May 10, 2010 -
PRLog -- Reston, VA, – The National Harbor in Maryland near Washington DC provided the backdrop for Abrakadoodle remarkable art education’s 6th annual conference held April 30 - May 2, which was well attended by Abrakadoodle franchise owners and their staff from locations nationwide. The conference kicked off Friday night with a reception at the Art Whino Gallery to premiere an exhibit of children’s postcard art from Abrakadoodle’
s Kids’ Imagination Project (KIP). Nearly 8,000 children ages 18 months to 18 years old representing the US, Colombia, Portugal, Singapore and Sweden submitted KIP postcard art in a wide range of mediums between October 2009 and April 2010. The theme of the inaugural project was “IMAGINE.”
“I was impressed by how these children applied problem solving to their creative ideas on a small size paper,” commented Leonor Brazao, Abrakadoodle’
s Artist-in-Residence. “Even for a professional artist, a small artwork is more challenging than a large artwork. I was struck by the original materials they incorporated in their artwork, such as beads and wikki stix. The children did a great job of expressing themselves through their art. Their hopes, dreams, values and interests were evident in their whimsical and expressive creations!”
The conference opened with results from recent surveys of Abrakadoodle’
s host site principals and administrators, as well as participating families. The surveys revealed 90-92% satisfaction ratings, respectively. According to the site survey, Abrakadoodle ranked “Above Average” in every category: customer service, professionalism, quality of programs, understanding customers’ needs, teaching staff, value and responsiveness. More than 100 school principals and administrators wrote such positive comments as, “The kids love the program. The staff is professional, knowledgeable and enthusiastic,”
noted Judith Kissell, principal of Farnsworth Elementary in Utah. Approximately 38-percent of parent respondents gave Abrakadoodle “WOW” ratings – the highest possible marks for satisfaction. Another 40-percent of participating families identified themselves as “Very Happy.” Parents ranked the Abrakadoodle features they believe are most important, with the top three as follows: “Opportunities to be creative”; “Exposure to many forms of art – drawing, sculpture, painting, etc”, and “Fun focus in a learning environment.”
Numerous parents wrote in such additional comments as, “Both my boys love going to Abrakadoodle. As a matter of fact, one day my youngest son didn’t want to go to school because his brother was sick and was staying home, but when I told him he had Abrakadoodle, he picked up his book bag and marched out of the door!” exclaimed Erica Fanelli of Georgia.
Suzi Pomerantz, Executive Coach and Author, provided the keynote presentation for attendees with a focus on building and leading an Abrakadoodle business. Conferees participated in sessions to grow the Abrakadoodle network, innovate in program delivery, as well as participate in networking sessions and creativity workshops designed to ignite children’s imaginations.
“We are emerging from a very challenging economic environment and are making great strides towards expanding our Abrakadoodle network and enriching children’s lives with valuable creative programming,”
remarked Mary Rogers, MA. Ed, CEO of Abrakadoodle. “It is a pleasure to recognize the individuals who are lifting our Abrakadoodle franchise to new heights.”
Abrakadoodle recognized 17 franchise owners with Raving Fans Awards for receiving multiple “highly satisfied” results from principals and site administrators who participated in Abrakadoodle’
s 2010 annual Site Survey. Nineteen (19) franchise owners received Raving Fans Awards for obtaining the most Parent Survey returns with the highest ratings, known as “WOW” ratings in the 2010 annual national Parent Survey. Franchise owners from 12 Abrakadoodle locations received Top Producers Awards for achieving the highest system-wide revenues for each month between April 2009 and March 2010. Seven owners received the Silver Splat Award for operating strong programs. The Silver Splat and a Half Award was earned by Shay Lawrence Hata & Linda Lawrence of Western Minneapolis, Minnesota and Geraldine Smythe & Paul Phelps of Austin, Texas for managing large Abrakadoodle programs. Dave & Erin Coates of North Dallas, Texas and Sue Walia of Eastern Fairfax Country, Virginia received the Gold Splat Award for directing a very large program. Finally, Dawna & Al Kelly of Wayne County, Michigan, won the Platinum Splat Award for operating the largest program. They also received the award for TOP Monthly Revenues for March 2010. Blanca Recio-Martinez of Greater Miami Dade, Florida received the Rising Splat Award for demonstrating the fastest start as indicated by revenue, number of students and number of sites during an initial business start-up within 6-18 months. Geraldine Smythe and Paul Phelps of Austin, Texas received the Splat Award for demonstrating the best creative promotion of the Abrakadoodle brand, which was exemplified by sponsoring an educator breakfast and seminar, “Inspiring Creativity in Kids for Life,” as well as collaborating with the Austin Arts Alliance to bring Abrakadoodle’
s Kids’ Imagination Project to approximately 7,000 area school children. Donna and Meghan Link of Southern New Jersey/Philadelphia were honored with the Purple Tree Award for helping to grow the brand and the Abrakadoodle network beyond expectations while performing in the top one-third of the company and participating in corporate initiatives. This mother-daughter duo actively participated in Abrakadoodle’
s Kids’ Imagination Project; the HBO Family documentary project, as well as establishing meaningful ties with the Rotary and the Girl Scouts. Erin Bakker and Terri McGinnis won the Abrakadoodle in the Media Award for their ongoing, outstanding efforts to build recognition for the brand as exemplified by features in two magazines – one of which was a cover placement. They have also been featured on their local cable, and they have created a significant online presence using social media. Lisa Hoffmann of Chicago, Illinois was awarded the Community Service Award for her ongoing efforts to make a difference in her community. She has done free face painting at multiple events, one of which raised money to support a local child with leukemia. Lisa has also sent art supplies to Kentucky every summer for 5 years. This year she also sent art supplies to Tajikistan. Lisa painted a mural at Holy Family Catholic School as a donation, and she raised money for earthquake relief in Haiti by donating old broken crayons and melting them into crayon hearts for sale. Dave Coates of North Dallas, Texas was awarded the Mentor Award for his tireless support of his peers in the Abrakadoodle network. Dave shares his knowledge with others to help them succeed. From inviting colleagues to his home and arranging for teachers to shadow his classes to sharing inventory lists, timesheets and business insights, Dave is valued as a capable businessman and mentor within Abrakadoodle. Linda Travers of Atlanta, Georgia received the 2010 Arts for All Scholarship Award, which will be used to benefit the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children. Linda has long been involved in activities at various homeless shelters in her community. In many of these shelters, Linda has observed a lack of child appropriate activities in the areas of arts and creativity, language development and social development. The 2010 Arts for All Scholarship will help fund an Abrakadoodle creative art summer camp for more than 100 children. Linda wants children to “experience the same kinds of joy, creative spirit and accomplishment that other children have while doing art.”
Visit
http://www.abrakadoodle.com for further information.
# # #
Abrakadoodle is an internationally recognized company that provides a wide array of creative art classes, camps, special events and birthday parties for children ages 20 months to 12 years old at schools and community sites.
Account Phone Number