Sherri May & Co.

And the winner is… Green Bay!
We recently hosted The Paint Your City Green Contest as a way to help inspire residents to adopt new practices that will help reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions, improve citywide energy efficiency, and help one lucky city reach its sustainability goals. Congratulations to the winning city – Green Bay, Wisconsin. The campaign will launch on Arbor Day, April 29, so stay tuned!

SMCO Makes the List
Phoenix Business Journal named Sherri May & Company as one of the top women-owned businesses in the Valley. At #43, we’re honored to be recognized alongside the other Valley businesses.

Helping Girls From S. Asia
SMCO Graphic Designer Aleta Lynch volunteers her time to a non-profit called Hand & Cloth, which helps girls in S. Asia overcome poverty and avoid a life of prostitution. Aleta helped organize and recently attended an event they held in Washington, D.C. that raised $2,200! Great job Aleta and congratulations Hand&Cloth.

An Afghan Anniversary
The Welcome to America Project is having a cultural dinner to highlight Afghan traditions and to celebrate 10 years of serving refugees in Phoenix. This family event will be held on May 15, 2011 from 3 – 6 pm at Phoenix Country Day School. Sherri May & Company will be there and you should too! Click here to purchase tickets.

It’s a Girl!
Our Agency Manager, Sue Thomas, recently became a grandmother to Charlotte, a beautiful baby girl. Congratulations Sue!

Napoleon Dynamite Visits SMCO

There’s something you may not know about Sherri May … first, she’s an actual person, and second, she has a special place in her heart for Napoleon Dynamite. That second tidbit of information was all our staff needed to cook up a special birthday present … a surprise visit by the man himself.

Chase Our Shadow

SMCO recently participated in the American Marketing Association’s (AMA) shadow day by hosting our “shadow” Chase Alyeshmerni, a student studying at ASU. His excitement and willingness to learn made it a great experience for all involved. Click here to learn more about AMA.

SMCO Debuts Time-of-Life Financial Education Series

SMCO is offering a customizable financial education series that highlights specific actions and goals for people at various life stages. The series is geared toward mid-sized banks and credit unions and can be customized with their company name and logo. The guides come with a leaders guide for managers to fully engage sales staff. For more information about the Financial LifeTimes education series, email Sherri or call 602.547.7020 x101.

Going Green

Stay tuned for more information about how we’re going green in a big way.

ABA Conference Highlights

Sherri May, Kris Klopp, Angi Brugger and Katie Milburn of Sherri May & Company, along with Rob Steele of Prisma Graphic, headed to Minneapolis, MN for the American Banking Association Marketing Conference to present new products and campaigns SMCO has created. Not only did they gain new friends, they were also able to gain valuable insight to further strengthen their products.

Yoga to Support WTAP

Every Saturday, our Art Director, Jen Noto, hosts yoga in the park to benefit The Welcome to America Project. Email Jen for more information and to find out how you can join her yoga classes and give back to a great cause. http://wtap.org/

Angi Goes to Jail for a Good Cause

Angi participated in a charity event called Locked-Up, an annual event hosted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Even though she got “arrested,” she collected over $600 in bail (donations) for the event. Way to go, Angi! Click here to find out more.

Business Mailers Expo

Caitlin Bebout and Marta Quiban recently attended the Postal Customer Council (PCC) Business Mailers Expo. They spent the day learning about sustainability, social media, direct marketing, non-profit mailers, and more.

Phoenix Design Week

Katie, Caitlin, Jen and Aleta attended a design conference called Phoenix Design Week. It was a weeklong conference and series of events scheduled from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3. They had a great time and were extremely inspired by the exhibits and presenters. Visit http://phxdw.com/ to learn more.

Sherri May & Company is the proud recipient of two Spectrum Awards in the categories of Integrated Marketing Campaign: Self Promotion and Collateral: Special Event. The pieces honored include The Welcome to America Prom Invitation and our own promotional mailer. You can view these pieces in our portfolio section.

New Team Member
We’re pleased to introduce a new member of our team, Account Manager Marta Quiban. Marta has managed the production side of creative services for over 15 years, most recently with the Arizona Diamondback and Phoenix Suns organizations. Click here to read more about Marta.

Working in the Community
Art Director Jen Noto recently taught yoga to 11 & 12-year-old girls as part of the Clarendon Elementary School summer camp program. The goal of the program was to empower girls to become leaders within their community. Part of that curriculum involved using yoga to teach the girls about self-care, coping and wellness.

Copywriter Caitlin Bebout coached a lacrosse clinic for girls ages 11-12 sponsored by Xavier College Preparatory. Like Jen’s program, the goal was to empower girls by teaching them about leadership roles, sports and wellness.

Yoga Certified
We’re proud to announce Art Director Jen Noto is merely 3 weeks away from receiving her yoga certification. After completing the 10-Week, 200 hour, Teacher Training Intensive program at Urban Yoga in Phoenix, she will be certified to teach classes. Congratulations Jen!

A Successful Season
Copywriter Caitlin Bebout just finished her first season as Xavier College Preparatory’s varsity lacrosse coach. “The girls improved so much from the beginning of the season to the end, and I’m really proud of how they adjusted after moving up to a higher division,” she said.

Out and About
Account Execs Angi Brugger and Cindy Whitehead learned about different shades of green in the printing industry by attending an Earth Day Event held by Prisma Graphic. Industry experts shared the newest environmentally friendly papers and processes to attendees. SMCO staffers also attended two Phoenix Chamber events this month. Cindy and Designer Aleta Lynch attended a Bid for Business event for Minority and Women owned businesses. They made great contacts with potential prospects including SRP, the City of Phoenix, and TriWest Healthcare Alliance. Aleta and Agency Manager Sue Thomas took advantage of a Chamber invitation co-hosted by the City of Phoenix to view the skyline from the Orpheum Penthouse in downtown Phoenix. A great networking opportunity, Aleta and Sue traded business cards and made new contacts while enjoying great views in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere.

Making a French Connection
Sue’ family recently hosted exchange student Celine Trioux from Meylan, France as part of the International Studies Magnet program at Central High School in Phoenix where daughter Abi attends. Sixteen year old Celine was one of 10 students visiting from sister school Lycee du Gresivaudan. In addition to visiting the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Heard Museum, ASU, and other points of interest, Celine was treated to shopping at several local malls, attending the school prom, a Diamondbacks game and Suns game. “It was a wonderful experience and we truly enjoyed hosting Celine,” said Sue. “Now Abi has an open invitation to visit Celine and her family in France.”

New Arrival
Congratulations to Cindy Mirkin, an SMCO client at Wells Fargo, on the birth of daughter Sarah Eve who arrived a couple of weeks early on March 7 weighing in at 6 pounds and 10 ounces.

Cross-Cultural Community Service
This coming July, Graphic Designer Katie Milburn will be taking a two-week trip to Ireland. She’s visiting the north coast of Ireland with her church group to help on service projects aiding the poor and underprivileged children. To help pay her way, Katie is selling raffle tickets for a three-day, two-night deluxe weekend stay at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort (valued at $678). You don’t have to be present to win, just email Katie at Katie@sherrimayco.com to purchase your raffle tickets for a great cause.

Staying in the Know
Agency Owner Sherri May recently attended the 15th Annual Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium put on by the American Banker. Her top takeaway … banks need to improve customer satisfaction and learned great ways to do so. Click here to read more.

SMCO designs prom invitations for annual Welcome to America Project event
Sherri May & Company recently designed invitations for The Welcome to America Project’s Annual Prom. The 70s-themed event will take place on Saturday, February 20, 2010 as a fundraising effort to help furnish the homes of refugee families arriving in Phoenix.

The invitation features the Welcome to America Project’s newly designed logo and all the elements you would expect from the era of bell-bottoms and disco music. For more information on the Welcome to America Project and their prom, visit wtap.org/prom/html.

Staff Comes Together to “Help Feed Those in Need”
Staff members Jen Noto and Cindy Whitehead were part of an outpouring of community support that resulted in 10,000 meals organized in just an hour for the Haitian earthquake victims.

Jen and Cindy spent a recent Saturday pitching in to help the people of Haiti by attending a Stop Hunger Now event hosted by Food for the Hungry. “The meals were a combination of soy, vitamins, dried vegetables and rice that supply the malnourished with all the necessary nutrients,” said Jen.

Over the holidays, Sherri May & Company donated upwards of $1,600 to St. Mary’s Food Bank This total was a result of employee contributions that were matched by the company, which were then matched again by PrismaGraphic. Thanks to all who contributed.

For more information on how you or your company can help feed those in need, visit one of the following sites:
• FH.org
• StopHungerNow.org
• FirstFoodBank.org
• RedCross.org

In-house Designers Attend InDesign User Group
Staff members Aleta Lynch, Jen Noto and Katie Milburn attended their first Phoenix InDesign User Group event held at McMurray Town Center. The event, which focused on preparing files to print in Adobe® InDesign, was lead by Director of Content and Mac genius, Rick Burress, and featured other knowledgeable guest speakers.

“It was a great opportunity to meet other designers and learn more about the ins and outs of InDesign,” said Katie.

For more information on local InDesign User Groups, visit:
http://www.indesignusergroup.com/chapters/phoenix/

Holiday Spirit
As Sherri May & Co. gears up for the holiday season, the team came together to fill the office with holiday cheer. A decorated tree adorned with festive ornaments is our latest addition.

Copywriter named Head Varsity Coach
Caitlin Bebout, SMCO Copywriter, recently became the Head Varsity lacrosse coach at local prep school, Xavier. She is looking forward to a great 09-10 season which kicks off this coming January. Go Gators!

Giving Back
In addition to taking part in a holiday gift exchange this year, SMCO has decided to help families in need when they need it the most by donating St. Mary’s Alliance Food Bank. To find out more about this organization and to find out how you or your business can help families in need, go to firstfoodbank.org.