and less sporting pretensions than the SV650 and the Ninja 650r. Otherwise, it is very similar.
Last of the "recommended" sporty bikes is the bouncy and playful Suzuki SV650. It comes in both faired and unfaired versions. The faired version may be more expensive to insure due to it being classified as a sport bike. Both have plenty of get-up-and-go, look great, and handle superbly. This bike is so popular, in fact, that it has it's own racing series. The newest generation has angular styling and fuel injection. I recommend the older ones, as they're cheaper, look better (imho) and handle the same.
Unfaired Version
Weight: Competitive with modern supersports. It's light.
Handling: The best in this bunch by a good margin. It has a very stiff chassis, solid suspension components, good brakes and a smooth, tractable engine.
Upkeep: Because it's the only bike here that essentially wasn't designed in the 80's, parts can be a bit more, but still reasonable. It's very reliable, however, and easy to work on.
Power: Verging on too much for a beginner. It's torquey, so a quick twist of the throttle can and will lift the front wheel. It has a smooth, linear power delivery but there is enough there to get you into trouble in a big hurry if you aren't paying attention.
Resale: Decent, but worst of the bunch. You will lose some money when you resell, unless you buy a crashed one and have a dealership hookup to get it fixed on the cheap or something. However, this is a bike you could keep for years, so maybe it's not as big a deal.
Overall: It's an amazing bike, really; the issue is whether or not a beginner should have it. *cue video of jackass plowing into a tree from a standstill on an SV*. If you're mature, wouldn't call yourself a 'speed demon', and you have some extra cash to burn, this could be the one for you.
Sport bike not your speed? Don't want a piddly little "toy cruiser"? How about the Yamaha V-Star 650. It comes in Classic or Custom styling and is a nice blend of quality components, light weight, and good style. It looks a lot bigger than it really is (in fact, it has a very low seat height).
Weight: Pretty chunky in comparison to the other bikes here, but light and manageable for a cruiser. If you're planning on ending up with a 1600cc power cruiser sometime down the road, this might be a good entry point for you.
Handling: Very good, for a cruiser. It basically hasn't changed in design since it's inception in 98, but it was effective then and it still is. Don't expect to be taking on sport bikes in the corners (if you were expecting that, you're looking at the wrong bike anyways).
Upkeep: Almost nil. It's bulletproof, and a proven design. You really can't go wrong. It's also good on gas because it's not a high revving race engine.
Power: Tame and controllable, but plenty for highway cruising. Sufficient on the highway, more than sufficient in the city.
Resale: If you buy used, you won't do too badly. As always, buy new, you'll lose quite a bit.
Overall: A great entry point for heavyweight cruiser afficiendos. It's lighter and easier to handle than a big cruiser, but it looks like a big cruiser. This is pretty much the bike that started the small-bike-with-a-big-bike-look that has become so popular.
Now, something a little different: the Triumph Bonneville. It's got the "classic" look, with fairly modern suspension and brakes. It's powered by a 750cc twin, which is comparable in performance to the SV650, but is has tamer power delivery (ie. it's not high strung like a sport bike). It's one of the more expensive bikes to purchase here if you're anywhere but the UK, but is overall a pretty good bike for beginners.
Weight: About 450lbs dry, so it's not exactly a lightweight. Still, light and low enough to the ground to be quite manageable
Handling: Decent brakes, decent suspension. It IS a classic-style bike, so it's no road burner, but it handles just fine. A good city bike.
Upkeep: Reasonable. Labour at a Triumph dealer isn't the cheapest, but this isn't the cheapest bike you could buy either (quite the opposite, actually, if you're in North America). The twin design is simple and reliable. Overall, not much to worry about.
Power: Substantial power for a beginner, but relatively easy to manage. Pretty comparable to the SV650, really.
Resale: There isn't a huge demand for bikes like these, so there aren't too many around second hand. Expect resale to be a bit of a pain, and not particularly profitable.
Overall: If the Bonnie's style is your style, you're probably mature and level headed enough to handle it's power. If you're not into "those racing bikes", and don't want the heft and sluggish handling of a cruiser, this could be a great bike for you.
Lastly, for those that absolutely will NOT do without a supersport bike, there is an option for you: buy an older model. The 600cc supersports from the early 90's (generally 89-93) are less powerful and less "track ready" than current supersports. They are still very fast, with most having about 90hp, but they are also nimble and handle well. Resale on these is really good, because they've already lost most of the value that they will ever lose. I've grouped together the Yamaha FZR 600, the Kawasaki ZX6-D, and the Honda CBR 600 F2 together in this group. Suzuki's entry at the time was considered to be the raciest, and it was hard and unforgiving by comparison, so I won't recommend that one.
Let me be very clear on this: I do NOT recommend these bikes for absolute beginners. They are fast, they are furious, and they will get inexperienced and uncautious riders killed. I am merely suggesting them as an option for those who refuse to ride anything but a "real" sport bike as their first bike
Yamaha FZR 600
Kawasaki ZX6-D
Honda CBR 600 F2
Weight: Heavier than modern supersports, but pretty damn light in this crowd.
Handling: These were the best bikes of the time, so the suspension is as good as it got...at the time. Premium suspension with dated technology means that overall these are pretty solid handling bikes. Brakes are strong.
Upkeep: They're all carbureted and simple by today's standards in terms of technology. They're also high strung racing machines, however, and have probably been ridden as such by their previous owners. Expect to have to start replacing things that you would normally replace at high mileage, and some examples might even need an engine rebuild.
Power: All of these bikes put out more than 85hp. They are rev-happy, peaky race engines. They can and will be a handful for the beginner, and they will be dangerous for the beginner lacking caution and restraint.
Resale: They've already done most of their devaluing. You'll probably lose relatively little money reselling them.
Overall: I don't recommend these bikes as a first. They are very fast, with peaky power delivery and rather stretched out ergonomics (read: racing position). They have high seats. They get the worst mileage of the bunch. They will burn through tires faster. They were probably used and abused by previous owners. They are almost bulletproof, very good handlers, and fulfill the racebike feel that so many people want, though.
Last edited by lopoetve; 04-29-2008 at 03:14 PM..
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I paid :10bux: to get back in ROFL
Awesome, thanks for this.
We have connectivity to your SystemImager server!
\_.--Culver City
nice, old information for someone whos researched but maybe we can get it stickied for new folk
I'm a guy.
'06 DRZ400 Supermoto
'94 KLR6ugly
Your girlfriend likes my crotch rocket better
Yeah, the thing is most people don't research. They come to automay and say "omg i'm gettina b iek what shud I get?"
Member of the Gen[M]ay [M]otorcycle Club
Passion > Precision
Stickied and kept open so people can show us bikes they're looking at and ask other questions.
I also edited in the MSF link to your first power onewheel
Intarweb married to [H]ustler 12/08/03
OWK of Team OWK
Gen[M]ay Motorcyclist 2004 YZF-R1 / 2006 YZF-R6
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Your girlfriend likes my crotch rocket better
Member of the Gen[M]ay [M]otorcycle Club
Passion > Precision
I am a wreckless man who endangers the life of others while driving. Oh, and I've been with more su
more love man, i should write a supra buyers guide :P
I am the Gen[M]ay Supra Club
Your girlfriend likes my crotch rocket better
lol "How You Too Can Run Your Own Suprahh Brothel"
Member of the Gen[M]ay [M]otorcycle Club
Passion > Precision
I'm all signed up for the MSF course, I'm so excited for this summer
But you listed the bikes I'm looking at save one: the yamaha Seca II. Do you happen to think that this would be a good beginner bike? Because I kinda really like them. I know they are an i4, but I've heard they can be a good beginner bike.
dont forget to add the honda 599..
\_.--Senator Date Rape
Grandpa Motors (GM) pussrods and leafsprings
I will add that if you are going to get a 600cc sportbike for your first bike (which thousands of people do every year reguardless of what you tell them), get a CBR. They are by far the easier sportbike to handle.
Your girlfriend likes my crotch rocket better
Congrats. Always great to see new people joining the fold
Yeah the Seca II is a nice little bike. It's much more rare than the ones listed above, but it looks good and goes well. It's actually pretty comparable to the EX500 except the riding position is more upright and it gets slightly better gas mileage. I think it makes like 5hp less than the EX.
If you can find a good price for one it would be a great beginner bike One thing, however, is used parts might be rather scarce. There's a crapload of EX500s and 250s at any wreckers, but usually very few Seca's.
See....I considered it, but it's got almost 30hp more than the SV650, which I already consider to be a lot of bike for a beginner. It's my strong personal belief that any bike based off of a 600 supersport is a bit much for someone who's never ridden before. The 599 would make an awesome bike, but I like to err on the side of caution and with that in mind I'd recommmend staying away from it for a first ride.
Member of the Gen[M]ay [M]otorcycle Club
Passion > Precision
Your girlfriend likes my crotch rocket better
Perhaps I should make a section in the first post entitled "If You're Going to Ignore Me and Get a SuperSport Anyways, Read This!"
Member of the Gen[M]ay [M]otorcycle Club
Passion > Precision
I got a Kawasaki KLR650 as my first bike, and the amount of power is just right. It has also forgiven a few low-speed falls on the dirt.
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 4th Dec 2012 09:50 UTC
"For a seventh consecutive month, the Samsung Galaxy S III is the most popular smartphone in the United Kingdom. The data compiled by uSwitch is based on live searches, pre-orders, as well as postpaid sales. Curiously, Apple's current smartphone flagship is not even second. The iPhone 5 is outperformed by its predecessor, whose lower price and improved contract offers helped it remain appealing. The Samsung Galaxy S II completes the quartet at the top. The rest of the top ten smartphones is entirely an Android party. It includes the Google Nexus 4, who entered the rankings a solid fifth. The second half of the top ten includes the Samsung Galaxy Ace, Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Sony Xperia U, HTC One X, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2." This is getting ridiculous, and it's not good for the market. For the love of Fiona, people, buy something that's not Android. I don't want to live in an Android-dominated smartphone world.
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RE[2]: Well
RE[3]: Well
by henderson101 on Tue 4th Dec 2012 16:51 in reply to "RE[2]: Well"
No, that's not the point. The point is this: if you can't trust apps from the Play Store, what is the point of having the option to install untrusted sources in the first place? If I'm requires to have that option turned on to protect my kids from the *Play Store* and feel obligated to have an anti virus solution installed, I admit defeat. Anyone want a Nexus 7, cheap? Seriously. Android is a festering turd.
RE[4]: Well
by Thom_Holwerda on Tue 4th Dec 2012 16:57 in reply to "RE[3]: Well"
RE[4]: Well
by Morgan on Tue 4th Dec 2012 19:43 in reply to "RE[3]: Well"
Anyone want a Nexus 7, cheap?
As tempted as I am to make you an offer, why don't you just keep it and try Firefox OS on it? The Nexus series is the test platform for that OS. My Nexus S will be running it as soon as it becomes stable enough for daily use as a phone instead of just a platform demo.
As powerful as Android is, I still don't think it's the phone OS for me. I do love it on a tablet though.
RE[4]: Well
by jimmystewpot on Wed 5th Dec 2012 02:32 in reply to "RE[3]: Well"

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July 3, 1919 - June 28, 2013
Walden, NY
Lillian Hecht of Walden, NY, a retired nutritionist and Russian teacher for Middletown Schools, and a lifelong resident of the area, died Friday, June 28, 2013, in Newburgh. She was 93.
The daughter of the late Abraham and Rebecca Sobel Strickman, she was born July 3, 1919, in Liberty, NY.
She was an active member of the Walden Jewish Community Center, Jewish Federation, Jewish Family Services of Middletown, and Hadassah. Lillian earned her Bachelor's Degree from Cornell University. She later earned her Master's Degree in Russian Literature from Vassar College at age 65.
Survivors include her husband, Norman; son, Stanley and his wife, Marie of Los Angeles, and five grandchildren: Michael, Rimona, Aaron, Isabella, and Matthew. She was predeceased by her grandson, Ellis.
The family would like to thank Dr. Franklin Guneratne for his many years of care and service.
Funeral Services will be held Sunday, June 30th, at 10:30 a.m. at Millspaugh Funeral Home, 22 Bank St., Walden, NY. Nava Herzog, cantor of Congregation Beth Hillel, will officiate. Burial will be in Beth Hillel Cemetery in Walden. Following the burial, friends are invited to gather with the family for refreshments at the Walden Jewish Community Center, 20 Pine St., Walden, NY.
Donations in Lillian's memory may be made to either Congregation Beth Hillel, 20 Pine St., Walden, NY 12586, or the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County, 68 Stewart Ave, Newburgh, NY 12550.
Arrangements were made by Millspaugh Funeral Directors; for directions or condolences, please visit millspaughfuneralhome.com


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Jenny Craig Inc. Co-Founder Sid Craig Dies At 76
July 24, 2008 // Franchising.com // — Carlsbad, CA — Jenny Craig Inc. Co-Founder and former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board Sidney Craig, who with his wife Jenny built the largest and most successful centre-based weight loss company in the world, died on Monday, July 21st. He was 76. Sid Craig is survived by his wife, their five children and 13 grandchildren.
"Sid was a true pioneer in the weight loss industry having been involved for over 40 years. Together, he and Jenny built the strong foundation of our Company's values, culture, and mission of improving people's lives by helping them lose weight and keep it off. I personally feel so very fortunate to have known such a talented and generous mentor and friend. He will be dearly missed," said CEO Patti Larchet.
Born March 22, 1932 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Craig came from a family of three children. His career began in the mid-1950s as a part-time instructor and entrepreneur at Arthur Murray Dance Studios, where Sid purchased five studio franchises over time. Upon the company's takeover, he was elected to the new Board of Directors.
In the 1970s, he would own a stake in a small chain of salons before forming a new corporation of ladies figure control salons, Body Contour, Inc. and positioned it for rapid expansion including the New Orleans market where he met Jenny Guidroz Bourcq, who would soon become his National Director of Operations and, in 1979, his wife.
In her 2004 autobiography, "The Jenny Craig Story: How One Woman Changes Millions of Lives," Jenny said "Sid … has the charisma of a Jack Kennedy, the intelligence of an Alan Greenspan, the creative mind of a Steven Spielberg, and the humor of a Jackie Mason, along with the good looks of a Clark Gable."
"I've learned that everyone has a soul mate somewhere, and if we're lucky enough to find them to share our life with, then we are more fortunate than most. I thank God every day for allowing me to find mine. Sid has enriched my life in more ways than I can count."
In 1982, the Craigs sold their interest in the 200+center Body Contour, Inc, moved to Melbourne, Australia, and developed Jenny Craig Inc, a chain of weight loss centres whose comprehensive approach emphasized health, moderation and long-term weight maintenance.
A marketing expert, Sid boosted the young weight management company into overnight success when he placed live advertisements on "New Faces", Australia's top talent show, earning Jenny Craig Inc. the 14th-highest company name recognition in the country.
Sid's leadership built Jenny Craig, Inc. from a small Australian company into a multi-national business with 655 Centres operating in four countries. In 2006, Nestlé purchased Jenny Craig Inc. for $600 million.
An avid sportsman, Sid and Jenny Craig purchased a 237-acre thoroughbred horse racing stables, breeding operation and training center in Rancho Santa Fe, California in 1995. They also own a minority partnership in the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. An active car enthusiast, Sid collected classic cars previously owned by high profile celebrities and political figures including Franklin D Roosevelt's touring limousine, Dean Martin, and Al Capone among many others. Sid especially enjoyed the history behind his cars; which was the prime motivation behind each purchase.
In April 2007, Sid and Jenny were awarded the Horatio Alger Award in Washington D.C. It was the first time in the organization's 60-year history that the award was presented to a couple. Sid considered that to be one of the highlights of his career.
Philanthropically, Sid and Jenny Craig have contributed their support to organizations such as San Diego Hospice, Easter Seals, United Way/CHAD, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In 1992, Sid Craig pledged millions to CSUF for the School of Business and Administrative Sciences, which was renamed The Sid Craig School of Business. In 1996, Sid and Jenny Craig committed another very large donation to the University of San Diego, which was used to build the Jenny Craig Pavilion, a multi-use sports pavilion that was dedicated in October 2000.
The Craigs were quick to come to the aid of Hurricane Katrina victims as one of the largest donors. They were among the first to respond to the needs of fire victims in San Diego, where they reside. Their support and concern for the disadvantaged was their way of giving back in appreciation for their many blessings.


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Linked by snydeq on Sat 10th Mar 2012 20:29 UTC
The open source community should feel a little safer from software patent attacks, writes InfoWorld's Simon Phipps. "The Open Invention Network, a consortium of Linux contributors formed as a self-defense against software patents, has extended the definition of Linux so that a whopping 700 new software packages are covered, including many developer favorites. Just one hitch: The new definition also includes carve-outs that put all Linux developers on notice that Phillips and Sony reserve the right to sue over virtualization, search, user interfaces, and more."


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The three-time Star-Banner girls basketball player of the year from Trinity Catholic was one of four women to qualify for the Sochi Games in the 500 meters Saturday at the U.S. speedskating trials.
KEARNS, Utah — Ocala native Brittany Bowe will be an Olympian in six weeks.
The three-time Star-Banner girls basketball player of the year from Trinity Catholic was one of four women to qualify for the Sochi Games in the 500 meters Saturday at the U.S. speedskating trials.
Heather Richardson breezed to victory in the 500 ahead of Bowe, a friendly rival. Along with Shani Davis on the men's side, they are considered the leading medal hopefuls for the American team in Sochi.
Another Ocala native, Joey Mantia, finished just outside the top four on the men's side. The 2004 Vanguard grad finished sixth.
Richardson, a native of North Carolina, and Bowe are among the skaters who made the successful transition from inlines to ice. In fact, the third-place finisher, Lauren Cholewinski, is also a former inliner from South Carolina.
"It's really special this time because all of the inliners are here together," said Richardson, who will be competing in her second Olympics, as will Cholewinski.
Bowe, who graduated from Trinity in 2006, will be an Olympic rookie, but she hardly looks out of place.
A superb all-around athlete who played point guard on the basketball team at Florida Atlantic, she thought her future was in hoops until she watched the 2010 Vancouver Olympics on television. That inspired her to return to skating, only using blades instead of wheels, and her rise to the top of the sport has been meteoric.
She has the potential to win multiple medals in Sochi, setting a world record in the 1,000 last month and leading the World Cup standings in the 1,500. Competing with Richardson in the same events has spurred them both to greater heights.
"It's a really special relationship we have," Bowe said. "We're friends, roommates, teammates and competitors. We push each other day in and day out."
Richardson is the stronger of the two in the 500, and it showed as she posted a combined time of 1:14.19 over two races. Bowe was next at 1:15.51 despite slipping at the start in her opening race, lurching forward awkwardly when her blade stuck in the ice.
Cholewinski (1:16.18) and Sugar Todd (1:16.42) took the other projected spots on the U.S. team. Elli Ochowicz was denied a fourth Olympic berth by just 0.12, finishing fifth.
Ochowicz has another shot to make the team Sunday in the 1,000.
"I'm so proud of Sugar Todd," the 30-year-old Ochowicz said. "She's a first-time Olympian, and I know what that feeling is like and how happy she is."
Meanwhile on the men's side, Mitchell Whitmore claimed the top spot on the medal podium. The real drama was who finished fourth.
Davis, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, claimed the last berth in the 500, but only after Jonathan Garcia was disqualified for failing to wear timing transponders on his ankles while skating a personal-best time that would've earned him a trip to Sochi.
U.S. Speedskating officials granted Garcia a re-skate about a half-hour later, after everyone else was done. The Texan skated alone, with Davis watching from the infield, but was nearly a half-second slower than his previous time of 34.85 seconds. He glided along the backstretch with his head down, while Davis barely celebrated at all.
"It's really unfortunate," said Davis, who finished behind Whitmore, Tucker Fredricks and Brian Hansen. "I remember the special feeling I had when I went (to the Olympics) the first time. I was really pulling for Garcia to pull through and take the spot, even if it knocked me off the team. He's a friend of mine. I want the best skaters to go. If someone is clearly faster than me, I want them to go. It's just unfortunate that rule worked to his disadvantage."
Whitmore won with a combined time of 1 minute, 9.12 seconds over two races. Fredricks earned his third trip to the Olympics in 1:09.44, while Hansen was next in 1:09.85.
If Garcia's initial time in the second race had stood, he would've been fourth in 1:10.04. Instead, Davis finished fourth in 1:10.21, while Garcia's performance in the do-over (35.33) was only good enough for sixth at 1:10.52.
"I know that I was good enough to be on the team," Garcia said, noting that his first time was accurate because the transponder is merely a backup in case the main timing system fails. "That's something nobody can take away from me."
Whitmore agreed.
"It's awful. He skated an amazing race without his transponder," the winner said. "If it was up to me, I would have picked him because he went faster."
Davis is not considered a medal contender in the 500, but he likes to use the event as a training tool for his two best events. He has won gold in the 1,000 and silver in the 1,500 at the last two Olympics.
"I'm happy that I kind of made the team," he said, "but I'm kind of sad because (Garcia) skated the race of his life."


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|It might not be a good ideato walk aimlessly behind an interview subject.
Today's chat tackles improving upon live coverage. 'Provide context!' You say. But how?! What are the best practices? What makes people stay with you? And what makes them go away? What tools can reporters and editors use? Bring your insights, links and your #REALTALK.
The feed is posted below. You can also check out past chats over here.
If you want to chime in, post a comment in the container or a tweet with the hashtag "#dfmchat" so it can automatically appear below.


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A combination of early presidential maneuvering and internal policy debate is feeding yet another iteration of that media perennial: the great Republican crackup. This time it's tea party insurgents versus get-along establishment fogies fighting principally over two things: (a) national security and (b) Obamacare.
(a) National security
Gov. Chris Christie recently challenged Sen. Rand Paul over his opposition to the National Security Agency metadata program. Paul has also tangled with Sen. John McCain and other internationalists over drone warfare, democracy promotion and, more generally, intervention abroad.


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G355, Reviewed December 1997
All crop producers should adopt some form of conservation tillage. Issues of soil erosion and profitability dictate that unnecessary and deep tillage be minimized. Reduced tillage can range from eliminating a single practice such as chisel plowing to eliminating all tillage.
Conservation tillage eliminates moldboard plowing and uses less erosive methods, including chisel plowing or disking, to prepare the soil for planting. No-tillage, the strictest form of conservation tillage, uses no tillage of the soil except for minimal disturbance of the soil surface in the row during planting and, in some cases, during injection of fertilizers. The result is that 60 to 95 percent of the surface of a planted field is covered with crop residue from the previous season. Increased surface residue helps to increase or maintain organic matter, to increase moisture retention and to decrease soil erosion.
The economic value of a ton of soil lost to erosion varies with the productivity of the soil and the relative amount of soil lost. Whatever the short-term cost of erosion, it is clear that long-term erosion will affect the productivity of the land.
In this guide, complete corn and soybean budgets, including details of production activities, inputs and prices, are used to examine the economic consequences of moving from conservation tillage to no-tillage production. Special care is taken to distinguish between those expected cost changes that involve cash and those that don't. Some discussion centers on the specific circumstances necessary to recognize particular savings from adopting no-tillage. A section on leasing discusses the changes that might occur as tenants adopt no-tillage production.
The budgets in Tables 1 and 3 present the cost estimates of producing corn using two different tillage systems under reasonable assumptions about practices and prices. Use the column on the right-hand side of the table to enter the activities and inputs for your farm. Budgets for conservation tillage and no-tillage soybean production are presented in Table 5.
NoteSee the box at the end of this guide for basic information on developing budgets.
Many of the production assumptions used in this guide are from the Missouri No-Till Planting Systems Manual. The seeding rate, fertility program and yields are expected to be the same under both tillage systems. The no-tillage corn budget (Table 3) differs from the conservation tillage budget (Table 1) by eliminating two tillage activities and changing the herbicide program.
Other changes (not considered in these budgets) may become necessary when switching to no-tillage production. For example:
Table 1Conservation tillage corn budget
The corn budgets (Tables 1 and 3) and soybean budgets (Table 5) indicate that switching to no-tillage will probably have little effect on the per acre and per bushel cost of producing either crop. Several concepts need to be understood before drawing conclusions from these budgets.
First, the budgets in this guide attempt to represent a group of farmers by making assumptions about production activities and prices. The closeness of the results indicates the importance of individual farmers estimating their own costs of switching to a different tillage system. Farmers whose activities and inputs differ substantially from the budgets shown may expect either more or less difference associated with switching production practices.
Second, farmers adopting no-tillage are likely to experience greater differences in cash flow than in profitability. Understanding the true economic impact of switching tillage systems requires an understanding of cash and noncash costs, and variable and fixed costs.
Cash costs involve actual cash transactions; noncash costs include expense items such as depreciation, which are not associated with an actual cash transaction. Variable costs increase (or decrease) as use increases (or decreases); fixed costs remain constant as use increases. Table 2 shows where several expenses fit into the scheme of cash and noncash costs, and variable and fixed costs.
Table 2Comparison of cash, noncash, variable and fixed costs
Table 3No-till corn budget
Fuel, seed, fertilizer and herbicide purchases are cash costs that vary with the number of acres farmed. Property tax is a cash cost that is fixed because it is incurred whether or not the land is farmed.
Land charge is a noncash cost of land ownership. Principal and interest payments are cash expenditures associated with land ownership. Land charge or interest, when used to estimate the cost of production, is the value of the land farmed times the rate of return that could be gained if the land were sold and the money invested elsewhere. Land charge is a fixed cost incurred whether or not a lien exists on the land and whether the land is farmed or left idle.
Hired hourly labor is a cash cost that increases with the number of acres farmed or cropping activities performed. Self-employed and salaried labor is a cash cost that does not necessarily change with the number of acres farmed. Self-employed labor is fixed because farmers have a certain cost of living that must be met regardless of how many acres are farmed.
Because tillage equipment depreciation and interest are functions of age rather than use, they are fixed, noncash costs. Equipment depreciation occurs whether or not the implement is used. Tractor depreciation is a partially fixed and partially variable noncash cost. Fixed depreciation occurs on tractors as they age, regardless of use. Variable depreciation occurs on tractors as they are used more intensively.
Herbicide cost, a variable cash cost, is the most obvious cost that increases with adoption of no-tillage. The example analysis shows herbicide cost increasing $8.00 per acre when switching to no-tillage corn production (compare herbicide costs in Tables 1 and 3). Along with an increase in herbicide costs is a small increase in interest on operating capital. The small increase in operating capital indicates that though total cost of production decreases slightly from adopting no-tillage, cash costs actually increase.
See Table 4 for a summary of cost increases as well as decreases associated with conversion from conservation tillage to no-tillage corn production.
Table 4Summary of cost per acre changes associated with adopting no-till corn
Fuel cost is a variable cash cost that decreases with the elimination of two tillage practices when adopting no-tillage. In Tables 1 and 3 the fuel cost decreases $1.45 per acre when switching to no-tillage corn production.
Labor is a cash cost that helps offset the increased costs mentioned above. The budgets presented in Tables 1 and 3 show a labor cost decrease of $2.09 per acre when switching to no-tillage corn production. The budgets assume that labor is hired, hourly labor — a variable cash cost. If salaried or self-employed labor is involved, the cost is fixed and a decrease is not necessarily realized.
Though the number of hours worked per acre will decrease as activities are eliminated, that does not necessarily mean that true farm labor costs will decrease. Labor costs per acre will decrease only if
The number of hours and acres that equipment will be used will also decrease with a switch to no-tillage production. Repair is a variable cash cost that is expected to decrease $2.33 per acre (Tables 1 and 3) with the adoption of no-tillage. The $2.33 per acre decrease shown in the budgets is a result of selling unused tillage equipment and using the tractor fewer hours per year.
Equipment (tractor and implements) property tax and insurance are fixed cash costs that will not decrease with the adoption of no-tillage. The tax and insurance cost per acre will decrease only if the adoption of no-tillage is accompanied by selling some equipment or farming more acres. The slight decrease of $0.28 is due to selling the chisel plow and disk and removing them from the tax roll. No property tax reduction is associated with tractors because none were sold.
Comparison of Tables 1 and 3 shows a $4.09 saving in equipment depreciation and a $1.41 saving in equipment interest from switching to no-tillage production. Again, it is assumed that the chisel plow and disk were sold, resulting in a decrease in equipment depreciation and interest. Additionally, the annual tractor use decreased approximately 200 hours.
When no-tillage is adopted and the tractor is used fewer hours, tractor depreciation slows down but does not stop, because the tractor continues to get older. The decreased cost will not, however, be similar to the per hour cost of leasing a tractor. Tractors depreciate quickly at first and then very little for each additional hour of use. Using a 5-year-old tractor 200 hours less per year does not save as much as renting a tractor for 200 hours per year. Because tractor depreciation and interest are noncash costs, decreasing use is unlikely to aid cash flow until the tractor is sold or traded.
Selling unnecessary equipment gives a one-time influx of cash and stops the annual noncash depreciation charge. Often the resale value of used tillage implements is sufficiently small that farmers prefer to keep the implement on the farm for emergency use and odd jobs. This can be a wise management decision as long as the manager understands that the depreciation cost should still be charged against the crops being grown.
The above analysis has focused on the corn budgets. A quick look at the soybean budgets (Table 5) reveals some important differences. The herbicide cost increase is projected to be only $3.00 per acre when switching to no-tillage production. This increase is offset by the cost decreases for fuel, labor and repairs. As with corn, the largest cost savings are equipment related, which may not immediately decrease your actual cash needs. No-till soybean production will probably yield a greater profit than conservation tillage production, generate sufficient cash savings to offset any cash expenses, and provide a more effective means of conserving the soil.
Table 5Consolidated budget for soybean conservation tillage and no-tillage.
Tenants often report that landlords do not understand the management of no-tillage crop production. Cash lessors who manage the land properly can often convince the landowner that although the fields may look dirtier with additional residue, the soil is being conserved and weed problems are not increasing. If the lease is a crop share, questions arise regarding the splitting of input costs.
For example, most share leases have the landowner and tenant sharing the cost of inputs such as seed, fertilizer and chemicals. The tenant is usually solely responsible for providing labor, fuel and equipment. The landowner provides the land and improvements. The problem arises when the landowner sees less expense for inputs supplied solely by the tenant and greater expense for inputs split between the two.
Adopting no-tillage crop production does not necessitate a lease change, but it is a good time to reevaluate a crop share lease. Ideally, a crop share lease should be structured so that both parties receive the percent of yield commensurate with their contributions.
Using Tables 1 and 3 to complete a crop share lease form would provide an analysis similar to that shown in Table 6. Whether using conservation tillage or no-tillage production, a lease based on the analysis in Table 6 would probably be a 50:50 lease in Missouri. The table shows that the relative contribution of each person has changed by about 3 percent. Because most leases are approximate (i.e., 50:50 share rather than 45:55 share), a change of a few percentage points might not necessitate a share change.
The analysis in Table 4 does not take into account the value of no-tillage production to the landowner in retained land productivity or the additional management expertise needed to farm effectively using no-tillage production methods. If the landowner and tenant were convinced that the annual value of erosion control and increased management contribution of the tenant using to-tillage methods equals $11.65 per acre, no change in their relative contributions would exist.
Table 6Crop share analysis of conservation tillage and no-tillage corn production, cost per acre
Corn and soybean production costs with conservation tillage are about the same as those with no-tillage. The largest cost increase associated with no-tillage is for herbicides and is a cash cost immediately affecting cash flow. The largest decreased cost associated with no-tillage is depreciation and interest costs associated with machinery. Unfortunately, noncash cost savings can result in greater profitability while not completely offsetting the increased cash expenses of adopting no-tillage crop production.
Estimating typical machinery costs is uncertain because the equipment set of one farmer differs so much from the set of another. Additionally, equipment changes associated with switching to no-tillage can vary. Some will sell unused or underused equipment; others will not. Some will farm more acres with the original equipment; others will not increase farm size.
The greatest economic uncertainty associated with a switch to no-tillage lies in assigning value to soil and management. The budgets in this guide place no value on soil saved. If some value was placed on saving soil (and undoubtedly there should be), no-tillage production would become more economical. If decreased time performing fieldwork led to increased time for management so that savings or income were enhanced on the farm, no-tillage would have additional economic benefits not accounted for in the budgets presented here.
Comparisons of tillage systems using custom rates to estimate machinery expense are usually more encouraging for no-tillage than the analysis presented in this guide. Using custom rates is appropriate if
Budgets are a powerful tool for assisting farm management. A listing of inputs and prices helps estimate how much operating capital is needed for production. An estimate of the per bushel cost of production is useful in making effective marketing decisions. Crop share leases can be evaluated using the contributions attributed to both landowner and tenant in a crop budget. The economics of different systems, such as conservation tillage and no-tillage production, can be compared.
Crop budgets are relatively simple for individual farmers to develop. They consist of listing various field activities and the inputs associated with them, along with prices, to arrive at an estimate of the cost of production (Tables 1, 3 and 5). The step-by-step methodology allows for quick development and easy verification to see if the breakdown is accurate.
Creating generic budgets to compare conservation tillage to no-tillage production is difficult for two reasons. First, farmers are likely to differ on weed management philosophy. One producer may choose tillage as the major weed control method while another relies almost entirely on chemical control. Any two producers using predominately chemical weed control will choose different chemicals to use and apply them at different rates, depending on specific field conditions.
Second, the machinery cost aspects of evaluating different tillage systems can be confusing. Estimating the cost of eliminating a particular activity such as disking may not be best represented by subtracting the custom rate for that activity. Rather, decision makers need to determine what will be the change to their financial situation. In other words, would eliminating a disking decrease their actual cost of producing a crop? And if so, how much?
Because generic budgets are approximations of what a typical Missouri farmer would do, it is important to go through the simple process of creating a budget for your particular situation. Space is left in Tables 1 and 3 for you to do that. If significant changes are needed, follow the format of listing activities and inputs to arrive at a meaningful estimate of production costs.
Order publications online at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/shop/ or call toll-free 800-292-0969.


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By Kris Voakes | Italian Football Writer
"When I was told about it, I started to cry," said Riccardo Saponara, explaining his immediate response to the news he was being signed by AC Milan. "For me, Milan are football, and Kaka has always been my idol."
The 21-year-old attacker was snapped up by the Rossoneri this week off the back of a superb run of performances for Empoli in Serie B over the past year. He will stay at the Carlo Castellani until the summer before making his dream move to San Siro, where he hopes to emulate his Brazilian hero. And having made the switch from the wing to the central attacking midfield slot, he is already beginning to turn in form similar to Milan's former No.22.
Having broken into both the Empoli first-team set-up and the Italy Under-21 squad as a wide man, Saponara struggled to make a significant impact on either flank, and there were fears among some that a formerly much talked-about young prospect may end up fizzling out into a journeyman for provincial outfits in Italy's top two leagues.
But the decision to move Saponara infield has brought tremendous rewards. All of a sudden, a young man whose main threat was little more than trying to get beyond a full-back and get a cross in, has become one of the most attractive midfield talents in the second tier.
It is not only the switch to a freer role which has sparked the former Ravenna man into action. He also puts his upturn in form down to the employment of a mental coach, Roberto Civitarese, who also deals with clients including Liverpool's Italy international Fabio Borini. Civitarese told Tuttomercatoweb recently that he believes Saponara's current form and subsequent signing by Milan have been a long time in coming.
"I have known him for three years and he immediately gave me the impression that he was destined to do important things," said Civitarese. "He always worked with great seriousness and dedication, and today he is bearing the fruits of his work over the years. He had many obstacles to overcome as he grew, but he took them on with strength and determination, and deserves the attention of a club like Milan."
With great poise, balance, superb timing of a run and a cool eye for a pass, Saponara has been the star man in 2012-13 for an Empoli side transformed from relegation candidates to play-off contenders, and has scored eight league goals on the way. His great skill on the ball has also helped him to catch the eye of the team he has dreamt of representing for so long.
Now he is one step closer to becoming the man he idolised for all those years in the red and black. Many keen followers of Italy's second tier have labelled Saponara the 'Kaka of Serie B', which is a high accolade indeed given the strength of that division this term. If he can make the step up in time, then he may well soon stand alongside the likes of Stephan El Shaarawy, Mattia De Sciglio and M'Baye Niang as a regular in the 'New Milan' gradually being built in Lombardy.
As the Rossoneri set about trying to shape their side around the Pirlos, Shevchenkos, Maldinis and Gattusos of the future, they will be hoping they have just acquired their replacement for Kaka in bringing Saponara's dream to life.


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Bossier Parish Community College is proud to have an excellent, fully accredited MA Program. The MA Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programsupon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board. Program accreditation is a requirement for graduates to be eligible to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination. We encourage you to research the criteria for accreditation and view the most current list of accredited programs www.caahep.org and www.maerb.org.
A graduation requirement is to take the Certified Medical Assistant (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination. The exam is not a requirement to work as a MA in Louisiana. However, the certification is a professional edge which may provide job security, career advancement and is seen as prestigious among peers and employers. Most physicians in the area seek certified medical assistants.
Absolutely. While the majority of our applicants and clinical students live and plan to work in this area, we encourage students from other regions of the state. If you are from out of town and are interested in pursuing a MA degree from BPCC you are encouraged to contact a MA advisor for additional information and to request a personalized transcript review.
Our program has a high reputation in the community and our graduates have a high rate of employment. The job market and salaries in the Shreveport-Bossier City area are very good. The median salary for graduates is $26,470 per year.
More information on the job descriptions, job outlook and salaries for MAs can be found on the website for the American Association of Medical Assistants and the Bureau of Labor Statisticswebsite.
While it is likely that within your degree you have taken some or even most of the pre-requisite course requirements, there is a strong possibility that you may be lacking one or more of the required classes. You should request that a MA advisor review your transcript and help you identify what may be missing. Additionally, if a significant amount of time has passed since the completion of your degree, your advisor may recommend re-taking or auditing particular courses so that your knowledge in that content is current.
The Qualification and Additional Required courses of the program have only those costs associated with regular tuition per credit hour which is the same for all BPCC students. Once accepted into the clinical component of the program there are additional costs related to clinical fees, uniforms, immunizations, etc.


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February 1969Volume20Issue2
After the fighting—after Trenton, Valley Forge, Monmouth, and Yorktown—after all tlie sleeplessness and the care, George Washington longed to return to the reassuring routine of his beloved Mount Vernon. This dream of return came true just before Christinas of 1783; already past fifty, the General looked forward to spending ltis remaining years at liis favorite occupation, that of a Virginia country gentleman. He had plans to expand and embellish his ancestral home, to improve his land, and to put in order his neglected financial affairs. He also relislied the thought of again riding for pleasure, of limiting with his dogs, of merely silting on his veranda and watching the familiar Potomac floiu placidly to the sea. The General was, in fact, full of those hopes and those longings which have occupied the thoughts of all returning soldiers. It is this period of Washington's life thai the noted biographer and historian James Thomas Flexner treats of in the narrative that follows. This is the first of six articles which will appear in AMERICAN HERITAGE ; subsequent installments will cover Washington's return to national life, his inauguration, the political and social aspects of his Presidency, and his retirement and death. The series is taken from the final volume of Mr. Flexner's three-volume study of Washington, now in work. Like the first two volinnes, George Washington: The Forge of Experience and George Washington in the American Revolution , it will be published, by Little, Brown.
—The Editors
George Washington remembered that when he woke up in the silent mornings his mind would instantly become a whirlpool of grievous things. Urgency was upon him as it had been daily for his eight years as Commander in Chief: the need to clothe thousands of naked men, fill empty bellies, procure gunpowder, write and persuade Congress; the need to build defenses, place cannon, withstand attack with inadequate forces. He had to march, explore strange countrysides, interrogate spies and prisoners. How could he find some way to defeat a stronger enemy, some miraculous way to achieve what seemed past the power and will of an emerging nation: victory that would end this interminable war and establish the independence of the United States?
Then, as his long body thrashed around in an oddly comfortable bed, a strange realixation Hooded over him. Although engulfed in darkness, for this was winter and he always woke early, Washington became aware that outside the windowpanes there stretched not a military camp but the peaceful countryside of his childhood memories. The sighing ho heard was the wind in his own trees, and out there the Potomac, his ancestral river, pulsed gently under the bluff on which stood his beloved house, Mount Vernon. He was ama/cd to find that the war was over, that he was home, that he "was no longer a public Man, or had anything' to do with public transactions." At such moments, so Washington remembered, he felt as I conceive a wearied Traveller must … who, after treading many a painful step, with a heavy burden on his shoulders, is eased … and from his House top is looking back, and tracing with a grateful eye the Meanders by which lie escaped the quicksands and Mires which lay in his way; and into which none but the All-powerful guide, and great disposer of human Events could have prevented his falling.
The General had brought home with him to Mount Vernon a priceless acquisition, the very jewel he had longed fur in Ins most ambitious dreams. Ever since he had become familiar as a youth with the Stoic philosophy, he had considered that the greatest reward any man could earn was the confidence, affection, and gratitude of his countrymen. Jt had been to win tins boon that, refusing pay and spurning opportunities to grasp further power, he had faithfully served his fellow citizens as military commander year after unbroken year. Now the labor was over; this admiration, this love, this gratitude were his to enjoy, as a man would turn a many-faceted crystal quietly in his hands.
Washington's brightest personal hope had been, as he dreamed by the campfhcs, to merge this achievement, in memory and in reality, with the delights of the peaceful walks he had inherited from his ancestors and had himself happily pursued. All was to be contained within those magic acres which his dear dead half-brother Lawrence, who had willed them to him, had named Mount Vernon.
Here, fashioned Iiuni wood on land which his grandfather had purchased in 1674, was tanKihlc continuity, the past moving with beauty into the present. When his own prosperity had increased, Washington had not, as his neighbor George Mason had, torn down his ancestral house and erected a new elegant structure according to a plan bought from a professional architect. The center of Mount Vcrnon rested on seventeenth-century foundations. The room where on domestic evenings George sat with Martha while her grandchildren prattled was the same cramped space he had himself prattled in as a child. Placing furniture was difficult because the first builder had parsimoniously erected the fireplaces in the corners of the rooms so that one outside chimney could serve a pair. Washington had not altered this clumsiness, although one of these antique hearths was now surrounded wilh a marble construction of the greatest elegance and modern taste, which had been sent to the Hero of Liberty by a European admirer.
Above and on both sides of the tiny old rooms stretched an extensive house which Washington, his own architect, had improvised in stages as his needs had grown. There were clumsy solutions: unsupported lieam-cnds, false windows where the façade argued with the interior, an extensive waste area between the floor of one room and the ceiling of another. But there was also harmony, dignity, and a lyrical sobriety that testified to the temperament of the creator.
"The mansion house itself, though much embellished but yet not perfectly satisfactory to the chaste taste of the present possessor, appears venerable and convenient." So wrote David Humphreys, an old friend with literary pretensions, in iyS(i. "The superb banqueting room lias been finished since he returned from the army. A lofty portico, ninety-six feet in length … lias a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."
The whole area was so flat that the "mount" on which the house stoud, although it rose only two h undied feet above the Potomac River, seemed an imposing height. From the two-story colonnaded porch (which was Washington's invention and was to have many descendants in the South), one could walk a hundred paces on a flat lawn. Then the land dropped to the river "about 400 paces, adorned with a hanging wood and shady walks," according to one visitor. From the mount, "the perspective view" was magnificent, the river being sonic two miles wide and taking a wide curve so that it seemed to embrace Washington's extensive acres. Some foreigners, it is true, found the broad panorama of the Maryland shore deficient in "houses and villages," but the mostly unbroken vegetation pleased the eye of a man who had spent so many still hours in the wilderness. Near both flanks of the house he had, indeed, created artificial wildernesses that mediated between the wild and the planned: woods full of botanical specimens and flowering trees.
On the land side of the mansion, a lawn of about five acres was shaped, by the twin driveways that defined its outer limits, to resemble a copiously rounded bell. From each periphery, "gravel walks planted with weeping willows and umbrageous shrubs" led to large, shield-shaped gardens contained within decorative brick walls. One garden was devoted to flowers. Although the other grew kitchen vegetables, it too was planned for promenading, being laid out in squares by walks lined with fruit trees and low box hedges.
An English visitor commented on the "astonishing … number of small houses the General has upon his estate." These included a greenhouse, a schoolhousc, extensive stables, quarters for white servants and slaves, shops for brewers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and even "a well appointed store" that served the neighbors, family, and servants. According to Humphreys: The tout ensemble … when seen from the countryside, bears a resemblance to a rural village, especially as the lands in the site arc laid out somewhat according to the form of English gardens, in meadows and grass-grounds, ornamented with little copses, circular dumps, and single trees. A small park on the margin of the river, where the linglish fallow deer and the American wild deer are seen through the thickets alternately with the vessels as they arc sailing along, adds a romantic and picturesque appearance to the whole scenery. Such arc the philosophic shades to which the late Commander in Chief of the American armies has retired from the tumultuous scenes of a husy world.
Washington had comforted himself in the military camps with the thought that, after victory had somehow been achieved, lie would return to Mount Vernon and "contemplate" in "philosophic retirement" the excitements and anguishes he had experienced, the rigors lie had overcome. It was not only his own restlessness that undermined this vision: his retirement could not conceivably I)C like that of an ordinary man. The triumphant hero, who like the legendary Cincinnatus had returned to the plow, was the most conspicuous symbol of the most portentous political event oî the eighteenth century. His character and appearance and way of life fascinated not only his fellow Americans but the philosophers, soldiers, and curiosityseekers of the entire Western world.
Many visitors came by invitation, for Washington rarely wrote to a companion of the old, hectic days without asking him to Mount Vernon. Others brought letters of introduction, or were men of moment who by definition felt entitled to call on "his Excellency." Some were supplicants for this or that. Some appeared utterly without auspices. Thus Washington noted, "A Gentleman calling himself the Count de Cheiza D'Arteignan, OfRcer of the French Guards, came here to dinner, hut bringing no letters of introduction, nor any authentic testimonials … 1 was at a loss how to receive or treat him." Washington invited him to stay for dinner and the evening, and extended the invitation until the bogus officer (there is no record of him in the French army lists) had spent two nights at Mount Vernon. Then Washington sent him "with my horses today, at his own request, to Alexandria."
Washington was under pressure to put up all callers—with their servants and horses—who arrived toward evening, since the nearest inn was in Alexandria nine miles away, a journey of several hours. The road was rough and travellers had to stop every few minutes to open and then close gates built across the road to control the local cows and pigs. Mount Vernon, so Washington wrote, could be "compared to a well-resorted tavern, as scarcely any strangers who are going from North to South, or from South to North, do not spend a day or two at it." But, of course, a Virginia gentleman could charge nothing for room and board.
To intimates like Humphreys, whom he invited for long visits, Washington would write, "The only stipulations I shall contend for are, that in all things you shall do as you please—I will do the same; and that no ceremony may be used or any restraint be imposed on any one." And again, "My manner of living is plain. I do not mean to be put out of it, a glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready, and such as will be content to partake of them are welcome, those who expect more, will be disappointed, but no change will be affected by it."
However, Washington's guests never had cause to complain of being treated slackly, of any lack of opulence or elegance. Their host liked to talk of republican simplicity, and he did achieve it in the sense that Mount Vernon was very much less grand than the mansions of Europe: it could have been absorbed twenty times over in a great English country house. But for America it was sumptuous, and Washington did his best to improve it in the latest taste.
Having written a merchant for seventy yards of red and white livery lace, he added,
I have seen rooms with gilded borders, made, I believe, of papier-mache, fastened on with brads, or cement, round the doors and window casings, surbase, etc., and which gives a plain blue or green paper a rich and handsome look. Is there any to be had in Philadelphia?
Off to an English gentleman went a request for information about stucco, which he understood was the present taste in England for finishing interiors. He wanted to know [whether the] rooms, with which it is encrusted, are painted generally, or are they left of the natural color, which is given by the cement, made according to Mr. Higgins' mode of preparing it? And also whether the rooms thus finished are stuccoed below the surbase [chair rail] or from thence upwards only.
Washington had so designed Mount Vernon that he and his family had a wing of their own, which opened into the rest of the house only on the ground floor: here was his study, the bedroom he shared with Martha, dressing rooms, and rooms for the grandchildren. This arrangement provided as much privacy as he could hope to achieve, but it was no protection against unexpected interruption. More often than not, when he returned from his usual morning tour of his farms he would find that departures and arrivals had altered the crowd of guests he had said good night to on the previous evening. Often completely strange faces stared at him with a curiosity embarrassingly undisguised.
The man the newcomers studied, although he moved with a springy lightness, was for those days a very big man, between six feet and six feet three inches in height. His shoulders were narrow and sloping but his limbs—forearms and thighs, hands and feet—startlingly large. His head was massive. The forehead, under a plentiful thatch of graying hair, was broad and high, yet it seemed small when compared to the rest of his face. Set wide apart, his gray-blue eyes were deep in huge sockets and heavily lidded. The unusually wide bridge of his nose had on it a ridge of flesh. The nose protruded powerfully: it would have seemed longer and more strongly hooked had it not been for the width of the nostrils. His mouth varied in shape from year to year, depending on his current set of false teeth, but it was always full, with strong lips. High cheekbones gave the lower part of his head the appearance of greater width than it actually possessed, but it was far from narrow. The depth and jut of his chin, which would have dominated any other face, seemed no more than correctly proportioned.
Such a head could inspire fear, but every strength in Washington's appearance, as in his character, incorporated within it its own restraint. He gave an impression of reserve tempered with affability. His eyes, unless quickened by recognition of an old friend, lurked in their deep sockets without animation. Some visitors considered him austere; others were amazed to conclude that the great man was shy. An Englishman noted, "He speaks with great diffidence, and sometimes hesitates for a word, but it is always to find one particularly well adapted to his meaning. His language is manly and expressive."
Having ceremoniously greeted each visitor, Washington would sit with them for a few minutes and then go upstairs to change out of his farming costume. In half an hour or so he would reappear, wearing on one occasion, as a guest noted, his hair neatly powdered, a clean shirt, a new plain drab coat, and white stockings.
Dinner was served at two. It was always ample and often luxurious, but Washington did not stuff himself. He commonly ate a single dish and drank from half a pint to a pint of Madeira. If the company permitted of relaxation, he remained "an hour after dinner in familiar conversation and convivial hilarity," wrote Humphreys.
When he finally rose from the dinner table, Washington disappeared into his library or outdoors into his gardens. Toward evening, he drank "one small glass of punch, a draught of beer, and two dishes of tea." Although "a very elegant" supper was served to his guests, he did not appear but went to bed at nine. If, however, intimate friends or individuals who brought interesting news arrived toward evening, Washington would come to the supper table. Then he would drink several glasses of champagne, get "quite merry," and laugh and talk "a great deal."
A fairly typical visitor was a young merchant, Elkanah Watson, who shared with Washington a passion for canal building. The General, Watson wrote, soon put me at my ease, by unbending, in a free and affable conversation. The cautious reserve, which wisdom and policy dictated, whilst engaged in rearing the glorious fabric of our independence, was evidently the result oE consummate prudence, and not characteristic of his nature … I observed a peculiarity in his smile, which seemed to illuminate his eye: his whole countenance beamed with intelligence, while it commanded confidence and respect. … I found him kind and benignant in the domestic circle, revered and beloved by all around him; agreeably social, without ostentation; delighting in anecdote and adventures without assumption; his domestic arrangements harmonious and systematic.
Watson had a bad cough. Washington (who himself avoided taking medicines) tried vainly to press some nostrum on his visitor. During the night, Watson's cough increased, and then he heard a noise. "On drawing my bed-curtains, to my utter astonishment, I beheld Washington himself, standing at my bedside, with a bowl of hot tea in his hand. I was mortified and distressed beyond expression."
Among the more complimentary—and plaguing—of Washington's visitors were artists who wished to spread his likeness through an eager world. From the time he was first painted as an uncelebrated Virginia planter, Washington had found it embarrassing to sit still and be studied. During 1785, he responded to a letter introducing the English artist Robert Edge Pine: In for a penny, in for a pound is an old adage. I am so hackneyed to the touches of the Painters' pencil, tnat I am now altogether at their beck, and sit like patience on a Monument whilst they are delineating the lines of my face.
It is a proof among many others of what habit and custom can effect. At first I was as impatient at the request, and as restive under the operation, as a Colt is of the Saddle. The next time, I submitted very reluctantly, but with less flouncing. Now no dray moves more readily to the Thill, than I do to the Painters Chair.
Sculptors came, first the obscure Joseph Wright, operating on a private speculation, and then the celebrated French artist Jean Antoine Houdon, who had been employed in Paris by Jefferson and Franklin to create a heroic statue which had been commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Both sculptors started out by making a life mask. Concerning Wright's effort, Washington stated: I consented with some reluctance. He oiled my features over, and placing me flat upon my back, upon a cot, proceeded to daub my face with the plaster. Whilst in this ludicrous attitude, Mrs. Washington entered the room, and seeing my face thus overspread with the plaster, involuntarily exclaimed. Her cry excited in me a disposition to smile, which gave my mouth a slight twist or compression of the lips, that is now observable in the busts Wright afterwards made.
Houdon appeared with three assistants. Jefferson, who seems to have feared that Washington would hesitate to receive an artist, had written that the sculptor moved in the best circles. Jefferson need not have worried: Washington was used to entertaining men of all ranks. He lodged the sculptor and his assistants for more than two weeks and then sent them up the Potomac in his "barge." They carried with them not only the life mask (see page 10) but casts and measurements of his body, all to be combined into the statue in Paris.
Eventually Washington wrote Jefferson, objecting diffidently—"not having sufficient knowledge in the art of sculpture to oppose my judgment to the taste of Connoisseiurs"—to being shown dressed as Cincinnatus in an ancient toga. He urged at least "some little deviation in favor of the modern costume," adding that he would not have dared make this suggestion had he not been told that Benjamin West, the leading American painter resident in London, had pressed such modernity on Houdon, and that "this taste, which has been introduced in painting by West, I understand is received with applause and prevails extensively."
In May, 1785, there rolled up the driveway one of England's most notorious women, Catharine Sawbridge Macaulay Graham, who had struck out for liberty and excoriated the Tories in her eight-volume History of England from the Accession of James I to that of the Brunswick Line . She surely wore more rouge than any other lady ever entertained at Mount Vernon—John Wilkes described her as "painted up to the eyes" and looking "as rotten as an old Catherine pear"—and she had in tow a lower-class youth of about twenty whom, at the age of almost fifty, she had married, to the publicly expressed despair of her elderly lover and the titters of British society. The bridegroom's elder brother was a notorious quack who operated at fashionable Bath a Temple of Health which featured the electrified royal Patagonian bed that was supposed to enhance sexual pleasures and was reputed to be the inspiration of the marriage of the elderly "historian in petticoats" to her juvenile surgeon's mate.
While making expansive gestures, Mrs. Graham talked at the top of her lungs almost without stop, laying down the law on political matters. Washington was deeply impressed with this friend "of liberty and of mankind" who was clearly as brilliant as she was eccentric. He wrote General Henry Knox, "A visit from a Lady so celebrated in the Literary world could not but be very flattering to me." In sending out invitations to dine with her and her boyish husband, he explained to the neighbors that "I wish to shew them all the respect I can." He placed his military records in her hands "for her perusal and amusement." When the Grahams departed after a stay of ten days, Washington accompanied them some distance on the road. The General and the lady continued to correspond during the many years until she died, her letters crammed with political advice, his written with that special care he employed in addressing those whom he considered more educated than he.
The man who had ridden away from Mount Vernon to lead a revolution that pointed to the future of the Western world had come back eager to gather soothingly around him his personal past. But there were two elements of that past which deeply troubled him: his childlessness and his mother.
Less than a month after he had returned his commission as Commander in Chief to the Continental Congress, Washington wrote to ask if he could not have the document back. The paper, he explained, "may serve my Grand Children some fifty or a hundred years hence for a theme to ruminate upon, if they should be contemplatively disposed."
Washington had no grandchildren and no children to create them. He could not have been referring to his wife's grandchildren, descended from her first husband, since he did not consider them his own. He had, he wrote on another occasion, "no family … nobody to provide for.…"
Yet the man who had achieved so much could not give up the hope that the children who were so freely accorded to others would in the end be vouchsafed to him. True, he had been married to Martha for twentyfive years, and always without issue. The implications raised by his wife's fecundity during her brief first marriage—her womb quickened in rapid succession four times—could not have been excluded from the ruminations of a man who so steeled himself to look at facts. Yet the magnificent athlete could not accept the conclusion that he was sterile. Surely, his childless state was linked to his marriage with Martha!
"If Mrs. Washington should survive me," he decided, "there is a moral certainty of my dying without issue." However, even a man who loved his wife as George Washington did could not exclude from his meditations an alternative. Its possibility was, indeed, strengthened because Martha was now "scarce ever well.… Billious Fevers and Cholics attack her very often, and reduce her low." He tried to comfort her by ordering from England "a handsome and fashionable gold watch," the hands to be "set with Diamonds," but he could not help speculating what would happen if she did not survive him and he survived her.
Would he marry again? Would his new wife give him a child? He feared that she would not if he selected "a woman of an age suitable to my own." But supposing he married "a girl?" He hoped that, "whilst I retain the reasoning faculties, I shall never marry a girl," yet he remained haunted by the vision of a child of his own. Not only did he write Congress that his commission be returned as a souvenir for his grandchildren, but he was careful not to exclude from his promises to his collateral heirs the possibility that a babe might suddenly appear and from the cradle preempt all.
The most serious problem in Washington's personal relations concerned the oldest connection of all and the psychologically most intimate. His mother was in her late seventies but, as he wrote, in "good health" and "in the full enjoyment of her mental faculties." As soon as the weather had abated after his first return to Mount Vernon, Washington had journeyed to Fredericksburg to pay her a duty call in the small but elegant house he had erected for her there. After the "Mayor and Commonality" of the town had presented him with a congratulatory address, he thanked them for "the honorable mention which is made of my revered mother, by whose maternal hand (early deprived of a father) I was led from childhood."
It was, however, normal for him to avoid, as far as possible, lengthy sessions in the presence of that maternal force. If, now that her son stood before her as one of the world's acclaimed heroes, she added a word to the general praise or did not try to make him feel inadequate, it would have been a prodigy. She had been, during the Revolution, so uncomplimentary about Washington's activities that she had generally been considered a Tory. To those who had lauded her son in her presence she had replied that he was off doing things that were none of his business and was allowing her to starve. Washington had heard "on very good authority that she is upon all occasions and in all companies complaining of the hardness of the times, of her wants and distress; and, if not in direct terms at least by innuendoes, asking favors." This, Washington wrote from one of his military camps, was "too much," when in fact she was provided with everything she needed or asked for. However, Washington quickly added that he would prefer not to remonstrate with his mother himself. He urged his favorite brother, John Augustine Washington, to do so.
Down the years, mediation by John had kept the relations between George and his mother from open explosion, but in January, 1787, the mediator died. A month later, Washington's control broke.
His mother had again asked for money. He sent her fifteen guineas, which he stated was all the cash he had, and then pointed out angrily what a drain on his estate her activities had been. She had requisitioned all the supplies from a plantation he conducted near Fredericksburg, and during the war he had advanced her between three and four hundred pounds from his own pocket. Despite this, she had talked in such a way that he was "viewed as a delinquent and considered, perhaps by the world, an unjust and undutiful son."
She should rent her farms, which would supply her with "ample support"; break up housekeeping; hire out all her servants except a man and a maid; keep only a phaeton and two horses; and live with one of her children. "This would relieve you entirely of the cares of this world and leave your mind at ease to reflect undisturbedly on that which ought to come." Since her expenses would use up only a quarter of her income, she could "make ample amends to the child you live with." She might then be "perfectly happy," that is, "if you are so disposed, … for happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person's mind than on the externals of the world."
Washington hastened to add that he was not suggesting that she come to Mount Vernon: "Candor requires me to say that it will never answer your purposes in any way whatsoever." Since the house was always crowded with strangers she would be forced to do one of three things: be always dressed for company, appear in dishabille, or be a prisoner in her own chamber. The first, she would not like as being too fatiguing for one in her time of life. The second, he would not like, as his guests were often "people of the first distinction." Nor would it do for her to stay in her own room, "for what with the sitting up of company, the noise and bustle of servants, and many other things, you would not be able to enjoy that calmness and serenity of mind which, in my opinion you ought now to prefer to every other consideration of life."
Mary Washington did not relish her son's desire to make her into a conventional fireside figure of tranquil old age. She did not rent out her land or break up her personal housekeeping. But, on the other hand, she did not permit George's interference and scolding to displace him as the favorite of her children. When she died in 1789 she left the lion's share of her estate, including her best bed and best dressing glass, to the descendant who, from all appearances, least needed the bequest; to George Washington.


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greatestates needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 40 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
GreatEstates, Inc.
We market luxury, high end real estate. Our current logo needs either updating or a complete makeover. (see attachment). The name is the brand and should be the predominant feature.
Take a look at uniquehomes.com or luxuryportfolio.com to see how they changed some of the typeface. I'd prefer changes to the typeface, with no graphic. Again, the name is the brand.
The target audience for your logo: Consumer Age: 40-55,
The top three things we want to communicate through the logo:
- trust but not old school
- high quality & luxury
- High Class
GreatEstates is one word. Please differentiate the word "Great" & "Estates" by different colors or your idea? The word "Inc" should be small - insignificant.
Letters must look good on white background and be large enough to read on a real estate yard sign from a distance. The typical real estate sign is Width: 24", Height: 18" of which approx. 1/3 will be the logo.
Thank you & good luck!
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