My Writings. My Thoughts.
How to Get Government Grants Scam Free
// May 18th, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
We all want to find money to improve our Main Street! Here is an interesting article we found on MyTownTalks.net that tells about the pitfalls to avoid when applying for a government grant.
September 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
There are so many websites, newspaper ads, and people on television promising us that they guarantee us that they will find free money for whatever we want…for a price. The scams that surround this topic are overwhelming at times. But is it a real possibility to get government grants without falling for one of these scams?
It is estimated that more than $400 billion dollars in grant funds are available from the United States government each year. Some of the grants are to be used for small businesses while others are available to minorities and women. There are grants to help pay off hospital bills, grants for debt consolidation and to help pay off your taxes. It seems that almost anyone can get government grants if they know where to find them and how to apply.
Click here to read more.
Main Street Honors Communities
// May 3rd, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
May 2, 2012
William F. O’Brien Special to The Sun The Edmond Sun Wed May 02, 2012, 03:54 PM CDT
OKLA. CITY — Last week, the main hallway of the Cowboy Hall of Fame was lined with pictures of buildings from Oklahoma communities that are part of the Main Street organization that is operated by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. The occasion was the 23rd annual Main Street awards dinner.
The pamphlets that were distributed to the attendees told of the four points of organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring that have been utilized by the program to revitalize downtown areas throughout the state. It also listed the individual communities that have become part of the program and described the process by which they apply for admission to it. Commerce Secretary Dave Lopez addressed the gathering, and spoke of how Oklahoma’s economy is improving and told the attendees that they were responsible for some of the state’s economic growth. He detailed how the Main Street program since its founding in 1986 has been responsible for more than 11,000 private building improvement projects and created more than 13,000 new jobs.
Lean & Green: the Pelco Standard
// March 27th, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
Pelco Products, Inc. Corporate Headquarters in Edmond, OK
Congratulations to our sponsor company, Pelco Products, Inc., on their green initiatives and their earning the, “Keep It Clean, Keep It Green” award.
In this day and age, people are very conscious of the environment. We repurpose, recycle and even try to save on gas- little things that make our world better.
As a corporation, Pelco is no different. As owners and employees, we’ve joined forces to adopt green practices. However, since we are a manufacturer, we have to work harder than many industries to make our company green. Recycling is a great start, but we want to make more of a commitment to our green practices. Here are just a few ways we’re working to improve our environment.
Water: vital to everyone
Manufacturing facilities use water in many of their processes. That’s why Pelco Products has its own wastewater treatment facility. All of our industrial waste water goes through our in-house treatment facility before it is reintroduced to the environment.
It’s what’s on the inside that counts…
Our plant is run solely on wind power, reducing our impact on the environment.
We also use low-speed, high velocity fans in our facility along with programmable thermostats to ensure we efficiently use resources only when employees need them. Infrared heaters also help reduce our carbon footprint on the environment, and energy efficient lighting also minimizes the power we use.
Creative Work Schedule
The Pelco Products manufacturing floor works a four-day work-week, which curbs our use of energy at our facility and saves our employees 20% on their gasoline costs. It’s also good for our employees’ families! Happy employees make a happy work environment.
We love trees!
Pelco uses direct deposit for all its employees, eliminating the need for paper checks and saving a lot of trees in the process. We also encourage employees to work electronically as much as possible and print documents only when necessary. Pelco also submits its invoices electronically whenever possible to reduce paperwork.
Good Basics: Powder Coating
One of the many ways we’re working to make the world a better place is powder coating. Powder coating is safer for the environment for many reasons, including the fact that it lasts longer than paint. Another benefit of powder coating is that it emits zero or near zero volatile organic compounds (VOC).
Powder coating production lines also produce less hazardous waste than conventional liquid coatings. Capital and operating costs for powder coatings production lines are more economical than liquid paint lines, too.
Thanks for Noticing!
We don’t expect recognition for our efforts, but it is nice when the community sees our strides we’re making to keep the earth green. That’s why we’d also like to take this opportunity to say thanks to the folks at Edmond Beautiful, who’ve awarded us with the, “Keep It Clean, Keep It Green,” community award. The award, presented by Edmond Beautiful, recognizes an Edmond business that implements a goal to beautify, reduce, reuse, recycle or divert waste within the community, business or as an organization.
Champions of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
For over 26 years, Pelco has been incorporating these green practices. We’re proud of how far we’ve come, but we’re always looking for ways to improve.
Pelco Products… Doing our part to leave this world a little better than we found it.
For more information on Pelco Products, click here.
Pelco to receive first Entrepreneurial Excellence Award
// March 5th, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
Labor Commissioner Costello to make presentation March 2
The Claremore Daily Progress Fri Feb 24, 2012, 01:27 PM CST
OKLAHOMA CITY — Labor Commissioner Mark Costello announced that Pelco Structural, LLC will be the first recipient of the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award in Oklahoma for 2012. The award will be presented to Pelco Structural President, Phil Albert, during a lunch presentation on March 2 at Pelco’s facility in Claremore.
Pelco Structural is a manufacturer of tubular steel transmission poles, distribution, traffic, and sports lighting poles.
Pelco was recently praised for winning a $300M commitment with Clean Line Energy Partners LLC to be their preferred supplier for the tubular steel transmission structures used to move America’s vast renewable wind energy resources from Western Oklahoma to markets in Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia , Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, and North Carolina.
Click here to read more.
Pelco Products Presents: Inside the Mind of our Marketing Director…
// February 23rd, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
Pelco Products has been publishing and sponsoring this site for a while now. We thought it would be nice for you to meet the faces behind the sites; here are some questions we asked our Marketing Director…
What are 3 things you always have in your refrigerator?
• Milk, beer & Healthy Choice
What’s your favorite childhood memory?
• Winning baseball State Championship
What’s your favorite animal? Why?
• Dog. They are always happy to see you no matter how your day was.
Who do you admire most? Why?
• Grandpa. He was one of the last true men to walk this Earth.
What was your very first job?
• Life Guard…City of Guthrie
Star Wars or Star Trek? Which character would you be?
• Star Wars – Han Solo
What was your first animal? What was its name?
• Dog, Jackson
How many brothers and sisters do you have?
• 1 Each
What historical figure do you admire most? Why?
• Abraham Lincoln – He unified the USA and set it on the course to become the greatest and most powerful nation the world has ever known
What’s your favorite movie?
• A Christmas Story or Willy Wonka
What was the last thing you did before you left the house this morning?
• Kissed my wife
If you could be a superhero, what would your superpowers be?
• Power of insight
What’s your favorite food?
• Steak
If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?
• Pay off the extended family, invest and move away where no one could find me.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
• Lack of passion in what you do…
Slow lane or fast lane?
• Fast Lane
On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you?
• 8
What was your favorite subject in school?
• Math
What’s your most embarrassing moment?
• Jumping off a dance stage and breaking my thumb.
If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done?
• Failed, one should never try and do something with an expectation of failure.
What’s your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
• Spend time with my girls
How many places have you lived?
• Cities: 4, States 2
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• Astronaut
Well, that’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed the little glimpse into one of our site’s masterminds.
For more information about Pelco Products and its products and services, click here.
Looking for A Quick, Affordable Way to Install Poles?
// May 10th, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
Pelco Products has created a solution to install poles quickly and efficiently, the Pelco foundation anchor. This anchor allows any pole to be installed with no concrete and the requisite month of curing for the concrete.
Here are some great things about the Pelco Foundation Anchor:
• It’s economical- costs less than a traditional pole installation;
• It’s concrete-free! Requires no concrete foundation, so there’s no cost, time or labor required for concrete foundations;
• Can be installed with only two people – crews are smaller because there’s less work involved
• Immediate pole mounting; because you don’t have to wait for concrete to cure or contractors to install the concrete, it’s fast! and;
• No hole digging – the product is the anchor, so it screws into the ground!
• With the proper equipment, this product can be installed in just minutes!
For more information about this great product and all its benefits, watch our video about this product:
To learn more about Pelco, visit us at www.pelcoinc.com or call us at 405.340.3434.
MSA Brings $950,000 in Outside Dollars to Hamlet
// March 9th, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
Written by D.F. Karppi
Main Street Association Annual Meeting to Present the Future of Historic Oyster Bay
The Oyster Bay Main Street Association has been gently tweaking buildings in historic Oyster Bay by bringing in “outside dollars” to the hamlet over the past few years for restoration and preservation. They recently received a grant for $500,000 to add to $200,000 last year; and a $70,000 Preserve America federal matching grant; and a $10,000 grant for the Octagon Hotel. “So over the last three years, that comes to $950,000,” said Isaac Kremer, OB MSA executive director.
It would seem the Oyster Bay Main Street Association is building on their success with each grant they receive, but executive director Isaac Kremer said his best selling feature is Oyster Bay- the hometown of Theodore Roosevelt. “When I go around the country on conferences the best thing I can tell them is I’m restoring Theodore Roosevelt’s hometown and people understand and most of the time they go out of their way to support it. They appreciate the Roosevelts and that Oyster Bay is the place that should be kept at its best because it is a strong memorial to him,” Mr. Kremer said.
Click here to read more.
Looking for a way to secure large poles?
// February 13th, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
Pelco Products has created a solution to install poles quickly and efficiently, the Pelco foundation anchor. This anchor allows any pole to be installed with no concrete and the requisite month of curing for the concrete.
Here are some great things about the Pelco Foundation Anchor:
• It’s economical- costs less than a traditional pole installation;
• It’s concrete-free! Requires no concrete foundation, so there’s no cost, time or labor required for concrete foundations;
• Can be installed with only two people – crews are smaller because there’s less work involved
• Immediate pole mounting; because you don’t have to wait for concrete to cure or contractors to install the concrete, it’s fast! and;
• No hole digging – the product is the anchor, so it screws into the ground!
• With the proper equipment, this product can be installed in just minutes!
For more information about this great product and all its benefits, watch our video about this product:
To learn more about Pelco, visit us at www.pelcoinc.com or call us at 405.340.3434.
Frisco moving ahead on Main Street revamp
// January 13th, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
Town puts $225K toward Main Street design drawings
By Janice Kurbjun
Summit Daily News
The Frisco Town Council initiated the next step in its Main Street renovation project at their meeting Tuesday when they hired Martin & Martin Consulting Engineers out of Denver and Edwards to create the engineering drawings.
Currently, town staff has a conceptual design in hand, created through a brainstorming process and gathering public feedback to make adjustments. According to the resolution passed Tuesday, the engineers have a budget of $225,000 to take the concept to the point of being construction-ready.
With three-decade-old infrastructure aging from its 1982 installation, town officials are seizing the opportunity to create a unified Main Street. The disjointed setup of today results from acquisitions of land over time as Main Street developed, officials say.
“We’re just trying to update the 1982 Main Street,” Frisco Public Works director Tim Mack said. “That’s when the original Main Street was constructed — and it’s showing its age.”
The design upon which the engineers will build is an amalgamation of three conceptual options initially considered, meshed together through public, landowner and business owner feedback.
The goal is to make Main Street more pedestrian-friendly, Mack said.
Click here to read more.
Improved lighting, additional parking and updated amenities are part of the main street improvement project.
Bringing back the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood
// January 6th, 2012 // No Comments » // Previous Posts
Written by
Jeffrey Blackwell
Staff Writer
Article from: democratandachronicle.com
Take a little drive on West Main Street past the thriving Cascade District and the Inner Loop, and you will discover a city neighborhood on the cusp of renaissance.
Past Nick Tahou’s Hots, the landmark home of the Garbage Plate, there are signs of the progress under way. The new Voters Block apartment complex is nearing completion on the south side of the street a few blocks west, and directly across the street from the new construction is the restoration of a historic block of buildings in what will become the Frederick Douglass Apartments.
But to see the full scale of potential for this neighborhood — the home of famed suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony — you have to explore the side streets off West Main, such as Canal and Litchfield streets, where several century-old factories stand in waiting for restoration and reuse.
These massive, weary brick buildings with boarded-up windows, padlocked doors, leaky roofs and signs of deterioration don’t look like much now, but for each there is a new owner with plans to restore and redevelop for housing, office space or whatever the market will bear.
For the first time in perhaps decades, there is reason for positive buzz on West Main Street.
To see the video and read more, click here.
