TAMPA, FL

As real estate professionals focus on personal safety this September, home inspectors offer valuable insights into identifying risks before a showing ever begins.

September is recognized as Realtor® Safety Month, a nationwide initiative that encourages real estate professionals to prioritize their personal safety while serving clients and showing properties. While home inspectors are best known for evaluating the condition and safety of a home, many are also uniquely positioned to help agents recognize potential hazards that could impact both the professionals and visitors when showing a property.

“Think of home inspectors as the safety detectives of the real estate world. Their job is to identify hidden issues—from loose stair railings and uneven walkways to faulty lighting and unsafe electrical conditions—that could pose risks to anyone entering a property. The same attention to detail that helps protect homebuyers can also help real estate agents create safer showing environments,” said Charles Furlough, President and CEO of Pillar To Post® Home Inspectors, North America’s largest home inspection network.

“Home inspectors spend their days evaluating homes for potential hazards and safety concerns,” he continued. “That perspective can be incredibly valuable for real estate professionals who are regularly entering vacant homes, meeting new clients, and navigating unfamiliar properties.”

Common safety recommendations home inspectors often share include ensuring all pathways are clear of tripping hazards, testing exterior and interior lighting before showings, securing pets, verifying that handrails and stairways are stable, and making sure entry and exit points are easily accessible. For vacant homes, inspectors also encourage agents to be aware of maintenance issues such as damaged flooring, loose decking, or overgrown landscaping that may create safety concerns.

In addition to identifying physical hazards, home inspectors often stress the importance of preparation. Scheduling showings during daylight hours whenever possible, informing colleagues of appointments, and maintaining awareness of property conditions are simple yet effective practices that can contribute to a safer experience.

According to the National Association of Realtors®, personal safety remains a priority for many real estate professionals, making Realtor® Safety Month an important reminder that risk awareness extends beyond personal interactions and includes the properties themselves.

“Safety should be considered from the moment someone steps onto a property,” added Furlough. “By identifying hazards before they become problems, home inspectors can help create a safer environment for agents, clients, and prospective buyers alike.”

“Realtors are our main partners in the industry,” added Furlough. “Along with terrific personal safety tips put out by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), we encourage adding ours to keep Realtors and their clients safe on the grounds of the homes they are showing.”

About Pillar To Post® Home Inspectors

Founded in 1994, Pillar To Post Home Inspectors is the largest home inspection company in North America with home offices in Toronto and Tampa. There are over 350 franchises located across the United States and Canada and 85,000 5-Star Google Reviews on record to date. For further information, please visit www.pillartopost.com.

Media Contact Details
Lana Simon
Sanderson PR
Email: Send Email
Phone: 847-727-8177

The 2027 Las Vegas Film Festival, January 14–21 at Brenden Theatres, opens submissions for features, shorts, documentaries, TV, video podcasts & vertical media.

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Las Vegas Film Festival announced today that submissions for its 2027 festival will officially open Friday, August 28, inviting filmmakers and independent creators from the United States and around the world to submit their work for consideration.

The 2027 Las Vegas Film Festival will take place January 14–21, 2027, at Brenden Theatres at the Palms Casino Resort as the Festival’s official host venue. Across eight days, the Festival will present a curated program of independent, contemporary, and international cinema screenings alongside filmmaker appearances, industry programming, competitive awards, and special events around Las Vegas.

A Multi-Format Call for Entries

Submissions will be accepted across a broad range of narrative and nonfiction storytelling. In a move reflecting the rapidly shifting media landscape, categories include U.S. and international feature films, documentary features, short films, animation, student films, television and web series, music videos, video podcasts, vertical narratives, and digital-first work.

“Great storytelling is no longer defined by a single format or screen,” said Tom Ingram, Festival Director of the Las Vegas Film Festival. “We want the Las Vegas Film Festival to be a place where an independent feature filmmaker, a documentary director, a short filmmaker, or an emerging digital creator can bring exceptional work and have it taken seriously.”

$100,000+ Grand Prize Distribution Packages and Cash Awards

To offer immediate, tangible opportunities for independent creators, the 2027 Festival will present jury, audience, and regional awards across its competition programs. More than $10,000 in cash prizes will be awarded across selected categories.

Additionally, the festival is introducing four Grand Prize Distribution Awards valued at up to $25,000 each, providing winning creators with guaranteed theatrical exhibition and distribution opportunities. Grand prize structures include theatrical distribution packages for narrative and documentary features, a theatrical showcase for award-winning short films, and a dedicated showcase for selected video podcasts.

Through the Festival’s official partnership with streaming platform IVOX+, along with other streaming and theatrical distribution partnerships, Official Selections will also be considered for worldwide digital exhibition and expanded distribution following the event.

“Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, so we want this festival to mean something real to filmmakers,” said Louie Comella, Executive Director of the Las Vegas Film Festival. “The traditional festival circuit too often doesn’t lead to commercial distribution anymore. We want to provide more than just a screening, a trophy, and a PDF laurel. By connecting the event directly to theatrical exhibition and streaming, we are bridging the gap between independent film and actual audience reach.”

How to Submit

Submissions for the 2027 Las Vegas Film Festival open Friday, August 28, 2026. Filmmakers, podcasters, and digital creators can submit projects directly through FilmFreeway and Festhome.

The Festival will announce its first wave of Official Selections and programming schedules in the months leading up to January. Tickets and Festival passes for the 2027 Las Vegas Film Festival will go on sale on September 15, 2026.

About the Las Vegas Film Festival

The Las Vegas Film Festival is an international cinema event from the entertainment capital of the world. The Festival showcases independent, contemporary, and international cinema, bringing together filmmakers, audiences, and industry professionals through screenings, premieres, filmmaker appearances, panel discussions, special events, and awards. The 2027 Las Vegas Film Festival takes place January 14–21, 2027, at Brenden Theatres at the Palms Casino Resort and venues throughout Las Vegas.

www.LasVegasFilmFestival.com

Media Contact Details
Louie Comella – Executive Director
Las Vegas Film Festival
Email: Send Email
Website: www.lasvegasfilmfestival.com

Professor Joe Nikolson is preparing a Spain-focused investor education and market research initiative examining how smart trading technologies are applied across modern capital markets. The program will cover quantitative analysis, market data, algorithm-assisted decision-making, trading execution and risk management, while helping participants better understand the differences between traditional, quantitative and data-driven trading approaches.

Madrid, Spain

Professor Joe Nikolson, CEO and Chief Compliance Officer of Securitize Markets, is preparing to introduce an investor education and market research initiative focused on Spain, with the program designed to provide market participants with a more structured understanding of smart trading technologies and their application across international capital markets.

The proposed initiative will examine how data analysis, quantitative models, algorithm-assisted decision-making and systematic execution are used to interpret market information. Educational content will also address the role of pricing data, trading volume, volatility and other market indicators in the development and assessment of trading strategies.

A central part of the program will focus on how quantitative and smart trading models generate signals and how predefined rules may be used to establish entry and exit conditions. Participants will also be introduced to methods for evaluating market changes, adjusting risk exposure and reviewing the assumptions behind different trading models.

Rather than presenting technology as a replacement for independent investment judgment, the initiative is intended to help participants understand how analytical tools can support more structured research and decision-making. The program will emphasize the importance of evaluating data quality, model design, market conditions and execution constraints before applying any technology-driven approach.

The educational framework will also compare traditional trading, quantitative trading and smart trading. Traditional approaches often depend more heavily on manual research and individual judgment, while quantitative and smart trading may combine statistical analysis, algorithms and automated technologies to process larger volumes of market information.

Risk education will form an important component of the initiative. Participants will be introduced to market volatility risk, model risk, liquidity risk, execution risk, technology risk, foreign-exchange exposure, transaction costs and the possibility of capital loss. The program will also stress that historical data and model performance cannot reliably predict future results, and that a strategy that performed well under previous market conditions may not remain effective in a different environment.

Professor Joe Nikolson brings more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, electronic trading and market structure, with a professional background spanning regulated financial markets and digital-asset infrastructure.

As part of the initiative, Securitize Markets is expected to provide research and educational content covering smart trading, quantitative analysis, market-data research, risk management and the role of technology in modern capital markets.

Further information regarding eligibility, participation procedures and applicable compliance requirements is expected to be released through official channels. Any participation will remain subject to investor suitability assessments, service availability and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

About Securitize Markets
Securitize Markets operates within the digital-assets and regulated financial-markets sector, with activities related to compliant digital securities and market infrastructure. According to the materials provided for this announcement, Securitize serves as a regulated trading platform focused on supporting the development of compliant secondary-market activity for tokenized assets. Its work includes market operations, institutional engagement, regulatory implementation and research related to modern capital-market technologies. For the proposed Spain-focused initiative, Securitize Markets is expected to contribute research and educational material covering quantitative analysis, smart trading, market data, technology applications and risk-management concepts.