Behind the Headlines

This notice is a cross-post from Monroe on a Budget:

By Paula Wethington

My reporting job at The Monroe Evening News includes getting the non-profit and charity announcements scheduled for the Community Page in our print edition and posted in our on-line calendar at MonroeTalks.

The Mom 2 Mom sale concept has really caught on in Monroe County, with several such events taking place this spring. This is a huge jump in traffic. It was only about a year ago that this rummage sale concept, which has been popular in metro Detroit for several years, started popping up locally. Mom 2 Mom sales are multi-family garage sales that feature only kids’ stuff, and are typically sponsored by a church, school or mother’s club.

Unfortunately, I’m seeing Mom 2 Mom sale notices being directed to people all over the newsroom, with requests that they run in sections where rummage sale notices don’t normally appear.

I have to be firm on this procedure because so many of you are announcing Mom 2 Mom sales now. I can guarantee space on Community Page for any local non-profit event if the notice arrives to my desk in a timely manner. The other spots that some of the Mom 2 Mom sale committees have requested are space available situations. You don’t want to miss out on what we can absolutely can do for you FREE on the Community Page at The Monroe Evening News by trying to compete for news space elsewhere in our newspaper.

Besides, its only fair that all of you get the same placement for your sale notices.

They are going on Community Page.

If you aren’t paying attention to that section of our newspaper, you should be. Most of the public service announcements and free community events that I post on Monroe on a Budget are directly from the Community Page notices.

Here’s the procedure for Mom 2 Mom sales:

• Send all Monroe County Mom 2 Mom sale notices to me, Paula Wethington, paula@monroenews.com, fax (734) 240-5745, or mail / drop off the notice to Monroe Evening News, 20 W. First St., Monroe MI 48161.
• I can run one “table rental” notice on Community Page whenever you are ready to take table reservations.
• I can run on “sale notice,” which will usually be scheduled on Community Page two or three days before the sale takes place.
• We list the Mom 2 Mom sales in the today / tomorrow calendar listings on Community Page.
• We list the sales on the MonroeTalks calendar as soon as I can get the notices posted, which is often the same day as the notice arrives. Here’s a pre-set search for the rummage sale events in the next few weeks, which includes Mom 2 Mom.
• I do post calendar links on the Monroe on a Budget blog to remind blog readers of various events, and lately that has included rummage sale roundups.
• For best results, send me the Mom 2 Mom notices as soon as you have the details firmed up. You’ll get traffic from the on-line listing that I can post immediately, and I will keep the notice on file until it is time to run the information in in the newspaper. (Regardless of the event, I need all Community Page notices at least a week before event or reservation deadline.)