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A local Chamber of Commerce unveiled a "new" city logo and motto after a six month study and $31,500. http://www.martinsville.com/news.cfm?newsID=116

It was reported in the local newspaper. http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com (1/20/06)

Thornton, CO liked it in 2003. http://www.cityofthornton.net/business/ ... s_logo.asp

George Jetson liked it in Post #15. http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... 775&page=1

Some folks don't like it. http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... #post41993



Has anyone seen a similar slogan and /or logo used in other cities? Do you think a recycled slogan and logo are worth a six month study and $31,500?

The comments on that other message board are just the tip of the iceberg. There have been a lot of others calling in to local TV and radio talk shows t'd-off (or p'd off) about this. The local city politicians and the Chamber of Commerce are always crying about what bad economic times we are having but we can spend $31,000 on something that's been used before. That must be our version of "trickle-down economics".

An area near to me called Sandwell, spent an absolute fortune considering a new identity and name change before deciding to keep Sandwell. Excellent use of council tax.

The city of Ottawa spent CDN$200,000 (US$170,000) in 2001 for the slogan "Technically Beautiful". (There are a lot of high tech companies in the area).

The phrase went over like a lead balloon. People hated it.

A paragraph from this site https://www.dramatispersonae.org/Entrep ... keting.htm describes a happier outcome without any financial outlay :

" The City of Ottawa comes up with a new slogan: "Technically Beautiful"after spending some $200,000 on a marketing consultants fee. The slogan is so badly received that the City dumps it after a couple of months. Compare this with the City of Biggar, Alberta. Their slogan is: "New York is Big, but this is Biggar." The slogan cost the town nothing and is internationally known. "



R.B.

Richard Bell wrote: The city of Ottawa spent CDN$200,000 (US$170,000) in 2001 for the slogan "Technically Beautiful". The phrase went over like a lead balloon. People hated it.
Thanks for that information. It looks like the Henry County-Martinsville area in Virginia may have gotten off easy, even though it still was a huge waste of community funds. This one has the "lead balloon" feel too. :-5

Our local newspaper (martinsvillebulletin.com) reported on 10/25/05 that a new tourism director was hired as of 10/17/05 with the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation. That article didn't say how much David Rotenizer was getting paid per year, but I'm sure it's enough to come up with a slogan/motto without spending another $31,500, even if it took a little longer to unveil than the recycled one we got.

He started his job the same week that the Executive Director of that group, Danny Fore, resigned (10/17/05 Bulletin). One problem we have here is the revolving door for executives making 6 figure salaries that don't produce and go on to greener pastures a year or so after they are hired.

TruthSeekerToo wrote: Our local newspaper (martinsvillebulletin.com) reported on 10/25/05 that a new tourism director was hired as of 10/17/05 with the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation. That article didn't say how much David Rotenizer was getting paid per year, but I'm sure it's enough to come up with a slogan/motto without spending another $31,500, even if it took a little longer to unveil than the recycled one we got.

He started his job the same week that the Executive Director of that group, Danny Fore, resigned (10/17/05 Bulletin). One problem we have here is the revolving door for executives making 6 figure salaries that don't produce and go on to greener pastures a year or so after they are hired.
He could have taken over the campaign, even if it was already underway. $31,500 for a redundant motto, and city government just spent $50,000 of tax-payer funds on a reversion study that's been done several times before. There seems to be a disturbing trend of poor fiscal performance from Martinsville officials.

The Martinsville Chamber of Commerce is accepting blog comments on this re-used motto and slogan. (martinsville.com)

They are trying to capture the love. :-4

I see the final "capture" as being very selective. You will not hear of many negative replies. The Chamber will spin it. That's money in the bank.

Why does the Chamber of Commerce look for internet input after the new slogan and logo has been unveiled? That's a day late and a dollar short. They are just trying to save a collective back side. Good luck with all of that. :rolleyes:

Uncle Kram wrote: An area near to me called Sandwell, spent an absolute fortune considering a new identity and name change before deciding to keep Sandwell. Excellent use of council tax.
That's one thing that's got folks upset in Martinsville, I think. Most of the $31,500 came from a grant to the Economic Development Corporation from The Harvest Foundation that administers money from the sale of a local community hospital. Many people gave to build the hospital with involuntary payroll deductions. Now, this is how the money is being used, or thrown away in many's opinion. :-5

ChiptBeef wrote: I see the final "capture" as being very selective. You will not hear of many negative replies. The Chamber will spin it. That's money in the bank.
I tried to post a comment on that Chamber page questioning the $31,500 and my comment was taken off less than 5 minutes after I posted it. It seems that Chamber of Commerce is not only into wasting peoples money but also censorhip to make themselves look better. That's what I think about it.

www.martinsville.com

From what I've read in the paper and on other forums, that Chamber of Commerce is more into trying to be part of the local government. If I read the reports right, this slogan campaign came out of a $45,000 tourism study that said the Chamber should focus more on promoting the local area than political matters. I remember reading things in the paper over the past 5 years or so that this Chamber of Commerce has tried to interlope into school board matters.

A Sunday, July 31, 2005 Section-C, Martinsville Bulletin article "George Lester: Homegrown leadership" stated - "As chairman of the chamber this year, Lester has heard the criticism that it has become too political, pushing for a merger of the county and city schools and other issues. "Next year it will do less," he said, "I see the chamber being less political. Build consensus and work on positives, be a cheerleader for the community," he added."

Being a cheerleader is a good. Stealing cheers from other schools is bad. :rolleyes:

Yea, it seems like that Chamber of Commerce and their clique have a real racket. They sure seem to like studies. It sounds like a consultant's paradise. They're using $31,500 internally, just think how much they have spent on external studies by outside firms. So much for the argument of "hard times."

The actual totals may never be known. I'll do a little research and see what I can come up with. It may take some time and might be in bits and pieces. Stay tuned. :-3

Thanks in advance for the extra work. I'll try looking around in some on-line sources. I have a feeling most of the dollar amounts will be hard to find, but I'll do what I can. Good luck. :yh_bigsmi

There are many dots to connect, so please bear with me.

The Harvest Foundation was formed with the profits from the sale of our community hospital. www.theharvestfoundation.org

The Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation (MHCEDC) "is a public-private partnership whose Board of Directors includes representatives from Henry County, the City of Martinsville, the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth and the Harvest Foundation."

www.martinsville.com/newsletters.cfm?ID=29 and www.yesmartinsville.com/contact.html

Kim Adkins is the president of the Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Directors for the West Piedmont Business Development Center. www.martinsville.com and www.wpbdc.org/index.html

From August 2003 to August 2004, the Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth (C-PEG) was granted $4,125,000 by the Harvest Foundation (HF).

The Chamber was granted $31,500 by the MHCEDC in August 2005 for the slogan study.

The Chamber was granted $45,000 by the MHCEDC in April 2005 for a tourism study.

The Chamber was granted $20,000 by the HF in August 2004 for a school merger study.

The Chamber was granted $250,000 by the HF in August 2003 for a economic study of Martinsville and Henry County.

From August 2003 to August 2005, the West Piedmont Business Development Center was granted $162,250 by the HF.



There's a popular saying in the Martinsville area... "All roads lead back to the Chamber." Now you know why.

How does the Chamber of Commerce show its "love" for the area? Here's a fine example from the September 12, 2003 edition of the Martinsville Bulletin newspaper. www.martinsvillebulletin.com under "Archives."

"Chamber quits coalition"

"The Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday withdrew from the Coalition for Economic Progress, an economic development alliance that it helped create." The only reason for the action by the Chamber was the "Martinsville City Council's decision Tuesday to select former mayor Mark Crabtree as the city's representative on the coalition."

That's not love, in my book. That's petty politics. :-5

TruthSeekerToo wrote: There are many dots to connect, so please bear with me.

The Harvest Foundation was formed with the profits from the sale of our community hospital. www.theharvestfoundation.org

The Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation (MHCEDC) "is a public-private partnership whose Board of Directors includes representatives from Henry County, the City of Martinsville, the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth and the Harvest Foundation."

www.martinsville.com/newsletters.cfm?ID=29 and www.yesmartinsville.com/contact.html

Kim Adkins is the president of the Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Directors for the West Piedmont Business Development Center. www.martinsville.com and www.wpbdc.org/index.html

From August 2003 to August 2004, the Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth (C-PEG) was granted $4,125,000 by the Harvest Foundation (HF).

The Chamber was granted $31,500 by the MHCEDC in August 2005 for the slogan study.

The Chamber was granted $45,000 by the MHCEDC in April 2005 for a tourism study.

The Chamber was granted $20,000 by the HF in August 2004 for a school merger study.

The Chamber was granted $250,000 by the HF in August 2003 for a economic study of Martinsville and Henry County.

From August 2003 to August 2005, the West Piedmont Business Development Center was granted $162,250 by the HF.



There's a popular saying in the Martinsville area... "All roads lead back to the Chamber." Now you know why.


I found some articles in the on-line editions of the Martinsville Bulletin that relate to your post, IMO. There were no dollar amounts in any of the articles (surprise), but it should help connect some of those dots. www.martinsvillebulletin.com

May 14, 2001 - Tourism office goes online: "The tourism office at the Chamber of Commerce launched its Internet site Thursday. Its theme... is "See What You've Been Missing."

May 16, 2001 - Chamber seeks new members: "The chamber's main purpose is to support and promote the interests of businesses in the Henry County / Martinsville area."

June 14, 2001 - Chamber chief: Keep up heat on local issues: "You need to keep hammering away... not only to your own legislators, but to all members of the General Assembly, he said."

August 28, 2001 - Consultants float merger: "The chamber had hired Davis' firm to perform its study and conduct Monday's meeting, chamber Executive Vice President Kim Adkins said."

September 18, 2001 - Development groups merge: The "Partnership for Progress" is renamed as the Chamber Partnership for Economic Growth with Kim Adkins announced as their first Executive Director.

So, Kim Adkins and the Chamber of Commerce has already defined a slogan for the area, launched an Internet site to promote the area with that slogan; their mission has been properly defined by the local media; they were urged to be more politically active by their mother entity; they sanction a study into issues that are the concern of local school boards; and they continue their overarching interjection into city and county economic development concerns, where their presence was not requested.

Man... talk about an agenda. :rolleyes:

Here's another way of looking at it. The 2001 Chamber slogan was tied to its tourism office. The "new" 2006 Chamber's $31,500 slogan and logo were in direct response to a $45,000 tourism study supervised by the Chamber in 2005. That means the total, final liability of the "new" slogan and logo is $76,500.

The $76,500 came from the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The EDC got the $76,500 from the Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth (C-PEG). C-PEG got the $76,500 from The Harvest Foundation. The Harvest Foundation got the $76,500 from the sale of the Martinsville Hospital. The community donated funds to build the hospital. That makes the $76,500 community funds. It looks like the Chamber of Commerce is wasting community funds on redundant slogans to promote tourism.

http://www.theharvestfoundation.org & http://www.martinsville.com

Wow, talk about connecting dots. Way to go, TST. Hey... that kind of looks like "TNT." Neat. Keep the good info coming.

I was looking around on the web to see what all the fuss was about down near in Martinsville. No offense, but that's a mess. I did find a bright spot in the fog. Some real funny "replacement" slogans on a page of another section in the site ya'll put up. It's called "Slogans that didn't make it."

You go to martinsvilledaily.com, then the Forum link, then the Martinsville Daily Forum link, then to that thread "Slogans that didn't make it." Get ready for your sides to hurt a little from the laughing. :wah:

PlowBoy wrote: I was looking around on the web to see what all the fuss was about down near in Martinsville. No offense, but that's a mess. I did find a bright spot in the fog. Some real funny "replacement" slogans on a page of another section in the site ya'll put up. It's called "Slogans that didn't make it."
You're right. There's some real classic suggestions there. I thought I'd make it a little easier for others by posting the actual link.

http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... php?t=4775

ChiptBeef wrote: You're right. There's some real classic suggestions there. I thought I'd make it a little easier for others by posting the actual link.

http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... php?t=4775
I got a real kick out of a post there by Gene Teague calling for warm and fuzzy feelings to try and support the Chamber of Commerce's "borrowed" slogan. Why, do you ask? Because Gene Teague is the former Vice-Mayor and Mayor of Martinsville, Virginia. Even though he is long out of those offices, he is still carrying water for the Chamber of Commere. Well, it is a free country. He's got that right.

I went to that site and looked at some of Gene Teagues posts. Most of them (only 30 - 40) seem to support mostly city issues. You would think someone that held the Mayor's office would be able to support city and county issues equally, based on the merits involved. Then again, maybe his mayoral tenure led to a bias.

ChiptBeef wrote: I see the final "capture" as being very selective. You will not hear of many negative replies. The Chamber will spin it. That's money in the bank.
You're right. I checked that Chamber of Commerce web site and all the posts are warm, fuzzy and lovey-dovey. I guess alleged plagiarism and censorship go hand-in-hand.

www.martinsville.com

I've seen enough reports about that Chamber of Commerce, and some of the results of their "finger in every pie" mentality to anticipate that they would take whatever actions they felt necessary to spread their propoganda. They've done that in the past... why should the present or future be any different. It seems that's too much to expect from Kim Adkins and Company.

ChiptBeef wrote: You're right. There's some real classic suggestions there. I thought I'd make it a little easier for others by posting the actual link.

martinsvillemedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4775


Thanks for posting that address. I tried, but couldn't post the entire address in my 1st post, or this one. I had to modify the address inside your quote. The thread at that site now has some stories about things other than a slogan that might help the area. More funny stuff. :wah:

I like the story about the Mill Mountain Star (because it's close to home). :-6

ChiptBeef wrote: A local Chamber of Commerce unveiled a "new" city logo and motto after a six month study and $31,500. http://www.martinsville.com/news.cfm?newsID=116

It was reported in the local newspaper. http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com (1/20/06)

Thornton, CO liked it in 2003. http://www.cityofthornton.net/business/ ... s_logo.asp

George Jetson liked it in Post #15. http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... 775&page=1

Some folks don't like it. http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... #post41993



Has anyone seen a similar slogan and /or logo used in other cities? Do you think a recycled slogan and logo are worth a six month study and $31,500?


"There is nothing new under the sun" - Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1, Verse 9 (NIV)

http://www.welovethisplace.org/home/main.html

http://www.welovethisplace.org/sponsors/

http://www.sask2005.ca/song/lyrics.asp

If the Martinsville Chamber of Commerce wants to publish a song, does it have to be in the country category or could it be from another?

TruthSeekerToo wrote: "There is nothing new under the sun" - Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1, Verse 9 (NIV)

http://www.welovethisplace.org/home/main.html

http://www.welovethisplace.org/sponsors/

http://www.sask2005.ca/song/lyrics.asp

If the Martinsville Chamber of Commerce wants to publish a song, does it have to be in the country category or could it be from another?
I don't know what the lyrics would be, but they should be sung to the tune of the George Strait hit "Ocean Front Property (in Arizona)." :guitarist :guitarist

How about singing them to "We're In The Money."

It seems like "borrowing" things is a trend in our area. Other alleged plagiarism has been reported about William "Bill" Wyatt (a.k.a. Dr. Awkward), a local media personality and Robert "Bob" Lawson (a.k.a Thor) on a plagiarism forum out of Charlottesville, Virginia. The issue of the Chamber of Commerce slogan was discussed there also.

http://www.plagiarism.phys.virginia.edu

"Profiting From Plagiarism"

"Plagiarism in Henry County"

"Plagiarism in Martinsville"

More "Dr. Awkward & Thor"

http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... php?t=3870

"In their own words..." where they attack local officials and residents. I think it makes our area look extremely childish.

"We Love This Place"

It was used by a hotel; a church; on Reno, NV public vehicles; and for an amusement park commerical as found by a customer (Kim C. of Dumont, NJ).

http://www.rgj.com/news/printstory.php?id=78618

http://www.gbgm-umc.org/marysville-firstumc/welove.htm

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic ... /1100/OPED

http://www.thelandofmakebelieve.com/comments.asp

A February 5, 2006, Page 3-A article from the Martinsville Bulletin "Jingle sought for pride drive" states, "The local Community Pride Steering Committee has launched a jingle contest for a 30-second catchy tune incorporating the community pride slogan, "We Love This Place!" The article ends by listing the fifteen "steering committe" members, with Kim Adkins, Chamber of Commerce listed first. The committee is made up of individuals from the Martinsville business community, along with one representative from the City of Martinsville (Wayne Knox) and one representative from Henry County (Paula Burnette). How can it be that fifteen people, lead by Kim Adkins, approved a slogan and logo that was used repeatedly in the past? How could that same committee want to use that hijacked slogan in a new "jingle?"

There's a new thread looking for another slogan and logo. There's information there that a 2001 Martinsville Chamber of Commerce slogan was "borrowed" as well. http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... php?t=4906

That might justify some of the "replacement" slogans suggested. Http://martinsvillemedia.com/forum/show ... php?t=4775

I was going back through the Sunday (2/5/06) Martinsville Bulletin, and I found on Page 10-A an advertisement by the Martinsville Chamber of Commerce for "Fast Track 2006," which is an annual regional trade show sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Of course, the two-toned recycled slogan and heart-shaped logo took up almost half of the ad. So now the Chamber is pushing this at officials functions, trying to pass it off as their original work to increase revenue in the area. That's a poor example, in my opinion. Originality is best

The Chamber of Commerce seems to be wearing the Heart & Dot out already. Stealing someone else's work isn't bad enough, now they want to sing about it? No wonder they can't keep businesses and jobs in Martinsville.

I remember reading reports that have Martinsville usually in the top 5 cities in Virginia as far as unemployment numbers. At one time, I think their unemployment percentage was in the double digits. I don't know what it is now, but I hope it's getting better.

It is getting better. We are out of "double digits." We are now around 7% to 8%. Our place on the state unemployement list varies. I think Danville is currently #1 and we are #2 or #3.

TruthSeekerToo wrote: How about singing them to "We're In The Money."
How about Pink Floyd's "Money"?

I've got a better one. The Eagle's "Take It Easy." :guitarist

Or the theme from "Arthur" by Chris Cross. "If you get lost between the moon and New York City..."

In this case, Martinsville.

PlowBoy wrote: I remember reading reports that have Martinsville usually in the top 5 cities in Virginia as far as unemployment numbers. At one time, I think their unemployment percentage was in the double digits. I don't know what it is now, but I hope it's getting better.
I found an article in the December 2, 2005 Martinsville Bulletin "Jobless rate drops again" that says "Henry County's rate dropped by 0.7 percent to 6 percent. Martinsville's jobless rate fell 1.1 percent to 8.3 percent.

www.martinsvillebulletin.com (archive page)

I heard Martinsville Chamber of Commerce President Kim Adkins on a radio interview this morning promoting an event next Thursday. The Chamber is sponsoring a commercial for the "We Love This Place" stolen slogan. They are going to be auditioning at a local restaurant to fill four slots in the commercial. If the Chamber paid $31,500 for the intial study and slogan/logo, I wonder how much the commercial is going to cost and where is the money coming from?

I'm surprised they didn't just get the Burger King commercial staring Dan Corteze from back in the late 1980's and insert the words "We Love This Place" for "I Love This Place." :wah:

If they don't get enough people to try out for the commercial, that wouldn't surprise me, knowing how the Chamber operates. It's an embarassment to the local area for the Chamber to try and get local people to suoort their plagiarism in a commercial, I think. If they admitted their mistake, and came up with something original, that would be altogether different.

You're right. I've talked to people that just can't believe the Chamber of Commerce is puhing this thing forward like everything is just fine. If they dropped that act, admitted they made a mistake and then picked an original replacement, people around here would be pretty forgiving, in my opinion.

That's one problem in the Martinsville area. Some people can't own up to mistakes. Like when Danny Fore resigned from the Economic Development Corporation. We still don't know why that happened. He resigned right after a trip to Germany. We don't know if that had anything to do with it. Maybe he was using EDC travel funds to set up another job. But we won't know until someone owns up to the situation.