If you have a business or favorite organization to promote, do it! Good community content is hard to find, “good” meaning ALL the questions are answered – who, what, where, when, and why. If you take the time to share information with others with win-win in mind, there’s no objection from us against you promoting yourself just a little or maybe a lot.

Our #1 mandate, keep everything family-friendly and child-safe. Happy posting!

Posted by Carl Bromley, community volunteer

Did you post something on Local4All and then want to add new information or make changes?  If you were logged in, you’re in luck… you can go to the Toolbox page and click for a list of your events, etc.   From the list, you can add, edit, copy, or delete.

It’s easy!

1. Go to http://login.local4all.com and, if you want, create a bookmark to the page if you really want to make it easy for future posts.
2. Click on “Create an account” or log in, whichever applies.
3. After creating your account, log in each time you post so our system can track your work and give you easy access – from any Internet connection, anywhere.
4. Online brochures and similar content will be listed on the left side of the Toolbox page.  On the right, you can click on links to create lists of your events, classified postings, etc.
5. Happy posting!

If you don’t log in, figure we’re going to be playing phone tag because there are only a few of us that can edit other people’s content.  We will, but it’s obviously way easier to empower YOU!

While wishing everyone well, there are a few we want to point out as especially deserving of your consideration for volunteer efforts, donations, or _____????

• Armstrong Habitat for Humanity – it’s been 8 years since I was elected to their Board of Directors and, according to the rulebook, I have to take a year off.  As of today, AHFH still has a couple of seats open on their new Board and there’s always a lot of ways you can help as a volunteer.  When their ReStore opens in downtown Kittanning, there will also be a place where you can buy building materials for CHEAP and proceeds go to a good cause.  Website:  www.armstronghfh.org
• Allegheny Valley HFH – Best wishes for a great 2010 for Diane Belitskus and her volunteers, staff, and partner organizations.  An EXCELLENT place for college students to help out in an ‘alternative spring break’.  I met students from Buffalo, NY, last year.  website: www.habitatav.org
  

  Allegheny Valley Habitat for Humanity, a good organization

• 

  HomEXPO - come see us there

  StrongLand Chamber of Commerce – Working to help not just member businesses but the Kiski Valley and surrounding region as a whole.  From a survey of the members that is still ongoing, it seems that their student incentive program, the Math League, and Quiz Bowl are popular ways for the Chamber to interact with our region’s future, one teen at a time.  Volunteer opportunity:  You can sit in on Economic Development Committee or other committee meetings if you really want to help us help the Kiski region get going again.

• Our Local4All partner restaurants – you can see a list at placemats.local4all.com.  Know a good family-style restaurant that’s not on our list?  Check our service area map and earn a $20 finder’s fee if you can help us get our placemats on their tables.
• Our Local4All advertisers – thank you for your loyalty and please let us know how we can serve you better.   To newcomers, did you know about our free tools for self-publishing?  Check out http://free4all.local4all.com and let me know if you need help with anything.  New ideas on how we can improve are always welcome.
  

  Posting on Local4All is 100% free, almost always as simple as 1-2-3

• Our Local4All volunteers – to Darla, Neill, and everyone else, thank you for helping us get the word out about local organizations, their events, and success stories. Darla publishes information for Armstrong Co Mem Hospital, the Ford City Library, and her church.  Neill covers the Roaring Run Watershed Assoc, F.L.A.G, StrongLand Chamber events, his own business River’s Edge Canoe & Kayak, has posted photos from River’s Edge Bait Shop and more.  Many thanks to ALL volunteers everywhere!

Darla is without a doubt our most valuable player when it comes to posting events.  She volunteers for her church, the Ford City Library, and Armstrong County Memorial Hospital and most, if not all, of their events show up on the Local4All calendar.

Thank you, Darla… Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God Bless.

Carl

Bill's Small Engine Service near Apollo, PA

I enjoy helping others.  It’s in my nature to help as much as I can without killing myself so, for you, this “posting” is my best attempt to deliver my message to as many as I can without having a one-on-one conversation.  This way you can read it when you want (3 am?) and you can put it away for later if the time isn’t right right now.

Would I welcome a conversation?  Absolutely yes but I don’t know who you are, yet.  Proposed:  I’ll let you come to me with any questions you may have and I’ll handle questions from others the same way… that way I’ll have more time to help you when you need it.

Easy URL to more info:  more4you.local4all.com

As part two of this series, I want to suggest to volunteers a couple of ways that you can help your organization grow and prosper.  Is success guaranteed?  No but it raises the chances.  Is that worth your time and effort to read?  You be the judge.

Ways you can help your organization succeed:

1. Take word of the free Local4All online  tools/solutions to your leaders.  Many volunteers would rather not stick their necks out too far so let the leaders decide.  Maybe they will give you permission to use our forms to promote their cause and maybe they will BLESS you for offering to help.  If you’re not comfortable collecting their information, typing it into a simple form, reviewing it and editing as needed, the path is clear… get help!  (i.e., someone to stick their neck out, too)    That being said… trust me, it’s pretty easy when you take it one step at a time.
2. Find a like-minded volunteer and go to the leaders together.  Anyone who handles public relations or marketing is likely to appreciate having help.  Once again, you will want to make sure they know what you’re doing and that it can be edited as needed, even if they have to call me (Carl: 724-548-7249).  Trust me, I’ve corrected information plenty of times for other people… it’s not a big deal, actually much easier than trying to type it all myself.
3. Just type! Take the main messages your organization is trying to promote and use the forms yourself.  Who was it that said begging for forgiveness is much easier than asking for permission?  It certainly is…  been there, done that!  And I’m still a willing volunteer.
4. Think about it, what is there to lose?  It’s always good to expand your options and then narrow down what you want to do.  Including this “thinking about it” option, you now know about four options that you didn’t have ten minutes ago.  If your organization has a need that is not addressed by our forms or within the scope of our nonprofit tutorial, please let me know.

Most of the online tools were created just for nonprofit organizations.  As a volunteer, I’ve used them extensively.  And sometimes donations have arrived in a nonprofit’s mailbox that they didn’t expect, due in large part to our online tools.  I love to help.

Best regards,

Carl
Local4All
724-548-7249

I’m really surprised Neill (m12.local4all.com) hasn’t been rattling my cage about posting on my blog but he’s probably been too busy getting ready for the off-season… the canoe and kayak rental business doesn’t do too much during the winter so he and Evelyn get to kick back until after the spring thaw.

Good conversation! I was just talking with Kevin from Ferguson Glass about our online advertising to go along with his placemat ads in three of our service areas.  I called the shop (Saturday morning) and caught Susan answering the phone even though they aren’t open on Saturdays.  I had been looking at the big picture (7 Holiday placemats to print in the next 7 days) and had forgotten to email their ad proof to them.  All is well, all we have to do is add “Est. 1945″ and we’re good to go.

Kevin and I also talked about some of my favorite pages in the Local4All website.  It struck me that, once again, I was talking to an audience of one person (always a great idea in business advertising but still uses up a lot of time!).  Here’s a recap:

m12.local4all.com – map of River’s Edge Canoe & Kayak (very accurate maps for free in do-it-yourself mode, otherwise low-cost and occasionally I barter for something I need)
m18.local4all.com – in this map, the pointer is on the beach at Crooked Creek Park.  In 8 years as Race Director, I never heard of anyone getting lost finding the park and I never had to give anyone directions either!  (except to our web page)
m258.local4all.com – map for StrongLand Chamber of Commerce
16201.local4all.com – our page for Kittanning, PA
16201e.local4all.com – Kittanning area events, default is Kittanning and nearby.
cblog.local4all.com – this blog
hairbysher.local4all.com – Sherry maintains her own Local4All web page with a little bit of help from me from time to time.
b2.local4all.com – our business advertising tutorial (page 1 of 3)

More favorites that Kevin and I didn’t talk about:

placemats.local4all.com – our placemat advertising business
n2.local4all.com – an introduction to free tools for non-profits
15656.local4all.com – if you click on “More Photos”, you can see Neill in an orange kayak holding up a big fish that he caught in the Kiski River.  What a life… a kayak from your business, bait from your own Bait & Tackle business, and free tools for self-publishing on Local4All.  Life should always be so good, shouldn’t it?  In case you haven’t guessed it yet, I consider meeting Neill and Evelyn a blessing, too.

Neill Andritz of River’s Edge Canoe & Kayak is acting as my conscience today… says it has been a long time since I’ve posted to my blog.  He’s right!  Thanks, Neill… hope you and Evelyn get even more people on the river next year, it’s good for our economy.

http://m12.local4all.com – custom Local4All map for River’s Edge.

Sticky: Contrary to the views of many older citizens, the Internet CAN help families come together.  Among my 36 ‘FaceBook friends’ are 17 family members, many of them MUCH, MUCH younger than myself and, through Facebook, I’m learning more about them and they are learning about me.

Hayley thinks I’m NOT old and grumpy (haha, being online and using smileys help) and I’ve been able to chat online with my niece from NY state Kim – COOL!  (alt:  KEWL!).  Brian and Ben Fisher confirmed they are my relatives, but I already knew that.  Again, cool!

Stay tuned for my intermittent high tech ramblings and, if you know anything I don’t, please comment below.

My favs: My WordPress blog, LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Local4All maps
Dubious about: MySpace, Digg, and Microsoft (even though I’ve always been a PC user.

Users across the USA can post events to their own community page free of charge.  No cleanup needed, events are automatically tagged “WAS” after they finish and are hidden a few days later.  Our only requirement is that all content be family-friendly, child-safe.

Resources:

• Two pages about free-to-use, Google-magnetic Local4All forms–> http://free4all.local4all.com
• Just go there and get started! –> http://www.local4all.com/form_events.php
• Shortcut URL –> fe.local4all.com (fe is short for “form for events”)