FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  July 27, 2006

Pioneer Strategies' president joins Board of Directors

of Business Leaders' Club, Inc.

RALEIGH – Pioneer Strategies' president, Frank Williams, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Business Leaders’ Club, Inc., a group of top Triangle-area small business leaders.  The other newly elected 2006-07 directors are:

·         Whitney Hill.  Hill is president of Carolina Web Consultants, a Raleigh-based Web development company he founded in 1997.  Carolina Web Consultants serves more than 100 companies. Hill is a 1978 graduate of North Carolina State University, where he earned a degree in computer science.

·         Oie Osterkamp.  Osterkamp is vice president of business development for GetItQuick.com.  Prior to joining GetItQuick.com he was a member of the senior management team at Job Strategies, a human resources outsourcing firm he co-founded in 1996.  Osterkamp is a founding member of the Raleigh/Durham Chapter of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization, former Chair of the Wake County Economic Development Existing Industry Committee, and has served as President of the East Carolina University Commerce Club, the ECU Business School alumni organization, since 1988.  He has been a featured speaker for civic and business groups throughout North Carolina.

·         Carolyn Rhinebarger.  Rhinebarger is president of Strategic Guru, a Cary-based marketing and communications firm that provides full-service support for the planning and execution of marketing tactics.  Rhinebarger is a career marketer and strategist for intangibles such as professional services and education. She worked in marketing, sales and business development in the technology industry for many years, then joined a community college to market continuing education before launching Strategic Guru, in 2002.

·         Bob Watral, CFP®.  Watral has been a Financial Advisor with Smith Barney since 1986.  In 1997, he earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification from the CFP Board of Standards, Inc.   He has also earned his Financial Planning Specialist designation from Smith Barney.  Upon graduating from Duke University in 1979, Watral served our nation as an infantry afficer with the U.S. Marine Corps. 

The Business Leaders’ Club, Inc. (BLC) is a group of top Triangle-area small business leaders.  For more information, please visit www.businessleadersclub.com. 

Pioneer Strategies is a Raleigh-based Public Relations agency that provides small and mid-sized businesses and non-profit organizations with strategic Public Relations counsel and cost-effective communication services.  Pioneer's services and expertise include strategic communication planning, media relations, campaign planning, executive Public Relations counsel, community relations, special event planning, copywriting and speechwriting.  For more information, call 919-833-4345 or visit www.pioneerstrategies.com. 

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