Buzz On Biz

HandPicked, an artisan jewelry boutique headquartered in Columbia, S.C., is providing its customers with a truly unique holiday shopping experience this season. The company’s 12 Weeks ‘til Christmas event began in October and runs through Dec. 25. Each week marks the unveiling of a new gift opportunity allowing shoppers to purchase a hand-picked item from the store’s collection at a special value.

“At HandPicked we pride ourselves on being able to provide our customers with unique hand-picked items from around the world that will make perfect gifts for everyone on their holiday shopping lists,” said HandPicked’s founder Melanie Mauldin. “Our customers love our 12 Weeks ‘til Christmas specials because each week brings a new surprising offering from the HandPicked lines.”

HandPicked was founded in 1986 by Mauldin, a Louisiana native who, as a child, was captivated by the culture she experienced spending summers in Mexico. Mauldin turned her passion for the styles, art and people of Mexico into a business – working with Mexican silversmiths to create handcrafted jewelry. HandPicked now offers unique sterling silver jewelry, monogrammed gifts, on-trend accessories and fashions expressly chosen for its clients crafted by artisans all over the world.

“HandPicked stands out as a boutique with offerings unlike any others,” she said. “I always knew I wanted to create a unique brand that shoppers could connect with on a personal level.”
HandPicked has stores in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Mt. Pleasant and Myrtle Beach, S.C., Augusta, Ga., Lexington, Ky., Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C., and Murfreesboro, Tenn. For more information about the 12 Weeks ‘til Christmas specials, visit http://www.behandpicked.com.

About HandPicked
HandPicked, based in Columbia, S.C., offers unique, handcrafted artisan jewelry, trendy accessories, and artful gifts for women. Founded in 1986 by Melanie Mauldin, the company has evolved from home shows and holiday markets to a family-owned chain of 15 stores in four states. Originally created by a love of fashion and a passion for the land and people of Mexico, HandPicked has built its reputation on passion, spirit, innovation and dedication to its customers, providing a fun shopping environment that expresses what women want. For more information, visit http://www.behandpicked.com or call 1-800-386-9117.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Barnum Bash introduces the Ringling Bros.^® Ringlettes, who are the stylish hosts of the swankiest circus party in town. The Ringlettes are ready to invite Children of All Ages^® in on the hippest circus spectacular that The Greatest Show On Earth^® has ever produced and is coming February 2-5, 2012 at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, GA.

Tickets go on sale Friday, December 2 and can be purchased by phone at 877.4AUGTIX, online at georgialinatix.com, and at the Bell Auditorium Box Office, for the day of on sale.

Tickets will be available for purchase at the Champion’s Box Office at the James Brown Arena during regular box office hours, after December 2.

The fun begins as soon as the audience enters Ringling Bros. Presents Barnum Bash with a rockin’ Pre-show party happening directly on the arena floor. Party goers can learn fresh dance moves from Ringling Bros. clown DJ Dean, style in glitzy costumes, learn balancing and juggling skills, meet and take photos with circus stars, and even step behind the curtain for an exclusive backstage experience which includes an up-close look at the most exotic animal menagerie only at Barnum Bash.

Ringling Bros. Presents Barnum Bash has assembled the most amazing international acts including Dimitri the Strong Man, Motorcycle Mania, Epic Asian Elephants, Wheel of Steel, and Hand Balancers. All are tricked-out for the circus party and ready to perform wild feats of wonders and strength, to contemporary pop music and in 21^st century Barnum style. Everyone who is anyone is invited to the party, except Anton, a loveable, goofy hipster clown, who just wants to be part of the fun. Ringling Bros. Presents Barnum Bash is all the rage with outlandish thrills, hilarious high-jinks and majestic animals, but can Anton, with his non-stop laughable antics, persuade us all that there’s not just one right way to party!?!

The action at Ringling Bros. Presents Barnum Bash begins an hour before show time at the Pre-show Party – FREE to all ticket holders.  One Ring. A Thousand Memorable Moments. Don’t miss this opportunity to get closer than ever to The Greatest Show On Earth! Get your tickets today!

For more information, visit www.Ringling.com or visit us on Facebook.

For group rates and information, call 706-262-4573.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Owner-broker Larry Miller recently announced CENTURY 21 Larry Miller Realty and its CSRA HOME CONNECTIONS Local Alliance Co-op Marketing Program are jointly conducting a “Heart of Gold” Christmas Food Drive to benefit Golden Harvest Food Bank from now through 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, December 15th. “We’re inviting everyone to just drop off their canned goods and donations by check at all three CENTURY 21 Larry Miller Realty offices and at selected Preferred Provider locations during regular working hours,” explains Marketing Director Lindsey Folley, who is also the “Heart of Gold” project chairperson. “Just visit www.CSRAHomeConnections.com for a complete list of drop– more -2 off locations.” This event will culminate with all canned goods and check donations delivered to the CENTURY 21 Larry Miller Realty corporate headquarters at 235 North Belair Road in Evans between 11:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, December 15th.

“Get a warm feeling in your heart when you help nourish your neighbors throughout the CSRA and get a warm feeling in your tummy when you receive a free cup of chicken’ ‘n dumplings with your donation, courtesy of WifeSaver Restaurants,” adds Mr. Miller. “The big Golden Harvest Food Bank truck will be here in our parking lot to pick up all of our food drive donations on December 15th so they’ll have plenty of time to feed a lot of needy families before and during Christmastime this year.” “We are so happy that Larry Miller and his people decided to select us as the beneficiary of this year’s charitable holiday effort,” reports Mike Firmin, longtime Gold Harvest Food Bank Executive Director. “We deeply appreciate the contributions of media messages, public relations efforts, and the ‘boots on the ground’—the dozens upon dozens of caring citizens from the CSRA HOME CONNECTIONS organization and CENTURY 21 Larry Miller Realty associates who are helping us reach our goal of ‘Feeding Lives Together’ here in the CSRA.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Courtesy: Augusta Chronicle

Augusta West Dance is building a new 8,000-square-foot studio at 232 Furys Ferry Road, according to owner Megan Luquire.

Augusta West was founded in 1978 and Luquire estimates she now has more than 650 students. The current Davis Road locations are two studios in separate buildings with a combined 3,400 square feet. The new building will have three studios under one roof.

“We’ve outgrown our facilities,” she said. “The studio is just doing awesome.”

The project has been in the works for more than a year, and Luquire said the building will be completed between March and May.

“It will be the same staff, same people, same philosophy,” she said. “Just a lot more room.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

WRDW 1630AM 12-2PM OR STREAMING LIVE AT WWW.WRDWAM.COM

12:20pm – - Andy Maxwell, from “Maxwell Smart Promotions”, will join us in the studio to chat about promotional product ideas for business growth. For more information, please visit: www.mspromos.com

12:30pm – - Each day at this time we welcome in a staffing professional from either the Augusta or Aiken branch of Job Shop or Augusta/Aiken Staffing. They’ll share tips on hiring/getting hired and give us the Job Shop’s “Job Of The Day”.  For more info, please log on to: www.jobshopstaffing.com

12:45pm – - Margaret Woodward, from the Downtown Development Authority, will be joining us over the phone to chat about the upcoming Holiday events in Downtown Augusta, including the Second Annual Augusta Chronicle Christmas Light-Up Spectacular.

1:20pm – - Kelvin Collins from the Better Business Bureau will join us over the phone to chat about “Dear Santa” websites and how consumers need to check the privacy policies in regards to these sites.

More than 60 domain names have been registered in the name of Santa Claus, offering children a wide range of opportunities to email St. Nick.   Sadly, some of the websites aren’t always so trustworthy and can potentially be a dangerous way to share personal information.  The Better Business Bureau is advising parents to do their homework before letting their child write to Santa this holiday season.  For more information on website safety and children, please visit CARU at www.CARU.org and for more information you can trust, visit www.bbb.org.

1:45pm – - We welcome a different member of the Augusta Technical College staff to help our listeners look for some new training options or to plan a new future with studies that will yield a new career. For more information, log on to www.augustatech.edu.  This week’s guest: Nick Kelch, Recruitment Specialist for Augusta Technical College.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Join Lanelle Henderson during this half day workshop, Hosted by the Augusta, North Augusta & Columbia County Chambers of Commerce, this workshop is designed to help you take advantage of the current “best practices” in planning, designing, and sending your email campaigns.

Part 1 will cover the basics of what email marketing is, why it works so well, and how to use it in your business planning and strategy to achieve specific goals.

Part II will be a guided tour of the tools and features of the Constant Contact system. You’ll learn how to set up account options, add signup boxes to your website and emails, load a list, build a campaign, and brand your email to match websites and logos. We will also go over text editing and how to work with graphics and colors to give your emails a polished, professional look.

Schedule:
8:30 – 9:00 Registration & Breakfast
9:00 – 11:00 The Power of Email Marketing
11:00 – 11:30 Break
11:30 – 1:00 Getting Started Constant Contact (guided tour)

Who should attend: Suitable for all experience levels, especially beginners. Anyone interested in learning more about email marketing.

BRING A FRIEND OR COLLEAGUE!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Hospice Care of America is having a program on hospice THIS Wednesday, November 30. 8am-2pm at Aldersgate Unite Methodist Church off Wheeler Road. It’s open to public and is great for anyone seeking information on palliative and hospice care. Food and door prizes given. Lunch with Mayor Deke Copenhaver….what more can you ask for?

For more info, please call the local office at: 706-447-2626

Popularity: 1% [?]

Courtesy: Bell Auditorium Press Release

Prolific funny man, actor, author, and stand-up comedian/ranter Lewis Black will be live onstage at the Bell Auditorium Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 8:00 PM as part of his In God We Rust tour.

Ticket prices for the event will be $29.50, $39.50 and $49.50 with a $5.00 increase on all price levels the day of the show.   Tickets go on sale Friday, December 2at 10AM and can be purchased by phone at 877.4AUGTIX, online at www.georgialinatix.com, and at the Bell Auditorium Box Office, the day of on sale.

Tickets will be available for purchase at the Champion’s Box Office at the James Brown Arena during regular box office hours.

Lewis’ live performances provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience. Lewis yells so they don’t have to. He is a passionate performer who is a more pissed-off optimist than mean-spirited curmudgeon. Lewis is the rare comic who can cause an audience to laugh themselves into incontinence while making compelling points about the absurdity of our world.

Lewis Black came into national prominence in his appearances on The Daily Show in 1996.  His appearances on The Daily Show led to four specials on Comedy Central. In 2001, he won the Best Male Stand-Up at the American Comedy Awards. He has also produced six comedy CD albums, including the 2007 Grammy-Award winning The Carnegie Hall Performance. Lewis Black just won his second Grammy Award with his most recent CD “Stark Raving Black” for best comedy album.

Lewis Black has also written two best-selling books, Nothing Sacred and Me of Little Faith.  His book, I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas was released in November 2010.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Click here to hear the podcast with Jeff Asselin

Jeff Asselin from POWERSERVE stops by the radio version of the BUZZ to talk to Bill and John about websites, and why it’s important, no matter what type of business, to keep them fresh and updated.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Click here to hear the podcast with Gabrielle Corbin

Gabrielle Corbin is the owner of the CATCH PHRASE CAFE, located in the Columbia County Library.  Gabrielle stopped by the radio version of the BUZZ to talk to Bill and John about her new venture, and how at her very young age, she became a business owner.

Popularity: 1% [?]