I was promoted today at work. Awesome! It is nice to be recognized for the hard work I have put in over the last year both at work and school. Today I feel especially blessed to have so many great people around me sweeping up my mistakes! Thanks to all of you that helped me get to where I am today. I hope I have the opportunity to thank you all individually.

-Ryan

Mark your calendar for April 19 for the next Professional Development Seminar: "Energizing Your Web Site - Technology Trends, Blogging, RSS and podcasting, and Legalities of Technology Trends."

Energize your Web site
April 19, 2007
7:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
The Woman's Club of Minneapolis

Cost: $140 for members; $180 for non-members; $144 for guests of members (20% off non-member price)
Includes continental breakfast and lunch

Register now!

Schedule:

7:30 - 8:00 a.m. - Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:00 - 9:30 a.m. - Demystifying Technology Trends and Lingo: What exactly is podcasting, blogging, RSS feeds, webinars, etc. You'll also learn about search engines - both Natural and Paid search, email, and social networking sites such as: LinkedIn, YouTube, Second Life, etc.

Nina Hale, Consulting for Direct Marketing Online, www.ninahale.com

9:45 - 11:15 a.m. - Blogging, RSS and podcasting: Learn about maintenance, demographics, who is using them well and how/why

Jennifer Bohmbach, Chief Information Architect, Sun Microsystems, www.sun.com
11:30 - 12:15 p.m. - Lunch

12:15 - 12:45 p.m. - Legalities of Technology Trends
Patrick Robben, lawyer from Rider Bennett

Core Training Luncheon Communicating to Multicultural Audiences

April's PRSA Core Training Session will explore the impact of cultural diversity on marketing and public relations programs. Kevin Hooks, senior vice president of Axis Agency in Los Angeles, and Rick Aguilar, president and CEO of Aguilar Productions in St. Paul, will give their unique perspectives on multicultural marketing and targeted communications.

Time:
11:00 AM Registration
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Program

Cost:
Members: $35.00
Guests: $50.00
Students: $15.00

Location:
Metropolitan Ballroom

Golden Valley, MN 55416

Fusion Marketing, a first-of-its-kind student agency, today marks its action-packed one month anniversary. In the past 30 days, Fusion has worked with: The Masters Forum, Twin Cities Originals, and Sandstrom Media. Additionally, they have named themselves, created a logo, a web site, and promoted their agency.

Each Friday the students have a weekly meeting and are given a new account to work on. Throughout the week they develop a strategic brief, envision a strategy and present creative work—a process that normally takes an agency several weeks to complete. The following Friday the students present their ideas to the client.

"The students have the fresh perspective we’re looking for; and the ability to look at ideas analytically," said Katie Milburn, marketing director for Twin Cities Originals (TCO) and co-owner of TCO restaurant Spill the Wine, opening soon. "We were most impressed in their ability to articulate their ideas and form them into images on paper. The professional quality of work they completed in the short amount of time they were given was remarkable."

With the possibility of permanent employment upon graduation, the students are gaining real life experiences and developing their portfolios in areas that can’t be taught in the classroom.

"Working as an employee at Risdall/Fusion is not the same as working for other local agencies," said Ana Viray, account executive, Fusion Marketing "Here, we are seen as employees of the company, and earn a weekly salary. There aren’t many other classmates that have internships where they only work with other students and present ideas to real clients each week."

"During the first month at Fusion my portfolio of work has grown extensively, which will be a huge advantage over my classmates when I graduate. By the end of the program I'll even have my own web site," said Diana Sharrow, art director, Fusion Marketing.

Nearly 100 advertising students responded to a single e-mail by sending their resumes to Risdall in hope of obtaining an interview for a prestigious spot with what is now Fusion Marketing. The competition was fierce, but after 50 interviews, 13 were selected. The students work at least eight hours a week and earn a weekly paycheck.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press is again holding its annual Pioneer Press Marshmallow Peeps Diorama Contest, and while some of us may not be ready for the "big time," the Consumer Marketing Practice is again hosting a contest for you to submit your Peep creations and win fabulous prizes.

The rules are the same as the Pioneer Press:

· It should be a diorama

· It should include Peeps

· Entry should include your name and a brief paragraph explaining your concept

· Due date is the morning of April 5th

Bring your entry to the third floor kitchen. Entries will be reviewed by a team of celebrity judges on April 5th, and the winners should expect to receive fantastic prizes beyond their wildest dreams.

(For those of you who also want to submit to the PiPress contest, a picture of it should arrive by midnight, March 25, sent either or to Richard Chin, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 345 Cedar St., St. Paul MN 55101.)

For more information and examples of last year’s creations, check out the
Weber Shandwick Consumer Group PEEPs Contest Blog at:
http://peepscontest.blogspot.com/

Colle+McVoy employees and mascot, Harley, got the itch for baseball season and celebrated the second day of spring (sans the rain) by practicing the art of tailgating “rooftop style.” The agency’s “Inaugural C+M Rooftop Tailgating Party” marked the first rooftop cookout since moving downtown to the Wyman Building .

TOP TEN REASONS COLLE+MCVOY COOKED OUT ON THE ROOFTOP

1. It’s spring.
2. It’s baseball season.
3. We love to tailgate even when there isn’t a game.
4. Food and drink are always good…even if you have to wear gloves to hold your burger.
5. We wanted to enjoy the view from our new rooftop in the warehouse district.
6. We needed an excuse to dust off our tailgating equipment.
7. We wanted to enjoy the spring air.
8. Everyone wanted to wear shorts to work.
9. We wanted to wave at the traffic helicopters during the “rooftop rush hour” report in the warehouse district.
10. Just because.

Colle+McVoy, Inc., announced this week that David Denham will join the agency as director of strategic initiatives starting March 26. Denham will help drive business development efforts for the agency, provide leadership for go-to-market strategies and consult on brand positioning.

Denham joins Colle+McVoy from Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve, where he was a principal and account director crafting business growth strategies for clients that included Colgate-Palmolive, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Miller Brewing Company, PepsiCo and RadioShack.

"David will play a critical role in identifying and developing culturally relevant solutions for our clients," said Christine Fruechte, Colle+McVoy’s president. "His experience with interpreting consumer trends and uncovering unique insights will create competitive advantages for our current and new client partners."

"More and more brands are investing time and resources to interpret and leverage the trends affecting their business. So while it's imperative to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of clients' businesses, the future success of agencies like Colle+McVoy will also demand the ability to translate external forces shaping consumer behavior," said Denham. "My charge will be to facilitate the translation of trends and, in turn, enable account teams to create imaginative, relevant, and inspiring strategies that drive business growth."

Denham's professional career has spanned the worlds of higher education, public policy, not-for-profit organizations, marketing, brand strategy and Web-based technologies. His experience includes working for U.S. Senator John McCain, Arizona State University and Franklin-Covey. He also spent seven years with Sapient Corporation, where he focused on brand strategy, business development, and overall account management.

Fast Horse recently celebrated five years as an agency which, they said, was a natural time to put everything on the table for consideration. "Our identity, our office environment, hell, even our business proposition," said Jorg Pierach, president and creative director of Fast Horse in an e-mail to MNPR Blog.

As it turns out, Fast Horse made significant changes to all of them, and more.

One of the biggest changes was their announcement this week that they are no longer a public relations agency.

"We haven’t thrown the baby out with the bathwater, said Pierach. "We’ll continue to do what we have always done best, but for myriad reasons, believe we can better serve our clients and grow our business by dropping the PR label. We have launched a new, interim Web site that offers a snapshot of our evolution. We invite you to take a spin around www.fasthorseinc.com for a bit more perspective."

Some additional changes to Fast Horse include:

• In January, they moved into a stand-alone building on the edge of the Minneapolis Warehouse District.
  
  
• Fast Horse also recently made two very important hires to bolster their interactive and media relations capabilities: Amanda Mark has joined from the American Red Cross in Washington D.C., where she spearheaded some cutting-edge interactive marketing projects and served as a national spokesperson in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, Fast Horse hired John Reinan, who will join the company on April 2 from the Star Tribune, where he spent the past four years covering the consumer marketing and Internet beats. John’s depth of knowledge about the intersection of marketing and the internet will be a valuable asset to our clients. He’ll also serve as the editor of a blog we’ll be launching in the coming weeks.
  
  
• Lastly, Fast Horse has a new logo and they have dropped the word “inc” after their name.

Professionals are called upon to solve problems on a daily basis. But how many people have the training necessary to creatively address those challenges?

The Minnesota Women in Communications Creative Problem Solving workshop offers participants skills that will encourage divergent thinking, idea generation, and help to break old habits that inhibit the evolution of new solutions. Through hands-on activities, we will examine together:

• Actions and beliefs that contribute to creative behavior;
  
• The relationship between the creative process and the work environment;
  
• Proven ideation techniques such as S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and Mindmapping;
  
• Common barriers that get in the way of ideas and creative thinking.

Prior to the workshop, pre-registered attendees will assess their own personal creativity inventory to better understand their own set of strengths as they relate to problem solving.

Participants will leave with new insights into the flow of creativity and a renewed motivation to take on the challenges of the workplace.

This workshop is particularly useful for departments, work teams or cross-functional groups that are working together to address challenges or find solutions.

Speaker information:
Rachel Fine, Creative Director of Minneapolis-based Blue Grotto, Inc., has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of graphic design, creativity, and innovation. Visit our web site to find out more about our speaker.

Details:
Thursday, Mar. 29, 2007
8:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Women's Club of Minneapolis
Cost: $30 for members; $50 for Non-members; $40 for guests of members
Includes light continental breakfast, with coffee, tea, water and soda.

Register now. Registration is limited to 40 - sign up early to guarantee your spot!

Minnesota-based Washburn Child Guidance Center has announced a 2007 partnership with Minneapolis agency Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie to handle image rebranding and marketing communications efforts.

"Many children in Minnesota are not getting the mental health assistance they need. We believe if there’s a better understanding of what Washburn Child Guidance Center does in our community, we will be better able to connect children with our services," says Steve Lepinski, executive director, Washburn Child Guidance Center. "We need the business and philanthropic community to fully understand our reputation and strategic vision to improve those connections. And that’s where Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie comes in."

Washburn Child Guidance Center's mission is to be a center of excellence, providing quality assessment and treatment services to families with children who have social, emotional and behavioral problems. The center's goal is to increase the availability of and access to quality children's mental health care in Minnesota, enabling all children and their families to lead successful lives. Washburn Child Guidance Center has three locations, in Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park and Hopkins, Minn. For more information, please visit www.washburn.org.

Risdall McKinney Public Relations announces the addition of Melissa Neill , senior account executive.

"Nearly a year after forming Risdall McKinney Public Relations, we are seeing tremendous organic and new business growth," said Rose McKinney, APR, president of Risdall McKinney. "Hiring Melissa will allow us to meet increasing client needs while providing them with more well-rounded staff backgrounds."

Neill has a varied experiences working for both corporations and agencies. Prior to joining Risdall McKinney, Neill worked for Weber Shandwick where she focused her efforts on the multi-faceted Honeywell account. Her industry experience includes: aerospace, electronics manufacturing services and integrated supply chain, building solutions, education, security, home product, process automation, fertilizer mining and touring productions.

"Having worked with clients on both internal and external communications, my goal has always been to help organizations effectively communicate with all stakeholders," said Neill. "I'm excited to be joining an agency that shares the same goal for its clients and its staff."

Earlier in her career, Neill worked in the corporate communications department at Mesaba Airlines where she honed her skills as a public relations professional.

Neill holds a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication from the University of Minnesota .

Sometimes the morning after a big awards ceremony, like lastnight's Minnesota PRSA Classics, people can wake-up with a headache. It may be due to the heavy drinking, but more than likely it is also related to the feelings of disappointment from not winning an award.

Earlier this week, fellow PR bloggers, The Same Rowdy Crowd talked about how PR agencies often debate who is the best PR shop in Minnesota. I think this debate is heightened after an awards show. Here is an excerpt from the article:

This strikes me as a totally meaningless debate. Any given client’s experience with an agency is based on their experience with individuals, not the institution. There are top-notch practitioners at institutions with lousy reputations, and wholly incompetent airheads at agencies with impeccable reputations. So, I submit the agency is largely a non-factor.

So, as you are sitting around the office today, whether you are feeling great about the awards you won or like a "wholly incompetent airhead" because you went home empty handed, remember there is always next year...ugh, I think I am going to be sick. I was robbed of my awards :-)

Also, why do we always debate who's the best agency? What about the corporations involved? Why don't we ever debate who is the best PR practitioner? Or who is the best client to work for?

Last night the Minnesota chapter, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), celebrated the best public relations campaigns of 2006 during the 29th annual Minnesota PRSA Classics Awards, held at Solera in downtown Minneapolis.

The awards banquet, emceed by Sven Sundgaard, celebrated a record turnout, attracting more than 280 communications professionals from area boutique and large-scale agencies, corporations and non-profit organizations. The awards honored public relations campaigns and tactics that, in the judgment of their peers, successfully addressed communications challenges with exemplary skill, creativity and resourcefulness.

“As a whole, the public relations industry in Minnesota is thriving, as evidenced by the high-quality, high-impact work showcased during this year's Classics Awards,” said Rose McKinney, APR, president of Minnesota PRSA. “Practitioners across the profession, from nonprofits to agencies and corporate teams, continue to demonstrate the importance and ever-growing value of strategic public relations to businesses and industries through their hard work, creativity and dedication to the profession.”

The Classics Awards are divided into two categories: elements and programs. Classics Element Awards honor the best program tactics, while Classics Program Awards honor the best overall public relations campaigns.

Winners in the Program Awards category were eligible for the top honor of the evening –Best of Show. The award for Best of Show was presented to Minneapolis-based Exponent Public Relations for its work on behalf of client Novartis Animal Health. The campaign, titled “The Power of Pet-ometers on the Path to Play More,” teamed the creation of a patented, first-of-its- kind pet pedometer with grassroots, media relations and education initiatives to promote playtime for all dogs, especially arthritic dogs that need to exercise to fight age-related health problems.

Savvy Students

Minnesota PRSA also bestowed its 5th Annual PRSA Student Classics awards for the best in student public relations among Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin undergraduate students. Awards were presented in five categories for projects completed for class work, Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter activities, internship projects and volunteer work.

Six recipients of this year’s Dr. Willard Thompson Scholarships also were recognized for their excellence in the study of public relations and communications. Meghan Stafford of the University of Minnesota was awarded Best of PRSSA and a $2,000 scholarship. Sarah Ryder (University of Minnesota – Twin Cities) won a $1,000 award, and Sarah Kathryn Rydland (University of Minnesota – Twin Cities), Maria Fedorova (St. Cloud State University), Jessica Mongeon (University of North Dakota) and William P. Brozak (Minnesota State University, Mankato) each won $500 awards.

A total of 47 Classics Awards were presented during the evening to public relations agencies, corporations, non-profit organizations and students from the metro and out-state areas. Attached is a list of all winners, which also can be found on the Minnesota PRSA Web site (www.mnprsa.com).

---

BEST OF SHOW

The Power of Pet-ometers on the Path to Play More
Novartis Animal Health with Exponent Public Relations

ELEMENTS

Brochures (up to two colors)
Graffiti Brochure
Communications Department, City of Minneapolis

Brochures (three or more colors)
Community United for the Better
Cub Foods with Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.

Special Purpose Publications
Follow Your Heart - Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation
Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation with Risdall McKinney Public
Relations

Video (Programs)
Forward: Living Life After Transplant
National Marrow Donor Program with Weber Shandwick

Video (Public Service Announcements - PSA)
There's No Place Like Home: Giving Hope to Homeowners
Homeownership Preservation Foundation with Exponent Public Relations

Audio (Public Service Announcements - PSA)
Raising the Foreclosure Flag for Homeowners
Homeownership Preservation Foundation with Exponent Public Relations

Annual Reports (Business/Industry)
2006 Annual Report
St. Jude Medical, Inc.

Annual Reports (Government/Nonprofit)
The Butterfly Effect: 2006 CCRF Annual Report
Children's Cancer Research Fund with Greer and Associates

Media Kits (Products)
Through the Power of Scratch
Minnesota State Lottery with Exponent Public Relations

Media Kits (Services)
Fast-Due: Sharing the Foreclosure Message with Media
Homeownership Preservation Foundation with Exponent Public Relations

Media Kits (Events)
Sunflower Market: Sowing the Seeds of Awareness. OLSON with Sunflower Market.

Media Kits (Other)
Museum Adventure Presented by Macy's
Macy's and MELSA with Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.

Newsletters (Three or more colors)
Opus Building Beyond Newsletter
The Opus Group with Weber Shandwick

Magazines (Internal)
Cooperative Profiles: Business Consulting at Your Doorstep
CHS-Land O Lakes with Exponent Public Relations

Magazines (External)
Latitude
BASF Professional Vegetation Management with Padilla Speer Beardsley,
Inc.

Media Relations (Business/Industry - Budget less than $25,000)
Museum Adventure Pass
Macy's and MELSA with Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.

Media Relations (Business/Industry - Budget greater than $25,000)
A Star is Born
Macy's with Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.

Media Relations (Government/Nonprofit)
Pour on the Olive Oil, and On and On and On
North American Olive Oil Association with Exponent Public Relations

Feature Writing
We All Scream for RFID on Ice Cream
Rockwell Automation with Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.

Technical Writing
ASV Makes Big Impact by Treading Lightly
ASV with Carmichael Lynch Spong

New Media/Technology (Websites - Internet or Intranet)
Chevy AVEO Livin Large Campus Challenge
Chevy AVEO with Weber Shandwick

New Media/Technology (Other)
My Face on MySpace
Aveda with Exponent Public Relations

Creative Tactics
Takin' Names and Raisin' Help
Gold'n Plump Poultry with Gabriel deGrood Bendt

Research
Research Gives Donaldsons the Air of Authority
Donaldson with Strother Communications Group

Evaluation
Adjusting the Mix
TOLD Development with Fast Horse, Inc.


PROGRAMS

Community Relations (Business/Industry)
Museum Adventure Pass Presented by Macy's
Macy's and MELSA with Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.

Institutional Programs (Business/Industry)
A Star is Born: America's First National Department Store
Macy's with Padilla Speer Beardsley

Special Events/Observances - Less than Seven Days (Business/Industry)
VALUT Motobowling: A Strike Against the Competition
The Coca-Cola Company with Fast Horse, Inc.

Special Events/Observances - Less than Seven Days
(Government/Nonprofit)
2006 Minneapolis MOSAIC: Many Worlds. One Weekend.
Minneapolis MOSAIC with Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.

Special Events/Observances - More than Seven Days (Business/Industry)
Nordic Ware's 60th Anniversary Campaign
Nordic Ware with Kohnstamm Communications

Special Events/Observances - More than Seven Days
(Government/Nonprofit)
K-12 Classrooms Go to the Dogs
Go North! with Strother Communications Group

Public Service (Government/Nonprofit)
Close the Gap Campaign
Itasca Project with Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.

Public Affairs (Government/Nonprofit)
Tides of Change: Rochester Coalition Influences Election Results in
Minnesota's First Congressional District
Rochester Coalition with Weber Shandwick

Marketing Services (Established) Budget greater than $25,000
Live the Moment
TOLD Development with Fast Horse, Inc.

Marketing Products (New) Budget less than $25,000
West Monitor Suite
Thomson West

Marketing Products (New) Budget greater than $25,000
A Strike Against the Competition
The Coca-Cola Company with Fast Horse, Inc.

Marketing Products (Established) Budget less than $25,000
Taking a Bite out of HoneyCrisp Season
Pepin Heights Orchard with Fast Horse, Inc.

Marketing Products (Established) Budget greater than $25,000
72,000 Reasons to Scratch Big
Minnesota State Lottery with Exponent Public Relations

Internal Communications
Movin' on Up - to Downtown
Colle + McVoy/Exponent Public Relations

Integrated Communications (Products)
The Power of Pet-ometers on the Path to Play More
Novartis Animal Health U.S. Inc. with Exponent Public Relations

Integrated Communications (Services)
Live the Moment
TOLD Development with Fast Horse, Inc.


5th ANNUAL MN PRSA STUDENT CLASSICS AWARDS

Special Purpose Publication
PRSSA Brochure
Sarah Ryder, University of Minnesota

News/Feature Writing
Moonlight Over Menomin
Sarah Ryder, University of Minnesota

Community Relations/Special Events
Sioux Empire Adopt
Kelly Nyberg, Augustana College

New Media/Technology
University of Minnesota School of Journalism Web site
Sarah McQuilkin, University of Minnesota

Public Relations Planning
Public Relations Campaign for Kuwait News Agency
Manaf Bashir, St. Cloud State University

Exponent won best in show tonight. Congrats!

I will be at the Classics Awards tonight. Hope to see you there!

Tune in here, for a complete list of winners.

Colle+McVoy won a whopping 30 awards, from the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) regional competitions, continuing to raise the bar and the number of awards this year.

“We are very proud of the work and campaigns for these clients,” said Christine Fruechte, Colle+McVoy’s president. “Our team of talented individuals continues to deliver creative campaigns that invigorate our client’s brands as represented in the agency’s award-winning work.”

“The regional NAMA awards competition is important for us on many fronts. First, it demonstrates our ongoing support for and commitment to the agri-business marketing community. Second, the agencies in the regional areas Colle+McVoy competes against represent some of the toughest in the country, and we are constantly challenged to deliver breakthrough work that delivers results for our clients and is recognized by our industry peers,” said Phil Johnson, Colle+McVoy’s chief operating officer. “We are looking forward to the national competition in April.”

All first place and merit winners advance to the national NAMA awards ceremony, to be held in Dallas on April 11–13, 2007.

The NAMA Awards are the agribusiness industry’s leading awards program, covering advertising and public relations. The National Agri-Marketing Association serves the food and fiber industry, focusing on members’ professional development by providing access to solutions and opportunities in agribusiness.

OLSON today announced that the agency has added Lumber Liquidators—the largest independent retailer of flooring in the country—to its client roster.

"This is a great win for our agency," said John Olson, CEO of OLSON. "This brand excels in helping people build and remodel their homes and we excel in building brands. We’re looking forward to building this brand so when people want to update their hardwood floors, Lumber Liquidators will be at the top of their list."

Lumber Liquidators is the largest independent retailer of flooring in the country, offering a wide selection of pre-finished and unfinished hardwood flooring brands, including Bellawood, at incredibly low prices. OLSON will be responsible for increasing awareness of Lumber Liquidators through traditional media relations and helping with integrated marketing of Lumber Liquidators’ involvement in HGTV's "Design Star."

"It's been great to work with Olson," said Tom Sullivan, founder and chairman of Lumber Liquidators. "Their ability to achieve success for their clients is a big reason we’re working with them and we look forward to achieving the same success that many of their clients have enjoyed."

Colle+McVoy, Inc. is pleased to announce three new hires, adding to the agency’s arsenal of interactive expertise and continuing to bring digital media to the forefront of strategic planning.

Alicia Patrick will assume the role of senior interactive strategist. Patrick has a wealth of strategic planning and interactive marketing experience, joining the agency from Target Corporation where she worked on interactive components for the 2006 holiday campaign. Patrick has also worked for Capsule, Hanley Wood, and Larsen Design + Interactive gaining brand experience with Medtronic, Ecolab, Minnesota Life, The Thymes Ltd., St. Jude Medical, NSP and Fox River Mills.

Brian Sandom also joins the agency as senior interactive strategist. Sandom brings a variety of experiences to the agency including developing strategic interactive media campaigns, and redesigning and launching various Target-owned microsites such as Archer Farms, Market Pantry, Sutton & Dodge and Wine Cube. Sandom previously worked at Medicus New York (Publicis), and at Prodigy Communications and ibooks.com, both in Austin , Texas . His brand experience includes developing and directing the marketing plan for P&G brands, Prilosec OTC and Rhinocort Aqua.

Amy Funk will be an interactive strategist at the agency. Funk has a wealth of interactive knowledge, most recently coming from MetLife, where she honed her expertise in search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, online advertising and content management. Prior to MetLife, Funk worked at both Bremer Financial and Thomson West, where she executed integrated campaigns and obtained experience in the financial, legal education and publishing industries.

"We are very excited to have a group of extremely talented interactive experts at the table when it comes to planning," said Patty Henderson, Colle+McVoy’s director of interactive. "We are not like other 'siloed' interactive groups that are brought in to execute after the project has already been defined."

"Colle+McVoy is and always has been an integrated agency," continues Henderson . "We foster an extremely integrated approach to planning and creative concepting and on any given day you'll find a cross-functional team brainstorming and collaborating on the best way to solve our client’s business challenges. It's fun, it brings out people’s best and it's how we come up with our breakthrough, buzz-worthy ideas."

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced that it has chosen Minneapolis agency Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie to handle marketing for its Member Health Support Initiatives, facilitating healthcare for members.

"Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield is working to shift American health care towards a member-managed, healthier workforce, communicating with employees to help them become active participants in their care strategy," says Andrew Mackenzie, CEO, Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie. "And Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie is proud to be working with them on such an important project. Our agency also handles communications efforts for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, so Wellmark is a perfect addition to our roster."

Tunheim Partners, a Minneapolis-based public relations and public affairs agency, is pleased to announce the following promotions:

• James Boyle to senior vice president, from vice president. Boyle brings expertise in marketing, branding and work in the non-profit sector. He also has experience working with several governmental organizations.
  
• Noelle Hawton to senior vice president, from vice president. Hawton specializes in retail, consumer products and entertainment. She also spearheads agency training and development.
  
• Tim Loesch to senior vice president, from vice president. Experience with retail, financial, crisis and corporate clients makes Loesch an expert in strategy, guidance and public relations execution.
  
• Stephanie Fox to vice president, from account supervisor. Fox specializes in planning and development of public relations campaigns for hospitality, education, non-profit and grassroots advocacy initiatives.
  
• Jon Stone to vice president, from account supervisor. A former news reporter and anchor, Stone’s extensive media experience contributes to his expertise in media relations. His areas of focus include consumer health and corporate social responsibility.
  
• Lindsay Schroeder Treichel to vice president, from account supervisor. Treichel’s experience spans a variety of public relations disciplines including public affairs and coalition building, media relations and publicity, and events and product launches.

These promotions help to position Tunheim Partners to better provide strategic counsel and exceptional service to its clients. The moves also will provide internal organizational support for continued growth and expansion.

CARIBOU COFFEE, VISI, WELSH COMPANIES AND FOGO DE CHAO
CHOOSE MACCABEE GROUP INC. FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

Caribou Coffee, Welsh Companies, VISI and Fogo de Chao have selected Minneapolis public relations agency Maccabee Group for media relations and communications services. Among Maccabee Group’s new clients:

• Caribou Coffee, the second largest, company-owned gourmet coffeehouse operator in the United States with 464 coffeehouse locations in 18 states and the District of Columbia, has selected Maccabee Group to handle publicity, event marketing and promotions in Minnesota and other key markets.
  
  
• , a Minneapolis-based full-service commercial real estate company offering expertise in property management, development, brokerage, construction and mortgage banking, has hired Maccabee Group for corporate communications and media relations projects.
  
  
• VISI, Minnesota’s largest locally-owned Internet Solutions Provider, chose Maccabee Group for media relations, marketing communications and event support.
  
  
• Fogo de Chao, an Addison, Texas-based chain of Brazilian churrasco-style steakhouses that serve roasted meats and celebrate traditional gaucho culture, hired Maccabee Group to coordinate publicity for their April 2007 Grand Opening in downtown Minneapolis

Hope you don't have any big media events planned today, because it is going to be hard to get coverage unless it is related to snow.

Well maybe if it has something to do with Anna Nicole Smith.

And the Snow piles on!