Rochelle and LaWanda Gear have opened a great, new, hair salon in Claremont. Healthy Hair Bar caters to all types of hair and a wide age span. Check out this video as the sisters transform a rather challenging hair style into something silky and easy-to-care for.

Video by: WOW Action Services

ChristmasLightsPros aiding LeRoy Haynes Center

Daine and Randall Traw, owners of ChristmasLightsPros, have teamed up with the LeRoy Haynes Children Center to bring holiday joy to needy youngsters. Dan Maydeck, CEO/Presdient of the children center, publicly thanked the Traws for committing to make this a much more joyous season for the kids and ths staff.

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Me, Ri Ri and Ya Ya. Ri Ri had just performed in her first dance recital. Neria, 3, is the youngest grandchild.

Vincent Velasquez, of the Houston Astros, celebrates with Mayor Elliot Rothman of Pomona. Vincent had just signed his first major league contract. Both longtime residents of Pomona, CA, this was a day of celebration.

A Call To Action - Wesley Goo

"A Speaker's Way To Inspiring An Audience," presented by Wesley Goo, was enthusiastically received by the audience of public speakers. WOW Action Services was on hand to record this informative event.

Memo to the Citrus Valley Assn of Realtors

CVAR members and affiliates can, now, have your own affordable TV commercial . . . in your service area. You can use your people and your clients . . . in your commercial.
Ed Pruitt, CVAR member and long-time producer of cable television commercials, explains, "We provide affordable media exposure to small businesses, including brokers, realtors and affiliates . . . so you can maximize your advertising dollars. Together, you and I will create and produce your very own TV commercial. Once you have your edited commercial, you can choose cable networks that you feel will provide you the exposure you want. HBO, CNN, Lifetime, ABC Family, ESPN, Travel Channel, A&E, The Food Channel and many more. It's fun and effective and sellers really appreciate the extra exposure for their listings."
Cost of production of your own, unique, commercial ranges from $850 to $1,500. The air time can be purchased for as low as $2.50 per commercial, depending on which networks you choose. Ed has samples, he will gladly share, of low-budget commercials they've produced for small businesses and brokers.
You can contact Ed Pruitt, Citruz Productions, (909) 622-3302 or E-mail: citruzp@msn.com

Support Your Local Media - Letter to the editor

Dear Mr. Pine

Our family would like to give Michelle Gardner and Louis Brewster a standing ovation. For months now, I have openly congratulated the Daily Bulletin on your tremendous coverage of local amateur, high school and college sports. We especially like the interviews and the listing of upcoming contests. This has made a significant difference, I do believe, in the attendance figures for the schools and their teams.

My only suggestion, at this point, would be that the photos chosen be the sort that players and their families would be proud to see in your paper. Successfully getting a shot away, over an outstretched arm or scoring the winning run, is certainly better than a tangled up offensive player and the back of a defenders' head . . . or a collision at home plate where neither player is clearly identified. The student athletes and their families, throughout the Inland Valley, love your sports reporting. Provide photos that the kids will be proud of and truly hope everyone will see . . . will surely sell more newspapers.

Thank you for this opportunity and keep up the great reporting.

Respectfully,

Ed Pruitt and Family

Sincerity . . . forever

A genuine smile . . . a firm handshake . . . and sincere compliments. Hopefully, these personal qualities will forever be appreciated. With more and more of our waking hours being occupied in front of the computer, television or behind the wheel, I'm afraid we are gradually disconnecting with quality day-to-day human contact.

Letter writing has, virtually, become a thing of the past. Can you remember the joyous swell of emotion when you would receive a hand-written letter from a friend or loved one? You knew the writer took the time to think about you and you alone. They composed their thoughts and shared them with someone special . . . . you. These days we have email and text messaging. For business and/or emergencies, this electronic wizardry can be lifesaving. But there is a, very negative, flip side to this. Our kids are now reverting to a cryptic shorthand and abbreviations in order to say more with less words. I foresee, in the future, our kids having a tougher time with vocabulary, spelling and sentence composition. Surveys have shown our kids continue to lose ground, educationally, compared to youngsters around the world.

Whenever possible, talk to and really listen to others. Every day, you have ample opportunities to share your most genuine smile . . . a good firm handshake and extend sincere compliments. Enjoy the mutual benefit from extending yourself to others. Quality human contact must live forever.

BEWARE!

Don't be seduced and swayed by some of the crazy, unsubstantiated, radio promotions we hear every day. These golden-voiced pitch people seduce you with their well-worded, well-rehearsed BULL CRAP. We are constantly bombarded by ads about 'simple ' loan modifications . . . or the fun and joys of Vegas and gambling at various Indian reservations...or easy weight-loss programs -- that are guaranteed to work.

Many of you have probably already found out there is nothing simple about attempting to arrange a loan modification, especially if you put it in the hands of someone else. It's closer to a nightmare. According to a number of real estate brokers I've spoken with, only 8% of the loan modification attempts are actually granted.

The next time you are in Vegas . . . be honest and just look around in any direction. Other than the overpriced shows, you are NOT going to feel or see 'joy and wonderment' in the faces of the hordes of passerbys, frustrated gamblers or perturbed families. I've even heard promoters, on television, reminding us to 'gamble responsibly'. Talking about an oxymoron. Imagine if people did gamble responsibly? What if most people could stop after losing that first $5.00 or $50.00? Vegas would grind to an abrupt halt. Gamble responsibly . . . that's the last thing the casino would like to see.

Weight-loss programs, that are guaranteed to work. Yeah, right.

Photo Credit: http://www.citysights.us

Git 'Er Done . . . With a Daily To Do List!

Many years ago, I discovered a very simple and effective exercise that has helped me accomplish more each day. This would be my daily to-do list -- like a shopping list! It's amazing how much more focused and efficient you become when you know what needs to be done and that you plan on actually doing it.

I've found that the best time to prepare for tomorrow is just before turning in for the night. This is the ideal time to envision what you need to do, what you want to do, and the results you would like to gain. Each night . . . or more honestly, several nights a week, I try to write down at least six extra things I would like to accomplish the next day. Six is very manageable and do-able. Be clear now . . . we're not talking about everyday things you do as a matter of course. You would not include daily routines such as brushing your teeth or feeding the dog or reading the mail. No, those things you do anyway. We're talking about taking action and doing things that you, personally, should attend to. Writing a letter you've been putting off . . . sending out those resumes . . . getting that nice, professional photo taken for your business card . . . calling grandma, etc.

Just imagine: If you sat down, just five nights a week, to compose what you want and need to accomplish the next day; five days times six special activities per day . . . that's 30 extra things accomplished in one week. Things that you either made happen or followed up on and accomplished. That's well over 100 extra personal accomplishments a month. You will quickly realize that many of these planned actions and deeds will, naturally, propel you and move you towards the goals you've set for yourself.

Just like with that shopping list . . . it feels great to actually accomplish what you set out to do. It becomes a game you play with yourself -- some days you will accomplish everything on your list and some days you may not get everything done. No fear, you are your own score keeper.

Now you try it, and let me know how it's going! Feel free to comment here or directly contact me, an Inland Empire media professional, at citruzp@msn.com.

Photo Credit: http://www.getzcope.com

Cable Television Advertising: An Affordable Necessity

Whoa . . . slow down Charlie. If you would only take the time to look around and see what works .

In these times of recession, small businesses everywhere are resulting to downsizing, reductions, layoffs, cutbacks, etc. So many times, in so many cases, these small business owners are failing to take advantage of the 'tried and true' method of influencing the public: television advertising.

Television advertising has worked . . . is working . . . and will continue to drive the public to their products and services.

As a people, we tend to believe what we see and what we hear. Common sense to ridiculous . . . we still believe it. And lord, let a celebrity endorse it . . . show me...where does the line start? The more we see and hear it, the more the message is ingrained in our brains as being true. Every one of us can remember, recall, and sing along with yesteryears' mottos and tunes - promoting toothpaste, soda pop, beer, etc. Some of us can recall catchy tunes from ads as far back as 40 years ago.

In times like these, instead of cutting back on advertising, smart business owners should be increasing their exposure and influencing new customers. Advertising on cable television is much more affordable than what most people realize.

Drop me an e-mail at citruzp@msn.com and learn how I can help to increase your business exposure with television advertising services.

I also offer marketing consulting for small businesses, action photography (high school athletics and recruitment videos), videography (biographies, resume reels, commercials), professional interviews for your website, and property management (one to four units and office buildings).

Photo Credit: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com

More News to Come!

Inland Empire residents: Happy 2009! Stay tuned for fresh news and information regarding media, business, and video. Thank you for visiting.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions at citruzp@msn.com.

New to Citruz Productions: Inside the Inland Valley Street Reporters

Citruz Productions has assembled a very impressive team of Street Reporters. These young, energetic media interns have fanned out to bring Inside The Inland Valley cable television viewers a wide array of unique businesses and great destination stops. These media interns are joined by six other Street Reporters -- all from Southern California!

Photo Credits: (from top to bottom) Leah Stone, Dennise Olvera, Diva Rescia, Brianna Saucerman, and Danielle Howe

The Scariest Thing This Halloween: Sour Acid Candy

According to Erika B. Feltham, a registered dental hygienist, today’s sour candy contains acid levels approaching the levels of battery acid.

She’s studied and researched this destructive candy’s effect for over 10 years. “It is a growing problem and I see it on a daily basis in the dental office I work in,” she explained.

“This Halloween, we are advising adults to think twice about buying sour candies for trick-or-treaters. We are also encouraging parents to comb through their child’s bag at the end of the night to remove sour acid candies and replace them with a small piece of non-sour, sugarless candy or gum.” This past spring, Erika appeared on my cable show, Inside The Inland Valley and gave me a better understanding of the acid levels in candies that are sold in a wide variety of stores across the country.

I was, honestly, overwhelmed by the scary comparison of the acids used to make candy tart and sour and the acid used in car batteries. Sour candy comes in dozens of varieties and forms, including hard, soft, chewy, gummy, gels, liquid sprays, crystals, foam sprays, powders, cotton candy, and chewing gums.

According to Erika, most people think this type of candy is safer because it has less sugar . . . but they don’t know that the acid content is towards the extreme end of the acidic spectrum. “It is not at all surprising that this candy is a contributing factor to acid erosion,” she said. “With repeated exposure and frequency, sour candy can also lead to a host of oral health problems, including increased cavities, tooth sensitivity, staining, soft-tissue sensitivities and loss of shine.”

Because of this, the California Dental Hygenists' Association (CDHA) is offering the following tips for this Halloween:

- Avoid, limit or seriously reconsider choosing or eating candy labeled “sour or tart”;
- Remember that “sour” means “acid” which is bad for teeth;
- Look for the following acids on the back label of ingredients and avoid them citric, lactic, malic, tartaric, fumaric, adipic and ascorbic;
- Don’t be fooled by “concentrated fruit juice extracts,” which is a code phrase for ingredients that can be highly acidic;
- If you choose to consume sour candies, rinse your mouth with water immediately afterwards to reduce the damaging effects from the acids;
- Do not brush your teeth directly after eating sour candy, as the toothbrush and toothpaste are abrasive. This will scratch and will remove more of the already softened enamel.

“Most consumers and even many dental professionals are so focused on eliminating sugar, that they haven’t paid attention to the newer and more serious candy ingredients containing multiple acids.” said Feltham, who believes the problem is so bad that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) should require warnings on all sour acid candies.

“These acids are what make the sour candies so tart and appealing,” she said, “but also what makes teeth more susceptible to oral diseases.”

Photo Credit: http://www.consumerist.com/