Fan, tweet and eat for a cause

A campaign launched by the Rudy's "Country Store" and Bar-B-Q chain will benefit victims of the mass shooting at Fort Hood and their families.

The chain and other businesses have partnered with Solders' Angels, a nonprofit that helps veterans and their families, in an effort to give holiday gift packages to each of 43 families affected by the shootings.

Thirteen died and 30 were wounded in the Fort Hood shootings.

The packages will consist of toys, Christmas cards and pre-paid Visa/Mastercard cards that can be used to purchase essential items and for holiday shopping, according to information from Rudy's.

Rudy's has a store at the Western Crossing shopping center at Interstate 40 and Western Street.

Rudy's has said it will donate 50 cents for every new verifiable follower for the chain's Twitter account and fan of its Facebook page through Dec. 7.

Then, on Dec. 5, Rudy's will donate a portion of its revenues from online and store sales to Solders' Angels.

Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-based non-profit that provides aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families.

Information about the organization is available by visiting its Web site or calling (626)529-5114.

'World of Mouth'

That headline is a thought-provoker quote from a video shown at the National Retail Federation's recent Shop.org summit and on the NRF blog. (Reblogged by Retail Traffic Court blogger David Bodamer)

And it's only one of many of the data bits provided by socialnomics.com that highlight the exponential power of social media.

"If facebook were a country, it would be the world's fourth largest."

"80 percent of Twitter usage is on mobile devices. People update anywhere, anytime. Imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?"

"Generation X and Y believe e-mail is passe. In 2009 Boston College stopped distributing e-mail addresses to incoming freshman."

Watch the video. Makes you believe if you're not on the social media bullet train, you'll be left behind.

Future vision

The city of Amarillo offered a listening post for all who wanted to speak.

In four nights of community meetings at four spots in the city, audiences of 30 to 50gave their input on every aspect of a city.

They talked about parks, traffic, housing, neighborhoods, filling in abandoned areas, access to services, better bus transportation -- every aspect of a city that touches their lives.

Their feedback will be used as a springboard for the city's Comprehensive Planning Steering Committee to work with consultants from Kendig Keast Collaborative to draft a comprehensive plan for the city's next 20 years.

And that feedback is vital, according to Bret Keast.

"From that, we will say, 'What is the community telling us?' This is your plan. Our job is to put your words and your visions on paper."

The plan will take about 14 months to complete. You can keep track of the process through our coverage here at www.amarillo.com and also through the committee's Facebook page.

Below are some of the comments that didn't make our print coverage of the final community meeting tonight at Puckett Elementary School.

A positive: "The elementaries (schools) are neighborhood-based, smaller in size, rather than large."

On the need to keep improving the Ports-to-Plains trade corridor that helps to link roadways running north-south across the United States from Mexico to Canada: "If our politicians don't get after our governor in Austin, they should be kicked out of office. You know what they say, 'Build the highway, and they (businesses) will come.'"

On the look of the Interstate 40-Interstate 27 interchange near downtown: "The state made some major improvements, but it doesn't seem like they've been maintained."

"I'm a big fan of infill and adaptive reuse," for older areas such as downtown Amarillo. "But you have to provide areas for lower-income (residents) to still exist."

"I think we need to support WT (West Texas A&M University and their move into Amarillo."

"The (arterial) roads are entirely too narrow in older parts of the city."

"I would like to see less cul-de-sacs and more ways to access the neighborhoods, so it's more efficient -- just more connectivity."

On the need for traffic control on Southwest 45th Avenue for pedestrian and vehicle access to the Southwest Branch Library: "I feel sorry for people going to that library, because there's no way to enter that library in a safe manner."

"I don't understand why they can't figure out how to make better streets so they won't get potholes every winter."

What comes to mind about Amarillo? "The smell. They say it's the smell of money. But some days, you can almost taste the smell of money from the feedyards."

"Coming from out of the area last year, what was known in Pennsylvania was the Big Texan (Steak Ranch) and Cadillac Ranch, of all things."

Amarillo "has everything you need,but it's not a huge city."

"Amarillo Boulevard, out on the north side, is tacky. There's not enough green space there. There's a lot of abandoned businesses."

"The Rails to Trails was designed to look pretty. It wasn't designed for transportation."

"The city could lead the way (in water conservation) by using native plants."

There's a need for "educating the public, in general, about water conservation, landscaping -- what we're doing at our own homes."

"We have (stormwater) drainage issues, especially on this side of town."

About traffic congestion on Coulter Street between Interstate 40 and the Medical Center: "I don't know how the emergency vehicles get through there, myself. ... I don't know what the solution is. But the more we let development go, the more expensive it's going to get."