Top Of The List News - 2008

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Sleigh Belle Dancers Kick LineTop of the List Sponsors Minnesota's Sleigh Belle Dancers in 2008 Target Holidazzle Parade

December 2008, Grand Rapids, Michigan — Braving sub-zero wind chills and temperatures in the single digits, Minnesota's Sleigh Belle Dancers kicked their way through downtown Minneapolis in the December 6th Target Holidazzle Parade—thanks to Grand Rapids' own Top of the List.

Top of the List proudly joined several sponsors to help the Sleigh Belles raise enough money to march in the parade. The 16-member dance troupe comprised of women aged 18 to 50-plus was founded in 2007 and performs a kickline, jazz, and funk routine at holiday events throughout the Twin Cities. Top of the List's own Audrey Flack joined the Sleigh Belle Dancers this year and quickly learned that precision dancing—especially in high-heeled boots—is no easy task.

Sleigh Belle Dancer Audrey Flack "We've been working since late August to perfect our kickline and formations," Flack said. But being able to perform for audiences at venues ranging from senior centers to shopping malls is worth it."

Although Holidazzle performances were a highlight of the Sleigh Belles' season last year, new fundraising requirements threatened to put a damper on the troupe's hopes of performing in the 2008 parade. With the help of Top of the List and other sponsors, the dancers were able to reach their fundraising goals and spread holiday cheer to hundreds of parade-goers.

For Top of the List owner Beverly Mapes, sponsoring the dancers was a win-win situation. "The Holidazzle may be unique to Minnesota, but it is featured on local news programs across the country," Mapes said. "Our sponsorship not only increased Top of the List's national visibility, it also helped a group of talented dancers achieve their goals."

Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce CEO Roundtable LogoTop Of The List President a Panelist at Grand Rapids Chamber CEO Roundtable Rally

October 2008, Grand Rapids, Michigan — Beverly Mapes, President of Top Of The List, recently participated with two other experts in a panel presentation titled "Using the Web as a Marketing Tool." The presentation and luncheon, held at the Cascade Hills Country Club, was conducted by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce as a benefit for their CEO Roundtable members. Additional panelists included Julie Lough of MicroVisions, and Pete Brand of Mindscape at HanonMcKendry."

The panel really hit the mark on identifying attendee needs and how to solve them," according to Stewart Healy of Handicomp, Inc., moderator of the program. Feedback included an overwhelming positive response, including comments such as:
  • "Entertaining and well presented material. Panelists were very good!"
  • "Lots of new information and ideas."
  • "Learned some things I did not know; presentors could be good resources."
  • "I enjoyed the different speakers offering their expertise."
  • "Great content and great to connect with many people."
The CEO Roundtable program consists of over 300 top decision makers in small business. Membership is open exclusively to Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce members. The CEO Roundtable Rally is held annually as a way to bring roundtable participants together to network and learn.

Matt MapesGrowth Continues with New SEO Project Manager

August 2008, Grand Rapids, Michigan — Top of the List added another young local talent to its company today, bringing Matthew Mapes into the SEO Project Manager role.

“Search engine optimization is a great field to get into and I hope that I am able to help the company grow using my talents and acquired skills,” Mapes said.  “It is wonderful to be able to see the changes we make having an impact on our client’s businesses.”

Recently graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in Advertising, Mapes brings advertising design, viral marketing, writing, and creative advertising experience to the company.  Through a variety of retail and small business experience, he is confident in his ability to handle the challenges of the job.

“I have spent much of my life in the service industry which has given me a strong understanding of maintaining business relationships, and I look forward to putting those skills into play,” Mapes said.

“I’m extremely pleased to have Matt as a member of our team,” said President Beverly Mapes. “He’s a natural in organic search engine optimization and a great fit for the SEO Project Manager role. I envision him growing right along with the business.”

AWE LogoTop Of The List Owner Elected Vice President of AWE 


July 2008, Grand Rapids, Michigan - The Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) have elected an entirely new executive board for the 2008-2009 term. Included in the line-up is the owner of Top of the List, Bev Mapes, who will be the acting vice president for a minimum term of one year.

"To begin with, Bev brings a strong technology background and is very organized," AWE President Kim Schwamberger said. "She also has good knowledge of policies and procedures, making her leadership an asset to our organization."

Established in 1984, the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs -- through meetings and networking opportunities -- offers local businesswomen a forum to share their experiences and to create a network of women who share similar issues. Benefits of joining the organization are numerous, and include leadership, business education, career development, and community involvement. "We look forward to making many changes and improvements," Schwamberger said. "By enhancing out meetings, we will be offering more than just the basic education and networking; we will be able to offer more of the 'next step' as valuable resources to our established members."

"It's exciting to be part of the AWE leadership," said Mapes. "This organization helped me a lot when I was first getting started in business. Our new direction will ensure we continue to help the new entrepreneur, but at the same time add another level of professional counsel so the more experienced entrepreneur will realize the value we offer their business."

"As entrepreneurs and business leaders we can never stop learning," Schwamberger said. "Education is vital to the success of all businesses. If a company does not keep looking ahead they might as well get a broom and dust pan, because their competition will leave a lot of dust behind." See The Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs for more information.

Koeze Nuts and Chocolate Logo

Koeze Chooses Top Of The List as Internet Marketing Consultant

April 2008, Grand Rapids, Michigan - In what could be viewed as one of the largest contracts for Top Of The List to date, Koeze Company chose Beverly Mapes, President of Top Of The List, to head the Internet Marketing direction for their website, koeze.com.

"It's time to move in this direction," said Jeff Koeze, Managing Director at Koeze. "We've been very successful with our catalog and phone order service, as well as the two retail stores. We pride ourselves in customer service and in offering the best tasting products in our field. But we'd like to put more focus on the Internet marketing side now. That includes a variety of things, such as organic SEO, paid inclusion, usability, creating a new look for our existing website, and getting into some of the social marketing aspects of search engine marketing. There’s a much larger target market out there that we plan to tap into with all of this."

Mapes couldn't be happier about the arrangement. "They [Koeze employees] are great people to work with and have an excellent product. I feel like a kid in a cookie jar with all the SEO techniques just waiting for implementation at Koeze." She added with a grin, "Of course if I help market their gourmet products, I certainly have to try them all too."

Koeze feels good about the arrangement too. "We're very excited about working with Ms. Mapes on our SEO and SEM efforts. She's an excellent match for what we need right now." he said. Koeze Company is a Grand Rapids manufacturer of Cream-Nut natural peanut butter, which won awards for best-tasting in its class at The Fancy Food Show in New York this year. Koeze also has a product line extending from cashews, gourmet nuts, and fine chocolates, to unique gift baskets.

Nicole Vesota

Welcome Nicole Vesota, Search Engine Marketing Specialist!

March 2008, Grand Rapids, Michigan - Nicole Vesota joined the growing search engine marketing company, Top Of The List, as a search engine marketing specialist this month. "I enjoy working in the Internet marketing field and am looking forward to growing in my career along with Top Of The List," Vesota said. "In a smaller company, I get to wear a lot of hats, and I really like that variety too.”

Vesota brings experience in analytics, marketing, web development, social networking, and video to the mix of talent at Top Of The List. "We're very pleased to have Nicole on the team," said President Beverly Mapes. In addition to the skills she's bringing in with her, she picks up new things very quickly, and is a fun and positive person to work with."

As for long term goals, there's only one for Vesota: "I want to write and sing songs," she says. "But it’s hard to make money doing that, at least not right way!"

Michigan Chamber of Commerce Logo

Michigan Chamber of Commerce Selects Top Of The List

as its Search Engine Optimization Partner

January 2008, Grand Rapids, Michigan - The Lansing, MI based Michigan Chamber of Commerce has chosen Top Of The list as its search engine optimization vendor in a multi-website SEO project.

Jock Aikman, Senior Vice President for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce states, "We're very anxious to get started optimizing both of our sites. We chose Top Of The List for several reasons. First, they offered not only the implementation side of organic SEO, but also will be providing SEO consulting and training to our staff so we can take on parts of the SEO process as we add more content to our sites. We're also pleased with their past experience and track record with regard to providing measurable results for their existing clients."

Beverly Mapes, President of Top Of The List, commented, "We're very excited to be working with the Michigan Chamber of Commerce on their main site and also on their newer site, HR Michigan, dedicated to human resources issues. They have specific goals, such as promoting their continually updated HR Resources for Michigan businesses and  their state and federal labor law posters. We plan to do what it takes to help them reach those goals."

"There's a good deal going on in Michigan right now with regard to Michigan employment laws, the rising cost of employee benefits, the new Michigan Business Tax (MBT), and more," adds Aikman. "The Michigan Chamber of Commerce's  role is to improve the business climate and move Michigan forward in these and other areas, while HR Michigan focuses on the human resources role to help make HR management a lot easier. Optimizing our sites for better search engine visibility is one way to spread the news about these resources to all businesses in Michigan."