Inspiration Found in 40 Under 40 Program

Today a room overflowing with over 400 professional leaders hailing from Valparaiso, Plymouth, Elkhart, South Bend and beyond joined to honor the Class of 2011 Michiana's Forty Under 40 at South Bend's Gillespie Conference Center. The event, led by the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County recognized forty outstanding local professionals under age forty for their business success and community contributions.

The Midas Center owner, Andrea Cook was one of the honorees. She shares, "It is a pure honor to be recognized with such a group of dynamic thought leaders. Although diverse in backgrounds, professions and interests, there is still one thread that brings us all together. Leadership. I'm looking forward to the opportunities to grow along side of these up and coming game changers."

Cook acknowledges this experience as a milestone in her professional career and claims that the most rewarding part was sitting among the group of peers while listening to the remarks made by Tracy Graham, Managing Principal at Graham Allen Partners. Graham, a Michiana Forty Under 40, Class of 2007, shared sage and insight with these powerful words:

"There will always be naysayers, cynics and obstacles. They are placed in our ways to weed out the weak."

In the company of mayors, chairpersons, business owners, non profit directors and chief executives, former Michana Forty Under 40 honorees, as well as the supportive colleagues, friends and family members of this year's class, Graham continued to acknowledge the need for strong and purposeful leadership in our community and businesses and as he gazed upon the future leaders in the room, he remarked that we are "unified in purpose and passion."

"Truly inspiring," Cook remarks as she holds steadfast to those encouraging words. Immediately following was the 2011 Class Recognition where each professional was announced and congratulated with a special award and hand shakes by Presidents and CEOs Jeff Rea, Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County and Phil Penn, Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce.

Read more...

Creative Social Media Tips at the St. Joe Valley Watercolor Society’s “Artist Sampler” Workshop

Are you an artist with talents to share?

Do you have limited time and money for effective marketing?

Have you considered the benefits of social media?

Andrea Cook, President of The Midas Center and a professional in the field of marketing, advertising and branding, will present Use Social Media to Get the Word Out at the St. Joe Valley Watercolor Society’s The Artist Sampler event to be held 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., April 29-30, 2011 at the South Bend Museum of Art in South Bend.

The unique format for The Artist Sampler will provide hands-on workshops, art demonstrations, and instructional lectures from a variety of experts to help artists in many different disciplines enhance their skills and careers. Andrea Cook’s presentation on social media, 9 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, will focus on helping artists use tools such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with the people who enjoy and support their art.

For more information and to register for “The Artist Sampler,” please visit www.stjoevalleywatercolor.com.

Read more...

Social Media Tip: The Practice of Learning

Are you in the practice of learning more about the latest best practices?

Because technology is fervently changing and evolving, we encourage you to make business development part of your business practice.

Take the time to develop your skills and learn more about social media by attending a seminar or workshop in your area. If you are interested in attending a networking event hosted by Women Business Owners of Michiana (WBOM), you can join me next Tuesday. Or you may learn more about the event on their web site by visiting www.wbom.org. This particular event they are offering is a luncheon on the topic of social media. Notre Dame's AgencyND's Director Extraordinaire Don Schindler will be speaking about the latest trends in social media. Although he has much to say on the subject of social media by proof on the number of posts he shares on Twitter and his agency's blogs, social media continues to emerge, evolve and shift the way businesses and organizations communicate who they are and what they do. We're looking forward to learning more from Don and his approach to how he leads Notre Dame's social media endeavors in this new frontier.

Learn more about social media and its latest best practices, attend workshops when available. And don't forget to mingle with live people at live events. There is more to business relationships than just retweeting and emailing!

The Midas Center offers workshops and coaching sessions for individuals and groups in-person or virtually. Coaching sessions can be customized to your specific business goals and can include training, guidance, support, strategy or what ever helps you meet your goals.

Clients achieve an improved understanding of social media tools including how to better communicate and meet goals using facebook, twitter, LinkedIN, blogs, google documents and more!

Presentations now available:
• Social Media 101: The New Frontier of Marketing
• Facebook 101: Save Time and Money and More
• Twitter 101: To Tweep or Not to Tweep and More
• iHEARTplymouth 101: Small businesses get online for free
• Blogging 101: Passionate Social Activists Wanted
• Branding 101: It's not Just for Cows

Clients may also request customized presentations based on their specific needs and goals. To learn more about how The Midas Center can help you improve your social media activities and take your business to the next level, contact Andrea Cook today to schedule your first session by phone at (574) 936- 7058 or by email.

Read more...

Social Media Tip: Were You Open to Email?

Where are you in your understanding and acceptance of social media? Do you remember when email was the new thing? Perhaps you may recall the Apple commercial with Jeff Goldblum where he opened my eyes to how the email technology was separating members in our society. Even though he claimed in the advertisement that "email is as easy as licking a stamp" and referred to those who email as one big party, and those who did not email were missing out, there are still those in our society who are hesitant to hop on the information highway and travel together online in this internet era.

Social media is a term that encompasses all of the tools that allow us to communicate more effectively and efficiently. It depends who you ask, but I think of social media tools as both hardware and software technologies that all work together, or "sync" to improve the way we live, communicate, learn, improve, behave in society. In 1998, Apple launched the iMac ad (see video below) as a tool to help society as a whole email. Since then, there have been a plethora of tools that help us get invited to the party.

When you first got that invitation to come to "the party," how did you respond? How are you responding to today's world of social media tools?

The Midas Center offers workshops and coaching sessions for individuals or groups to empower you to better understand social media and reach your goals. Whether you are feeling like you're missing the party and just want to learn the social media basics so you can share photos and stay in touch with your friends and family, or you want your business to have a stronger online presence using social media tools, The Midas Center's coaching and workshops can be customized to your specific needs. Contact Andrea Cook today to schedule your session >>

Read more...

Women's Advisory Group Reception

What do you get when you mix confident handshakes, an art exhibit opening and a gathering of professional business women?









This past Saturday night, the Women's Advisory Group (WAG) invited business women entrepreneurs and business leaders for a networking opportunity. WAG founders include local business owners, Andrea Cook, Tina Fitch, Nancy Felde and Marianne Peters. This WAG board represents businesswomen of a variety of generations, coincidently raising daughters of all ages, and meet monthly to discuss topics that impact women in the workplace as well as career and business development.

The WAG mission? To encourage women entrepreneurs in their careers through sharing, networking and supporting. In attempt to reach out to the community and provide leadership opportunities and benefits to businesswomen, a women's networking wine and cheese reception took place over the weekend at The Midas Center's office in conjunction with inSPIRATIVE art gallery's opening night of Rococomance, an exhibit by artist Christopher Stackowicz.

Guests of all ages and professions attended, including business owners, directors, educators and more.

Freelance writer and business owner of "Workshops that Work," Carol Anders was the winner of the engraved business card holder that was given as a door prize. A selection of wine and artisan cheeses were available as well as great topics of conversation, new relationships and future lunch dates.

The Midas Center is pleased to host the event and is encouraged by the innovative business leaders in the community!

Read more...

Indy Green Fest and More

Andrea Cook, Indiana’s Green Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, business owner and community enthusiast demonstrates a passion for eco-friendly activities spanning from her company's strong portfolio of green clients, her love of re-purposed creative furnishings, special mom-n-daughter time growing worm farms and her latest entrepreneurial endeavor that she hopes will paint the town green: Project Green Building.

Learn more about this green-venture at this weekend's Indy Green Fest. Event will kick off with the Indiana Green Awards Gala Dinner at the Hilton Gardens in Indianapolis on Thursday evening. Indy Green Fest will take place at the Indiana State Fair Grounds, March 26th - 28th. For more information on this green-filled event, visit http://greenfestindy.com.


Presenting, “A Girl and Her Green Dream”
Indy Green Fest, Seminar Room
11:30 a.m., Sunday, March 28th
A small town girl with a big vision called Project Green Building shares her dream of taking green mainstream. Join her in the journey as she shares her plan to purchase a distressed downtown property and renovate it into a green building for the sake of awareness. Hear more about the obstacles and her plan to spread the words "reduce, reuse and recycle" through living, working, building and learning in her community.

Read more...

Thank you for your interest in the upcoming workshop!

Read more...

Not To Be Missed Evening of Open Houses - Downtown Plymouth

What do you get when you mix two art galleries, a communications agency, an herb store, a tea eatery and dance studio each hosting an open house on the same evening on the same block in downtown Plymouth? Add a few friends, maybe a date with your significant other and you've got yourself a perfect excuse to go out for the evening. On Friday, October 9th from 6 – 8:00 p.m., doors will be open to the public for an evening of open house receptions. Some of the doors, like the IN Gallery and The Midas Center will be opening for the first time.

If you have not visited this up-and-coming hot-spot located in the heart of downtown Plymouth, this is the perfect opportunity for you to see what all the hubbub is about.

Driving on Michigan Street in Plymouth, you may have noticed a window front covered with white paper near the corner of Michigan and Garro Street. Up close the window covering reads, “Are you in? Opening October 9th.” And, indeed the doors will be opening to welcome the public “in” to the grand opening of the IN Gallery and Studios Art Center. The gallery's grand opening will include an opening reception including refreshments, music and works by artist Josh Hozey. Hozey will be the first of several artists to exhibit at the IN Gallery and Studios. Gallery Director, Angela Leed is eager to bring visual and performing artists from all walks of life together. She shares, “We intend to create an on-going environment of support for artists of any age or experience while offering enlightenment and enrichment to the community.” Leed also is the owner of Imaginary Art School, located on the premises, upstairs next to the artists' studios.

Another organization opening its doors in this downtown location is The Midas Center, a full service communications agency. Relocating from Chicago, The Midas Center offers award-winning marketing, advertising, social media and design services to businesses in Plymouth and the surrounding Michiana area. Business leaders, colleagues and friends are encouraged to explore, mingle, network and learn more about The Midas Center and its range of services. Owner Andrea Cook intends to help empower the business community and will be presenting a free workshop on October 13th titled, “Website Basics.” This workshop is the first of a series of several upcoming brown bag lunch seminars. Future topics will include Social Media, Google, Branding and more. Registration for this workshop will be available during the open house reception on October 9th.


The IN Gallery and The Midas Center are adjacent to an eclectic collection of other businesses and organizations that are emerging. This marks the third year since the Heartland Artists have moved to the gallery space at 203 Michigan Street. Heartland Artists are a non-for-profit group dedicated to promoting visual art forms for Marshall County and the surrounding areas. Homemade goodies prepared by the members will be provided along with the selected works of art for the 21st Annual Juried Heartland Artists Regional Art Exhibit.

Just down the corridor, the Sisters' Tea Eatery will be extending their hours to welcome visitors for an evening of herbal tea tastings. Sisters' Tea Eatery is a charming contemporary tea room and restaurant featuring classic home cooking with a touch of gourmet. The owners, Donna Wenzel and Linda DeVault are sisters and their mission is to provide an environment for people to come for friendship and sustenance of body and soul.

The Herb Store has recently expanded and will also be extending their hours to welcome the public for an open house reception. Doors will be open at two of the Garro Street entrances and through the property's entrance at 203 North Michigan Street. More information about a new dance studio soon to be opening in this downtown area will be available during this evening of open houses.

This is a community event. Please help support these local businesses and organizations by showing your support and encouragement. Come and enjoy the refreshments and see what downtown Plymouth has to offer.

* * *

Read more...