Thursday, December 3, 2009

Industry and Stakeholder Analysis

As a member of the Industry and Stakeholder Analysis team we were put to the task of discovering what industry the USU Greek System is in, make a SWOT analysis and define stakeholders.

Industry: Campus Involvement

We examined the purposes outlined in the Greek Council’s Constitution, and we found one of their main goals is to enhance the practical abilities of all the Greek members through getting involved “in all aspects of the college experience.” Since the Greek Council believes campus involvement is the driving force behind the sustainability of their chapters, they encourage each individual house to support participation in campus activities (the Greek Council’s Constitution).

In addition, Greek houses have defined their “industry standard” through the process of recruitment. According to the PR Audit Report, “Being part of a fraternity or sorority requires individuals to be involved somewhere else on campus.” Specifically, one of the factors that play a role in qualifying applicants for membership in a chapter is the level of interests in getting involved on campus. In a talk with student groups on campus, PR Audit Team found nearly all Greek members have established connections to these clubs and organizations.

Even though the past news coverage related to Greek events is limited, some articles show cooperation between the Greek Community and on-campus student groups. For example, at least 2 issues of the Utah Statesman reported Greek letter houses’ participation in ASUS sober parties and elections (the Utah Statesman).


We have taken into consideration what the Greeks are about currently at Utah State University and found campus involvement is the industry that the client best fits into. They could use this information to recognize the competitive rules and develop strategies.

Problem & Suggestion
In the campus involvement industry which the Greeks as a whole belong to, there is a common misconception. Many people make the easy assumption that “campus involvement” equals participating in an activity/organization on campus just for fun. In a study conducted by USU students, one of the most important reasons for undergraduate students’ decision to not go Greek is lack of time (MHR 3110, Dare to be great). In other words, non-Greek students believe that participation in Greek life may have eaten up the time that would otherwise have gone to other sectors, such as study and work.

The problem is that people are not aware of many other benefits that Greeks offer. In addition to boosting “campus fun,” the Greek Community provides academic support, leadership opportunities, and service to the community and to the University (Think Greek web site).

When Greeks try to increase the publicity for their advocacy of campus involvement, the Greek Council should consider going farther in their efforts to inform people their involvement in providing academic assistance and service opportunities. Doing so will make the Greek Community become more relevant to student’s campus life, and it raises the acknowledgment of Greek Council’s role in furthering the university’s objectives, instead of simply putting themselves in campus activities.

Stakeholders:
The analysis of stakeholders will inform the Greek Community of the interest and the influence of those who are involved or not involved in the Greek life at Utah State University, which will enable the Greek Council to develop strategies to gain the most effective support possible. We identified key figures, groups of people, and institutions that will affect or be affected by the Greek Council, knowingly or unknowingly. We sorted them out in order from most affected to least:

1. Greek Council officials
2. Greek students; USU alumni; Greek houses
3. USU students; Campus and Student involvement
4. Greek Alumni
5. Family of Greeks
6. USU faculty and administration
7. National Greek organizations
8. Philanthropic organizations
9. Cache Valley citizens

Groups:
Latents
Cache Valley
USU faculty
Greek Alumni

Promoters
National Greek organizations
Greek council
Student and campus involvement

Apethetics
USU students
USU alumni

Defenders
Family of Greeks
Greek houses
Philanthropic organizations


Grouping the previously identified stakeholders gives us a visual representation of where each stakeholder stands in interest and influence over our client. The stakeholders are divided into four groups depending on their ability to create change and their interest to do so. No stakeholder should be ignored; however, some need more attention than others. Grouping the stakeholders identifies those areas where we should focus most of our time and effort.
Promoters:
Defined as those stakeholders who have a high interest in the Greek community and also have the ability and influence to create change. The Greek Council is very high, if not highest, in both of these. They are elected officials from each house at USU who gather and discuss problems facing the Greek community and solutions to those problems. Votes are then taken to enact and enforce the proposed changes. They are most directly affected by what goes on the Greek community and it is their responsibility to ensure that the Greek system is operating in a way that reflects their goals and mission statements. National Greek organizations are also included in this group as they have the authority to withdraw their own chapters from university locations. They also have a keen interest in making sure that their specific chapters are meeting the set criteria for enrollment, academic excellence and other things for their continued sponsorship of the houses. Also, those in charge of promoting campus involvement will be motivated to promote the Greek community on campus because of the Greek’s emphasis in being involved with university clubs, programs, and activities.
Latents:
Latents are those stakeholders who have the influence and power to effect change within the Greek community but lack the motivation or need to interfere at this time. This group must be kept abreast of things happening within the Greek community and satisfied with what they are accomplishing. Cache Valley is included in the group because if at any time they decided to actively promote the Greek system and what they do for the university things would change dramatically for the Greeks. If they opposed the Greeks however, there is little the Greeks could do to remain a part of the community if public opinion turned against them to that degree. USU Faculty and Greek alumni are much the same. As long as Greeks are helping out with university sponsored events there is no reason for faculty to oppose having them be part of campus life.
Defenders:
Defenders are stakeholders who have a high interest in seeing the Greek community perform at its best and helping them do so, but they have very little power to do anything other than voice their support. Families of Greek members, philanthropic organizations, and even each individual Greek house fall into this category. Only when the houses come together in Greek council do they have influence over the Greek community. Standing alone they can do very little without the support of the council. Stakeholders in the category need to be merely informed of things going on the Greek community.
Apathetics:
Stakeholders from the final group, apathetics, are those with neither a high interest nor legitimate authority to make any changes to the Greek community. These stakeholders need to be monitored in the event that their level of interest or influence should change. These include USU students and alumni who are not involved with the Greek community. What goes on in the Greek community has hardly any affect on them and their involvement with the university.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths
Loyal supporters
Service projects
Parental support
Higher graduation rate

Weaknesses
Alumni Relations:
Outer image
Reputation
Publicity
Making goals but not achieving them.
Parental support

Opportunities
Build relationships with the statesman and PR department.
Utilizing their alumni
Educate parents.
More on-campus or campus-involved service projects

Threats
Low numbers
Cache Valley’s conservative culture
Other Competitors

Strengths:
Loyal supporters: Included in this category are the Greek students and Greek Alumni which could also involve some parents of Greeks if their parents were involved in a fraternity or sorority.
Service projects: When asking students what good the Greek community does one common answer is service. Each fraternity and sorority has a different philanthropy specific to their national organizations of which they hold fundraising events and to charity work in behalf of.
Parental support: Most students that have parents that were Greek are supported by them, especially if they are a “Legacy”, which means that the student’s parent(s) was part of the same fraternity or sorority at Utah State University.
Higher graduation rate: Most students who are Greek tend to graduate if they are well-involved in their fraternity and take on executive positions of their house through their college career.

Weaknesses:
Alumni Relations: Communication is lacking between Alumni and the collegiate chapters at Utah State. Alumni aren't informed on upcoming events. Many Alumni take offense to this and don’t want to donate or help out if they feel like they’re getting nothing in return.
Outer image: Fraternities and sororities are looked at as a partying and trouble-making group. It’s not uncommon at Utah State for the majority of students to think that that’s what Greek Life is all about. Greeks need to make their achievements, especially when it comes to things such as academics, leadership and campus-involvement, more known.
Reputation and Publicity: All bad incidents are published and not enough good. But also the bad is always going to get more attention than the good, i.e. the Michael Stark’s Case. Making goals but not achieving them. This is something that has become common in the Greek community, too often goals are set but there isn’t really anyone put in-charge to make sure they are getting followed through with. Parental support: Most parents that haven't been Greek and live in Utah are very unsupportive of their student joining, usually because they don't take the time to find out what it's about.

Opportunities:
Build relationships with the statesman and PR department. The Council PR chair should know and be working with the Statesman, putting in any kind of news about events or specific achievements going on in the Greek community as often as possible.
Delegating: The Council might want to look more into delegating specific assignments to members to get things done, this could maybe result in meeting those goals that otherwise might not get much attention otherwise.
Utilize alumni, keep them informed and up-to-date on events then they may be more willing to help out down the road.
Keep parents more informed and involved by sending out newsletters or holding events specific for educating parents.
Hold more on-campus or campus-involved service projects instead of just at the individual Greek houses; advertise them more in advance as well if it is possible.

Threats:
Low numbers: If houses don't reach total, or quota, their charter can be pulled from Utah State.
Cache Valley’s conservative culture: Most people from Cache Valley have very conservative views and just the idea of joining a fraternity or sorority can shine bad light. Greeks just need to make themselves more known and show that they aren’t a threat to the community as well.
Competitors: Other clubs on campus, sports teams, work, studying and time spent with family are all things that can take up a student’s time and play big roles into why they may or may not join a fraternity or sorority.

We encourage you to include questions in your survey related to the SWOT analysis and try to include participants from as many of the stakeholders as possible. We believe this will give you the best results. You will probably want to conduct several surveys, are involve questions specific to individual groups since the stakeholders include such a wide variety of subjects.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Research for new designs


While working in the advancement department I have the opportunity to help re - design the websites, posters and flyer's. To do this I am researching new designs, I discovered this picture. Made me laugh, hope it makes you laugh too.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Politics

Everyday while reading the paper, then the comments, I have to laugh at people that complain about our political system. Sure none of us completely agree with everything our political leaders make, however if you think for a minute from their view point and if you actually understand our political system you should be rejoicing that our nation is still working. Do research of your own, don't just watch Fox and expect them to give you all the right information. Vote, that is the point of our whole system and if you don't vote don't talk. Write your congressman, we hear this all the time but how many people actually do it, they do pay attention. Lastly sitting and complaining on the internet isn't going to help anyone.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

CAPSA

It is estimated that 2 million to 4 million U.S. women are assaulted by a domestic partner every year, twelve million women (25% of the female population) will be abused in their lifetime and with 6,117 domestic violence calls in one year from Logan alone, it is a blessing that we have one Community Abuse Prevention Service Agency (CAPSA) here locally. CAPSA is a non profit organization dedicated to preventing abuse in Logan. They have a 24-hr crisis help line, education courses, a safe house, and a facility with therapists and social workers.

April is sexual assault awareness month, CAPSA partners with locals to promote their efforts in educating the community on stopping abuse. To start off the month CAPSA and Utah State University team to host “Walk a Mile In Her Shoes.” Gentlemen from the community come grab a pair of high heels and walk a one mile course around the university to kick off awareness month. Next a 5K “Run from Violence” & 1 Mile Walk is hosted by CAPSA. This gives everyone to get out and stretch their legs in the spring weather for a great cause. Finally on June 1st a golf tournament is held for sponsors. Sponsors, depending on the size of their donation, will receive a golf game, lunch, name/logo on a sign and an ad in the Herald Journal. You can also come for lunch or just golf, all proceeds go to CAPSA.

CAPSA is one of the fastest growing non-profit organizations in Cache Valley. Starting out with a hotline to help victims of abuse in 1976 by Marsha Rawlins from her home went to 1996 when major expansion was needed after progressing steadily including the founding of Somebody’s Attic, safe houses and hiring the first staff members. In 2004 a new shelter was built after the community helped build funds for the expansion, the shelter includes eight separate rooms/beds for 32 adults, cribs, two large living rooms and two kitchens. Now they run a 24 hour hotline, an emergency shelter, 4 educational support groups, and an active volunteer program. From July 2006 to June 2007 CAPSA sheltered 371 individuals, 5500 crisis calls, 400 rape related calls and 12,000 volunteer hours.

Thankfully the founders of CAPSA persisted through tough times; the community caught on and helped all they could. Today CAPSA takes donations to provide people that are struggling to create a better life. With your donations and support we could make Cache Valley domestic violence free.

For more information visit us at www.capsa.org

-End-
Written by Amber Winward

Legislature

As a lobbying intern this semester, I found that government officials get a bad rap, in reality we should be thanking them for what they do. Did you know that representatives are normal people with day jobs, and they are representatives on the side? They get paid under $10,000 a session, even though they work year round to get everything in place.

These people create the laws we abide by, that ultimately keep us safe, happy and secure. Sure we all disagree with some legislation passed, but if we didn't have any laws we would be no where. The representatives care, during the session they get hundreds of emails a day and majority of them read them and write back. They care about the people they are representing, obviously else they wouldn't have been elected in. Support your elected representative and remember through them you can make a change.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Week in Pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words, as we know. MSNBC posts a Week in Pictures every week. These pictures are the best pictures from around the world, giving us all a glimpse into the world from a different angel. Pictures are normally shot of current events, this week included pictures from Italy and the devastation from the earth quakes. In addition there are amazing photo's of newly bloomed flowers.

Pictures help us to see the things we are learning or are hearing about they show us exactly how it is. While diving into international political studies I have found the things that I am learning really connect once I've seen a picture of the people or their country. MSNBC is a wonderful media outlet, they offer many different resources that are credible. The Week in Pictures isn't always marketed, but it should be something that you check out every week to increase your knowledge of what is happening in our world.

Lucy's Alterations

Logan has some amazing shops for prom gowns and wedding dresses. In our current fashion era modest isn't exactly "in". After purchasing that perfect gown, many need alterations done. Lucy's Alterations is owned and operated by Lucy herself from her home in Smithfield.

She has been a seamstress for many years now, she's talented and easy to get along with. Starting off you'll need to set up an appointment you'll get to hear her wonderful Chinese accent "you come Monday morning, ok?" The minute you walk in her home you will see what she is all about. China, and she is proud of it. After admiring your dress she'll ask questions, take measurements and joke about how pretty you are. When you pick up the finished product you'll realize that her work is fast and flawless. Many come to her after an alteration was already done and ask her to do it again to make it perfect. She'll alter anything you need, adding sleeves and making custom jackets is what she's becoming a professional in.

Next time you are in the market for a perfect gown, don't fear if it'll need some alterations. Buy it and take it into Lucy, she'll do it for less and you'll be satisfied every time.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Obama's dog

Some days i'm surpised what journalists decide is headline news. The Obama's new dog is my latest discovery. In the world i'm sure we have more important news to cover. Everyone gets dogs, however when the president even sneezes we all know about it. I hope all aspiring journalists have good hero's in the journalism field and will make news readable.

Weddings...the money market

While wedding planning I have become slightly discussed with the wedding industry. There are an amazing amount of options from everything you could possibly ever want for your wedding. In addition "traditions" I believe were made up by some wedding planner, teamed with businesses. Why do I have to invite everyone, register at five stores, cut a cake, have a cake, have a book, make everyone wear tuxes, put flowers on everyone, have food, have a beautiful reception, have a dinner or lunch in, decorate every table, have a wedding video, etc. Sure some of it is nice and I really do love planning weddings, just not mine. I do find it crazy though that people can spend up wards of $50,000 on a wedding, I would rather put a down payment on a house.

My advice for people engaged, know what you want, question the "traditions" and don't get carried away with the stupid things. Have fun, listen to peoples suggestions but don't fret over them, remind everyone that yes it is your day, lastly don't give into the emotional marketing done by majority of the wedding industry.

Social Media

While attending the Public Relations Conference a gentlemen spoke about the importance on social media. I couldn't agree with him more that it is important in this day in age when our media outlets are changing constantly, we need to keep up on what is new. However when opening my own personal twitter I have found it to be slightly annoying, and have now limited my friends down to three. I can see the purpose of twitter, having fast news, knowing what is going on, getting the word out to everyone you know or to market for free.

My question today is that is this another fad? When Myspace first came out it was a big deal and stayed that way for many years until Facebook came along and became the newer and better thing. As a personal Facebook user I enjoy it, I think it serves a good purpose but I am not a junky. When I got engaged and didn't change my status on Facebook all of my friends thought the world had ended, precisely the reason why I didn't, to remind everyone that it's okay there are still these things call face to face interaction. I believe we should all try it a little more. Anyways, Facebook is still growing, but may be loosing a little of its edge with all these new social networking outlets. Twitter could become the exact same thing, twenty years from now our kids might laugh at us for our social networking. So should we really be putting in all our time and effort into these outlets? Or should we understand them, let them do their own thing and wait for them to die off?

As for now, I will keep my twitter and my three friends. When/If I find it to be completely useful I will use it more. In the mean time, I will keep looking into more social networking outlets to stay informed in our media world.

Announcement

01/16/2009
For Immediate release

ABC Real Estate
123 Creative Way, Logan UT
84341(801) 555-4567

NEW COMPANY HELPING ECONOMY THROUGH THE HOUSING MARKET

LOGAN – Utah, ABC Real Estate has seen the economy issues, the house market collapsing and has found a way to effectively help people trying to sell homes and people trying to buy homes in these troubled times. Established in 2008 ABC Real Estate is coming to Cache Valley with experience of two mentor companies behind it, the other companies like it are located in California and Salt Lake City, and both have been remarkably successful in there many years of operation. The company uses a creative system to help buyers and sellers in need; all they need to keep pressing forward is some investors.

Preston Parker, President of ABC Real Estate, states that “Our goal is to help people sell their homes, get others into homes and help investors earn a return.” The system has a new creative outlook for the housing market, basically people needing to sell a home or help so it wont be foreclosed will contact ABC Real Estate, investors buy this house using their credit or the money they already possess, the people in need will then pay back the company over a time, with interest. Once the deal is closed the investors will get their money back plus more. It is a living trust system that will give people something stable to invest in during these troubling times. Real estate has proven to be a stable investment through out time, prices never go down they always go up.

Currently the two mentor companies operating under this same process have a 1% failure rate. ABC will handle all the screening of clients, deal with insurance, paperwork and with the investors making it easier on all the parties involved. With the screening of buyers the two other locations have had success in only have 1/100 being late on a payment; in turn this helps investors to get their money sooner with no hassle. In these troubling times this is an investment that investors can rely on, will get a return and can feel safe investing in.

Additional Information contact:
Public Relations Representative
Amber Neil
(801) 222-6687

Immage Press Relase

For Immediate Release
Burger Planet
156 Burgerway
Gary IN, 87265
(659) 569-9547
http://www.burgerplanet.com/

Burger Planet it Promoting Healthy lifestyles with the help of Jayne Petersen

GARY, Ind. – Burger Planet hires new fitness guru Jayne Petersen as they move to help every American increase their health. In the last year they have been making improvements to make their food healthier then it currently is, they have made simple additions of lettuce wraps or sliced apples on the side. With Jayne Petersen they will dive into the health industry reminding people that eating the food they love is great, as long as you tie it with good fundamentals of health. With tours around the country and new advertisements they will remind their loyal customers that they are moving forward to a new age of health.

Burger Planet has been pleasing customers around the world for seven decades, serving about 52 billion customers, currently they have 8,921 franchises in the U.S. and in 17 different countries. With this much success they have served customers with their simple, sustainable, fantastic food. Mr. Mullenbach the CEO of Burger Planet said "Burger Planet cares about its customers. For more than seven decades, the company has succeeded because it put customers first. We listen to our customers, and our customers desire healthy choices." Some of the new healthy options include new salad and fruit, grilled chicken, lettuce or bun options. The hiring of Jayne Petersen will remind customers that Burger Planet cares, and are still progressing.

Jayne Petersen is a fitness guru currently the president and CEO of Looking Glass Inc. a multimillion dollar fitness and health enterprise located in Burbank, Ca. Petersen's success is driven by the thought of moderation and 20 minutes of activity a day is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Petersen focuses on women ages 30 to 40 working on increasing their health, with Burger Planet having the same target audience they make a great team. Most recently Petersen helped Opal Witcomb lose 75 pounds. "I believe women need more options to become and stay healthy," Peterson said, "I love Burger Planet food. It is healthy and everyone loves it. No one I have met doesn't like their food and customer service."

Corny the clown has become a child icon attracting children around the world and has become a symbol to mothers reminding them that Burger Planet is a company they can trust. In Burger Planets new plans they will team Corny and Petersen to tour the country helping women and families alike. Petersen will focus on helping mothers to increase their knowledge on health and corny will remind the children of their favorite restaurant and how much fun he really is.
Events will start on May 12th in New York, New York, on May 14th a New T.V. commercial will air showcasing low carb entrees, in June promos will proceed to 12 different Burger Planets around the country focusing on providing nutritional packets and advice to consumers, in July visits to seven shopping malls will end the new kick off of Burger Planet.

Burger Planet is dedicated to helping their customers, and progressing. Mr. Muellenbach states "I want our customers to realize that Burger Planet is committed to offering healthy choices on its menu. The hiring of Jayne Petersen fits perfectly in the company's overall focus on healthy life styles." This new improvement of this popular company will be spread across the nation, with media following closely behind.

Additional Information Contact:
Public Relations Specialist
Amber Winward
(801) 623 - 9954
email: pramber@gmail.com

Cause Press Release

Feb. 6, 2009
For Immediate Release

Preston ParkerPresident and Founder
160 N. Main St.
Logan, UT 84321
Email: cachvia@gmail.com

Association Helping Build a Stable Education of Financial Success

LOGAN, Utah –The Cache Valley Area Investors Association (CVAIA) is dedicated to teaching locals simple philosophies helping them to increase their quality of living. Creating financial independence, while helping you love your job.

Only seven states require financial literacy in high schools, and majority of colleges require no financial education as a graduation component so many Americans learn the hard way to increase their financial literacy. Preston Parker is the President and CEO of CVAIA, starting the association in August of 2007 dedicating his time to the importance of financial education. Using basic philosophies of financial education teaching people how to become financially independent. They meet every other Thursday to discuss new ways to increase knowledge and sharing new opportunities to boost their passive income.

If people learn the right mentality and approaches to investing, they can all be successful in what they desire. People should be able to spend their time doing something they love, not just a job that provides an income. Passive Income largely makes this possible. Cache Valley Area Investors Association (CVAIA) teaches people how to increase passive income. CVAIA embraces the Law of Attraction, Law of Abundance, and Law of Exchange. They practice the methods found in the ideologies of books including Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Wealthy Barber, The Millionaire Next Door, Atlas Shrugged, The Automatic Millionaire, and The Secret. CVAIA began in August 2007 and now has members from many geographical locations and from all walks of life. The members come together with the same belief: that education mitigates the risks of investing.

This association has been running for almost two years, and it is catching on in the community. According to Preston Parker "People are excited to come to the meetings, to increase their understanding of financial philosophies." The main cause of the organization is to boost your passive income leading you to financial independence, "doing work" that you love and giving you education that teaches to mitigate risk and recognize opportunity.

Public Relations Advisor
Amber Winward
pramber@gmail.com

Media Pitch Draft

Dear Charles McCollum,

In these troubling times everyone is looking to save some money and some are re assessing their financial savvy. I have recently come upon some good information that I would like to share with you. The Cache Valley Area Investors Association (CVAIA) is dedicated to teaching locals simple financial philosophies to help them increase their quality of living. They are a non profit organization that focuses on a three – fold investment process involving time, assets and experience. It has been running for two years with major success.

If people learn the right mentality and approaches to investing, they can all be successful in what they desire. People should be able to spend their time doing something they love, not just a job that provides an income. Passive Income largely makes this possible. Cache Valley Area Investors Association teaches people how to increase passive income. CVAIA embraces the Law of Attraction, Law of Abundance, and Law of Exchange. They practice the methods found in the ideologies of books including Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Wealthy Barber, The Millionaire Next Door, and The Secret. CVAIA began in August 2007 and now has members from many geographical locations and from all walks of life. The members come together with the same belief: that education mitigates the risks of investing.

It is easy to get involved with CVAIA, meetings are held every Thursday at the Logan City Chamber of Commerce. The main cause of the organization is to boost your passive income leading you to financial independence, "doing work" that you love and giving you education that teaches to mitigate risk and recognize opportunity. In the end it will help you as you increase your financial literacy and essentially lead a better life.

For more information please contact Amber Winward, email: pramber@gmail.com or by phone: 801-669-9996

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Juniper Take Out

You may feel at home when you walk in, or have to take a breath in between bites and realize you’re not at grandma’s house, you must be at Juniper take out. This little hidden treasure of Logan Utah pleases college students and locals alike. With their wonderful home town cooking, great customer service and fun environment there isn’t anything you won’t love about Juniper.

Kirk Hoth began working in the restaurant business with his father, later managed the family restaurant. Ten years later Kirk decided to open his own restaurant. On January 29, 1991 Juniper Take Out opened for business in the Albertson’s shopping plaza. It started small as just a take out business, however with growing popularity in 1993 Juniper Take Out doubled in size including seating for casual dining. Business continued to increase; in 2005 more square footage was acquired.

Juniper Take out isn’t fast food, nor full service. They are the best of both worlds, they cut and grind their own meats, use their own recipes for their wonderful rolls, cookies, sauces, soups and more. The minute you order is the minute they start making your meal, making it delicious every time. Next time you are in Logan Utah, don’t forget to come to Juniper Take Out. Order anything off their wonderful menu; don’t forget the roll and desert and you will leave as one happy person.

ASUSU

You’ve seen all the great parties on campus, attended key note speakers and seen the wonderful advertisements. When election week comes around a large group of students ask the candidates “What do officers actually do?” The candidate might look stunned for a minute because they are thinking “did they really just ask that?” Then they will go on to remind them that they coordinate parties, sit in on important meetings, members of the student fee board, coordinate the government relations council, run the lobbying group and much more. Still to my disbelief students don’t care about the “government” that is affecting them the most.

During elections it is amazing to see how the media controls people, and even more how many people listen and don’t think on their own. During the last elections in November we saw how “important” the presidential race was, and saw little to no coverage on local politics or how the legislative branch was developing. This was partly because of big media ownership but also because people are satisfied with what the media feeds them. Today in the news we see how much money Obama is handing out, when we could be focusing on how the Logan government is corrupt.
Watching the latest school election it doesn’t inspire much hope looking at the people that could one day be in office and the people voting. It is a popularity contest. Majority of people disregarded candidates qualifications, goals and track record instead went by who sally said is “super nice.” The people elected will and can do great things next year, and I wish them all the best. I urge all voters and citizens to pay attention to your local government vote wisely and do your own research.

Arbys

They use to be only known for their curly fries roast beef sandwiches and wonderful sauce. They built their nation wide chain on these staple items. Today they have much more than just roast beef. If you haven’t had a chance to check out your local Arby’s lately, today you should.

You see odd/funny commercials about roast beef, coupons in the mail and Arby shops in our communities. The minute you walk in to your local Arby’s you’ll realize that they have transformed, for the better. Have no fear they still have the classics, in addition they have one of the widest spreads of food in the fast food industry. Classic roast beef, curly fries, salads, sandwiches, shakes, wraps, chicken, you name it they probably have it. They will please any pallet. Other “fast food” restaurants either have to wide of a spread and bad quality or minimal options.

Arby’s prides themselves in the quality of all their products. Try anything, you will be satisfied and probably want more. With great prices and excellent service look no further, “Think Arby’s.”

Shanks Floral

We all love the local mom and pop stores, they make you feel welcome, at home and you can count on good deals. Shanks Floral is the family owned floral business of Bountiful. They are committed to offering only the finest floral arrangements and gifts, backed by service that is friendly and prompt. They keep costs down and wonderful customer service up to make sure you are pleased with every purchase.

With out having the fridges full of flowers and too many employees running around Shanks saves money, so they don’t have to charge you more. Instead they take custom orders for any event you could need flowers for, and they turn out magnificent every time. They can make everything from weddings, funerals, center pieces, prom flowers, home floral arrangements, and more. With custom orders you are able to decide what you want, they will add in their expertise and the end result is you being extremely pleased.

Their employees are dedicated to their work, many of them working there for years mastering their floral skills. Their newest addition is Kimberly she is straight out of floral school and an expert on flora designs for weddings she is prepared to make your floral arrangements to compliment you on your special day. While you are in ordering your flowers don’t forget to check out their adorable home décor. They are not your typical flower shop, they are much better.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Great Harvest

LOGAN – Logan has a plentiful array of dining areas. Some “chain” restaurants and others are locally grown. Great Harvest is considered a franchise but the minute you walk in the door you’ll feel like home. With amazing bread, delectable sweets and incredible sandwiches be prepared to make many visits.

James is the owner of the Great Harvest in Logan, since it is a franchise it came with standards but James added his own touch and made it a home town favorite. There are approximately 26 different kinds of bread made in the store; bakers arrive early in the morning so every day you get the freshest bread possible. The variety ranges from wheat bread to raspberry blueberry bread and many other options in between. When you walk in you’ll be greeted with a free, warm, slice of bread.

People fall in love with the sweets, a sweets baker comes in early in the morning to bake the important cookies, sweet rolls, brownies, fruit bars, muffins and scones. These delectable treats will have you hooked. The home town favorite is the sweet roll, with or with out nuts, you will get a sweet roll the size of your two hands for less than two dollars. In need of a chocolate fix, check out the brownies, options include white chocolate, milk chocolate or nuts. They are huge and divine; don’t forget your milk on the way out.

When you need an incredible sandwich, look no farther. James, his wife and the staff created amazing sandwiches that have customers coming back for more. The sandwiches are unique made with fresh bread and local ingredients. There are some regulars that come in everyday to get the same sandwich because they can’t get enough. You’ll have an option of six different unique sandwiches, half or whole, chips or carrots for a reasonable price.

The staff is friendly; you can tell they love their job. They are willing to do anything for you, make your gift basket extra special, wrap 300 cookies for you or what ever else you could possibly need. You’ll meet many locals with unique stories in the welcoming environment; don’t forget to look at the local art while you’re eating and watch others pass the store through the big windows. Once you come in, you’ll turn into family and will want to always come back.

Utah State Debate Team

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State University (USU) has a team that is turning heads around the country, but gets little attention back at home. The USU Debate team this year was comprised of eleven people, one amazing coach and limited founds.

Utah State is in the Northwest Forensic Conference, over the course of a season they will compete against a variety of schools and travel across the west. This year the team traveled to Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington State for different competitions each time making a good impression. Other teams fear and praise USU; coaches enjoy the team for being hard working, competitive, knowledgeable and respectable. Challengers fear some of their competitors from USU but know they will have good and challenging rounds.

Majority of Universities fund their debate teams, their coaches get paid, their members get scholarships, all traveling is paid for and all fee’s for competitions are paid for. At USU they are lucky they have a coach that loves his work and is dedicated to his students. Dr. Tom Worthen pays for basically everything, with minimal help from the school, and members don’t have to pay anything. Worthen has been coaching for 30 years at different universities and has been at USU for five years. Most teams have numbers ranging from ten to forty; USU had 11 team members this year. Worthen always says “Our team is quality not quantity.” He couldn’t be more right.

The most recent competition was in Bellingham Washington at Western Washington University. This is the competition everyone prepares for; it is the final conference tournament and the last tournament before nationals. Competition is high; competitors have been practicing all year on their speech’s and debate skills. Two days of intense competition, hoping you won your debate rounds and praying you won’t mess up on your speech. Third day is finals, everyone that came out as the best compete a few more times. Results are in; USU comes in on top once again. Since it is the end of the season conference champions are awarded for doing the best all season. USU was awarded the highest award in the conference, being honored as a Gold Metal School. A dedicated coach and dedicated students will strive for the same honor next year, as for now this year was a major success.

Statesman Rant

As a current student at Utah State University I enjoy being able to pick up four, free, different papers every day. It enhances my studies in journalism, politics and increases my knowledge of the world going on around me. Our school news paper called The Statesman is an interesting one, in comparing it to the New York Times, Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News it hardly matches up. After receiving a job at the University I was first given the task to find all the news articles around the world on USU daily, in these searches I have learned more about the amazing things that our university does than I ever have in our schools news paper.

The University of Utah is known as the university in Utah that does a lot of research that turns out results. However when comparing USU and U of U we can see that USU does more research and turns out more results than the U of U. I praise and say that I am proud of both universities and all the research that is done that are helping people around the world. This week in news papers across the county tell of USU’s current research that went around the world included “New data on oil and gas research” and “New findings in the area of sexuality.” The British Medical Journal is taking the research on sexuality that just came out and using it to replace the old research. This is big news that went across the world, but in out own schools news paper we didn’t hear a word of it.

If you picked up the statesman today you would read articles like “Caves in the Cold”, “Transitioning into the Bubble”, and “Campus Threads” articles that are basically fluff. Once in a while you will see a good front page article on something amazing happening in our school, but day after day I am let down. When thumbing through the paper we see the recycled articles from other news papers on what is happening in the world, the opinion page is a sad attempt to replicate other papers; the good news is that the sports page is normally good it keeps the students up to date on how our fellow students are doing. As an active student the back page is the only page I really care for, that tells the weekly events that are happening.

From an outsiders view I would think that the Public Relations department at the university would be slightly ashamed of our school news paper. With constant research being done, professors, and students accomplishing amazing things, graduates becoming esteemed members in society, intriguing things happening in our local community and updates on how we are being governed, I don’t care to read about “The latest Campus Trend.” As journalists we are taught to tell the truth and keep people aware of what is happening. The Public Relations department works hard to keep a positive image of USU, letting everyone know about the amazing things getting accomplished and how we are progressing to become a better university. As a Public Relations major I would hope that the statesman could re direct and do the same. But for now I will keep picking up the school paper, so I can keep up on the latest and greatest thing happening in the “statesman” world.

Lee's Marketplace

LOGAN - In today’s economy it is rare to see locally ran stores verses franchises especially in the grocery business. In every town you see Wal-mart, Sam’s club, Costco and Smiths. With these franchises coming into every city it is hard for local grocers to stay in business. In Cache Valley we see all the chain stores but one local grocer that is thriving and still growing, it is Lee’s Marketplace. When you step in the door at Lee’s you feel at home, with friendly workers and other locals it creates a wonderful atmosphere for getting done our daily needs while getting a great selection with good prices.

Lee’s was founded in Smithfield in 1981. Lee and Shari Badger bought the local grocery store to start their dream in the grocer business. They soon became so popular that they had to expand the building, in the expansion the deli and DVD section was added. On Oct. 1994 the expansion wasn’t enough so they moved to their current 35,000 sq ft. establishment in the move they added additional things to enhance their store. With growing population and demand the badgers they opened another store in Logan in October 1999, with this 47,000 sq ft. complex they were able to create another great grocery store with additional services including a bank, floral shop, pharmacy, bakery and deli.

One of the reasons why Lee’s has been so successful is because of their wonderful employee’s. After reading their mission statement I know why:

The team at Lee's Market Place is committed to providing our valued customers quality grocery products and service at competitive prices. We are dedicated to having highly trained and motivated employees who will ensure a friendly, safe, and clean shopping experience at all times. Our goal is to make Lee's Market Place a place where the customer feels at home.

Their mission statement sets the bar high, and they still meet their goal every day. With a stable foundation of founders who care about the grocery business, current goals that keep them progressing, and excellent workers chain grocers watch out when you come to Logan, Utah Lee’s Marketplace is here to stay.

For more information on Lee’s check out their website at www.leesmarketplace.com/

Rock Haus

LOGAN - The Rock Haus in Logan is a hidden treasure of the community. Logan canyon has some of the best rock climbing in the world, naturally there is a rock climbing gym close by. The Rock Haus is a 12,000 sq ft. climbing gym, with bouldering and roped rock climbing. This gym creates a perfect atmosphere for beginners or advanced climbers and everyone in between.

Our society today enjoys becoming healthy by eating well and working out in a variety of ways. Rock climbing is considered one of the best work outs, it push’s you to your limit and requires every muscle in your body creating the ultimate work out. In addition it is fun, once you walk in and see the climbing walls you get a rush thinking of how make it to the top. After completing one rout you will want to conquer the whole gym.

“It’s a great place to start” according to the Rock Haus staff. They have the equipment for every age, if we were to take pictures of everyone that came to the Rock Haus for a week we would see a wide array of people from a father climbing with his five year old daughter to college students on dates and others tackling the hardest rout or a family with an array of ages of children going at it for the first time. This is a great place to come, try something new, get a work out and have a great time.

For children with a passion for rock climbing and are willing to work hard, parents look into the new The Rock Haus Youth Climbing team for ages 8 to 18. They practice bi weekly and are involved in USA climbing competitions. The Rock Haus also strives to give back to the community; most recently they helped a struggling family with unexpected medical bills. They hosted a rock climbing competition; all the money went to the family. Rock Haus staff has a passion for rock climbing and want to share their knowledge. So if you want a good work out, willing to try something knew, hoping to challenge your family or roommates check out the Rock Haus.

For more information on the Rock Haus check out their website at www.rockhausgym.com

Friday, January 16, 2009

Financial Crisis at Utah State



"USU on verge of financial crisis" was the headline that hit Utah State University last Wednesday.  With our economic crisis full fledge we are seeing more cuts and more affects around the nation, it is starting to hit home.  Our university greatly and also our community.  The legislature and the governor are currently in a battle to see how much of a budget cut higher education should get.  With the legislative session coming soon the students need to get together and let the legislature know how these budget cuts will affect them personally. 

Government relations are a big part of any major corporation, which is why USU has its own representative that deals with federal and state relations, has a student organization called the Government Relations Council (GRC) and offers a lobbying internship in spring semester.  Every spring these three organizations get together, with the president of the school, to decide what to lobby in the upcoming legislative session.  Then they rally their forces, with as many students as possible, to let the legislature know that USU is important and have students that care.  Last year this group was able to get text free text books which helped all students in lowering their cost to further their education.  This year USU's major concern is obviously budget cuts and how much it is going to affect faculty and students.  We are looking at a potential of 600 jobs lost, bigger class sizes, departments combining and higher tuition costs.

With GRC and the lobbying groups combined, they currently could have about 40 people on capital hill at the end of January to represent USU, with  about 14,000 students currently enrolled in the school, 40 people aren't going to tell other people that the students care.  These organizations have done the work, setting up what to talk about, giving the necessary training, making connections, arranging times and transportation to go to Salt Lake.  Students need to get involved, join the fight to help our beloved university.  The group goes down about five times during the legislative session, they discuss what is going on that discuss what is going on that day in legislation, what the goal is for the students.  Once there USU will make a stand, with well dressed, well mannered, respectable knowledgeable students.  Letting the Legislature know that we don't want these budget cuts that will affect our education and the community we live in.  Join the group, represent USU in its time of need.  It ill give you experience, confidence, a new group of friends and could potentially save the university that you are obtaining your higher education from.