The three nominees for the 2010 Business Excellence Award are:

2010 Business Excellence Award Finalist-Not for Profit Category goes to the Tri City Health Partnership presented by Jack Griffin and Tom Hansen to Shannon Watson.

2010 Business Excellence Award Finalist-Small Business Category goes to Serenity Packaging Corporation presented by Tim Hansen to Kelly Enos

Check out our website and blog and see how we can help you, your business or next event a rousing success with the wonders of our award-winning story telling photography!!

Five Steps to a Greener Wedding:

1. Give guests green favors. These attractive, unique gifts create lasting memories while reducing your carbon footprint. Eco-friendly favors can be reasonably priced and beautifully packaged. All favors include complete growing instructions to help your guests create amazing gardens and landscapes. To view some green favor ideas, visit Bulb Favors, Tree Favors, Flower Favors or Herb Favors. Tree Beginnings wants to encourage everyone to plant a tree for a greener tomorrow. If you place an order during Earth Month (April), you will automatically be given a free gift to plant your own tree!

2. Give guests eco-gift boxes made of 100% recycled paper, which include a natural clay pot and seed. This unique gift is also finished with an adorable personalized card and your choice of brilliantly colored ribbon. This popular favor is available in an amazing selection of flower, herb and tree seeds for all fashions of gardeners. To view this entire collection, please visit Eco-Gift Boxes.

3. Have an eco-friendly guest book. Beautiful handmade paper guest books can enhance a wedding reception with their elegance and originality. For guest book ideas, visit Guest Books.

4. Present guests with seed place cards. Customize these place cards by printing or writing your guests’ names on them. Feel free to add ribbon to match your wedding theme. Here’s another idea – outside the reception area, hang your place cards on a small tree with invisible thread. This creates a fun opportunity for guests to find their names on the place cards. For seed place card ideas, visit Seed Place Cards.

5. Place tree centerpieces on tables. Grow your own or visit a local nursery for a 3-4 year old mini-evergreen tree in a decorative pot. What a socially conscious way to support local business and to celebrate the outdoors.

 Now, let’s all take the Green Wedding Challenge! Visit Tree Beginning’s blog and write a comment about how you plan to add green to your wedding.

 PERFECT PIN-UP DAYS ARE MARCH 27TH & APRIL 3RD, 2010  

Our Perfect Pin-Up Sessions are a completely different experience from our other sessions. Oh, don’t be mistaken, you still have fun, you will still laugh, and you will walk away with some amazing images, but you will also be creating a timeless image of yourself. One that will be completely different than any other images you may have of yourself. Your Perfect Pin-Up image will show a side of you that hasn’t been captured before and one that your family and friends will be jealous that you had your image created before them.

5 REASONS TO BE A PERFECT PIN-UP

1. Because your image will be colorful, exciting and something new.

2. You always knew you had it in you, but never had a chance to express your Pin-Up “attitude”.

3. It will make a great gift for your boyfriend, husband or honey (who wouldn’t want an Iphone pic of you?)

4. It’s another reason to get your hair & make-up done and leave the house.

5. You will look HOT! We promise.

We have several different types of Sessions but we will only be offering one specific session on March 27th and April 3rd. The Perfect Pin Up session will consist of one clothing style (your choice) with whatever props you like or no props at all (sometimes those are the best). I will pick the image with the best expression and pose and your final image will be fully retouched will a “contemporary” solid background in the color that best matches the outfit you were wearing (just like the above and below images).

Some CLOTHING tips for your Pin-Up Session

* The more colorful the better. Pinks, purples, light blue, orange, yellow, greens, polka dots, all work well for these types of shots. Think 40’s.

* Avoid logos of any kind, we don’t want to date the image to anything other than the 40’s.

* Sundresses, fishnet stockings, bustier, frilly skirts, short shorts, tie up tops, and old style bathing suites look great for this type of portrait. And don’t forget the shoes!!! Mary-Janes, pumps, high heels etc.

* This isn’t about clothing, but hair and make-up. You can do your own that’s just fine, but if you wish to get the most out of your session we suggest getting a professional Pin-Up Stylist.

SO WHAT DO YOU GET?

Your session will include 1 Fully Retouched 5×7 contemporary Perfect Pin-Up Image with 2 wallets (of the same pose) and I-File for email, facebook, myspace or whatever other online social presence you might have.

SO WHAT DOES IT COST?

This is a one-time promotion event for our Perfect Pin-Ups at a low cost of $85-

If you wish to have your hair and makeup done (which we highly suggest) please contact our Pin-Up Stylist Suzanne @ the Suzanne Denee Salon. Phone (630) 587-3150 Suzanne and her girls do OUTSTANDING hair and make-up for Pin-Ups!

BE THE FIRST 5 TO CALL AND RECEIVE AN 8X10 MAG COVER FREE Don’t Delay! There are only 12 openings left for these 2 days so be sure to call us at 630-377-8001 to book your slot.

The lesson from two lemonade stands

The first stand is run by two kids. They use Countrytime lemonade, paper cups and a bridge table. It’s a decent lemonade stand, one in the long tradition of standard lemonade stands. It costs a dollar to buy a cup, which is a pretty good price, considering you get both the lemonade and the satisfaction of knowing you supported two kids.

The other stand is different. The lemonade is free, but there’s a big tip jar. When you pull up, the owner of the stand beams as only a proud eleven year old girl can beam. She takes her time and reaches into a pail filled with ice and lemons. She pulls out a lemon. Slices it. Then she squeezes it with a clever little hand juicer.

The whole time that’s she’s squeezing, she’s also talking to you, sharing her insights (and yes, her joy) about the power of lemonade to change your day. It’s a beautiful day and she’s in no real hurry. Lemonade doesn’t hurry, she says. It gets made the right way or not at all. Then she urges you to take a bit less sugar, because it tastes better that way.

While you’re talking, a dozen people who might have become customers drive on by because it appears to take too long. You don’t mind, though, because you’re engaged, almost entranced. A few people pull over and wait in line behind you.

Finally, once she’s done, you put $5 in the jar, because your free lemonade was worth at least twice that. Well, maybe the lemonade itself was worth $3, but you’d happily pay again for the transaction. It touched you. In fact, it changed you.

Which entrepreneur do you think has a brighter future

Seth’s Blog : The lesson from two lemonade stands
Seth Godin Blog