Wood Mountain Christmas TreesWood Mountain Christmas TreesWood Mountain Christmas TreesWood Mountain Christmas Trees February 2010 Newsletter

In this issue

Staff Message

“Newsworthy”

Fast Forward

Environmental Notes

Selling Tips

Calendar — Quote of the Month

What Our Customers are saying …

Clif Notes

Karen’s Commentary

Message from our Staff

An assumption from most is that our business is purely seasonal and we work only in November and December. Actually, we are diligently planning our 2010 season, meeting with our existing customers and excited about bringing on new organizations. There is only four months left in the school year and to assure a great fundraiser for December, plans need to be made now.

We are hearing of even deeper budget cuts, elimination of sports, music and ROTC programs as well as further reduction in staffing. The sad news is that it’s the children that are impacted by these cuts. We recently met with an Athletic Department in the Riverside School district and explained our fundraising program. After the meeting, a young girl named Angelique approached us explaining that the ROTC program was going to be eliminated because of budget cuts. She, a foster child who had been in 6 foster homes in the past 2 years depended on the ROTC program to keep her “on track, focused and motivated”. With tears in her eyes, she told us she could sell the trees by herself and raise enough money to keep the ROTC program going. She certainly touched our hearts.

Our incentive program has been in place for a month and many of our customers have already registered their referrals. Don’t wait!

Now is the time to contact the local businesses in your area and implement the wreath program for their employee gifts. They will be pleased to help support your organization and also have a wonderful present for their employees.

See you next month!

God Bless you, Randy & Denise

February 2010 Newsletter

“Newsworthy”

Santa Margarita’s High School ASB Director, Bryan

Kretzmer says, “Job well done…. Our first year with

Wood Mountain Christmas trees was a big success.

Plans are already being made to expand our fundraiser in

2010”.

Working with Santa Margarita High School was an

absolutely incredible experience. The contagious positive

attitude from every staff member was truly commendable.

Bryan and Terry were so supportive and truly reached out

to the community with the fundraising program. Every

time we visited the campus, the students were respectful

and helpful.

When we arrived on the day of distribution, the lot was

organized and ready to receive the trees. We marveled

at the expertise of the truck driver who expertly

maneuvered his way through the parking lot just as

school was dismissed. Yikes!

As you can see by the pictures, having a dedicated

maintenance staff helps when it comes time to helping.

Victor Morales and other employees had smiles and an

eagerness to help at all times.

Karina Gonzales was there bringing the school spirit to

everyone around!

Brian had received several e-mails from satisfied

customers and requests for next year from neighbors in

the community. One of the customers said, “The tree is

up and absolutely the perfect size, shape and smell...and

it’s the freshest tree we have ever had. I’m not just

saying this, it’s true!” This is a good thing!!

Santa Margarita High School

February 2010 Newsletter

Fast Forward

”Branching out your fundraiser” continued from January The idea of offering a sales incentive to our clients who participated in the 2009 Holiday Fundraiser

seems to be catching on. We have already received several calls regarding the incentive sales plan

for 2010. As previewed in the January newsletter, if you refer any new school or organization to

Wood Mountain and they decide to participate, you will receive a bonus for every wreath and tree

sold. This will be a perpetual bonus so it is to your benefit to sign up as many organizations as you

can. You need to register these referrals with Wood Mountain prior to April to qualify for this bonus.

When we receive confirmation that the organization you referred will be participating, you will be

notified. We will then send you a bonus check based on sales totals for that year. If you have any

questions regarding this incentive program, please give Randy a call. 760 250.1718

Schools and fundraising timing

Is it time for uniforms to be replaced? Do you have enough money to fund the upcoming trip for the

choir? Have you replaced the instruments for the music department? Will the marching band be

able to afford the field trip? For most schools, budget cuts have drastically affected these efforts.

Now is the time to start planning for all of these events. With only four months remaining in the

school year don’t wait until June to make preparations for your fundraiser. Marina High School Choir

will be traveling to New York City this year on the profits made by their fundraising program.

Congrats to them on their success!

What Our Customers are saying…

The partnership that we created with Wood Mountain Christmas Trees has been invaluable. We

were impressed with their customer service, marketing materials, and support on the day of the fund-

raising event. With Wood Mountain, we were able to raise $9,000 in our first year for our athletic pro-

grams. We intend to triple that amount next year. Fundraisers can be arduous, and many require

your institution to sell items that people don't necessarily need. At Christmas time people purchase

Christmas Trees, and why not have them purchase their tree from a local high school that is going to

benefit kids? I call this a win-win situation. The best thing about the Wood Mountain Christmas Tree

Fundraiser is that the trees are of the highest quality. I am confident that you can expect to generate

funds while providing the people of your community with a great product. Now, sign up and sell

some trees!

Bobby Arban—Great Oak High School

February 2010 Newsletter

Message from our growers

Greg Hunter – President - Northwest Christmas Tree Association

Did you know that Christmas tree farms provide a natural and protected habitat and corridor for

wildlife migration? Deer, game and wildlife can freely roam and feed in the open space that a tree

farm creates.

For the tree farmer, the spring is all about the “nature” and “nurturing” of the Christmas tree. The

process of IPM, Integrated Pest Management is implemented. What this means is that each tree is

inspected and evaluated for pests that could harm the tree. We work in tandem with the local

universities to develop environmentally friendly pesticides to treat “specific” problem areas. Blanket

spraying is not a responsible practice and pests are treated on an “as needed” basis.

Karen’s Commentary

I will be out of the office in February.

If you need to leave a message, please

email me at karen@woodmtn.com.

Clif Notes

My note for this month is covering the Sales

Incentive plan discussed in this Newsletter. I

have emailed out the Customer Referral

form, if you did not receive it, please email

me at clif@woodmtn.com and I will get it to

you.

Per the instructions, when you fax us the

Customer Referral form, we will send you an

email confirming when it has been received.

Also, the Wood Mountain website is being

updated over the next few weeks and I will

cover the updates over the next couple of

Newsletters.

Contact Wood Mountain at: 3111 Knottwood Way Fallbrook, CA 92028 Phone: 760.250.1718 Fax: 760.731.2289

Quote for the month

“ We make a living by what we get, but we

make a life by what we give”

Norman Mac Eswan

March Newsletter:

Boys and Girls Clubs

Selling Tips

Sometimes we assume that a customer might not be interested, but 80% actually are. The key is to ask

and how to ask. Asking improves your chances of receiving by 200%. You need to determine now

what your focus or goal is going to be. Without a roadmap, you really don’t know where you are going.

Once that goal is determined, start asking for volunteers, staff members and outside organizations to

specifically take on a specific responsibility. The key is to involve as many people as possible and ask

for a firm commitment of time, financial support or whatever is related to that individual. When you ask,

state what your goal is and ask the question, will you help us reach our goal?

Email: info@woodmtn.com Website: www.woodmountainchristmastrees.com