Thar’s jobs in them counties!
Hendricks County was named in the top 25 counties across the United States for job growth by CNN-Money article out Aug. 15.
The Hendricks County story starts with the tremendous growth of the racing community and then logistics.
Then the article mentioned our promising future.
“New businesses to the area in the last year have included include Med Condense, s2f, Exel and Genco, which helped increase local headcount by more than 900.”
Rockwall County, Texas is No. 1 with a 97 percent increase in jobs in the last decade. Rockwall is a northern suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth area and host to some beautiful scenery and homes. The quality of life is a big consideration in this area. It’s job creation has apparently focused on office complexes.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/moneymag/1108/gallery.best_places_job_growth.moneymag/index.html
Hamilton County is ranked No. 5 with a 50 percent job increase from 2000-’10. The article cites the Marsh expansion and the upcoming sublease to First Advantage.
Answers to typcal Twitter vs. Facebook questions
Questions: what’s the benefit of Twittering vs Facebooking vs… what else? Am I missing out on a good audience if I forgo Twitter, or should I get ‘hip’ and figure it out? Who follows?
Congratulations on your new position! You are now in charge of generating buzz for your company or product online. This is becoming increasingly difficult to do because everybody is doing it. So what can you think about when making these decisions of Facebook vs. Twitter.
I believe that you’re asking the wrong question.
Let’s look at this differently.
- What is it that you want to accomplish?
- Who is your audience?
- Where are they (in terms of online.)
Once you know the answer to these questions, then you can decide if Facebook or Twitter is the best way to go.
It’s hard to argue against Facebook. There are nearly 700 million people on it. More than half check it at least once a day.
Twitter is a bit more specialized. There are tons of people on it, but it’s a different crowd.
There may even be better choices. Perhaps there are forums for your audience.
What is your message?
If your message is a series of articles designed to get people to call you, then perhaps Twitter is a a way to go.
You do need a Twitter account to monitor the conversation. The search engine on twitter is fantastic and you can find out if anyone is talking about your brand there. If there is plenty of negative talk, then you could strike up a conversation over Twitter to resolve it.
Question: So, Gus Pearcy, what are “impressions” or what does that mean when I’m looking at my organization’s facebook page? Is it the number of times the content has appeared on someone’s page?
Impressions are the number of times that your post has appeared on someone’s news feed. “Impressions” is the number of times a post is viewed, anywhere on Facebook. It is not the same as people. As a result, your impressions are usually higher than the number of likes (fans). There is no way to convert the data into real people since one post can be seen twice per person, whereas another may be seen five times per person.
With Facebook you can do hyperlocal advertising and pay per impression (CPM = Cost per Thousands) or CPC (Costs per Click).
My advice: Develop your first plan of action and determine the best Web 2.0 service or social media outlet to achieve your goal. Be specific and pay attention to ways to keep viewers interested.
Second, get a Twitter account to secure the brand name and then use it to listen to what others are saying. Set up a search term for your brand. Monitor it at least twice a week.
Add social media platforms as you
- add campaigns
- add or detract targeted audiences
- widen your reach to your target demographic.
Keep your eye on the statistics and review your strategy every other month.
If you need more help, call me.
WITT celebrates two years with concert
WITT-FM Celebrates Two-Year Anniversary with WITTstock 2011
All-Ages Fundraiser Concert Benefits Community-Focused Radio
JULY 7, 2011 (Indianapolis, IN): Independently-owned and Indianapolis-based radio station 91.9 WITT-FM announces a celebration of community radio with WITTstock 2011 on Friday, July 22 at the Knights of Columbus (71st & Keystone). The family-friendly WITTstock event and two-year anniversary of WITT features a diverse lineup of local musical talent, including Tonos Triad, Emily Ann Thompson, Hogeye Navvy, Cootie Crabtree and The Rhinestones, Blue Moon Revue, and CW & The Working Class Trio.
WITTstock 2011 highlights a wealth of local talent from the Greater Indianapolis area, from the jazzpop/Eurofolk stylings of Tonos Triad, the Celtic influences of Emily Ann Thompson, to the blues-rock of CW & The Working Class Trio. WITTstock 2011 celebrates both the two-year anniversary of 91.9 WITT-FM and the beginning of WITT’s annual summer tradition showcasing the variety of culture and influences to be found in Indianapolis.
WITT is a unique, community-focused radio station that realizes the need for diverse and locally-produced programming. Powered entirely by volunteers, WITT’s community impact was recognized in 2010, as Mayor Greg Ballard presented WITT President Jim Walsh with the Community Service Award, highlighting residents strengthen their communities.
“WITT fills the void of Central Indiana’s many years without truly local radio, and the listener response has been amazing,” says Walsh. “WITTstock is a way for us to get in touch with our listeners and to present some of the tremendous talent Indiana has to offer.”
For more information on WITTstock or 91.9 WITT-FM, please visit WITT’s website at 919witt.org, or contact Jim Walsh or Matt Masters at 317-251-3851.
Founded in 2009, 91.9 WITT-FM is a non-profit community radio station based in Central Indiana. WITT strives to connect the diverse cultures and musical influences of Central Indiana through locally-produced radio programming. WITT is owned by Kids First Incorporated. For more information, please visit us at 919witt.org.
Friday, July 22 @ 7:00pm—Knights of Columbus, 71st & Keystone, Indianapolis
Logistics Firm Set to Expand in Hendricks County
**EDITORS NOTE: This is a press release posted here in its entirety from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.***
PLAINFIELD, Ind. (June 28, 2011) – OHL, a third-party logistics solution provider, today announced plans to locate a new distribution center here, creating up to 415 jobs by 2015.
The company, which operates 120 distribution centers with more than 32 million square feet globally, plans to invest up to $16.7 million to lease and equip an e-commerce fulfillment center.
“OHL’s plan to put hundreds of Hoosiers to work demonstrates the confidence that companies have in our workforce,” said Mitch Roob, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. “Indiana’s reputation as a hub for manufacturing and logistics has helped us establish a strong position as the ‘Crossroads of America.’”
Founded in 1951, OHL employs nearly 6,000 associates worldwide with offices in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
“The state of Indiana has been and continues to be an excellent business partner,” said Bob Spieth, president of contract logistics for OHL. “As OHL and our customers grow we look forward to continuing this relationship in and around Plainfield, a key logistics hub in our network, and an important location for our customers.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered OHL up to $2 million in performance-based tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. The town of Plainfield approved additional property tax abatement at the request of the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership.
“The creation of 415 new jobs by 2015 is an employment boost for the town of Plainfield and all of central Indiana,” said Plainfield town council president Robin Brandgard. “OHL is an outstanding logistics firm that continues to grow its business in Plainfield.”
The OHL announcement is the latest news highlighting Indiana’s strong logistics industry. Last month, General Mills announced plans to open a new distribution center in Allen County, creating up to 65 new jobs by 2012. Also last month, Governor Daniels joined executives from Family Dollar to break ground on a new distribution center in DeKalb County, creating up to 350 jobs by 2012.
About OHL
Based in Tennessee, OHL is one of the largest 3PLs in the world, providing integrated global supply chain management solutions including transportation, warehousing, customs brokerage, freight forwarding, and import and export consulting services. With three business units – Global Freight Management and Logistics, Contract Logistics, and North American Transportation – OHL operates more than 130 value-added distribution centers, offers comprehensive transportation management services, employs nearly 6,000, and has offices worldwide. OHL has expertise in direct-to-consumer fulfillment, serves a wide range of business sectors from specialty retail to manufacturing, and specializes in the apparel, electronics, printing, food and beverage, and consumer packaged goods industries. www.ohl.com
About IEDC
Created by Governor Mitch Daniels in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Daniels. Mitch Roob serves as the chief executive officer of the IEDC. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.
50 Links for Social Media
Here’s a list of more than 50 links that will help you with Facebook, LinkedIN, and Twitter.
Nurses are the ground troops of Healthcare
World War II nurses by Timefornurses
–Wikipedia entry on Florence Nightingale
Nursing is an art form rooted in science. Nurturing the ill and recovering is like being a mom to strangers. Nurses are the unsung hero of the medical community. They keep vigil. They administer in place of doctors. They prevent complications and they save money.
Anyone who has stayed in a hospital or visited a loved one under a doctor’s care or even has visited a doctor’s office has seen first-hand the work of a nurse. They are often overworked and almost always underappreciated.
Nurses are compassionate.
Nurses care.
The amount of work it takes to become a nurse is not equal to the appreciation or compensation they earn.
Once a year – coinciding with Florence Nightingale’s birth – nurses are honored with National Nurses Week, May 6-12.
In partnership with Sterling Healthcare, we are collecting great stories of how nurses impacted your health and welfare. We’d like stories of how nurses stayed late to comfort you or your family, how they showed compassion or how they
Celebrate the contributions of nurses to humanity and thank a nurse.
There will be a special tribute to nurses on the Sterling Healthcare Management Solutions Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SterlingHMS. Please visit, like the page and post your tribute.
Be aware of child sexual abuse
April is Child Sexual Abuse Awareness month. It’s an attempt to bring awareness to a growing problem. The devastating effects of this type of abuse cannot be measured. It’s time that we opened up about how to effectively deal with this in a preventative fashion.
My own 7-year-old son told me about an incident, a few months ago. Some boys at his school pulled his pants down as a joke. It embarrassed him and I could tell he was hesitant to tell me. I knew I had to react, unfortunately, I think the process may have made it worse.
While I truly appreciate my son’s afterschool program, there have been some minor issues such as the de-pantsing. I approached the building coordinator with news of the incident. She acted like this was a firing offense and she immediately began to grill my son on who it was.
Mistakenly, I figured there were adequate safeguards for this occurrence. I don’t think so. She convened a conference with the offenders, my son, and parents. This was probably mortifying for my son who knew it was just a joke, but was uncomfortable with all the hoopla that surrounded it.
I truly wanted more supervision in these cases. Reminding the offenders that this was unacceptable behavior would have been OK, but embarrassing my son was not. I just hope I haven’t squandered his faith in me.
Child sexual abuse takes many forms, but all too often it gets hidden. The secretive nature may be one of the contributing factors in the devastation of victims. I try to encourage my son to come with me if he’s worried about anything.
I’ve recently learned about modeling healthy boundaries. Children shouldn’t be coaxed or threatened to hug their relatives. We should encourage alternatives forms of affection such as high fives or even shaking hands.
It’s important to let your children know that they can talk about these issues to other adults. We talk about this with our children because it can be too embarrassing to talk about it with us.
Most importantly, recognize that child sexual abuse is committed by someone the child knows 93 percent of the time. That’s a pretty heady statistic. More than 50 percent of the time the offender is under 18.
Calmly and gently open up this kind of dialogue with your children and let’s shed a light on a serious problem.
For more information, visit www.stopnow.org.
Ever thought about going to college?
Pay attention then to the announcement of the Hendricks College Network’s College and Career Fair on Thursday Feb. 24 at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Complex in Danville, Ind. Workshops begin at 5p.m., and the fair runs 6-8:30p.m.
In addition to the 60+ colleges, universities, trade schools, military programs, and career organizations that will be represented in the fair, workshops on scholarships, financial aid, apprenticeships, and more are scheduled throughout the evening. Popular workshops include Financial Aid 101 and Essay Writing for College Admissions and Scholarships.
“So many scholarships have an essay component,” stated Hendricks College Network Director Cathy Bastin in a press release. “It is important for youth and adult students to learn how to best present themselves on paper for this process.”
An addition this year will be the live broadcast of Indiana Department of Education’s “College Night in Indiana” from 6-7p.m. as one of the workshop choices.
College and Career Night is not just for high school students. This annual event is fast becoming the hot spot for ANYONE looking for information on continuing his or her education or developing career. There will be information about an MBA program coming to Plainfield and other training opportunities for those of us who are considered non-traditional students.
The night is sponsored by the Hendricks College Network, Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Complex, Hendricks County Community Foundation, and Hendricks Regional Health, in addition to the area high schools.
For more information, call the Hendricks College Network at (317) 745-8804 or visit www.hendrickscollegenetwork.org
Leadership Hendricks County names Leaders of the Year
(Press Release) Attendees of the Leadership Hendricks County Annual Meeting, held January 13 at Five Star Catering at Primo, participated in honoring a local high school student and two well-respected members of our community.
Donnis Mizelle, last year’s Leader of the Year, presented this year’s award to Dr. John Sparzo, Vice President of Medical Affairs for Hendricks Regional Health. Mizelle shared that Sparzo has “the capacity to translate vision into reality” – a quote from Warren Bennis. He further stated that Sparzo volunteers his time to Hendricks County Parks, HCCVB, Sheltering Wings, Avon Education Foundation and many other organizations. Sparzo thanked the group for the award, and stated, “Leadership Hendricks County helped me realize the wonderful sense of community in Hendricks County”.
Kent McPhail, Plainfield Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, was presented with the Distinguished Service Award for his many contributions to Hendricks County. Bart Beal, Director, Community Relations & Economic Development for Duke Energy, presented the award to McPhail, and stated that he is a man of integrity with an incredible work ethic who took a struggling chamber organization many years ago and turned it into an efficiently-run chamber, serving the needs of its many members. McPhail shared his love of Plainfield and the community, and thanked his wife Donna for her support.
The Youth Leader of the Year Award was presented by Natalie Rose, LHC Program Coordinator, to Kristen Anderson, who participated in Youth Leadership Hendricks County and is currently involved in Youth Encouraging Philanthropy and the youth board of advisors for the Mental Health Association.
In the Spirit of accomplishment
Success is an elusive carrot. The idea of what it means to be successful varies greatly. Some believe it is monetary riches. Others think it has to do with character and survival. I’m always intrigued with people who only achieve a certain level of success but do it over a long career.
My current hero is Jay Ferguson. Ferguson was the lead singer for one of my favorite records as a young adult. I came to the “Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus” during college. It’s tracks intrigued me greatly. The rich harmonies and catchy hooks made it easy to listen to over and over again. I have determined that the first side of the album is one of the best album sides in the history of recorded music.
When I like something that much, I go digging. I research the band and their influences. Spirit was a jazzy rock band which populated the 1960s and 70s. They used many different instruments to create this feeling with their music. If you don’t know them, they had a hit with a song called “I Got A Line On You,” which is one of my favorite motivational songs of all time.
The lead guitarist was an accomplished musician named Randy California. (I don’t even know if that’s his real name.) He established Spirit with his father-in-law which I found a fascinating partnership.
Along comes a very young Jay Ferguson, a California (state) native, who is the last to join the band and becomes the lead vocalist and one of the principal writers. They do some stuff that isn’t great, but it is good. Then in 1971, they release their masterpiece, Dr. Sardonicus. None of the tracks made it on Casey Kasem’s show. I had never heard any of their songs before my college roommate Tom Spitzer turned me onto them in the early 1980s.
Later, like 20 years later, I realize that my first encounter with Jay Ferguson was a 1978 radio hit called “Thunder Island.” I remember listening to it and making fun of it in high school. The song was very pop, along the lines of “Pina Colada” and Stephen Bishop. It was a weird time musically because the pop charts were so divided between disco and rock. As a young midwestern teen, I was supposed to hate disco or anything to poppy. I had to like Led Zeppelin and Yes.
But “Thunder Island” had a great hook and years later, I learned to appreciate it, although it still is a little too pop for my tastes. It ended up being one of the Top 100 pop songs of 1978.
Shove me up to 2007 and I discover that Ferguson is still in the business. He didn’t die of a drug overdose as many did during his era. He stayed with music and morphed into a soundtrack composer for film and television. I discovered this when I tried to find out who wrote my favorite theme song on TV’s The Office. I was sure they pulled it from an existing song, but Ferguson wrote it specifically for the show.
Then I found out he wrote and performed with a group called Jo Jo Gunne who had a minor hit with “Run, Run, Run” which I listened to a sample and remember hearing in the 1970s.
So here, this one man, did all these things that I admire. He never achieved this stardom, but kept plugging along releasing quality work. He is sort of an insider favorite among the showbiz folk. This is a degree of success and lifetime achievement. He has kept transforming with the times and his age to be relevant. He hasn’t contributed a great philosophical treatise, but he has found a wider audience for his work and has become respected. That, to me, is success.
