LOCAL ONLINE PETITION DRIVE STARTED TO SAVE ASHTABULA TOWN CENTER SEARS STORE SLATED FOR CLOSING

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Contact:  Cheryl Dickson-Walker  (cell) 440:645-9472  (studio) 440-294-2431  (fax) 440:294-2492

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  February 24, 2012

                              

LOCAL ONLINE PETITION DRIVE STARTED TO SAVE ASHTABULA TOWN CENTER SEARS STORE                                                                                                  SLATED FOR CLOSING

 

JEFFERSON, OH.  An Ashtabula County businesswoman has started a local petition campaign to reverse the decision to close the Sears store at the Ashtabula Town Center mall. Today, Media Magic Creative Director, Cheryl Dickson-Walker created a petition on the website “Change.org”, calling for Sears Holding Company to keep the store open, and save dozens of local jobs.

“Ashtabula County has few big name shopping outlets in the county”, said Dickson-Walker. “Sears is one of the oldest and most trusted names in retail and local residents have depended on shopping this store for appliances, automotive and home improvement tools and goods for decades. The proposed closing of this retail store in Ashtabula Township will devastate our community.”

After monitoring online discussions about the closing, Dickson-Walker decided it was time to fight back, initially, by starting an online petition campaign.

“ It’s up to each of us to stand up and take action and  protest this action by Sears Holding Corporation, said Dickson-Walker. “Corporations, such as Sears, do not like negative publicity, and  petition campaigns, such as this, can and have had a dramatic effect on events, in the past. Just look at what happened when people sent out petitions and protestedwith the Susan B Komen decision  to eliminate Planned Parenthood funding. You can make change.”

Sear’s decision to close the Ashtabula Township store will directly impact the lives of dozens of local people.

“According to news reports, at least 40 people will lose their jobs, the township and the county stands to lose thousands of dollars in tax revenues”, said Dickson-Walker. “Our nearly deserted Mall may not survive the loss of another anchor store. This would be disastrous economically for our struggling community. We need our local elected officials to join us in working to get Sears back in discussions about closing this store and saving local jobs. We are not helpless- we can make things happen.”

The “Save our Ashtabula Sears” petition can be signed by going to Change,org’s website:

http://tinyurl.com/7fslxyq . The petition is being circulated by email and on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other local political forums and blogs.

For more information on how you can sign the ‘Save our Ashtabula Sears” online petition at change.org, contact Cheryl Dickson-Walker: cell) 440-645-9472, studio line: 440-294-2431, or e-mail: info@mediamagicohio.com    

Save the Ashtabula Sears Store!

Please sign our petition to save the Ashtabula Towne Center Sears Store. At least 40 jobs are at stake and thousands of dollars in desperately need tax revenue. Pass this on to your friends and family! http://www.change.org/petitions/sears-holdings-corporation-keep-the-sears-store-open-in-ashtabula-township-ohio?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=share_with_facebook_friends#

Media Magic’s Bill West opens month-long Photography Exhibit at Conneaut Center for the Arts

please join Media Magic at Media Magician Bill West’s amazing Photo Exhibit Reception @ Conneaut Community Ctr for the Arts Sunday, Feb. 12th 2-4pm. http://ping.fm/Wbs3m Bill’s breathtaking photos will be on display throughout the month of February.

Miscanthus:Putting the Green in Green Energy by Cheryl Dickson-Walker, Green Energy Ohio

This is an article written by Cheryl Dickson-Walker, Media Magic’s Creative Director, for GEO Magazine, during her term on the Board of Directors of Green Energy Ohio (GEO). GEO is the largest statewide not-for-profit advocate of clean and renewable energy and businesses involved in the production and servicing of associated technologies.

Miscanthus:Putting the Green in Green Energy by Cheryl Dickson-Walker, Green Energy Ohio

Aloterra Energy-Miscanthus -Press-Release-News-Conference-082611-

From: Crain’s Cleveland Business: In Praise of… Praise… a little can go a long way, in the workplace.

A job well done

Most employers understand the value of praising their workers. But relatively few do it right.

So says this story from Entrepreneur.com, which includes comments from Wayne Nemeroff, a psychologist and co-founder/CEO of PsyMax Solutions, a Cleveland-based provider of “integrated human capital management tools.”

Praise “involves very little effort and produces a lot in return,” according to Entrepreneur.com. “It’s a no-brainer, even for people who are otherwise ingrates.”

That’s why you should give praise. But how do you do it?

Most management experts “stress the importance of specificity,” according to the story.

“You want to balance praise with constructive feedback,” Dr. Nemeroff says. He suggests, “Recall a particular situation and describe a specific behavior; acknowledge the impact the behavior or action had on the group or the project or the action or on you.”

Among other suggestions for effective praise:

Do it now. “The closer the recognition is to the behavior, the more likely it will be repeated,” Entrepreneur.com says. Do it often. “The more you message what’s important to you, the more people will focus on that,” the story notes. Praise followed by criticism is not praise. Praise followed by praise is probably a little too much praise