285Bound Newsletter

Here's a copy of the 285Bound Newsletter we sent via PM yesterday in case anyone would like to read it without having to sign in to see it. :thumbsup:

285 Bound wrote: Hello 285Bounders!

Welcome to the first edition of the 285Bound Newsletter! We’ve been kicking around the idea of other ways to inform you of what’s happening around here and we hope you like this. We’d love it if you’d send us your feedback, either positive or negative, suggestions for improvement, or just a quick “Hi”! Just a few items on the agenda so we don’t keep you too long.

• Neighbors Helping Neighbors
• Advertisers/Featured Business of the Week
• EZ Internet Links
• 285Bound Annual Picnic
• Facebook page/Twitter account

First, we’ve begun a 285 Barnraisers/Neighbors Helping Neighbors/Bound To Help Group (which name should we choose?) and are working on our first project making repairs to a community member-in-need’s water-damaged home. We started working on this project August 6th and after 5 days total spent on-site by several volunteers to date, and a few hundred dollars in materials, we're nearing the end! We have a few more days of finishing work to do, the appliances/cabinets to put back, and flooring to install, and then we're done - come on out and help for a few hours! :thumbsup: A huge :Thank You: to all of those who have invested their time, materials, sweat, and money helping with this project! We look forward to building up this group and helping more in our community! If you know of anyone who has a need, or you have one yourself, please email us at

As you may have noticed, we have a different way of doing things around here! One of those philosophies is to put our local businesses in touch with you, and vice versa, in a non-aggressive, non-annoying manner (like pop-ups, click-throughs, and having to watch videos to get to the content you really want). They have forums in which you can see their latest specials, deals, and relevant information, and ask them questions as if you were face-to-face. In a way, 285Bound is providing a middle-man service for you, making available services and expertise that we all, at some time or another, will need. Look for our “Featured Business of the Week”, like this one , pop in to their thread and ask your questions, or check out their forums! We humbly ask that you help support our business partners, as they are our neighbors who help provide a variety of necessary services for our community, and let them know you found them through us so we can continue to provide what we believe is the future of advertising - online, personalized customer service! Thank you!

In each newsletter, we’ll try to point out a feature of 285Bound that you may not have noticed. This edition is all about our EZ Internet Links! Did you know we had one and seen what’s on it? At the top, under the pulldown “Local, Calendar” Menu, is a category called EZ Internet Links Page . On this page, you will find many helpful links - local, national, and international news, weather and webcams, other local forums, sports, cooking, and Wowsuh! internet coupons for some of your favorite places to shop and eat! You can take advantage of these specials anytime you are on your way out the door! If you know of any other businesses that offer internet deals like these, please let us know and we’ll add them to the page!

:bbQ :tea2: :Hotnews: :party
The fun news: Our 2nd Annual 285Bound Picnic is just around the corner! Join us at Becky’s house Saturday, August 20th anytime after noon and come meet your fellow Bounders! We’ll have t-shirts for sale and other goodies from some of our advertisers to give away, and barbeque from Cabin Creek Smokehouse! So bring your favorite beverage and picnic side dish or dessert and come join the fun! Last year’s was a blast with over 100 people attending, and new friendships being born...let’s see if we can double that and discover more about our fellow posters and neighbors! Don't forget your donations to IMHS - items they need or cash - MountainDollar will match cash donations up to $50! If you can't make it to the VFW Breakfast the next morning, when they are doing their Annual Help TSAC , you may also bring donations to the picnic for that (we'll have a box labeled TSAC Donations) and we'll make sure it is delivered the next morning. Looking forward to meeting all of you!

A quick reminder: if you have a Facebook account, please us ! We use it to highlight our businesses, help you find other local businesses or organizations that also have Facebook pages, and to update you if we experience technical difficulties. We’re pleased to announce the addition of our Twitter account to our repertoire of communication outlets - follow us there too!

That’s it for now. We’re thrilled that 285Bound has become such a success, and an integral part of the community, in just over a year in existence. We’re striving to provide even more content that interests you, and welcome feedback/comments/suggestions anytime - just post in our Letters to the Editors (Us) Forum , or send a PM to - we look forward to hearing from you!

The Staff at 285Bound

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the 2nd edition of the 285Bound.com Newsletter! The end of the year is a time of reflection on the past and promise for the future. In that spirit, we’ve decided to take a look back on some of what we’ve accomplished in 2011 and look ahead to what we can accomplish in 2012 with our biggest focus on our community support.

● Introduction
● Breaking News, New Organizations & Content
● Giving Back to the Community
● Missing Persons Service
● 285 Barnraisers Update
● 285Bound Adopt A Highway Clean-up
● Troop Support
● Useful Links: Traffic & Road Conditions, 285 Restaurants, Handy Sports Links
● Supporting Local Businesses/Economy
● Closing

It’s been a busy and exciting year here at 285Bound. We’re proud to have been at the fore-front of bringing you the latest news and videos of important local events, such as the Board turnover during the May Intermountain Humane Society meeting . We’ve added new organizations: IMHS , Troop Support Action Committee , the Conifer Area Chamber of Commerce , and The Sanctuary Church , to help keep us all apprised of the latest happenings in the community. And for the coming year, we anticipate adding even more organizations and coverage of events with the goal being to make our online community as diverse and robust as the community in which we live.

One of the core values of 285Bound.com is giving back to our community. In that spirit, we have donated over $1,500 to such groups as Evergreen Animal Protective League, Platte Canyon Little League, Deer Creek Elementary, Intermountain Humane Society, Colorado Pekes and Poms Rescue, 285 Barnraisers, Food Bank of the Rockies, and for sponsoring events like the Bailey Hundo, EAPL’s OktoberPets, and the 29th Annual Conifer Christmas Parade. In addition, we have donated to animal shelters in honor of lost pets, and will continue that program. Next up is the Conifer Chamber of Commerce’s FeBREWary fundraising event; stay tuned for more details!

When a young woman went missing in this community , we helped spread the word as quickly as possible, and we witnessed an unprecedented pulling together of the community resulting in finding her the very same day. Witnessing neighbors helping neighbors was inspiring, as was the power of our community forums to share the information quickly and effectively. Should we ever face a similar situation in the future, we know how to implement such a search even more quickly, something we consider our duty in order to better serve our community.

Speaking of neighbors helping neighbors, the 285 Barnraisers group proudly completed a major project this year ( here and here ). As mentioned in our first newsletter, we made extensive repairs to a home of an elderly community member in dire need. After all was said and done, volunteers put in well over 180 man-hours of labor over a 2 month period, spent over $500 in materials, and had appliances donated by one member of the community and flooring donated and installed by one of our local businesses, Carpet Direct, in order to mitigate the extensive problems. And it didn’t end there. When this lady suffered another health set-back a month ago, 285Bound members stepped up and took in her dog while she was unable to care for her herself. We look forward to helping more in our community in this manner, and getting more businesses involved as well, so if you or anyone you know has a need, please email us !

Outside Before and After

Inside Before and After

Finished!

Beginning in less than 2 weeks, tentatively scheduled for January 8th pending the weather cooperating, 285Bound members and friends will do our first clean up of our newly Adopted stretch of Hwy 285 from Mariposa Dr to the entrance of Conifer at Meyer Ranch Open Space Park! We could use more volunteers (and the more the merrier!) so come on out and join us! There's a rumor that there will be cookies...

We collected several boxes worth of goodies and much-desired items and sent them off to one of our members’ son’s troop in Afghanistan. It is imperative to us that we support our men and women serving our country and to that end, 285Bound will continue to look for additional ways in which we can support our troops. http://285bound.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=155&t=14349

And, of course, we continue to collect all the information you could want about a topic all in one place, like the:
● Traffic, Cams, & Road Conditions thread which contains traffic cameras, variable message signs, useful links and apps along with updates from members - share what you experience with us!
● our 285 Corridor Restaurants thread has all the restaurants along 285 from Morrison through Bailey, their menus, reviews from members , hours, and more!
● and our Handy Sports Links - News & Teams, Pro, College, & High School thread - gets news, schedules, events, and deals from your favorite local sports teams!

Finally, we continue to focus on supporting our local businesses and economy. Our unique advertising model allows you the members to directly interact with local businesses, ask them questions, and receive the latest coupons, deals and information, as if you were visiting them in person! Our Business Partners are uniquely promoted through Global Featured Business of the Week announcements, Live Coverage of Events , videos we create or find about our businesses, our Facebook page (475 fans strong and counting, with the potential to indirectly reach over 114,000 more through their shares of our posts!), Twitter account , and blog . We've teamed up with the Conifer Chamber of Commerce , and are actively involved in the Chamber's 285 Tourism Committee, to help promote our beautiful area, and 285Bound.com, to Coloradoans as a place to visit and enjoy the multitude of outdoor activities available, then shop, and dine, before heading back down the hill and home. :thumbsup: To that effort, we collected money in boxes set out at several local businesses for the previous and upcoming Mix 100 Dom and Jane Food Bank of the Rockies Charity Marathon in an effort to provide for those in need and to help promote our area to their 250,000 listeners!

It's an exciting time, with much more to do! We will continue to add more of the information that you want and need, hold ourselves to the highest standards of providing the swiftest, most accurate emergency information as we have been, and provide a place to interact with your neighbors and have some fun! Thank you for being a part of our site - you are what makes it work! :bravo:

Happy New Year and best wishes for happiness, health, and success in the coming year to all of you from all of us at 285Bound!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[center:1dvm6wv8] [/center:1dvm6wv8]

[center:1dvm6wv8]285Bound provides a growing web presence for businesses to connect to both customers & community.
Click Here for more information.

Contact us today for our business partner specials - or call (720) 608-0285 We would love to hear about your business and see how we can help you![/center:1dvm6wv8]