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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, December 7, 2011 Page 5 Business Notes Waste Management named one of top military friendly employers G.I. Jobs has named Waste Management a 2012 Top 100 Military Friendly Employer. This is the third year in a row that Waste Management has been honored with the designation. G.I. Jobs is a publication dedicated to providing re- sources for veterans, who are transitioning from the military to civilian life, in mapping out a career path. The 100 listed em- ployers are selected from a pool of approximately 5,000 companies with minimum an- nual revenues of $500 million. Companies are judged on the results of a survey that as- sesses a company’s long-term commitment to hiring former military, recruiting and hiring ef- forts and results, policies for Reserve/Guard members called to active duty, and the presence of special recruitment military programs, veteran community involvement and outreach. Only about two per- cent of the companies consid- ered make the list. “Waste Management is priv- ileged to employ more than 3,600 men and women who are either veterans or still actively serving in the military,” said CEO and President David Steiner. “That’s about one in every 12 of our employees. We appreciate all veterans’ contri- butions to their country, and we believe that our military and veteran recruiting activities are an important part of showing our gratitude to all those who contribute to our country’s se- curity. It’s a great honor to be named a top military-friendly employer for the third year in a row.” To see the full G.I. Jobs list of employers who support mili- tary hiring, and for more infor- mation on resources available to veterans, go to http://www. gijobs.com/ . Kimberly Ragsdale has joined the staff at the Vernonia Veterinary Clinic, having start- ed work in mid-September. She has had pets all her life and was working at Creatures Pet Shop when she was encour- aged to apply at Vernonia Vet- erinary Clinic. Ragsdale enjoys the interac- tion with the people who bring their pets in for care, and likes being involved and staying busy. She admits to initially be- ing out of her comfort zone in handling unknown animals in a veterinary setting, but that was Columbia County’s season- ally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.9 percent in Octo- ber essentially unchanged from the previous month (10.7%) but lower than the year before (12.1%). The rate was above the statewide rate (9.5%) and the national rate (9.0%). Total employment climbed by 53 to 22,348 and the number of un- employed people rose by 114 to 2,516. Total employment this October was 573 more than one year before and there were 188 fewer people unemployed this year. Knowlton is the new 911 admin. From page 1 dards and Training (DPSST), and is a graduate of the Ore- gon Executive Development In- stitute. Knowlton also served the community of Vernonia for 14 years as a member of the Ver- nonia Volunteer Ambulance As- sociation as an EMT. Knowlton lives in Vernonia with his wife Susan and has four grown chil- dren. outweighed by her enjoyment at learning new things. Like her mother and her grandmother, Ragsdale gradu- ated from Vernonia High School, having moved here 22 years ago. She lives in Vernon- ia with her husband and two teenage sons. Watch for her big smile the next time you stop in to Ver- nonia Veterinary Clinic at 700 Weed Avenue. The clinic is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Call 503-429-1612 for appointments. Kimberly Ragsdale Google thinks newspapers offer value Editor’s Note: Lorne Ray’s by- line was inadvertently omitted when this article was published November 16. The Indepen- dent has chosen to republish the article with credit properly attributed. by Lorne Ray October jobless ODFW art stamp rate up a bit contest announced The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has announced an art contest to benefit its new Habitat Conser- vation Stamp. The winning artist will receive $3000 and his or her artwork will be used to produce a stamp and other pro- motional items. Deadline for entries is 5:00 p.m. on Febru- ary 29. Artwork must feature one of the fish or wildlife species iden- tified in the Oregon Conserva- tion Strategy, in its respective Strategy habitat. There are 256 native species and 11 habitats called out in the Strategy, which is available on ODFW’s website. See the ODFW website for a copy of the announcement, rules and entry form, http://www.dfw.state.or.us/con servationstrategy/habitat_con servation_stamp.asp The contest winner will be chosen by a panel comprised of a Fish and Wildlife Commis- sioner and four citizens to be selected by Roy Elicker, ODFW Director. Artwork will be avail- able for public viewing. Ragsdale joins Vernonia Veterinary staff It appears that advertising has gone full circle finally. The Internet connected us with the world but disconnected us from our target audience in local markets. Even Google agrees! If you are not taking advantage of local print advertising for your business you are missing huge opportunities, right now. Business owners focused on translating an advertising campaign into greater profit need to ask themselves: “Where are my target buyers? What is the best medium to reach them? And can I afford to launch an effective campaign using this medium?” During a panel discussion recently at the Newspaper As- sociation of America’s annual convention in New York, Goo- gle Print Ads Director Tom Phillips commented “We think there’s all kinds of value there that’s really untapped,’’ Phillips said of the print editions of newspapers. “We actually think it’s an underappreciated medi- um.” Phillips argued that it’s mis- leading to compare the number of readers of a print paper to the number of unique visitors at a paper’s Web site. “Readers of the [print edition] are reading that newspaper 20 minutes every day,” he said. “Not cover to cover, but they’re reading a lot of pages. [That represents] a lot of impressions, a lot of news, a lot of information flows, a lot of marketer exposures.” If you are a business think- ing of advertising in The Inde- pendent do a little market re- search for yourself. There are three easy research tech- niques: First, ask people that you know in town if they read The Independent and whether they read the entire paper. Sec- ond, call some of the advertis- ers you see in The Indepen- dent and ask them how it’s go- ing for them. Third, go to any of the coffee shops or restaurants in town where The Indepen- dent is distributed and watch people read the paper. This is not rocket science, it is just good common sense. If you want to target the audience for your business, the local pa- per is a perfect medium. Be pa- tient and make sure your ad copy focuses on benefits and features. Last and most impor- tant, have a consistent pres- ence where people see your brand on a regular basis and build local brand equity. More in the next issue on “brand eq- uity”.
