Founded in 1996, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Ojai, California. Its mission is to strengthen disaster response in America by recruiting rescued dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.

The program offers professionally trained canines and an ongoing training program at no cost to fire departments. It ensures lifetime care for every dog in the program: once rescued, these dogs never need to be rescued again. There are currently 72 SDF-trained Search Teams located in California, Florida, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. Thanks to Mutual Aid Agreements between counties, cities and states, these precious, life-saving resources can be shared regionally and nationally to make sure that when disaster strikes, NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND.

Who Founded the SDF?

Since the tragedy of 9/11, SDF search teams have been called upon by state agencies across the country to serve as the first responders to numerous disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, mud slides, train derailments and building collapses.  Whether responding to a major national disaster, or one closer to home, SDF teams stand ready to serve.

Some of these disasters include:

• Tornado in Joplin, MO

• Tsunami & Earthquakes in Japan

• Structural Collapse in Jacksonville, FL

• Mill Valley Mudslide

• Hurricane Katrina

• Los Angeles Train Derailment

• World Trade Center Attack

• Oklahoma City Bombing

• Haiti Earthquake

• Oklahoma Tornados

How You Can Help

Disasters will happen. It’s only a question of time.

In 2012 the Search Dog Foundation will train 19 new teams to respond to future disasters at an average cost of $10,000 - $15,000 per team. We are raising funds to recruit and train these teams and to support our 73 existing teams through the SDF Handlers Fund.

Help ensure that more communities across the U.S. have local Search Teams ready to respond the moment when disaster strikes closer to home. Make your gift today in support of THE CLASS OF 2012: 17 SEARCH TEAMS FOR AMERICA.

• Donate Now

• Make an Estate Gift

• Sponsor a Search Dog

• Workplace Giving

• Volunteer

• Donating a Dog

At AHMC we feel fortunate to have the opportunity to support such an incredible foundation. We know that our donations are going toward a phenomenal program and truly exceptional cause. If it weren’t for the National Search Dog Foundation, many individuals that get caught in an unexpected and unfortunate disaster may never have the opportunity to live.

We hope that you take some time to look at their website and learn about their organization so that maybe we can inspire you to donate as well.

http://www.searchdogfoundation.org

 **The photos herein are the intellectual property of the Search Dog Foundation and its licensors and are protected by applicable copyright, trademark and proprietary rights.

With locations all across the U.S., Café Rio is known for its amazing culture, amazing people, and delicious food that will keep you coming back for more. With no freezers or microwaves in any of their restaurants, their food is always made from the highest quality and freshest ingredients!

Café Rio Fun Facts:

•Every tortilla is made from scratch, hand rolled and cooked while you watch.

•Cafe Rio restaurants have no freezers or microwaves…  All products are prepared fresh daily in their open view kitchens.

•Cafe Rio's sauces, salad dressings and guacamole are prepared fresh each day.  Avocados are hand-scooped, and they make their beans and rice from scratch each morning.

•All meat is USDA Choice grade poultry, pork and beef.  Steak and beef are aged on average for 21 days to provide unsurpassed flavor and tenderness.

• Their recipes have been perfected over many years and are valuable trade secrets.  Recipes are locked in a safe every night and their spice formula is kept in a safe deposit box.

•Each Cafe Rio restaurant squeezes up to 1,000 limes every day - fresh lime juice is one of the key ingredients.

•Fresh Roma tomatoes are hand-chopped every morning.

•FREE MEAL: At Cafe Rio they reward your loyalty.  After 10 meals, your 11th meal is FREE!

Initially joining the Adopt A Highway program in California in 2010, Café Rio has recently joined the Sponsor A Highway Program in Colorado, taking advantage of the new Ramp Program that began this summer! Not only does Café Rio strive to provide the best food made from the highest quality ingredients, they are working hard to give back to the community in an everlasting environmentally effective way.

From the beginning, Café Rio’s philosophy has always been to serve the best Mexican food around, and today that philosphy still stands true!

“Every meal is a masterpiece!”

For more information or to find a Café Rio near you, visit their website at www.caferio.com

Charlie Cook’s Marketing for Success Blog, is an entertaining and insightful resource for small businesses alike. With his primary goal bringing YOU more business… his blog as well as his website (click here), are a great source for marketing tips and tricks.

Recently AHMC came across an article on Charlie’s blog called “The Top 5 Online Marketing Myths Busted” and thought it was definitely worth a share…

While Adopt A Highway is primarily a source for Out of Home Media (OOH), as a small business our self, we are often faced with challenges when it comes to our own forms of marketing. All small businesses struggle with the proper way to market their products or services and with technology advancing at such a high rate, people are turning more and more to online media as a way to attain that goal.

While some of these online marketing beliefs do in fact work for some larger more established businesses, for small businesses like us… these beliefs could very well not be true! ;)

1.) Build It and They Will Come:

No matter how great your product or service may be, that alone is simply not enough.  

Identifying the proper target market for your product or service and coming up with an optimization and content strategy for your website is the first step in improving your online marketing.

2.) The Purpose of Your Website is to Sell:

Charlie makes an excellent point here in saying,

“Unless you’re a large retailer like Amazon.com with a big fat reputation to match, expecting your website to be your marketing and sale department all rolled into one is a big mistake.

… Expecting people to take a quick look at your site and then whip out their credit card – rarely works.”

Not all businesses provide a specific product that can be sold online and this is often confused when trying to “sell” to a potential consumer. Your website should be a source of information that allows someone to get to know you and your business, establishing an interest in your product or service, and hopefully in the end… generating a lead.

3.) Traffic is the Solution:

People often look at numbers to gauge positive results coming from their website, when in reality; the numbers don’t really mean anything if no one is actually contacting you.

The challenge small businesses often face is not only getting someone to visit their site, but getting them to read the content provided, and then forming enough interest to where they utilize that information to contact you by phone or email. Once you have done that, your foot is already in the door and all you have to do is follow up to establish that direct relationship.

4.) Your Website Can Close the Sale:

Many small businesses believe that their website can close the deal without any additional interaction from them, whether in person or over the phone. While a good website can do a great job of pre-selling a product, many small business owners don’t realize that rather than buying your product or service, potential consumers are actually buying YOU.

Taking a more personal approach will set you way ahead of your competition and will provide more positive selling results.

5.) It’s Quality that Generates Repeat Sales

DING, DING, DING! This is one of our favorite myths!

Your business could provide the best quality products and have the most amazing services, but with the amount of information people are receiving on a day to day basis for services similar to yours, regular reminders to increase their awareness and remind them to buy from you is always a good idea.

Things such as email are an easy way to keep in touch and put your company at the forefront when it comes to the high demands for your type of product or service.

Breaking your business of these myths and learning the best ways to market online will help keep you one step ahead of your competition. AHMC is repeatedly looking for ways to improve our products and services as well as our marketing strategy. Charlie Cook’s website and especially his blog are a great way to learn a different perspective on successful marketing.

 To read more of his blog click here... Or to view this full article click the link below:

"The Top 5 Online Marketing Myths Busted"

Enjoy!

Cook, Charlie. “The Top 5 Online Marketing Myths Busted” Charlie Cook’s Marketing for Success Blog. 6 June, 2012.