Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/17030
4A – Daily News – Wednesday, September 29, 2010 Commerce business Roger Brooks energized Tehama County last month with his assess- ment of our area and his insight on what we look like to the first-time visitor. He built a compelling case for tourism to help expand our eco- nomic diversity, create more oppor- tunities for businesses and jobs, and for making our area into a destination more enjoyable for both visitors and resi- dents. Brooks touted tourism as the front door to other types of economic de v elopment efforts because anyone thinking of moving their business or residence first looks at potential communities from the viewpoint of a visitor. But vibrant communities that attract visitors and offer great qual- ity of life for their residents don’t just happen by themselves. We’re competing with thousands of other communities for new business, industry, private investment, visi- tors, and revitalization. Communities must operate more like business and set themselves apart from the competition with a unique image….a successful brand that conveys things to do that the visitor can’t do closer to home. How do we get there? How do we develop a successful branding effort to bring new cash into the community, and build a stronger sense of community pride? A group of community mem- bers representing various organiza- tions and businesses have come & together to spearhead a campaign to raise the funds needed to move forward. Brooks, who provided us the assessment, submitted a pro- posal for his services to ‘brand’ Tehama County. The fee for his services is $125,000 and includes a team of professionals from his company, Destination Development Internation- al — www.destinationde- velopment.com — to pro- duce a Tehama County Branding, Development & Marketing Action Plan. For our invest- ment, we’ll receive a county-wide umbrella brand (what do we want to be known for); product development action steps (what do we need to do to deliver on our brand promise); and a marketing plan (how to tell the world). In addition to the coun- ty-wide brand, individual brand identities will be developed for Red Bluff, Corning and Manton. We’ll have key marketing messages for each, and a county graphics pack- age that includes the brand mark, variations for use by local organi- zations, and concepts for full-page print ads, websites, banners, way finding signage, brand posters, brochure covers, and other promo- tional materials. Tehama County residents and stakeholder groups will have the opportunity to provide their ideas regarding the future brand of the county through multiple meetings, interviews, workshops and surveys enterprise Time to move Tehama County forward with Brooks. We will identify where we want to go, and then research by Brooks’ team will help us make sure the direction is feasi- ble. Community brands are an eco- nomic decision built on feasibility rather than local sentiment alone. Research including demographics, primary and secondary markets, tapestry studies, perception analy- sis, and competitive analysis will help us finalize the brand. Above all, we’ll receive profes- sional guidance and expertise to create a successful and profitable visitor attraction strategy. Ready to invest in the exciting future of Tehama County? Our goal is to raise $200,000 in the next 6 months to retain Brooks and to build a marketing fund. We need businesses, residents and fans of Tehama County to join the campaign. You can expect a call from the Brand Leadership Team, but if you can’t wait, you can mail your investment today to: Tehama EDC: Branding Project, P.O. Box 1224, Red Bluff, CA 96080. For more information, call Tehama EDC 529-7100 or the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce 527-6220. Kathy Schmitz is the CEO of the Job Training Center. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce and oversees the Tehama Economic Development Corporation. Think twice before joining the ‘Gold Rush’ In recent months, you may have heard a lot about investing in gold. But is gold the right choice for you? Actual- ly, many factors are involved in this invest- ment decision — and you’ll want to consider these factors before you invest. Of course, the lure of gold is undeniable. Throughout history, gold has been perceived as having great intrinsic value. And this year, as you may know, gold prices have hit record highs, at well over $1,200 an ounce, as people have sought “shelter” from the stormy financial mar- kets. But as an investment possibility, gold has some “scratches” to it. First of all, contrary to what you may believe, gold prices do not always go up; instead, they will fluctuate, sometimes greatly. Furthermore, there are specific risks with the different ways of investing in gold. If you bought a gold futures contract (an obligation to buy gold at a prede- termined future date and price), you could lose money if gold falls, because you’ll still be obligated to complete your contract at the higher, agreed-upon price. If you purchased gold in the form of coins, bullion or bars, you’d face storage, security, insurance and liquidity issues. You need to do a lot of research before invest- ing in gold mining com- panies, because some of these companies may still be in the gold- exploring stage — and there’s no guarantee their explorations will lead to profitable dis- coveries. Also, even when its price is considerably lower than it is today, gold is still a fairly expensive investment compared to other choices. It can be costly to go into the gold futures market. And you’ll likely have to spend thousands of dol- lars if you want to buy a bar of gold or even a bunch of coins. Given these draw- backs to investing in gold, what can you do to fight back against mar- ket volatility? One of the best ways is to diversify your holdings among a variety of in v estments suitable for your financial objecti v e s. Market down- turns often affect one type of asset class more than another, so if you can spread your dollars among a variety of asset classes, you can help blunt the effects of volatility. Keep in mind, though, that diversifica- tion, by itself, cannot guarantee a profit or protect against loss. In coping with volatility, you’ll also help yourself by taking a long-term view of your investments’ per- formance. If you look at Quilting merchant • Spotlight – Foster Family Quilts is our spotlight this week, at 954 Hwy 99W, next to Rabobank, (formally Butte Community Bank). They are open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon- day, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and Satur- day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dan Steigman and his wife Susie, or Barbara as she is also known, opened the store in October 2006 and have been members of the chamber from the beginning. Dan is the pastor the Believer’s Church of God and moved from Redding in 2006 to pastor the church and they started the business because of the interest in quilting. Bar- bara teaches a quilting class on Monday nights from 6 to 9 pm. The store has fabric, sewing notions, items for embroi- dery, cross stitch, crocheting, knitting and a large beading department. They are the only store in three counties that have a full selection of embroidery floss with 450 plus col- ors. They also have sewing machine and vacuum cleaner sales and repair. They have a large eBay store as well. Foster Family Quilts got its name because of the many foster children that Dan and Susie Steigman have raised. They have nine children and seven of them are special needs children that they adopted, with three still living at home. They have also taken into their home about 110 foster chil- dren and babies to care for over the years. If you have any questions about what they have to offer, give them a call at 824-4240. • Book Sale – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16 at the Corning Library, 740 3rd Street, (next to the police station), the Corning Friends of the Library are having their annual Fall Book Sale. One of the Friends of the Library said, "We would like to invite everyone to come support our wonderful community library and enjoy some "new" reading material. Also, a special thanks to our Corning 4-H partners for helping with the set up and clean up. New this year: bring your own bag and get one book for free". So mark your calendar then come to the sale and find some great bargains and support your local library. • Candidate’s Night – 6:30 p.m., next Monday, Oct. 4, at your investment state- ment for a given month, you might not like what you see. But holding your investments for the long term may help your port- folio better weather the ups and downs you’ ll encounter in the investment world. So try to Tyler Smail avoid the allure of gold as a “quick fix” to whatev- er seems to be ailing the financial mar- kets at a par- ticular time. Other investments may be less glitzy and glamorous than gold, but they can have their own sparkle. Tyler Smail is a a financial advisor for Edward Jones, his office is located at 733 Washington St. in Red Bluff. He can be reached at 529-3627 or tyler.smail@edwardjon es.com. the Veterans Memorial Hall the Corning Chamber of Com- merce and the VFW are sponsoring a Candidate’s Night to help the voters get acquainted with the local candidates. Each candidate with an opponent will give a three minute opening statement, and then there will be a question and answer session with questions from the audience screened by three screeners. Then the candidates will give a two minute closing statement. Linda Watkins-Bennett from Chico will be the moderator. We encourage everyone to come out and hear what those running for office in Corning have to say. There will be refreshments. • Health Spree – 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, St. Elizabeth Community Hospital is having a free community health celebration for the entire family. There will be free prizes, free information and free health screenings. Learn about the award winning, nationally acclaimed health care services provided by the St. Elizabeth Community Hospital team. For more information, call 529-8038. • Red Cross Classes – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 2, the American Red Cross is offering a class on Adult, Child and Infant CPR. The fee is $65. Call the scheduling office, 673-1460, or to sign up online go to www.ARCNEC.org. ——— This column is prepared and submitted by the Corning Chamber of Commerce. Counseling service Reflections Counseling and Family Services is now accepting new clients in both Shasta and Tehama counties. Reflections accepts Victim Assistance and some insurance. A sliding scale, based on family income and ability to pay, is available through the Community Counseling Project at Reflections. Reflections partners with Shasta Head Start, North- ern California Child Development Inc. and Tehama County Job Training Center to bring counseling and related services to those in need. More information is available by calling 226-5100 or visiting www.ReflectionsCounseling.org. 22755 Antelope Blvd. Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 527-9166 Mark's Fitness -Private Personal Training Affordable Packages ! Open Mon. thru Sat. 10am – 6pm OK TRIMMER •Trimming and cleaning are easy with quick release and replaceable grill. •Powerful, efficient and quiet motor • Works well with flowers and various herbs •One person works as fast as ten or more. Select from 15 varieties of scissors! China Buffet CHINESE RESTAURANT Open 7 Days A Week Sunday Buffet Special $ 9.99 COUPON China Buffet Lunch Dinner $9.99 $6.99 Monday - Saturday 343 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530-529-5888 (No Checks) 10 % off COUPON on dinner only (everyday) Expires 9-30-10 COUPON -Public Fitness Classes • Spin Class: M-W-F 6 PM Inquire about FREE Spin • Boot Camp call for times WANTED: Certified Fitness Instructors Call: (530) 941-2832 821 Walnut St.