]]> http://forbesos.com/uncategorized/may-specials/feed/ 0 http://forbesos.com/cares-connection/memorial-day-facts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=memorial-day-facts http://forbesos.com/cares-connection/memorial-day-facts/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 15:12:47 +0000 mattk http://forbesos.com/?p=1308 Top 10 Little-Known Facts about Memorial Day Fascinate your friends. Impress your in-laws. Amaze your acquaintances. At this year Memorial Day barbecue, show off your knowledge of the holiday with these ten little-known facts.

1. Memorial Day began after the Civil War. It was originally called Decoration Day because both Northerners and Southerners decorated the graves of their Civil War dead.
2. Memorial Day continued to be Civil War-focused until WWI when observances expanded to honor all those who had died in America?s wars. It is different from Veteran’s Day which honors all veterans living or dead.
3. The holiday was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., had been Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s plantation. It is thought the date was chosen because by that time of the year flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
4. About 5000 individuals attended the first ceremony, the same as today. 
5. Several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring their Confederate war dead including… January 19 — Texas Confederate Heroes Day signifying Robert E. Lee’s birthday. The last Monday in April (or April 26) — Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi to mark the surrender of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston to Union General William Sherman. May 10 — North and South Carolina which marks the death of “Stonewall” Jackson and the capture of President Jefferson Davis. June 3 — Louisiana and Tennessee for Jefferson Davis’ birthday.
6. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. While approximately 25 cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson bestowed that honor to Waterloo, New York because they had begun conducting an annual community service regularly since May 5, 1866.
7. In 1971 Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May, thus beginning the tradition of federal three-day holiday weekends.
8. Memorial Day etiquette is to fly the flag at half staff until noon, then fully raise it until sunset.
9. The inspiration to wear red poppies to honor the dead on Memorial Day originates from the 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae.

   In Flanders fields the poppies blow
   Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
   Scarce heard amid the guns below.

   We are the Dead. Short days ago
   We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
   In Flanders fields.

   Take up our quarrel with the foe:
   To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
   We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
   In Flanders fields.
   

10. To ensure Americans do not lose sight of the sacrifices soldiers have made, “The National Moment of Remembrance Act” was signed into law in December 2000. On Memorial Day at 3PM local time Americans are encouraged to pause wherever they are for a minute of silence to remember those who have died in service to the nation.

Not only will these ten Memorial Day facts impress your family and friends, but they’ll also give you some perspective about a holiday that unites all Americans and kicks off our summer season.

Use the form below to submit the items you would like to have us watch for.

Brand-New load of Scratch & Dent Furniture Just arrived Today!

Scratch & Dent furniture is a great way for you to pick up some furniture that may have minor blemishes for discounts starting at 60%!

Here’s how it works:

We purchase truckloads of furniture that has been damaged or returned to warehouses. Once we have secured a delivery we schedule our team to work on off-loading the products from the truck.

Our staff then filters through the entire truckload in a matter of several work days. Sometimes it even takes a couple of weeks to really get through all of the products from the truckload.

As our staff works on the new scratch & dent items as quickly as possible. We usually have a waiting list of customers who are looking for a specific type of desk, file or chair. We check over the products and contact those on the waiting lists before releasing the products to the general public.Click Here to be put on the waiting list or let us know what you are looking for.

Once a product has been cleared to be displayed it’s setup, priced and placed in our warehouse’s showroom floor. Each truckload contains a mixture of products. Typical products we receive are desks, tables, chairs, files (horizontal, vertical, even fire), cabinets and carts. We receive in some very unique items too.

We will be posting some of our new items to facebook and our website in the next week or so. In the mean time feel free to contact us with any questions or requests.

What are Office Relocation Services? Well, we’re glad you asked. Office Relocation Services have been called many things over the years. Some of those include “Moving Service”, “Office Relocation”, “Office Planning”, well the list could go on. The point is that you have office items that need to be moved or reconfigured; whether it is your desk, a file, a whole office suite, or just your fax machine.

Our office designer will discuss the whole operation with you. From packing to using your office again. You will receive a drawing of what your new space will look like, if reconfiguration is needed, and an expected timeline from packing to being productive again.

Relocating offices is not new to Forbes. In fact we have been relocating offices, big and small for over 20 years. Our staff has over 100 years of combined experience in design, delivery, install, relocating, and reconfiguring.

For more details or a quote on your office move, contact Gary Forbes at garyf@forbesos.com or by phone at  800.233.2502

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

It may seem cliché to say that one’s own company is “Going Green”, but that’s what we’re doing here at Forbes. Now one must understand that going green is a continual process and not an overnight change. It has been a process that Forbes has been working on for decades. How can this help your business? Forbes has implemented many of the practical steps listed below and is able to assist your business in doing the same. Feel free to contact our management team with questions.

In the years gone by Forbes has been passionate about being green. It has only been within recent years that it has been on the forefront of our customer’s minds. In an effort to share with other companies about what we have done here, as well as what you could do, we proudly present to you the following suggestions.

10 Practical Steps for Your Business to “Go Green”:

• Recycle Paper
  • Re-use paper that has only been used on one side
  • Make note pads out of partially used paper
  • Return paper to a recycling facility for a second life
• Print on both sides of paper
  • Setup copiers and printers to default to two-sided “duplexed” printing/copying
  • Contact your System Administrator or Service Company for aid with this
• Recycle spent print cartridges
  • Many office product companies will gladly take back your used toner cartridges
  • If your current office product company will not pick them up, find one that will for free
  • Donate your spent ink cartridges to a local non-profit. They can then, in-turn, sell them to recycling companies to earn money towards their ministry.
• Recycle office furniture
  • Offer your used office furniture to a non-profit, who could benefit from its use
  • Hire a company to remove the used furniture for refurbishment or resell
  • Ask your Office Furniture company to remove the old furniture when you replace it with new
• Change incoming faxes to be delivered to an e-mail inbox
  • Contact your System Administrator and ask them if your fax machine can route incoming faxes to a mail recipient instead of printing them out.
  • Contact your service company for aid if your System Administrator isn’t sure
• Replace old high-energy products with newer lower energy products
  • Newer products can be faster, saving you time
  • Newer Energy Star rated devices consume less electricity, saving you on your power bill
  • Newer products may offer new features that you previously didn’t have
  • Newer products may also offer a lower cost of ownership, saving you money with each use
• Replace multiple distributed ink printers (think desktop printers) with larger work-group networked printers
  • Small ink-based desktop printers are usually more expensive to operate than work-group printers
• Offer digital invoices or statements to customers
• Request digital “e” invoice or statements from your vendors
• Utilize e-mail instead of faxing or mailing communications
  • Request e-mail contacts from your customers
  • Request e-mail contacts from your vendors
• Use online digital catalogs instead of large, dated, print catalogs
  • Request access to vendors online systems

Forbes Green History

The beginning of going green for Forbes started years ago with our partnership with Dodd’s Recycling. Forbes has been recycling cardboard and paper with Dodd’s for years. We further expanded our recycling ability in 1999 with a strategic alliance in the toner cartridge business. Since then Forbes Office Solutions and you, our customers, have recycled over 10,000 toner cartridges saving them from ending up in the landfill. These cartridges then are rebuilt and made available to our customers as re-manufactured cartridges at a significant savings over OEM brand cartridges.

Forbes Office Solutions has also been at the forefront of recycling office furniture. Forbes has purchased hundreds of truckloads of furniture that has had minor defects. Our Scratch & Dent and used furniture has never before been in such high demand. This tells us that other businesses are starting to realize the value in recycling office furniture.

Forbes Continues to Go Green

Efforts continue here at Forbes to “Go Green” as we move to more communications that are digital. Each department is expanding its ability to communicate digitally. Our service department will begin to send more meter requests via e-mail or fax. Our Service technicians already receive service calls directly on their phones. Service call follow-ups will begin to be delivered through e-mail. Our statements and invoices will soon be available digitally, via e-mail or fax. Our Office Products catalog is completely available online. New flyers will be available through digital “flip books” on our website.

Forbes has seen lots of changes over past 50 years

by John Jennings – Newton Daily News Staff Writer

Reprinted with permission. Originally Posted on Friday, July 9th 2010 at: http://www.newtondailynews.com/articles/2010/07/08/r_q9j4xcc9t_y4pijfyfqxq/index.xml

Ron Forbes doesn’t really need to stock the shelves of Forbes Office Supply any more but manages to find time to do some work now and then. Forbes started the business 50 years ago and has seen a lot of changes to the office supply business since that time. (John Jennings/ Newton Daily News)

The office supply business has changed a great deal over the past 50 years. Ron Forbes can tell you that. The company he founded is turning 50 this year.

“We started out with three Monroe folding tables,” Forbes said. “Back then I could go out and sell carbon paper and make money.”

And, back then, copiers did pretty much one thing: make copies. Now, Forbes said, they can do so much more, such as FAX, collate, print and scan and with great color.

After he graduated from high school in 1950, Forbes worked for the Newton Office Supply Co. where he learned to repair typewriters. After a stint in the Navy, he came back to Newton and again worked for Ray Ferring and Jack Bredimus at Newton Office Supply.

Then Forbes had the opportunity to buy out Ray Ferring’s Typewriter Supply in 1960, and Forbes Office Solutions grew from there.

For years, Forbes supplied Maytag with all its copiers and most of its business supplies. The closure of Maytag has hurt Forbes, certainly, but he said his company has survived by providing good service to its customers.

“We have the finest service department in Iowa,” Forbes said. “They’re all factory-trained.”

The company now covers eight counties in central Iowa. Mark Carlock handles the copiers, specializing in Minolta and Konica, both respected names in the copier business, Forbes says, and son Gary is in charge of the office furniture and scratch and dent.

The Technology Center and Quick Print opened on the west side of the square in 2003. With the economy in a downturn, Forbes is one company that has held its own pretty well.

“We’ve had to lay off a couple of people and reduce some hours, but we can see things coming back,” Forbes said.

Today, Ron Forbes is not as active in the company he founded 50 years ago, content to let the employees run the show, but occasionally he says he helps manage.

“I miss calling on people and when you win a sale,” Forbes said. “But the future is up to them (the employees).” We want to be here another 50 years. He says he has no big plans to celebrate the half-century mark in his business, but may hold a sale later this year.

Forbes said he has a motto that has served him well over the years.

“Our policy has been no customer walks away unhappy. That has worked well for us.”

Buy Locally Owned

Top 10 Reasons To Shop Local First

1. Significantly More Money Re-Circulates In East Central Iowa.

When you purchase at locally owned businesses rather than nationally owned, more money is kept in the community because locally-owned businesses often purchase from other local businesses, service providers and farms. Purchasing local helps grow other businesses as well as the East Central Iowa tax base.

2. Non Profits Receive Greater Support.

Local business owners donate more to local charities than non-local owners.

3. Unique Businesses Create Character & Prosperity

The unique character of East Central Iowa is what brought us here and keeps us here. Our tourism businesses also benefit.

4. Environmental Impact Is Reduced.

Local businesses make more local purchases requiring less transportation and usually set up shop in town centers rather than on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

5. Most New Jobs Are Provided By Local Businesses.

Small local businesses are the largest employers nationally.

6. Customer Service Is Better.

Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service.

7. Local Business Owners Invest In Community.

Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.

8. Public Benefits Far Outweigh Public Costs.

Local businesses require comparatively little infrastructure and more efficiently utilize public services relative to chain stores.

9. Competition And Diversity Leads To More Consumer Choices.

A marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

10. Investment In East Central Iowa Is Encouraged.

A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

“Forbes Office Solutions is a great compnay, I have purchased many items for my business there and have had them print me nice quality flyers. I’m glad we have the choice of the Forbes Offiice Solution business here in Newton, it makes it easier running a business if you have a company like Forbes as your supplier.”

From:

Austo Entertainment

2501 1st Ave East
Newton, IA 50208
641-275-3444
Originally Posted on Merchant Circle