Early Bird Pricing Ends Friday
The AACS Annual Convention & Expo early bird deadline is Friday! Register now to ensure the lowest possible rate. We are proud to announce that Annet King will be guest speaking at the Skin Care Reception on Friday, 4:30 pm – 6:30pm, on "Coaching Students to Success." Annet is Director of Global Education for the International Dermal Institute, and in today’s competitive market, she wants to help you coach your students into successful careers. This reception is open to school owners who have a skin care program at their school or are thinking of adding one.

Member Schools Participate in National Competition
There were several AACS member schools that competed in qualifiers across the country for Battle of the Strands. At the Finals in Las Vegas October 5th there were eight student teams - four from the U.S. and four from Japan. AACS member schools Hollywood Institute of Beauty Careers in Miami Beach, FL was the grand prize winner and Avalon School of Cosmetology in Mesa, AZ finished second. Congratulations to both of them and all of the other schools that competed. The Battle of the Strands competition will air beginning December 2nd on the Discovery Fit and Health Network in a four-part docu-series.

Are You Background Screening? Download the Webinar
Are you screening when hiring employees and qualifying new students? AACS offered a free webinar this past week, which outlined safe, compliant industry standards that can assist in finding suitable providers, staff applicants and students who will make a positive contribution to your organization with the least amount of risk and liability. Download the Power Point from the webinar, "If You’re Going to Do It, Do It Right: Best Practices in Background Screening." You can also listen to a recording of the webinar.

Raffle Fundraiser
Several people have been inquiring about the GRC annual raffle, where we raffle items to raise money for the GRC (usually at the AACS Annual Convention). However, this year we are doing it a bit different. Instead of multiple prizes to buy tickets for—there will only be three. And they are BIG (trust us, you won’t be disappointed). Sales will open online before Annual, and you don’t have to be present to win. We will make our announcement soon, so stay tuned to find out what the three prize packs are and how you can win!

Nail Scholarship Winners
Congratulations to the BCL|CND|Tippi Hedren Nail Scholarship Fall 2014 winners! Click below on their names to see their winning entries! They are:

• Quatish Allen of Hollywood Institute of Beauty Careers
• Kadee Brown of The Salon Professional Academy
• Sarah Waite of Academy of Nail Technology
• Maria Godinez of Brown Aveda Institute
• Kristina Rodriquez of Casal Aveda Institute
• Shelly Zook of Lancaster School of Cosmetology
• Tracey Stone of Montana Academy of Salons
• Taniesha Locke of International Salon and Spa Academy
• Sunday Ross of La’James International College
• Lauren Hole of Spa Tech Institute

Free White Paper to Protect Your School's Social Media Security
Whether you call it a hacking or a breach, data security is on everyone’s mind these days. Don’t forget to protect the security of your school’s social media systems. HootSuite is offering a free 5-step security checklist to help you protect the integrity of your social media accounts.