Central Oregonian

Do your marketing dollars support the local community?

Teresa Tooley

January 28, 2013

Many businesses have received phone calls from a company called All Around Sports, if you have, please let me say first that this company is in no way affiliated with the Central Oregonian, nor do we solicit out of area and/or state companies to do our sports calendars and “Good Luck at State” pages for our local sports teams.

This is not a new situation, out of town and out of state marketing issues have been an issue for as long as I can remember. Several years ago the Crook County Booster Club voted to not support these types of businesses who come into our community (or in many cases, make a phone call with an 800 number) for money and run right back out with it. Lon Austin, sports reporter, wrote an article in May of 2011 regarding such companies and at that time it had been agreed upon by all parties that the athletic programs would do business within the community when those resources were available. The article went on to say “Please be cautious. Neither the Crook County High School athletic program nor the Crook County Booster Club use out of area companies to publish school sports schedules. Prineville and Crook County have always been very generous with their support of Crook County athletics. It would be a shame if that generosity ended up lining the pockets of out of area businesses instead of the deserving athletes of Crook County.”

All Around Sports is a company based in Boise, Idaho. I have had several phones calls and complaints from local businesses regarding this company and several local businesses have sent me a copy of the rates that they were provided through an email.

We appreciate the businesses that choose to support the Central Oregonian and Crook County High School athletics through advertising on our sports calendars and “Good Luck at State” pages. The Central Oregonian made it a policy to donate a portion of the proceeds back to the Crook County Athletic Programs long before our athletic programs were funded strictly through fundraising. In the past three years alone, your local advertising has allowed the Central Oregonian to donate nearly $9,000 to local sports programs.

In an economy, where businesses are struggling to keep their doors open and make ends meet each month, be aware of how you arespending your marketing dollars and how it not only benefits your community, but how it benefits your business as well.

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Crook County Girls Basketball will be having their blue and gold dinner and silent auction fundraiser on Friday, Feb. 1 in the CCHS Commons from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Silent auction will begin at 5 p.m. Show your support for the CCHS Cowgirls and eat a delicious meal of authentic Mexican dinner with a game against Ridgeview. Tickets are available at the door or you may contact any CCHS Girls basketball player.

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What’s Brewing? Wednesday, Jan. 30, 7-8 am at Meadow Lakes Restaurant

Rocky Miner, CCHS principal, along with six teachers will talk about their programs and how they broaden the choices of students for training and working after high school. Breakfast is available.

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An inadvertent error occurred in the It’s Your Business Column published in the Central Oregonian on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. The information provided at the time of the column being written changed prior to printing and was caught in the ¼ page ad placed on page A5 of the Friday, Jan. 18 publication and not changed in the column prior to printing.

The ad reads and the column should have read: Special: Buy one hamburger basket with fries and a medium drink and get a second basket half price! Good through 02/28/13

The Central Oregonian and Central Oregon Press regret any inconvenience the error may have caused.

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This column was written by the Central Oregonian’s general manager Teresa Tooley. If you have something that you would like to have included in the Central Oregonian’s business briefs, e-mail it to business@centraloregonian.com