Healthy Catering?

The Myron Family BBQ Benefit & Carnival

It was the perfect day. The sun was shining and Mt. Rainier was clearly visible from Eventco field in Fife. Friends and family from all over the Puget Sound gathered to show solidarity and support for Sara Myron and her family. Generous attendees gladly handed over their hard earned money in order to help ease the financial burden of this family facing unimaginable heartbreak. From pony rides to bungee jumping, The Myron Family BBQ Benefit & Carnival was a complete success with the sounds of children laughing and the smells of delicious food floating in the air. Sara made her first public address to the media from a small stage in the middle of the field. She took the time to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and identified the effort as the “language of God.” Later, that same stage was manned by The Boys of Greenwood Glen and Otis and The Raw Dawgz. The unmistakable energy of live music fueled the 5 hour gathering. Black Tie Espresso was onsite serving up everything from Italian sodas to delicious coffee concoctions while a group of audio visual professionals handled the entertainment. Representatives from the local ABC and NACE chapters greeted attendees and provided quick tours of the carnival grounds. The beer and wine garden was a popular destination for those over the age of 21 and Stan Osborn of STANSCAPES created a beautiful replica of a picture of Sara’s parents (Monty and Sue) on the field.

Hundreds of smiles, a few tears and a lot of love.

Photos courtesy of Menu International

10 Minutes to Market

If you are looking to increase your search engine results in a short period of time without paying someone a whole lot of money to do it, this is the post for you.  All it takes to give yourself a little bump in exposure is a little bit of internet savvy and about 10 minutes. 

1. First do a search (Google, Bing, etc) for your personal name and your business name.  
2. Take a look at the results.
3. Click on all of the links to see why they showed up.  They may be good, bad or ugly.  This is not the time to stick your head in the sand.
4. If you show up on sites like Yelp.com, InsiderPages.com, etc, go ahead and "claim" your listing.  This will allow you a little bit of control over the page.  Typically, registering as the owner will allow you to add pictures and a brief description as well as the ability to respond directly to reviews and inquiries about your business.
5. Once you have claimed all the listings you show up on, start searching your competition and seeing which sites they show up on.  If it is free to list your business on the same site, do it

The goal is to get your business (and name) to show up at the top of the first page of search results.  It doesn't matter which site it is on as long as your name is there.  If someone finds you on Google Maps, for example, they will eventually end up at your website if they are interested in your products or services.  The more sites you are listed on, the more opportunities there are for a search engine to find you.

Hopefully this helps get you started!  We will be putting out more tips and tricks over the next couple of weeks.

Cheers!
The Chicks

Easy Artichoke Dip

We have plenty to celebrate this month, regardless of whether the sun is shining or not. Father's Day is fast approaching (Sunday, June 20th) and Graduation is here for dedicated students all over the country. Our gift to you is a simple recipe that can be put together quickly for unexpected guests or planned events.

EASY ARTICHOKE DIP


* Equal Parts Mayonnaise & Parmesan Cheese (in the shaker can)
* Artichoke Hearts quartered or chopped to your preference
* Scallions (Adjust to your taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together Mayo and Cheese. Once mixed, add Artichokes and Scallions. Pour into glass Pyrex dish (or similar product.) Bake for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!

Cheers!
The Chicks

Why Blog?

Whenever we talk to people about starting a blog, there are certain questions that always seem to come up.

What is a blog?
The term blog is short for weblog which was coined in the 1990’s to mean a diary or journal maintained on the internet. This doesn’t mean that it has to be personal. Blogs are maintained by everyone from individuals to corporations.

What is the point?
A blog can be used for a variety of reasons. Because it is basically a website that can be updated by anyone, no webmaster is needed! Blogs are a platform for everything from disseminating information, to interacting with an online community. In either case, maintaining a useful blog will foster relationships… and that’s the point, right?

What if I have nothing to say?
First of all, everyone has something to say. What seems like obvious information to you, might be exactly what someone searching the web needs to know. Posts don’t have to be the length of a dissertation. They can be as short as a joke or quote. If you make videos or find one that you like, you can post that as an entry as well. A picture can speak a thousand words, and can be posted for your blog subscribers to see and comment on.

How often do I post?
There is no right answer to this question. Just know that people stumbling upon your blog site will be more likely to subscribe if they see that you put time and effort into it. Twitter is called a microblog because each 140 character post is considered a blog entry. Some people post to Twitter every hour! The frequency with which you post is totally up to you and should be based on what your blog goals are.

Iron Chick