Biggest Little Bulb Project Update

We did it! We met our goal and collected donations for 15,000 bulbs!

Special thanks to generous Rotarians, Sierra Field Services, Inc., NV Energy, Heart Stopper Harvey Fennell, One Nevada Credit Union, Eldorado Casino Resort, Silver Legacy, and Circus Circus for supporting this project. We can now say that this project was 100% funded by Rotary Club of Reno members and their businesses. It is a gift that will keep blooming year-after-year.

Even though the donations were collected and we met our goal, the project wasn’t done yet.

On Saturday, September 30th we had 80 volunteers meet at the Sculpture Garden in Bicentennial Park in downtown Reno. There we met up with Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful volunteers to plant as many bulbs as possible. We worked from 8:00 a.m. to noon and we planted 10,000 bulbs. But we weren’t done yet. We needed to get to 15,000.

Then on Saturday, October 28th we met again and this time we had 90 volunteers show up. We planted the last bulbs and raked up thousands of fall leaves.

Within 6 weeks this community project was created and executed. I am thankful for the Rotarians and businesses that donated to buy the bulbs and especially thankful for all the Rotary and Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful volunteers that came out and helped us with the park cleanup and planting days. Additional thanks go to ColorBlends for helping us with our extremely large bulb order. Can’t wait to see 15,000 flowers in downtown Reno next spring!

Proud to be a Rotarian!

Rotary Club of Reno Launches Biggest Little Bulb Project

Wish List: White Hot Tulips

I am a proud member of the Rotary Club of Reno. Over the last year our club has partnered with a few organizations to taken on the Sculpture Garden in Bicentennial Park as a fellowship project. We have helped with the Sculpture Garden and with nurturing the gardens around the sculptures.

Now that fall is on the horizon we have one thing on our mind flower bulbs for the garden. Below is the press release I wrote for the project. Unfortunately, we didn’t get much response from our press release because of hurricanes, wild fires, and Burning Man. We will probably send another press release when the news cycle slows down.

Wish List: Baby Boomer Daffodils

Rotary Club of Reno Launches Biggest Little Bulb Project

The Rotary Club of Reno launched the Biggest Little Bulb Project this week to gather donations for 15,000 spring bulb flowers that will be planted this fall in the Sculpture Garden in Bicentennial Park and along Riverside Drive in downtown Reno.

Wish List: Merry Go Round Bulbs

The Sculpture Garden in Bicentennial Park has become a favorite destination for locals and tourists. The Reno Arts and Culture Commission partnered with Rotary Club of Reno to establish the sculpture garden, which features a rotating outdoor exhibition that is a part of Reno’s growing art scene. The park also features beautiful gardens, maintained by Rotarian volunteers, the city and KTMB. Rotarians have been working hard to nurture the garden and are now working on fall planting.

Fall is the best time to plant bulbs in the Reno-Sparks area and the Rotary Club is getting a jump start on donations for the Biggest Little Bulb Project. The bulbs chosen for the garden will bloom in several stages to encourage people to frequently visit the garden. There will be an early bloom, mid-spring bloom, and late spring bloom at the Sculpture Garden.

Wish List: Glow Motion Tulips

This project is possible thanks to generous Rotarians, local businesses, and community leaders. The goal is to plant 15,000 bulbs this fall, and donations have already been collected for 8,700 bulbs, but more donations are needed. If you or your business would like to contribute to the Biggest Little Bulb Project please contact Lisa Jansen at LisaJ@OneNevada.org.

Wish List: Big Ups Tulips

Best of Northern Nevada 2015 Awards Party

Reno News & Review Best of Northern Nevada

Every year the Reno News & Review does a poll to find out who is the best of Northern Nevada. Then they plan a big party to celebrate the great things about our community and especially focus on the people, the businesses and the culture that makes Reno and Northern Nevada a great place to live. According to the Reno News & Review website, this year was the biggest reader’s poll yet! They had 88,484 votes in 345 categories. My company was the lucky winner of two awards. We took home Best 4th of July fireworks for Star Spangled Sparks event on the 4th of July, and Best special event in downtown Sparks for the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off.

The awards party was Friday night at Peppermill Resort Hotel at Edge nightclub. We had a great time at the party. We ran into friends in line to get in and we were able to meet some local business owners. We were excited to meet the owners of Sup Restaurant, one of our favorite places to eat!

RN&R Best of Northern Nevada Party, Photo Courtesy of @TahoeBeer Instagram

The party was a blast. First you check in at the entrance, pick up the awards, take winner pictures and then you are free to get a drink at the bar and celebrate with other winners. The Peppermill served delicious appetizers and the desserts were amazing! Good thing diets always start on Monday…at least that is what I’ve been told.

Special thanks to Reno News & Review and their staff for recognizing all of us for our hard work and contributions. It inspires me to keep moving and doing the best I can because I know the events I help produce make a difference in our community. Reno News & Review you also make a difference and we appreciate you! Thank you for planning this fabulous awards party and for allowing the readers to vote on the Best of Northern Nevada.

Want more information on the Best of Northern Nevada award winners? See all winners listed here.

Rib Cook-Off 2015 Entertainment Lineup Announced

The Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off is September 2 – September 7, 2015. The six day BBQ festival offers a wide variety of FREE live entertainment. The West End stage has about 40 bands playing throughout the event, there is a DJ in the plaza, and the Main Stage is where all the big nightly shows take place. Last week we were lucky enough to visit with our radio sponsors and announce the lineup. One of the perks of being a radio sponsor is you know who the bands are before everyone else. We announce the bands on the sponsor radio stations so they can help break the exciting news to our community.

We always have a lot of fun announcing the entertainment. Here is our radio interview with Max Volume added to a nice picture montage. We made the announcement on 5 stations, but this was the only interview we have saved in an audio file.

Want more information about the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off? Check out the website at www.nuggetribcookoff.com.

Don’t Underestimate the Value of Local Media

Today we had a funny discussion about marketing in my office. Our Millennial Financial Analyst was asking why we buy so many 5 second ID spots on our local TV news programing. I said “Duh, that is where our clients are!” He looked at me like I was crazy. So my coworker and I told him why we are big fans of local media.

First of all, you have to ask who the customers are. I work in Gaming, my customers are usually 45+ and they tend to watch the local morning and evening news. Of course the Millennial didn’t get it, he was born into a different generation of technology than our average customer. He probably doesn’t know when the news is on even if he wants to watch it. The Millennial doesn’t listen to local radio or watch local TV, but you know what else, he doesn’t gamble! Most in the Millennial generation don’t gamble, at least not yet. So he isn’t our target market.

We buy advertising with local media as much as our budget allows. We have been very successful in marketing our entertainment and special events with traditional media advertising. We also buy online advertising and participate in social media, but it is much easier to get feedback from the traditional avenues of advertising.

In addition, we need local media. They are a great resource and the only media that truly cares what is going on in the Biggest Little City. The reporters are our neighbors, and they cover our special events and are customers at our businesses. We need local media to make our community a great place to live.

Image Credit: KOLO 8 Good Morning Reno

Local media is fantastic for promoting special events. They have been good to me over the years as an event producer. Every time I do an interview on a local TV station or even local radio I get feedback from friends and family that they saw or heard my interview. Last time I was on KOLO Channel 8’s Good Morning Reno show at 5:45am to promote an event my phone starting ringing instantly with friends calling and texting to tell me they saw my interview. Disclosure: Link is not to my interview but another event they covered recently at the Nugget.

Also keep in mind how important local media is when you are buying advertising. We support local media and they support us. New media is great, but if you are an event planner or a small business don’t forget about traditional local media. I’m thankful for local media and the opportunities they provide for us to promote special events.

Like what you’ve seen? Subscribe to Mad About Events Blog by adding your email address to the form on the right. You’ll be the first to read about local events and get behind-scenes-stories from event professionals.

Related Posts:
Brew HaHa Interview Mashup