BIG CONTEST--We still need your help

If you haven't heard about the BIG CONTEST, it's not too late to enter and help Pilot Butte in a big way. All you need to do is thank some businesses for helping Pilot Butte and then enter the contest online or through the mail. You must enter by the end of the day Saturday, May 31st.

Some of these businesses you'd probably be going to anyway or you might be in the area doing something else. Many are near the Butte, but some are downtown, in the Old Mill, and elsewhere. Support for the Butte is literally all over town!

CLICK HERE to learn more! It's called the BIG CONTEST for a reason--it has big prizes (and lots of them) and it helps Pilot Butte in a BIG way. Your chances of winning something are outstanding.

The Bend Hiking Group getting involved in SMB 2014

This year we're able to advertise SMB and one of the first places we went was The Bend Hiking Group which is one one of the local Meetup groups.  They have over 1,000 members and have amazing hikes scheduled all the time. So far over a dozen of their members have RSVPed for SMB. It's great to have their support and their organizers have been a pleasure to work with.  To learn more about them, follow this link:

http://www.meetup.com/Bendhiking-group/

These guys are first class all the way. I've been a member for a while and so are many others who hike the Butte. If I remember right, it costs just a few bucks to join. When you get a sense of what they do, it's easily one of the best deals you'll ever find.

Get The Latest Info A New (and fun) Way

It started as kind of a joke, a Facebook page for "The Butte Lady" (the name people often call Carol when they can't remember her name). Last summer we were in a Fred Meyer in Fairbanks, Alaska, and someone yelled, "Look, it's the Butte Lady.  So we put up the Facebook page not exactly knowing what might happen.

Its quickly become a good way of communicating with people interested in SMB and PBSS. Plus Carol's having a lot of fun with it.

HERE'S THE DEAL: You don't have to have a Facebook account, or even know what Facebook is, to enjoy it. It's quickly becoming sort of an online newsletter. Check it out when you get a chance. Here's the link:

https://www.facebook.com/TheButteLady

Fundraising For SMB 2014 Going Great

There's still a great deal of support out there for SMB. Starbucks (Eastside and Downtown) recently became our Mega-Sponsor for the second year. This year they're pledging even more--$350. Remember, the Mega-Sponsor is all or nothing. We'll have to hit a certain number of miles total to raise this money from Starbucks. Please RSVP as soon as you can and spread the word. We plan to have close to 1,000 participants this year.

As mentioned previously, Bend Pet Express became our first Diamond Level Sponsor at $350. They're involved in a lot of other ways to be announced soon. This is also a pledged donation, meaning we have to hit an even higher total number of miles to earn all of it. But this one isn't all or nothing. If we come up short, we raise a percentage of the amount pledged.

All of this will be much easier to understand at SMB 2014. Part of the fun of SMB is everyone working together to raise as much money as we can for Pilot Butte. Last year we just barely earned the entire amount. This year the stakes will be higher (more money available) and it will be that much more fun. Other big sponsors are in the works, so stay tuned ...

Btw, Carol was back on the Butte yesterday after an extended absence. She had a great time and plans to be up there as much as she can while still spearheading our fundraising efforts. Look for her and other board members who will have brochures and RSVP cards for SMB 2014. They'll all be wearing large green "SMB 2014 Information" buttons.

New Website, RSVP now for SMB 2014

Great news. Our new website is up and running. To be sure, it's not perfect or even completed. But it's so much better than what we had and all of the important stuff is working. We tested it for the past week with our members. You can RSVP for SMB 2014, become a PBSS Member, volunteer at SMB, and learn a lot about PBSS that you may not have known. Here's the link:

http://pilotbuttesummitseekers.org

There are even some surprises. For example, Carol now has a Facebook page. There's a link to it on the bottom of the Home page. I keep teasing her because she only has 12 likes. At least that many people like ME and I'm not all that likable! At least not in comparison to her. But that's probably going to change after she learns how to use Facebook on Monday. Btw, for all you Facebookers, she has a Facebook contest running and you're odds of winning are pretty darn good. Be sure to sign up.

More announcements soon. SMB season has already kicked into high gear!