386 Community Blog has a new contributor out of
386 Community Blog has a new contributor out of
Posted by Michele McCarthy - Michele McCarthy Interiors at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Native American Earth Festival - March 13 from 10am - 7pm and March 14 from 10am - 5pm at
This celebration will feature Native American dancing and entertainment, trading booths, a pow-wow arena, arts & crafts, children’s activities a petting zoo and more. Admission for those 13 & older is $4; for ages 4 - 12 is $2 and ages 3 and under is FREE. For more information call (386) 322-3070.
Celebrating Jewish Heritage - March 14 from 11am – 5pm at the
The celebration will feature nationally acclaimed entertainment, including an encore performance by Rick Recht,
Bubbles and Birds - March 19 at 6pm at the
Hosted by the Daytona Beach Symphony Society, this upscale live and silent auction will raise proceeds to benefit music related outreach programs in our local community, including children and the elderly. Call (386) 253-2901 to RSVP or to donate an auction item. The deadline to participate is March 10.
Frogman Triathlon - March 20, beginning at 3:45pm; and March 21, beginning at 7am - on the beach behind The Shores Resort & Spa 2637 S. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach Shores
This unique event will feature the best of the best with a USAT sanctioned Olympic-distance triathlon featuring a 1,500 meter ocean swim, and a 4K bicycle ride, followed by a 10K beach run. In addition, The Navy Parachute Team known as the Leap Frogs will perform state-of-the-art canopy formation demonstrations that include colorful smoke, brilliant pyrotechnics and a patriotic presentation of the American flag. A full 100% of the net proceeds will benefit the Naval Special Warfare Foundation. To learn more about the event click here. Admission is FREE.
Posted by Diane Michael - The Callan Group at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
THE CALLAN GROUP WINS AN ADDY®
The Callan Group recently was notified that they won an ADDY® for an e-newsletter campaign. With over 60,000 entries annually, the ADDY Awards are the world's largest and arguably toughest advertising competition. The ADDY® Awards represent the true spirit of creative excellence by recognizing all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels from anywhere in the world. The American Advertising Federation, a not-for-profit industry association conducts the ADDY® Awards through its 200 member advertising clubs and 15 districts. The Callan Group won in the e-newsletter category through the Daytona Beach Advertising Federation and is being recognized this Saturday Night at the local awards dinner.
Creative Artists Network was the client whose e-newsletter was entered into the competition and the award is being given to both The Callan Group and Creative Artists Network since the campaign was a collaborative effort. With the direction, vision and master-mind of Judy Stein from Creative Artists Network, Diane Michael was able to put all the pieces together to create an award-winning e-newsletter campaign, Congratulations Diane and Judy!
Posted by Diane Michael - The Callan Group at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Callan Group is thrilled to announce its newest employee, Mandy Pirie of Ormond Beach, FL. Mandy grew up in the small fishing
Mandy’s interest in women’s health and childcare made her obtain her Children’s Development Associate Degree and a Doula certification in 2006. Fundraising is also a huge part of Mandy’s background and experience raising over $150,000 for the Alachua County School Board.
Mandy has been hired as of January 4, 2010 for The Callan Group as a Communications Director. She will handle client development and administrative responsibilities.
Posted by Diane Michael - The Callan Group at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Shut Out of Roth IRAs No Longer
Thanks to some recent tax law changes,
high-net-worth individuals who are exploring additional ways to build
retirement savings may want to take a closer look at traditional IRAs. In May
2006, the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act (TIPRA) revised some
of the guidelines covering IRAs. As a result, high-income investors whose
earnings level would previously have restricted them to a traditional IRA can
now convert those to Roth IRAs starting in 2010 and reap the long-term tax
advantages if they will be in the same or a higher tax bracket in retirement.
Because they allow qualified investors to
withdraw all contributions and those earnings that meet certain requirements
without federal income tax, Roth savings vehicles now appeal to a growing list
of investors. Previously, Congress limited Roth conversions to those whose
modified adjusted gross income was under $100,000. Under the new rules,
however, the conversions will be available to investors at any income level,
starting in 2010.
So if you’ve maxed out your 401(k) or 403(b)
contributions and don’t qualify to make Roth IRA contributions because of your
income level, you still can make nondeductible contributions to a traditional
IRA in 2009 and 2010 and then convert it to a Roth IRA in 2010.
Then, when needed during retirement,
investors can make withdrawals from the Roth IRA tax-free. Taxes will not be
owed on the original nondeductible contributions because they’ve already been
paid, although the previous earnings on those contributions will be
taxable. Those
who convert in 2010 only have the extra incentive of being able to spread the
tax liability over the following two years. Thereafter, all future earnings in the
Roth IRA will be available for tax-free distributions if certain requirements
discussed below are met.
With a traditional IRA, account holders are
taxed on both their original contributions and their investment earnings when
they start withdrawing money. Essentially, the tax responsibility has been
deferred, not eliminated. The tax responsibility for a Roth IRA comes at the
front end with nondeductible contributions. One of the advantages to account
holders, however, is that they do not have to pay any taxes — even on
investment earnings — at the time of withdrawal. And that means that Roth IRAs
essentially can make investment income tax-free income.
The opportunity to translate nondeductible
contributions into additional savings that could result in a tax-free income
stream for retirement is especially attractive for high-net-worth individuals
who can afford to pay the conversion taxes without using funds from the account
itself. By doing so, an investor can avoid paying taxes on the distribution as
well as an early distribution penalty of 10 percent. This assumes that a Roth
IRA has been open for at least five years and the investor is at least age 59½.
Moreover, because high-net-worth families often have retirement income from
other sources, they may not need to tap into their converted Roth IRA for many
years, if at all. (Unlike traditional IRAs, there are no mandatory withdrawal
rules for Roth IRAs if individuals are 59½ and the Roths have been established
for five or more years.) So investors who choose the conversion option can
theoretically shelter their earnings for years — an attractive advantage in
estate planning.
Here is a simple example of the potential
advantage of doing a Roth conversion: A married couple where both spouses are
under age 50 can make nondeductible contributions of up to $10,000 ($5,000 per
spouse) to traditional IRAs in 2009 and later. That amounts to $20,000 in
additional savings, excluding earnings, in 2009 and 2010. When the couple
converts their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs in 2010, the taxes due will, unless
elected otherwise by the client, be paid for in equal installments in 2011 and
2012. All future earnings, however, will accumulate tax-free and all
withdrawals from the Roth IRA will be tax-free as well, if the distribution
requirements are met (i.e., later than age 59½ or five years after Roth IRA is
established). And that’s something all investors can appreciate.
If you'd like a personal calculation to determine if converting to a Roth IRA next year would be beneficial or if you have questions, give me a call, Donna C. Zill, Financial Advisor, The Shotz-Liguori-Zill Group at 386-615-3403 and I will make sense out of all of this.
Tax laws
are complex and subject to change. This information is based on current federal
tax laws in effect at the time this was written. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and
its Financial Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. This material was not intended nor
written to be used for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be
imposed on the taxpayer.
Individuals are urged to consult their personal tax or legal advisors to
understand the tax and related consequences of any actions or investments
described herein.
Articles are published for general
information purposes and are not an offer or solicitation to sell or buy any
securities or commodities. Any particular investment should be analyzed based
on its terms and risks as they relate to your specific circumstances and
objectives.
Investments and services offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, and
accounts carried by Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, members SIPC.
© 2009 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Posted by Donna Zill at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Business to Business Expo
The Callan Group hosted a booth at the recent Business to Business Expo last week at the
1.) Where do you get email addresses?
We only send out e-newsletters to our client’s clients. In other words, if we have Restaurant 123 as a client, they obtain email addresses from all their patrons and then we send out the newsletter to only those individuals. We provide comment cards to our clients to help them capture email addresses. On the comment card it states that their email address will never be sold nor shared to any third parties for any reason. This is very important as many people are sensitive to giving out their email address because they are afraid of spam. Also, we encourage each of our clients to offer a reward/incentive to signing up for their email newsletter. Many of our clients offer $5 off their next visit just for signing up.
We do not recommend buying email lists. Unless the individual signed up to receive more information chances are they do not want to hear from you and will just delete the email.
2.) How do you prevent the email from going into the junk mailbox?
This depends on each recipient’s security settings but a few things can assist in getting emails to come through in the inbox instead of the junk mailbox. Your server must have an excellent reputation with the big boys (hotmail, gmail, yahoo, aol, etc.) meaning that they have been in business for a long time, do not send spam and have been watched so that the big boys see them as a trusted source. Our server is out of Spring Hill and has an excellent reputation with all major search engines. Also, you want to refrain from putting words in the subject line like SPECIAL, BUY NOW, etc. that many times are triggers for spam settings to throw the email in the junk mailbox. Most importantly we encourage our clients to have other means of communication and to view the e-newsletter as a vehicle for conversation. “Did you receive my e-newsletter?” “Yes, I did. It’s very nice!” Well, great! I’m glad you received it. Did you read about our special this month where we are featuring buy one get one free?” This communication on top of the e-newsletter makes any sales calls much warmer than before.
More questions to come in future blogs.
Posted by Diane Michael - The Callan Group at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
When Ian Anderson with The Dream Homes Team showed me his community blog I just had to get involved. My name is Diane Michael and I am the Communications Director for The Callan Group – Custom Email Newsletter Campaigns for Your Small Business. I run a local woman/veteran owned business and I am always looking for ways to create synergy between professionals, the community and charitable functions. I am looking forward to being a regular contributor of the 386 Community Blog. My contribution to this site will be in 3 ways. 1.) I am very involved in local charity events so I will regularly write about events happening in town with links to learn more. 2.) Almost all of my clients are local in the 386 area and they regularly offer lots of savings and specials that I will highlight. 3.) I will touch on the power of email newsletters being the new word of mouth and how to use them wisely for marketing purposes.
To learn more about our services I encourage you to visit www.thecallangrp.com.
Posted by Diane Michael - The Callan Group at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Be Greek for a Day. Don't miss the 33rd Annual Greek Festival at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Thursday - Saturday and 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sunday. St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 129 N. Halifax Ave., Daytona Beach (Beachside on the River).
OPA! Bring the whole family for an unparalleled Greek experience. This is a 'must do' event that will make you smile as you learn how to dance to Greek music, enjoy the cultural cuisine and mingle with familiar friends. Not only will you savor the food of Greece but you will be caught up in the traditions, culture, art, and faith of the Greeks. For more information call (386) 252-6012 or click hereto visit their web site. Free Bus Shuttle from the Ocean Center parking Garage! On Friday, Nov 13th and Saturday, Nov. 14th from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Posted by Ian Anderson at 07:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Ian Anderson at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
This Sunday you can enjoy free admission to Florida State Parks to celebrate Recreation and Parks Month. Don't miss the opportunity to take advantage of the spectacular parks our great state has to offer. Volusia and Flagler Counties have several great parks to choose from. Check out some of these great parks:
Tomoka State Park - located at
2099 North Beach Street off "The Loop" in Ormond Beach
North Peninsula State Park - located on 40 Highbridge Road in Ormond By The Sea
Bulow Creek State Park - located on Old Dixie Highway in Ormond Beach
DeLeon Springs State Park - located at 601 Ponce DeLeon Blvd in DeLeon Springs
Gamble Rogers Memorial Recreation Area - located at 3100 South A1A in Flagler Beach
Washington Oaks Gardens State Park - located north at 6400 North Oceanshore Blvd in Palm Coast
With so many things to do at our state parks the whole family can find something to do. Where do I begin....boating, canoing, kayaking, fishing, picnicking, walking and hiking trails, biking trails, beaches. Maybe you'll get a glimpse of some of the rare birds we have. I have actually spotted two black panthers once while cycling near the North Penisula State Park. Absorb what mother nature has given us to enjoy. Visit one of our wonderful State Parks for free this Sunday.
Posted by Ian Anderson at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Technorati Tags: below creek, deleon springs, flagler beach, florida state park, gamble rogers memorial recreation area, north peninsula state park, ormond beach, palm coast, tomoka state park, washington oaks gardens
Still don't know how you will be celebrating the nation's birthday? Well, dig out that cheesy star-studded, red, white and blue t-shirt from your drawer, because I've put together a list of the top five places to be in Daytona Beach. You're sure to find something from this list to make your 4th sparkle!
FOUR CORNERS - ORMOND BEACH, FLORIDA
Looking for
a great way to celebrate with friends & family this July 4th? Look no further than Ormond's
historic "Four Corners". Festivities
are planned by both the Ormond Historical Trust (at the Anderson
Price Building
on Beach Street,
1 ½ blocks north of Granada) and by The City of
Ormond Beach on all four corners of the Granada
bridge. The Trust's event kicks off at 4 pm with a magician and clown, family
activities and a Dixieland band as an "Old Fashioned Lawn Party". The
City will continue the celebration beginning at 6 pm, and will feature a
"Patriotic Kids Corner" with games and inflatables,
as well as live music. The evening will culminate with the City's Fireworks
display, scheduled to begin at 9:30 pm. For more information call The Ormond
Beach Historical Trust at 386-677-7005 or the City's Leisure Services
Department at 386-676-3241.
CINEMATIQUE UNDER THE STARS
Downtown Daytona Beach features The Wizard of Oz in their retro film series. Bring a picnic and lawn chairs (or get really old-fashioned and bring a blanket), and enjoy this American classic at City Island Park, 115 E. Orange Ave., Daytona Beach. No charge! For more information, call 386-871-7873. Movie starts at dusk.
MAIN STREET JULY 4TH BLOCK PARTY & BARBEQUE
To compliment the Boardwalk fireworks, Main Street is hosting an 8-block July 4th block party with a summer barbeque theme. In addition to traditional BBQ food vendors, an amateur BBQ competition will take place with prizes and trophies. The event begins at 6pm and ends at midnight. For more information, call 386-255-9300 or visit www.whog.fm.
RED, WHITE & BOOM at the FAMOUS DAYTONA BEACH BANDSHELL
This event has it all...live music, children's games, simulator rides, and show car all in Oceanfront Park, beginning at 5pm. The evening's live entertainment will begin at 7:30pm and include opening act Last Call, a sponsor recognition and prize giveaways by WHOG's Frank Scott, a welcoming of the crowds by Mayor Ritchey, an introduction of Jeff Gordon with Q&A session, and a performance by POCO. Bring a lawn chair for seating but please leave the coolers at home because they are not allowed in the Bandshell. This is a FREE event, but donations are accepted.
CELEBRATE WITH FRIENDS
This is actually my favorite thing to do on the 4th. Find a great friend's party to crash, and don't forget to bring a fabulous side dish to share. There's nothing like celebrating the great country we live in with the people who make your life happy.
Have a great 4th of July!
Posted by Ian Anderson at 07:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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