Le Tour des Plants Goes On the Go With Joe

In the wee hours of the morning, Dennis' 7 Dees Landscaping and Garden Centers, Cedar Hills, was just coming to life with colorful fall flowers, beautiful japanese maples, and the buzzing of its expert staff. Featured as one of 36 stops during Le Tour, Dennis' 7 Dees numerous activities throughout the week are sure to inform and excite all levels of green thumbs. Pick up a Le Tour guide at any participating nurseries for a coupon for a free Japanese maple from Dennis' 7 Dees, grown by their very own Vice President.

Check out the online segment here: http://www.kptv.com/onthegowithjoe/20901465/detail.html

And remember, Le Tour des Plants continues through this Sunday, Sept. 20th. For more information please visit: http://www.letourdesplants.com/

Le Tour Des Plants Begins Tomorrow!

The fourth-annual Le Tour des Plants, presented by Oregon Association of Nurseries begins tomorrow and will continue through the 20th. As one of the largest nursery tours in the nation, this year’s event features more than 30 nurseries and garden centers from Oregon and Washington. With more than 100 events and activities during Le Tour’s nine-day gardening excursion, there is something for everyone—from the best in fall gardening, to cooking with herbs and preserving the harvest, to many family-fun festivals and activities for kids.

What could be better than spending time in the garden and soaking up those last rays of sunshine? This is northwest gardening at its best!

For events and locations visit: http://www.letourdesplants.com/

Ron Tonkin Repaints Portland

Have you noticed a change downtown? Perhaps some new colors added to the corner of SW 2nd Avenue and Washington St. by the Morrison Bridge?

Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships has teamed up with local commercial artist, Howell Golson, to repaint a mural in downtown Portland. The previous Cherub mural, painted eight years ago, now displays a fresh and colorful depiction of “For the Love of Cars.”

The inspiration behind the mural comes from a place that lives and breathes a love of cars.

“A car is more than just a way to get from point A to point B. People love their cars, and often see them as an extension of themselves, even as a member of the family. And we love helping people find that perfect car, a car they love. We are looking forward to revealing the new mural, and hope Portlanders will appreciate this beautiful addition to our city.”—Brad Tonkin.

Commercial artist Howell Golson was chosen to create this message. “This mural obviously has to create emotion around owning a car, but I also felt the piece should elicit feelings of pride for citizens of Portland, along with Tonkin’s connection and history with the city.” Golson’s work includes projects for Cartoon Network, Newman’s Own, and Portland’s BridgePort Brewing Company.

Check out the mural's progress:

Change is a happenin'!

Wow, this has been a crazy month for our little PR department! There has been a department addition, two moves, and a baby - pretty sure that could be a movie title...

If you haven't already heard - Heather has had her baby! She welcomed little Olivia into the world last week, and we couldn't be more excited for her. We are loving the baby updates, and are looking forward to meeting the new little bundle of joy. But she couldn't get out of here before we were able to throw her a fun little surprise baby shower - complete with celebrity baby name games, a diaper cake, and the cutest little clothes you've ever seen!

We have also added another member to our department - we are now up to six, can you believe it?! Six!! (Plus one, for Olivia, of course...) Jill joined us just in time to meet Heather, before the new arrival...and we are very excited to have her! I'll let her introduce herself -

"As they say, third time is a charm, and after a couple moves between the Northwest and Phoenix, I am excited to be back in Portland. My dog is happy to be back in her native state, my dermatologist is happy my skin will get a reprieve from the sun, I am pretty sure my boyfriend is happy we don’t have to do the distance thing anymore, and I am happy to have found an awesome job at R/West.

I am a loyal Oregon State Beaver, and happy to represent (along with Jen!) in an office that seems to be full of way too many Ducks. My background is in Communications, having first gone the journalism route which led to a little reporting for the Arizona Republic. But, I had been spoiled having my own column in the Oregon State Barometer to muse on whatever crossed my mind, and covering the 2A state high school softball championship just wasn’t the same.  (No offense to my softball-playing friends, but there is a reason I do not play on the R/West softball team. As a competitive swimmer for 17 years, I have gills—not eye-hand coordination.)

When I am not caught up in the PR trenches, I am thrilled to be back in the Northwest for all of the great outdoor adventures this area has to offer. I am happy to have made it up here in time to enjoy the last of the beautiful Portland summer and, perhaps more importantly, the start of football season. I also still enjoy yoga, but I do prefer to take it into a studio.

Want to know more? Follow me on Twitter @jill_personius. I like to think of myself as a “cautious” social media adopter, but every once in a while you might pick up a thing or two."

In the midst of all of this, we've also had two moves - Jill has obviously moved from Phoenix to join us, and I have moved to a tiny little town about an hour south of Portland. Gotta love that morning commute!

So there you have it - that's the update on all the latest! Just in case you're wondering, H is out on maternity leave until the end of the year - but something tells me that her Blackberry will never be too far from her side...

Random Acts of Clowness Takes Over Portland

It was a workday like any other for Molly and Ali. With excitement and uneasiness, they drove to the Courtyard Marriott at 4:30 a.m. and loaded up the Subaru with Tom and Lara, official Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus clowns, Their mission for the day: Spread Ringling Bros. cheer and unexpectedness across the city of Portland in anticipation of the circus coming to Portland Sept. 16-20. The clowns would be popping up around the city during the day in an event called Random Acts of Clowness—handing out freebies at Dutch Bros., Taco Del Mar, and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream at the Jamison Square park.

The day started out with a bang. Joe V. of KPTV joined the R/West circus clan at Dutch Bros. to spread the circus love. Over the course of two hours, over 170 free coffee drinks were served and given away by the clown couple. Customers were handed Ringling Bros. ticket coupons and official clown noses. Many arrived to Dutch Bros. already fitted with their own noses and couldn’t get enough of Joe V.’s whip cream incident! Hey, you never know what will happen with clowns around!

With a moment to powder their noses and scratch their heads, the clowns were off to hand out free kids meals at Taco Del Mar. Upon arrival, a family of true Hillsboro fans greeted the clowns with excitement and hunger for a free meal.

The day ended with lots of kids, sun block, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and sticky faces. Kids playing in the fountain at Jameson Square Park were intrigued by the clowns and even more excited to receive free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. There were little voices saying, “Mom! I want to go to the circus!” chiming throughout the park as parents watched their children with red clown noses playing in the fountain.

5:00 p.m.—Mission complete. At least until the circus train arrives in Portland, Sept. 14 with shows the 16-20!