Books-A-Million contest seeks young authors and artists

Know a high school student with artistic talent? Encourage them to enter Books-A-Million new publishing contest. Image by Joan M. Mas via Flickr/Creative Commons.

Know a high school student with artistic talent? Encourage them to enter Books-A-Million new publishing contest. Image by Joan M. Mas via Flickr/Creative Commons.

By Chanda Temple

Books-A-Million is looking for aspiring artists and authors for its first publishing contest.

Students in grades 9 -12 may enter original poetry, short stories, essays, novels, photography or art for a chance to be published and appear on the shelves at Books-A-Million. Entries must be submitted by March 27, 2015.

Submissions must be at least 40 pages and no more than 800 pages. Entries can be the work of one student or several students.

All entries must be submitted by a faculty representative, with a maximum of five entries per school. The winning schools will receive publishing packages that include help with design and layout, as well as in-store placement. All royalties from book sales will go directly back to the school.

The first, second, and third place winning schools will also receive a donation of books of their choosing. at $3,000, $1,500 and $500, respectively.

Want to know more? Visit http://www.bampublish.com/contest for an application and contest rules.

Chanda Temple is a former journalist now working in public relations. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chandatemple.

A Birmingham coach scores big in basketball and blazers

Emanuel Bell, coach for the girls basketball team at Wenonah High School in Birmingham, Ala, always wears a suit to the playoff games. He's won two straight state championships in the last two years. Photo: By Chanda Temple

Emanuel Bell, coach for the girls’ basketball team at Wenonah High School in Birmingham, Ala, always wears a suit to the playoff games. He’s won two straight state championships in the last two years. He’s now in the running for the best dressed high school basketball coach. Photo: By Chanda Temple

By Chanda Temple

Birmingham, Ala. – Emanuel Bell was dressed for battle when he entered the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex arena to coach the Wenonah High School Lady Dragons to victory in the state 5A basketball finals on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Forget jeans and Jordans. His combat attire was a pressed black suit, white bow tie and polished Stacy Adams.

Fans noticed Bell’s sharp look as soon as he stepped onto the court. And so did al.com, which has him listed as a contestant in its poll for the Best Dressed Basketball Coach in the Alabama high school basketball playoffs. Voting is open now through12 p.m. on Friday, March 6. Go here to vote.

The Lady Dragons are also in the running as Best Girls’ Basketball Team in a separate poll. Go here to vote.

Bell, who’s 60 years old and has been a coach for 21 years, said he’s honored by the recognition and hopes people will vote in both polls. Votes may be cast daily. Here’s a closer look at his dressing skills off the court.  

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Want to be better in business in 2015? Have a PR plan

Don't cut corners when you are planning a public relations strategy for your company. Consult experts to make sure your plan meets all of your needs to deliver a message with punch. (Image from Flickr/Creative Commons via Niuton may. )

Don’t cut corners when you are planning a public relations strategy for your company. Consult experts to make sure your plan meets all of your needs to deliver a message with punch. (Image from Flickr/Creative Commons via Niuton may. )

By Chanda Temple

If 2015 is the year you promised to improve your business, it’s not too late to start.

On this second day of February, what are your new year’s resolutions to building a better business? Gaining additional capital? Expanding your product or services? Broadening your consumer reach? While all of these are great goals, don’t forget to do an honest review of what you have and create a list of what you need.

“No company is above a once-over! No matter how well a business is going, there are always ways to improve,” saysKrista Conlin, founder and president of KC Projects PR in Birmingham, Ala. “Employees are much more agreeable to change at the beginning of the year. So if there are moves to be made, now is a great time.”

One thing that you should definitely include is a public relations strategy with new, fresh and creative perspectives, says Conlin. Here, she offers five tips to get you started:

Always be prepared

Expect the worst and hope for the best. If the unthinkable happens, panicking can only make things worse; especially from a public relations perspective. You want to have a broad strategic plan that includes as many scenarios as possible, no matter how improbable the scenarios may seem.

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Motivation Monday: Picking up the pieces of the past

Randall Jimerson with his siblings. Photo credit: Special

Randall Jimerson, far left with siblings Ann, center, baby Mark, Sue and Paul, rear, in early 1963. Photo credit: Special

By Chanda Temple

Imagine you’re the son of a white pastor who’s moved his family from Virginia to Alabama in 1961 to work in Birmingham’s civil rights movement.

You support your father’s cause and his push for equality. But some of those determined to keep things the way they’ve always been in segregated Birmingham, don’t like change. And they tell you so.

“As a young teenager, I’d answer the phone (at the house). …there would be either silence or heavy breathing or ‘Your daddy is gonna be six feet under,’ ” recalled Randall Jimerson.

Such words were hard for Jimerson to hear. But he knew his father, the Rev. Norman C. “Jim” Jimerson, was on the right course, a course to help others and to bring about change for the better in Birmingham.

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Motivation Monday: University of Alabama graduate and designer Smith Sinrod talks fashion, rejection and Southern grits

Inspired by architecture and art deco, designer Smith Sinrod likes to work with Thai silk, vibrant colors and bold patterns to give a spin on classic looks. Photo credo: Special.

Inspired by architecture and art deco, designer Smith Sinrod, 28, likes to work with Thai silk, vibrant colors and bold patterns to give a spin on classic looks. Photo by: Chanda Temple.

By Chanda Temple

When starting your own business, you can’t be afraid to hear the negative feedback because it’s bound to come.

It happened early in the career of clothing designer Smith Sinrod. She was at her first trade show when a woman walked by and said, “Eeew, look at that.” The woman didn’t know Sinrod was the designer.

The comment hurt so much that Sinrod wondered, “Gosh, should I be doing this?” But Sinrod recovered, telling herself that for every 10 nos the one yes she gets will make it all worth it.

“People are very opinionated. I’ve heard it all,” she says. “I think it’s important to have a little criticism. That’s the only way to evolve.”

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Be thankful for the little things

Thanksgiving

Thank God for everything, even the small things in life. Photo via Flickr/Creative Commons.

By Chanda Temple

Tonight as I worked on a blog post, I couldn’t figure out how to size a certain photo. I kept trying and nothing worked. Then all of a sudden, something appeared on my computer screen. It was just what I needed to fix the problem.

I then looked up and thanked God. He made it possible.

Right after I did that, I remembered my pastor’s message from this morning: In All Things, Give Thanks. Citing Matthew 14:15-21, my pastor gave us five ways on how to give thanks. With this being Thanksgiving week, I thought it would be a good time to share them.

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Birmingham loves Bud’s Best Cookies

Bud's Best Cookies, based in Birmingham, Ala., has 17 products. Its vanilla wafers are the companies top cookie. (Photo by Chanda Temple)

Bud’s Best Cookies, based in Birmingham, Ala., has 17 products. Its vanilla wafers are the companies top cookie. People like eating them right out of the box or in a banana pudding. At least five Birmingham-area restaurants use the cookies in their banana pudding recipe. Photo by Chanda Temple.

By Chanda Temple

One of the best parts of a banana pudding is a sweet, fresh wafer that holds up to the custard. In Birmingham, Ala., people have found just the right cookie in the vanilla wafers by Bud’s Best Cookies.

Birmingham-area restaurants know this, too, which is why places such as Dreamland Bar-B-Que, Ragtime Cafe, Magnolia Cafe, Irondale Cafe and Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Q all use the Bud’s Best Cookies wafers in their banana pudding recipes.

“I like them because they are small, they are not burnt, they are baked local, and they are fresh,” says Rennae Wheat, one of the owners of Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Q in Cahaba Heights, Alabama. “They are just right.”

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Head to Market Noel This Weekend in Birmingham, Alabama

The Junior League of Birmingham's Market Noel is always a fun event.

The Junior League of Birmingham’s Market Noel is always a fun event.

By Chanda Temple

‘Tis the season for giving and the Junior League of Birmingham has a way you can do that and help more than 30 community organizations this weekend.

For the sixth year, the Junior League of Birmingham will present its Market Noel at Cahaba Grand Conference Center, 3660 Grandview Parkway. General admission shopping takes place Friday, Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 90 vendors will be on hand to meet all of your holiday shopping needs over the weekend. Go here for a list of vendors. 

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9 ways to make a sales call

Is your sales pitch strong enough to get potential clients through the door? Image via Flickr/Creative Commons.

Is your sales pitch strong enough to get potential clients through the door?
Image via Flickr/Creative Commons.

By Chanda Temple

For the last three weeks, business expert and social media guru Melinda Emerson has been hosting webinars on how to improve your sales game. I’m not in the sales industry, but tips from the webinars can be applied to any industry, including public relations.

Today’s post includes Emerson’s nine tips on how to make a sales call. If you like these tips, she has two more FREE webinars. They will be on Thursday, Nov. 20 and Thursday, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. EST. Visit http://www.getsales14.com for details. Her webinar co-host is Jeffery Gitomer and he’s just as awesome as Emerson.

1. How to make a bold call

Call someone you’ve already met. Cold calling does not work. Do your homework. Use LinkedIn to look for info to connect. Look at your contacts’ volunteer interests to discover their passions. It can help with your conversation. People give their time and money to things they care about.

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