Congratulations to 2010 Communitas Award winner bioMérieux (Durham, NC),whose employees have joined forces at hundreds of the healthcare company’s subsidiaries and sites worldwide to achieve its environmental goals. The firm’s guiding principle for sustainability, “We Belong To a Community”, is reflected in its commitment to consider the environment and promote sustainable development in all business aspects. The Durham home office team spearheads the “bioMérieux Goes Green” initiative that was started in 2008 by finding innovative ways to protect the local environment. For example, facility managers at the two Durham locations have led efforts to create green cafeterias, restrooms, and packaging processes, and to enhance energy efficiency and return power to the local grid with a recently-installed solar energy plant. In St. Louis, MO, bioMérieux North America opened a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified facility last year, with plans for a second LEED facility in Durham already underway. These and related company-wide efforts have been rewarded with a Communitas Award for Green Initiatives. Please visit www.communitasawards.com to learn about other Communitas Award winners.
We Are Proud to Salute 2010 Communitas Award Nominee West Basin Municipal Water District (Carson, CA)
2010 Communitas Award nominee West Basin Municipal Water District (Carson, CA) takes great pride in the commitment it has made to protecting the environment, one of its five core customer commitments. The provider of imported and recycled water to 17 cities and more than a million people in coastal Los Angeles, wholesale water agency is a leader in water conservation. Its programs impact industries, cities, adults and children. West Basin recently launched a program to send free water conservation kits to children who sign up for “Water Star” by saving 20 gallons per day. In addition, the agency is shifting to locally-produced water resources to reduce its overall energy use and carbon footprint while providing a sustainable supply of water. Its implementation of recycled water recently helped Honda’s headquarters location become a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified building. And, in partnership with Surfrider Foundation, West Basin offers free Ocean Friendly Garden classes that teach residents how to create more efficient landscapes by replacing part of their lawns with native plants and semi-permeable landscaping. Its current conservation focus is to save water outdoors, where most of the waste occurs in southern California. These and related company-wide efforts are being nominated for Communitas Awards for Sustainability and for Green Initiatives. Please visit www.communitasawards.com for printable nomination forms and information on how to nominate a deserving individual and/or business. Communitas Awards continues to process submissions as they arrive at Association for Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) headquarters.
We Are Proud to Salute 2010 Communitas Award Nominee Northwestern Mutual (Milwaukee,WI)
2010 Communitas Award nominee Northwestern Mutual (Milwaukee, WI) has invited its employees to leave their own personal legacy by introducing the “Leaving a Legacy for Future Generations” volunteer program. The initiative symbolizes Chief Executive Officer Ed Zore’s retirement gift to employees – four paid hours in 2010 to volunteer for their choice of a nonprofit organization. The gift reflects Mr. Zore’s commitment to the community during his 41 years of civic leadership. The outgoing CEO has also made the Northwestern Mutual Foundation the leder in Wisconsin with donations totalling more than $15 Million during Fiscal Year 2009. The “Leaving a Legacy” initiative official began when 100 employees built a new playground funded by a $75,000 foundation grant. The employees – who can enter and track their volunteer hours at a company-sponsored website — were joined by company retirees, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee children and their parents, and Ed and Diane Zore. These and related company-wide efforts are being nominated for a Communitas Award for Company Sponsored Volunteer Project. Please visit www.communitasawards.com for printable nomination forms and information on how to nominate a deserving individual and/or business. Communitas Awards judges continue to process submissions as they arrive at Association for Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) headquarters.
Visit AMCP Board Member Gregg Ellman’s endlessyears.com Blog for the Latest Information on Consumer Product Technology
Now you can access the latest information on the devices that fuel your technology-driven lifestyle. Serious technophiles and casual high tech consumers should bookmark and visit endlessyears.com, a timely blog penned by AMCP (Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals) Advisory Board Member Gregg Ellman. Gregg’s blog focuses on technology and specific devices that can make our lives easier. For example, Gregg’s latest entry analyzes an item that docks and charges any Apple media player (i.e., iPod and iPhone), and features an input to support any other model of MP3 player. He also writes about children’s headphones with soft padded ear cups, as well as a device that provides noise cancellation and dual microphone capability for those desiring hands-free usage of Blue Tooth capabilities. Mr. Ellman is a nationally syndicated columnist, media technophile, photographer and writer who can help us understand and even implement the latest tools of technology. He has shared his knowledge of gadgets, cameras and media technology since 2005. Gregg and his wife Sharon also have a photography business in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (www.ellmanphotography.com).
AMCP’s Marcom, Ava and Hermes Creative Award Trophies to Make Cameo Appearance in Paramount’s Morning Glory
The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals’ (AMCP’s) Hermes Creative, Marcom and Ava Award trophies are going Hollywood. The trophies symbolizing these awards that represent excellence in marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, emerging technologies and video production will make a cameo appearance in a scene from Pramount Pictures’ Morning Glory, a comedic glimpse of the cutthroat world of live television that is scheduled for a mid-November 2010 release. The scene, which is the 7th frame of the movie’s trailer (http://www.paramount.com/movies/morning-glory/details/theaters), shows the AMCP’s trophies standing proudly on two shelves in the background of a shot starring actress Rachel McAdams, who plays morning show producer Becky Fuller, and another TV producer character. The film also stars Harrison Ford, Jeff Goldblum and Diane Keaton.
Congratulations to AMCP Executive Director Ed Dalheim for Being Named YMCA of Arlington’ s 2009 Volunteer of the Year
Ed Dalheim, Executive Director for Arlington-based Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), has been named the Volunteer of the Year for 2009 by the YMCA of Arlington, Texas (http://www.ymca-arlington.org/). This marks the 2nd time in three years that Mr. Dalheim has received the prestigious award, which recognizes strong volunteer commitment and dedication to the YMCA’s mission.
Mr. Dalheim serves as the chairperson for the Y’s marketing committee, is a member of the Board of Director’s executive committee and is a coach on a Miracle League baseball team. He recently produced a DVD presentation entitled “It’s My Y” that features numerous community and business leaders telling the story of how the organization’s staff, volunteers, services and programs serve the community and its citizens.
Mr. Dalheim is a longtime resident of Arlington. He is a former television reporter, political consultant and founder of Dalheim Communications, a leading marketing and communications firm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“It is very important to everyone associated with AMCP that we give back to the community. Since our offices are located in Arlington, and the YMCA is the city’s largest social services organization, we have made the Y our top priority,” said Mr. Dalheim. “The Y is far more than a workout facility. It is the embodiment of a community spirit that has residents, educators, clergy, social service organizations, law enforcement and political leaders working together for a common goal.”
No one is ever turned away from the Y due to physical, social or financial limitations. Over 16 hundred children and adults receive financial aid from the Arlington Y each year. Over one-fourth of childcare participants receive aid. Last year, volunteers through the Strong Kids campaign raised more than $400,000 to cover those expenses.
Slugger Albert Pujols Reflects Spirit of Communitas Awards By Hosting a Young Fan and Cancer Survivor
St. Louis Cardinals’ slugger Albert Pujols recently reflected the spirit of the Communitas Awards when he hosted a young fan and cancer survivor at Busch Stadium who wanted to meet his hero after overcoming the challenges of chemotherapy. In conjunction with the Make-A-Wish foundation, ESPN’s “My Wish” series present the story of Jacob Trammell, whose cancer and subsequent chemotherapy treatment caused him to question his will to live. Jacob’s one wish was to meet the Cardinals first baseman, and the long ball basher gave Jacobs a surprise of his own. We invite you to access the link below and view this moving story about young Jacob, and his unforgettable encounter with Albert Pujols. The link also provides a Q&A with Jacob’s mother, Debbie Trammell, who discussed the highlights of her son’s My Wish experience with ESPN.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/features/mywish/news/story?id=5367335
ESPN SportsCenter’s series titled “My Wish” is a collaborative effort with the Make-A-Wish Foundation that chronicles the granting of unique sports-related wishes for five children. Each experience will be featured on SportsCenter. Please visit www.communitasawards.com for printable nomination forms and information on how to nominate a deserving individual and/or business. We are accepting nominations as they arrive.
MarCom Awards Now Accepting Submissions Through Mid-September 2010
MarCom Awards are now accepting submissions from individuals, companies and organizations involved in producing marketing and communication materials for external or internal audiences. Submissions must have been produced after January 1, 2009. The submission deadline is Sept. 10, 2010. Additional information, including printable submission forms, are available at www.marcomawards.com.
Be Sure to Visit AMCP Advisory Board Member Gregg Ellman’s High Tech Blog Covering the Latest High-Tech Items
Serious technophiles and casual high tech consumers are invited to visit endlessyears.com, a timely blog that is written by AMCP (Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals) Advisory Board Member Gregg Ellman. Gregg’s blog focuses on technology and specific devices that can make our lives easier. For example, Gregg analyzes a compact printer that enables you to generate up to 19 pages per minute (depending on content) from virtually anywhere in your residence or office. He also dissects the benefits of a shoulder bag that enables photographers to carry high-end Single Lens Reflect equipment, but without the large, bulky look that tends to advertise that you are carrying high-end equipment. Mr. Ellman also takes an analytical look at high-tech items such as a device that gives you hands-free video watching capability on your iPhone or iPod, a laptop charger that is also compatible with other devices (i.e., cell phone), a subwoofer that enhances sound quality from portable music players, and a laptop cooling fan. Mr. Ellman is a nationally syndicated columnist, media technophile, photographer and writer who can help us understand and even implement the latest communication tools. He has shared his knowledge of gadgets, cameras and media technology since 2005. Gregg and his wife Sharon also have a photography business in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (www.ellmanphotography.com).
2010 Communitas Award Nominee The College of Physiotherapists (Toronto, ON) Protects the Environment
2010 Communitas Award nominee The College of Physiotherapists of Ontario (Toronto, ON) has always taken a leading-edge approach to reducing costs, helping the environment and enhancing the efficiency with which to communicate with its more than 7,000 registrants. When the medical society realized that its 125-page paper version of its Registrants’ Guide was costly and environmentally harmful, it introduced a more technology-driven version on CD-ROM. In response to the CD-ROM’s inability to provide updates reflective of constantly-changing registrant information, the ASA reinvented and distributed the guide on a pre-loaded USB flash drive (in both Frendh and English versions) that enables and prompts users with an option to obtain revised data. The new registrant information may be uploaded from the College of Physiotherapist website (http://www.collegept.org/Physiotherapists/) to the USB flash drive each time it is inserted into the PC or laptop USB port. The organization has nominated its USB flash drive in the Green Initiatives category. Please visit www.communitasawards.com for printable nomination forms and information on how to nominate a deserving individual and/or business. The deadline for submitting nomination forms is August 2.