I sure was proud of my son, Brent, on Friday.

He made a good impression on several of my peers at the Arizona Newspapers Association’s annual Marketing Workshop and Advertising Excellence Awards.

An ad he and graphics designer Jen Gentry created earned a second place award in our circulation category for the Best Color  Ad. The full-page ad was for one of his clients, Rural/Metro.

I congratulate Brent and Jen on their award, as well as Advertising Representative Duke Kirkendoll, who received a third-place award for the Best Black and White Ad for one he created for Wood Whims.

We also received a third-place award for Best Special Section for our 35th Anniversary of The Times edition.

And for the fourth year in a row, we received the first place award for Best Classified Section.

But it was comments I received from two newspaper executive friends of mine that had me feeling especially good about my son. They each commented on his maturity and the way he presented  himself when they were talking to him during the day.

“He sounds like he is ready to let you retire,” commented Dick Larsen, advertising director for Prescott Newspapers, 

Greg Tock, publisher of the White Mountain Independent said, “Your son seems to like the newspaper business, too. Is he going to let you retire soon?”

I told both of them how much he has matured in recent years, is doing well working with his clients and is working on his bachelors degree in marketing. He also works three nights at Phil’s, waiting on tables. I also told them that I’m not ready to retire and as long as I can still function I plan to keep going to the office.      

Speaking of our clients, I ask that you all consider participating in our Coupon Page and Summer Contest.    I tried to come up with a fancy name for this promotion, but nothing works like stating what it is.

We are bringing back our popular Coupon Page beginning June 9. It is planned that the promotion will run all summer until August 25.

The 13-week promotion has special pricing on the coupon page.  The two column by three-inch size will run $65 each week for up to four weeks.  A two-column by four-inch ad is just $80 per ad for up to four weeks.

All ads on the Coupon Page will have the availability of full color at no additional charge. In response to our advertisers, we will place our coupons on Page 5A.

The last series of coupon pages we ran were in the back pages of B Section. This new placement is one of the best pages in the newspaper.  They will appear on the page opposite the popular law enforcement report.

There are only 13 of the small coupons available and three of the two-by- four ads. So hurry to make sure your business will be participating.

Now comes the part that should interest the rest of you. We will be giving away $100 each week. The prize will be presented in Fountain Hills Times dollars that can only be spent at locations of the participating advertisers. All you have to do is print your name and phone number on each coupon, cut them out of the newspaper and deposit them in the appropriate contest box located in each participating store, restaurant or office.

Drawings will be held every Friday afternoon throughout the summer.

And you can all be winners by taking advantage of the discounts being offered in the coupons. 

It’s another way we are trying to help our advertisers and readers get through what appears will be a tough summer for local businesses.

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I attended the Diamondbacks game on Sunday with several friends.

While the team lost, the afternoon wasn’t a total loss for us as we saw Fountain Hills resident Stan Ziefert on the big screen in center field.

A long-time season ticket holder, he had his name drawn to participate in the new KaChingko game. It is sponsored by Gila River Casino. He had to drop a game piece into the top of the machine and see which prize slot it fell into.

He won an official game jersey with his name on the back. It Is identical to those worn by the players during games. It is a $150 value.

Stan retired last year from Fountain Hills High School, where he taught world history, U.S. government and economics. He also was the Student Government advisor for 12 years.                           

A long-time active Sunset Kiwanis member, he was recently elected lieutenant governor for Southwest District 11.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Congratulations, Stan! It sounds like you are keeping busy.