Asheville Firm Helps US Army Find Thousands of Recruits

Asheville, NC – The US Army has been on an aggressive nationwide marketing campaign to recruit the next generation of American Soldiers, and Asheville’s EventPro Strategies has played a significant role in making this a success. 



For the second year in a row, EventPro Strategies was hired to staff and execute an interactive hands-on campaign for US Army tours happening across the country. The experiential marketing firm provides staff and execution strategies for live interactive marketing events put on by the US Army.



The US Army has succeeded in overcoming negative stereotypes of being in the Army. “At these on-site events, we have hi-tech simulators and gadgets, push up contests, rock climbing walls and remote control tanks,” says Jai Ball, US Army Team Manager for EventPro Strategies. “These hi-touch, interactive games and contests have been a significant reason that there have been so many recruits. It shows people what the real army is like, versus what the news media often portrays.” 


“They signed up hundreds of recruits alone at an event in the small town of Bristol, TN – a huge success,” Jai says. 



EventPro Strategies was hired by Chicago-based Momentum Marketing, and is partly responsible for luring people into the US Army booths at different events. “We hire clean-cut, outgoing talent to draw in people walking by the display tents, and to operate some of the hands-on equipment,” says Nathan Mueller, General Manager for EventPro Strategies. “It’s amazing how hiring genuinely enthusiastic and confident people can make such a significant impact.” 



The last US Army campaign for this year ends in November, as EventPro Strategies continues staffing the Army’s campaigns at schools, festivals, and other big events across the country. 



EventPro Strategies was started in Asheville in 1999 by Jessica Browder-Stackpoole. She founded the company after being frustrated by marketing companies hiring models that were not suited to execute effective marketing campaigns. Nine years later, EventPro Strategies has nearly 150 clients, offices across the country, and over 40,000 readily available part-time talent. The company will grow from $5.5M to $10M in 2008 alone.


www.eventprostrategies.com

EventPro Strategies HAS Been Selected as a Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch Award Winner

Congratulations! Your company, EventPro Strategies has been officially selected as a Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch award winner. 50 companies were chosen out of 319 companies that were nominated! As indicated by your applications, EventPro Strategies is an outstanding company and deserves recognition as one of Arizona's "companies to watch." Second Stage Companies (10- 100 employees and $750,000 to $100 Million in revenues) are the fastest growing employer segment in our business community representing 12% of the companies in our state and 46% of the jobs!



Each year leaders across our community nominate great companies who are growing, innovating, and making a difference. We look forward to working with you as we approach the gala celebratory event on Nov. 11.

Thank you for all of your work and enthusiasm in preparing for this award. Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch is a unique honor, and you should feel proud to be included among the remarkable enterprises that make up this outstanding grouping of companies.

Wishing you continued success,

Joan Koerber-Walker
Chief Executive Officer
Arizona Small Business Association

Work Hard, Play Harder

3 entrepreneurs say that making time to get away makes them better, sharper business owners.
By: Aliza Sherman | 8/15/2008

One of the mistakes I made while running my internet company was not taking a vacation. I never made time for myself. Instead, I got to the office at 10 a.m. and was frequently still working at 11 p.m. or even 1 a.m., having dinner at that hour before heading home to start all over again the next day.

I'm fascinated by women who work hard but have learned the value of making time to play, especially when that play is just as extreme as their work efforts. How does their intense down time affect their work?

"I am available anytime my clients need me. If someone calls Fuentek at 5 p.m. looking for help with strategy by noon the next day, we deliver," says Laura A. Schoppe, 45, president of Fuentek LLC , an intellectual property and technology management services consultancy. Weekends and evenings aren't off-limits to her clients as her company aims to surpass $2 million in revenue this year.

Schoppe takes a week off annually to "go somewhere hot with access to a great pool." Every few years, she takes off more time. She spent a month in New Zealand touring the country on a motorcycle and went bungee jumping. Another time, she spent two weeks on a motorcycle in northern Spain. Next year, she's off to Costa Rica to go off-roading and zip lining. One of her goals is to skydive with a long free fall.

"I like speed a lot, but I also like to balance it with total relaxation," Schoppe says. "Hanging by the pool reading a book is a great way to flush away all the stresses and concerns. Zipping by on a motorcycle helps to re-energize me."

Schoppe says her activities help her to do a better job of handling anything work throws at her, but she also is able to make business decisions calmly. She believes that being away is good for her team, too. The downside of her preferred leisure activities is the possibility that she might get injured, which would impact her company.

Eight weeks of vacation per year and a lot of three-day weekends are how Jessica Browder-Stackpoole, 34, achieves balance between work and life. The founder and CEO of the $5.5 million to $10 million event-staffing company EventPro Strategies has rock climbed the red rocks in Las Vegas and Sedona, Arizona; ocean kayaked and camped the Sea of Cortez islands in Mexico; river kayaked the Snake River, Jackson, Wyoming--all 11 of the rapids, including Big Kahuna and Lunchbox; and surfed, zip lined, boated and snorkeled at her wedding in Suyulita, Mexico.

"Upon my return from my adventurous trips, my big-picture thinking is always enriched. I feel inspired, healthier and truly recharged inside and out," she says.
While kayaking down the Snake River, Browder-Stackpoole fought a strong desire to turn back amid fears of moving forward. She finished her journey stronger mentally, physically and spiritually.

"I crave the fresh air, the scenery, challenge, adrenaline, the feeling of increased creativity and the best sleep imaginable after a day of testing myself in new ways," she says. "These 'off-the-grid' escapes allow me to truly focus on the moment without distractions. During these times, I disconnect from my staff and find that they become more empowered as a result."

She always follows up her extreme activities with massages, great wine and food, plus time to transform back into the "girlie-girl" she also loves being.

"My outlet is competition," says Diane Kuehn, 43, president and CEO of VisionPoint Marketing . At 40, she decided to take up tennis. "I now play tennis an average of six days a week, sometimes for four to five hours a day. I'll usually change into my tennis clothes at the office and depart 30 minutes before a match or practice, then play for two to three hours before heading home to see the family."

Kuehn says tennis gives her a healthy outlet to be competitive as well as get some exercise. She has met several business contacts through tennis and, on occasion, takes clients out to play a round.

Adds Kuehn, "The golf course isn't the only place that business is done."

Aliza Sherman is a producer, entrepreneur and author ofPowertools for Women in Business as well as co-founder of MotherhoodLater...Than Sooner. Links to her work can be found at www.mediaegg.com.

(original article is from: http://www.womenentrepreneur.com/column/3512.html )

EVENTPRO STRATEGIES EARNS THE RANKING OF INC. 5000.

August 20, 2008

On behalf of Inc., I am delighted to recognize your accomplishment in earning the rank of 2193 on the 2008 Inc. 5000, which celebrates the fastest-growing private companies in America.

For more than 27 years, the Inc. 5000 has served as a benchmark for the most innovative, dynamic, and successful companies in the nation. As an Inc. 5000 honoree, EventPro Strategies is now a member of the most influential business club in America. The company you keep is notable, as Inc. 5000 alumni include Bill Gates of Microsoft, Larry Ellison of Oracle, and many more.

The entire team at Inc. commends you on your success and recognizes the commitment that has gone into building your company into what it is today.

Congratulations to you and your team.

Sincerely,
John Koten
CEO and Editor in Chief
Mansueto Ventures
Publisher of Inc.

American launches in-flight Internet on 3 routes

NEW YORK (AP) — American Airlines expanded the availability of in-flight Internet access Wednesday, launching airborne e-mail, Web and other online services on some of its longer, nonstop flights.

The move could create a new stream of revenue as the aviation industry faces high fuel prices and other challenges, but it also could create new headaches as passengers retrieve sensitive e-mails and Web sites in confined quarters.
American tested in-flight access on two flights on June 25. With Wednesday's launch, the airline is making service available for $12.95 per flight on its Boeing 767-200 aircraft connecting New York with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. American said most flights on those routes use the 767-200.
"Today the days of being cut off from the rest of the world while in the air become history," said Jack Blumenstein, chief executive of Aircell LLC, the company providing Internet services for American and other airlines.

Several other airlines have been testing or considering in-flight services.

The system will block Internet-based phone calls, giving passengers relief from chatty seatmates.

However, American and other U.S. airlines have said they will not filter sites based on their content, raising the prospect of passengers surfing pornography with kids nearby. Airlines say they already have general policies to address unruly passengers, and those would apply as they do now to passengers who browse adult magazines.

Less clear is how executives reading corporate e-mail containing confidential information will fend off snooping eyes.

By ANICK JESDANUN (AP)

American Ushers in WiFi-Friendly Skies

We warned you months ago that in-flight WiFi was coming, and now it's here. This morning American Airlines launched airborne broadband service on 15 nonstop transcontinental flights, allowing passengers to send e-mail, chat by IM and browse the Internet at 36,000 feet. For $12.95, you can spend six hours surfing the web instead of watching a lame romantic comedy.

American and AirCell, the company responsible for the technology behind the system called GoGo, hailed it as a Great Day In History, with AirCell chief executive Blemenstein proclaiming, "today the days of being cut off from the rest of the world while in the air become history."

Sounds to us like a nice way of saying the last refuge from your boss has been breached.

American isn't the only airline jumping on the in-flight Internet bandwagon, which could bring cash-strapped carriers as much as $1 billion by 2012. Of course, the industry's been promising us for four years that we'd be able to read Autopia from six miles up, and some doubters went so far as to call airplanes "the last, possibly unconquerable, Internet frontier." Looks like that frontier's finally been conquered.

JetBlue reminds everyone that it offers limited WiFi through its LiveTV set-up and hopes its purchase of Verizon's Airfone network will expand the system's capabilities, but American is the first to bring full-on broadband to the sky. Delta plans to offer essentially the same service American's using, and Southwest is testing a system developed by the California company Row 44. Just about everyone else with an airworthy plane is scrambling to catch up.

Two technologies are fighting for airborne WiFi supremacy in the skies. The AirCell system American went with is an air-to-ground system that transmits signals from ground stations to airborne aircraft. Because it uses cell towers that are already built, it's relatively cheap but also ... buffering ... buffering ... a bit slow.

Satellite systems use a data transceiver/router, a satellite antenna and 802.11b access points. It works anywhere, including over water, but it's more expensive. When airlines are chucking beverage carts, getting rid of glasses and pulling magazines out of their planes to save money, you've got to think spending big money on wireless systems isn't something they're in a position to do.

Although the industry is racing to bring the World Wide Web to seat 17D, not everyone thinks it's worth the trouble. John Jackson, head of North American sales and marketing for Korean Airlines says the airline's test of on-board WiFi was met by a collective yawn. He suspects passengers on trans-oceanic slogs would rather sleep, read or even take a shower than waste time checking e-mail or updating their Facebook page.

Of course, airlines aren't offering these services just to be nice. At $12.95 a pop, American Airlines could rake in some big cash if onboard Internet is a success. For an industry charging two bucks for a Coke, it's no surprise that there's a profit motive involved.

Aircell Betting In-Flight Internet Will Fly

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Within the next year or two, every major U.S. airline will routinely make wireless Internet available to its domestic passengers, says the industry's leading wireless vendor.

Fran Phillips, senior vice president for airlines at Chicago-based Aircell, says the company's broadband system enabling airlines with Wi-Fi enabled devices such as laptops and smart phones to access the Internet, email accounts and instant messaging will be routinely available by 2010.

"We are in various stages of negotiation with most of the major carriers and talking to all of them," Phillips says.

American(AMR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said Wednesday that it will offer the service on its 15 Boeing 767-200 aircraft, which primarily serve routes from New York's Kennedy Airport to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. Two weeks earlier, Delta(DAL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said it would install Aircell systems on its entire domestic fleet by next summer.

Meanwhile, JetBlue(JBLU - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Continental(CAL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) plan to offer LiveTV's Kiteline, a competing service owned by JetBlue that offers email connectivity. And Southwest(LUV - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) is working with Westlake Village, Ca.-based Row 44 to offer satellite-based wireless service.

"It's going to be a carrier by carrier decision, but you can see clearly that onboard broadband access is the wave of the future," adds David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association. "This takes onboard communication to a new level."

Airlines aren't yet certain how much revenue onboard wireless will produce. But passengers on both American and Delta will pay the same $12.95 rates on flights longer than three hours. Delta has also announced a $9.95 rate on shorter flights. Pricing was set in conjunction with Aircell, which has revenue-sharing deals with both carriers. Terms were not disclosed. Virgin America, also an Aircell partner, says it will charge for the service but has not yet set a price. In June, American took the system live for a day, testing it on a New York-Los Angeles round trip. Although the test was not announced in advance, about a third of the passengers carried wireless devices and used the service, says Doug Backelin, in-flight communications and technology manager for American. To gauge their willingness to pay, all passengers were given gift cards, usable for either a wireless hookup or another purchase.

At Delta, "We're rolling Internet out quickly and making access available to customers on about 75 Delta aircraft by the end of the year and expanding to the rest of our domestic mainline fleet, 330 aircraft, by next summer," says spokeswoman Betsy Talton. She maintains that the project is "a low capital investment and high revenue opportunity" for the carrier.

Given that it has deals with the two biggest U.S. carriers, as well as with start-up carrier Virgin America, Aircell appears well-positioned.

In 2006, Aircell won exclusive rights for an air-to-ground broadband spectrum in a Federal Communications Commission auction, paying $31.3 million. Subsequently, the company spent tens of millions of dollars to build antennas at 92 sites, Phillips says. The company, financed by investment banks and private equity firms, has not indicated it has any plans to go public.

Its system has the advantage of adding just 125 pounds of weight to each aircraft that carries it. Because most of the equipment is at the 92 ground sites, installation on the aircraft is quick and most of the system maintenance is performed on the ground, Phillips says.

Aircell's system also has a major shortcoming in that it does not work over water, making it unavailable on the longer, international flights when it would seem to be most desirable. So far, Southwest is the U.S. carrier that plans to test a satellite-based system, rather than a land-based system -- even though it has no international, over-water flights.

Phillips says satellite systems require more weight on the aircraft and more installation time. Still, she says, "we're following what's happening in satellite very closely -- if and when the technology becomes lighter and economical, we will be there."

Aircell Gogo inflight Internet service goes live on American Airlines

by Scott Carmichael Aug 20th 2008 @ 1:30PM

Several weeks ago, I reported that Delta Airlines was gearing up to offer the Aircell Gogo inflight Internet service, but it is American Airlines who beat them to the first operational service.

Aircell Gogo is now offered on select American Airlines Boeing 767-200 flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles and New York and Miami. This puts the total number of flights with the Gogo Internet service at 174 per week.

For just $12.95, passengers get unlimited access to the Internet, but Aircell points out that VOIP (Internet calling) and cell phone calls are not possible.

To use the service, you'll need a Wi-Fi capable laptop, PDA or smartphone, you can find a comprehensive list of supported devices on the Gogo site. If you plan to travel light, you'll be able to use your Wi-Fi enabled Blackberry, iPhone or iPod touch to get online, which should help keep you entertained for the duration of the flight.

Aircell is working on a very swift roll out of their service, in addition to American Airlines and the previously mentioned Delta rollout, they are also working to bring inflight Internet to Virgin America.

This service has all the key features of a successful product; it is affordable, it comes at a time where airlines are scrambling to generate some more revenue, and the market penetration of Wi-Fi enabled devices is larger than ever. My feeling is that it will be a huge success, and certainly more successful than previous attempts at airborne broadband.