Fw: World's Greatest Hobby Club update

["Steve Wise" <swise@aoot.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "World'sGreatestHobbyClubs"
<WorldsGreatestHobbyClubs@maillist.kalmbachmail.com>
To: <ttat@aoot.com>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 2:11 PM
Subject: World's Greatest Hobby Club update


> WORLD'S GREATEST HOBBY NEWSLETTER
> April 2003
>
> Here's what's been happening with the World's Greatest Hobby since
> February.  The updates come from a variety of sources, but we place
> extra weight on the information provided to us from you, our
> ambassadors. Below you'll find some recent success stories as well as
> other information and updates. - David Popp and Jim Riccioli
>
>
> SUCCESS STORIES
>
> The World's Greatest Hobby remains in the news through model
> railroading's popular winter months.
> In February, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published an article
> discussing model railroading. It quoted MRIA's Fred Hamilton and
> mentioned the WGH campaign. The Chicago Tribune profiled Larry
> Jankowski, a modeler turned professional, while the Rochester (N.Y.)
> Democrat & Chronicle took a look at the popularity of model railroading.
> An article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, Ark.)
> considered the intricacies of garden layouts, referencing Garden
> Railways magazine as a resource. According to the Rosen Group, WGH's
> media resource, model railroading articles reached 2.8 million readers
> in February alone.
> The hobby marched on into the following month. On March 23, the Sunday
> Providence (R.I.) Journal-Bulletin described how a hard-working steel
> company executive, Mike Caparco, found relief from work by starting an O
> gauge toy train layout and ending up with a 10,000-piece collection.
> Greatesthobby.com was listed as one of the reader resources. The
> campaign also earned a mention in an article advancing a train show in
> Wichita, Kan., March 22. The Wichita Eagle quoted MR executive editor
> Andy Sperandeo, who aptly noted there has never been a better time for
> people who enjoy quality and diversity in products to enter the world of
> model railroading.
> In all, the Rosen Group estimates that the total number of media
> impressions - roughly equating to the number of people who have been
> exposed to promotional pieces in print, radio and television - at 43
> million since the start of the campaign late in 2001.
>
> With help from the World's Greatest Hobby, its sponsors and an area
> hobby shop, an N scale model railroad display caught shoppers' attention
> at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Wash., recently. WGH ambassador Ken
> Long built the portable layout to simultaneously promote the hobby and a
> nearby museum in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., where Ken also has built a
> permanent HO layout. "My job is to promote the museum," Ken explained,
> "so I built the N scale layout to get people into the museum to see the
> HO layout and the nice museum also." WGH sponsors Atlas, Bachmann,
> Kalmbach, and Walthers, plus Woodland Scenics, contributed materials for
> the layout, and Performance R/C Hobbies in Burlington helped pay for
> mall fees associated with the display and offered other assistance.
>
> At the Mad City Model Railroad Show & Sale in Madison, Wis., volunteers
> in the WGH booth faced a two-day February crowd estimated at 12,000,
> more than enough to keep them talking. Naturally, they asked if they
> could do it again next year. WGH ambassadors Bob Boelter, John Fischer,
> and Ross Pollock co-promoted the campaign and the NMRA, which had a
> neighboring booth at the show. Both booths were independent of the
> Kalmbach magazine and books booth, which also saw its share of
> enthusiastic show attendees looking for hobby information.
>
> WGH ambassador Steven Priest gave morning news listeners a taste of our
> hobby by describing the large club layout featured March 19 on WDAF,
> Channel 4 (Fox Morning News) in Kansas City. The club's members also got
> a kick out of seeing their hard work broadcast throughout the area.
>
>
>
> WGH INFORMATION
>
> AMBASSADOR NUMBERS - Your ambassador kits included your own unique
> ambassador number. Please remember to use this number in ordering WGH
> booklets and any other WGH materials, whether by e-mail or telephone,
> and to have your audiences enter it on the feedback cards they fill out.
> This number on the feedback cards will help us to keep track of your
> appearances and to recognize outstanding contributions by individual
> ambassadors. You can e-mail your requests for materials to
> <mailto:customerservice@greatesthobby.com>, or telephone 877-426-5082.
> Please plan ahead and allow at least two weeks for delivery.
>
> ARRANGING APPEARANCES - While the campaign's public relations firm, the
> Rosen Group of New York, continues to publicize the WGH speakers bureau,
> ambassadors can also arrange their own appearances, particularly for
> events that are conveniently close to home. Using the following link,
> you'll find a form letter (a Microsoft Word document) that you can copy
> and add pertinent information. At a minimum you'll need to enter your
> name and address, that of the organization and contact person you write
> to, and your own contact information. Note, this link cannot be accessed
> by going to the home page of the website. Simply cut and paste the
> following address or use the active link enclosed in this e-mail.
> http://list.kalmbachmail.com/UM/T.asp?A4.63.17.1.13960
>
> YOUR FEEDBACK - We'd like to hear from you. Retailers can reach an
> appropriate contact in trade sales, and sponsors have access to program
> leaders. Ambassadors with e-mail and Internet can participate in a forum
> set up just for them.
> The forum consists of four topic areas: Success stories, sharing
> speaking tips, other promotional activities, and suggestions for
> improving the campaign. The forum is interactive, allowing you to
> comment on other ambassadors' posts, and moderated, allowing us to keep
> the posts on topic. Please tell us about any WGH presentations that you
> make. We'd especially like to share your successes and anything you
> learn with the other ambassadors.
> Using the forum, we'll try to summarize and highlight some of those
> success stories in future issues of this newsletter for all ambassadors,
> clubs, retailers, and sponsors
> Under a separate e-mail ambassadors should have received their User Name
> and password that could be used to register for the WGH forum, along
> with registration instructions.  After registration is completed,
> ambassadors can access the WGH forum at:
> http://list.kalmbachmail.com/UM/T.asp?A4.63.17.3.13960
>
> UPDATING YOUR INFORMATION - Ambassadors who need to make changes to
> their registration information can do so online at
> http://list.kalmbachmail.com/UM/T.asp?A4.63.17.4.13960
> When you get to that page, click on "update existing information" and
> you'll be able to enter changes of address, telephone numbers, e-mail,
> and anything else on the form.
>
> RECRUITING - Grass-roots support efforts have helped spur the campaign
> over the 1,000 ambassador mark. Keep spreading the word about the
> World's Greatest Hobby. The more ambassadors, registered clubs, and
> registered retailers the program has, the better.
>
> WGH LAYOUT - A PDF is now available on the WGH website of the trackplan
> and materials list from the WGH "Building Your First Layout" video. It
> can be found on the downloads page at:
> http://list.kalmbachmail.com/UM/T.asp?A4.63.17.2.13960
>
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