I partner with Florence Bank to assist with PR and raising awareness. As part of my work, I write blogs about businesses and nonprofits that have stood the test of time. This post, which you can also find in the bank’s Valley Beat Blog, focuses on Camp Howe in Goshen.

At the end of every one- or two-week session at Camp Howe, there are always a handful of young people who head home with something they’ve never had before: A recognition award.

The acknowledgement campers receive is earned not for excelling in athletics or academics but for being the kindest, having the biggest heart, or for building community.

“We create a space where children can learn to accept themselves as well as others around them and to be happy with who they are and the way they are,” says Terrie Campbell, executive director of the camp that’s been nestled on the shores of Lower Highland Lake in Goshen for roughly 80 years.

Terrie says when children leave Camp Howe, they are always more confident and grounded. 

That’s because Camp Howe isn’t just about fun; it offers programming that’s inclusive of all children—no matter their age, ability, race, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. Camp Howe builds community and acceptance through the value it places on clear thinking, loyalty, service, and health.

Camp Howe is one of the first camps in the United States to be accredited as a national inclusive recreational program by the National Inclusion Project. While its programming was broad when Terrie arrived 17 years ago, inclusivity was Terrie’s vision—before “inclusivity” was a buzzword.

This summer, Terrie said 956 campers attended one of seven sessions, led by 50 staff members. Campers and counselors alike come from all over the region, and 11 countries across the world, including the UK, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Australia, and Turkey.

Staff and programming

Each camp year begins with two and a half weeks of staff training. Terrie says when hiring, she isn’t focused on finding leaders with skills or certifications as much as those who understand the camp’s mission and beliefs. “You can’t teach that,” she explains.

Camp Howe offers programming from swimming, kayaking, and paddle boarding to ropes courses and learning to care for animals. “These are the tools that help us achieve community,” she says. “It comes from a basic message that no one is the best at everything.”

Young people learn that if they can’t hit the bullseye in archery, no one will mock them; likewise, in taking part in the activity they excel at, they won’t belittle others. “We create an environment where you accept everyone’s achievements,” Terrie says. “It’s about breaking your own records here rather than being compared to others.”

The concepts that campers learn range from exploring countries and cultures to understanding technology. This summer, a Smith College student built a creative program through which she used beads to help campers understand binary numbers; the children made bracelets that spelled out their names in binary code. This young woman also taught campers about hydroponics.

“She went way into depth about Ph levels, and she still captured 6- to 16-year-olds with what she was saying,” Terrie says, noting that the lesson was woven so seamlessly into the activities that the young people didn’t even recognize they were learning.

“Staff members blossom here, too,” she adds, noting that the counselor for Smith won a staff award for her lesson.

Terrie’s background

Terrie holds a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Wollongong in Australia. After graduation, she counseled adolescents in a group home in a nature-based program and then travelled for a time, working at various camps. She landed at Becket Chimney Corners, a YMCA camp in Becket and later found Camp Howe.

“There’s something special about Camp Howe that keeps me here,” she says. 

Terrie is at Camp Howe all summer. In the fall, when the staff leaves, and she has buttoned down the campus, she heads home to Westfield. She has a few weeks for deep breathing, then she begins planning the next year’s season.

Challenges

In addition to thinking about children, their needs, and their growth, Terrie and her board members have to keep their minds on maintaining the property.

Challenges include keeping the camp affordable as costs continue to rise. General operations are funded through tuitions, rebates, rental of the property, and some funds are reinvested via capital projects, such as refurbishing the basketball courts or replacing hot water tanks that feed the cabins.

There are fundraising efforts for the nonprofit, and community partners help quite a bit as well. Florence Bank, for instance, helped support the construction of a new multi-purpose hall. 

“Our accounts are with Florence, along with our investments,” Terrie adds. “Florence Bank has also fiscally supported local youth attending camp by providing camperships.”

Terrie has built great relationships with Florence Bank staff in Williamsburg, and she appreciates how bank staff help her new staff members each year. “They come from all around the world, and Florence Bank helps them open bank accounts so they can cash their checks,” Terrie says. “The bank has been very accommodating to our unique needs.”

Be in touch if I can help you raise awareness through blogging or other digital marketing.

The post Blogging to Shine a Light on a Client’s Customer appeared first on Beetle Press.

Note: Glenmeadow is a retirement community—or life plan community—in Longmeadow. I partner with the marketing team to plan and promote educational events for older adults in the region, and I also write blogs for Glenmeadow about programs and services, staff, and residents. The below is a blog, which also lives on the Glenmeadow website, that offers an overview of the fall slate of Glenmeadow Learning programs. Take a look as there might be one you’d like to attend!

We suspect you have been keeping yourself busy in these past few months. At the same time, we hope you will be pleased to learn that we have a full slate of educational and travel programs ready to unveil for the fall, winter, and spring!

Through our education program, Glenmeadow Learning, we will offer three programs beginning on September 4 at venues in Greater Springfield. Our three topics are politics, technology, and the environment. Through our travel program, Glenmeadow Getaways, we’ll have over a dozen options to take in the theater along with a trip to Egypt in July 2020.

Please read all about it, in this blog and a blog we will post tomorrow, and when you see what you like, be sure to register as our programs are first-come, first-served, and they are popular and do fill up!

Glenmeadow Learning

Our Glenmeadow Learning classes are offered free throughout the region and cover a variety of topics that are sure to expand your horizons. Our Learning program is one way in which we fulfill our mission to serve older adults in Greater Springfield by enhancing their knowledge.

The following are our three fall programs:

Both Sides of the Aisle:
A Conversation about America’s Two-Party System
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 10 a.m.–noon
Storrowton Carriage House, 1305 Memorial Avenue, West Springfield

The American political system has always been dominated by two parties, but rarely have our politics felt so contentious. Americans are increasingly divided by their loyalties, and a growing number seem to identify as neither Democrats nor Republicans. In the face of daily scandals and policy gridlock in Washington, what does the future hold? Our experts discuss the dynamics of our political system and the path forward.

Moderator: Rob Genest, op-ed editor, the Springfield Republican. Panelists: Donald
Robinson, Professor Emeritus of Government, Smith College; Samuel VanSant Stoddard,
Assistant Professor of Political Science, College of the Holy Cross; Ron Chimelis, op-ed writer, the Republican; and Matt Szafranski, editor/founder, Western Mass Politics & Insight.

Get Tech-Savvy:
An IT Primer for Older Adults
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17 10 a.m.–noon
West Springfield Public Library, 200 Park Street, West Springfield

Today’s technology makes it possible for us to connect with friends and loved ones who are far away through apps on our computers, tablets, and even our telephones. Several Western Mass IT professionals will offer an overview of how these tools work. Participants will then break into groups for a demonstration of programs that can find you a ride, allow you to video chat with family, or play games. Please bring a smart phone, laptop, or tablet.

Our leaders will include: Derek Allard, owner of Tunnel 7, which offers digital design and marketing services; and Patrick Lostaglia, Glenmeadow’s network administrator.

Environmental Responsibility:
Taking Steps to Protect Our Planet
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 10 a.m. –noon
Agawam Public Library, 750 Cooper Street, Agawam

Tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, floods— all signs that our planet is in revolt. Environmentalist Terra Missildine will speak about how her mission to protect the Earth began and why it’s important for everyone to commit to doing so. She will also outline what individuals, organizations, and legislators can do to begin to bring about positive change and environmental healing. Terra will offer samples of earth-friendly products.

While in an early iteration of a sustainable living program at UMass Amherst, Terra Missildine founded the first eco-friendly cleaning company in Western Mass. She also supports sustainability by growing organic food to feed her family of three.

Glenmeadow Learning programs are free and open to the public, but space is limited, and reservations are required. For more information or to enroll, contact us at 413-567-7800 or learning@glenmeadow.org. Or visit our Events page.

Contact me if I can help you plan or promote a program or service.

The post Glenmeadow is a source for education appeared first on Beetle Press.

Lately, I love signing in to my online banking account with Florence Bank. As I type in my password on the bank’s Home page, I see the face of my colleague Lauren Zuber on the left-hand side of the screen. She is screaming as she falls from the sky, wearing goggles and a parachute.

I have been partnering with Lauren, the marketing communications manager at the bank, for a year now. We meet monthly to talk about events, news, and other goings-on at the bank. I help raise awareness about them by writing and distributing press releases or penning blogs.

I know Lauren professionally. So, of course it is super fun to see the bank’s video vignette of her—roughly 10 years younger—feeling terrified as she skydives. The clip is one of many currently on view on the Florence Bank website; they are part of the bank’s new “Moments from the Valley” ad campaign, which spotlights poignant snippets in the lives of people who live and work in Western Mass.

Since it rebranded in 2014, after Monica Curhan, senior vice president / marketing director, came on board, Florence Bank has been known as hipper, more innovative. It has inspired Pioneer Valley residents to dance and sing along to its distinctive “Always” song. It all makes me proud that Florence Bank is my bank, and that Lauren and Monica are my clients.

I had little to do with the planning or launch of the ad campaign. That was overseen by staff working collaboratively with Sean Tracey, president of Sean Tracey Associates, and his team; the agency has produced the bank’s award-winning ad campaigns since the re-brand.

The campaign that’s being unveiled now features a television commercial capturing Lauren and: an Easthampton girl playing T-ball, a veteran from the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke with a dog from Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, a farm owner from Florence, an accomplished flutist from Worthington, a Longmeadow toddler taking his first steps, a Springfield couple getting engaged, a young woman from Hatfield graduating from high school and a Belchertown couple getting married.

Each time I watch it, I laugh. I smile. The scenes with the veterans and the therapy dogs make me misty eyed. The ad, and the billboards that will come as an offshoot, are alive, clever, real and human.

“We’re switching things up a bit and remaining authentic by telling true, local stories,” says Monica.  “We’re proud of the evolution of our brand and look forward to people checking out all the great content we’ve created for the campaign.”

If you want to see the full-length video stories of many of those captured in the tv ad, visit the campaign webpage on the bank’s site at www.florencebank.com/moments. You don’t have to be a customer to check it out.

You’ll even find photos and personal accounts from Florence Bank employees, who share their own treasured moments.

Also this fall, the bank has launched The Valley Beat blog, in which it highlights businesspeople, nonprofits in the region, and banking services.

Initial blogs feature Jeff Igneri, the owner of Local Burger, with locations in Northampton, Williamsburg, Haydenville and Keene, New Hampshire; Nate Frigard, co-owner of Crimson & Clover, an organic farm in Florence; and Sam Ostroff, the founder of Salmon Studios in Florence, which produces high-end architectural millwork and furniture, kinetic sculptures, public art, and fine art.

I was pleased to have the privilege of interviewing Jeff, Nate, and Sam and writing the blogs. Lauren has also written and interviewed many people for posts, including those whose stories are told in the video clips.

Spend some time exploring The Valley Beat blog and watching Florence Bank’s moving ads. All of the innovative content is sure to entertain.

The post Florence Bank Launches Poignant Ad Campaign appeared first on Beetle Press.

When Gabrielle Freel headed to college five years ago, her thought was to become a criminalist. She loved shows like Criminal Minds and NCIS and wanted to learn more about profiling.

My intern for the spring semester from Westfield State University went into her freshman year thinking she would major in criminal justice and psychology. Then, the poetry portion of Gabby’s first creative writing class in her junior year sparked a literary flame she hadn’t felt smouldering before.

“There were so many things that needed to be written—that I needed to write,” Gabby says, noting that her path was suddenly just a bit clearer than mud.

Gabby began at Beetle Press a few weeks ago. She is organized and eager to learn, and I am enjoying the process of getting to know her and her work style.

Before Gabby knew she wanted to focus on writing, she spent her junior year with a literature concentration to be on the track to teach English at the secondary level. That was a turn in the wrong direction as well because she realized how structured the education field is.

That’s when the creative writing course came into play, and Gabby changed her focus from teaching to writing. Her professors told her she was a natural born writer.

I am seeing the same thing. Many young writers tend to be cliché and disorganized in putting their thoughts down, but Gabby coins her own phrases and uses metaphor well.

As part of her internship, she will help me review two client manuscripts and move them closer toward publication, and she will also help me with research and with blogs for clients and Beetle Press.

She is currently at work writing some brief pieces on the people behind some of the scholarships granted by Northampton Dollars for Scholars.

Wanting to write and learn more about the craft is what led Gabby to this internship.

I was pleased to have her tell me that the Beetle Press opportunity was pitched to her at school as the “premium internship.” Gabby thanks professors George Layng and Leah Nielsen for those sales pitches. I thank them too!

I have also heard George say that the Beetle Press internship is ideal because students can work with me on everything from PR and learning to write press releases to offering feedback on clients’ books and my own.

Gabby calls what the work here can offer her “a perfect smorgasbord of writing skills and publication knowledge.” She hopes that what she learns with me will launch her into her own writing career, and I am sure that is true.

Gabby has a lot to learn, but this is definitely the perfect environment for her to craft her skill and learn the essentials for having a successful career in the professional writing world.

“I finally feel like I’m on a straight path,” Gabby says.

The post Spring Intern Inspired to Write appeared first on Beetle Press.

Dark-humored and boisterous, my new intern Abigail “Abby” Taylor has always seen the value in the written word. That means she will fit right in!

A junior at Westfield State University, Abby has taken pen to paper about nature while sitting on her front porch since the age of 10 in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and she has used writing as a creative and therapeutic tool as well.

Abby grew up with the “Brady Bunch” of three older siblings and two parents. Her house is a caucus full of Democrats, her brother working for a New Hampshire senator and sister Jess working for U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. There are two politicians, two teachers, and one caregiver in the family for Abby to emulate. While her mother begs her daily to become a nurse, Abby couldn’t drift from writing if she wanted to, and her father and sister keep her lust for school and education burning.

When junior year rolled around in high school, Abby took a philosophy class with a teacher she will never forget. A septuagenarian who was committed to teaching indefinitely, he inspired Abby to strengthen her work ethic. This mentor conditioned his students to have thoughtful discussions in class, and that transformed Abby’s learning experience and drive for English studies.

Although Abby’s siblings are everything to her, their vast success has daunted her. Writing allowed her to overcome this hurdle of anxiety. Scripting her darkest feelings turned into a creative process that was therapeutic when she suffered a depressive episode during her senior year of high school.

In her internship at Beetle Press this fall, Abby hopes to take her writing foundation and build on it, learning how writing can be used in the work place to raise awareness for organizations and tell their rich stories. She also hopes to deepen her knowledge of the creative writing process.

Abby’s dad says she has the soul of a writer, which means worlds to her, since he was a sports columnist before he became a teacher. Abby and her father identify as the “thinkers” of the family—the philosophical intellectuals.

So, at Westfield State, where she is majoring in English with a concentration in writing, Abby is taking ethnic and gender studies classes, and writing classes in fiction and poetry. In creative writing last year, she realized her niche for poetry. She wants to write poetry that contributes to the conversation of our nation’s well-being, evoking feeling that can be put into action.

Abby also has a deep interest in music and considered an internship with the WSKB radio station on her campus. After an interview with me, she decided she enjoyed the at-home work environment of my office and could see herself grinding words away at my dining table—the intern station here. Also, in a meeting with her internship coordinator at school, Professor George Layng told Abby that working with me would expand both her business and creative writing capabilities. On board she came!

Abby hopes her internship will help her advance her skills so that she can write about issues she cares about, such as the current political climate, the human experience, and turning mundane observation into graphic imagery.

She will be doing research, writing press releases, helping with social media and contributing to other projects. I hope Abby can also help me grow my audience on JaniceBeetle.com and help me finalize a manuscript I have been working on for too many years.

Abby will graduate in May 2019. She hopes to eventually write for a magazine or possibly enter the PR industry. I can see already that, even though she is quiet—like I was at her age—Abby is intelligent, learns quick, and has a real depth of spirit. I believe her father is correct. Abby has a writer’s soul, and I hope to help her dig deeper—to write and operate from a profound place in all her work.

The post Fall Intern has a Writer’s Soul appeared first on Beetle Press.

This variety is precisely what I had in mind when I signed on with Janice in January.

The most valuable of the various experiences I’ve had as a Beetle Press intern would have to be the one-on-one, hands-on experience in offering design assistance to Habitat for Humanity. This, to me, was vital to bringing my entire college career as well as my own personal experiences full circle.

To be able to work with Habitat, an organization that means so much to me, has been priceless. With Habitat, I was immersed in design work that ranged from updating invitations and lawn signs for the FEAST event to creating this year’s annual report, based on an existing template.

But everything I was assigned during this internship had value.

Another project that interested me a great deal was reading and offering my feedback on Janice’s fictional love story, entitled Unleashing the Sun. I came into the internship with an experience in the publishing industry, and working with Janice’s manuscript helped me to know just how much I love the editing process. Gaining knowledge in this realm will help me as I move forward.

I absolutely feel that I am that much more equipped to pursue a career in my chosen field now that I have held this internship. I am over the moon with the fact that this final semester at Westfield State University was spent on my ever-growing passion of writing, editing and designing. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to close out my college career.

Janice has been gracious and a true guide into the professional world I’m interested in. She is thoughtful, insightful and passionate in her direction.

The post Well-rounded Portfolio appeared first on Beetle Press.