CalMAX Update: Fall 1998

by Kevin Taylor, CalMAX Cooordinator

Help Us Promote CalMAX

One of the biggest challenges of operating a Statewide program like CalMAX is promotion. The more people who know about CalMAX and use it, the more effective the program becomes. But how can we reach them? At CalMAX, we jump at the opportunity to promote the program by presenting information to groups, attending conferences, or writing articles for newsletters and magazines. We need your help in finding or suggesting venues to promote CalMAX. Of course "word of mouth" is a great way to spread information, but working through associations, going to trade shows, and speaking to groups help us reach a large audience more efficiently. So please help us spread the word, contact us with any ideas or opportunities you have.

CalMAX on the Road

Speaking of promotion, we’ve just returned from exhibiting at the Maintenance Supervisors Association’s Annual Conference and Equipment Show in Rohnert Park. This show gives us an opportunity to promote the program to many of the managers of public works programs from California's cities and counties. We hope in turn that these individuals will pass the word about CalMAX on to the other organizations they work with.

In October we'll be staffing a booth at the Construction Business Technology Conference and Expo in Santa Clara on October 23 and 24. Promoting waste reduction to the construction and demolition industries is a priority of the IWMB. As we've said before, if you know of a show or conference that would have an interest in CalMAX, please contact us.

Don’t Forget the Internet

Check out our improved CalMAX Web site (www.ciwmb.ca.gov/calmax). We're continually working to keep the site informative and easier to navigate. Now what we need is for you, the CalMAX users, to use the site—whether looking for materials or placing new listings in the database. Recently we've averaged over 450 "searches" on the on-line database per week. We've also been getting about half of all new listings placed over the Internet. Although this seems pretty good, we know this number should continue to rise as more businesses gain Web access.

More current and less expensive than the paper catalog, the Internet is the competitive way to go. We'll gladly keep sending you the catalog if you wish, but consider switching to the Internet by contacting us to remove you from our mailing list.

Program Operations

Just some friendly reminders of the important things that help CalMAX run more smoothly for you, our customer… Whether you’re a lister or simply on our mailing list, make sure we have your current phone number and address. We also appreciate if you contact us when you no longer need your listing or if something in the listing has changed. Even though we call each lister periodically, it's nice to know people care enough to contact us when things change. Besides, you don't want to keep getting calls if your listing is obsolete. Finally, please tell us about your successful exchanges! The more information we have about the success of the program, the better the chance that we'll keep getting funded. It's that simple. Help us help you by keeping our information accurate and current.

Special Organics Edition of CalMAX

This past spring we published and distributed a Special Construction and Demolition (C&D) Edition of CalMAX to encourage businesses to reuse and recycle C&D materials. This issue offered just a sampling of the material listings found in CalMAX, and also hosted paid advertisement from numerous C&D and reuse businesses and organizations. CalMAX is scheduled to publish an Organics Edition of CalMAX for the Winter 1999 issue. Instead of a separate special edition, the regular Winter catalog will focus on the recycling and reuse of organic materials. This Organics Edition should also present the opportunity for businesses involved in organic material management to place paid advertising (in addition to regular listings) in the CalMAX catalog. If you are interested in advertising in CalMAX, please call us at (916) 255-2369.

Changing of the Guard

It is with heavy heart yet deep appreciation that CalMAX bids farewell to Ken "Scrappy" Decio, a program coordinator, since the summer of 1995. Ken is moving on to promote organic waste reduction—a priority focus of the IWMB— to the landscaping industry. We wish him well, and know he'll continue to spread the good news about CalMAX in his new capacity. Grass what? Good luck Scrap!

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Last updated: December 30, 2008