CashLynks Assists Non-Banking Customers

Jerome Uffner, recently the head of Atlanta-based FirstView Financial, specialized in providing electronic money transfer services. While previously serving as director of retail card products at Link Systems, Jerome Uffner helped introduce the electronic funds-distribution platform CashLynks, a platform that expands the availability of direct deposit.

Not everyone who is offered direct deposit accepts it. Some employees decide not to belong to a bank because of unpleasant experiences, while others refrain from opening checking accounts because of a poor credit history.

CashLynks combines the benefits of direct deposit and debit cards, reducing payroll costs to employers and preventing the possible loss of paychecks. Businesses can also use it to handle cash advances, bonuses, and reimbursements. Those with CashLynks cards can use them to withdraw money from most ATMs, place long distance calls, and make point-of-sale purchases.

For these transactions, cardholders pay convenience and other fees, which are smaller than those charged by financial institutions and check-cashing operations. There is no time limit for keeping funds in CashLynks accounts.

The system resides on the Web, saving companies the expense of purchasing software. Clients access a secure website to load money, see transaction reports and balances, and order new cards.

Scenic Running Routes in and near Atlanta

Jerome Uffner, an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and executive, enjoys running in his free time. As a resident of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, Jerome Uffner has easy access to a number of scenic running routes. According to experts, some of the best of these are:

Silver Comet Trail

Named for the Silver Comet passenger train, the Silver Comet Trail stretches for 61.5 miles along the path of an abandoned railroad line. Atlanta-area runners can pick up the mostly paved, tree-shaded route at the trailhead in Smyrna, where there is ample parking.

Morningside Nature Preserve

While located in Atlanta, Morningside Nature Preserve offers a picturesque, natural setting that makes visitors feel as if they are far from the city. A round-trip on the preserve’s running trail is only 2.5 miles, but runners can easily extend their route by exploring the myriad offshoot trails. 

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

Options abound at this 48-mile-long, 10,000 acre outdoor destination, which sits north of Atlanta. Runners can embark on a 5k along the Chattahoochee River, enjoy the popular 8.5-mile loop between Cochran Shoals and Sope Creek, or select from countless other possibilities.

Red Cross Rolls Out New CPR Training Dummy

Based in Dublin, Ohio, Idea Buyer, LLC, assists entrepreneurs by helping them bring their ideas to fruition through design, development, manufacturing, and distribution guidance. A philanthropic organization, Idea Buyer supports the efforts of the American Red Cross.

In December 2017, the American Red Cross debuted a new device that it believes represents the next evolution in CPR training. The organization rolled out a new training dummy named BigRed that features illuminated feedback to indicate whether a trainee is properly administering CPR. These lights can show how deep the chest compressions are going, how well the blood is circulating based on the compression, and provides overall feedback about the quality of the trainee’s technique. 

In addition to the illuminated features, the training dummy has a head that tilts, a chest cavity that rises and falls with realism compared to a human chest, and true-to-life nasal and oral features. To learn more about BigRed and how the Red Cross believes it will revolutionize CPR training, visit redcross.org/bigred.

Green Light Acquisitions Focuses on Legal Cannabis

An executive in the payment industry, Jerome Uffner recently served as CEO and president of FirstView Financial. Jerome Uffner also serves as an advisor to Green Light Acquisitions (GLA), a company that works with payment solutions and other aspects of the legal cannabis industry. 

The legalization of cannabis in the U.S. has created major opportunities for business. Thus far, 30 states allow medical marijuana use and nine states plus the District of Columbia allow recreational use. The drug is still illegal on the federal level, but the legal business is booming at the state level. 

In 2017, the legal cannabis industry generated about $9 billion in revenue, and some estimates project its value will rise to $22 billion by 2020. The industry is in a position to create many jobs, from growing to selling, and money that previously spent on illegal drugs is now being taxed. 

GLA has worked to raise funds to help the legalization process, contributing $28 million so far. As the industry continues to grow and prohibition continues to weaken, GLA intends to partner with other companies to address all aspects of the legal cannabis industry.