When the new school year starts this Fall, Michigan schools will have a new way to challenge students to stay bully free.
The “Super U! Challenge” is an interactive game show style program that reinforces messages about friendship, bullying, and making positive character choices through exciting interactive challenges. The 45 minute performance can be presented as a student assembly program during the school day, or as a family night activity after school.
Taking a cue from popular kids TV game shows on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, the “Super U! Challenge” does not “quiz” students, but rather invites them to participate in wacky, fun, and funny physical challenges and hands on games. There are colorful costumes, huge props and even the kids game show staple – “SLIME”! Each fun challenge is designed to illustrate an important key character message.
Bullying has become a hot topic among schools across the country. To help combat this growing problem, many school districts now require schools include bully prevention and character building programs in their curriculum. The “Super U! Challenge” helps schools meet these goals without students feeling as though they are being constantly lectured.
Cyberbullying, which is bullying that takes place over the internet through email communication or other online interaction, is a major concern among parents and school officials. Recent tragic headlines about cyberbullying have underscored the importance of educating children about why cyberbullying is wrong. The “Super U! Challenge” addresses cyberbullying with a segment that helps students identify cyberbullying behavior and learn what they can do if they are being bullied online.
The “Super U! Challenge” is one of four school assemblies about bullying that are available through Midwest School Shows of Sterling Heights, Michigan. Their other programs, such as “The Respect Show” and the “Six Pillars of Character” are more traditional school assemblies that use entertainment such as magic tricks or theatrical skits to present their messages.
Schools can qualify for discounted performance fees by teaming up with other schools in their district to block book the “Super U! Challenge” in multiple buildings. In many cases, schools can fund this program using grants or Title 1 funding set aside for character building and anti-bullying programs.
Michigan schools can schedule a performance of the “Super U! Challenge” through Midwest School Shows by calling (586)913-3036 or visiting their website (http://www.michiganschoolshows.com).
FREE VOIP Comparison guide for Small to mid-size businesses. Compare VoIP companies like AT&T, Aptela, Vocalocity, Packet8 and more.
VOIP was in use by businesses long before it reached the consumer market. But in an age when a typical teenager is now using Skype routinely, some businesses still haven’t woken up to the benefits that VOIP can bring.
VoIP is a technology that converts voice into digital data, sends it over the Internet, and then converts it back to voice. Today, VoIP services that integrate with the Public Switched Telephone Network allow users to make and receive calls as they would over a traditional phone system. These VoIP services can be optimal for small businesses.
FREE VOIP Comparison guide for Small to mid-size businesses.
Advantages for your small business to consider VOIP:
- If you have a web page, you could embed a link to it that visitors could click on to speak to one of your customer service operators directly from their PC.
- You can also do faxing over VOIP through software alone, bypassing the need to have a fax machine altogether.
- VOIP brings the same benefits it does to non-business customers : savings on the cost of calls.
- With VOIP, voicemail can often be saved in a portable format such as mp3 and sent via email to the appropriate user.
We think that small businesses should use hosted VoIP’s to save money. Get this FREE VOIP guide to find out more and compare which VOIP provider and package is BEST for your business.
FREE VOIP Comparison guide for Small to mid-size businesses.
It’s been a long time since I can remember the weather being so beautiful in Michigan for such an extended period of time. Southeast Michigan was picture perfect today and according to all accounts – our beautiful weather is likely to continue.
We have collected a ton of July 4th coupons and deals that you can use now and into the weekend from popular merchants like Macy’s and Sears.
There are so many things to do this weekend in Michigan – it’s hard to pick a favorite. Each year I try to run the Volkslaufe – which is a fantastic run through Heritage Park in Frankenmuth. Can’t beat it for friendly people and a great atmosphere.
Here are a few other places and festivals to checkout in the near future:
July 1 – 5
Comerica Cityfest Detroit
July 3 – 10
National Cherry Festival Traverse City
The National Cherry Festival is a festival in Traverse City, Michigan in Northern Michigan. Founded in 1926, the mission of the National Cherry Festival is to celebrate & promote cherries. It also serves to promote tourism and community involvement, and to enhance the economic, entertainment, and cultural interests of the Grand Traverse region.
July 9 – 10
Michigan Elvisfest Ypsilanti
July 9 – 11
Blissfest Cross Village
July 10 – Aug 8
Silver Leaf Renaissance Faire Battle Creek
 Petazon’s Pet Product Price Comparison engine was developed by Michigan software engineers and has become the Internet’s largest and most popular price comparison website for pet products.
Featuring close to a million different products from National pet retailers like Petco and Petsmart, as well as niche retailers like RachelsRobin Wild Bird Supplies and Equestrian Collections, Petazon has become the site you visit BEFORE you purchase.
Petazon is different than other price comparison engines, because it concentrates on a single vertical – the pet and animal vertical and has developed expertise in accumulating coupons, ensuring accurate pricing and understanding market trends in this particula vertical. This ensures that the pet product shopper, dog owner or horse owner finds the best deals on the best products.
We invite you to visit Petazon. If you own a pet store or other company in the pet and animal vertical, listings are free for your company. Click here to claim your free listing on Petazon.
If you are a consumer or pet owner, wild bird watcher or show-horse owner, you will find the best prices on products, plus a SLEW of information on local companies that offer great services for your pet or hobby.
Everyone is talking about online meeting options. There is a new kid on the block called Fuze Meeting and from now until April 24th, 2010 – you can get a free $25 Itunes card in addition to the normal 30 day free trial. Click here to activate the Itunes deal.
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Fuze Meeting lets you:
HD content
Upload videos, imagery and documents in high-definition. Zoom in on details without losing resolution.
Desktop sharing
Keep everyone on the same page – share your screen with the whole group in real-time synchronization.
Intuitive interface
Control your meeting from an easy-to-use dashboard. Chat, send email invites, fetch attendees and more with enterprise-level security.
Annotation and Whiteboarding
Record the session, make comments and edits as you go, then send a visual slidedeck to participants with all the mark-ups.
Mobile meetings
Host or attend a meeting from your iPhone, BlackBerry or any Wi-Fi enabled device.
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Download Fuze Meeting for your Blackberry
If you have a Blackberry Bold, Storm or new Curve, click the link above to download the latest version.
From the makers of Web Messenger comes Fuze Meeting for BlackBerry – a beautifully simple and secure way to host and attend web meetings from your BlackBerry Bold, Storm or new Curve. Invite and “fetch” attendees for audio conference, IM with co-workers and more, all from a single, intuitive interface. Fuze Meeting for BlackBerry is available free and offers a range of features, including:
- Mobile web conferences – host audio conferences with full dashboard controls, and attend video conferences – all from a single, intuitive interface
- Live desktop sharing – view files and presentations in perfect sync with the web conference presenter
- Participant “fetch” – dial in missing audio conference attendees in a single click to keep meetings on schedule
HD-quality content – unlike other web conferencing solutions, FuzeMeeting lets you view video, imagery and documents in crisp high definition
- Universal Contacts – Start meetings immediately with access to your address and personal IM contacts from multiple networks like Microsoft OCS [beta], Gmail, LinkedIn. Yahoo!®, AIM®, MSN®, and more
Get Three for Free
Download Fuze Meeting for BlackBerry and you’ll automatically be registered for free access to online meetings for up to three participants. You can access your Fuze Meeting account from your office PC, your home or your smartphone with a single login.
April 15, 2010 – 12:01 pm
National Headliner Comedian Joan Fagan to Entertain at a Local Benefit Dinner.
WARREN, MI – Local addictions treatment center hosts dinner comedy show to benefit women and women with children treatment scholarship fund.
“I am pleased to announce an exciting recovery event …the 6th annual Spirit of  Compassion Dinner. The event is a celebration of women in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. This year Sacred Heart is proud to present Recovery Comedian Joan Fagan to entertain the attending community.” says Grady L. Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer of Sacred Heart.
Joan performs regularly at The Improvisation at Harrah’s in Las Vegas, The Reno Improvisation, The Comedy Stop at The Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City and appeared as a regular character on The Drew Carey Show.
This year’s event will be held on Friday, April 30th, at 6:30 p.m., at Renaissance Unity Church, 11200 East Eleven Mile Road, in Warren. Proceeds from the event are used in support of our specialized services for women, including our FOSH Treatment Scholarships.
Tickets are available for $50 each and include dinner and a comedy show. Tickets can be ordered by contacting Tammy Murray (810.392.2167, extension 1319) or tickets can be purchased at the Renaissance Unity Events Counter. If you are unable to attend but would like to purchase a ticket to donate to a woman in treatment or in a domestic violence/homeless shelter, Sacred Heart will be happy to do so. For more information, visit the Friends of Sacred Heart Facebook event page or www.iamafosh.org.
Sacred Heart is a non-denominational, non-profit charitable service corporation. In addition to the specialized residential services for women and women with children and pregnant women, Sacred Heart offers adult detoxification and co-ed residential treatment for addictive disorders at its main campus in Memphis, outpatient care in 8 locations, supportive independent living, prevention services and HIV/AIDS Care.
I don’t think there is any industry (online or offline) that resembles the wild west more than SEO and related online marketing fields. Even Social Marketing results in comparatively short term results when compared to traditional SEO. 
Have you ever looked for a quote to obtain organic listings for your website? We have. We’ve asked for quotes for small business websites, ecommerce sites and mid-size business websites and have gotten alarmingly different quotes for the same requirements. Send a RFP out to 10 random online marketing firms for the same website and you will get quotes from $500 flat rate to $10,000 per month. No joke.
DIY Search engine optimization and organic search engine placement is a necessary evil for many small businesses in Michigan’s economy.
Raven’s DIY internet marketing suite includes the following (click on a title to learn more):
There are a number of SEO management tools on the market, but only Raven has created the perfect mixture of ease-of-use and functionality that we have found. As low as $19 per month with a 30 day free trial – this DIY suite may be able to do wonders for your website rankings.
Our newest member – Causeway Bay Hotel in Lansing is boasting great ameneties for your next function:
The Causeway Bay South/Convention Center is a 300 room, full-service convention facility with 26,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. Located off I-96 at exit 104, the property is an ideal meeting site in the center of the state and minutes from Michigan State University, the State Capitol Building and other area attractions.
- Largest Hotel and Convention Center in Lansing
- 30,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space
- 300 spacious guest rooms with refrigerators
- 32″ flat screen plasma televisions, microwaves and coffee makers
- Full service restaurant catered by our executive chef
- Exercise room, whirlpool, sauna, indoor pool with sundeck
- Free parking
- Free wireless internet
- Executive lounge (newly remodeled Valencia Club)
- Executive 5th floor with all upgraded ameneties
Click here for Map and Directions
March 18, 2010 – 10:52 pm
Now that the winter weather is gone (at least it seems that way this week in Michigan) and the colorful blooms are just a few weeks away, it’s time to think  about spring cleaning.
While you are washing windows, scrubbing walls and dusting corners inside the house, don’t forget about giving the outside some tender loving care, too.
Here are a couple of tips to start getting your backyard ready for the spring and summer:
- Aerate. Heavy use throughout the year can cause soil to become compacted. Removing plugs of sod in the spring — aerating — loosens the soil and lets water, air and fertilizer get down to the grass plant’s root structure. For smaller yards, or for concentrated trouble spots in any size yard, consider using a manual aerating tool that removes plugs from the turf or get your exercise by walking around in aerating shoes or sandals. If you have a large yard, consider renting a power aerator.
- Weed. Go after weeds early in the season before they have a chance to go to seed. Cultivating a healthy lawn is one of the simplest ways to crowd out weeds. Or, remove dandelions and other broadleaf weeds with an easy-to-use weeder. Ergonomic tools like the Weed Hound have helped make long afternoons spent weeding nothing more than a backbreaking memory. All you do is place the tool over the weed, step lightly on the footrest, and pull the weed up, root and all.
- Give your tools a spring tune-up. Spend a few minutes in the garage or storage shed making sure your tools are in good working condition — before you need to use them for the first time. Consider taking your lawn mower in for an annual tune-up. The dealer can replace the oil and spark plugs, sharpen the blade, and get it ready for the season.
Recently we talked about a new Pet Product Comparison Engine that was successfully launched. We were surprised at how many people contacted us to extend accolades and tell us about other comparison shopping sites that they like. We are compiling a list of sites after we review each website –  to share with all of our visitors.
The first site that our editors reviewed and that they really liked was a Tool Price Comparison website called “Price That Tool.com”. With an impressive array of participating online retailers like Sears, Farm General Store, Tool Barn and Tool King – our initial impression was extremely positive.
The website is clean and crisp, with an easy to use interface. Minimal advertisers was a plus (we hate websites that are too cluttered).  The actual comparison used a combination of manufacturer id’s, UPCs and artificial intelligence to match up like products and the site always accurately depicted the lowest price available.
The downside was that not all products had matches. It would seem that this vertical would be indicative of that problem due to the vast amount of products available and how scattered manufacturers of tools, hardware and parts are in relation to retailer’s territories.Â
In addition, we were excited about the price comparison between new tools and reconditioned tools. Case in point, the Dewalt Rotary Hammer – D25600KR shows reconditioned options as well as new options.
All in All – the website was a thumbs up and certainly a first-stop shop for all you do-it-your-selfers and handymans (or handywomens) out there.
Find the lowest price on the following:
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