DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UPS today announced 11 elite drivers from Iowa are among 1,445 newly inducted worldwide into the Circle of Honor, an honorary organization for UPS drivers who have achieved 25 or more years of accident-free driving.

Iowa boasts 71 active Circle of Honor drivers with a combined 2,041 years of accident-free driving. Cleo Underwood of Des Moines is the state's senior safe driver, with 39 years of accident-free driving under his belt. There are 1,029 total UPS drivers in Iowa.

Globally, 7,878 active UPS drivers are members of the Circle of Honor. Collectively they've racked up more than 221,000 years and more than 5.3 billion safe miles during their careers. That's enough miles to travel to Mars and back 36 times.

"My thanks go to all of them for their dedication and focus, and for the countless lives they've saved," said Jerry Mattes, president, UPS West Region.

Globally, the most seasoned UPS Circle of Honor driver is Thomas Camp of Livonia, Mich., with 52 years of driving without an accident. Ronald McKnight of Bronx, N.Y., is next in line with 46 years of safe driving. Sixty-two others have logged at least 40 years without an accident.

UPS's 102,000 drivers are among the safest on the roads, logging more than 3 billion miles a year and delivering more than 4 billion packages safely.

Founded in 1907, UPS has a rich history of safety and training. The company issued its first driver handbook in 1917 and began recognizing safe drivers in 1923. In 1928, UPS recognized its first five-year safe driver, Ray McCue, with UPS founder Jim Casey presenting him a gold and platinum watch. UPS formally established its safe driving honor program in 1928.

** NOTE: The following table lists local drivers by hometown and UPS center. If you're interested in interviewing a local driver, please contact Dan McMackin at dmcmackin@ups.com. Visit pressroom.ups.com for multimedia assets.

Following is a list of Iowa drivers inducted this year to the Circle of Honor.
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2015 is shaping up to be an epic year for Cedar Rapids, Iowa guitarist Dave Paris. Although not exactly a "rockstar", Dave has a reputation of being a guitar players-guitar player. This under-the-radar guitarist has contributed to recordings that are garnishing national attention in genres as diverse as pop, country, jazz and gospel. Dave has worked with artists like Mitch Goudy and Diana Upton-Hill, and has been the go-to player for live dates in small clubs, coffeehouses, churches, and concert halls.

February marks the release of his new album Jury of My Peers which aspires to bring this versatile session player and private guitar instructor center stage. The new album combines hard and modern rock, blues, and a little funk in 13 original instrumental songs of melodic sensibility and top-notch musicianship, with just the right amount of technical precision.

The album opener and lead single "Roman's Road" is a wah-fueled shred fest with a driving low-end. This song has particular importance to Dave as it was inspired by and dedicated to his young nephew, Roman, who was born four months premature. A music video was filmed featuring Roman and Dave's nieces intermingled with footage of Roman's plight from the hospital to home, and proceeds from the sale of the single are being donated to charity.

This album is 100% guitar, but the musician's track listing reads more like a Who's Who of the Midwest's finest musicians. Californian musicians relocating from the coast have become the recent trend, and Dave has grasped this opportunity to work with the best players he could find; not only to backup his arrangements, but to step into the forefront of the mix when needed.

Former LA drummer and Modern Drummer columnist Rick Long, now active in the Kansas City music scene, appears on three tracks including the blues-based "Seeds on Stones", which also has Dave Paris Group member Barbe Paris pulling double-duty on keyboards and acoustic bass.

Before Brent Harknett, current drummer of The Dave Paris Group, took up residence in Iowa, he had an active career in the LA music scene. His musical resume includes work with Jeff Watson of Night Ranger, Blue Cheer, and most recently John Elefante formerly of Kansas. Harknett cuts loose with Barbe on bass for the 7-string, hard rock tune "Last 2nd." He later adds a funky beat and energetic solo to the Talk Box-driven "Penguin Love."

Other rock-blues highlights include the very raw, traditional blues piece "Wood, Wire, Wind." Dave's good friend and collaborator Cyprian Alexzander trade leads on this piece with Dave's contribution from a three-string, fretless cigar box guitar and Cyprian on blues harp. "Chapter and Verse" features a guest appearance by world-renown, Kansas City-based guitarist Jeff Scheetz, with a reggae-like breakdown where Barbe lays down a keyboard solo.

"Night Before Last", a symphonic rock arrangement too big to fit into earbuds, features violinists from the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra carrying the melody and backing Dave's blistering solo. Dave utilizes the eBow guitar effect to emulate a Moog-style keyboard on the progressive rock of "The Author of Fate." The straight-ahead, double-kick rhythms of "Free B", is pure modern rock with a driving groove and singable lead line.

Musicians, particularly guitarists, are going to love this album, but non-musicians will lock into the melody-intense songs with its larger-than-life arrangements and production. Final mix down, editing, mastering, and design layout was handled by Doug Johnson at Cedar Rapids' Recording Guy's Studio. RGS Productions has worked on hundreds of internationally-known projects and artists over the years, and has a reputation for major-label quality and hometown ethics.

Jury of My Peers, as well as other singles, and the Dave Paris Group's 2010 release "Words and Music" are available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and other outlets. Of course, you can hear it live when Dave and his band hit the road throughout 2015 to support the release; It's going to be epic.

Visit the official website at daveparis.com for more info including music videos, free music downloads, and photos.

IOWA CITY, IA (02/16/2015)(readMedia)-- Students from your area have been named to the Dean's List for the 2014 fall semester. Those students are:

Meg King of Bettendorf (52722)

Anna Roa of Bettendorf (52722)

Ava Lynn of Bettendorf (52722)

Benjamin Spector of Bettendorf (52722)

Neel Patel of Bettendorf (52722)

Jenna Adams of Bettendorf (52722)

Gina Chieffo of Bettendorf (52722)

Michael Jones of Bettendorf (52722)

Trevin Cusimano of Bettendorf (52722)

Abigail Drexler of Bettendorf (52722)

Bailey Ford of Bettendorf (52722)

Jason Meighan of Bettendorf (52722)

Katherine Chanez of Bettendorf (52722)

Alexis Bushman of Bettendorf (52722)

Hanna Walker of Bettendorf (52722)

Abdualrahman Ismail of Bettendorf (52722)

Mohammed Ismail of Bettendorf (52722)

Joshua Sumhlei of Bettendorf (52722)

Regina Henderson of Bettendorf (52722)

Emily Speer of Bettendorf (52722)

Emily Braught of Bettendorf (52722)

Noel Thachil of Bettendorf (52722)

Megan Hawley of Bettendorf (52722)

Alex Heesch of Bettendorf (52722)

Marcus Goodwin of Bettendorf (52722)

Lauren Kostoglanis of Bettendorf (52722)

Dylan French of Bettendorf (52722)

Gregory Gunther of Bettendorf (52722)

Ellen Gackle of Bettendorf (52722)

Nicole Hansen of Bettendorf (52722)

Taylor Earnest of Bettendorf (52722)

Brooke Wehrle of Bettendorf (52722)

Noah Kirschbaum of Bettendorf (52722)

Genevieve Kwan of Bettendorf (52722)

Kayla Kruse of Bettendorf (52722)

Mackenzie Kennedy of Bettendorf (52722)

Karly Dankert of Bettendorf (52722)

Maureen Lonergan of Bettendorf (52722)

Taylor Curran of Bettendorf (52722)

Alexandra Stecker of Bettendorf (52722)

Megan Sanchez of Bettendorf (52722)

Tyler Harper of Bettendorf (52722)

Claire Schluensen of Bettendorf (52722)

Austin Norden of Bettendorf (52722)

Gina Sears of Bettendorf (52722)

Anthony Yang of Bettendorf (52722)

Rachel Kettelkamp of Bettendorf (52722)

Elizabeth Ann Berger of Bettendorf (52722)

Anna Rodriguez of Bettendorf (52722)

Daniel Rodriguez of Bettendorf (52722)

Sarah Rodriguez of Bettendorf (52722)

Alyson Wennlund of Bettendorf (52722)

Sanjana Ramesh of Bettendorf (52722)

Victoria Nelson of Bettendorf (52722)

Nicholas Gerwe of Bettendorf (52722)

Ellen Turner of Bettendorf (52722)

Hogan Knott of Bettendorf (52722)

Brian Paul of Bettendorf (52722)

Deepon Sarkar of Bettendorf (52722)

Erin Mitchell of Bettendorf (52722)

Matthew Wheat of Bettendorf (52722)

Bharabi Pandit of Bettendorf (52722)

Austin Smith of Bettendorf (52722)

Akshaya Warrier of Bettendorf (52722)

Rachel Fuller of Bettendorf (52722)

Andrew Miles of Bettendorf (52722)

Dilon Thompson of Bettendorf (52722)

Eric Hale of Bettendorf (52722)

Arham Pasha of Bettendorf (52722)

Tristan Thompson of Bettendorf (52722)

Emily Wallace of Bettendorf (52722)

Hannah Thomsen of Bettendorf (52722)

Zachary Miller of Bettendorf (52722)

Adam Fitzsimmons of Bettendorf (52722)

Joseph Sink of Bettendorf (52722)

Greg Windeknecht of Blue Grass (52726)

Ashlyn Glass of Blue Grass (52726)

Korinne Fangmann of Blue Grass (52726)

Adam Hay of Blue Grass (52726)

Derek Ahrens of Buffalo (52728)

Kaitlin Schmidt of De Witt (52742)

Grant Weber of De Witt (52742)

Amanda Melvin of De Witt (52742)

Delaney Brainerd of De Witt (52742)

Nicole Mooc of De Witt (52742)

Allyson Schnoor of De Witt (52742)

Peter Keegan of De Witt (52742)

Bryan Connell of De Witt (52742)

Dillon Connell of De Witt (52742)

Mackenzie Leonard of De Witt (52742)

Colleen Gannon of De Witt (52742)

Adrian Simonson of De Witt (52742)

Mackenzie Wing of De Witt (52742)

Brian Kruse of De Witt (52742)

Adrian Templeton of De Witt (52742)

Austin Belk of Eldridge (52748)

Hope Wilson of Eldridge (52748)

Abby Peeters of Eldridge (52748)

Tyler Blondell of Eldridge (52748)

Aileen Spickermann of Eldridge (52748)

Amanda Burroughs of Eldridge (52748)

Abby Frantz of Eldridge (52748)

Johnathan Kinney of Eldridge (52748)

Michael Hackbarth of Eldridge (52748)

Alexander McCammant of Eldridge (52748)

Grace McCammant of Eldridge (52748)

Kimberly Rude of Eldridge (52748)

Grayson Schmidt of Eldridge (52748)

Abigail Morrow of Eldridge (52748)

Alexa Hanson of Eldridge (52748)

John Davison of Eldridge (52748)

Kolton O'Day of Eldridge (52748)

William Aden of Eldridge (52748)

Kevin Meyer of Eldridge (52748)

Loren Brotherton of Eldridge (52748)

Madeline LaPage of Eldridge (52748)

Madeline Hurning of Leclaire (52753)

Brandon Dowty of Le Claire (52753)

Ashten Sherman of Le Claire (52753)

Cooper Odegard of Leclaire (52753)

Regan Odegard of Leclaire (52753)

Benjamin Donovan of Le Claire (52753)

Dan Moss of Leclaire (52753)

Joseph Schuler of Le Claire (52753)

Joseph Snyder of Long Grove (52756)

Ashley Schabilion of Long Grove (52756)

Emily Kolwey of Long Grove (52756)

Natasha Porter of Long Grove (52756)

Emily Schoer of Muscatine (52761)

Meredith Baird of Muscatine (52761)

Rebecca Sloat of Muscatine (52761)

Yesenia Darting of Muscatine (52761)

Steven Bieber of Muscatine (52761)

Alison Failor of Muscatine (52761)

Jacob Allison of Muscatine (52761)

Kathryn Temple of Muscatine (52761)

Leticia Trimboli of Muscatine (52761)

Exodus Cardoza of Muscatine (52761)

Emily McCormick of Muscatine (52761)

Alexandra Walgren of Muscatine (52761)

Anthony Vazquez of Muscatine (52761)

Alexandra Chamberlain of Muscatine (52761)

Aaron Mueller of Muscatine (52761)

Nathan Hadley of Muscatine (52761)

Emily Hill of Muscatine (52761)

Jenny Juehring of Muscatine (52761)

Madison Dietz of Muscatine (52761)

Brandon Klassen of Muscatine (52761)

Madeleine Hassler of Muscatine (52761)

Jared Littlejohn of Muscatine (52761)

Samantha Kistler of Muscatine (52761)

Elizabeth Sturms of Muscatine (52761)

Natalie Sturms of Muscatine (52761)

Levi Goff of Muscatine (52761)

Paige Compton of Muscatine (52761)

Michael Davis of Muscatine (52761)

Thomas Van Hemert of Muscatine (52761)

Trey Van Hemert of Muscatine (52761)

Kari Clark of Muscatine (52761)

Alec Osland of Muscatine (52761)

Monica Ahrens of New Liberty (52765)

Jeremy Tinkler of Stockton (52769)

Bailey Kraft of Walcott (52773)

Michael Haas of Walcott (52773)

Rex Hadden of Davenport (52802)

Dylan Thiemann of Davenport (52803)

Danielle Darland of Davenport (52803)

Joshua Edmond of Davenport (52803)

Brianne Avery of Davenport (52803)

Scott Hansmeier of Davenport (52803)

Matthew Moran of Davenport (52803)

Tanya Fordyce of Davenport (52803)

Charles Holliday of Davenport (52803)

Van Mielenhausen of Davenport (52803)

Torrance Windham of Davenport (52803)

Michael Corsiglia of Davenport (52803)

Sierra Lopez of Davenport (52803)

Zachary Waskowiak of Davenport (52803)

Nathan Hoil of Davenport (52803)

Michael Garneau of Davenport (52803)

Sarah Schwind of Davenport (52803)

Dustin Sexton of Davenport (52803)

Taylor Gillhouse of Davenport (52803)

Isaac Anderson of Davenport (52804)

Shelby Tracy of Davenport (52804)

Aliah Hurt of Davenport (52804)

Andrew Miller of Davenport (52804)

Kayla Cordova of Davenport (52804)

Mick Baker of Davenport (52804)

Alex Karwath of Davenport (52804)

Ashley Vance of Davenport (52804)

William Hean of Davenport (52804)

Jenny Gomez of Davenport (52804)

Adam Henry of Davenport (52804)

Tyler Klenske of Davenport (52804)

Alexandra Doner of Davenport (52804)

Erica Jennings of Davenport (52804)

Katilyn Kelly of Davenport (52804)

Kaylee Miner of Davenport (52806)

Anastasia Sweeney of Davenport (52806)

Christine Walsh of Davenport (52806)

Chi Dong of Davenport (52806)

Tyler Madigan of Davenport (52806)

Brittney Kneen of Davenport (52806)

Caroline Emory of Davenport (52806)

Collin Belk of Davenport (52806)

Rachel Brandt of Davenport (52806)

Hannah Solchenberger of Davenport (52806)

Spencer Conrad of Davenport (52806)

Makayla Farnsworth of Davenport (52806)

Gabriela Magalhaes of Davenport (52806)

Jacynthia West of Davenport (52806)

Austin Wulf of Davenport (52806)

Laura Ruebling of Davenport (52807)

Jacob Behrendt of Davenport (52807)

Zachary Behrendt of Davenport (52807)

Molly Monroe of Davenport (52807)

Caitlin McCullough of Davenport (52807)

Janita Pegram of Davenport (52807)

Emma Shie of Davenport (52807)

Natalie Rogalski of Davenport (52807)

Courtney Brokloff of Davenport (52807)

Anne Delleman of Davenport (52807)

Dominick Shults of Davenport (52807)

Alexandra Baltimore of Davenport (52807)

Sydney Verdi of Davenport (52807)

Rachel Clay of Davenport (52807)

Slater Murphy of Davenport (52807)

Mitchell Parker of Davenport (52807)

Michael Suiter of Davenport (52807)

Elizabeth Sharp of Davenport (52807)

Matthew Keck of Davenport (52807)

Logan Mougin of Davenport (52807)

Chloe Miller of Davenport (52807)

Allison Lienen of Davenport (52807)

Allison Weis of Davenport (52807)

Anna Pienta of Rock Island (61201)

Alicia Freiburg of Rock Island (61201)

Donte Nesbitt of Rock Island (61201)

Nidia Villalpando of Rock Island (61201)

Gabrielle Armetta of Coal Valley (61240)

Ashley Hoff of East Moline (61244)

William Kandis of East Moline (61244)

Jared Matthews of Geneseo (61254)

Connor Vandersnick of Geneseo (61254)

Nancy Heeren of Geneseo (61254)

Jenna Mickley of Geneseo (61254)

Emily Ford of Geneseo (61254)

Evan Wolfe of Geneseo (61254)

Madeline Fickel of Milan (61264)

Angela Olvera of Moline (61265)

Mark McLaughlin of Moline (61265)

Cassandra Shetler of Moline (61265)

Cesar Martinez of Moline (61265)

Alyssa Ray of Moline (61265)

Olivia Ray of Moline (61265)

Eugene Pavinato of Moline (61265)

Drew Marlier of Moline (61265)

Keaton Christiansen of Moline (61265)

Abigail Zambrano of Silvis (61282)

Brett Austin of Silvis (61282)

Nathan Woeber of Taylor Ridge (61284)

Undergraduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the Tippie College of Business who achieve a grade point average of 3.50 or higher on 12 semester hours or more of UI graded course work during a given semester or summer session and who have no semester hours of I (incomplete) or O (no grade reported) during the same semester are recognized by inclusion on the Dean's List for that semester.

Undergraduate students in the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine may qualify for the Dean's List with fewer than 12 semester hours of graded credit if deemed appropriate by the college.

College of Nursing students participating in clinical courses must have a total of 12 semester hours of earned credit, with eight semester hours of graded credit with a grade point average of 3.50 or higher.

Approximately 4,000 students were named to the UI Dean's List for the 2014 fall semester.

HOUGHTON, Mich. (February 16, 2015) - Michigan Technological University honored the achievements of nearly 400 undergraduate and graduate students at its midyear Commencement on Dec. 20, 2014, including the following student from your local area:

Claira Hart, Bachelor of Science In Environmental Engineering and Certificate In International Sustainable Development Engineering, from Pleasant Valley High School, the daughter of Irene Hart and Lyle Hart.

The keynote speaker was Dale Elliott, president and CEO of FCM Advisory Group; Ltd., who received an MBA from Michigan Tech. He is a member of Tech's School of Business and Economics' National Advisory Board and is a Michigan Tech Fund Life Trustee. He received an honorary doctorate at the Commencement ceremony.

Michigan Technological University (www.mtu.edu) is a leading public research university developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; humanities; and social sciences.

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