Blog: Jodie Rogers

The Race for the Cure is coming to Eugene – 10.10.10, Autzen Stadium, Eugene

There’s quite a bit of pink popping up around CAWOOD lately – and it’s not just the blooming tulips kind of pink. Our team is lending its marketing skills to the inaugural 2010 Komen Eugene Race for the Cure. As part of our pro bono effort, we’re working hard to develop a unique identity for the Eugene Race and get the word out however we can.

In a town already known for its running events, it’s natural to ask, "Why Komen? Why Race for the Cure? Why the focus on breast cancer?" A lot of us at CAWOOD asked the same questions.

And the answers were a bit surprising. For instance, did you know that the Pacific Northwest has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the nation? Or that more than 34,000 women in Lane County are currently uninsured and missing important annual health screenings, such as mammograms? Or, even more chilling: Lane County’s rate of late-stage breast cancer diagnosis is higher than the state average – those cancers that are harder to treat and more difficult to survive.

The women in this community deserve better.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation is already hard at work, here, in Lane County, providing free screenings to low-income women. But they need our support to do even more. Seventy-five percent of funds raised from the Race stay in Oregon and help women.

In addition to leading the marketing efforts, CAWOOD is sponsoring its own team for the Race, happening Oct. 10, 2010 at Autzen Stadium. We welcome you to join our team, or support our fundraising efforts. We’ve got a couple of wacky ideas in the works, so stay tuned!

And if you know a breast cancer survivor who would like to share her story, please steer her our direction. It’s important for women in our community to understand the benefits of annual screening. One woman’s story could save another woman’s life. Also, be sure to invite her to the Race, where breast cancer survivors are the guests of honor.

Join the movement to end breast cancer forever.

Comment (0)

As one of the newest members of the CAWOOD team, I often marvel at the unique ways this team gets our clients noticed.

Last night was a great example. On Thursday, Feb. 11, Oregon Imaging Centers pitched its pink tent at the 7th annual Affair of the Heart, held at the Lane Events Center in Eugene. To promote Oregon Imaging Centers’ slogan "Every picture tells a story" and raise awareness about the importance of regular mammograms for women, we worked with Oregon Imaging Centers to install a fully branded, pink, arcade-style photo booth.

As you might imagine, the photo booth was a huge hit. What seemed like an endless line of women (and a few men) waited their turn for the photo booth. Behind the curtain, people giggled and posed for silly pictures with their sisters, mothers and girlfriends.

The tent and booth was clearly one of the busiest stops of the night. It was a great opportunity for representatives from Oregon Imaging Centers and its event partner, Komen Oregon, to share life-saving information about breast cancer awareness and the importance of frequent mammograms.

In addition, attendees learned about the inaugural Komen Race for the Cure coming to Eugene on Oct. 10, 2010. Many purchased "Make time for the girls" T-shirts and pink Komen bracelets, with the sales supporting the work of Komen Oregon in providing free and low-cost screening services to women throughout the region.

By closing time, nearly 500 attendees had climbed into the photo booth to snap a memento of the event and learned more about state-of-the-art imaging services available at Oregon Imaging Centers.

I’m proud that in addition to coming up with a fun idea that captured everyone’s attention, we were able to keep attendees hanging out at our booth long enough to make a real connection – and maybe even save a life.

Comment (0)

The days are getting shorter, and with the shift back to standard time, all of us at the office have complained more than once about the dark, dreary evening commute. It doesn’t help when the streets are clogged with fallen leaves and flooded with the rainwater from recent storms.

While we take our Vitamin D to stave off the lack of sunlight, and dig our raincoats and boots out of the back of the closets, one of the chief complaints we’re hearing is how difficult it is to navigate the narrow streets around our offices without experiencing a heart-stopping near-miss with a bicyclist. As determined as we all are to share the road and be supportive of cyclists who diligently brave all weather conditions to exercise while they commute, it is hard when we can’t see each other because of poor or nonexistent lighting, dark clothing, and no reflective gear.

Our leader, Liz, is never one to sit idly by, so recently she invested in a case of high-quality rear bicycle flashers – those really cool ones you see clipped to backpacks or bike helmets of the seasoned bicyclists around town. Our assignment: find cyclists who could benefit, and give them away. Pronto.

Staying true to our motto that "small change adds up," each of us attempted to do our part over the past couple weeks, with mixed success. Some of us just couldn’t find a subtle way to flag a stranger down and hand them a strange little box. Some of us worried about risking our own necks, jumping out of our vehicles in a busy street to get the attention of an understandably leery bike commuter. What’s the proper form of address for someone on a bike – "Hey, you – Biker?"

So far, only three of those fancy lights have made it to good homes. Yet, that’s three more bikes that have lights. We’re doing our part to help our streets get a little safer and prevent one of those future near-miss moments. It’s a step in the right direction, and step we’re glad to take.

Comment (0)

My husband and I had an old friend from out of town over for a beer the other night. Not a super-blogworthy activity, you’re thinking, but how it came about is pretty remarkable, at least to me.

We haven’t seen our friend, Richard, face-to-face in nearly 25 years. He’s not even really my friend to begin with – my husband hung out with him during a brief period in high school. And like many short, intense friendships at that age, they burn out pretty quickly and you move on to other things.

But over the past year, Richard has become one of my closest friends. We chat almost daily, about jobs, kids, Shakespeare, bad ‘60s sitcoms (anyone remember Brian Keith and that freaky doll Mrs. Beasley?), and the old songs on the jukebox of Lenny’s Nosh Bar, the hangout of choice for earnest, wanna-be poets in our day. I get a little worried now if several days go by without hearing from him.

I "friended" Richard on a whim in Facebook. I didn’t think he’d remember me – the black-clad girlfriend of a weird kid he knew in high school. But keeping in touch with Richard helped me reconnect those threads and remember things about Richard that I always liked, and I guess always will. And now that we’re both raising preschoolers, I feel fortunate to be adding new chapters – and this new friend – to the story.

Many people dismiss the power of social networking – "it’s shallow, it’s a time-waster, it’s never a substitute for ‘real’ relationships," they say. Of course, it isn’t. But new technologies like social networking help us reinforce what’s already there, and build on it in new, unexpected ways.

Consider using these powerful tools to continue building your valued customer relationships. Reconnect with old "friends." Help them remember what they already like about you – even when they’re not shopping for your product or service.

Comment (0)