Nov04

November 2, 2004MeetingSponsored by

THE PRINTING TRADE COMPANY

2790 Simpson CircleDuluth/Norcross

770.441.0529

The Printing Trade

Company is one of the

area's oldest and most

respected printing

businesses. It is a family

owned company and is

famous for their personal

attention to all their

client's needs.

We look forward to seeing

you there on November 2!

Please note this meeting

location represents a

change from the original

meeting place which was

scheduled to be at Mario’s.

DMA GAB- RRRVolume 16 No. 11 DULUTH MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION november 2004

Hey folks…you know theholidays arenear…and it istime to openour hearts to the less needy! Thom Mash,Commander of American Legion Post 251, hasannounced that the Post 251 will be the central drop-off point in Duluth and will accept toys until December18th. Give them a call at 770-623-4504 to arrangefor your Toys for Tots Delivery….Ho, Ho, Ho!

About Toys for Tots:The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys forTots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys duringOctober, November, and December each year and dis-tribute those toys as Christmasgifts to needy children in thecommunity in which the cam-paign is conducted.

The primary goal of Toys forTots is to deliver, through ashiny new toy at Christmas, amessage of hope to needyyoungsters that will motivatethem to grow into responsible,productive, patriotic citizensand community leaders.

Dear DMA Members,

Thanks to Atlanta FlooringDesign Center for hostinganother wonderful meeting.Donny Phillips and his Staff did afine job for the DMA. Thanks toBrooks Coleman for speakingto us. If Brooks can't inspireyou, you are either an eternalpessimist or dead. Speaking ofinspiring, once again LoriO'Brien did just that with hersinging. Thanks to Lori andTonight's Entertainment.

Our next meeting will be atPrinting Trade Company, notat Mario's.

We have some board memberswhose appointments will be upat the end of the year. We willhold an election for nominees tofill these positions at theNovember meeting. You shouldtry to turn out and vote for theirreplacements.

Don't forget we have a big endof the year event on December7th at the Aurora Theater.We need restaurants andcaterers who are interested inhaving some food at this event –contact Allan Roth at770.497.8776. Tickets to thisevent will be $15. We also needdoor Prizes. Make sure youcome to this event; you areguaranteed to have a good time.

Thank You,

Dana White

OFFICERS

DANA WHITEPresident

DERECK WHITESMITHVice President

ALISA WILLIAMSSecretary

JOHN MONKTreasurer

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2004DULUTH MERCHANTS

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS& BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2

Pam Adams 770.564.0876Laura Heck 770.814.8984

Jennifer Ingalls 678.376.9700Marion Maloof 770.923.1111Albert Marquez 770.623.6069

John Martin 770.476.2775Thom Mash 770.689.2600John Monk 770.495.8900

Terrry Palmer 404.502.5531Sunny Ramsay 404.906.4677

Allan Roth 770.497.8776Dana White 770.476.1659

Dereck Whitesmith 678.957.8030Alisa Williams 770.476.3434Mark Williams 770.441.0945

Jim Wilson 770.813.8947

The Gab-RRR is a publication of theDuluth Merchants Association

www.duluthmerchants.com.

Printed and Distributed by Accent Mail Service

678.473.4643

Photography byLaura Heck, Heck Design Group

Phone/Fax [email protected]

Layout byTerry Palmer, QuickCREATIVE

[email protected]

Edited bySunny Ramsay, Dan Cook Assoc.

[email protected]

Database byJim Wilson, ASK Staffing, Inc.

770.813.8947

Does our website

have your latest

information?

Have you added a

description of your

business yet? Please

contact Pam Adams,

our webmaster to

update your online

directory listing by

email to

webmaster@

duluthmerchants.com.

DMA-Gab-RRR November 2004

from the desk of the

P R E S I D E N TThose who

dream by dayare cognizant of

many thingswhich escapethose whodream only by night.

Edgar Allan Poe,

AURORATHEATRE

SCHEDULE

Hometown Holidays Aurora’s Canteen 2004November 26 – December 19

In its 9th season, this review isfilled with nostalgia and theholiday spirit Aurora fans havecome to love.

Additional shows have beenadded Wednesday at 8:00pmand Saturday at 3:00pmto accommodate your busy holiday schedule.

Showtimes areThursday–Saturday at 8:00pm,and Sunday at 2:00pm unless

otherwise noted.

Prices for Thursday, Friday, Sunday:

$22 Adults$20 Seniors

$18 Students

and for Saturday:$25 Adults$23 Seniors

$21 Students

For reservations:www.auroratheatre.com

or 770.476.7926

3DMA-Gab-RRR November 2004

Duluth’sWINTER WONDERLANDIce Skating, Holiday Festival and 12 Days ofChristmas with Manuel Covington

Ice Skating RinkNovember 25 – January 2Mon-Thurs (School Days) 3:00pm-9:00pmFri (School Days) 3:00pm-11:00pmMon-Fri (School Holidays) 11:00am-11:00pmSaturdays 11:00am-11:00pmSundays Noon-6:00pmThanksgiving Day 11:00am-11:00pmChristmas Eve - Closing at 6:00pmChristmas Day - ClosedNew Year’s Eve - Closing at 9:00pmNew Year’s Day 11:00am-11:00pm

1st Annual Duluth Holiday FestivalDec. 4; 9:00am-6:00pmArts & Crafts Vendors, Food, Entertainment

Annual Tree LightingDec. 4; 6:30pm

12 Days of Christmas with Manuel CovingtonDec. 12-23Live musical entertainment from 6:00pm-8:00pm each evening


The Kiwanis Club ofDuluth held its annualPancake Breakfast tobenefit the Duluth C.O.P.S. pro-gram on October 9 at BuntenRoad Park. This year's proceedswere donated to the DuluthC.O.P.S. Mounted Patrol division.

In support of the event, Tango &Cash, as well as their partnersCpl. Jill Manders and Officer LisaMataban were on hand for theevent.

Several people enjoyed the pan-cakes and sausage cooked by theKiwanians and Duluth Police, andthen took advantage of the photoopportunity with Tango & Cash.

The Kiwanis Club ofDuluth raised well over$2,000, all of which willbe donated to theC.O.P.S. Mounted Patrolunit to helpdefer theannual costsof stabling andtransporting

Tango & Cash.

You can look for Tango& Cash on patrol atmost Downtown Duluthevents and often aroundRiver Green. Many hadthe opportunity to seethem prancing in theFall Festival parade afew weeks ago.

The Kiwanis Club ofDuluth meets everyWednesday at noon atKurt's in River Green.We invite you to be ourguest sometime and join

to help with programs to supportyouth in our community.

For more information, visitwww.duluthkiwanis.org.

PANCAKE BREAKFASTRAISES OVER$2000 FORC.O.P.S.

March of DimesFUNDRAISERLend your support bybuying coupon book.For the past 18 years, and whenI was a child collecting dimes, Ihave participated in manyfundraising eventsbenefiting theMarch of Dimes.

For those of you,who may not befamiliar with theMarch of Dimes organization,their focus is on babies: pre-venting birth defects, and all thatthat entails, as well as treatingand saving 'premies', and babiesborn with birth defects.

Their funding and research hasled to many life-saving innova-

tions, including the discovery ofsurfactant and surgery in utero,and as a result have saved thou-sands of lives. Unfortunately,too many babies are still beingborn with birth defects or cannotbe saved. Georgia has one ofthe highest infant mortality ratesin the country. For the 18th

straight year, I amselling theEntertainment2005 coupon bookfor $20.00, pro-ceeds of which willbenefit the March

of Dimes. The book is 1 ½inches thick, and full of couponsfor dining, live theater, sportingevents, golf, concerts, movietheatres, half priced hotels,amusement parks, airlines, cruis-es, local shopping and more. Ibelieve you get the picture. The

book is valid now and expires onNovember 2005. They makegreat holiday gifts for friends andrelatives, as well.

To find out more or to order abook(s), I can be reached atDuluth Chiropractic, 770-623-9291, or on my cell phone at770-490-8763.

Sincerely, Alan Wolkow

PS: Set aside April 30th, 2005for you and your family andbusiness associates to participatein the annual March of DimesWalk America Walkathon. Iguarantee you will have a won-derful time, and more important-ly prevent the anguish andheartache of some future parentswho might have lost their baby.

Maggie and Cash

DMA is delighted to welcome andspotlight one of our newestmembers… Miss Cindy, CynthiaJean Brown-Bell. Cindy is theFounder and Director of MissCindy's Dance Studio locatedat 3300 Peachtree IndustrialBoulevard Suite C in Duluth.

Cindy is a Duluth native and ismarried to Mike Bell (also fromDuluth), owner of T & MBuilders. They attend DuluthFirst Baptist Church and enjoysinging in the Adult Choir. MissCindy designed the CreativeMovement Program for DuluthFirst United Methodist Church'sMother's Morning Out Pre-SchoolProgram, where she is beginningher tenth year as the creativemovement teacher.

Cindy, has a very positive andeducational dance background.She is dedicated to teaching andtakes the study of dance serious-ly. Cindy continuously upgradesher dance ability and expandsher dance knowledge by attend-ing at least four dance seminarsand conventions each year,studying with some of the mosttalented dancers, teachers, andchoreographers in the perform-ing arts today.

Community service is veryimportant to Cindy. Beginningfour years ago, she became thechoreographer for the MissNorcross High School Pageant,

and the choreographer for theGwinnett Board of Realtors'Gwinnett Players (who callher studio their home basefor rehearsals) and whichdoes a full length musical atthe Gwinnett Civic Center tobenefit charities. Cindy hasco-chaired the Duluth FallFestival Parade & BeautyPageant.

Cindy also judges beauty pageants and dance auditionsfor other dance competitionteams in Georgia.www.cindysdancestudio.com

You may have noticed in theGwinnett Post and the AJCthat the Aurora is beingcourted by neighboring citiesto move. Such a move wouldimpact the economy of our cityas well as the quality of life ofour community. Duluth can lookon the Aurora and its growth asa resource to bring additionalvitality to the Village Green proj-ect. Located as it is in the cityof Duluth, it does draw visitorsfrom Norcross, Alpharetta,Snellville, Lilburn, Lawrenceville,Suwanee and Cumming. Anexpanded facility would allow foradditional draw and expansion ofthe Cabaret Series and furthercollaboration with the Duluth CitySchools in their arts programs.

The city has purchased theCalvary Fellowship Church. That facility would serve verywell for the needed expansion of the Aurora facilities as well

as provide a magnet to attractevening visitors to our VillageGreen area.

What can be done: the City ofDuluth and the Aurora are currently in negotiation regardingthe future of the Aurora. Pleaseencourage the City Council andCity Management to expeditethis negotiation.

You can contact the City Counciland the City Management at the following email locations:

Mayor Shirley [email protected]

Councilman Jim Duganjdugan@duluth-ga

Councilwoman Maxine [email protected]

Councilman Jim [email protected]

Councilwoman Doris [email protected]

Councilman Doug [email protected]

City Manager Phil [email protected]

City Clerk Teresa [email protected]


NEW MEMBERSpotlight…. the Nov. 2 meeting

is at THE PRINTING

TRADE COMPANY – not Mario’s.

REMINDER

K e e p i n g i t i n D u l u t hThe Aurora

Below are a fewanswers to asome frequentlyasked questionsabout searchengine optimiza-tion. Rememberthis is just the

tip of the iceberg as search engineoptimization is an ever changingindustry and there are several facetsto consider for obtaining and main-taining a top ranking.

Q: Does the way I design my siteimpact my search engine suc-cess? A: Yes. Avoid using frames, be sureto use meta tags, and take into consideration the location of the topkeywords in your Web page. Also,try to use text links instead ofimages as much as possible. Somesearch engines often have troublewith Web pages that are generatedusing any scripting language such asASP. Try to use standard .html or.htm Web pages on your main page.What or how you control the pagesbeyond your home page doesn'tmatter as much.

Page layout can also have a verystrong influence on search enginepositioning. Make sure your key-words are mentioned in your bodycontent. And be sure that they arecloser to the top of the page thanthe bottom. Your most importantkeywords should be paragraph headings in larger text than thebody copy.

Remember, search engines read apage from top to bottom, whenusing tables, follow the table design.Therefore, make sure that you haveyour important text placed beforeany address or links in your page.Some search engines ignore metatags and gain their informationdirectly from your Web pages, andthey will use the 1st 120-200 characters of text as the description

displayed in search results. Don'twaste that area on your streetaddress, phone number or pagelinks.

Q: Do you suggest using invisibleor hidden text?A: Invisible or Hidden text that hasbeen placed in your Web site and isthe same color as the backgroundcolor hides the text from yourhuman viewers but keeps it there forthe search engines to see. Exercisecaution here because some searchengines actually penalize you forusing this technique. It's best toproperly program your Web pagefrom the start and you won't take achance that your site will be deniedby search engines.

Q: Why should I bother withMeta Tags?A: Effective Meta Tags will help youget the most out of your search-engine registrations. Meta tags provide search engines with informa-tion about the content and purposeof a Web site, as well as the sum-maries Web visitors see when theyuse a search engine. You can expectan increase in site and traffic levelsafter you update or create your MetaTags.

Q: How do I make Meta Tags?A: There are three components formeta tags. To get the best results,read the following key points care-fully before you complete the form.(Take a look at a few search enginesto get a sense of how meta tagswork before you submit yours!)

Title: This is your first chance to sellyour Web site when it appears insearch results. It is a short summarythat will appear under your link andshould describe your business inseven words or less.

Description: The description willappear after the title and providesadditional information about your

Web site. It should be a brief description about your business andyour products and services. Make ita concise, engaging summary thatwill entice the reader to visit your site.

Keywords: This is the list of wordsthat search engines will try to matchwhen they are responding to asearch request. Make sure you useas many words that describe yourbusiness as possible, and put themost important keywords and phrases first. Remember that youonly have 250 characters.

Source: Hypermart Knowledgebase.

Bits & Bytes is brought to you by ourwebmaster and Digital Diva, PamelaAdams, www.BizLynks.com, 770-564-0876.

2004-2005 Calendar of Events

The Printing TradeCompany

Aurora Theatre

Gwinnett Chamberof Commerce

The SharingCenter for Women

GwinnettCommunity Bank

Foster Children’sFoundation

Tavern on theBridge

Accent Mail

The Printing TradeCompany

Duluth Fall Festival

Century 21 FindleyReal Estate

Atlanta FlooringDesign Centers

Anyone interested in hosting a DMAmeeting or providing refreshments,please contact Albert Marquez at

770.623.6069.

All Meetings begin at 6:00pm on thefirst Tuesday of each month, exceptwhere otherwise indicated with a *.

Locations will vary. ** Dates are subject to change.

November 2

December 7

January 4

February 1

March 1

April 5

May 3

June 7

July 5

August 2

September 6

October 4

Search Engine Optimization: Part 2


IS YOUR COMPANY MAKINGNEWS?If it is, we want to spotlight you in

the DMA Gab-RRR. If youhave any significantnews about your busi-ness: awards, big wins,

new expansions, relocating, please e-mail

them to Sunny Ramsay at [email protected] fax it to 770-813-9923. It is yournewsletter and we rely upon you.

ARE YOU NEXT?We want to showcase our DMAmembers in our meetings. If youwould like to host a meeting or ifyou have an educational 30 minute

presentation that you believe wouldbe of benefit to our members, pleasecall Albert Marquez at 770.623.6069 with your ideas.

ARE YOU USING YOUR ASSO-CIATION’S WEBSITE TO THEFULLEST?Add your web address and a business description to your entry in the online membership directory.Send an e-mail to [email protected] with your updates

CHANGE OFADDRESS Please e-mail

address changes to Jim

Wilson at jwilson@askstaffingcomor call him at 770-813-8947.

ALL NEWSLETTER ENTRIESmust be submitted by the 12th ofeach month for the next issue.

THE NETWORK TABLE ISAVAILABLE!Yes, we want to invite all of you tobring your literature (in small quan-tities) about your products and serv-ices to our DMA meetings so fellowmembers can learn more about you.BUT, FAIR WARNING: at the end ofthe evening, you must take your literature with you, or it will bethrown away.

Duluth Merchants Association

Documents

Nov04