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Sample Customer
Newsletter: Friendship Haven is an Iowa
retirement community that serves seniors
and active adults. Please edit the text
under the Purpose section to read: This
quarterly newsletter is a marketing tool
to help attract new business and provide
an image piece for the company.
Purpose:
marketing tool to
attract new business, image piece for
the company
Cover Article
Saw
Dust Manufacturing Carves a Niche
“Have
thy tools ready; God will find thee
work,” noted British author Charles
Kingsley more than a century ago. Since
2002, talented craftsmen at Friendship
Haven have kept their tools ready for
the unique woodworking projects that
take shape in a converted three-car
garage in the heart of campus.
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“Sawdust just gets in your
blood,” says Don Moenck, a retired carpenter who
lives in Friendship Haven’s town homes and
repairs furniture at the Saw Dust Manufacturing
shop.
The opportunity to be
creative is a big plus of living at Friendship
Haven, adds Carl Steig, a retired high school
shop teacher who enjoys building furniture.
You’ll typically find Carl at Saw Dust
Manufacturing from 7: 30 a.m to
3 p.m.every weekday, except the afternoons when he
plays bridge. He might be building a bookcase or
entertainment center, or he may be crafting a
vase or bowl from exotic woods including
birdseye maple and purple heart.
“A lot of our customers live right
here at Friendship Haven,” adds Carl, who notes
that the wooden cross in the Celebration Center
at Kenyon Place was made at Saw Dust
Manufacturing. The men have also made wooden
frames for the stained glass items designed by
Gary and Madolyn Bird at Friendship Haven.
The Saw Dust Manufacturing shop is
just one of the perks of living at Friendship
Haven, Don says. “The people are friendly, and
there’s always something to do around here.”
Sample Newsletters, Marketing Magazines
Article: Hubbell Solutions magazine,
produced by Hubbell Realty Company, focuses on
property management, construction, and real
estate development.
Purpose: This issue focused on a number of
Hubbell’s new commercial and residential real
estate projects in central Iowa. Hubbell Realty
used this edition of its 40-page magazine to
showcase some of its premiere projects,
including Court Avenue Lofts. Located in a
revitalized, historic building, the lofts blend
the best of the old with the new to offer a
unique housing option in downtown Des Moines,
Iowa.
Lofty Goals:
Revitalized Historic Building Offers New Housing
Option
Few projects define Hubbell Realty Company’s
commitment to honoring the past while building
for the future better than the new Court Avenue
Lofts. Located above the Spaghetti Works
building, the apartments offer affordable,
downtown living at its best in one of Des
Moines’ most historic districts.
“This grand old building preserves the
traditional character of the area while
providing a unique setting for contemporary
urban living,” said Steve Niebuhr, senior vice
president of development and management services
for Hubbell Realty. “This new housing option is
attracting a younger crowd to downtown Des
Moines.”
Since Court Avenue Lofts’ debut in late 2006,
nearly 40 percent of the 51 units (which are
priced starting in the $560s) had been leased by
early January of 2007. It’s a strong opening,
especially when you consider that the softest
rental months occur during the winter, said
Harry Bookey, president and owner of BH
Equities, which is leasing the units.
“Young people like to be where the action is.
When they’ve moved away from Des Moines, they’ve
often headed to downtown areas like Lincoln Park
in Chicago, Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis or
the Plaza in Kansas City. With all the quality
projects like Court Avenue Lofts that are
revitalizing Des Moines, however, I think the
city’s downtown area has reached the tipping
point.”
Hubbell brings the past into the future
The Court Avenue Lofts are located in the Seth
Richards Commercial Block, which reflects Des
Moines’ early retail sector and its wholesale
district. Constructed in two phases in 1890 and
circa 1897, the building that now houses the
Court Avenue Lofts once included a factory that
fabricated millinery goods. Owned by Moses
Strauss and Alexander Lederer, the business
supplied retail markets in Iowa and beyond for
years.
Hubbell Realty Company worked with William C.
Page, a public historian, to document the
history of the Strauss-Lederer building and get
it placed on the National Register of Historic
Places. After this designation was bestowed in
2005, state and federal historic tax credits
became available to help transform the building
into one- and two-bedroom housing units complete
with 9-foot ceilings, modern paint schemes and
spacious living areas.
Hubbell first enlisted engineers to conduct a
structural analysis of the building’s interior
and exterior. An environmental review was also
completed to evaluate asbestos levels, check for
the presence of lead and more. While time had
taken a toll on the building (which had sagging
floors creating a slope of up to five inches,
window sills that were rotted and floor joists
that weren’t rated to carry the load necessary
for residential units), Hubbell approached the
redevelopment project systematically. Changes
for adaptive reuse included:
• Leveling the floors
• Installing all new mechanical systems,
including water and electrical
• Reframing portions of the building
• Adding state-of-the-art safety and fire
protection systems
• Framing the units
• Retrofitting all the windows with insulated
glass
What’s old becomes new again
From start to finish, Hubbell strived to
preserve the historic nature of the
Victorian-era building, which reflects the
Romanesque Revival style in its architecture.
For example, the large, custom-milled windows
that offer dramatic views of downtown match the
structure’s profile and feature original rolled
plaster corners, Niebuhr noted.
Original posts and support columns that grace
the interior of the apartments maintain the feel
of a factory. Traditional fire doors from the
upper floors have become distinctive features in
some of the units. Beadboard from the building’s
ceilings that was sandblasted to remove any
lead-based paint has been reinstalled in the
common area’s corridor ceilings. Original trim
was salvaged and used to make custom moldings
for the units. In addition, ornate spindles,
rails and treads from the building’s large, open
staircase were incorporated into an internal
fire escape staircase enclosed by a firewall.
To make the 573- to 1,115-square foot apartments
even more appealing, Hubbell Realty added
tasteful exterior balconies that wouldn’t
compromise the look of the building, Niebuhr
added. Other amenities include a comfortable
community room (complete with a large-screen TV,
a lounge and fitness equipment), a business
center, on-site laundry, available parking,
high-speed Internet access to every bedroom and
living space, and controlled access to the
building and common areas. It’s a combination
that’s proving irresistible to many younger
employees who work in the downtown service
sector.
“It’s very exciting to see a historic building
contribute to the revitalization of downtown Des
Moines by providing affordable housing options
with the latest elements of urban design,”
Niebuhr said. “Also, the Court Avenue Loft
tenants are the next wave of homebuyers for
downtown condos and other properties.”
Sample Newsletters, Marketing
Magazines Article: The Pork Checkoff Report, a
quarterly magazine produced by the National Pork
Board, is designed to provide the information
that America’s pork producers need to succeed in
today’s business environment.
Purpose: This cover story shows how America’s
pork producers are pledging their support to do
the right thing through the “We Care”
responsible pork initiative, which is based on a
number of ethical principles. The feature
article is designed to promote the work of the
Pork Checkoff and educate pork producers about
how they can be part of the solution to tell
agriculture’s story accurately.
Defining and Defending Who We Are:
“We Care” Responsible Pork Initiative Builds
Trust
If it seems like the forces working against
animal agriculture are accelerating, it’s not
your imagination. “Pork producers are facing
much tougher opponents than they did a decade
ago, and a new strategy is required,” said Al
Eidson, a principal of Eidson & Partners, who
has worked closely with the Pork Checkoff’s
Operation Main Street program.
The numbers alone are staggering:
• With 10.5 million members and a 2008 budget of
$138 million, the Humane Society of the United
States (HSUS) has become a well-respected,
mainstream organization that boasts
approximately 157 times as many members as there
are pork producers in the United States. The
group has been especially vocal regarding
gestation crates in modern pork production
systems. Wayne Pacelle, the group’s president
and CEO, has publicly stated that “there is no
place for gestation crates in American
agriculture.”
• When a proposal ban sow stalls in Florida
arose in recent years, Pam Huizenga Van Hart,
heiress to the Blockbuster Video fortune, spent
more than $1 million to collect signatures to
change the state’s constitution and ban sow
stalls, even though fewer than 2,000 sows were
kept in stalls in Florida. Van Hart is just one
of many politically savvy, highly motivated,
individuals with substantial personal resources
that can be dedicated to their cause.
• According to Larry Copeland’s 2008 USA Today
article entitled “Animal Rights Groups Pick Up
Momentum,” membership in People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) has spiked, with
PETA claiming 1.8 million members. In addition,
more than 90 colleges now offer animal law
courses compared to only a handful 10 years ago.
This growing interest in animal law is compared
to an explosion of environmental law interest in
the 1970s.
• Animal activist groups are becoming more
sophisticated, and their efforts have been
resonating with more Americans in the last
several years. Instead of shoving a cream pie in
the face of the Iowa Pork Queen, as PETA did in
1991, today’s most effective animal activists
are adopting mainstream messages, such as farm
animals to be housed comfortably. Activists are
also willing to employ a variety of tactics,
including litigation, ballot initiatives,
boycotts and more.
“The rules have changed, and we’re in a very
vulnerable marketplace,” said Dallas Hockman,
vice president of industry relations for the
National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).
“Although we’ve been talking about these issues
for more than 20 years, there’s an element of
urgency now.”
That’s why the NPPC is working closely with the
National Pork Board to support the responsible
pork initiative We Care. By building trust and
promoting social responsibility, pork producers
affirm their obligation to:
• Produce safe food
• Protect and promote animal well-being
• Safeguard natural resources in all industry
practices
• Provide a work environment that is safe and
consistent with the industry’s other ethical
principles
• Contribute to a better quality of life in
communities
• Ensure practices to protect public health
This Pork Checkoff-supported initiative is a new
twist on show-and-tell: tell the pork industry’s
story, and show how pork producers are
accountable to established ethical principles
and animal well-being practices.
Programs provide proof
The pork industry already offers numerous
programs, including Pork Quality Assurance
Plus®, to support animal well-being and maintain
a safe, high-quality supply of pork. The “We
Care” effort ties everything together and helps
the public to view the pork industry as a
self-regulated business that earns the trust of
others.
“Social responsibility is not an abstract
concept; it’s put into practice every day on our
farm as we follow strict production protocols,”
said Julie Maschhoff, whose family members are
the fifth-generation owners of a swine operation
near Carlyle, Ill. “It’s important that we talk
about the ethical principles that guide our
business, so consumers understand that we are
committed to being good neighbors and good
businesspeople who provide a safe product.”
This is especially important since a vast
majority of Americans are at least three
generations removed from the farm, said Charlie
Arnot, chief executive officer for the Center
for Food Integrity. “If we refer to farm animals
only as units of production and don’t recognize
the animals as living beings, we lose a vital
connection with the rational majority of
Americans. That means we can’t respond to the
activists only with scientific and economic
data. We have to show that our animals are well
cared for, and that we share the general
public’s values of compassion, responsibility
and truth.”
The pork industry already has the building
blocks in place to achieve this goal, including
1.) a formalized statement of the ethnical
principles by which the industry operates, 2.)
programs for best practices, including PQA Plus,
and 3.) proof that producers follow these
principles and practices, through the
third-party, on-farm assessment component of PQA
Plus.
“The pork industry has ethical principles, but
they are empty promises if we just talk the talk
and don’t walk the walk of PQA Plus,” said Erik
Risa, education program manager for the National
Pork Board. “It’s exciting to see that pork
producers are genuinely interested in the ‘We
Care’ initiative, and a growing number are
willing to take action and lead by example.”
While the pork industry has focused on
continuous improvement for decades, the “We
Care” responsible pork initiative offers proof
of performance for anyone who asks, Eidson
added. “The real audience for these efforts
includes restaurant chains like McDonald’s,
grocery retailers like Wal-Mart and
lawmakers—not the activists themselves. Since
retailers and policymakers can’t defend
something they can’t quantify, ‘We Care’ equips
people with the facts and reassures them that
the pork industry is doing the right thing.”
Proactive stance benefits producers
Since PQA Plus was introduced in June of 2007,
more than 21,000 people have been certified,
noted Risa, who added that nearly 3,000 swine
operations have completed the voluntary, on-farm
assessment. PQA Plus exemplifies pork producers’
willingness to invest their Checkoff to improve
production practices, protect food safety, care
for the environment and more, Hockman added. It
also reflects producers’ proactive efforts to
support their industry during this critical
time.
“If we fail to embrace these efforts, other will
develop legislation for pork producers,” Hockman
said. “We can all agree that it’s better to
align the industry, promote the responsible pork
initiative, and speak with one voice, rather
than allow outside authorities to regulate our
industry.”
Pork producers have long been recognized for
their willingness to stand up for agriculture,
and their efforts do make a difference, Eidson
said. “While the components of the ‘We Care’
program aren’t guaranteed to stave off a ballot
initiative, they go a long ways towards building
trust with consumers, policymakers and retailers
as pork producers contribute to a safe,
affordable food supply.”
Darcy
Maulsby | Darcy Maulsby & Co. | 1735 340th St. |
Lake City, IA 51449 515-971-4415 |
darcy@darcymaulsby.com
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