National Infantry Museum to Host CNN with Robin Meade Friday 2 Oct 09

[agonyea]

I wish I was off work to view this one:

Infantry Museum to host HLN's Clark Howard, Robin Meade

BY LARRY GIERER - lgierer@ledger-enquirer.com

Cyndy Cerbin says the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center wants to get all the exposure it can.

It will get plenty Friday.

Besides the large gathering of friends and family a three-company graduation brings, national broadcasting personalities Clark Howard and Robin Meade will be on hand.

More about Clark Howard More about Robin Meade “It’s going to be busy and exciting,” said Cerbin, communications director for the National Infantry Foundation. “This kind of exposure is just excellent.”

The graduation will be at 10 a.m. on the parade field behind the museum. At 10:30 a.m. on the museum’s front lawn, Howard, a nationally acclaimed consumer advocate, will be taping his syndicated radio show.

“A lot of folks will be passing by, I’m sure,” Cerbin said.

At 1 p.m., Howard will tape his television show, “Clark Howard,” in the museum’s lobby. The money expert will be answering questions from military families about credit ratings, avoiding foreclosure, budgeting and more. The public may watch the taping but seating will be limited.

Meade, anchor of “Morning Express With Robin Meade” on CNN’s Headline News, which is now known as HLN, will be signing copies of her New York Times best-seller “Morning Sunshine: How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too,” in the museum’s bookstore from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Howard’s radio show airs locally on WRCG-AM 1420. His weekly television show airs on HLN.

Representatives for Howard and Meade contacted the Meade and Howard the United States Army Infantry Center, which arranged their appearance at the museum. The center is the home of the Maneuver Center of Excellence.

“They wanted to talk to some soldiers,” said Brenda Donnell of the USAIC media relations office. “We thought the museum would be a great place for them to do it

[Senior D]

Robin Meade will be there?!?!?!

Already on my way....

[agonyea]

Posted from the local newspaper, here is the update:


Clark Howard helps soldiers avoid getting ripped off


By ANDREA V. HERNANDEZ - ahernandez@ledger-enquirer.com


Clark Howard, consumer advocate, talk radio host and CNN “Headline News” personality, said Thursday he was stunned by how many U.S. soldiers get ripped off through bad business deals.

“They’ve got people who want to separate them from their money,” Howard said. “It’s my job to fight back.

Dressed in full army combat uniform, Howard — who is a volunteer member of the Georgia State Defense Force — spoke of how young soldiers armed with discretionary income could easily become targets for unethical businesses. At the same time, he questioned whether they had the necessary skills to avoid getting financially duped.

Financial counselors at Fort Benning said it was a familiar situation: Some soldiers purchase cars they can’t afford or take out loans with exorbitant interest rates, for example.

Rosalie Grant-Nolt, a financial readiness specialist with Fort Benning’s Army Community Service, told Howard on-air she once saw a soldier who was losing $800 a month because of bank overdraft fees.

“It’s not just soldiers, but Americans in general are not keeping their bank account journals,” Grant-Nolt said. “This is a huge issue. If you spend $800 of your $836 on overdraft fees, what do you live on?”

At Fort Benning, soldiers are required to complete a personal finance class at the beginning of their service. There are other consumer classes that cover topics like debt counseling and budgeting, which soldiers can take through the Financial Readiness Program.

Most of the questions Howard fielded during his radio show didn’t deal with getting ripped off; most focused on investing, retirement and staying out of debt.

James Kvicala, a retired colonel in his 70s, told Howard he and his wife were receiving money from three sources: Social Security, military pension and a civil service fund. The father of three grown children and grandfather of eight asked Howard about possible investment options to grow their money.

Howard suggested a 529 college savings plan — a investment fund from which withdrawals for education expenses are free from federal income tax — for his younger grandchildren.

Kvicala later said he had heard of the fund Howard had mentioned. “He’s given me the impetus to consider that seriously,” he said.

Sandy McLean, a chaplain with the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Benning, was among the crowd listening to Howard’s advice.

“I think it’s right on,” said McLean, 55. “The more help we can get managing our funds, the better.”

Howard said he came to talk to Fort Benning soldiers for two reasons — to show his appreciation and to give back through personal finance advice.

“I so value what they do for our country and it eats at me that they get ripped off more than anybody else in our population,” Howard said after his radio show.

Howard later taped his TV program in the museum lobby that afternoon, during which he took more questions from the audience.

Andrea Hernandez, 706-571-8586