Passionate hoteliers Alex Cabañas, Burt Cabañas and Kirk Jones are raising a unique collaborative fund to invest in companies that drive value to real estate owners, operators and brands by reinventing real estate operations and workflows and elevating guest and employee experiences.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The father-and-son team of Burt and Alex Cabañas know from their collective 60 years in the hospitality business that the only way to better drive bottom-line profitability in today's inflationary business environment is to look deeper "inside the box" to drive net unit margin – "NUM" – through both hotel experience and efficiency innovation.

"In May 2025, in the midst of a family discussion, the idea of venture investing in our own industry where we can drive meaningful influence came up," Alex Cabañas said. "Then, after conversations with more than 300 industry collaborators, we prioritized investing our own money in and raising a fund for investing in companies that drive tangible value to the bottom line by reinventing real estate operations and workflows."

To that end, they created Astound Ventures, a unique "collaborative investment fund" with owners, operators and brands targeting an initial goal of raising $30 million and, importantly, raising all of that money from the collaborator community. "Our fund serves as not only a good investment but also a strategic one, benefiting our core businesses, Pyramid Global Hospitality and Convene Hospitality Group," Cabañas said.

Astound's chairman is Burt Cabañas, founder and chairman of Benchmark Resorts & Hotels, a global hospitality company, and co-chairman of hotel management company Pyramid. CEO is Alex Cabañas, who is Pyramid executive chairman and a board member of meetings and events-focused Convene. Another founding partner is CFO Kirk Jones, previously CFO of Benchmark and Capella Hotels, who has a background in hospitality finance, investment analysis and enterprise strategy that complements the operating expertise of Burt and Alex Cabañas. Together, they combine decades of executive leadership to identify innovation capable of delivering measurable financial returns for owners while accelerating adoption through Astound's extensive industry network.

"Risk aversion, misaligned interest, lack of investment and slow adoption gets in our way – we must adapt faster," said Alex Cabañas. "We must accelerate testing, adoption and scaling of innovation through more direct investment in the solutions. The hospitality industry shouldn't wait for Silicon Valley to solve hospitality's problems. The people closest to those problems should be the ones building and investing in the solutions. If we don't improve NUM, everyone in our ecosystem suffers."

Astound has already invested in 10 companies with a goal to invest in up top 20 companies over a three-year investment period while also creating a network of industry leaders to influence the creation of solutions that drive value beyond the fund. "Our entire fund will be smart money – industry investors, not institutional allocations," Cabañas said. "This is our industry's opportunity to align, invest in and solve for our own industry problems that degrade value. We are searching for work horses, not unicorns."

To date, Astound has engaged with more than 100 solution providers and has raised more than $8 million for the fund. Cabañas said the venture will work to get in front of the tectonic shift in revenue, operations and distribution created by artificial intelligence.

Initial investments have been made in sustainable tissue solutions; heated outdoor furniture; purpose-built, mobile point-of-sale technology; a wireless open-source energy management solution; technology-enabling autonomous travel; and multiple travel management and meetings-related solutions, among others. "As evidenced by this variety of investments, technology is not the only focus of Astound; the focus is any product, service or technology that improves NUM," Cabañas said.

"Astound Ventures fast-tracked our credibility," said Ludovic Siouffi, co-founder and CEO of sustainable tissue solution Fox Fold Products Inc. "Their influence put us face to face with CEOs and owners of top hotel management companies, saving us years of cold outreach and credibility building. Total game changer."

Kevin Long, founder and CEO of Outmore Living, a heated-seat technology solution for outdoor living, said Astound Ventures has delivered far more than capital. "Their deep roots in hospitality have translated directly into qualified leads, strategic relationships and faster deal velocity," he said. "They operate like true partners by leaning in, making introductions and helping us turn opportunities into long-term customers."

To further the mission of Astound Ventures, Alex and Burt Cabañas also created Astound Collaborators, a global network of real estate leaders and operators with significant influence and a desire to push the status quo in real estate operations. The list is an esteemed collection of leaders, literally the who's who.

The gathering of collaborators started over a year ago – one phone call after another sharing the idea of Astound. The network expanded organically and via references and relationships. "The more people we and our partners spoke to about Astound, the more people wanted to be a part of the community," Alex Cabañas said. Every week, Astound adds new collaborators as its message and mission are shared.

Astound Collaborators includes leaders from not only hotel owners, brands and management companies but also key hotel industry partners and other adjacent real estate classes.

"We raise influence first, leading with industry credibility and trust," Cabañas said. "Together, we are focused on the unlock of real estate value constrained by structural, cultural and technological barriers. Our involvement drives sales leads, de-risks execution and promotes product development and market feedback. It provides a cheat code in terms of access. Too many pilots without owners at the ground level never scale. Our approach will have fewer wasted pilots."

About Astound Ventures

Astound Ventures is a collaborative investment fund based in The Woodlands, Texas, that invests in companies that drive tangible value to real estate owners, operators and brands by reinventing real estate operations and workflows as well as accelerating testing, adoption and scaling of innovations through more direct investment in the solutions.

Click HERE to download a high-resolution image of Alex Cabañas, Burt Cabañas and Kirk Jones.

PR Contact

Jeffrey Weinstein

847.804.0174

SOURCE Astound Ventures

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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Marist University and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new Innovation Incubator that will prepare students across fields of study to lead in a rapidly evolving digital economy. The incubator, the latest milestone in IBM and Marist's more than 50-year partnership, includes an IBM z17 mainframe to provide enormous AI computing power on campus for a variety of research projects involving students and faculty.

The Innovation Incubator is pursuing the following initial projects:

- AI in Marketing and Business – The Schools of Computer Science and Mathematics and Management are planning to run controlled, synthetic marketing campaigns operated by autonomous AI agent teams to stress test whether built-in guardrails remain effective when agents pursue aggressive, deceptive, or unethical tactics and whether those guardrails can contain those failures.

- AI for Financial Management – The Schools of Management and Computer Science and Mathematics are jointly scoping a project that would use quantum optimization algorithms to analyze real-time financial data and generate optimal portfolio allocations.

- AI and Polling/Civic Engagement – A proposed project involving the Marist Poll and School of Computer Science and Mathematics would explore how AI could improve polling methodologies and survey design and better model voter participation trends.

While the partnership originally centered on enterprise computing and computer science education, Marist and IBM are now broadening their collaboration into a university-wide innovation ecosystem focused on artificial intelligence, interdisciplinary research, and experiential learning opportunities for students across majors. The goal is to connect students with faculty researchers and IBM subject matter experts on projects addressing societal, business, and community challenges.

IBM z17 gives Marist students and faculty access to enterprise technology designed to meet the performance, security, and reliability needs of large organizations. IBM provided the system so students can develop and test applications while gaining practical experience they can apply in their careers.

"At Marist, we believe the future of higher education lies at the intersection of academic excellence and meaningful industry engagement," said Marist President Kevin Weinman. "Our longstanding relationship with IBM has always distinguished Marist as a place where students gain access to cutting-edge technology and applied learning experiences. Today, we're building on that foundation to create new opportunities in artificial intelligence, research, and innovation that span the entire university."

"Academic institutions have long been an important part of the IBM Z ecosystem, bringing new ideas and perspectives to the platform," said Tina Tarquinio, Chief Product Officer for IBM Z and LinuxONE and IBM's Senior Location Executive for the Mid-Hudson Valley. "I'm especially excited to see IBM and Marist, two longstanding leaders in the Mid-Hudson Valley community, build on this partnership. By combining IBM's technology expertise with Marist's commitment to innovation and student success, we're creating new pathways for research, learning, and workforce development that prepare students for the future."

Advancing the Future of AI

Marist's work with IBM has long proven the value of employer partnerships in helping prepare students with industry skills and hands-on learning so they graduate ready for the workforce. IBM's leadership in enterprise AI, alongside its pioneering work in quantum computing, provides Marist students and faculty access to technologies shaping the future of business, industry research, and computing. The university announced a comprehensive AI strategy earlier this year with an emphasis on combining technical skills with ethical reflection to ensure students in every major graduate AI-ready, earning Marist recognition as one of The 15 Best Colleges Preparing Students for the AI Economy.

Expanding Opportunity Across All Majors

Together, these initiatives reflect a strategic shift from viewing AI and digital skills as solely a computer science discipline to treating it as a transformational capability relevant to virtually every profession and field of study.

Unlike traditional academic-industry relationships that may focus on individual academic departments, the Marist-IBM collaboration is designed to create impact across the University—from political science, communication, marketing, and business to environmental science, library sciences, and beyond.

As employers increasingly seek graduates with experience applying AI, data, and emerging technologies to real-world challenges, the Marist-IBM partnership provides students with a unique advantage: direct exposure to enterprise-scale technology, applied research, experiential learning opportunities and, where appropriate, IBM expertise relevant to specific projects that help bridge classroom learning with career success.

About Marist University

Founded in 1929, Marist University is a comprehensive, independent four-year institution that blends the liberal arts with pre-professional studies and emphasizes experiential learning to enrich classroom instruction. With campuses in Poughkeepsie, New York, and Florence, Italy, as well as more than 70 programs offering a variety of international study options, the University is a portal to the world and is devoted to nurturing a welcoming, inclusive community. Through six schools offering nearly 50 majors, Marist fosters the intellectual growth and well-being of its more than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The University encourages students to explore beyond traditional academic boundaries, pursuing coursework and personal experiences that provide valuable occupational expertise and reflect their individual passions. Marist has been recognized as a top institution in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, The Princeton Review, and others.

About IBM

IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's longstanding commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Media contacts:

Aishwerya Paul

IBM Infrastructure Communications

[email protected]

Anthony Proia

Marist University

[email protected]

SOURCE IBM

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Six packaged skills turn a plain-English question into finished security analysis. No dashboard, no separate login, no context switch.

ATLANTA, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemba, an offensive security company that combines attack surface mapping, autonomous testing and expert-led penetration testing in one continuous program, today announced the general availability of Siemba MCP. Siemba MCP is a Model Context Protocol server, distributed as a single plugin containing the connector and six named skills, that connects Siemba's security data and testing capabilities directly to AI assistants. Security and engineering teams can ask a plain-English question inside their existing AI client and get finished security analysis back, without opening a separate console.

Each of the six skills is invoked with a simple command and runs a packaged workflow built on the Siemba platform's underlying test orchestration and analysis tools.

"You can now run pentests by chatting with your LLM. The MCP server gives your assistant the platform itself, not a summary of it," said Kannan Udayarajan, CEO of Siemba. "You name a target, and Siemba enumerates it, creates the right test suite, and starts running, all automatically. You can then deploy our skills to do the next level of expert analysis and reporting. That's a meaningfully different way of working than logging into a dashboard to go find the same answer and then doing your analysis and reporting on spreadsheets."

What Siemba MCP can do: six skills

Siemba MCP ships with six skills at general availability:

- Test Analysis explains a running, failed or completed penetration test in plain language. The skill reads login screenshots to diagnose the most common cause of a failed authenticated run: a bad credential or an unexpected multi-factor prompt.

- Kill Chain maps individual findings into the attack paths they form. Siemba MCP rates each chain by its weakest link rather than by raw severity, then names the single fix that breaks the most chains at once. This reasoning across separate, individually low-severity findings is the skill that best demonstrates what an AI assistant adds to a security workflow.

- Critical Briefing pulls every Critical and High finding across the estate into one executive briefing, ranked by Siemba's risk score, with regressed findings called out separately from new ones.

- Remediation Plan groups findings that share a root cause into a single fix, then sequences the work list by leverage: risk removed per unit of effort.

- Attack Surface reviews everything an organization exposes to the internet, including domains, subdomains, certificates, TLS configuration, registrars, geographies and monitoring coverage, and names the gaps between what is live and what is actually being watched.

- CISO Report generates a board-ready posture report that leads with direction of travel (improving, stable or worsening) and maps every finding to a specific control across seven compliance frameworks: ISO 27001, HIPAA, OWASP, GDPR, CMMC, NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 and PCI DSS v4.0.

How Siemba MCP is secured

Every call through Siemba MCP is secured by OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, requires multi-factor authentication, uses rotating tokens, is rate-limited and is scoped to the requesting account only. If a session is compromised, access is contained to one user's permissions, on that customer's assets only, with non-destructive actions only, for a maximum of one hour, fully logged.

Availability

Siemba MCP is available today to customers on the Siemba platform bundled at no additional cost. It is compatible with MCP-enabled AI clients and setup instructions and the server endpoint are at https://mcp.app.siemba.com/#connect

About Siemba

Siemba combines attack surface mapping, autonomous dynamic testing, AI-driven vulnerability assessment, and expert-led penetration testing into one continuous program. Its certified in-house pentesters are trusted by the Big 4, and every fix is revalidated automatically on the platform and expert-signed on engagements. Siemba covers web, mobile, cloud, and AI systems including large language models and AI agents. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, Siemba has been named a Sample Vendor in the Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Application Security, the Gartner Hype Cycle for Security Operations, and the Gartner Hype Cycle for XaaS (Everything as a Service) in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

SOURCE Siemba

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Palo Alto Networks Delivers Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 to Customers with Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense

New service enables enterprises to continuously find and fix exposures before attackers weaponize them

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) today announced Unit 42® Continuous Frontier AI Defense, an agentic offensive security service designed for enterprises that want to leverage gated capability models, including Anthropic's Claude Mythos and OpenAI's GPT, to perpetually find, validate, and remediate enterprise exposures before attackers can weaponize them.

Threat actors today are deploying AI to find and exploit vulnerabilities, compressing breach cycles by almost 97% in some cases, from weeks to hours. To help defenders answer the critical question of whether they are prepared for this step-change in cybersecurity, Unit 42 is now offering continuous offensive testing to identify and validate vulnerabilities, pinpoint exposures and attack paths, and then accelerate remediation.

This builds on Unit 42's Frontier AI Defense, which launched in April and introduced a point-in-time exposure analysis and a subsequent security blueprint that benchmarks current capabilities to help organizations modernize their cybersecurity systems. In August, Unit 42 announced it would expand its Frontier AI Exposure Analysis with OpenAI's GPT-5.6-Cyber and Anthropic's Claude Mythos 5, giving organizations access to its advanced cyber capabilities.

Key Capabilities of Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense

Powered by a proprietary multi-model harness that integrates cyber-specialized frontier AI models with Unit 42 threat intelligence and offensive security expertise, the new service delivers always-on threat exposure management to eliminate critical security blind spots. Key capabilities include:

- Continuous Testing Engine: Provides a full-estate baseline scan followed by always-on testing as an organization's environment changes.

- Multi-Model AI Harness: Unit 42 deploys a proprietary multi-model harness, the software architecture to route work to the model best suited for the task, improving efficacy and coverage while managing the cost of frontier AI at scale.

- Leading Cyber Models: The harness is built around gated capability models, including Anthropic Claude Mythos 5 and OpenAI GPT-5.6-Cyber, as well as open weight models.

- Advanced Adversary Simulation: Proves real-world exploitability by validating end-to-end attack paths across first- and third-party web apps, APIs, cloud infrastructure, source code repositories, and network assets.

- Accelerated Remediation: Delivers actionable and prioritized fixes, code-level guidance, and virtual patch recommendations. To implement virtual patches before vulnerabilities are publicly disclosed or official patches exist, organizations can pair this with Frontier Virtual Patching.

Proven Efficacy

Palo Alto Networks developed and validated this approach over six months of in-house testing and across more than 100 Unit 42 customer engagements, backed by a $17 million investment in R&D and methodology optimization. During internal deployment within Palo Alto Networks, the company found a year's worth of exposures in three weeks. In customer assessments, the Frontier AI Exposure Analysis found exposures in 100% of customers. Of those, 37% rated high or critical in severity. Overall, most exposures stemmed from first-party apps and more than two in three exposures in third-party apps had no known CVE.

Sam Rubin, Senior Vice President of Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks

"AI has created an asymmetric advantage for threat actors against organizations trying to defend at human speed. Modern cybersecurity requires machine-speed defense. We're combining Unit 42's offensive testing and threat intelligence expertise with industry-leading AI harnesses and exclusive access to gated capability models to give defenders back the upper hand."

McCall McIntyre, Head of Global Cyber Partnerships, OpenAI

"Frontier AI is compressing the time it takes to find and exploit vulnerabilities, and defenders need frontier AI capabilities within the tools, workflows, and services they already trust. Through Daybreak and our work with Palo Alto Networks's Unit 42, we are pairing OpenAI GPT Cyber Models with deep security expertise, strong governance, and human judgment to help organizations validate the attack paths that matter and move from discovery to remediation at machine speed."

Michael Moore, Cybersecurity Lead, Anthropic

"Claude Mythos found flaws that survived decades of human review, and more than ten thousand high-severity vulnerabilities across the software the world runs on. That kind of visibility is only useful if someone can act on it, and Palo Alto Networks is built for exactly that. Unit 42 takes what Claude Mythos finds, tests whether it can actually be exploited, maps what an attacker could reach from there, and gets the fix in front of the right team first."

Availability

Continuous Frontier AI Defense is available worldwide on an annual subscription with options that vary based on the specific OpenAI, Anthropic and open-source models that are used. All subscriptions leverage a multi-model harness to match the optimal AI model to each security task.

To learn more about Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense, register for the upcoming Virtual Threat Briefing here.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the global AI cybersecurity leader, protects our digital way of life with a comprehensive portfolio of cybersecurity solutions and platforms across Network, Cloud, Security Operations, AI and Identity. Trusted by 75,000+ customers and powered by Unit 42 threat intelligence, our AI-driven platforms eliminate complexity, empowering enterprises to modernize with confidence and securing the speed of innovation.

SOURCE Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

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VoLo Foundation team witnesses firsthand how medical care, accessibility, family support and joy come together at the Central Florida camp

EUSTIS, Fla., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As Camp Boggy Creek marks its 30th birthday, the Central Florida camp continues to give children with serious illnesses and their families something difficult to find elsewhere: a place where they can step away from their medical challenges and simply be kids.

Its mission is simple: to provide a free, life-changing camp where safety, respect, love and joy come together to enrich the physical and behavioral health of children and their families.

"Every child deserves a place where their illness isn't the whole story. That's what Camp Boggy Creek offers, and it's why VoLo Foundation is proud to stand behind it," says Thais Lopez Vogel, cofounder and trustee of VoLo Foundation.

A supporter of the camp's mission, VoLo Foundation recently spent a full day at Camp Boggy Creek to experience firsthand the programs and environment that have served more than 95,000 children and family members since opening in 1996.

Built at a cost of $23 million, Camp Boggy Creek was co-founded by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf. Today, the 232-acre campus includes 45 buildings, including 16 camper cabins, a medical center, dining hall, swim center, stable and nature barn, sports and recreation center, arts and crafts center and a theater.

Camp Boggy Creek is the only fully medically supervised camp in Florida and serves children across 15 illness groups. It operates year-round, with weekly summer sessions for children and family retreats in the spring and fall. All programs are provided at no cost to approved families.

A place for children and families to connect

What makes the camp different is the medical care integrated throughout the experience. Specialized doctors and nurses provide care during illness-specific sessions, while accessible facilities allow children with significant physical disabilities to participate fully.

During the VoLo team's visit, children living with diabetes connected over their continuous glucose monitors and decorated patches for the devices. For children who may rarely meet someone living with the same condition, those simple interactions can create lasting friendships.

The experience also provides respite for parents and siblings. Family retreats bring together families who understand the challenges of living with serious illness, creating a support network that can extend beyond the camp.

"I think it heals families," said Shannon Maganiezin, external relations director for VoLo Foundation.

One story shared during the visit particularly illustrated the camp's impact. A medically fragile boy who uses a wheelchair needed one-on-one assistance, so a volunteer took on that responsibility for the week.

"When the boy was brought into the pool using a specialized wheelchair, his toes touched the bottom. He communicated that he felt as though he was walking for the first time," said Maganiezin. "Hearing that story made me realize how life-changing these experiences can be."

A dream that continues

Camp Boggy Creek was inspired by Jennifer Masi, a South Florida teenager battling cancer who experienced the freedom of camp during a 10-day stay at Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut.

Jennifer returned home believing Florida needed a similar place for children with serious illnesses. Her parents, Nick and Wendy Masi, joined Newman, Schwarzkopf and other supporters to make her dream a reality.

Thirty years later, that mission continues with the help of more than 1,800 volunteers each year, giving children opportunities for friendship, independence, creativity and connection with nature, while giving families a place to find respite, community and joy.

Press contact:

Carlos Roa, Senior Press and PR Relations – VoLo Foundation

+1 (786) 277 7566 – [email protected]

SOURCE VoLo Foundation

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RTC received applications from more than 170 organizations totaling over $3.1 million in 2026. Since 2008, RTC has distributed more than $4.5 million in grants, helping communities nationwide build, advocate for and activate essential trail network infrastructure.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rails to Trails Conservancy today announced it awarded more than $435,000 in funding through its 2026 Trail Grants program to over 35 community organizations and public agencies advancing the construction, land acquisition and activation needed to build out America's trail networks in rural, suburban and urban communities.

"RTC's Trail Grants underscore the profound effect trails have on communities of every size, and on people's everyday lives," said Liz Thorstensen, RTC's vice president of trail development. "These projects help close critical gaps in trail networks and create more opportunities for people to safely walk, bike and spend time outdoors. Whether it's improving connectivity, supporting local economies or bringing people together, these investments help turn community vision into lasting impact."

RTC's 2026 grantees highlight the urgent need for sustained funding of trail infrastructure. Applications from more than 170 organizations totaled over $3.1 million, demonstrating this infrastructure is essential to people and places—not a nice-to-have amenity.

"The response to this year's Trail Grants program sends a clear message: Communities across the country are asking for more safe places to walk, bike and connect with one another," said Thorstensen. "With requests totaling more than $3.1 million, demand far exceeds what philanthropy alone can provide. While RTC's investment of more than $435,000 will help unlock over $5.5 million in additional state and federal funding, sustained public investment is essential if we are going to meet the scale of need and deliver the trail infrastructure communities are telling us they want."

There are more than 150 trail networks in development across the country, with projects developing in every state. This year's grant recipients show what targeted investment can accomplish on the ground. The 2026 grantees include:

- Friends of the Lowline (South Carolina): Supporting Phase 1 construction of the Lowcountry Lowline, which will convert a historic rail corridor into a 1.7-mile linear park through the Charleston peninsula.

- Equiticity (Northeastern Illinois): Enabling a Phase I feasibility study to explore converting the Altenheim Line into a multi-use trail, part of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways & Trails Plan.

- Iron County (Wisconsin): Supporting acquisition of the Hurley to Montreal Trail corridor from Canadian National, which will connect to the existing Iron Bell Trail across the state line in Michigan.

- Lotus Rising (California): Conducting a mapping and connectivity analysis for the Altadena Town Trail & Greenway to strengthen trail connections across the community.

- Casco Bay Trail Alliance (Maine): Providing matching funds for a preliminary engineering study of the Portland to Yarmouth segment of the Casco Bay Trail.

- Special Olympics (regional chapters): Supporting on-trail activation, outdoor camps and trail kits for athletes to encourage community independence and physical activity.

This year's grantees also include members of the TrailNation Accelerator, RTC's program that helps rural and small-town communities plan, connect and activate trail networks that serve people and places equitably. Supported by the REI Cooperative Action Fund, the year-long cohort experience brings local leaders and trail champions together to learn, plan and take action. This year's Trail Grants funding gives those same communities a critical boost as they work to turn visions into reality.

"Every one of this year's grantees is doing extraordinary work to make their community more connected and more vibrant," said Thorstensen. "At its core, this is about something simple but essential: Everyone deserves a safe place to walk, bike and be active outside, close to home. We're proud to stand behind these organizations and the communities they serve, and we look forward to seeing the impact these projects will have for years to come."

The 2026 Trail Grants are part of RTC's longstanding program, which has distributed more than $4.5 million across more than 480 grants to over 310 organizations. Learn more about the program and the full list of 2026 RTC Trail Grant recipients at railstotrails.org/grants.

Rails to Trails Conservancy is the nation's largest trails organization—with a grassroots community more than 1 million strong—dedicated to building a nation connected by trails, reimagining public spaces to create safe ways for everyone to walk, bike and be active outdoors. RTC's flagship initiatives, the Great American Rail-Trail®, TrailNation™, and TrailLink make possible a future where trails connect everyone, everywhere by advocating, building infrastructure, securing investments, and telling the story of America's trails. Connect with RTC at railstotrails.org and @railstotrails on social media. Use TrailLink, RTC's trail-finder website and app, to get maps, guides, photos, reviews and navigation for more than 40,000 miles of multiuse trails.

CONTACT: Patricia Brooks, [email protected], 202.351.1757

SOURCE Rails to Trails Conservancy

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FAT BEAR WEEK 2026 BRINGS THE WORLD TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION

Vote For This Year's Champion Beginning September 22, 2026

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Explore.org, the world's leading live nature camera network, and Katmai Conservancy announce the 12th season of Fat Bear Week, taking place September 22-29, 2026. The annual competition puts the remarkable brown bears of Brooks River in the global spotlight, inviting viewers to follow their journeys, discover their stories, and celebrate the strength, adaptability, and resilience of life in the wild.

For the bears of Katmai, gaining weight is essential to survival. They feast on salmon, building fat reserves that sustain them through the long winter months in their dens. This year's expanded bracket features more bears than ever before, following a record-breaking number of bear families using Brooks River this summer.

Voting officially opens September 22, when fans can visit the Fat Bear Week website to cast their votes in head-to-head matchups. Each round, fans will have a new opportunity to decide which bears advance, leading up to the crowning of the 2026 Champion on September 29 at 5 p.m. AKT.

Since launching in 2014 as a one-day celebration with 1,700 votes, Fat Bear Week has evolved into an international celebration with over 1.7 million votes in 2025.

Fat Bear Week educational livestreams throughout the week feature park rangers and wildlife experts offering insight into brown bear behavior and the conservation of Katmai National Park. The conversation will continue online using #FatBearWeek.

Explore.org and Katmai Conservancy encourage the public to support conservation and education through Katmai Conservancy's Otis Fund, with donations matched by explore.org from September 22 to October 3, and the annual online Fat Bear Week Celebration Fundraiser will take place on October 3 at 12pm AKT.

Explore.org is a philanthropic organization operating more than 200 live cameras across four continents, providing 24/7 views of wildlife and natural habitats. Katmai Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting the preservation of Katmai National Park through conservation and education. Their partnership brings the bears of Brooks River directly to viewers around the world.

Fat Bear Week shines a spotlight on one of Alaska's most spectacular wildlife stories and the relationship between bears, and the landscapes that sustain them. In Katmai and the greater Bristol Bay region, these connections remain vital to one of the planet's most productive salmon ecosystems.

SOURCE explore.org

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"THE CHAIN OF GOOD" A Payment Processor Got Greedy. It Accidentally Started a Movement. (Here's How to Join.)

When a national processor blindsided Ohio outdoor retailer Roads Rivers and Trails with surprise rate hikes, the owners interviewed replacement after replacement, salt in the wound, every call. Then they opened the B Corp directory and found Giv Local, a processor that donates 20% of its revenue to causes its merchants choose. A "chain of do-good events" followed, and with thousands of Certified B Corps offering everything from processing to banking to retail, any business can forge the next link without spending an extra dollar.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- When the national processor serving Roads Rivers and Trails (RRT) — Milford, Ohio's independent specialty outdoor retailer — raised its rates without warning, owners Bryan Wolf and Emily White started the search every small business dreads. They spoke with processor after processor. Each conversation poured salt on the wound: the same opaque contracts, the same disappearing service, the same industry that treats small businesses as accounts to be extracted.

Then they opened the B Corp directory — the public registry of companies independently certified for social and environmental performance — and found Giv Local, LLC, a Pennsylvania payment processor built on a different premise: that the most invisible expense in commerce should fund the communities where transactions happen.

What happened next wasn't a sales process. Before RRT had processed a single transaction, a Giv Local co-founder drove out to Ohio and spent the day planting trees at a community event RRT organized. The partnership started with shovels, not signatures.

"The last thing I ever expected to put my name behind was a credit card processor. We'd talked to so many, and every conversation confirmed why we dreaded the industry. Then a founder from Giv Local showed up at our tree planting before we'd run a single card through them. No more faceless overlord — real people trying to make a difference. Better rates, service we'd never experienced, and our processing now funds causes we choose and track. It creates a chain of do-good events." said Bryan Wolf, Owner and Co-Founder of Roads Rivers and Trails.

This is not a round-up

The model is easy to mistake for the donation buttons and checkout round-ups shoppers see everywhere and it works nothing like them.

Round-ups ask the customer to give and vanish into totals nobody sees again. Giv Local's giving comes out of Giv Local's own pocket: the company donates 20% of its processing revenue from each merchant, not a cent from the merchant's sales or the customer's total – to the nonprofit that merchant selects, paid as an annual donation. Merchants like RRT watch the impact accumulate month over month through transparent reporting, so the giving is a number the business tracks, not a gesture it hopes happened.

Customers pay nothing extra. Merchants pay competitive rates often lower than what they left. The donation is real, recurring, and auditable by the business whose swipes generated it.

A chain with no sign-up sheet

RRT's switch — and one LinkedIn post about it — set off what Wolf calls a chain of do-good events: businesses across the outdoor industry and beyond have followed, and two more are forging their links now after learning about the model.

There is no program to enroll in and no network to join. The Chain of Good is simply what happens when businesses look at where their money already goes and route it somewhere better and that's the point.

"There are thousands of Certified B Corps, companies like RRT and like us, each with their own mission and their own way of doing good," said Sam Buckley, Co-Founder of Giv Local. "Processors, banks, retailers, suppliers, software, nearly every core service a business buys has a values-verified option most people have never heard of. A business doesn't have to change what it does to become a serious force for good. It just has to change who it does it with."

The myth: doing good is money out. The reality: it can be money in.

Most businesses assume social impact is a cost center — extra effort, extra spend. The chain's first links prove the opposite arithmetic:

- RRT's rates went down when they switched, the do-good option was also the cheaper one.

- The giving costs the merchant nothing; it comes from Giv Local's revenue.

- The impact becomes a marketing asset — a true story a business can tell customers, which is how RRT's single post recruited the next links.

- It becomes an internal asset too: employees get a workplace whose vendors match its values, and something real to rally around beyond the P&L.

- Community engagement stops being a side project and starts being embedded in operations, running automatically, every swipe.

How to forge your link this quarter

- Audit where your money already goes. Your vendors are your values. List your recurring expenses and ask which ones return anything to your community.

- Check the directories before your next vendor decision. Search the B Corp directory and the 1% for the Planet directory. From payment processing to banking to everyday supplies, verified good actors exist in almost every category — they're just rarely the loudest advertisers.

- Use the roadmap even if you skip the certificate. B Lab's B Impact Assessment is free, and any company can use it as a blueprint for treating workers, community, and environment better. Certification is the destination; the map is available to everyone.

- Make one expense do double duty. Payment processing is the lowest-hanging fruit in commerce: switching to Giv Local costs nothing, frequently saves money, and converts a pure expense into annual, trackable community funding.

- Tell the story. RRT's single post set this chain in motion. When your business does good, say so — the next link is a business that hasn't heard it's possible yet.

Learn more at givlocal.com

About Giv Local — Giv Local, LLC is a Certified B Corporation and payment processor headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania. Giv Local donates 20% of its processing revenue to nonprofits selected by its merchants — tracked monthly, donated annually — transforming everyday commerce into sustained local philanthropy. A member of 1% for the Planet. givlocal.com

About Roads Rivers and Trails — Roads Rivers and Trails is an independent specialty outdoor retailer in Milford, Ohio, serving the Cincinnati region with expert-guided gear for hiking, backpacking, paddling, and climbing. A Certified B Corporation and 1% for the Planet member, RRT sees retail as a mechanism for its mission: education, stewardship, and positive outdoor experiences. roadsriversandtrails.com

SOURCE Giv Local

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VICTOR, N.Y., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Lite Coms today announced that it has been selected by Boeing Defence Australia to support the LAND 4140 Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) Satellite Communications (SATCOM) program. The award represents another significant milestone in Lite Coms' continued commitment to offering advanced tactical satellite transport solutions for defense customers operating in demanding environments.

Lite Coms will provide its LITE SAT 1.3A tactical satellite terminals as part of the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) LAND 4140 LAND C4 Modernization program. Designed for rapid deployment and dependable communications in austere environments, the LITE SAT 1.3A delivers secure, resilient, high-performance beyond line-of-sight connectivity for mission-critical operations.

"Lite Coms is thrilled to be selected by Boeing Defence Australia and we are ready to provide them and the ADF with the highest level of performance and support," said Bob Jacobson, CEO of Lite Coms. "We believe this continues to showcase the industry leading capability of the Lite Sat 1.3 and the value that Lite Coms offers our customers."

The LITE SAT 1.3A is a lightweight, rugged, auto-acquire satellite terminal engineered for military and government operations. Built with a durable carbon fiber reflector and designed for fast, tool-free deployment, the system enables operators to quickly establish reliable satellite communications across a variety of operational environments.

Lite Coms designs, manufactures, and integrates tactical satellite communications systems that support government and defense customers worldwide. The company's portfolio includes mission ready fly-away terminals, mil-spec electronically steered array antennas, tactical modem assemblies, and integrated communications solutions engineered to perform in the world's most challenging operational environments.

The LAND 4140 award highlights the continued demand for dependable, adaptable, field-proven communications technologies that enable military personnel to maintain connectivity wherever their missions take them. Additional program details and production timelines will be announced as they become available.

About Lite Coms:

Lite Coms is a U.S. designer and manufacturer of advanced tactical satellite communications (SATCOM) terminals for defense and government applications. It has developed a portfolio of 18 systems, including man-portable, fly-away, and rapidly deployable terminals designed to deliver resilient connectivity in the most demanding operational environments that support a range of missions requiring secure, reliable, and Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) communications.

Lite Coms' products are also engineered for multi-orbit, constellation-agnostic connectivity, enabling customers to leverage Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), and Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) networks rather than being limited to a single orbital architecture.

To date, Lite Coms has delivered over 10,000 multi-orbit, multi-band terminals to the field globally. Privately held, the company is headquartered in Victor, New York. For more information, please visit: https://www.litecoms.com/

Media Contact:

Shaylyn Kissinger

Marketing Manager

Lite Coms

[email protected]

SOURCE Lite Coms LLC

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Early design insights from One Click LCA helped AECOM show lower-carbon options before detailed plans were ready.

MONTREAL, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Montréal launched a project to redevelop a major transportation corridor and surrounding district with a clear vision: create a low carbon, climate-resilient neighborhood. The City needed to compare early design concepts before detailed designs were available. AECOM was tasked with providing whole-life carbon insights to support climate-aligned decisions, and used One Click LCA's Carbon Designer 3D to estimate material quantities from early models, rapidly test scenarios, and assess impact in one streamlined workflow.

"One Click LCA played a pivotal role in this project by providing actionable insights early in the design process. Using Carbon Designer 3D alongside other tools, we modeled life cycle greenhouse gas emissions for major components across the production, construction, use, and end-of-life phases."

-Jérémy Lagneau, ESG and Decarbonization Advisor, AECOM

When the project was in the pre-design phase, AECOM integrated One Click LCA directly into its ScopeX™ decarbonization workflow. Scenario modeling showed that subtle design decisions, like adjusting roadway width or optimizing overpass structural configuration, yielded meaningful carbon reductions.

All project details are included in One Click LCA's new video case study, accessible here.

About One Click LCA

One Click LCA is the world's largest life cycle assessment (LCA) platform, delivering impact, compliance, and growth in +170 countries. It brings together the in-depth modelling capabilities of SimaPro with the ease-of-use and scalability of One Click LCA. The platform includes the most comprehensive global LCA database, with +500,000 datasets, and serves customers across manufacturing, construction, infrastructure, chemicals, and consumer goods supply chains, among others. One Click LCA is committed to powering one-million makers of a zero-carbon future by 2035 for an impact at a planetary scale. Learn more at: oneclicklca.com

About AECOM

AECOM (NYSE: ACM) is the global infrastructure leader, committed to delivering a better world. As a trusted professional services firm powered by deep technical abilities, we solve our clients' complex challenges in water, environment, energy, transportation and buildings. Our teams partner with public- and private-sector clients to create innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm that had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. Learn more at aecom.com. oneclicklca.com

SOURCE One Click LCA

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