Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 2, 2012

14

SPORTS

 Mountain Views News Saturday June 2, 2012 


HUDDLE UP!

Sports Columnist Harvey Hyde will be 
on vacation until the fall. 

SIERRA MADRE 2012 SUMMER ADULT CO-ED 
SOFTBALL REGISTRATION

Grab your friends and neighbors and sign a team up for our 2012 Summer Adult Softball 
League! Games will be played on Sunday from 2:00pm - 10:00pm and Wednesday evenings 
from 6:00pm - 10:00pm. Don’t have a team? No worries! Sign yourself up as a free agent and 
we’ll place you on a team. All players must be over 18 years of age to play. 

 The Sierra Madre Adult Co-ed Softball League is divided into an “A” league geared towards 
the competitive participants, and a “B” league for recreational competition. The champions 
of each league receive t-shirts! Due to the limited field space, registration is limited. Be sure 
to sign up early and don’t miss out on the 2012 season! Please note that team sign-ups may 
have a free agent added to the roster. For more information contact 626-355-5278.

Season: Late June through August

Cost: $320 per team or $32 per player

Registration: Must be done in person at the Community 
Recreation Center, 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd.

Games Site: Heasley Field located at Sierra Vista Park

Deadline: Teams and players must register by Monday, June 4, 2012

SANTA ANITA PARK LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS 
FOR THE THE 2012 BREEDERS' CUP

This is your chance to be part of the action by welcoming thousands of guests 
to Santa Anita Park for the world's greatest races! The Breeders' Cup takes place 
November 2 and 3, 2012. Please contact Connie Russell to register or get more 
information at 626-574-6664 or crussell@santaanita.com. 

ARCADIA RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES 
DEPARTMENT SPORTS CAMP

Sports Camp is held at Dana Middle School and offers three weeks starting August 6 to 
August 24. Weeks one and three are for youth entering grades 5-9 and week two is for youth 
entering grades 1-4. This camp utilizes the Dana Gym and features a variety of fun sports 
activities for youth including swimming, flag football, basketball, softball, soccer, volleyball 
and other fun group games. Each week there is an excursion and three swim days.

Sports camp is $110 per week. To register in person come by our office located at 375 

Campus Drive. You can also go to the city’s website at ci.arcadia.ca.us to register.

For more questions, please contact the Recreation Department at 626.574.5113

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS


BUSINESS TODAY

The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques


By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA


5 WAYS TO BUILD YOUR “LIKES” ON 
FACEBOOK

After you have created a Facebook page for your business, you want to 
focus on building your “Likes.” Think of your Facebook page as your 
newspaper that people subscribe to by “Liking” it. When people “Like” 
your page they are saying they want to stay connected to your brand and receive your 
updates. Think about building a quality list of subscribers; people who are important to 
your business, people who give you good word of mouth, prospects, vendors and people 
you network with. 

You also want to give people a good reason why they should like your page. Will you 
provide exclusive opportunities for your people on Facebook? Will you provide valuable 
information? Ask yourself, what’s in it for someone to connect with your brand on Facebook. 
As you promote your Facebook page, let people know what to expect when they “Like” your 
page and subscribe to your information.

Here’s 5 ways to help you build your “Likes” on your Facebook page:

1. Promote your page on your web site, business card, signs, brochures, in your email 
signature and other social media networks (twitter and LinkedIn, YouTube). Go to www.
facebook.com/username to obtain a unique facebook url for your page that is easy to 
promote in your printed collateral.
2. Use the “Build Audience” tool in the admin panel of your Facebook page. You can 
“Invite Friends,” “Invite Email Contacts,” and even upload an email list (csv or excel file). 
3. Use the Facebook event tool. Send your friends an invitation to “like” your page. Be 
creative, call it an open house for your new page. You might also consider using Facebook 
ads to promote your “open house” to a wider audience.
4. Send an email to people who are the most supportive of you and your business. You 
could use language like... “Did you know we are on Facebook? Give us a ‘Like’ and join our 
conversation” Make sure to provide a direct link to your page. 
5. Gate an offer. Drive traffic to a tab on your Facebook page that promotes a special 
offer, coupon, information download etc. Before they can access the offer, they must “Like” 
your page. Once they hit the “Like” button, the offer is revealed. Constant Contact has a 
new social campaign tool that can help you build a gated tab. They offer a trial.


About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that also specializes in Social 
Media Education for business owners. Join their conversation on Facebook and get good tips and tricks about social 
media, www.facebook.com/hutdogs for a list of upcoming classes go to: www.hutdogs.com/workshops/schedule 

IT’S MID-YEAR. ARE YOU AT LEAST HALFWAY 
TO YOUR GOALS?

As the saying goes, “Time flies” and the second half of the year is now upon us with 
the summer solstice approaching quickly. The age-old tradition of making New Year’s 
resolutions often becomes a haunting experience after the passing of twelve months as many 
of us look back to examine the progress – or lack thereof. Now is an ideal time for all of you 
entrepreneurs to revisit your lists of year-end resolutions to see how closely you have come 
to hitting your marks.

Congratulations for those who have remained focused and disciplined. You now serve 
as role models for the rest of us who still have a chance to evaluate, adjust and proceed 
with plans to achieve items on our lists before the end of the year. Fortunately, there are at 
least 180 days remaining before the start of the new year – that represents at least 180 new 
opportunities to get back on track or to get the ball rolling in the right direction.

Perhaps a new tradition of establishing mid-year resolutions will help salvage some of the 
key goals that might otherwise derail some of our dreams that had us excited in January. 
There are countless examples of professional athletes finding themselves far behind their 
opponents on the scoreboard at the halfway point during a game. “It ain’t over till it’s over” 
is the reality that inspires those athletes to plan the next move and execute the next play to 
keep moving toward the goal of a win. We’ve all witnessed the elation of athletes who have 
came from behind after a devastating or lackluster first half to take the win.

In the game of business, you have made it to June with the rest of us. What do you want? 
A new website? Learning how to use Facebook to make your business grow? What is your 
plan? Are you going to invest time to learn how to build a website or will you hire someone 
so that you can focus on building your business? 

Taking time to develop or revise a list of mid-year resolutions for your business success can 
result in very positive results. However, a plan will be needed to bring the list to life. The 
plan can serve as your guidepost and measuring stick. Be prepared to use it to conduct an 
honest assessment of your progress. Just like an athlete at halftime, take a look a where you 
are, determine what you need to do or stop doing, and make the necessary changes. It’s a 
three-step process to evaluation, adjustment and execution.

For those who have worked their game plans successfully since the start of the year, there is 
an added benefit of momentum. Take advantage of it by fine-tuning your game plan with 
this mid-year exercise. For the rest of us, it’s time to get back into the game so that we can 
get some points on the scoreboard by the end of this year’s game.