Looking for a great deal on your next trip to Portland?  If you’re traveling between now and May 9th, then be sure to take advantage of the fantastic Portland Perks offer available through Travel Portland.  The Portland Perks package includes free parking, breakfast, a coupon book filled with amazing deals at attractions, shops and restaurants throughout the city, and – for a limited time only – $50 cash at participating hotels.

Check out some of the great press coverage the package is getting nationally in the LA Times, Seattle Times and Frommers.com.

We pride ourselves on being a learning organization, focused on finding “teachable moments” and seizing them.  These themes keep coming up in the office as we find ways to constantly improve ourselves, so I thought I’d take a moment to share some of our insights on simple ways that a client can create a highly functioning relationship with their PR firm and see maximum positive results.

1. Say “thank you.” It’s amazing how motivating this is, but also how underused. Saying thank you when it’s well deserved can seriously increase the amount of energy on your account. PR practitioners are often thought of as the people “behind the curtain,” or maybe better put, the thought leaders behind the communications strategy. But when you peel back the layers of media coverage, it’s not the Wizard of Oz working his magic, it’s people who have studied the profession and dedicated their lives to helping individuals and businesses, and believe me… they thrive off of acknowledgment and appreciation.

2. Being likable and cooperative goes a long way. This goes for all areas of life, but in the publicity and communications world, this makes not only your publicist, but also the media, want to use you as a resource.  We get a lot of calls and emails from national media looking for sources, and being easy to work with can assure the PR team that things will go smoothly if they use you as a resource in a pinch.

3. Be generous to your PR team: Invite them in to dine at your restaurant, stay at your hotel, try your new product as often as possible. Never underestimate the value of making sure they are part of your experience – they are your spokespeople and by bringing them into your business as much as possible, they become an emotionally connected advocate… kind of like family! By building a regular fan out of your PR team, you have an off-the-clock spokesperson who is constantly in touch with tastemakers. This is one of the  best financial investments, because it’s not an out of pocket expense.

These golden rules of motivating your PR team and inspiring writers to want to cover you may sound simplistic, but in a complicated world, it’s important to revisit the basics every now and then.  The reality is that occasionally  smart, well-intentioned people forget that it’s more than their business’s innovation or the monthly retainer they spend on PR that makes our work enjoyable.

So, if you are considering hiring a PR firm, or currently work with one, remember these three simple rules and you can look forward to a happy, long relationship.

Also, check out a complementary and related blog on the PR Squared blog:

http://www.pr-squared.com/index.php/2010/03/pr-pros-are-people-too/comment-page-1#comment-22132

April 15th is less than a month away and Pazzo Ristorante has created a tax break that doesn’t require accountants or an abacus.  Introducing, the $20.10 Tax Relief Prix-Fixe dinner menu!

The three course dinner allows diners to select their choice of starter, entrée and dessert. The menu changes weekly, and current menu follows:

I.

BARBABIETOLA

roasted beets, brussels sprouts, horseradish mascarpone, salted pistachios

-or-

PROSCIUTTO

san daniele prosciutto, baby cress, grilled ciabatta, marinated grapes

II.

TAJARIN

hand- cut ribbon pasta, cattail ceek lamb ragu, thyme, aged goat cheese

-or-

SPALLINA

grilled cascade natural shoulder tender, olive oil- yukon gold potato puree, oregon truffle confiture

III.

PANNA COTTA

honey – sweetened vanilla custard, buddha’s hand citrus

-or-

SPUMA

frozen meyer lemon mousse, lavender, crushed meringue

Meyer Lemon Spuma

On Monday, twelve wine professionals descended on downtown Portland.  Their mission: to taste through nearly 170 wines submitted by Oregon’s craft producers all vying for one of the 40 spaces available in the 2010 Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival.

Judges arrived to the Hotel Vintage Plaza at 9 a.m., but the day started at 7:30 a.m. for our incredible group of volunteers, all of whom brought professionalism and industry expertise to the team.  Volunteers were assigned a group of judges – three panels total – and they uncorked, poured, set flights and cleared like there was no tomorrow.  A true team effort!

We organized each judging panel to include one winemaker, writer, chef, sommelier or retailer and moderator to ensure a dynamic conversation about the wines.  We were also excited to host Herb Quady, of Quady North Winery, who came from Southern Oregon to audit judging, something we do every year for transparency.

Judges, see a complete list below, started the day tasting through none other than Oregon’s signature varietal, Pinot noir.  By 12:30 p.m., teeth were sufficiently red and lunch beckoned. Executive chef  John Eisenhart of Pazzo Ristorante prepared a palate cleansing pasta and fish lineup served in the Hotel Vintage Plaza’s Wine Room (sans the wine, of course), and at 1:30 p.m. volunteers and judges were back at it.  Zinfandel, Syrah, Pinot Gris, Rosé, Riesling, Chardonnay – it was quite the line up, but by 3:30 p.m. the three panels of judges successfully completed their task.

The Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival is the signature event of the Indie Wine Foundation, a non-profit devoted to supporting craft winemaking in Oregon.  As apart of the Indie Wine Foundation’s educational programing, we transcribe all the judges notes for each wine, and send them to the respective wineries (Anonymously!).  This professional feedback and critique offers wineries subjective tasting notes from some of the industries leading voices such as Alice Feiring, author and journalist, and Bernard Sun of Jean-Georges Management, LLC.

The forty wineries selected to pour at the 6th annual Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival will be announced April 2.  Please stay tuned.  From what we heard from the judges, it looks like 2010 will be yet another competitive year, with beautiful wines.

We are a completely volunteer run organization led by Lisa Donoughe of Watershed Communications and Catherine Healy of Flint Design Co.  It takes a village, and we couldn’t do this without the passionate people who volunteer their time.

Thank you volunteers and judges!

2010 Judges:

Michael Davies, winemaker, A to Z Wineworks

Alice Feiring, journalist and author

John Grochau, winemaker, GC Wines

Tim Kennedy, winemaker/president, Don Carlo Vineyard

Toni Ketrenos, wine buyer, New Seasons Market

Ted Loos, freelance wine writer, Town & Country and Sherman’s Travel

Claud Mann, chef of TBS’ Dinner & A Movie

Naomi Pomeroy, chef/owner, Beast

Jason Smith, director of wine, Bellagio, Las Vegas

Bernard “Bernie” Sun, corporate beverage director, Jean-Georges Management

Cathy Whims, chef/owner, Nostrana

Summer Wolff, wine broker, Sokolin, America’s Premier Fine Wine Merchant

I was delighted to receive a lunch delivery by two of my colleagues yesterday.  What it this you might ask?  Below are the Italian Cured Meat sub and Poblano Torta sandwiches from Bunk.  Lota and I split the two – definitely the way to go.

My vote goes to the Torta.  It was incredible!  What a difference provolone picante makes.

Last weekend marked the kick off event for the Portland Saturday Market.

Not only did Portland experience the best weather of the year, but worldly rockers The Fenbi International Superstars pleased the masses with their blend of eclectic and multi-cultural folk-rock.  Exuberant fans descended upon the stage begging for more traditional Irish ballads as Fenbi blasted through hit after hit!  Despite the fact that the quintet toned down the content of their songs for strangers and small children alike, the immense crowd was pleased and left thoroughly exhausted and entertained.

For a more traditional set, please catch The Fenbi International Superstars at the Dublin Pub the night of St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.  Until then, enjoy their debut music video and song – released just last week …

Sláinte!

*** editors note *** Michael Phillips is extraordinarily biased on this one

It’s been a great media month so far for Hotel Monaco Portland.  Last week, the March issue of Travel + Leisure hit the stands and Hotel Monaco’s Mini DaVinci package was included as the “great deal” in Portland.  This morning,  “The Today Show” interviewed T+L’s editor on planning family summer getaways and the Hotel Monaco’s Mini DaVinci package was featured as a great family package available on the West Coast.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

ideabox – bringing lifestyle back to housing.

If you didn’t get the chance to make it out to the Expo Center for the Portland Home & Garden show this past weekend, here’s your second chance to see the ideabox!  This KOIN Keep it Local segment will give you a peek into the modern, energy and resource efficient pre-fab firm known as ideabox. This is a very cool discovery for the urban, eco-conscious homebuyer and all the homes are made right here in Oregon! We were really excited to work with Owner Jim Russell on this project!

To learn more about ideabox or to check out more of there model homes click here.