International

First black mayor elected in Germany

Source:  UPI

MAUER, Germany — A 40-year-old man who had been employed by Germany’s national investigative police agency has been elected the country’s first black mayor.

Der Spiegel reported John Ehret, whose father was an African-American soldier and mother a native German, took the post Friday in Mauer near Heidelberg in southern Germany, The Local.de said.

Ehret, who did little campaigning, captured just over 58 percent of the vote to defeat a civil servant in the village, which has about 4,000 residents.

The Local.de reported observers said Ehret benefited from an “Obama effect,” though he did not seek to compare his candidacy to that of U.S. president Barack Obama.

Scott-Eklund Racing Chasing Podium Spot In Texas

Source:  Cision

Andy Scott, Scott-Eklund Racing Team

Dumfries, Scotland (UK) – Scott-Eklund Racing heads to the second round of the Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) at the Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday June 9, chasing a podium finish after an impressive debut outing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. As part of the Firestone 550 IZOD IndyCar event, the privateer team will take on the might of the manufacturer-backed opposition in the inaugural Hoon KaboomTX GRC round, as it looks to improve on its fourth and fifth place finishes in the opening round.

Piloting one of two Scott-Eklund Racing 600bhp, two-litre, 16 valve Saab 9-3s, Scott-Eklund Racing Team Principal and lead driver Andy Scott narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the eight-lap final, after a stirring comeback from the back of the grid, when a turbo charger issue looked set to ruin his chances in seeding.  Now firmly established as one of Europe’s finest rallycross exports, the Dumfries fisherman recovered to net a superb victory in the Last Chance Qualifier to earn a place in the grand final, in which he finished a fighting fourth.

In Texas, the Scott-Eklund Racing Team, a new partnership between British Rallycross Vice Champion Scott and the legendary Swedish rally and rallycross star Per Eklund, will go up against top American racers such as Travis Pastrana, Ken Block, Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan, together with last round winner Marcus Gronholm, in the final qualifier for automatic entry into X Games Los Angeles 2012.

For the increased field expected for Texas, Saturday’s Hoon KaboomTX GRC round, held on a .77 mile course incorporating the frontstretch and pit lane, could prove crucial, with the top 12 drivers in the Global Rallycross Championship points following the first two rounds securing entries for the GRC’s flagship event on June 28-July 1.  Featuring a daunting 70-foot gap jump, a 100-foot long jump, car wash and compulsory joker lap, together with a standing start from which the cars accelerate from 0-60 mph in under two seconds, the format for this unique event looks set to have the huge Texan crowds on their feet.

The GRC track activity starts with official practice at 20.30 (local time) on Thursday, June 7, followed by practice and seeding sessions from 10.00 on Friday, June 8. The Hoon KaboomTX race activity kicks off at 15.00 on Saturday, June 9.  In addition to the on-track action, Scott will join the GRC drivers’ autograph signing session in the grandstands immediately following Saturday’s Global Rallycross feature event at 18.00, ahead of the Firestone 550, which starts at 19.00. (All timings are provisional and subject to change.)

Scott-Eklund Racing Team

Andy Scott, Scott-Eklund Racing Team Principal & Driver said,  “We learnt a lot at Charlotte, but we’re not the only ones that learnt something. All of the other teams, I’m sure, are going to line-up in Texas having learnt a great deal from the experience, so we must never underestimate the potential of our competitors. I just hope we’ve upped our game a bit more than the rest of them, but we’ll have to wait until we get to Texas to find that out.

“When it comes down to it, how competitive we’re going to be depends on what everybody has done between the two races. If I’m being honest, a lot of our time has been spent repairing the car and the damage we sustained. We’ve had to limit our development because of the manpower and hours we’ve got. But I’m sure everyone has had a similar workload and we’ll be equal in advances.

“My training is also back on schedule, as I was actually suffering from a virus in Charlotte and wasn’t in full fitness. I tried to continue training at the same level in Charlotte but found when I got there it was impossible to do anything as my chest was so tight. So I’m hoping to be near-on 100% by the time I get to Texas.

“I am going to be race craft wise before the event and, while not underestimating the opposition, I still feel confident of getting a top five seed and that should convert to another top five or podium finish. There are at least five drivers that are capable of winning but you only have to get off the start in the wrong position and company. There’s going to be a lot of desperate people out there who didn’t come away with a good finish at Charlotte that are going to need to be in the top five to stand a chance of going to X Games. So the pressure is on, but we’re ready for it.”

National

Kelly Scott Madison to fully acquire subsidiary company Fuor Digital

Sister agency melds back-end operations into existing KSM Digital team

Source:  Cision

Chicago – Kelly Scott Madison announced plans to purchase the outstanding shares of its subsidiary, Fuor Digital, officially marking the full integration of digital media services and operations into the KSM brand.  An improving business climate and management’s plans for future company expansion contributed to the decision. This announcement complements a rebranding move KSM made earlier in the year that brought select Fuor account representatives into KSM’s recently created digital team.

KSM

KSM’s President Joni Williams had this to say about the acquisition: “When we launched Fuor, our goal was to build best-in-class digital services under an entrepreneurial model. This approach has proven very successful in establishing industry-recognized leadership for these client services. Given the current state of the media industry and its future growth, we believe the timing is perfect to finalize the integration of Fuor’s digital media operations, analytics and platforms into Kelly Scott Madison.”

Matt Klein, CEO of Fuor Digital said, “This is an exciting time for the employees and clients of both KSM and Fuor as we complete our integration process. Having built a trusted boutique firm, we now enhance the offering and growth opportunities through the strength and resources of one of the largest independent media marketing agencies in the Midwest. I am pleased to have achieved this moment, and know that our newly combined companies will accomplish great success moving forward.”

Having completed the integration of Fuor’s account services into KSM’s digital team earlier this year, no major changes will occur for either companies’ clients. The main shift transpiring over the coming month will be the transfer of Fuor’s back-end operations, data systems, and proprietary platforms into KSM.