Davenport, Iowa (January 15, 2014) - Kids Design Glass, sponsored locally by U.S. Bank, will open at the Figge Art Museum on Saturday. This traveling exhibition of 52 colorful glass sculptures, along with the original drawings that inspired them, originated as an educational program where master glass artists from the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington selected drawings of mythical monsters by local school children and turned them into glass sculptures.

The exhibition explores the creative process, from pure imagination to advanced technical skills. As Benjamin W. Cobb, one of the lead artists on the project, wrote in the exhibition catalog, "For the kids, it is several minutes of creativity and fun in the studio. For the glassblowers, the program means several hours of sweating it out in the Hot Shop, staying true to a design with unrealistic dimensions, unforgiving irregularities, and strange color combinations...we, the glassblowers, have to let go of everything we have learned about symmetry, form, color and perfection and embrace an artistry that colors outside the lines."

To personalize the experience of presenting Kids Design Glass at the Figge, a drawing by a young artist (12 and under) from the Quad Cities will be selected by the Hot Shop artists from the Museum of Glass. The lucky child's artwork will be translated into a glass sculpture. This process will be streamed live from the Hot Shop in Tacoma, Washington from 2-7 p.m. on March 30 in the Figge Art Museum auditorium. The contest will run from February 1 - February 22. Visit www.figgeartmuseum.org for an entry form.

Kids Design Glass will be on view through May 4, 2014.  

Companion Programming:

FREE Family Day

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Beat the winter blues during this family celebration. Explore the amazing world of glass and video through art projects, gallery quests and more. $5 burger baskets will be served in the Dining Room until 1:30 p.m.

Kids Talk about Kids Design Glass

7 p.m. Thursday, March 6

Melissa Mohr, director of education, introduces the exhibition. Local children will also share their perspectives.

Art Talk: Kids Design Glass

7 p.m. Thursday, March 20

Alex Stisser, one of the original Hot Shop artists, will discuss the exhibition and his involvement with the initial project at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

Kids Design Glass LIVE 

2-7 p.m. Sunday, March 30

Join the local winner of the Kids Design Glass drawing contest as he/she Skypes with the glass team from the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington live in the Figge Art Museum auditorium. Watch as the glass sculpture comes to life on the live feed.

Kids Design Glass Exhibition Tours 

1:30 p.m. Saturdays • February 1, 15, 22 and March 8, 29

1:30 p.m. Sundays • February 2 and March 16

About the Figge Art Museum 

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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I love the fresh-scrubbed feel of a new year. It's a great time to set goals for myself and my company, which always fires me up and inspires me to charge ahead.

I do more looking forward this time of year than looking back, but it is important to pause and take stock of where I've been. It helps me avoid making the same mistakes twice, and reminds me of things we did that worked well, so that we can try to repeat them.

To that end, here are my top four marketing must-do's in 2014.

• Define your marketing goals.

With clearly defined goals, you have something to aim for and a way to measure your progress (or lack thereof). Throughout the year, I can easily analyze the numbers and see whether I'm on track to meet my goals; if I'm not, I know I need to look for any problems that need to be addressed.

Some marketing goal ideas include how many followers or connections you'll gain on your social media networks, and how many new subscribers you'll sign up for newsletters. Sales may be a number you take into account, but it shouldn't be a goal for your marketing efforts. Sales are the result of a comprehensive strategy of which marketing is just one component.

• Develop and build your own marketing database

Building a database with email addresses and relevant information about former, current and prospective clients is absolutely essential. It allows you to communicate with them, reminding past customers of all you have to offer; strengthening the confidence of current customers; and encouraging prospective customers to move toward a sale.

If you're just getting started, create a database of all the people you know who might be interested in hearing from you: friends, family members, former business associates - everyone.  Your communications should not be sales pitches; rather, offer valuable, helpful information relevant to your field.

Keeps your database growing by offering content on your website that includes a "call to action" - an invitation for visitors to share their contact information in exchange for something that benefits them. That might include free reports available as downloads, how-to videos or subscriptions to your blog posts. If you're an author, you can provide a free chapter or two of your book.

• Maintain your marketing budget even when sales slump.

The first thing some people do when income declines is minimize expenses by whacking their marketing budget. Huge mistake! In fact, you need to pay more attention to marketing when sales drop off.

The new prospects you develop today, and the prospects you've been establishing relationships with, will be your paying customers tomorrow. If you allow that stream to dry up, you'll be in even more dire straits a few weeks or months from now.

• Use every marketing tool available to you.

Today we have more tools than ever for communicating the value of our service or product to the public. Many of them cost you nothing!

Forget yesterday's expensive direct mail letters. Today I can jump on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and the other social media networks and reach a potentially far larger audience for free.

Speaking engagements may be old school, but they're still effective; personal, face-to-face experiences create lasting impressions. Traditional media -- radio, newspapers and magazines, and TV - are also still powerful and carry the additional benefit of giving you credibility. That implied endorsement from journalists and talk show hosts sets you apart from the crowd.

Creating a great website accessible to millions of potential shoppers doesn't have to break the bank, and you can ramp up its value by using it to showcase your publicity.

Use everything at your disposal to share your message.

Following these simple but essential tips will help ensure you stay in front of your customers in the months ahead, which may just make 2014 your best year ever.

About Marsha Friedman: Marsha Friedman is a 23-year veteran of the public relations industry. She is the CEO of EMSI Public Relations (www.emsincorporated.com/smallbusiness), a national firm that provides PR strategy and publicity services to businesses, professional firms, entertainers and authors. Marsha is the author of Celebritize Yourself and she can also be heard weekly on her Blog Talk Radio Show, EMSI's PR Insider every Thursday at 3:00 PM EST. Follow her on Twitter: @marshafriedman.

Beginning Friday, Jan. 31, ALDI, the nation's low-price grocery leader*, will offer grocery shoppers a smarter alternative as it opens its newest Iowa City store, located at 760 Ruppert Road.

Council Bluffs, IA - The largest progressive group of veterans in America, with over 360,000 supporters, VoteVets.org, is today continuing its campaign of powerful new television ads in Iowa and Nebraska, aimed at protecting the bipartisan Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).  The ad buy is nearly $115,000 for one week of time in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, and Omaha Nebraska, as well as in Washington, D.C., where it will be seen by decision makers on the issue.  Previously, the group ran a $110,000 television ad buy in Des Moines and Washington, DC on the issue.

Today's ads both feature an Iraq War Veteran, Michael Connolly, making the case that gutting the Renewable Fuel Standard would allow for a greater flow of oil dollars to our enemies, who use that money for weaponry that has targeted our troops.  Connolly, who served in Iraq from 2007 to 2008, lived in Glenwood, Iowa from 2010 to 2012, and now lives just across the border, in Nebraska.

NEW AD IN IOWA

The ad in Cedar Rapids and Council Bluffs begins with a massive explosion in front of a military convoy.  Connolly says, "I did two tours in the Middle-East...and let me tell you, I saw a heck of a lot, like how billions in oil profits found their way to some of the same terrorists we were fighting against. Investing in renewable energy like the kind here in Iowa can help stop that.  It means more American jobs and less oil money going to enemies who threaten our national security. Tell the EPA to stand up to Big Oil...don't cut the Renewable Fuel Standard."

The full script of the ad is below.  The ad can be viewed here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVWgaewyu7U .

NEW AD IN NEBRASKA

The ad in Omaha opens with a massive explosion in front of a military convoy. Connolly says, "War is dangerous. I know. I was there.  Now, people ask me all the time how they can support the troops." Holding a yellow ribbon, Connolly says, "By putting one of these on your car?  Sure..." And then in front of an ethanol gas pump, "By putting this in your tank?  Even better... More renewable fuels, like the kind grown here in Nebraska, means we use less foreign oil. And that means less money for our enemies.  But the oil companies are trying to kill renewable fuels."

The full script is below.  The ad can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vskA8OCaMiI .

The facts back up Connolly's words.  Although the United States often does not directly buy oil from hostile nations, like Iran, America's dependence on oil drives up demand, and prices of oil on the world market, which benefits all oil-rich nations.  Those oil dollars allowed Iran, for instance, to produce and ship Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) to Iraqi insurgents, who used them to target our troops.¹

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates for every one billion gallons of ethanol produced, 10,000 to 20,000 jobs are added to our domestic economy.²

According to the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the ethanol Industry supports around 55,000 jobs in Iowa, and accounts for $5.4 billion of Iowa's GDP.³ Gutting the RFS would threaten the development of next generation biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol plants in Iowa scheduled to start operation next year.  Rather than using kernels of corn, these advanced plants will make the fuel from the "biomass" of various low-value plant material including corn stalks and wood chips.³

According to the Nebraska Corn Board, "a typical 100 million gallon ethanol plant adds on average 50 jobs in the community where it is located, purchases about 37 million bushels of corn from local farmers and produces about 320,000 tons of distillers grains (dried equivalent). It also generates nearly $4.5 million in tax revenue."⁴

VoteVets.org is one of the groups leading the way in calling for the EPA to protect the RFS, and is urging its members and supporters to, as well.  Along with a coalition of groups, VoteVets.org is collecting petition signatures from everyday Americans who want to see us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, protect our troops, and create jobs.

Founded in 2006,  and backed by over 360,000 supporters, the mission of VoteVets.org is to use public issue campaigns and direct outreach to lawmakers to ensure that troops abroad have what they need to complete their missions, and receive the care they deserve when they get home. VoteVets.org also recognizes veterans as a vital part of the fabric of our country and will work to protect veterans' interests in their day-to-day lives. VoteVets.org is committed to the destruction of terror networks around the world - with force when necessary - to protect America.  While non-partisan, the group is the largest progressive organization of veterans in America.

Sources:

¹ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/

² http://www.growthenergy.org/

³ http://www.iowacorn.org/en/

⁴ http://www.nebraskacorn.org/internally-linked-pages/ethanol/

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