One of the more unique and inspiring ideas to brighten the day of casino patrons at the 2011 Mohegan Sun Mother’s Day event was the  “Just Add Ice – Orchid” offering. This idea originated when All Star’s Vice President of Marketing & Operations presented a “Just Add Ice – Orchid” as a birthday gift to All Star’s Premium Sales Manager. Mohegan Sun wanted to pursue a similar option for their 2011 Holiday appreciation event. This time, the product of choice was Poinsettias. An order of 5,000 Poinsettias was placed and delivered to Mohegan Sun in time for the 2011 Holiday season.

The idea was so well received, that this new cheerful theme is being considered by Mohegan Sun for use in future customer loyalty promotions. Utilizing cutting edge merchandise, incomparable product sourcing, and exceptional customer service, All Star continues to prove that desirable and innovative merchandise awards are one of the best ways to engage, motivate and reward® customers.

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 A hydrangea tree adorned with leaves made from recycled paper, records the hand written pledges from each employee. This tree is predominately placed in the front lobby of the All Star facility for visitors and employees alike to enjoy. With every pledge employees received a blue spruce seedling as a token of appreciation and to further demonstrate their support for Earth Day. From eliminating  the use of paper plates and reusing zip lock storage bags to using efficient CFL bulbs and turning off lights when exiting an empty room, the employees of All Star strongly believe their efforts will make a big difference in conserving the planets limited resources. Tara Linton, one of many employees participating in this Earth Day initiative, communicated an admirable pledge to talk to her kids about the importance of recycling and teach by example.   

These personal pledges are just one on the many activities implemented at All Star that conveys its employee’s commitment to the environment. Other environmental friendly and socially responsible initiatives include the recycling of printer cartridges which are donated to a local high school that in turn sends to a recycling facility to get funding to buy class computer equipment; the return of can tabs which are donated to the Lions Club for charity to help those in need of eye glasses; and the placement of recycle bins within each employee office. To further convey their commitment, All Star makes a conscientious effort to source wherever possible, supplies that are made of recycled products. Currently 60% of all supplies ordered at All Star are of a recycled product.

Brian Galonek, President of All Star Incentive Marketing, explains that participation in these types of initiatives illustrates the company’s commitment to engaging its employees at the highest possible level.  According to Galonek “We know all too well how important it is to drive employee engagement, and centering that engagement on shared beliefs is a great way to ensure a high level of participation. Seeing our employees participate in Earth Day is just one of the many things they do to better the world in which we all live.”

All Star Incentive Marketing is committed to helping businesses grow and thrive by engaging, motivating and rewarding the people behind their success. They do this by developing, implementing and managing powerful incentive and engagement programs that drive customer loyalty, employee motivation, sales, safety, and wellness. With a combination of proprietary technology, superior program management, outstanding customer service, unparalleled product sourcing and fulfillment capabilities, All Star maintains leadership in the incentive industry by helping clients exceed their business objectives and achieve a positive return on incentive investment(ROI²).

Earth Day

The goal of Operation Upgrade is to welcome every returning soldier in the Army’s 20^th Engineer Battalion, currently deployed in Kandahar, with personal amenities including wash cloth, bath towel, shower curtain, shower mat and toiletries. They aim to outfit each barracks room with sheets, pillow case, pillow, blanket, garbage can, paper/plastic plates, utensils, cups and personal snacks and soft drinks. The Battalion expects 200 soldiers will stay in these barracks for several weeks upon their return. 

All Star employees, organized by Ashlee Haag, sister of a soldier with the 20^th, and All Star’s Social Responsibility Team leader, quickly mobilized and delivered seven boxes of supplies to the Operation. Donated items included pillows, sheet sets, bath towels, shower curtains, shower liners, hand towels, wash cloths, bathmats, blankets and plenty of snacks.  The effort symbolizes All Star’s vision of corporate responsibility, which is that when people are healthy, trusted, supported and meaningfully engaged, they are empowered to make their best contributions.

The 20^th Engineer Battalion has been serving in southern Afghanistan since January 2010, and they are at the halfway point of their deployment. On a dangerous mission to defuse roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices, the Battalion has lost 13 combat engineers in 8 months. They also survived the shooting at Fort Hood, which left 13 of their soldiers dead and 43 injured.

All Star Incentive Marketing is committed to helping businesses grow and thrive by engaging, motivating and rewarding the people behind their success. They do this by developing, implementing and managing powerful incentive and engagement programs that drive customer loyalty, employee motivation, sales, safety, and wellness. With a combination of proprietary technology, superior program management, outstanding customer service, unparalleled product sourcing and fulfillment capabilities, All Star maintains leadership in the incentive industry by helping clients exceed their business objectives and achieve a positive return on incentive investment (ROI²).  To learn more about All Star Incentive Marketing visit www.incentiveusa.com.

A special thanks from some of the recipients

Seeking to amend the Internal Revenue Code by including employer deductions and employee tax exemptions for wellness incentives, ILC representatives met with the Senate Finance Committee senior benefits counsel for Senator Baucus, tax advisors for Senators Hatch and Enzi, health care policy advisor for Senator Harkin and a legislative aide for Senator Cornyn.

Incentive Federation Executive Director George Delta, who worked with ILC Legislative Counsel Jim Miller to organize the meetings, explained that upcoming tax reform and health care issues on the horizon for the 112th Congress that begins in January could provide a workable venue to promote the use of incentives as a means to reduce health care costs.

“One of the best ways to encourage more widespread use of wellness incentives is to make them nontaxable to employees and deductible to employers, so the ILC is educating members of Congress about how this could be done by simply adding a new section to the tax code that is similar to a measure already used to encourage successful safety incentives,” said Delta.

ILC Legislative Committee Chair Greg Canose, president of Award Marketing Services, LLC, assessed the meetings by saying, “We were encouraged by the willingness of the Senators’ advisors to explore the feasibility of our proposal and to learn more about the power of incentives to promote desirable changes in behavior.”

“We also appreciated their candor in letting us know the viability of our proposal will depend on the priorities of the incoming Congress and our ability to provide persuasive information regarding the penetration of safety and wellness programs along with ways to handle the costs of our proposal,” Canose continued.

Also on hand for the Capitol Hill meetings were ILC members:  Heidi Chatfield, VP of marketing and operations at All Star Incentive Marketing; Kevin Cronin, executive vice president of Client Strategy, Solutions and Implementations at Rideau Recognitions Solutions; Brian Galonek, president of All Star Incentive Marketing; Beth Rusert, vice president of Communications and Public Affairs at Maritz; Steve Slagle, president and CEO of Promotional Products Association International; and Michelle M. Smith, vice president of Business Development at O.C. Tanner.

Delta explained that ILC members will continue to gather data and case studies that can be brought to Capitol Hill early next year once the 112^th Congress has established its legislative calendar and agenda.  

About The Incentive Federation

Founded in 1984, the Incentive Federation is the umbrella legislative organization for the incentive field representing national trade associations, trade publications, and national trade shows. It is the only organization whose membership includes all of the industry’s national trade associations and individual companies. The Incentive Marketing Association, the Promotional Products Association International, Recognition Professionals International, The Incentive Research Foundation, and SITE International Foundation are all active members.  More information can be found at: http://www.incentivefederation.org/

“Our New Product of the Year contest recognizes innovation, quality, and excellence in customer service by many leading manufacturers in the safety and health industry during its biggest U.S. trade show of the year,” Laws said. “We received so many strong entries this year that our judges must have been challenged, because they worked right up to our deadline and their scores were extremely close — with a tie score producing two winners in one category. I congratulate all of the entrants on their fine work and thank them for participating. We hope they’ll participate again in next year’s contest.”

In June 2009 the employees of All Star Incentive Marketing embarked on a 7 month walking program called “Walk to Wellness.”  The steps taken were tracked against a virtual trek along the Appalachian Trail.  At the close of this journey the employees of the All Star Wellness Program walked a total of 18,485,496 steps. This equates to walking the Appalachian Trail up and down a total of 2 times.

The virtual hike was broken into 5 distinct segments from Maine to Georgia. For each segment teams of 5 participants were randomly drawn and aligned.  Unique names were created for each group to add to the team building atmosphere of the walk. Some of the most noteworthy names included Walktoberforce, Mo’Walkin, Are we There Yet, Walk Easy Striders, Take a Hike, Sole Survivors, and Walk the Line.

For those participating in the journey their stepometers became a crucial piece of equipment that they would wear from dawn to dusk.  Every Thursday, with stepometers in hand, participants would report their step activity for the week prior.  These steps were then compiled with those of their team’s members and cumulative team tallies were reported to all participants. Each teams position on the trail was prominently displayed by flags, carrying their team names, pinned to the trail map that was strategically positioned on a large wall map in the main corridor

There were 9 employees who racked up over 1 Million steps each. Showing his enthusiasm for the event the overall leader with the most steps was All Star’s President Brian Galonek with a grand total of 1,774,853 steps.  According to Galonek, “I signed up for the event out of curiosity and a desire to get in better shape but was compelled to excel by the camaraderie of my teammates.  This event was a great builder of team spirit and cooperation.”   

The virtual hike along the Appalachian Trail was just one on the many activities implemented to support All Star’s commitment to the overall health and wellness of its employees promoted through the comprehensive wellness program – “Every Step Counts”.  Wellness program participants are already speculating on the whereabouts of their next journey… who know maybe the Continental Divide Trail or The Great Wall of China! 

All Star Incentive Marketing is committed to helping businesses grow and thrive by engaging, motivating and rewarding the people behind their success. They do this by developing, implementing and managing powerful incentive and engagement programs that drive customer loyalty, employee motivation, sales, safety, and wellness. With a combination of proprietary technology, superior program management, outstanding customer service, unparalleled product sourcing and fulfillment capabilities, All Star maintains leadership in the incentive industry by helping clients exceed their business objectives and achieve a positive return on incentive investment(ROI²).

Campana-Lee comes to All Star from Maritz Inc. formerly Cascade Promotion Corporation based out of Marlboro Massachusetts.  At Maritz/Cascade her career was fast tracked from Customer Service to Senior Marketing Manager selling incentive solutions to top fortune 500 companies. For several years Campana-Lee has worked with All Star as a manufactures rep/vendor for many luxury brands. Campana-Lee commented, “I have always valued All Star’s commitment to employee engagement, customer engagement and company success and am honored to be part of this great team.”

As an industry veteran of almost two decades, All Star has appointed Campana-Lee to the position of Business Development Manager. In this role her primary responsibilities will include forging new vendor relationships, and developing new business opportunities.  Campana-Lee’s extensive experience managing vendor relationships will prove extremely successful in maintaining All Star’s strategic partnerships with Sony, Seiko, All Clad, JA Henckels, Fisher Price, Maui Jim, Dell, Sharp, and many others.   All Star’s President Brian Galonek commented, “Lynn’s years of experience, work ethic, and skill set will make her a versatile and welcomed addition to our team”.

All Star Incentive Marketing is committed to helping businesses grow and thrive by engaging, motivating and rewarding the people behind their success. They do this by developing, implementing and managing powerful incentive and engagement programs that drive customer loyalty, employee motivation, sales, safety, wellness and corporate identity. With a combination of proprietary technology, superior program management, outstanding customer service, unparalleled product sourcing and fulfillment capabilities, All Star maintains leadership in the incentive industry by helping clients exceed their business objectives and achieve a positive return on incentive investment (ROI²).

Forty entries were received in the inaugural year of this contest. Twelve winners were honored in 11 award categories:

• Fall Protection – Miller Fall Protection, Twin TurboTM Fall Protection System
• Hand Protection – MCR Safety, Professional Grade ForceFlex ZB100
• Hazmat Safety – New Pig Corp., PIG® Vapor-Control Latching Drum Lid
• Hearing Protection – E.A.R., Inc., HearPlugz-DFTM
• Incentives – All Star Incentive Marketing Inc., PROPEL for SafetyTM
• Industrial Hygiene – Mil-Ram Technology Inc., TA-2048MB; and, Industrial Scientific Corp., iNet Control
• Online Training & Software – BullEx Digital Safety, BullEx GasTrainerTM
• Protective Apparel – DRIFIRE, 12.1 Arc-Rated Woven Shirt
• Respiratory Protection – TSI Inc., PORTACOUNT® PRO and PRO+
• Signage & Identification – Quaker Chemical Corp., RapidShieldTM
• Vision Protection – Jackson Safety, 370 Welding Helmet Headgear

The Occupational Health & Safety 2009 New Product of the Year Awards were independently judged by three industry experts: Bill Weems, Dr.Ph, CIH, University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies director of Environmental & Industrial Programs; Linda J. Sherrard, MS, CSP, safety director of a statewide agency and former OH&S technical editor; and Professor Joe Beck, Eastern Kentucky University Environment Health Department.

In addition to being honored at the National Safety Council Congress & Expo, the winners will be featured on the Occupational Health & Safety Web site, www.ohsonline.com, and highlighted in the December 2009 issue of Occupational Health & Safety magazine. The magazine is distributed to more than 80,000 subscribers monthly as well as at trade events including the National Safety Council Congress & Expo.

View the original article here

The blood drive was conceived of as part of All Star’s overall company-wide Wellness Program.  The idea originated from several employees, some of whom are on the Social Responsibility Committee, one of seven such committees focused on making All Star’s Wellness program a differentiator that demonstrates All Star’s caring for its employees, and the local communities as a whole.  ” I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a feel-good event as I watched members of my family, All Star employees, and total strangers all come together for this worthy cause”, commented All Star’s President Brian Galonek.  The event was so successful that plans have already begun for a follow up blood drive event to be held inside All Star’s facility in February of 2010.

All Star Incentive Marketing is a full-service Incentive House, and Performance Improvement Company committed to helping its clients develop, implement and manage powerful incentive programs that improve customer loyalty, employee motivation, sales, safety, and corporate identity. As a manufacturer’s representative, stocking distributor, and logo merchandise provider, All Star has access to thousands of the best brand name manufacturers and suppliers in the industry. All Star has led the incentive industry for more than three decades.  With its combination of proprietary technology, superior program management, outstanding customer service, unparalleled product sourcing and fulfillment capabilities, All Star helps clients exceed their business objectives and achieve a positive return on incentive investment (ROI2).