It was great to see so many of you at Officer Training. I loved having my tent in the back of the room the whole weekend. I had decided to set up there this year instead of the other room because it made the display more visible. It showed what a set up can look like with our new & old marketing gear. It also allowed me to participate all weekend and get my packaging done. The best part though was that it made it easy for you guys to all approach, share ideas, and ask questions all weekend long. It was great to hear all the feedback & ideas you had. It sounded like everyone liked the new signs. The set of boxes and large framed poster were sent around the state. If you would like one for an event, please reach out to someone close to you. Mikey Mueller (District 1), Jen Abraham (District 2), Duke (District 3), Tom Babbit (District 4), Kim Miles (District 6), Clint (District 7), Kaitlyn (District 8), & John Reblin with the tent. Everyone let me know they wanted the yellow poster in a size that could be hung up at locations. Thanks to Becky Zarling we were able to distribute a bunch of these and some with an option for a meeting time & location on them at Lobby Day. I do have more, so please reach out and I'll get them to you through a District Director at a board meeting.
Besides going over the marketing presentation and distributing the new signage, I was also able to distribute fun giveaway items for conversation starters at events. Over 30 regions picked up which is great. Please send feedback as you use them, so I know what to order for 2026. A tip I had wanted to cover and forgot was: When at an event, don't put some of each item out all at once. You want to use the items to get a chance to talk to people. If someone is interested, they'll chat and you can give them an item. It keeps us in their mind past the conversation but doesn't cost a bunch of money. If you have everything out, you are more likely to get people who come up and take a few of everything. With these people we all know it's likely to end up in a box, in their house of hoarding, not to be seen until the big clean out when they move or die. This ends up costing the organization more money and provides less availability to use as a conversation starter in the future.
One other item we handed out but not at OT, was the motorcycle stress balls that say, "What would ABATE say?". We gave 1 of these to Legislators at Lobby Day. If you happened to hand some out, I would love to hear your feedback. How did it go over with them? I know members told me they definitely want them. Right now, this isn't an item that would be cost effective to give away on a larger scale but we will see what I can come up with.
There were several items that people asked about being able to get that will most likely fall under products. If it costs more than we can afford to give away, generally it is sold through products. That being said, we did make an exception for the extra supply of yard signs as those are running through me. I plan to bring this up for conversation at the March board meeting since Shawn & Carolyn stepped down. I will do my best to find a way to help you all get the items you would like. Please be patient and know I will get back to you as soon as I can. Speaking of yard signs, there is an order form in the newsletter. Here is your friendly reminder that we will not be shipping yard signs. I will get them to the District Director at the next board meeting, who can get them to the Regional Rep, and they can be picked up at a Regional Meeting, event, or state event. You can't use Regional funds to purchase the extra.
As I mentioned last month, a new updated website is in the works. I'm hoping to have this live by March 1st. Fingers crossed when you are reading this article, it is already out there. If you happen to see anything wrong, please email it with a screen shot to events@abatewis.org so I can make sure we get it corrected.
Finally, here is your friendly reminder that if you have events that you would like shared, need help with a poster or Facebook event post, or have marketing ideas; please reach out. 920-858-7189 or events@abatewis.org or krissybowe@gmail.com.
Have a great month!
Krissy
ABATE of WI Marketing Director
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