Giving Back

It is always nice to work with clients who are determined to make a positive contribution to their community -- and Progressions salon.spa.store in Rockville, MD is just such a client. Always looking for ways to give back, Progressions participates in a number of philanthropic events throughout the year. Their current effort, Autism Speaks, is a fundraising effort for autism research, support, and intervention. Just purchase a key tag for $50 (www.eatshopgive.org), and use it to receive a 20% discount from participating vendors from March 12-20, and again on World Autism Awareness Day on April 2. (You get a list of participating merchants when you purchase the key tag.) All proceeds benefit Autism Speaks. What a great cause, and what a great salon that always remembers those in need.

For more informaiton about Progressions salon.spa.store, please visit www.Progressions.com

Out-Servicing the Competition

I’m looking forward the FREE upcoming seminar from Rick Grandinetti, an expert in altering company cultures. This event is on Tuesday, March 24 at 6:30 pm at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Shepherdstown. We’re all interested in improving productivity and increasing our bottom line, and this seminar will help us do that. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the event is being sponsored by Blue Ridge Community and Technical College and the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center … and it’s FREE. If you like to attend the seminar, please RSVP by contacting Pat Hubbard phubbard@blueridgectc.edu

Contemporary Reading

Jennifer and I have had the unique opportunity of reading each of the plays that will be featured at the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) this summer. It’s always interesting to read a play and then see it performed. We look forward to seeing all five plays and encourage you to attend the Festival as well! For a teaser about the plays, you can visit the CATF website (www.catf.org) or, even better, plan to attend their Sneak Preview Fundraiser on April 18th!

Upcoming Client Events

March 12-20: Progressions salon spa store - Autism Speaks Fundraiser

March 24: Blue Ridge CTC - Rick Grandinetti Seminar at Clarion (FREE)

March 25: Blue Ridge CTC - Tourism Symposium at Holiday Inn

March 25-28: Blue Ridge CTC Presents "Many Mansions" at the Apollo Theatre

April 16: MEDA Spring Conference in Calvert County, MD

April 17-18: WV Book Faire in Olde Towne Martinsburg

April 18: CATF Sneak Preview Fundraiser

April 23: Blue Ridge CTC - Career Fair

April 30: CHP's Puttin' for Panhandle Home Health

May 31-June 2: MEDA 2009 Annual Conference at Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay

June 12: Blue Ridge CTC - Promoting Education in Homeland and Cyber Security

July 8-9: CATF "Pay What You Can" Preview

July 10: CATF Opening Night (season runs through August 2)

July 11: Bloomin' Bash at Hillbilly Daylilies

September 12-13: Pickin' in the Panhandle

Women's History Month

Did you know that March is Women's History Month? We like to think that we are making history each day, but it is nice to have a whole month focused on important women. It's a great public relations opportunity, especially for a woman-owned or woman-focused business. Consider celebrating and sharing the story of your business' founder if she is/was a female, or host an event focusing on sharing your services and their benefit to women if you are a woman's services provider. Looking at monthly delegations can give you great fodder for public awareness -- about your business and oftentimes, an important issue as well.

Creative Marketing on a Dime

Web 2.0, Social Networking, blogs and micro-blogs... what does all of this mean? Aside from being cocktail party buzz words, these are great methods for businesses to get their message out to target marketing and start to cultivate relationships. We know that times are tough out there, and sometimes the first place businesses are tempted to cut is marketing -- but that's not necessary; in fact, it could be extremely harmful! Let people know what you have to offer, but think of creative, low-cost ways to do it. We have come up with a few; because, let's face it, being creative is what we love to do! Maybe some of these will start a good brainstorming session -- or call us, and we'll get the ideas flowing!

• Use some of the marketing features offered on social or business networking websites, like Facebook or LinkedIn.
• Offer a free educational event related to your area of expertise to bring potential customers through your door.
• Think of switching to email versus print advertising for a portion of your marketing campaign.

National Home Health Care Month

November was National Home Health Care Month and I had the privilege of attending a number of events hosted by Panhandle Home Health, Inc. At their annual meeting, Donna McDonald, RN was named Employee of the Year and Craig Potter, CPA, was honored for 10 years of service to the agency. Their Donor Reception was a touching event, where the Panhandle Home Health staff personally thanked their donors and unveiled their new Donor Wall. Their open house allowed members of the community to take tours of their new facility and meet staff.

Potomac Heritage Trail

On November 21st, I spent the day with a small group of travel writers from the mid-Atlantic region, learning about the Potomac Heritage Trail. The trail, which spans from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. along the Potomac River, features many great outdoor opportunities … hiking, biking, nature, history and more. To learn more, visit http://www.potomacallegheny.org/.

Up for the Challenge

One of our clients, Progressions salon.spa.store in Rockville, Maryland, was featured on NBC4’s “Up for the Challenge” segment. Barbara Harrison came to the salon and went through hair boot camp with co-owner Ira Ludwick. I was selected as Ira’s model, while Barbara worked on Ira’s mother, Annette. It was a great time and I got a fabulous haircut in the process! Click here to watch the clip from NBC4.

Creativity in the Eastern Panhandle

Individual and collective creativity is alive and well in the eastern panhandle. In the last few months we have been proud to experience artistic expression thru the theater, artist installations and musical productions. Some of the projects Platinum PR worked on were: The Contemporary American Theater Festival, Pickin’ in the Panhandle and most recently the CD Release/ multi-media presentation by Scooter Scudieri.

Each of these events is very different in nature, scope, purpose and participants.
The Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) has been in Shepherdstown since 1991, bringing the newest plays and freshest playwrights to the Eastern Panhandle. People come from all over the D.C. and Baltimore metro areas and beyond to attend CATF. Post-show discussions, talktheater with founder and producing director Ed Herendeen, educational events for teachers and young playwrights, stage readings, under the tent lectures and other public events complement the plays each Season.

Pickin’ in the Panhandle is the WV State BBQ and Bluegrass Festival. In just one year, the festival grew from a one day, six band event to a two day, sixteen band event. This year, the festival included many big names in bluegrass, like the Infamous Stringdusters, Larry Cordle, Mountain Heart and Cadillac Sky. These bands and others have all been nominated for IBMA awards, which is the highest honor in the bluegrass music industry. Pickin’ also featured pickin’ and playin’ contests, with local and regional contestants. On the BBQ side, Pickin’ hosts BBQ competitions that are sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS).

Scooter Scudieri is a local performer that has used experience and talents to put together a CD and multimedia performance that showcase his musical skills and passion for our Country. Scooter’s first performance, in Shepherdstown in early September drew a large regional crowd and he expects to take the show on the road, traveling to regional colleges/universities.

Why is the Eastern Panhandle successful hosting these types of events? There could be many reasons including being home to Shepherd University and the creativity that grows from a public liberal arts college, our proximity to DC/Baltimore Metro areas, or a passion from fellow residents that want to see these communities grow and prosper.

Twitter

It has been too long since we posted to this blog. I have no excuses. I have become addicted to Twitter. Please follow me at www.twitter.com/sponaugle

Supporting the Performing Arts

The most recent web poll was very significant… and we were proud to see the results fall the way they did. We asked if you support the performing arts and 95% of the responses were favorable. Now, I’m not sure if this means you support financially by attending, or you are actively involved in these events. In the past few months, we have been thrilled to participate on two large events in this area… the Contemporary American Theater Festival and, most recently, Pickin’ in the Panhandle. While the format and flavor of these events were drastically different, they did have amazingly talented people involved. The productions at CATF are second to none and the musicians at Pickin’ were internationally recognized [seriously]. If you aren’t currently supporting the performing arts, I encourage you to start. You can start small… this weekend, for example, my daughter and I will be attending a musical at the Apollo Theater in Martinsburg.

WV Book Faire

This past weekend, Sandy and I had the opportunity to attend the WV Book Faire Authors’ Literacy Dinner. In addition to having over thirty-five authors in attendance, we had the incredible pleasure of sitting with keynote speaker Doro Bush Koch (daughter of George H. W. Bush and sister of the current President) and special guest Kieu Chihn, star of the movie The Joy Luck Club. I must admit that I was totally star-struck while carrying on a conversation with these women who had such great stories to share.