Tweets for a Cause... and More

Around here, we tend to think the tweet craze is pretty interesting and can be used not only to tweet about your life and your company, but also to help out a good cause. In fact, this month is Child Abuse Prevention Month and we are working on a Twitter campaign with Noble Energy and Tennyson Center for Children www.childabuse.org. If we can get 1,000 followers on @TennysonCenter by the end of today, Noble will give Tennyson Center $5,000. Friends and colleagues have been rock stars about promoting it. A big thanks to @ahjobslist and @mhsmc for their help. We are now at 600 members and we will get there before the end of the month. We also used Twitter to help promote the launch of Impact 105, a new group of young (and young at heart) professionals that are coming together to advocate and donate (time and money) to fighting child abuse. Our kick-off event was on Wednesday, April 22 at Max Gill & Grill in Wash Park. Many of the attendees asked, “So what’s next?” I am encouraging everyone to go to www.childabuse.org/impact105.html and sign up to become a founding member of Impact 105. For $105 a year (tax-deductible), you will not only be invited to attend our quarterly networking events, but most importantly you will help us shape legislative policy around child abuse prevention and provide basic services for the children of Tennyson Center.

If you are interested in doing more, please send me a tweet at @llovek and I will make sure you are informed of the opportunities available to you. That may include joining us for a wine tasting event at Morton’s, adopting a child for the dress-a-child program, participating in Operation Santa (where you can adopt a family for the holidays) or Stuff the Bus (gathering school supplies for Tennyson Center kids), hosting a table at the 32nd Annual Denver Dinner or playing in the summer golf tournament. There are also opportunities for individuals and companies to develop a custom giving plan and/or volunteer their expertise in the world of marketing, fundraising or special events. The giving opportunities are endless. I just need to know your level of interest.

Businesses are using Twitter as a brand builder, a customer service center and a promotional arm. There is a great article on Elance on doing business with 140 letters or less http://www.elance.com/p/blog/2009/03/elancers_more_business_with_140_letters_or_less.html?rid=1HN94
After all of the Twitter craze, I figure there is nothing about my life that now can’t be summed up in under 140 letters or less. This is going to make the holiday cards a lot less painful this year.

Expanding Our Reach through PRGN

As one of the three newest members of the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), I’m proud to be a part of such a fantastic international public relations “family.” This past weekend, GroundFloor Media attained membership, along with CooperKatz out of New York and The Harrell Group in Dallas. For those of you who are not familiar with the network, PRGN is an international organization of leading independent, owner-operated public relations agencies working together to serve client needs with local knowledge and global reach. It is an invitation-only network with 40 member agencies and more than 50 offices worldwide based in the United States, Central and South America, Europe, Canada, Pacific Rim, South Asia and the Caribbean.

What does that mean for GroundFloor Media? It expands our reach not only in key specialty areas – including Hispanic marketing and investor relations – but also in key geographic areas – including Los Angeles; New York; Washington, D.C.; Brussels; Melbourne; and Singapore. Our partner agencies in PRGN are ready, willing and able to provide expertise and hands-on assistance when needed.

The two days of meetings were filled with professional development, including the hot topic of social media. It was very fulfilling to learn from and share with colleagues from around the globe, and I look forward to continued opportunities to do so! There are two meetings each year, with committee work feverishly taking place in between.

You can see Tweets from the recent meetings in Sao Paulo by checking out #PRGN or visit the PRGN group on Facebook.

Need a New Accessory but You’re on a Budget? Old Poker Chip, a Little Glue and a Few Beads Will Do

I have become an avid fan of Cathie Filian, host of Creative Juice, DIY Network. She is in town for the Colorado Women’s Expo this weekend in Denver. Not only did she call me late last evening to confirm her arrival and excitement for a 6:20 a.m. segment on KUSA Ch. 9, but she met me 10 minutes early this morning. Cathie then impressed the Ch. 9 team with her re-crafted jewelry by demonstrating how to transform bits of scrapbook paper and game pieces in to fun jewelry accessories.

Yes, you too can use an old poker chip to create an amazing necklace. This is so easy that even I could make it. My favorites were the rings made out of scrabble pieces and necklaces from dominos. Time to dig through that bin of magazines in your corner to clip cool patterns for jewelry fronts.

Here’s a look: http://www.9news.com/life/programming/shows/weekends/
Feeling crafty? Want more tips? Check out Cathie’s blog: http://cathiefilian.blogspot.com/
The 2009 Colorado Women’s Expo features celebrity speakers on fitness, fashion, finance, cooking, design and crafting. Join us today from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. or Sunday, April 26 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Colorado Convention Center.

For more information about the show, please visit www.ColoradoWomenShow.com

APRil is APR Month!

For many professions, some form of graduate education is key to getting ahead. When you're in college studying public relations, however, professors really drill into your head that experience is what counts. Looking back, I think the professors were absolutely right, experience makes all the difference in public relations, particularly at an agency like GroundFloor Media where we don't specialize in any one area but instead apply our skills across the spectrum for our clients.

That said, public relations professionals can benefit from brushing up on their skills and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) offers the perfect opportunity through a program called APR. APR is a voluntary certification program for public relations professionals. APRs demonstrate their commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice by advancing through a readiness review process (an in-person "interview" of sorts) and then taking a computer-based APR examination that tests your knowledge of the profession, it's history, and various tactics and strategies. PRSA has cleverly dubbed April as APR month...

I received my APR several years ago and I'm so glad that I went through the process! It felt like I was reaffirming the solid foundation of my college education, not to mention that I've met great people along the way and now feel more connected to the public relations profession than ever. If you live in Colorado and have an interest in pursuing your APR, contact me for more information about an APR event being held on Tuesday, April 21 at Morton's The Steakhouse in downtown Denver. We're going to bring together current and aspiring APRs to discuss the APR process and next steps for those who are ready to embark on this exciting adventure!

Whether you're just starting out or a seasoned pro, APR is definitely a path to consider as you further your career in public relations. Hope to see you on Tuesday!

SOCIAL MEDIA RESOURCE: Did you just say Google?

When I first got into social media (~2 1/2 years ago) there weren't a lot of tutorials available. I read TechCrunch and other tech blogs and even attended a "new media conference", but to be honest, there wasn't much that really outlined tactics. So like a lot of my social media peers, I learned about social media by doing it.... and with a little help from my friend Google. Surprised? You shouldn't be. In fact, Google is still one of my fave social media resources today. Let me explain just a few great ways that Google can help you get a handle on social media.

Google Search: Let's start with the basics. Yes, the basic search page on www.google.com. Want to know how to embed a video into a blog post? Google it. Looking for a way to connect your tweets to your Facebook status? Google it. I'll bet you $5 that you'll find an answer to your question (and maybe even a video tutorial) within the first page of search results. I still do this at least once a week when I get a social media question that I can't answer off the top of my head.

Google Alerts: To PR and marketing folks, Google alerts are like air. We need them to function and do our jobs properly that's because a big part of our job is knowing what people are saying about clients and their industries. However, for those of you outside of our PR bubble, you may not be familar with this handy little service. Just set up your own Google search keywords (web, news, blog, etc.) and Google will "alert" you via e-mail with your results either once a day or as they happen.

Google RSS Reader: If you haven't discovered RSS feeds yet, you need to. RSS feeds are a great way to stay current on the latest news from your fave blogs or news outlets. By setting up Google's free RSS reader, you can aggregate all you RSS feeds and folder them by categories. If you find yourself pressed for time and unable to check out your fave blogs everyday, you'll love this. Trust me.

Google Trends: Not sure what keywords to base your social media campaign on? Check out Google Trends. You can compare multiple search terms over variable times, correlate specific dates with online news and even compare search term geographically. Super handy.

Still want more? Click here.

Enjoy! (And no, I do not do PR for Google.)

Federal government employees gaining much-needed access to social media sites in order to do their jobs

It's a pretty common challenge these days: social media is on the rise, it's a great marketing tool when used properly, but many communications professionals cannot access social media sites from work. I recently came across this news on ReadWriteWeb.com about federal government employees accessing social media sites from work for professional purposes. This seems like a good first step for our friends from the metro-Denver-area government agencies who attended GroundFloor Media’s Social Media 101 training last week…

Government employees can now access social media sites
Despite widespread adoption of social media by private companies, most government employees could not access the social Web from work—until last week. After nine months of negotiations, government agencies can now officially use YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo and blip.tv thanks to special service agreements that meet federal terms and conditions. The Government Services Administration, which negotiated the service agreements, is currently working on similar deals with Facebook and MySpace. Twitter’s service agreement is already in line with federal requirements.

WEEKLY SOCIAL MEDIA RESOURCE: Mashable.com

Today we're starting a new weekly series where we'll highlight a great social media resource. Some may be for everyone and some may be more appropriate for a specific audience or industry, but we're hoping that all of them will provide value! To start off this series, I'm going to highlight my all-time favorite social media Web site: www.mashable.com. Mashable is a fabulous blog that bills itself as the premier social media guide. Mashable offers countless the latest social media news, how-to guides and great posts about using social media to build your brand online. Their writers also have a knack for explaining things that might be a bit confusing for a social media rookie.

For those of you who follow GFM on Facebook or Twitter, you may have already noticed that I have fondness for posting links to Mashable articles. Here are just a few of my recent favorites:

Top 20 Ways to Share a Great Blog Post

Five Elements of a Successful Facebook Fan Page

How to Survive the New, New Facebook

How to Organize a Successful Tweetup

How to Take Control of Your Google Search Results

You can read more on www.mashable.com or you can fan them on Facebook.

P.S. If you aren't following GFM on Facebook or Twitter, please take a minute to fan/follow us!

The Denver Egotist

A shout out to The Denver Egotist and The Denver PR Blog for naming GroundFloor Media as one of Denver’s top consumer-product PR firms. http://thedenveregotist.com/article/3894/helping-denver-suck-less-colorados-best-pr-firms. They also took the time to add us to the list of Recommended Talent: http://thedenveregotist.com/local_talent. It’s fairly humbling to be listed among so many other talented creative professionals in this market. Although I would love to take the credit for this accolade, I have to say it’s just a reflection of one of the best lessons I learned when I started this agency – Hire people that are smarter than you and then get the heck out of their way.

Thanks again -
Laura

Faith, Endurance and Values

I am a huge fan of Jim Collins and am looking forward to getting to hear him speak while in Arizona this week at EO University. I thought it was worth sharing Thomas Kascha's summary of Jim Collins' interview, which he posted on an interesting website www.stopcrisisnow.com. Regardless of your industry, these tips are well worth reading. I know we definitely embrace so many of these at GroundFloor Media.

Here is to Faith, Endurance and Values...

Crisis is Normal -- Get Used to It!
* the past 50 years was an aberration in economic growth spurred by stability & unprecedented prosperity
* in effect, the normal times, as we know it, are actually abnormal based on historical facts

Values Must Endure Time
* what's important is not "what" our values are, but that we have values at all
* the more challenging the times, the more we need values; they keep us in check

It's All About People
* hire the best for each position, train & coach them
* DON'T stop hiring; especially in crises, because during these times, the best people are overlooked
* the best people are responsible; they DO NOT need to be MANAGED

Look to the Future
* plan for the long-term; what is apparently unnecessary now may be vital for the future
* this is especially applicable to People, Systems, and Processes
* be mindful of trends

Crisis is Our Friend
* crisis brings out the best in us
* when we survive, we are more prepared to take on challenges for both good times and bad

Don't Just Stand There... Do Something!
* we cannot afford to be indecisive; we must choose to act on all challenges
* if we choose to become defensive, we live to fight another day
* if we choose to become aggressive, we need to ask: "how can we change the world with our plan of action?"

Balancing Faith and Reality
* we must believe in our capacity to survive and thrive, without becoming oblivious to the brutal facts
* we must use the facts to craft a plan of survival and prosperity

As the popularity of newspapers declines...

Yesterday’s blog post on Reuters Blogs is depressing for those of us who love to read the newspaper. According to a report by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, only 33 percent of respondents would miss reading their local newspaper a lot if were no longer available. I know plenty of people in Denver who miss their Rocky Mountain News!

Fortunately, people do still appear to want their local news; they are just not getting if from the newspaper. According to the report, “When it comes to local news, more people say they get that news from local television stations than any other source. About two-thirds (68%) say they regularly get local news from television reports or television station websites, 48% say they regularly get news from local newspapers in print or online, 34% say they get local news regularly from radio and 31% say they get their local news, more generally, from the internet.”

I know I risk sounding like a broken record, but studies like this show time and again why it’s so important to have a strategic, integrated public relations strategy that combines both traditional and non-traditional tactics and includes an online presence. The clients we’re lucky enough to work with at GroundFloor Media understand that, and it is fun and refreshing to continually come up with unique and innovative campaigns with them.

Tennyson Center Kids Strike it Big at Bowling

The sport of bowling has a long, rich history with its ancestral character linked to the Middle Ages and England’s King Edward III during the late 1300s. It gained considerable popularity in England during King Henry VIII’s reign in the early 1500s as the sport of the Court. “Well, if it’s good enough for Old Henry, it’ll do just fine for us!” Those were the words uttered by Amanda Brannum on a sunny winter Saturday in Denver when a rag-tag collection of GroundFloor Media staff joined forces with more than 22 kids from Tennyson Center for Children (www.childabuse.org <http://www.childabuse.org> ) to take on a few games of this old storied sport.

GroundFloor Media has had a five-year relationship with Tennyson Center for Children, the region’s oldest residential center for abused and neglected kids, that has taken the form of pro bono public relations and actively participating in social outings with the Center’s resident kids, ages 5 to 18.

Stepping up to play their first game, many of the kids were a little uncertain and timid at first. To help break the ice with the kids, we asked them to make up their own special “bowling names” that we could input for the electronic scorecards at each lane. Bowling alter-egos started to emerge in the form of such characters as Master P, Slewdog, Wicked X and Striker, to name a few.

We warmed up with a few practice rounds, and soon the kids were enthusiastically unstoppable – each finding their unique style and technique at throwing the ball down the lane. Underhand, overhand, shot-putt and the often-famous “between-the-legs” release were all throwing variations seen and heard (cer-thump!) in the alley that afternoon. Undeterred by the occasional gutter ball, the kids anxiously awaited their next frame and started jockeying to play not only their own turns but also fill in for the GroundFloor Media staff so they could get more practice.

The arrival of nachos, French fries, hot dogs and chicken nuggets was a temporary “refueling” distraction after our first game. Re-energized, and with sticky fingers, we tackled a second game sporting improved skills and somewhat reckless abandon. Some of us suspected that the greasy French fry hands helped put some useful spin on the balls. As their confidence grew, Master P and Striker claimed they’d each found their own magic bowling balls and encouraged their fellow bowlers to use them for good luck. A sense of good sportsmanship and shared learning was an underlying tone amongst the kids as they took pride in their final scores of the day and celebrated with high-fives.

Overall, it was an afternoon of unbridled fun that included a healthy balance of strikes, spares, gutter balls and smiles. While no one qualified for the Professional Bowlers Association, the Tennyson Center kids and GroundFloor Media’s big kids-at-heart left the bowling alley with plenty of terrific new memories, a few tall tales about the “pin that almost went down” and new bragging rights for the most elegant bowling technique. Although 500 years have since passed since the days of King Henry VIII’s Court, I know that Slewdog and Wicked X would have given any member of Old Henry’s bowling team a run for their money.

~Amy Claire

Storytelling...

GroundFloor Media’s senior public relations counselors often tell our clients that a press release is not the answer. Gone are the days of distributing a news release and garnering a ton of media coverage. Companies have to find ways to authentically engage with their consumers – media coverage can be an effective part of that mix but it is no longer the end-all-be-all answer. Seth Godin’s blog post today really explains that theory.

Here’s an expert: “A publicity firm will tell you stories of how they got a client ink. A PR firm will talk about storytelling and being remarkable and spreading the word. They might even suggest you don't bother getting ink or issuing press releases.”

It’s definitely worth a read.

~Ramonna

Farewell to a Friend

There’s just not much to say, except that we are saddened by the news that the Rocky Mountain News will publish its last issue on Friday. We will certainly miss this long-standing community resource and the reporters and editors who have become our friends over the years. We thank them for the news coverage they've provided and the consistent quality of their work. Best wishes.

~GroundFloor Media

Social Media Workshop in Boulder

If they haven’t already, most small businesses know they must start using social media or risk losing customers to web-savvy competitors. However, the sheer size and complexity of the social media universe can overwhelm even the coolest cats in the corporate world as they try to navigate the social media ship and pick the right social media channels for their business.

This Wednesday at the Boulder Outlook Hotel, GroundFloor Social Media will host Social Media 101: PR in the Digital World. This three-hour program, taught by our GroundFloor Social Media team and hosted by the SBDC, will provide marketers and communicators an opportunity to learn how to use the social media universe to help further their marketing and PR goals. After this Social Media 101 program, we hope that everyone will be able to confidently move forward on the social media front without looking like a deer caught in the infamous headlights.

Space is still available and information may be found at the Boulder Small Business Development Center’s Web site. www.bouldersbdc.com

Hope to see you there!

Half-day Social Media 101 seminars available free of charge to associations, nonprofits and government entities

The emergence of social media has had a dramatic impact on the public relations industry. According to a trend report from Netpop Research LLC, there are 40 million active social network users in the U.S., and social networking has grown 93 percent since 2006. And if you’re reading this blog, you’ve already changed these percentages.

We are excited to announce a new GroundFloor Social Media (GFsM) workshop series aimed at helping Colorado-based associations, nonprofits and government entities leverage social media in their marketing and fundraising campaigns. Called “Social Media: Getting in on the Ground Floor,” the series will offer personalized social media training and education at no cost. Yes, they are for free! Well, at least for the first 20 guests that register in their respective category.

Most nonprofits and government organizations know social media is one way to further boost their marketing and fundraising campaigns. However, as we all know, limited budgets often make it difficult to try nontraditional campaigns. These workshops will provide these organizations with the knowledge and know-how to increase their social media presence.

We developed our Social Media 101 workshop series to help educate organizations about the social media universe and provide them with a step-by-step guide on how to start and maintain their own social media campaigns. In these sessions, our team of social media junkies will help attendees gain a basic understanding of the different social media mediums and learn how to engage customers, employees and supporters through social media.

These half-day seminars will be taught by our GFsM team and will cover everything from Twitter to Facebook to Blogs.

Here’s the scoop. Organizations interested in participating must submit an online application which is available at http://www.groundfloormedia.com/. The workshops will be held at GroundFloor Media and are limited to 20 guests. Dates can be found on our site.

And if you don’t walk away with some new social media superpowers, then you should demand your money back… or not.

The Worst Invention – Ever

I got a new computer last week, and I had to reset all of my settings in the Office programs, such as the color of my calendar and which side the e-mail preview box shows up on, etc. I’m sure you’ve all felt that pain.

Having not personalized all of the settings yet, I was reminded of the worst invention ever – the little box that pops up on the bottom right-hand side of the monitor when you have a new e-mail. You know the one, and if you’re like me, you turn it off. If you’re not like me, you leave it on and are distracted every time a new e-mail comes into your inbox. For me, that would be more than 200 times per day on average. No wonder so many people complain about their lack of time in the day when they are overcome with new e-mail messages.

This reminds me of one of my favorite concepts that I’ve come across in recent years – “inbox zero.” Here are a few tips I’ve picked up from inbox zero posts (http://www.43folders.com/izero).

- The only way an email will ever get out of your life (and out of your worrying brain) is to either deal with it or get rid of it. If you’re planning to do anything in-between, you should have an explicit understanding of why you’re doing so. Any idea which one of these is a particularly sh%#ty idea? Touch everything once whenever possible, but even if you’re busy, take the extra 2 seconds to consider whether this really has any place in your life. If not, just punt it. Article of Faith #5: “Lying to yourself doesn’t empty an inbox.”
- Seriously: is this an email you are ever going to respond to? If it’s more than a week or two old, either answer it or delete it now.
- When you check your email and find yourself groaning “Ugh, this again?” consider creating a filter.
- Limit the number of times you check for and then scan new email throughout each day. An email auto-check set for every minute means 60 potential distractions every hour, or almost 500 per day. Look back at a week of your emails and ask yourself: how many distractions was that really worth? How much crucial, instantly actionable email did I receive to make it worth shifting my attention over 2000 times?

I hope some of these tips help all of you busy communicators out there. Now go turn that e-mail notification box off!

Get Connected '09

You know those middle-of-the-night thoughts that you write down in hopes that you won’t forget them by morning? Well, early last year, I had one of those dreams/nightmares of standing in a PR seminar listening to people talk about the art of writing press releases and literally falling asleep. So we decided to combat the bad dreams and launch the Get Connected series of professional development/networking events for senior-level marketing and communication pros. These invitation-only events provide an opportunity for leaders to gather in a peer-oriented environment to learn about new trends in the industry, discuss challenges and opportunities and network with one another.

So this February 18th, we will host 40 guests for our first Get connected event of 2009 titled: The Best Way to Deliver Tough News in Tough Times. We have a solid line up of speakers including Gil Rudawsky, Deputy Metro Business editor, Rocky Mountain News; Lynn Kimbrough, Communications Director, Denver District Attorney’s Office, Ken Keymer, Restaurant Industry Veteran, former CEO of VICORP Restaurants, Inc. and former President of Noodles & Company and Jim D. Leonard, Faegre & Benson LLP

If you are a senior-level marketing/public relations practitioner and are interested in obtaining an invitation to our next Get Connected event, send me an email to getconnected@groundfloormedia.com . The cost is $25 and we give the proceeds to our Get Grounded charity program http://www.groundfloormedia.com/giving_back.html


Happy Connecting…

Wake Up and Help the Homeless: Wear Your PJs to work

I am clearly the GroundFloor Media PJ slacker, but the rest of my colleagues showed up in style today to support Denver’s Road Home (http://www.denversroadhome.org/) by celebrating PJ Day.



In case you were shocked to walk into Starbucks and see folks dressed up in their favorite footed pajamas, today employees throughout Denver could pay $5 to wear their PJs to work. Ramonna is part of Leadership Denver this year and thanks to one of her classmates, Jennifer Hallam, made a pledge to Denver’s Road Home that GroundFloor Media would pay the way for all of our team members so they could join the cause.

In case you have missed seeing photos of our Mayor in PJs and have yet to trip over the donation meters that line the streets of Denver, Denver’s Road Home is Mayor Hickenlooper’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. During the initiatives first two years, the following has been accomplished:
• 1,243 new units of housing for the homeless have been created
• 957 families have received eviction assistance
• 3,278 homeless people received employment assistance
• 415 families have been mentored through the faith initiative

I cant think of a better reason to spend the day in PJs. In fact, I decided to celebrate a little late and plan to wear mine now.

Laura

Colorado Garden & Home Show Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Sick of the cold weather? Next weekend spring will arrive with the annual Colorado Garden & Home Show. Not only will the Show celebrate its 50th Anniversary but will include 15,000 blooming flowers, 100 tons of boulders and rocks and 2,000 truckloads of fresh recycled mulch, waterfalls, ponds and streams, paths and elevated walkways and bridges all add to the gardens’ living nature. It’s also the only show produced by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that contributes show proceeds (about $8 out of every $12 ticket) to grants and scholarships. To date, Colorado Garden Show has awarded $3 million in grants and scholarships to 207 organizations to support horticulture in Colorado.

What I really can’t wait to see is the “Secret Garden of Pirate’s Cove” entry garden. I’ve visited LaFond FX special effects company several times to check in on the 25 ft. tall by 32 ft. long pirate ship complete with pirates, cannons and ancient warriors. The enormity of the pirate ship is hard to describe. How they will move it in to the Colorado Convention Center next week will be a sight to see. Curious? Check out the behind-the-scenes video on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Colorado-Garden-Show-Inc/77663835284?ref=ts

More than 600 companies from 25 states and Canada will introduce new technologies in energy-efficient heating and cooling products, window treatments, siding, flooring, lighting, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, patio furniture, gutters, sound systems, storage systems, greenhouses, decks, spas and more. If you ever want to check out options for your dream kitchen or backyard this is the spot.

Other things not to miss:

Feb. 7 - 15
· Master Gardeners from Colorado State University’s Cooperative Extension Service will answer all your questions for free. Look for them in their bright green vests in The Education Garden.
· Marvel at the creative floral arrangements and designs in Colorado’s largest juried Flower Show, “Playtime in the Rockies,” presented by the Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs.
· Explore The 9News Hot Products Zone for new gardening and home improvement products from a leafproof gutter system to handcrafted children’s furniture to EcoSmart fire to permanent holiday LED lighting and more
· Looking for Green Ideas? Stop by the Smart Energy Living Pavilion to learn the five most important steps for achieving energy efficiency in your home.

Feb. 7-8
· Admire, but do not eat, the 120 extravagant cakes competing for prizes in the show’s botanically-correct “sugar art show.” The “Sweet Times in the Rockies” Cake Decorating Contest will be on display next to the show’s main entrance.
· Don’t miss the celebrity “ICE-OFF” cake competition to benefit The Children’s Hospital on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. in the Demonstration Theater.

Feb. 11
· Stop by the Flower Sale halfway through the show when fading flowers will be removed from the garden and replaced. The Rotary Club will have these flowers on sale to the public for $2 per pot.

Feb. 14
· Discover tips and techniques for successful gardening and home improvement projects presented by regional experts at the Demonstration Theater. Richard Trethewey of This Old House will speak in the Demonstration Theater at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Feb. 15
· Twenty metro area Rotary Clubs will converge on the Convention Center to carefully box 7,000 flowers and ready them for delivery to 60 local nursing homes.

The State of the Media (and therefore, our profession)

I know I’m not catching anyone by surprise when I say that traditional media as we know it is in trouble. I follow “themediaisdying” on Twitter and am reminded of this sad fact every day. Now, with the Rocky Mountain News up for sale and its future uncertain, the fact is hitting home even harder than usual. As public relations professionals, this is changing our daily lives and the fundamental ways we do business. Gone are the days of beat reporters with column inches waiting to be filled with news about their beat – even good news. Nowadays it can take several calls to various contacts in the newsroom to determine who might be around that day and MIGHT have time to cover your story – if it’s a REALLY big story. I’m not complaining because that creates more work for PR practitioners; I truly feel for my friends in the media who have so little time and so few opportunities left to cover the things they are passionate about in meaningful ways.

As PR professionals, we must stay on the forefront of these changes, maintain strong relationships with the reporters who are lucky enough to be left out there, and shift our thinking toward new media and new ways to reach the consumers we need to reach. Whether that’s through blogs, microsites, special events or cause-inspired campaigns, now more than ever is the time to think out of the box, be creative, flexible and – most of all – strategic. It’s a challenging time in our industry, but there are some great opportunities out there to do things in new ways and really make an impact. Good luck!