Sparks promotions firm starts off big

The first big project undertaken by Sparks-based

Volunteer Appreciation Inc. will be hard to miss.

Charter Communications donated 1,000 commercial

spots for the effort on its northern Nevada cable television

system and will allow promotional stuffers to accompany its

subscriber bills.

KPTT, which carries ESPN Radio programming, donated

more spots.

Billboards and other promotional tools won't be far

behind.

Consumers will see displays of the compact disc produced

by Volunteer Appreciation everywhere from convenience

stores to major retailers.

Not bad for a tiny start-up, and the big push demonstrates

what can happen when a company aligns itself with

the right nonprofit effort.

In the case of Volunteer Appreciation, the right nonprofit

effort proved to be the campaign to bring the 2014 Winter

Olympics to the Reno-Tahoe area.

The compact disc produced by the company on behalf of

the Nevada Commission on Sports combines inspirational

stories from six Olympians with ties to the Reno area with

music and produced by Vinny Ribas, the president of

Volunteer Appreciation.

Four of the Olympians on the CD Wanita (Lynch)

Paul, Bill Hudson, Franz Weber and Lisa Odynski currently

live in the area. The other two, Shannon Bahrke and

Eva Twardokens, have personal ties to the area.

"Our goal is to sell 50,000 CDs," Ribas said a few days

ago between calls on retailers. "It sounds like a big number,

but it's not.With all the media, they're going to sell."

If Ribas' confidence is borne out, sales of the CD titled

"Bringing Home the Gold in Your Life" will generate

between $250,000 and $300,000 for the bid to bring the

Olympics to the region. About $125,000 would be available

for the feasibility study, and the remainder would pay architects

who will design an ice facility planned near the Reno

Hilton.

Another beneficiary will be Ribas' young firm, which

combines his 13 years of experience in working with nonprofit

agencies with the background he gained during two

decades as a musician touring the lounge circuit.

Ribas' brainchild is this: Nonprofit agencies always look

for memorable ways to thank their volunteers. A CD that

combines inspirational stories documenting the agency's

work with music composed and produced by Volunteer

Appreciation will cut through the clutter of coffee mugs

and pen-and-pencil sets often given to donors.

"Our goal is to create projects that have an emotional

appeal," he said.

Accompanying the emotional appeal of "Bringing Home

the Gold in Your Life" has been a lot of hard work.

Ribas' young company won the deal with the Nevada

Commission on Sports only in October, and Ribas devoted

many 15- and 16-hour days to getting the CD ready for its

Jan. 2 rollout.

He co-wrote the music that's interspersed with athletes'

stories.With Dave Krause of Volunteer Appreciation, Ribas

produced the CD and oversaw recording sessions in Reno

and Salt Lake City. He arranged for cover design by Bill

Cane of Greg Mason Advertising Arts. He found a broker

who could arrange the manufacturing of the CDs and

found a fulfillment house to handle the orders. He helped

line up corporate sponsors such as Wells Fargo.

And between all that, Ribas knocked on one door after

another to win shelf space from retailers.

"But it's worth it," Ribas is quick to add.

After all, a successful launch of the CD will provide a

boost to more than his company. It might bring the

Olympics' economic benefits to his hometown as well.