PRESS RELEASE

 

 

For immediate release.
Contact: Chelle Koster Walton
               239-472-3499
               ChelleTrav@aol.com

Note: “Ding” Darling Days and 75th Federal Duck Stamp Contest logos attached. Thanks for your support.

‘Ding’ Days 2007 participation programs offered to local business community

“Ding” Darling Wildlife Society (DDWS) is opening up sponsorship opportunities and other participatory opportunities for local businesses for its October “Ding” Darling Days with four levels of support and event hosting. Sponsors will benefit from “Ding” Days’ combined exposure with the 75th Federal Duck Stamp Contest Judging, which runs concurrently on Sanibel.

DDWS’s advertising campaign for 2007 will include national ads, a newspaper-distributed supplement, a well-visited Web site (www.dingdarlingdays.com), a collector’s poster, and four-color brochures mailed across the U.S. to interested parties by the Chamber of Commerce.

“Our business community is ready to get behind the Refuge, which brings more than 700,000 visitors to this island each year,” said Jim Scott, “Ding” Darling Days committee chair. “Of course this event will bring thousands more. We’re hearing a lot of enthusiasm about what’s going on here in October and the influx of people it promises to bring to the island in the slump season. As always, we appreciate the community’s support in pulling off this event.”

DDWS and the Refuge are seeking sponsors for “Ding” Days in the following categories and for specific events, listed below.

DONOR CATEGORIES

• Roseate Spoonbill Sponsor ($5,000 or more in-kind or cash donation): logo with hot link on the www.dingdarlingdays.com home page, prominent logo in all print and broadcastadvertising, free ¼-page ad in newspaper-distributedsupplement, logo on “Ding” Days collector’s poster, four free tickets to Ivory Billed Woodpecker lecture on Oct. 10
• Great Blue Heron Sponsor ($1,000 or more in-kind or cash donation): cash sponsors receive event presentation status and on-site recognition; all sponsors receive logo with link on www.dingdarlingdays.com Sponsors Page, logo in all print and broadcastadvertising, preferential advertising rates in newspaper-distributedsupplement
• Reddish Egret Sponsor ($500 or more in-kind or cash donation): name with link on www.dingdarlingdays.com Sponsors Page, name in all print and broadcastadvertising
• Snowy Egret Sponsor ($250 or more in-kind or cash donation): name on www.dingdarlingdays.com Sponsors Page

 

For more information on becoming a “Ding” Darling Days sponsor, please contact Jim Scott at 239-395-0654 or jnasanibel@comcast.net.

“Ding” Darling Days celebrates National Wildlife Refuge Week and the birthday of Jay “Ding” Darling, the refuge’s namesake and father of the Duck Stamp Program. The event is co-presented by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, DDWS (the refuge’s “friends” non-profit), and Tarpon Bay Explorers. For more information, visit www.dingdarlingdays.com.

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Sidebar: Other October Refuge Promotions For Local Business Participation

• Accommodations discounts for visiting artists and specials for visiting public; your information will be posted on www.dingdarlingdays.com, sent to visitors, and publicized through VCB channels. (Contact Chelle Walton at chellewalton@comcast.net.)
• Meals for the Duck Stamp judges – a group of six to 10 VIPS (Contact Kevin Godsea at Kevin_Godsea@fws.gov.)
• Duck Stamp buttons for employees to wear (Contact Kevin Godsea at Kevin_Godsea@fws.gov.)
• Retail discounts for patrons who show their Duck Stamp at your place of business; your discounts will be included on a card produced and distributed by DDWS to Duck Stamp purchasers. (Contact Kevin Godsea at Kevin_Godsea@fws.gov.)
• Paid advertising in a “Ding” Darling Days special newspaper supplement to be distributed throughout the county. (Contact Dan Beltz at dwb@paradesign.us)
• Silent auction donations for “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society’s “Evening with the Duck Stamp Artists” fundraiser. (Contact Birgit Vertesch at Maverick21150@aol.com)