Monthly Archives: September 2014

September 9, 2014

Are you following us yet?

By Jacki Wood

That they might have joy column for Nodaway News Leader by Jacki Wood

 

“Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.” – Mahatma Gandhi

I joined Facebook in April 2007 as a way to stay in touch with family. I recently looked back at some of my first posts and they were mainly just conversations between my sister, Amy, and me. It has changed a lot since then and I have changed how I use it, although one of the best things about it is keeping in touch with family and friends all across the country and around the world.

Then in March 2009, I joined Twitter and hated it. Like a lot of new technology, and even social media, I didn’t really get it. Only 140 characters per tweet? No thanks. And who cares what some celebrity is eating for breakfast. But I kept hearing about what a great tool it was for journalists. Really, it’s all in who you follow. I use it to learn. I get my local, national and worldwide news from it daily. And I can keep up with BYU athletics more readily.

And then I jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon, which I use to find recipes, plan road trips, gather ideas for family reunions, hairstyles, holidays, the home – and thousands of other things.

I started using Instagram in May 2012 as a fun way to edit my road trip pictures and see more of the world around me.

Now I realize not everything about social media is good. I recently took a six-week hiatus from Facebook. I came back refreshed, made some changes and love using it again. But I do advocate moderation in all of this.

So why am I sharing about my social media use?

Well, I also manage the social media accounts of the Nodaway News Leader. After reading about how businesses were getting involved, I advocated the NNL get on board. In August of 2009, we joined Facebook and Twitter, and in the years since, added YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. It’s been quite a ride.

I love that I can be sitting in my home, three hours from Nodaway County, and watch the Spoofhounds (@Spoofhound1) play football on Leader Live Action and tweet that Brody McMahon (@mcmahon_34) just scored a TD for the Hounds or that Jacob Cacek (@BigSauce_05) came up with a big sack.

Or that the new North-West Nodaway football co-op (@NNMustangs and @West_Nodaway) won its first game.

Or retweet that the Jefferson (@JC123Eagles) girls softball team won 15-2. Or the South Nodaway (@SouthNodawayFAN) softball team defeated Albany.

Or share events happening at Mozingo Lake (MozingoLake), at the university (@NWMOSTATE) or with Big Brothers Big Sisters (@BBBSNodaway), just to name a few.

On Twitter, in addition to live-tweeting games and scores, we also tweet school and community events, post content from our website and information we feel our followers might find worthwhile.

On Facebook, we share lots of photos, stories and fun and distribute news, information and alerts.

On Instagram, we post photos (obviously) of high school sports, community events and more.

On Pinterest, we share recipes on our Good Eats board that correlate with those in the paper, holiday fun and informative boards like local schools, businesses and elected officials.

We have a small staff and are limited in covering all of Nodaway County, its community governments, events and nine school districts for the paper.

The same can be said about our social media accounts.

But we are always looking at ways to improve. I try to stay up on the latest trends (they move very quickly), what people want and ways to better connect with you, our readers and followers.

What works for some, doesn’t work for others, though. So please feel free to email me at jwood@nodawaynews.com with your suggestions, complaints and compliments. Or, better yet, tweet me at @jackijwood. I’d love to hear from you.

You can also tweet the paper at @NodawayNews or the rest of the staff: Kay Wilson, publisher/owner, @KWilsonNNL; Dustin Henggeler, sports reporter, @DHenggeler; Kathryn Rice, reporter, @Kathsmagic; Tiffany Whipple, advertising rep, @tiffwhipple; and Brent Barnett, videographer, @25Barnett.

Neal Schaffer, author of “Maximize Your Social,” said: “Social media replaces nothing – but complements everything.”

We’re still the same Nodaway News Leader, bringing you good news and covering all of Nodaway County, but we’re just complementing it more socially.

So if you’re not already, give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. We’d love to connect.

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September 8, 2014

Life after Energizer…

By Jacki Wood

Life after Energizer keeps on going and going and going: Bow Wow Barber offers mobile pet grooming

By Jacki Wood

 

Editor’s note: this is the first in a series about former Energizer employees who have become entrepreneurs since the plant’s closing.

Jennifer Lynch pulls her forest green mini bus right up to the front door and hops out ready to groom Bella, a cute Maltese.

Normally timid around others, Bella gave her new groomer a few kisses after her trim.

It’s a familiar scene happening all over Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa, from Maryville to Skidmore and Bedford to Bethany. Dogs and cats getting trimmed, bathed, pampered and pedicured. All at the convenience of the pet owner. And all right outside their front door.

And soon, that forest green mini bus will be replaced with a custom-built trailer for Lynch’s new business, Bow Wow Barber mobile pet grooming.

***

When Energizer made the announcement in November 2012 that it would be closing the Maryville plant, nearly 300 employees faced uncertainty.

“At first, the announcement was very unsettling and left a lot of what ifs, what now, what am I going to do questions in all of our minds,” Lynch said, who resides in Maryville and has been a resident of the area her entire life. “But I couldn’t let all that bother me.”

Lynch, 35, and the mother of two children, had worked at Energizer since March 2000.

She tossed around several ideas about what to do. The self-described animal lover had been grooming her own dogs for several years, so going in that direction just made sense.

In December of last year, she decided to attend Petropolis, an International Society of Canine Cosmetologists accredited school in St. Louis. She was trained by master groomers and has the option of becoming a master groomer herself.

“I just looked at the situation as a way to finally get a chance to do something I wanted to do and not what I had to do,” she said, “to do something that I truly enjoy.”

Through her schooling at Petropolis, she became a certified pet groomer and opened Bow Wow Barber in April of this year.

***

The mobile business offers a full grooming service including baths, nails and haircuts on all sizes of dogs and cats.

“I did a lot of research when making the decision to go mobile with my grooming,” she said. “(I wanted) to be different than others and to cater to people and their busy lifestyles.”

Some of the advantages of being mobile, Lynch said, include pets not having to wait in cages before and after grooming, less stress for pets visiting a loud shop with other animals and more convenient for owners without having to drop off and pick up their pets.

“I provide a service unlike other groomers in this area and the results have been fantastic,” she said. “I enjoy everything about my decision to start up my own business.

“Since the plant closed, my whole life has changed – for the better.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 660.541.0621 or visit Facebook.com/BowWowBarber2014.

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