Barrington woman launches entertaining Web site
A long family tradition for entertaining has helped Debra Kavalos-Delaney of Barrington create a Web site for people who enjoy hosting parties.
MemorableEntertaining.com launched in April and offers an extensive guide for home entertaining, from casual get-togethers to ultra-elegant events, with new ideas posted weekly.
"As a society, we're just so busy, we've lost some of that grace and beauty of life," said Kavalos-Delaney, 53. "We don't always have time for the process of planning a party."
Kavalos-Delaney, a sales veteran who worked for Tiffany's and Harris Bank, said the Web site offers details and videos on menus, table settings, themes, music, wines, etiquette and more.
"The one thing I noticed about the Internet is that this information was splintered. No one site offered a hostess all of the tools she would need to entertain," she said. "That's why I decided to put it all on one site."
To help with providing information, she has been partnering with experts, including a chef and others.
The site is subscriber-based and costs $75 for the first year and $50 for renewals.
This provides full access to all the departments and a chance to participate online to share ideas, seek advice or talk about a recent event.
Kavalos-Delaney also posts "Debra's Diary," where she chats about what's on her mind. It also opens the door for members to offer comments, too.
"This gives me the chance to interact with members," she said.
Surfing: Nearly half (43.3 percent) of respondents said their organizations recently "killed" an information technology-related project before it was fully implemented, according to a survey of IT experts conducted by Rolling Meadows-based ISACA, formerly the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (www.isaca.org).
The top two reasons were that business needs had changed (29.9 percent) and the project did not deliver as promised (23.4 percent).
Other top reasons for ending an IT project were because it no longer was a priority (14.4 percent) or the project exceeded the budget (13.2 percent), the association said.
Results also showed that security (45.7 percent) is the most important IT-related issue respondents' organizations will address throughout 2008. Other IT-related issues are risk, compliance and governance.
• The Computing Technology Industry Association (www.CompTIA.org) Educational Foundation has received a $25,000 grant from NEC Foundation of America to help fund a training program to help create employment opportunities in high-tech for 65 high school students with disabilities.
The grant will be used for training, mentoring, certification and job placement assistance program for youths with disabilities. CompTia is based in Oakbrook Terrace.