More Sustainability Center News is coming soon…                         

Maybe you’ve heard about the soon-to-be APPLE Sustainability Center, scheduled to open this summer in downtown Nevada City? We plan to post more details soon – but, to help get the ball rolling, please help us out right now by taking this quick (just 5 questions) online survey:Click Here to take survey

Stay tuned for more – and sign up for our announcements emails!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robert Trent, Director
pr@velocity7.com
Phone: 530.470.9292

Velocity7 Wins Gold Addy Award for Public Service
Nevada City, CA – Nevada City’s premier marketing communications agency has been awarded a Gold ADDY Award by the Sacramento Ad Club. This success at the local level advances Velocity7’s entry into a regional-level competition, and, with success there, to the national level. The ADDY Awards is the world’s largest advertising competition, and is the only creative awards program administered by the advertising industry for the industry.

Velocity7 took home Gold honors for Public Service Campaign in a Single Medium for creating sevenforthesierra.com, an educational website on seven issues and ideas critical to the future of the Sierra Nevada. The website attracted visitors with a seven-month PR campaign highlighting a new concept each month. Visitors were presented with an engaging introduction to the issue, and directed on to further information and resources to take action on the issues that inspired them.

The Seven for the Sierra campaign was inspired by regional efforts to increase the sustainability of Sierra communities. Velocity7 used the campaign to introduce the web-browsing public to leading organizations and individuals working on behalf of the Sierra. Issue pages directed the user to organizations like the Sierra Business Council or South Yuba River Citizens League for further information. Illustrations from renowned field guide author, illustrator, and environmental educator John Muir Laws enlivened every entry.

About Velocity7
Velocity7 provides integrated marketing solutions. Services include marketing communications, web, branding, print, public relations, advertising and media planning. 530.470.9292 www.velocity7.com #####

More productive

Trent, 42, has been in the building on Broad Street for five years. Sheldon, 30, who owns No Problem IT consulting, has been in the building two and a half months; and Smith, 39, who owns Green Smith Consulting, has been in the building one month.

“I didn’t need an office, technically, but it helps to have human beings around you,” Smith said.

Smith and Sheldon use sleek laptops; Trent and his associate use desktops.

The office has a kitchen and a bathroom around the corner, but no copy machine — that’s done down the street, in an effort to keep waste at a minimum.

The “solopreneurs” are working to save some green — both money and otherwise — by using one office.

“We all need to make a living,” Trent said. “We’re all businesses with local, national and international clients, and we all want a quality of life, and this adds to it.”

Sheldon, who does troubleshooting, network administration and installation, and Web design and development, used to work at home.

“I think it’s fair to say that my productivity has increased 250 percent. I get so distracted at home.

“It feels very good to say ‘I have an office,’” Sheldon added.

The setup is not unusual in larger cities — nor in Nevada City, which has several examples of similar work arrangements.

Smith joked that the office is so user-friendly that all one needed to work there is a roll of toilet paper and an Internet connection.

But they really need intangibles, too.

“There’s a culture that has to be a part of it,” Trent said. “If you have a party and you have crackers and Cheez Whiz, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be a big, good party. It has to be a symbiotic relationship.”

So far, so good.

There is something really cool happening in Nevada County.  Its call Nevada County Solopreneurs,  We have a Google Group going and I think you should join if the description below fits your fancy.

Freelancers, consultants, “solopreneurs”, and small business owners of all kinds in Nevada County. If you’re not a solopreneur, but you’re interested in what we’re doing, you’re welcome to join in too. The mailing list will contain information on future meetings, presentations, and events.

In 1994, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service to celebrate through our actions a man who lived his life in service to others. As a tribute to that legacy and the needs of our nation, Sierra Business Council supports the request of the President-elect and Vice President-elect to help organize community members to join in this effort and to engage Americans in service to local organizations that need assistance now more than ever.

This national day of service will fall on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, 2009 and, unlike past calls to service, Sierra Business Council is asking members of the Sierra Nevada to join in this day, and to consider a longer commitment of service.  Find an organization or a cause that speaks to you in your town or neighborhood and make an ongoing commitment to support this organization by donating your time, energy, and ideas to make the Sierra Nevada a better place for all of us to live.

Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face. Local non-profits and community groups are a unique and much needed thread in the fabric of our communities. Supporting these groups keeps our communities strong and healthy. Please sign up to volunteer today.

Some interesting organizational ideas being planned in California include: Recreational Trail improvements, community clean-ups, helping the elderly at a retirement home, volunteering at an animal shelter, blood drives, food drives & soup kitchen volunteering, Americorps events, “share your garden” – fresh produce donations to homeless centers, ride share coordinating, etc.

Its cool how doing the right thing pays off.  By joining the ranks of the Sacramento Sustainable Business group we accomplished a great deal.  First off, we reduced the amount of water, chemicals, electricity, and gas we use here at the V7 office.  We also increased our recycling and imporved systems to save even more  and use even less.

Secondary benefits include free business directory listings, such as the Sacramento Business Journal , and multiple mentions in the local newspaper.  We joined the Sacramento Sustainable Business group over a year ago, and still today we are reaping the benefits.  The Roseville Press Tribune just published our name in a recent article. This helps bring us up in search engines and helps reach our target audience.

So the lesson learned?  Do the right thing.

Check out Yuba Watershed Institute’s field seminar.  This takes place in one of my favorite meadows in the Sierra.  The event looks amazing.

Restoring the Ecological and Cultural Integrity of Sierra Meadows:

A field seminar in Bear Valley Meadow (at the Hwy. 20-Zeibright Road turnout)

Saturday, November 8, 2008 From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Join an expert panel of scientists, archaeologists, and Tsi-Akim Maidu tribal members for a walk-about and conversation exploring the ecological benefits and cultural and spiritual importance of mountain meadows and the urgency—particularly in the face of drought and climate change—for their restoration.

Bring your lunch for a group picnic in the meadow to follow the event (weather permitting).

This is a family-friendly event. No dogs please.

This FREE event has been made possible with funding from the Bella Vista Foundation and is a production of the Yuba Watershed Institute in partnership with American Rivers, the Tsi-Akim Maidu tribe, the South Yuba River Citizens League and the Stockholm Environment Institute.

For more information and to register for this FREE event, contact Tania Carlone at 530-265-4459 or tania@yubawatershedinstitute.org