Memorable Merchant(s) - TryLocalFirst.org

Usually, when I share experiences in Memorable Merchants, it is pertaining to a single merchant.  Today, it makes sense to focus on a group of local Gresham merchants that are trying to make a significant difference in our community.

Try Local First is a coalition of local business groups, launched by the Gresham Chamber of Commerce to urge East County citizens to support our own quality of life by supporting local businesses.  To their credit, check out the Try Local First banner in the rotation at the bottom of their home page.

The coalition's premise is based on a simple economic concept:  spend money locally, and the money stays in the local community longer and does more good than dollars that are sent outside the area, state, or country.

Bravo!

If you are an East County business owner - get involved.  If you are an East County resident, look for the Try Local First placards in local businesses.  At a minimum, look to our local merchants FIRST every time you shop.

Dave

Free Pastry Day at Starbucks March 23

Starbucks is bringing back their "Free Pastry Day" on Tuesday, March 23.  Simply print this coupon, take it to a participating location and "nosh!"

Enjoy.

Dave

PS: Click on this small thumbnail image to display a larger image to print.

Golf Back in the Gresham-Barlow School District

Recently, I received the following press release from the Gresham-Barlow School District. I'm happy to say golf is back! (And I'm also happy to say the fundraising golf tournament mentioned was a blast!

Gresham-Barlow School District News

January 12, 2010

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gresham-Barlow School District Reinstates Golf

Community-driven fundraising throughout the school year allows district to bring program back for 2009-2010 school year.

The Gresham-Barlow School Board reinstated the district's high school golf program after a series of successful fundraisers brought in $15,600 to pay for the program. The sport had been suspended for the 2009-2010 school year as a part of the school district's efforts to reduce the co-curricular budget.

"I am pleased our student athletes will have the opportunity to participate in this co-curricular program in spite of our budget challenges," said Superintendent John Miner. "The community support that has been shown for our students is truly appreciated."

High school golf coaches Ron Jones, Tom Starr, Jeff Nielson, and Scott Shields led the fundraising efforts. Student Tommy Schmitz, who plays on Barlow's golf team, raised almost $8,000 through a golf scramble fundraiser he conducted.

Golf is the second sports program to be reinstated. At the beginning of the school year, a community member anonymously donated $21,000 to restore the water polo program. The district was forced to reduce its co-curricular budget by $500,000 this school year due to reduced state funding. A majority of the cuts came at the middle school level. Cuts to the co-curricular program were part of an $11 million reduction to

the district's entire budget for the 2009-2010 school year.

Safeway Grounds United Airlines

Today was the first day that I did not swipe my Safeway card when picking up my regular Starbucks purchase.  Effective February 28, Safeway has canceled the long-running United Airlines frequent-flyer program tied to their Safeway Club Card.

In a recent announcement, the move was to focus on reducing prices for ALL shoppers. Not a bad move.  Safeway has been higher priced on many items for years.  Me?  I pick up a few things along with my Starbucks purchases as needed.

It was only to get the miles.

For years, Safeway has awarded to Club Card holders who sign up for the United Mileage Plus Reward program 125 miles for every $250 spent on qualifying merchandise.  Will that get me to Fiji?  I think not.  Does that make me feel like I'm getting something for my loyalty?  Absolutely!

The irony in removing a frequent flier program actually runs contrary to the "frequent buyer" mentality.  I don't expect to buy my odds and ends there any longer since there is no benefit.  My wife does almost 100% of her shopping at Fred Meyer where there is a direct gift card rebate quarterly - and she gets gas discounts.

Starbucks recently initiated their Starbucks Rewards program, seeing the value in rewarding loyalty as McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and now Burger King continue to provide competition.

In a competitive grocery environment, Safeway may believe they are becoming more competitive, but I would argue they are looking in the wrong places.  I can go on and on about process improvement, lean operations and the like - areas where real and significant costs can be engineered out.  Sure, it costs Safeway to "buy" the miles United awards, but that is a coveted benefit I will miss.

I would speculate that after a recent request to have Club Card holders "renew" their participation in the program, they may not have had a large number take that action.  Again, asking a participating member to "renew" when they can see who are members and how many use the program, seems misguided.  They simply don't get it.

I do see one benefit, though: my wallet is now one card lighter!

Gresham-Barlow Phone-a-Thon February 22-25

The Gresham-Barlow Education Foundation is a group of tireless volunteers and donors who give of themselves year round for the benefit of our District's students. They have been strong partners and supporters of the Gresham-Barlow School District since they were founded in 1994.  Now, they need your help to help them continue their work.

In the press release that follows, you'll see the formal announcement of the 2010 Phone-A-Thon taking place February 22-25.  This year's "Learning to Read" campaign continues their focus on providing additional support for reading skills in the elementary grades.

How the Phone-A-Thon works:

High school students make outgoing calls to members of our community requesting donations.  With the Gresham Outlook and Gresham Ford sponsoring the event and covering all costs, all donations received from the high school students' phone calls go entirely to the reading programs.

All costs?  What costs are there?

The students making the calls are all part of various high school activity groups.  The Gresham-Barlow Education Foundation provides a small grant to each of the groups who field calls as a way to support their activities.  Combine this with some refreshments (after all, we are talking high school students!) and other supplies, and you can see that it takes some money to make some money.  With the generous sponsors who are covering those costs, every "telephone dollar" supports reading.

If you are in the Gresham-Barlow School District attendance area, please give what you can when you receive the call.  Every dollar helps.  If you are a New Blogged Word reader and are outside the District - or even outside the United States for that matter - you can donate to the Foundation at www.gbefkids.org.

By the way, donate $50 when you receive the call and get a free oil change from Gresham Ford.  Where else can you get a more than 50% return on your investment?  (Not to mention the support you'll be providing.)

Thanks!

Dave


Gresham-Barlow School District News
February 9, 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gresham-Barlow Education Foundation's seventh annual Phone-A-Thon to raise funds to help students become better readers

February 22-25 the Gresham-Barlow Education Foundation will hold a Phone-A-Thon for the Foundation's "Learning to Read" 2010 campaign. During the four-day event, students from the district's high schools will call parents and community members asking for donations to the campaign. Donations will be primarily used to provide support for elementary students learning to read. The event also provides a fundraising opportunity for high school student groups.

Last year, parents and community members in the school district raised $40,000 for the reading campaign. The Gresham Outlook and Gresham Ford are sponsoring the event. Individuals donating $50 or more will receive a certificate for a free oil change from Gresham Ford. Community members can visit the website www.gbefkids.org to make a pledge.

The Gresham-Barlow School District serves more than 11,000 students in grades K-12. The Gresham-Barlow Education Foundation was formed in 1994
to assist the schools of the district in providing the best possible educational opportunities for its students.

America Can't Get Enough of Sully

It's been a year since Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger acted calm under pressure, relied on his training, showed leadership acting as a team with a very capable co-pilot, Jeffrey Skiles, and successfully put US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River in New York after a bird strike during takeoff.  "Cactus" 1549, as the air traffic controllers called it, had 155 passengers on board and except for a few bumps and bruises - and quite a scare - were no worse for wear.

In this Associated Press photo, many of the members of that short flight gathered Friday to commemorate the event's anniversary.  And who (rightfully) was center to the proceedings?  Sully.

Captain Sullenberger has been on the speaking tour, he has written a book and others have written about the event, and has become something of an icon.

In these days of irresponsible Hollywood types that get press for extreme misbehaving (the topic of another RANT! some day), Sully is a breath of fresh air.  The right kind of media topic we can enjoy seeing plastered everywhere.


My favorite example of what has come out of this event is a computer reenactment of the flight, complete with bird strike and air traffic control audio.  Exoshpere3D is a "visualization" company that used the released information from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report.

I can't stop watching it. Take the time to allow it to load in HD and watch in full screen mode. If you are a pilot or have even a slight fascination with our our air traffic control system works, you may not be able to stop either.



 

Way to go, Sully!