July 30th, 2009
2007 Rosenthal Photography
Must love opera. Pacific Repertory Opera is looking for an executive director; ability to sing not required. The local opera company also has a new sponsor for the 2009-10 season. KCBX joins the chorus with Vina Robles and Blakeslee & Blakeslee. Season starts Oct. 16 with Pirates of Penzance … Need help texting? Companies of all sizes are signing up with eNowIt for mobile alerts, coupons, contests, polling and Web-based software. Developers are based on SLO. Chuck Hill heads up sales out of Paso Robles … New doc in town. SLO native Chris Holland, son of Cal Poly Biology Department Chair V.L. Holland, has returned home from Sacto to join Dr. Trees Ritter in practice. An infectious disease specialist, Dr. Holland earned his M.D. and completed his internship and residency at UC Irvine and completed a fellowship at UC Davis … Pop rocks. For the first time ever, a rock band will join the SLO Symphony for a set at the annual Labor Day Weekend Pops By the Sea concert Sept. 6., in Avila Beach. The Damon Castillo Band will play “All I Know,” “Surrender,” “Encore” and more with full orchestra accompaniment … Aw, shoot. Hee Haw’s Shootin’ Gallery, the Mid-State Fair’s newest game on the Midway, is a big hit. Dreamed up by Ron Daniels, owner of the Daniels Wood Land tree house company in Paso, the laser gun shooting range has pop-up critters and cans, a bathtub of jumping fish, talking truck, crazy crow and other animatronics.
July 30th, 2009
Sierra Vista, the only hospital in SLO County with a Pediatric Unit, is adding pediatric services in association with renowned Children’s Hospital Central California in Madera. Starting in September, the hospitals will offer a pediatric clinic on the second Friday of every month, with specialists in pediatric cardiology, pulmonary medicine and endocrinology (diabetes) coming to Sierra Vista. Good news for families needing these services who’ve had to travel out of the county to get them … Back in the game. Former KSBY sports director Mitch Massey is joining the “Friday Night Blitz” show with Dave Alley at KCOY, covering local high school football on the CBS affiliate. Mitch is senior VP of Marketing at Heritage Oaks Bank, a “Friday Night Blitz” sponsor … Buy now, build later is the current program at Trilogy Central Coast. Buyers can lock in the current low base price on a new home and then take up to one year to have it built, giving them time to sell their old home, retire or relocate … The SLO County Economic Vitality Corporation is moving to new digs in the Edna Valley Office Building, 735 Tank Farm Rd, former offices of Centex Homes … Looking for an electric bike or skateboard? San Luis Rides has moved into the heart of Downtown, making it even more convenient to find a green ride. New location is 1033 Chorro, near the mission … OK, we didn’t make this up. A new artsy group called Flashmob is recruiting people for wacky events around SLO. Like a hopscotch marathon at Mitchell Park and an impromptu highway offramp art gallery. Sure-to-be-controversial are some irreverent window displays coming Aug. 13 to Therapy and Romp. Sponsored by New Times and the New Arts Collective … Move over mani-pedis. The new craze is foot massage. Try the Yang-Shen Foot Spa, newly opened in Pismo at 513 Five Cities Drive, joining its SLO location at 3594 Broad St. #104 … Dave and Charlie West are now selling ”Anticipation,” a unique 2006 syrah and cabernet blend, at Avila Wine and Roasting Company. This “great food wine,” the West’s first vintage under their Westbound label, is nearly sold out.
July 30th, 2009
In June, Cal Poly Ice Cream was sampled by nearly 8,000 people – mostly members of Congress and their families and friends – at the International Dairy Foods Association’s 27th annual Capitol Hill Ice Cream Party. The bigwigs in the VIP tent got a taste of Cal Poly’s English Toffee Reduced-Fat Ice Cream with probiotics … The U.S. Commerce Association awarded its 2009 Best of San Luis Obispo Award to garcia architecture + design. George Garcia heads the SLO firm whose current projects include Railroad Square and Project 401, a redevelopment effort in the city’s Little Italy area recently honored by the American Institute of Architects … Jano Graphics is now certified for calibrating proofing and press equipment to G7 standards – the only printer in SLO, Santa Barbara and SLO Counties to obtain this elite certification. Jano has also added a new Heidelberg Speedmaster Press.
Categories — Awards
July 30th, 2009
More than $90,000 was raised July 18-19 at the SLO Relay for Life benefit for the American Cancer Society. The Little Lebowskis, who answered the team challenge and raised $7,000 online, celebrated by dying Richard Gonzales’ hair purple. Next up is Relay for Life in Morro Bay Aug. 1 … Beatlemania is alive and well. At least it will be Oct. 2 at the annual SLO Children’s Museum Gala at the Avila Beach Golf Resort. Call Allison Alltucker at (805) 441-7604 to become an event sponsor. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
July 30th, 2009
Business is tight, budgets are lean and we don’t know many people who are enjoying a great ride right now. But that’s no excuse for sloppiness. This week’s marketing tip focuses on something so simple it’s a bit embarrassing to even mention: the lowly envelope.
We’re talking about envelopes that purport to contain business correspondence, but look anything but. Crummy handwritten addresses and return addresses on non-personal material. Envelopes addressed to staff members who left your business years ago. Envelopes forwarded from scarily old former addresses. And it gets worse.
Get past the lousy envelope and you hit on a few of the mass-mail personal peeves at Barnett Cox. A compelling pitch directed at Dave Cox on a letter whose salutation reads: Dear Mr. BarnettCox. One to Maggie: Dear Mr. Maggie Cox. And, don’t get us started in the ones that think Maggie is Cox and Dave is Barnett.
The simple message: Everything you offer about your company says something about how you operate and the attention you pay to detail. Get it right. Whether it’s a direct mail outreach, or something as simple as a bill, make sure the piece you send says you are on top of things.
And for the record, it’s Maggie Cox. Dave Cox. The company is Barnett Cox. And Barnett was our dear old friend and former partner, Claude Barnett, who passed away in 1994. He’d turn over in his grave if his obit had read “Claude Cox.”
Let us know your pet peeve, and we may use it in an upcoming issue. E-mail me at mcox@barnettcox.com.
July 30th, 2009
Here’s a sampling of some of the e-mails we’ve received in response to BCAFYI. Thanks for writing, and keep ‘em coming.
“I was looking for a good restaurant in Paso for a special reward to give an individual who has helped SCORE so much in the past year. Your Web page discussed Buona Tavola, and lo and behold, I immediately bought a gift certificate for dinner for two at Buona Tavola in Paso Robles.”
David Bresnan
“You guys are way clever. Keep it up! Thanks for sharing.”
Charlie West
“This is terrific and very pleasing to the eye. I also appreciate the brevity and efficiency in the writing. Your company never ceases to amaze me and exceed expectations.”
Lee Ferrero
“I like the marketing news articles and the Get-To-The-Point link. Thanks.”
Emily Clithero
“I truly look forward to the FYI.”
Marty Indvik
July 23rd, 2009
This just in. He reports the news and now he makes some. BCA congratulates John Summer, newly named Executive Director of the SLO County Visitors and Conference Bureau. John is co-owner of Central Coast Magazine, former KSBY news anchor and one of the county’s most passionate fans. Great news for tourism … Results of the recent SLO County Regional Airport survey gauging local airline travel are out, with data from the 2,000 responses giving a better picture of where to focus future air service development. Survey says 58 percent of SLO travelers choose other airports in California, with lower fares, more frequent flights, more non-stop destinations and more airlines as their top reasons. Bottom Line: In SLO, there’s a significant demand for new and better service … SLO Planning Commission will discuss the scope of the EIR for the Chevron Tank Farm property at a special meeting 7 p.m. July 29 in the City Council Chambers … Get the latest on the Employee Free Choice Act, and how it may affect your business, at an employer’s seminar sponsored by Your People Professionals of Santa Maria on July 31 at the Santa Maria Country Club … Jolie Ditmore of Central Coast Pathology has an innovative new automation system for blood tests that provides patients with quicker and more accurate results. E-mail jditmore@ccpathology.com for more information.
