Media Pitch

Cache Valley being taken by storm!!

Tyler Riggs,

Cache Valley is being taken by storm by the Cache Valley Investors Association. Meetings are being held every other Thursday night that are promising financial freedom for free!

Preston Parker, President of the Cache Valley Investors Association has made this possible by pooling together all of his extensive experiences and knowledge and imparting that knowledge to everyone. This is something Cache Valley citizens need to know about and you can make this possible by doing a feature story on this great association.

You can contact me at four three five – seven seven zero – six eight four zero, or via email at mark.taylor@aggiemail.usu.edu. I would be more than happy to facilitate any interviews or teleconferences you might want to do.

Thank you for your time,

Mark W. Taylor

Press Release #4 (FINAL)

For Release 6/1/2008

2/29/2008

Fireworks West International, the premier fireworks company in the inter-mountain west, is located in Cache Valley Utah

Al Burns, Co-Owner
Fireworks West International
alburns10@yahoo.com

LOGAN, UT –

Not many people know that Cache Valley is home to the premier fireworks company in the inter-mountain west; Fireworks West International.

“We produce around 300 pyrotechnic shows across the inter-mountain west a year,” co-owner Al Burns said, “the majority of the shows are in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona.”

One thing that makes Fireworks West unique is, they produce some of their own effects. “We produce tens of thousands of comets and mines a year,” Burns said, “if you watched the Super Bowl Half Time Show with Tom Petty and saw the flaming red fireballs flying over his head, then you saw some of what we produce.”

The comets produced right here in Logan, Utah are used at: Disneyland, Six Flags, the Super Bowl, the NFL kick-off game, the California Angels baseball games, Wrestle Mania, Hollywood productions such as Batman Begins, as well as a number of other amusement parks and venues across the Western United States.

In 2002, Fireworks West was chosen to produce the fireworks shows for the Olympics in Salt Lake City along with Pyro Spectaculars from California, and Grucci from New York. “We had to compete with over 50 fireworks companies from across the world and we won,” Burns said.

“The Olympics is by far the biggest thing we have done or probably ever will do,” Burns said.

“We were involved with the opening and closing ceremonies, all of the public and private shows in Park City, and all of the medal ceremonies,” Burns said, “it took over 250 people with at least 30 man hours each to do all of the shows.

Fireworks West International was started in 1974 in Logan by Ralph Degn. Al Burns and Dean Birch bought the company in 1989 and currently own and run the company.

When asked what the best thing about doing fireworks shows Burns said, “The best thing about doing fireworks shows is seeing the reaction of the crowd at the end of a display.”

For more information about the premier fireworks company in the inter-mountain west, please contact:

Mark Taylor
mark.taylor@aggiemail.usu.edu
four three five – seven seven zero – six eight four zero

Press Release #4 (draft)

For Release 6/1/2008

2/29/2008

Fireworks West International, the premier fireworks company in the inter-mountain west, is located in Cache Valley Utah

Al Burns, Co-Owner
Fireworks West International
alburns10@yahoo.com

LOGAN, UT –

Not many people know that Cache Valley is home to the premier fireworks company in the inter-mountain west; Fireworks West International.

“We produce around 300 pyrotechnic shows across the inter-mountain west a year,” co-owner Al Burns said, “the majority of the shows are in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona.”

One thing that makes Fireworks West unique is that they produce some of their own effects. “We produce tens of thousands of comets and mines a year,” Burns said, “if you watched the Super Bowl Half Time Show with Tom Petty and saw the flaming red fireballs flying over his head, then you saw some of what we produce.”

The comets produced right here in Logan, Utah are used at: Disneyland, Six Flags, the Super Bowl, the NFL kick-off game, the California Angels baseball games, Wrestle Mania, Hollywood productions such as Batman Begins, as well as a number of other amusement parks and venues across the Western United States.

In 2002, Fireworks West was chosen to produce the fireworks shows for the Olympics in Salt Lake City along with Pyro Spectaculars from California, and Grucci from New York. “We had to compete with over 50 fireworks companies from across the world and we won,” Burns said.

“The Olympics is by far the biggest thing we have done or probably ever will do,” Burns said.

“We were involved with the opening and closing ceremonies, all of the public and private shows in Park City, and all of the medal ceremonies,” Burns said, “it took over 250 people with at least 30 man hours each to do all of the shows.

Fireworks West International was started in 1974 in Logan by Ralph Degn. Al Burns and Dean Birch bought the company in 1989 and currently own and run the company.

When asked what the best thing about doing fireworks shows Burns said, “The best thing about doing fireworks shows is seeing the reaction of the crowd at the end of a display.”

For more information about the premier fireworks company in the inter-mountain west, please contact:

Mark Taylor
mark.taylor@aggiemail.usu.edu
four three five – seven seven zero – six eight four zero

iPod shuffle now just $49.99

STEP 1:

PRESS RELEASE SITE:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/02/19shuffle.html

STEP 2:

http://techsheep.com/2008/02/19/ipod-shuffle-now-just-49-new-2gb-model-priced-at-69-christine-monaghanapple/

This is an article from TechSheep.com on the iPod shuffle’s price reduction to $49.99. This article is 100% positive and lauds the change. It is a really short article but it gets the needed point across while giving you a couple of links to additional news information from Apple.

Another aspect that needs to be address is the professionalism of the website. I had never heard of techsheep.com before I did research looking for articles that came from this press release.

My first reaction to the website was that it was not that professional. The color schemes and the use of the sheep is not that professional and takes away from the credibility of the website. The slogan used by the website is “the sheep make us look unique”. This definitely does not help with the professionalism and credibility of the website. I would not use this website to look for information on electronics.

http://digg.com/apple/iPod_shuffle_now_just_49

Once again this is a very short article. The message in this article is more neutral. It implies that Apple is only changing the price because they are planning to phase the shuffle out and replace it with something new.

Dig.com is a lot more professional than techsheep.com. At first glance it gives you a lot more confidence in the information you will find on the website. The color scheme is more professional.

Another aspect is the fact that this website has professional advertisements for respectable companies. When a company is willing to advertise with a website it tells you that the company obviously has confidence in the website and the information contained therein.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=akcg5oLRrX1s&refer=us

This article from Bloomberg is very informative. They look into and explain why Apple decided to reduce the price of their best selling iPod. Overall the article had a kind of negative feel to it. It implied that Apple had basically been charging a lot too much for the shuffle and the backed that up by looking at the total sales of the shuffle and by looking at how Apple’s stock plummeted during the first quarter of this year because their prices were just too high.

My first thought when I saw this website was professional. Obviously Bloomberg is a respectable worldwide company with a great reputation. This alone would make me consider the information I find on this website as truthful. The color schemes on this website are the best of the three by far. I would definitely look to this website for information before I would ever consider the other two websites we have looked at.

STEP 3:

I obviously chose to use Apple to find a press release. I searched a number of other companies and I found it difficult to either find a press release, or find an article to supplement the press release. With Apple there were a ton of press releases to choose from and a lot of different articles to select.

To find a press release for Apple, all you need to do is go to www.apple.com. From there all you need to do is click on the media info link at the bottom of the page and that will take you to the press releases from Apple in chronological order.

I clicked on the most recent press release for February 19 which said “iPod shuffle Now Just $49”. It took me to the press release and gave me the press contacts I needed to find articles written from this release.

After reading the press release and noting who the primary contact was, I googled the primary contact name to find articles about the press release. I actually tried to google the name of the press release first, but almost no results came up. Then I googled the name Christine Monaghan and a plethora of results came up.

I then tried to find a positive article, a neutral article, and a negative article from the press release. I found it very interesting that the negative article came from the website that was the most professional and trustworthy.

All of the articles written from the press release were very pertinent to the information given in the press release. The press release from Apple announcing the price reduction of the shuffle was effective because all of the article written from the press release hit the main point that Apple was trying to get across.

Press Release #3 (final)

For Immediate Release

2/11/08

A Utah State University professor starts an association to help promote financial education.

Preston Parker PhD, President/Founder
Cache Valley Area Investors Association
www.cvaia.com
four three five-seven five seven-four five six zero

LOGAN, UT –

In an attempt to teach and promote financial education, Utah State University professor, Preston Parker has started the Cache Valley Area Investors Association.

“I am sick and tired of people complaining about not liking their job or not making enough money,” Parker said.

The association, whose target is the middle class American, is centered on giving the members of the association what they want. “We try to be very diverse on what topics people are interested in,” Parker said, “one week may be about money market accounts, the next about what debt is good debt, and we will actually bring in specialists in each of these areas to even better help our members.”

While Parker is not a CPA or a financial planner, he is a professional student who has learned a lot, and his experiences and his mentor’s experiences are what fuel his knowledge of finance.

“Our nation has a consumer mindset,” Parker said, “We need to change this to an investor based mindset.” The rich are rich because they have figured this out and they pass this on to their children.”

An example of this is the governments proposed “economy stimulating plan” where all tax payers will receive a sum of money so they can spend it and boost the economy. If people were smart they would take that money and invest it, Parker said.

Cache Valley Area Investors Association was started in August 2007 in Logan, Utah. The meetings are held every other Thursday at 7 P.M. at the Cache Chamber of Commerce at 160 N. Main St. in Logan. There are currently 40 members of the association, but unfortunately there are currently only seven active members.

For more information about this great tool available to everyone, please contact:

Mark W. Taylor
mwt@usucvpr.com
435-555-3256

Press Release #2 (Final)

For Immediate Release

2/7/2008

Burger Planet teams up with fitness guru Jayne Petersen and announces new menu items to compliment the current menu.

Burger Planet

Gary, IN –

Talk show host and head of O enterprises Opal Whitcomb has brought fitness guru Jayne Petersen on board to launch the new menu items to compliment the current menu for Burger Planet.

When asked why she decided to join Burger Planet Petersen said, “Burger Planet has been a leader in the Quick Service Restaurant industry in offering healthy menu choices, the company encourages customers to live healthier active lifestyles, and I have spent my life trying to teach women that lesson.”

“Jayne Petersen and Burger Planet share a commitment toward health,” James E. Mullenbach III, Burger Planet CEO said, “the women Jayne Petersen have helped lose weight eat at Burger Planet, and together we are launching a comprehensive program to assist those women in eating healthy.”

With men and children as the primary consumer of Burger Planet in the past, the focus of the menu additions is to try to appeal to females ages 30-49.

In the past year white meat chicken breasts, gourmet salads, and fruit packets are some of the additions to the current menu of burgers, fries, and soda, Burger Planet’s top chef Gerard DuBois said.

Burger Planet was founded in 1934 by James E. Mullenbach I in Gary, Indiana. There are 8,921 franchises in 17 countries and they employ 48,272 people.

“Burger Planet cares about its customers and has put them first for more than seven decades,” Mullenbach III said, “we listen to our customers and because of this we have been successful.”

For more information contact:

Mark Taylor
markt@publicrelations.com
(801) 555-4321

(END)

Positioning Framework

All my life I have had a desire to work closely with people. I have chosen human resources as a career path, because I believe I have the skills necessary to work in a professional environment where my abilities can be utilized to maintain an environment that is positive, professional, and compliant with employment laws. I believe that the writing and inter-personal skills I learn in public relations will greatly assist me in a career in human resources (HR). I plan to receive my Bachelor of Public Relations degree December 2008 and continue my education Fall 2009 doing a Masters in Human Resources to make myself as marketable as possible.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in human resources is expected to increase by 17 percent between 2006 and 2016. Seventeen thousand jobs in human resources were self-employed working as consultants. The private sector accounted for nearly 9 out of 10 in HR while the government employed 13 percent of HR managers and specialists. Median annual earnings of HR managers were $88,510 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $67,710 and $114,860. The lowest ten percent earned less than $51,810, while the highest ten percent earned more than $145,600. (all sources come from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos021.htm#emply)

Being able to write and communicate effectively is paramount in human resources. I plan to use the skills I learn in public relations to assist me and give me an edge on the competition I am sure to face in human resources. I am currently working as a Human Resources Assistant and the writing and communication skills I am learning in public relations have already been a huge asset in my career.

My output goal is to do research on the available online or on-campus options for Masters of Human Resources degrees. The impact from my output goal is that I will have made contact with the head of the Masters of Human Resources graduate program at Utah State University. I will also have a clear idea of what graduate HR program I will be doing. One of the programs I apply for will accept me for matriculation.

Talking Points:

· Hard Worker

· Driven

· Professional

Draft Press Release #2

For Immediate Release

2/4/2008

Burger Planet teams up with fitness guru Jayne Petersen and announces new menu items to compliment the current menu.

Burger Planet

LOGAN, Utah –

Talk show host and head of O enterprises Opal Whitcomb has brought fitness guru Jayne Petersen on board to launch the new menu items to compliment the current menu for Burger planet.

When asked why she decided to join Burger planet Petersen said, “Burger Planet has been a leader in the Quick Service Restaurant industry in offering healthy menu choices”, Petersen, the company encourages customers to live healthier active lifestyles, and I have spent my life trying to teach women that lesson”.

“Jayne Petersen and Burger Planet share a commitment toward health”, James E. Mullenbach III, Burger Planet CEO said, “the women Jayne Petersen have helped lose weight eat at Burger Planet, and together we are launching a comprehensive program to assist those women in eating healthy”.

With men and children as the primary consumer of Burger Planet in the past, the focus of the menu additions is to try to appeal to females ages 30-49.

In the past year white meat chicken breasts, gourmet salads and fruit packets are some of the additions to the current menu of burgers, fries and soda Burger Planet top chef Gerard DuBois said.

Burger Planet was founded in 1934 by James E. Mullenbach I in Gary Indiana. There are 8,921 franchises in 17 countries and employs 48,272 people.

“Burger Planet cares about its customers and has put them first for more than seven decades” Mullenbach III said, “we listen to our customers and because of this we have been successful”.

For more information contact:

Mark Taylor
markt@publicrelations.com
(801) 555-4321

(END)