Haagen Dazs and Honeybees

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Who: The Häagen-Dazs® brand, which is licensed to Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Inc., a market leader in frozen dessert products, and http://www.experienceproject.com/ (EP), the world’s largest online forum for connecting and sharing life experiences.

What: Häagen-Dazs and EP have teamed up to motivate the public to get involved in actively helping save honey bee colonies. Honey bee pollination is directly responsible for the production of over one-third of our nation’s food supply. Over the last three years, more than one-third of honey bee colonies have died due to a mysterious phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), posing a serious risk to both food supplies and global economies. In cases of CCD, honey bees mysteriously leave their hives and die – yet scientists still don’t know exactly why.

This campaign harnesses the power of social networking not only to educate the public on why honey bee pollination is so vital to our society, but also to take tangible steps to help the situation. Unique from traditional social media campaigns, critical aspects of the partnership include recruiting people into individual challenges, such as planting flowers or eating naturally for a week, and playing trivia games that earn donations towards honey bee research. While headquartered at www.ExperienceProject.com, the campaign is tightly integrated with other social media applications, such as Facebook and Twitter.

The specific challenges include:

Plant a Flower, Help a Honey Bee Challenge
Since flowers are the primary food source for honey bees, this challenge encourages individuals to help out by planting more flowers and fruits wherever they are. Participants upload photos of themselves planting flowers via Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr. The three best photos, as judged by all of the participants, will win certificates for a year’s supply of Häagen-Dazs ice cream.

7-Day Go Natural Challenge
This challenge encourages individuals to eat and live naturally for seven straight days. Participants learn about the honey bees’ contributions to our natural food sources while also earning coupons for Häagen-Dazs products and the chance to win a year’s supply of ice cream.

Help The Honey Bees Trivia Game
Help the honey bees with just a click of the mouse! As a key part of the campaign, EP will be hosting a special general knowledge trivia game where participants earn “nectar” points for each correct answer. The accumulated points will then be converted into donations in support of scientific research to help find the causes and solutions for CCD.

When: The campaign begins August 4, 2009 and goes through September 28, 2009.

Where:
Häagen-Dazs Help The Honey Bees: http://www.experienceproject.com/helpthehoneybees
Häagen-Dazs + Experience Project Help The Honey Bees Challenges: http://www.experienceproject.com/challenges
Häagen-Dazs + Experience Project Help The Honey Bees Trivia: http://www.experienceproject.com/playtohelpthehoneybees
To access the special Help The Honey Bees Facebook application: http://apps.facebook.com/helpbees

Hampton Today made possible by sponsors like:
Michelle Hartman – Tupperware –641-373-8880
Denise Passehl – Watkins – 641-580-4052
Franklin County Farmers Market 641-456-4811
Patrick Palmer – The Computer Guy – 641-420-1234
Seven Stars Restaurant – 641-456-5378
Debra Brown – Melaleuca - 641-458-1114

Ellsworth College for Everyone

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If you are ready to take your next step toward a college degree or a new career, you still have time. Ellsworth Community College's fallterm semester begins Monday, Aug. 31 and runs through Friday, Dec. 18. Registration for the fall term is underway and complete course information may be found online at EllsworthCollege.com or printed schedules are available on campus. Offices are located on the second floor of the Gentle Student Center on the ECC campus, 1100 College Ave., Iowa Falls, and are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admissions staff are eager to help potential students with course selection, if desired. For more information call 641-648-4611 or 1-800-322-9235.

ECC offers many arts and science transfer degree programs, career option programs for immediate employment or transfer, and career-technical one-year or two-year programs. Scholarships and financial aid are available. Hundreds of courses are offered at various times of the day, as well as online credit courses that can be taken from your home computer. It's even possible to earn an Associates Degree completely online.

ECC, named the 17th Best Community College in the nation by The Washington Monthly magazine in 2007, is proud to offer students programs of excellence including a curriculum in agriculture that includes equine management, swine and farm management, biotechnology, and the renewable energy technology program. In addition, ECC's criminal justice, fire science and nursing programs are respected for being among the best.

The new Agriculture and Renewable Energy Center should be ready this fall. Work continues on the state-of-the-art Equestrian Center that will be complete for the spring semester. Returning adult students will find a strong support system available to help them make the transition back into the classroom, as either part- or full-time students. Our faculty is committed to helping students achieve their goals with education, providing a great return on their investment.


Hampton Today made possible by sponsors like:
Michelle Hartman – Tupperware –641-373-8880
Denise Passehl – Watkins – 641-580-4052
Franklin County Farmers Market 641-456-4811
Patrick Palmer – The Computer Guy – 641-420-1234
Seven Stars Restaurant – 641-456-5378
Debra Brown – Melaleuca - 641-458-1114

Do You Need A Sign?

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Of course you do. Even the smart folks at the Small Business Administration (SBA) think so. They call your retail identification sign a silent salesman, advertising your business day and night.

But what if you have a home-based business out in the country, or feel that people are driving to the big box store down the street because, after all, their sign is more visible?

The SBA has the statistics that show how adding one more on-premise sign increases sales:
On average, one additional on-premise sign resulted in an increase in annual sales revenues of 4.75%. This translates to a $23,750 increase in average sales revenues for a typical store in the study group with annual sales of $500,000.

What if you added a second, or even third, sign to entice new and existing customers? Does that seem over-the-top extravagant?

The statistics above show that it’s not at all extravagant, but you may be restrained by your town’s sign ordinances, or your landlord’s lease restrictions, and are only allowed a single sign.
The good news is that signs come in all sizes and shapes, and for budgets both big and small. Some signs are even portable.

Here are three (plus one extra) simple marketing opportunities you may have never considered where signs will bring your business added visibility like that described by the SBA:

1. Sponsorship banners for events. Ask your church, civic or school organization to purchase or trade banners where all of the sponsors’ names are listed (and you are a sponsor at one of these events, right?). Hang the banner where it will be most visible to people attending.

2. Travel in style with magnetic signs on your car doors. People are curious and love to see what you’re advertising. . .on your car! Buy a pair and as you do your daily driving routine, you’ll be branding and marketing your business. When you’re not CEO of your business, the magnetics go into storage.

3. Window graphics. For a retail location, this can be part of your merchandising efforts. Perhaps quarterly, or every other month, you can change out the text and images on your windows so that they match your current season, special events, or sales effort. Think about using photographic images and attractive fonts that set you apart from your competition.
As you gain customers, ask them how they heard about you, and don’t be surprised if they say, “It was your sign.” Signs have advertising and branding power, and they don’t have to be terribly expensive. Go ahead and check out which one of these three suggestions works best for your business.

P.S. Before I forget, the fourth sign idea for you to consider is vinyl floor graphics. Graphics that go on a window can also be installed on your store floor, or the sidewalk leading up to your entrance. Perhaps a half dozen or so attractive shapes with a timely message may draw the attention your business deserves. Good luck!

Paula A. Diaco is the owner of SignARama of Vermont. She and her business partner husband, Bob, opened their store in 1994 and have helped many small business owners brand, publicize, and market their businesses.

Hampton Today made possible by sponsors like:
Michelle Hartman – Tupperware –641-373-8880
Denise Passehl – Watkins – 641-580-4052
Franklin County Farmers Market 641-456-4811
Patrick Palmer – The Computer Guy – 641-420-1234
Seven Stars Restaurant – 641-456-5378
Debra Brown – Melaleuca - 641-458-1114

Restoration Run - Join the Fun!

Friends of Beeds Lake are hosting a 5K walk/run, 10k run and 1/2 marathon Restoration Run! August 29th at Beeds Lake State Park, Hampton, Iowa. The 1/2 marathon will start at 7:00 and 5K walk/run and 10K will start at 7:30.

All run/walk participants will receive a T-shirt (if registered by Aug 15th, we'll do our best after that!),

FREE BREAKFAST and goody bag. Entry fees are $18 for the 5K and 10K, $35 for the 1/2 marathon. Packet pick up will be August 28th from 4-7 PM, race day 6-7 AM at Beeds Lake State Park (lodge area). Registration will be available at these times also.

Trophies will be awarded to the top male and female finishers and medals to the top three in each age category for the 5K and 10K, Trophies will be presented to the top male and female half marathon finishers and medals will be awarded to all half marathon finishers.

Click on "more info" to download a registration form or click on Active.com, AllSportCentral.com or ZapEvent.com on our home page links for online registration www.friendsofbeedslake.hamptoniowa.org See the route descriptions at USATF running routes.

After your run please come and join us downtown at the Bandshell Park for the Ham Jam Barbecue and Blues Festival. Ham Jam begins at four and runs till midnight, beer garden, great music, food and lots of fun! Visit the Main Street Hampton Ham Jam website at http://hamjam.net/.

Admission is free!!!

Health Care Forum

Image by cena carioca via Flickr

Please join Organizing for America for an event discussing the urgency for health insurance reform here in Iowa. We will be discussing the need for reform, examples of the problems facing Iowans currently, and how President Obama plans to address them.

We will also be discussing on everyone can get involved in letting members of Congress know that support for real reform is out there.

Wednesday August 12 from 1 to 2 pm
Hosted by Derek Eadon at NIACC– Beems Forum in Mason City, 500 College Drive

Hampton Today made possible by sponsors like:
Michelle Hartman – Tupperware –641-373-8880
Denise Passehl – Watkins – 641-580-4052
Franklin County Farmers Market 641-456-4811
Patrick Palmer – The Computer Guy – 641-420-1234
Seven Stars Restaurant – 641-456-5378
Debra Brown – Melaleuca - 641-458-1114