com-ala
Annual Poem 2020
Posted on December 29, 2020
Dear Friends and Family, As I start to write my yearly poetic salute,All I can think is “I want to give this year the boot!” As the year began, I was hopeful for a better shotthan ’19, but what a shitstorm 2020 brought! The first two weeks of the year were going…
Annual Poem 2019
Posted on January 1, 2020
Dear friends and family, Apologies for the annual poem being tardy, I was with the kids at a hotel New Year’s Eve party. 2019 was a year filled with plenty of change. But not writing a poem about it would feel quite strange. The year started with our standard family unit: The…
Annual Poem 2018
Posted on January 1, 2019
Dear friends and family, This poem’s deadline is coming down to the wire, So much to discuss regarding this year prior. The year twenty-eighteen kicked off in our hometown. Dan and Emma left for a trip minutes post-countdown. Off in a flash to see the Northwest’s top goods: Seattle, the Oregon Coast…
Annual Poem 2017
Posted on December 31, 2017
Dear Friends and Family, Before we welcome twenty-one-eight, It’s time for our annual rhyming update. As 2017 was arriving, We kicked it off with some indoor skydiving. Winter is a great time for sightseeing! We took our guests for some amazing skiing. Winter is also a great time for a dare: Brinton…
Annual Poem 2016
Posted on December 31, 2016
Dear family and friends, With a rhyming dictionary and a steady flow of caffeine, It is time to review and say goodbye to 2016! In January, amid loved ones, and with zero aplomb, We celebrated the life and passing of my bonus mom. After looking for months for a dog—we’re quite…
Annual Poem 2015
Posted on December 31, 2015
Dear Family and Friends, As the year 2015 winds down to an end, It’s time we share our year with those on which we depend. January began with a trainer who helped advise, It took lots of work and strength but I went down a dress size! Despite this, I continued the…
Annual Poem 2014
Posted on January 2, 2015
Dear friends and family, As is the tradition—now ten years’ time— It’s time to review our year in a clever little rhyme. The year was full of trips, visits, and too many school breaks, And—this is no exaggeration—at least a thousand cupcakes. I started a local movie night, the first cupcakes looked…
Annual Poem 2013
Posted on January 3, 2014
Dear Family and Friends,
Again this poem is late,
Hard to find time and still make the kids’ Christmas great.
As some suggest, thirteen can be unlucky.
Our ’13—compared with other years—was kinda yucky.
We had times ranging from difficult to sweet.
But to be honest, I’m glad the year is complete.
Our year began with new roommates: Chad, Kally, Clarice.
Chad is Dan’s brother; Clarice: Chad’s wife; Kally: our niece. Continue Reading
Stik Pocket Promotional Fundraiser
Posted on September 1, 2013
Background
I have worked with Job’s Daughters International in a creative role since 2003. In 2011 I was invited to join the Long Range Planning Committee to help the organization as a whole determine what its long range goals were, and to achieve them. One of the Long Range Planning (LRP) committee’s tasks was to revamp our branding, and appeal to a new generation of girls. An additional goal was to assist the Board of Trustees with determining an appropriate revenue stream for the organization via fundraising. As the organization is often compared to Girl Scouts, it was our mission to “find our cookie,” so to speak.
Objective
To promote Job’s Daughters International’s new brand among our target audience (10-20 year old girls) while simultaneously raising funds for JDI.
The Product
StikPockets are vinyl stickers that attach to the back of any smartphone or case, turning your phone into a wallet. They can be customized with a logo and sold or handed out for promotional purposes.
My Contributions
I found the product via social media in June 2013, and worked directly with the owner/inventor Brian Owen to get all necessary information. I also negotiated a price point that would be mutually beneficial so that we could raise much-needed funds, and Mr. Owen could get important client feedback for the fundraising branch of his business.
I designed four Stik Pocket designs (two for the initial launch, two for a follow-up fundraiser).
I did market research and data analysis to determine the appropriate number of Stik Pockets to order, how many of each (black and white), and multiple price points (two retail, two wholesale) to ensure healthy profit margins for the organization.
I wrote a proposal outlining all details of the promotion, costs, and projected profits. (Submitted June 24, 2013.)
I secured a booth so that the Long Range Planning Committee could sell Stik Pockets at the organization’s annual conference (“Supreme Session”) in Oakland, California.
I wrote a press release and sent it out prior to Supreme Session to get people excited, and come prepared to buy our product (or buy a bundle and bring it back to sell locally).
I created fundraiser bundles, including a pricing chart, incentive ideas, feedback request, and a tracking form.
Results
The Long Range Planning Committee came to JDI’s Supreme Session (i.e., annual conference, July 22-27, 2013) with 1,000 Stik Pockets. In two and a half days of sales (about 16 hours total), we sold out of all 1,000 Stik Pockets. Our final gross profit margin: 88%. The fundraiser raised nearly twice as many funds as the next two top-grossing fundraisers combined.
Steven R. Berger website, ebooks
Posted on April 22, 2013
For Steven R. Berger’s website, stevenrberger.com, I created a website that could promote his three novels, available in paperpack and ebook formats (from Amazon and Barnes & Noble).
Steven wanted a website that used a content management system, preferably WordPress, so that he could make updates from time to time. Additionally, he wanted to make free samples of all his books available for download in as many formats as was reasonable.
I wireframed the site, and then created it in WordPress using the content and direction he provided, using a theme that has the option to expand to direct-to-consumer sales. The look for the original site was suggested by a bookmark his wife designed. The site also uses SEO and social media to increase traffic.
After 18 months, it was time to create a new look for the site. Truth be told, Steve saw the website I had created for another author, and wanted his site to look more like that site.
Using InDesign, I created the free samples of his work in PDF, .epub, and .mobi (for Kindle). I have since created the .epub versions of Innocent Bystander and Ursula’s Yahrtzeit Candle.
In addition, I proofread all three books prior to their publication, finding several mistakes that went unnoticed by several others, and then wrote (or rewrote) the teaser copy for the two novellas (Ursula’s Yahrtzeit Candle and Innocent Bystander).
Teaser copy for Ursula’s Yahrtzeit Candle:
Ursula Frank, an 87-year-old woman, who has lived and seen it all from Nazi-scorched Europe to pre-Castro Cuba, was looking for a clever exit from her mortal coil by going into East L.A. at night looking for trouble. Unintentionally she interrupts the gang initiation of Reuben Montanez, a 17-year-old good guy who was simply hoping for a better life than his honest hard-working (deceased) brother. Little does Reuben know that Ursula just might have the answer to his hopes of a better life, if only she can share it with him before it is too late—for either of them.
Teaser copy for Innocent Bystander: An American Tragedy:
Chuck Gray, a 40-something family man whose worked at a paper supply house for nearly two decades can’t help but be attracted to Felicia Tafoya, a beautiful Latina coworker more than 20 years his junior. In danger of missing an international flight after missing her bus, Chuck offers Felicia a ride. The next morning detectives ask Chuck some questions about the rape and murder of a woman matching Felicia’s description, and before he realizes what’s happening, Chuck is arrested.
Innocent Bystander explores the ordeal that one man faces when considered a suspect in a violent sex crime, and the resulting fallout with the people who thought they knew him best: his wife, teenage children, and colleagues. Is there such a thing as “innocent until proven guilty” anymore?
