Category Archives: Community

1NT: Flu Down

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One fairly predictable side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic: cases of the flu are down drastically this year. From the Wall Street Journal:

Clinical laboratories tested 22,474 patient samples, mostly nasal swabs, for influenza during the week ended Dec. 5, and only 40, or 0.2%, came back positive, according to data from the CDC. During the same period last year, more than 11% of over 41,000 samples were positive.

The number of positive flu samples at U.S. public health labs is also lower than in years past, according to the CDC data. These labs are currently processing more patient samples than in previous years because of the explosion of testing for Covid-19...

In the Southern Hemisphere, Covid-19 precautions practically wiped out the flu this year, offering hope for a lighter flu season in the U.S. and Europe. It wasn’t certain whether the season in the U.S. would follow suit, but influenza’s spread in the country appears to be following a similar pattern.

Obviously, it isn’t sustainable to shut down our public gathering places every flu season, but hopefully this is the evidence we need to change our adjust our behavior in public, especially during flu season. In other words, maybe wearing masks, diligently washing our hands, and coming up with ways to greet each other besides shaking hands should become our cultural norm.

I’m Being Auctioned Off for a Good Cause

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Sending in the Pinch Hitter

Thanks to everyone who has been participating in Piedmont Triad Apartment Association’s (my employer) 2019 Summer Food Drive, PTAA has raised more than 415,000 meals for Second Harvest Food Bank, and we’re on track to pass the total we raised last year.

PTAA’s goal for 2019 is to raise half a million meals, and they’re looking for that last boost to get us to the goal by July 31 – a mere 8 days from the time I’m posting this.

It’s time for me to see what I can do to help get us there! PTAA is offering me up for auction to help them reach their goal. The winner of the auction will have me all to yourself at your corporate office or chosen property for one day! I have (limited) maintenance skills, salesmanship skills, and a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, and we’re happy to share him with you for a day. (I didn’t write that, our Communications Director did, but I’m running with it). Please feel free to donate even if you can’t make the minimum bid – $1 can provide seven meals so every little bit helps!

The Details

You can place your bid by donating to the team “Jon Lowder” on our donation site (click the link below). Just click “Donate Now,” then make your donation.

  • The MINIMUM bid is a donation of $500 (that minimum bid will provide 3,500 meals!)
  • The donation must be made between today and July 31
  • ALL DONATIONS will go to the food bank and are NONREFUNDABLE – regardless of whether or not you win the auction
  • Whichever company has made the highest donation by 11:59pm on July 31 will win the grand prize: Jon Lowder for a day!
  • The company with the second-highest donation will win 2nd prize: Jon Lowder for half a day (half the day, all the awesome)

Once the auction is over, Jon will follow up to arrange a day to spend on your property, and PTAA will be sure it is well covered in our social media and other publicity!

Questions? Contact Jon with any questions you have before you donate.

DONATE TO BID!

Every dollar raised for the food bank can be used to provide at least seven meals to kids in need. How does that work? Through their partnerships with grocery retailers and the USDA, the food bank is able to source nutritious food, including fresh meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables. The food bank’s culinary program uses some of the ingredients to prepare hot meals, and they are distributed along with fresh food to local pantries, summer feeding locations and soup kitchens across 18 counties.

WFMY Story About My Goofy Stunts for Second Harvest

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Yesterday I was interviewed by WFMY about some of the stunts I’ve pulled as part of my employer’s annual food drive for Second Harvest. It was a fun interview and I have to say I think the reporter, Laura Brache, who is a Parkland HS grad from here in Winston-Salem and is just one year out of J-school at UNC, has a very bright future. I say that not just because she was nice to me, but because she was truly professional, well-prepared, shot the video herself, wrote the story in English and Spanish, and got it all put together in a very short amount of time while also doing whatever other stories she had on her plate. Nothing easy about the job, but she made it look that way from where I was sitting.

https://media.wfmynews2.com/embeds/video/8187798/iframe

For those who don’t want to click the link, here’s a pretty crappy copy from my phone:

Matt’s Run to Fight Hunger Raises Enough to Provide Over 31,000 Meals; My New Goal is Food Drive 500; Support from Got You Floored!

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Hunger Fact of the Day: Every year Matt’s Run to Fight Hunger is one of the largest single sources of donations for the Piedmont Triad Apartment Association’s Food Drive. This year it raised enough to provide over 31,000 meals, and that’s before including the online donations they’ve generated! 

Today’s sponsor:

Got floor1

It would be hard to exaggerate how amazing Got You Floored is when it comes to supporting Second Harvest Food Bank of NWNC each and every year. The company donates a portion of the revenue generated from online orders from members of PTAA – in the members’ names – to Second Harvest every year. They also sponsor and organize Matt’s Run to Fight Hunger (named after company founder Matt Ketterman) every July, which raises thousands of dollars for the Food Bank. This year’s run, which just happened on July 7, raised enough money to provide over 31,000 meals for the food insecure families of NW North Carolina.

What makes this year’s run so amazing is that Matt and his team pulled it off just weeks after experiencing a catastrophic fire that destroyed their facility. That means they helped the community at a time when they had their own struggles, which makes it that much more amazing.

As you might be able to tell, I’m a huge fan of Got You Floored and have even been a very satisfied customer in the past. Give them a shout for any flooring needs you might have

Activity Day 68:

Hallelujah! As planned, I made my goal of completing a 367-mile walk between May 1 and July 7. That last magical mile came during Matt’s Run to Fight Hunger in Greensboro, which is exactly how I wanted it to happen. Unfortunately, I haven’t made my monetary goal so I’m going to extend the challenge. The new challenge is to keep going and make it to 500 miles by the end of July, which is the end of PTAA’s Food Drive. We’re calling it the Food Drive 500, and I’m determined to get there and to make my monetary goal. Want to help? Click on the “Donate Now” button at the bottom of this post and you’ll be able to help feed the hungry in our community.

Miles walked/run: 5.88 miles. Here’s the screenshot from my FitBit:

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Miles remaining in challenge: Old goal was met! Miles remaining for new goal: 130.69

Want to donate to support Second Harvest? It’s easy to do right here!

DonateNowButton

Choosing Between Food and Transportation; Walking Williamsburg Square; Support from Casual Furniture World

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Hunger Fact of the Day: 73% of food insecure families report having to choose between food and transportation. Read more here.

Today’s sponsor:

CFWLOGO-reverse-web

Casual Furniture World is a relatively new member of the Piedmont Triad Apartment Association, but they’ve gotten involved quickly. Betsy Spencer has been a great, active, volunteer and our other members have noticed and voted the company Rookie Vendor Partner of the Year at our Diamond Awards banquet in March.

Casual Furniture World has locations in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Myrtle Beach and you should definitely check them out for your outdoor furniture, outdoor accessories, grills, hearth & fireplace needs..

Much thanks to Betsy and the team at Casual Furniture World for supporting the walk (and PTAA’s Food Drive)!

Activity Day 67:

Originally I planned on walking the greenway near my office, but some wicked thunderstorms came through the area and I had to nix that idea. The storms cleared around dusk, so I did a couple of quick circuits around the neighborhood to make sure I could meet my 367-mile goal at Matt’s Run to Fight Hunger the following morning.

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Miles walked/run: 5.31 miles. Here’s the screenshot from my FitBit:

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Miles remaining in challenge: 3.57

Want to donate to support Second Harvest? It’s easy to do right here!

DonateNowButton

SNAP Improves Health; Tennis + a Walk; Support from ProSource Fitness

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Hunger Fact of the Day: People who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also commonly known as food stamps, have health care expenditures that are, on average, $1,400 less per year compared with similar people who are not enrolled in SNAP. – Source, Time Magazine

Today’s sponsor:

ProSource Logo

ProSource Fitness Equipment is a very strong supporter of Piedmont Triad Apartment Association (my day job), and their point person in our market, Josh Owen, is an active volunteer who recently won PTAA’s Supplier Vendor Partner of the Year Award. They’re also very involved in the community, including PTAA’s Food Drive.

ProSource is a provider of fitness equipment, both commercial and residential, and I can vouch for them personally because I’ve purchased from them for my home gym and have had nothing but a good experience with the equipment and the company.

They donated enough for a week’s worth of sponsorship and yesterday was the final day of their sponsorship. Much thanks to Josh and the team at ProSource Fitness for supporting the walk (and PTAA’s Food Drive) and for continuing to be leaders in our community!

 

Activity Day 66: Had some miles to make up as I close in on the finish line on Saturday, July 7. That’s why I added a neighborhood walk after 90 minutes of tennis. Thankfully the tennis was indoors, so I didn’t absolutely melt away, but even at 10:30 p.m. the walk was steamy. I’m surprised I didn’t end up as a puddle in the middle of the road. Getting close to the end!

Miles walked/run: 8.87 miles. Here’s the screenshot from my FitBit:

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Miles remaining in challenge: 29.96

Want to donate to support Second Harvest? It’s easy to do right here!

DonateNowButton

Which Farmers Markets in NWNC Accept SNAP Benefits? Salem Lake in 90+ Heat; Support from FastSigns of High Point

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Hunger Fact of the Day: One of the challenges faced by the food insecure is being able to find sources of healthy food. Unfortunately, it is often easier and less expensive to find high calorie, low-cost foods than it is to find nutritious food, so Second Harvest Food Bank of NWNC has produced a comprehensive list Farmers Markets that accept SNAP benefits.  You can find it here.

Today’s sponsor:

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It is fitting that FastSigns of High Point is my sponsor for this portion of the walk which includes July 4. FastSign’s Joan Campbell was the inspiration and driving force behind Piedmont Triad Apartment Association’s (PTAA) first food drive 15 years ago and helped build it into the annual machine that it is today.  FastSigns of High Point also provides the signs for Matt’s Run to Fight Hunger each year, which helps raise thousands of dollars for Second Harvest Food Bank of NWNC each year.

FastSigns of High Point is a long-time supporter of PTAA and we use them ourselves for signs for our events, like our annual golf outing. They’re also extremely well regarded in the apartment industry and do a ton of work with PTAA’s members.

Much thanks to Joan and the team at FastSigns of High Point for supporting the walk (and PTAA’s Food Drive) and for continuing to be leaders in our community!

Activity Day 64-65: Well it’s been an incredibly hot week and Tuesday and Wednesday (July 3-4) were no exception. In an effort to try and offset some of that heat, and to get in some much-needed miles, I hit Salem Lake where most of the trail is shaded and there’s an occasional breeze off of the water. It helped, but it was still hotter than Hades. I once again enjoyed the company of my better 3/4, Celeste Lowder and we ended up having a good walk followed by a guilt-free dinner at home with a couple of glasses of wine. All in all, a great time.

Miles walked/run: 12.21 miles. Here’s the screenshot from my FitBit:

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Miles remaining in challenge: 17.75

Want to donate to support Second Harvest? It’s easy to do right here!

DonateNowButton

SNAP’s Impact on the North Carolina Economy; It Was a Hot and Steamy Night; Support from ProSource Fitness

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Hunger Fact of the Day: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also commonly known as food stamps, has a significant impact on North Carolina’s Economy. For every dollar of SNAP benefits spent, roughtly $1.73 is added to the local economy. In Fiscal Year 2015, SNAP generated $4,072,435,656.20 in economic activity in the state. – Source, Second Harvest Food Bank of NWNC

Today’s sponsor:

ProSource Logo

ProSource Fitness Equipment is a very strong supporter of Piedmont Triad Apartment Association (my day job), and their point person in our market, Josh Owen, is an active volunteer who recently won PTAA’s Supplier Vendor Partner of the Year Award. They’re also very involved in the community, including PTAA’s Food Drive.

ProSource is a provider of fitness equipment, both commercial and residential, and I can vouch for them personally because I’ve purchased from them for my home gym and have had nothing but a good experience with the equipment and the company.

They donated enough for a week’s worth of sponsorship and Monday/Tuesday was Day 5. Much thanks to Josh and the team at ProSource Fitness for supporting the walk (and PTAA’s Food Drive) and for continuing to be leaders in our community!

 

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Activity Day 63: For this walk, I once again enjoyed the company of my better 3/4, my partner in crime, Celeste Lowder. The day was very hot and steamy so we waited until about 9 p.m. to get started, which allowed us to get in some good miles without risking heat stroke.

Miles walked/run: 6.02 miles. Here’s the screenshot from my FitBit:

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Miles remaining in challenge: 29.96

Want to donate to support Second Harvest? It’s easy to do right here!

DonateNowButton

What Percentage of Food Goes to Waste in the US?; A Hot and Productive Weekend in Winston-Salem; Support from Phillips Management Group

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Hunger Fact of the Day: Nearly 40% of our food (or 165 billion pounds of food) goes to waste in the US every year. – Source- CNN

Today’s sponsor:

PMG Logo

Over the last few years, Phillips Management Group has REALLY stepped up their efforts to support Second Harvest Food Bank of NWNC. In fact, they have won the Piedmont Triad Apartment Association’s Owner’s Cup for raising the most food (per unit) of all the management company members of the association.

Phillips is very active in the community in many other ways, including actively supporting the work of Partners Ending Homelessness, as well as participating in innumerable community service projects in the many cities in which they have properties.

They donated enough for a week’s worth of sponsorship and this weekend constituted days 5-7.  Much thanks to Maria, Brandon and the entire team at Phillips for supporting the walk (and PTAA’s Food Drive) and for continuing to be leaders in our community!

 

 

 

Activity Days 60-62: Walked the streets of Winston-Salem, mostly around Williamsburg Square, and then did a LOT of stuff around the house. Let’s just say I think I put on a show worthy of a Dirty Jobs episode.

Miles walked/run: 12.51 miles. Here’s the screenshot from my FitBit:

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Miles remaining in challenge: 35.98

Want to donate to support Second Harvest? It’s easy to do right here!

DonateNowButton