WARNER SPRINGS PROGRAM TEACHES KIDS AGRICULTURAL SKILLS, PRESERVES WESTERN & NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery June 1, 2009 (Warner Springs)—“It’s always fun when we get an adult to volunteer to be the cow,” Sherri Freeman quipped, then deftly lassoed a running parent. Nearby, youngsters saddled up on a bucking mechanical horse, ground acorns, studied history of the Butterfield Stage Coach, hiked with an ecologist, visited farm animals, and learned about wild herbs from a Native American healer. Watch our slideshow View our videos! Acorn-grinding lesson; teacher lassos a parent “cow” “We have a lot of resources that other schools don’t,” said Freeman, founder of the Warner Springs Outdoor Academic Experience program for children ages five through fifteen. “We have the Pacific Crest Trail, Native American history, our own local Warner Ranch history, and agriculture.” An agricultural teacher at Warner Springs School, Freemans wrote a grant and established a program to teach agricultural skills to children countywide—also preserving the region’s rich Western heritage and lore. The program has also helped the small K-12 school become more sustainable. “We realized since we are so small, we needed to reach out with the budget cuts,” Freeman noted. “We’re really excited to have partnered with Cleveland National Forest and various other agencies to bring about this program.” More than sixty students have enrolled so far in the program, which is also supported by local tribes and Dr. Richard Schrock, a Nobel Prize winner, said Freeman. “Our first year was challenging due to schools cutting transportation costs,” she noted, adding that she has written several grants and hopes the program will grow as more people around San Diego County learn about the program. “This is black sage,” Melody Sees, a Cahuilla Indian, explains to students. “I’m a sun dancer. We use this to make our crowns.” Students also learn that the inner bark of a willow tree can be boiled to ease headaches, while pine needles can be used to make tea and baskets. Students also learn how to select black oak acorns and try their hand at grinding them. The program also includes a visit to a new Native American museum at the Warner Springs Community Resource Center across the street. “Geronimo rocks!” exclaimed Tana Zaph, 10, saddled up atop a mechanical horse. Nearby, an exhibit includes old cavalry saddles, photos and memorabilia from the Butterfield Stage Coach and other elements of the region’s western heritage. Geologist Norrie Robbins led a group of Girl Scouts on ecology walk, assigning a team leader, data manager, recorder, and scientific illustrator to record findings such as rocks, birds, plants and animals/ Students at the school also raise farm animals for 4-H including goats, pigs, chickens, cows and rabbits, also learning vermiculture and farming skills such as gathering eggs and growing vegetables. Worm castings and swine manure are used to fertilize a vineyard on the property. School board member Cindy Magill shared the rich history of Warner Springs in an exclusive interview with East County Magazine, taking a break from teaching students how to burn brands into leather. “Since the beginning of time, the Cupeño Indians were here,” she said, adding that the region has long been prized for its hot springs. Later, the land fell under Mexican rule and was granted to Antonio Pico and later, John Warner. Ultimately the property was split up between Pico and Warner. “They would wash sheep in the hot springs and called them Soda Springs,” Magill explained. “The wool was really white and sought after around the world. San Diego got on the map with the best wool in the world.” The region’s colorful history includes “a lot of fighting, cattle rustling, and murder on the trail,” Magill said. “When we go riding out here, you can feel the spiritualness, a connection, like all these spirits are here saying `Now you know who we are.” Around the turn of the century (1901 or 1902), the Cupeño Indians were forced off their native land and moved westward, forming the La Jolla, Rincon and Pala reservations. In 1960, the Vista irrigation District acquired the land and leased the cattle ranch, where Art and Stan Farr still run cattle today, aided by two cowhands who have worked the ranch since they were teenagers. “The hot springs, a 16-acre parcel, was sold separately,” noted Magill. The property was developed into the Warner Springs Resort. Now Magill revealed, “It’s for sale—and the Pala Indians are the closest to buying it back.” Smiling wistfully, she concluded, “Boy, the angels are going to be singing if that happens!” For more information on the Warner Springs Outdoor Education Program, visit http://www.ilacsd.org/pdf/WarnerSprings.pdf. Printer-friendly version
CLEAN, GREEN MACHINES: ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES ON SHOW AT STREET SMART SAN DIEGO JUNE 7
Printer-friendly versionJune 1, 2009 (San Diego)—In San Diego, vehicle emissions are the number one cause of greenhouse emissions that cause global warming. Fortunately, a new generation of vehicles powered by alternative fuels now provides cleaner options for us all. Check out the latest innovations in alternative fuel vehicles from showroom models to electric sports cars and scooters at the third annual Street Smart San Diego event on Sunday, June 7th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event also features industry experts speaking about new and emerging clean transportation technologies. Join us for hands-on exhibits, workshops and other interactive activities. The event will be held at the California Center for Sustainable Energy, 8690 Balboa Ave., Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92123. For more information, call (858)244-1177 or visit http://energycenter.org/. Printer-friendly version
DINO MOUNTAIN ROARS TO LIFE AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO’S WILD ANIMAL PARK
Printer-friendly versionStory by Marisa Kezirian Photo by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo May 31, 2009 2009 (Escondido)–For a limited time this summer, the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park offers its exceptional exhibit, Dino Mountain. The mechanical robotic dinosaurs come to life and give viewers a true life experience of being up close and personal with some of the most amazing creatures of all time. Twenty-four different dinosaurs including Tyrannosaurus Rex and Stegosaurus, take over the Park’s Conifer Forest, home to the second largest collection of conifer species in the United States. The creatures make movements, look different directions, and roar, as you feel like the dinosaurs have come to life and are responding to your actions. One special dinosaur, Dilophosaurus, actually spits water out of his mouth, and if you are not careful you might end up in his line of fire! A magical display for children and adults of all ages, the dinosaurs will leave you mesmerized by their authenticity. From their texture to the noises they make, the dinosaurs will take you back in time and leave you longing for more. Dino Mountain is the most up close and personal guests can get to experiencing the creatures that roamed the earth long ago. Dino Mountain is open from 9 a.m. to dusk through Sept. 7, 2009. The price is $3 for Zoo members; $4 for nonmembers; and included with Best Value Admission ($38 adult, $29 children ages 3-11, free for those under 3). Best Value Admission also includes the Journey Into Africa tour and all-day Conservation Carousel rides. San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park is located in the San Pasqual Valley, east of Escondido. For more information, visit http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html Marisa Kezirian is a student at San Diego State University and an intern with East County Magazine. Printer-friendly version
MARKETING MATTERS: TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH
Printer-friendly versionInternal Customers’ Interaction with External Customers: The Ultimate Marketing Tool By Rama Beerfas June 1, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) –In our previous installment, we looked at how important your internal customers (employees) are to the success of your business. (If you missed it, check it out at http://eastcountymagazine.org/?q=node/986). Of course, no matter how good your relationship is with your internal customers, if they cannot translate your message and ideology into similarly good relationships with your external customers (the people paying for your goods and/or services), then every penny, effort and minute you spend on any other marketing efforts is wasted. Consider your favorite place to dine out. If you go there often enough, at least some of the staff recognizes you. Maybe they know your “usual” meal or drink. Perhaps someone there even greets you by name! Do you choose to go to this particular restaurant because of its marketing? (If it is a privately owned restaurant, they may not even have any external marketing, other than the sign on their building.) Is the type of food there not available anywhere else in town? Is the quality of the food so far above anyone else’s that you couldn’t trust your palate to any other establishment? Probably not. What keeps you coming back is customer service – the feeling that you are a valued guest. The quality and quantity of customer service we expect to receive are dictated to a great extent by several factors: reputation, price, location, marketing promises, and more. For example, we certainly don’t expect the same level of service at Wal*Mart as we do from Nordstrom, even though they are both department stores. If an employee at Wal*Mart were to go the extra distance and walk you to the correct aisle for the product you are looking for, rather than just give you the aisle number and point, wouldn’t that make you think you’d just received great customer service? If the same thing happened at Nordstrom, would you be more likely to believe that you had just received average customer service? Would you feel disappointed, or even disgruntled if that Nordstrom employee had simply told you which department to go to with a wave of the hand in the general direction? The corporate message at Wal*Mart is all about price; at Nordstrom it’s all about customer service. To give you the same “wow” factor that a Wal*Mart gave you in the example above, the Nordstrom employee would probably have to walk you to the correct department, then introduce you by name to the salesperson in that department with a mention of what you are looking to find. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am a huge Disney fan. When we celebrate a birthday at the Disneyland Resort, I know that a birthday button, obtained at Guest Services and affixed to the celebrant’s shirt, will elicit a personalized “Happy Birthday” greeting from cast members (from ride operators to characters to janitorial staff) who see that button; and they are trained to look for it! One year, our six-year old wanted to celebrate her birthday at a San Diego amusement park instead of Disneyland. I found out that they also have birthday buttons, so I promptly got her one to wear. We spent the entire day at the park, where exactly one employee wished her a “Happy Birthday.” She had a great time, but we all felt let down that she wasn’t made to feel as special as her sister was on her birthday nine months before at Disneyland. As a family, we decided that this park was fun, but birthdays are better at Disney! The customer service your employees deliver can make or break any perception that your marketing department puts out. Ultimately, it is the client that determines what an acceptable level of customer service is for your particular business. If you cannot maintain even a semblance of the customer service levels that your customers expect, then spend your money on training, not marketing, because you will spend your money replacing customers rather than growing your customer base. If your customer service delivery can go just one step above what is expected, and maintain that level, you will be rewarded with referrals, good reviews, repeat business and a growing bottom line! Good, or great, customer service is the cornerstone of your marketing efforts . In the following months, we’ll be looking at other marketing concepts and strategies to grow your business. Rama Beerfas is the Chief Solutions Specialist of San Diego-based Lev Promotions, offering marketing consulting and promotional product programs. Rama also offers seminars and training in topics related to marketing and customer service. She can be reached at (619) 697-2045 or at rama@levpromotions.com. Please submit requests for column topics to the above e-mail address Printer-friendly version
PARKWAY PLAZA BECOMES ART GALLERY FOR EAST COUNTY KIDS
Printer-friendly versionBy Gayle Early June 1, 2009 (El Cajon)—Six art pieces selected from each of 87 participating middle and elementary schools were on display at the 19th Annual Kids Art Show last month at Westfield Parkway. Cookies accompanied a reception in the mall, just around the corner from Macy’s. Each artist received a blue ribbon, including Sophia Coseip, whose artwork is shown in the photo above. Friends of East County Arts, Inc, a philanthropic organization dedicated to raising funds to support the visual and performing arts in the Greater East County of San Diego, hosted the event and also awarded $5,000 to participating schools. Since its inception, Friends has given over half a million dollars in awards, scholarships, and grants to individuals, schools, and art organizations throughout East County. The young students clearly enjoyed their opportunity for expression and having their artistry admired by friends, family, and shoppers streaming past. Printer-friendly version
DOWNTOWN ARCHWAY IN EL CAJON: NEW CITY LANDMARK TO BE DEDICATED JUNE 10th
Printer-friendly versionJune 1, 2009 (El Cajon) The public is invited to the official lighting of downtown El Cajon’s new archway, which is being installed this week. A lighting ceremony will be held at the closing of the Classic Car Show on Wednesday, June 10th at 8:00 p.m. The new City landmark will arch over West Main Street, just west of Magnolia Avenue. The decorative arch, selected last year by a vote of the public, is held aloft by two metal standards with a dedication and historical plaque on each support column. The first will bear the names of the Mayor and City Councilmembers, the designer Graphic Solutions and the contractor LNI Custom Manufacturing, Inc. The second plaque will carry the name and likeness of town founder, New Englander Amaziah Lord Knox. In 1869, Knox arrived in the newly opened-for-settlement El Cajon Valley, the same year gold was discovered in what would become Julian. By 1876, there were enough miners, drovers and others riding and walking from the wharf in San Diego that rough dirt roads were formed through Mission and Paradise valleys and over Grossmont and across the valley on their way to Julian. Where that road turned, at today’s East Main Street and Magnolia Avenue, Knox built a small hotel for those who could afford $1 a night for a room, dinner, and boarding their horse. Fittingly, this is where the welcoming arch will be installed. “This landmark feature will provide visitors with location identity similar to those found in other successful revitalized areas of the region,” a press release issued by the City states. “By making the area more attractive for both residents and visitors, new business opportunities are likely to occur, which will provide our residents with additional employment opportunities and places to shop and conduct business.” Funds for the archway are coming from the El Cajon Redevelopment Agency, which receives tax increment derived from property taxes. No general funds of the City are used for these types of redevelopment projects in the downtown area. The project has a $250,000 budget, including $177,160 in actual fabrication and installation costs,$40,000 estimated for the designer’s fee, and approximately $35,000 for the engineering, testing and inspection process. El Cajon’s press release concludes, “Thanks to the arch, after 147 years, Amaziah Lord Knox is still in the middle of it all!” Printer-friendly version
SMILE! LA MESA DENTIST OFFERS TEETH WHITENING AT DISCOUNT, DONATES PROFITS TO BRING SMILES TO POOR ON HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS
Printer-friendly versionJune 1, 2009 (La Mesa) — Jeff Gray, DDS, recently led a team from his La Mesa office on a 10-day humanitarian mission to provide dental care to people living in rural villages in the Dominican Republic. Originator of Smiles for Life, an annual fundraiser for children’s charities supported by more than 800 dentists nationwide, Gray has committed half of the SFL funds raised this year by his office to the Dominican project. Smiles for Life continues through the end of June. People have their teeth whitened at a discount, and 100% of donations go to the SFL Foundation, which has partnered with Garth Brooks’ Teammates for Kids. Photo: Mary Gray anD Patsi Smith, registered dental hygienists from the La Mesa office of Jeff Gray, DDS, with village children at Mata Vaca Guerra community center in the Dominican Republic. One recipient for funds raised by “Smiles for Life” has been “Smiles for Hope,” an outreach dental clinic program in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Roy Hammond and his wife Frances established the Smiles for Hope Foundation and, working with the Smiles for Life Foundation and the Crown Council – which is comprised of more than 800 dentists nationwide — the Hammonds welcome three dental clinic teams a year, each with up to 30 doctors, dental hygienists and assistants. Dr. Jeff Gray and his wife Mary, a registered dental hygienist herself, and two members of the dental team at their La Mesa office, worked in outreach dental clinics to some of the remote under-served villages in need of dental care during a 10-day humanitarian trip this March. “Thirty is how many will fit into a bus to travel from San Pedro to serve the dental needs of families who live in remote, under-served villages or ‘bateys,’” explained Mary Gray. The Grays are residents of Ramona. Also registered dental hygienists, Patsi Smith and Kim Wells are residents of Poway. In addition, Dr. Michelle Yamada, whose dental practice is in the Pacific Beach area, and two of her staff joined the team. “Our host group in the Dominican for these outreach programs is Esperanza International,” explains Mary Gray. “They speak the language, plan which villages, or bateys, we will work in, usually one of the communities where they have a relationship.” During their week in the Dominican, more than 750 patients were treated by their 30-member team. Mary, Patsi and Kim provided one-on-one training to three Dominican hygienists as well. Said Patsi Smith: “It was an amazing experience. It felt good to be able to help those that needed our care.” Dr. Gray’s Blog In a blog report of the trip, Jeff Gray encouraged other dentists to enlist for the Dominican Republic project. He wrote: “My team and I just returned from the Smiles For Hope trip and I must say it was fantastic. Dr. Roy and Frances Hammond have created a quite a program. We are supposed to be down there helping the people but in reality they are helping us. “You will see things that will rip your heart out and then see things that make it swell with joy. You will return with an entirely new group of friends and also with a sincere appreciation for just how lucky we are to live in the US and the many things we take for granted. “I could not recommend a human experience more highly. You are very safe and our guides/escorts from Esperanza are really wonderful human beings as are the people we care for. You will have plenty of safe food and water (not always hot) and you will develop a new appreciation for the many ways to cook chicken. 🙂 “You will do lots of dentistry in unique settings along with laughing, smiling, and feeling really lucky that you had the experience of having your heart and eyes opened by a beautiful group of people.” Local Dentists Determine Half of Donations For the past few years of the annual Smiles for Life campaigns, participating dentists have been given the opportunity to donate half of the money their office raises to local or other children’s charities of their choice. The other half goes to the SFL Foundation. More than $25 million has been distributed over the past 10 years. Mary Gray said this year, half of funds raised at their La Mesa office will go to Smiles for Hope in the Dominican Republic, a country that shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti. “When I look at the pictures we took during our time there and remember the people and how grateful they were for our care,” she says, “it gives me a good feeling to have been able to serve them and to have been a member of our team.” The office of Jeff Gray DDS is at 8555 Fletcher Parkway, Suite 102, in La Mesa. Call 619-337-7700 or go online to www.SmileSanDiego.com for more information. To locate a participating area dentist to whiten your teeth and make a donation to Smiles for Life. Printer-friendly version
EL CAJON LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO PREVENT HOME FORECLOSURES
Printer-friendly versionJune 1, 2009 (El Cajon) If you’re a homeowner in need of help to avoid foreclosure, take heart! Starting today, the City of El Cajon is offering help through a new Homeownership Foreclosure Program (HFP). The HFP Program provides a toolbox of alternatives for low and moderate-income homeowners of properties within the incorporated City of El Cajon who are in jeopardy of losing their homes. The goal of the HFP is to minimize foreclosures and preserve ownership, promote personal investment in our community, prevent continuing reductions in property values due to foreclosure activity, preserve and increase affordable housing opportunities, decrease the need for severely strained public and social services, eliminate blighting conditions or conditions that will lead to blight throughout the City, and to stabilize and improve community neighborhoods. In order to preserve homeownership in El Cajon, the City is now partnering with Community HousingWorks to provide essential foreclosure prevention services so that committed property owners can stay in their homes and remain a vital part of the El Cajon community. For more information please contact Gabe Del Rio, Vice President of Lending & Home Ownership with Community HousingWorks, at (619) 282-6647. For information on the foreclosure prevention program department at Community HousingWorks call (619) 450-8705. Printer-friendly version
SDG&E TEAMS WITH GOOGLE TO PROVIDE ENERGY USAGE DATA TO CUSTOMERS
Printer-friendly versionMay 30, 2009 (San Diego) San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) has announced a partnership with Google that, by the end of this year, will enable SDG&E customers to obtain their daily energy usage information via the popular Web site with Google’s new Google PowerMeter gadget (http://www.google.org/powermeter/ ). The data will be made available through SDG&E’s digital smart meters, which are being installed for all customers over the next two years. “This is about choice, control and convenience for our customers,” said Hal D. Snyder, vice president of customer solutions for SDG&E. “They have told us they prefer a variety of ways to receive this information to make it as easy as possible. Google is the first company to team with us in this effort, and we expect others will follow suit.” SDG&E’s research revealed that, when people know how much energy they are using, they cut back by at least 5 percent to 10 percent. It also revealed that 29 percent of customers preferred access to their energy usage information on their own homepage through a third-party provider, such as Google. SDG&E has created a webpage, http://www.sdge.com/myaccount/energynetwork/, which will act as a platform to provide smart meter customers with a list of choices of where and how they receive their energy usage information. The page will be located where smart meter customers view their online bill information and be available in late 2009. Only customers with smart meters will be able to view their usage information online. Smart meters allow two-way communication between the utility and a customer’s meter and provide customers with detailed energy use data that can help them reduce their energy use and costs. This information also can help residential customers earn a rebate for reducing energy use on peak usage days. In addition, smart meters improve detection of power outages, aid in outage restoration and can even provide improved customer services resulting from more detailed and timely information on individual energy use patterns. In March, SDG&E began installing the first 200,000 digital meters and, by the end of 2011, all 1.4 million customers will have the devices. Once the new meter is installed, SDG&E spends at least three months testing the customer’s device, after which the online energy usage data will be available. Google PowerMeter will display customers’ daily electricity usage on their personalized iGoogle homepage, along side other personalized Google gadgets, such as e-mail, stock quotes, weather and breaking news. Itron, SDG&E’s smart meter vendor, has helped integrate customer data with Google PowerMeter. Only energy usage data is provided to Google for display on the Google PowerMeter – no personal customer information is provided to Google. When customers with smart meters choose to sign up for Google PowerMeter, they can view charts that display their prior-day’s energy usage. The information is detailed by hour, so customers can see exactly when they have used the most energy. SDG&E will provide energy conservation tips via the Google PowerMeter gadget, as well as a link back to SDG&E’s Web site for more energy-efficiency information. Printer-friendly version