Alice Ferris to Receive Founders’ Medallion From Largest Community of Fundraisers in the World

Alice Ferris, ACFRE, CFRE, MBA will receive the AFP
Founders’ Medallion at AFP ICON in Baltimore on March 29th

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the largest community of fundraising professionals in the world, will honor long-time fundraiser Alice Ferris, CFRE, ACFRE, with its Founders’ Medallion for her extraordinary contributions to the organization and the fundraising profession. Congratulations Alice! We are so proud of you!

(Reprinted from the AFPGlobal.org)

(Arlington, VA)  The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the largest community of fundraising professionals in the world, will honor long-time Arizona fundraiser Alice Ferris, CFRE, ACFRE, with its Founders’ Medallion for her extraordinary contributions to the organization and the fundraising profession at its upcoming international conference, AFP ICON 2020, in Baltimore, Md.

The AFP Founders’ Medallion is presented to members who, through their dedication to the principles of ethical and effective fundraising, honor the legacy of AFP’s founders: Harry Rosen, Benjamin Sklar, Abel Hanson and William R. Simms. Recipients must have been members for at least 20 years, served with local chapters and at the international level, and worked to foster the development of the profession and the fundraising community throughout their careers.

Ferris is the founding partner and chief executive of GoalBusters, a consulting firm in Flagstaff, Ariz., focusing on small nonprofits. Through her consulting firm, she is currently supporting fundraising activities for KAWC Colorado River Public Media and Border Radio in Yuma, Ariz., the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisc., and Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., among others.

Prior to launching her consulting firm, Ferris served as director of development and similar positions for a variety of organizations, including Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff Medical Center and KNAU Arizona Public Radio, all located in Flagstaff. At each organization, she vastly increased membership and fundraising numbers, such as leading KNAU to its first $1 million fundraising year.

Ferris has more than 30 years of affiliation with public broadcasting and has appeared on numerous public television and radio pledge drives, including national PBS fundraisers for Downton Abbey, Ken Burns: America’s Storyteller and Suze Orman’s Financial Solutions for You.

"It was a total shock to get the call from AFP President and CEO Mike Geiger asking me to accept this honor,” Ferris said. “Honestly, I thought he was calling me to serve on a task force to select the next recipient! AFP has been such an ingrained part of my professional identity for so long that it has always felt natural for me to volunteer and give back. The list of members who have received the Founders' Medallion includes people whom I consider part of AFP's fabric, and whom I respect as fundraising trailblazers and change-makers. And, luckily for me, a few of them I consider mentors and friends. I'm sure that they, like myself, did not commit to service to AFP and the profession for the recognition—my volunteerism is an inherent part of my calling to be a fundraiser. So this is an unexpected privilege and a gift."

An active volunteer with AFP for decades, Ferris has served as president of the AFP Northern Arizona Chapter on three separate occasions over the last twenty years—as well as every other chapter position, including multiple times as chair of the AFP Arizona State Conference. On the international level, she was on the board of AFP Global for eight years, including two years as vice chair of member and chapter services. Over the years, Ferris has held leadership roles in all areas of association operations, including credentialing, awards, membership, chapter development and fundraising.

Ferris was the 90th professional to receive the Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive (ACFRE) credential, the most rigorous certification process available to professional fundraisers and which has only been conferred to 114 fundraisers around the world. She is also a three-time recipient of the Northern Arizona Chapter’s Fundraising Professional of the Year award.

“When you think of service and AFP, Alice Ferris comes top of mind,” said Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA, president and CEO of AFP. “She has contributed so much to AFP over the years, and her efforts have improved so many different aspects of our association and the community of fundraisers worldwide. This honor is so well deserved, and on behalf of the board and staff of AFP, I want to thank her for everything she has done for fundraising.”

Ferris earned her Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Radio-TV-Film and Economics and her Master of Business Administration with a double major in Accounting and Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She obtained her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) in 1999 and is certified through 2020. She received her ACFRE in 2010 and has been an AFP Master Teacher since 2006.

The 21st AFP member to receive the Founders’ Medallion, Ferris will receive the honor during the Opening General Session of AFP ICON 2020, the largest gathering of fundraising professionals in the world, March 29, in Baltimore, Md.

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Defend the Underdogs of Public Media

Jim and I and our friends at WSSB in Orangeburg, SC

Since the November 2016 election, people in public and community media have been speculating about the future of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This agency provides funding for public and community stations throughout the country through its Community Service Grant program and other special funding initiatives for infrastructure and collaborative projects.

Now, the Trump administration has announced its first pass budget that, to little surprise, zeroes out funding for the CPB, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

I could go on about the politics of the elimination of funding. But not now. What I want to address is the very real impact of this potential loss on small, rural and minority stations.

First, an apology to my larger market station colleagues. I respect you and what you are doing to provide educational service to your communities. You invest local resources in Ready to Learn programs. You have some of the largest, and most under-resourced, teams of journalists in the country. You engage community leaders in civil discussion about local issues as wide ranging as racial profiling and restaurant reviews.

You will be fine.

CPB funding, for many large or medium size market stations, has become an increasingly small portion of their budgets. These stations may have survived elimination of other funding sources, such as state funding. Some have even explored what it might mean to withdraw from the Community Service Grant program. And I can confidently say that larger market stations have rallied their audiences to provide higher levels of voluntary support.

Some of my colleagues who have worked with only major market stations agree that eliminating funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a bad idea, but they are being practical. We can consolidate. We can raise the difference.

That's why I'm not really worried about you. I'm worried about the stations who can't do that.

The small but mighty KAWC team, 2016
(Steven Hennig is missing because he was taking the picture)

We work and have worked with small, rural and minority stations. We work with KAWC Colorado River Public Media, based in Yuma, Arizona, which provides two noncommercial programming streams to rural Arizona, including local coverage of real life on the border from a four person news team, and the only news service to some areas where cell phones still don't work.

We work with KGHR Navajo Public Radio, based at Greyhills Academy High School in Tuba City, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, which serves as a community information board, sharing news about health fairs, home maintenance, public safety and other basic services that might otherwise go unnoticed.

We have worked in the past with KUYI Hopi Radio, licensed to The Hopi Foundation, one of the pioneers in Native American public media, which provides programming in the Hopi language and contributes to the protection and growth of the Hopi culture.

For all three of these stations, their CPB grant is a significant portion of their budget. It pays for programming that connects these remote communities to the rest of the world. It helps cover staff that keep the station running and provide a local voice. These stations are running with the bare minimum of staff to keep them going; the grant does not cover “fluff.”

In addition, these stations are not in communities with high resources. The idea of having the local audience bear the full cost is not realistic for these smaller stations. For instance, in a project funded by the CPB through Greater Public, we worked with four African-American licensed stations to try to build their local capacity for fundraising. Could we give these stations the tools to raise more money?

The answer, as you might expect, was “yes and no.” The stations did, to varying degrees, increase the amount of money raised, but not to the level of doubling or tripling their revenue. The communities that they served simply did not have the financial capacity to increase their giving dramatically. If faced with the loss of their CPB grant, they might be able to cut some expenses and generate a little more revenue, but not enough to continue.

So that begs the question...why do we need these small stations anyway? Wouldn't it be more efficient to just merge them into another larger station? Doesn't the internet provide the services these stations do? Couldn't we just have a national feed of NPR and PBS and call it done?

What would we lose if these small, rural and minority stations went away?

We lose the voices of these communities in national discussion. It doesn't work to ask people from these communities to go someplace else to share their opinions: that automatically makes them an outsider and immediately changes the nature of the conversation. We need to speak with people where they live to get their real perspectives.

We lose the connection within rural and small communities. Stations help residents in their communities stay connected. Particularly in radio, the station is often the only way to communicate with the whole community, not just about local events, but also about emergency situations. And the suggestion that everyone can get what they need through the internet? Well, internet access is not as universal as many in larger communities think, and what happens during a crisis when local internet might be down? In recent floods and hurricanes in the southeast, often the public radio or television station was the only source for updates.

We lose sight of issues that face people who live outside of metro areas. Let's face it: problems are different in major cities than they are in small towns and rural areas. For example, we are still dealing with getting cell phone service to some of these communities, when people in big cities complain about not having free WiFi. Stations have the ability to have issues moved to a larger stage that are simply foreign to metro audiences.

We lose the stories and rich histories of diverse cultures. You can't simply send a correspondent into a community for a day or two and expect them to understand the culture and way of life. There are so many stories that can only be crafted over time, and by someone who is a part of life there.

And we begin to ignore small, rural and minority communities and the issues that are important to them. By saying, “really, only large markets can have this service,” you tell people that they are not worth having a voice.

A colleague suggested that threats to federal support to public broadcasting might be a good thing for us. Like with the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood, and others, perhaps this is an opportunity for the public to rally and provide unprecedented levels of support. I worry that stations that really need the funding will not have the ability to access it.

Annie Lin (my mom), Mr. Rogers and me, circa 1971.
 I've been a public media supporter for a long time.

There will be much more discussion about this issue in the coming days, and, like in previous battles, I expect that many people will voice their support for public media. If you would like to do so, please visit Protect My Public Media to add your story. Also, contact your Representative and Senators regarding your position.

And find your local station and support them. They need all the help they can get.

---

We have worked with so many stations that deserve your support, but a special shout out to KAWC Colorado River Public Media, KGHR Navajo Public Radio, KUYI Hopi Radio, KXCI Tucson, Arizona Public Media, Arizona PBS, WSSB Orangeburg, WSNC Winston-Salem, WUVS Muskegon, KBBG Waterloo, Mountain Lake PBS, WGVU Grand Rapids, KCOS El Paso, Houston Public Media, KPFA Berkeley, WBAI New York, KNPB Reno, KUAC Fairbanks, and Wisconsin Public Television.

Cash Follows Contact

Note: You can generally substitute the term "Fundraising Campaign" anywhere I write "Pledge Drive."

I recently Tweeted "Pledge Drive on Facebook? Yes! @KAWC reach up 500% & engagement up 300% during recent pledge drive. #PublicRadio #NPR"

To translate the Twitter-speak, I was saying. "Yes, it's a good idea for Public Radio Stations to include their Pledge Drive activities in their social media activity. One of our clients is KAWC Colorado River Public Media. When we evaluated KAWC's Facebook analytics for the period of their recent Pledge Drive, we saw their "Total Reach" increase by 500% and their community engagement increase by 300%."

That Tweet generated considerable feedback from both the nonprofit and public broadcasting sectors. Common themes were: What did you do differently? What seems to be working? To what degree did you have success turning these followers into donors?"

The short answer to those questions is that a small percentage of KAWC's Social Media followers are donors. But the numbers are comparable to successful direct mail "acquisition rates." Gifts tracked to social media are about 1.0% of followers. An added benefit is that some of those gifts came from friends outside our listening area. They gave to support the team they feel connected to via Social Media. They are a part of our extended community.

What excited me most about the increase in reach and engagement is that it proves that Pledge Drive activity is NOT a turn-off to our social media audience. Last year I presented at both the Public Media Development and Marketing Conference (PMDMC) and National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) conferences. I heard many stations argue that pledge drive is forbidden from being included in their social media communication. I think that is tragically myopic. They believe that pledge drive will drive away online fans, like so many people in Public Radio believe Pledge Drive drives away listeners. Oh, it's true that if ALL you're doing is pitching and/or begging for donations you will drive away listeners and online fans. But if you're creating "good" content and not just constantly asking for support, you can engage your audiences with your appeals.

When Alice Ferris, ACFRE is training new team members at one of our Public Radio clients, she always reminds them that "Pledge Drive IS programming." It should inform, educate and entertain. We're making a case for support that is logical, compelling, personal and genuine. We're frequently greeted by listeners during or after a Pledge Drive who tell us they "love Pledge Drive." They share that it gives them a chance to really get to know the team and hear from other supporters in the community. It's personal to them and it reinforces their connection to the station. 

The key to effective online engagement isn't that different from your other traditional messaging.  Your social media communication should do one or more of three things:

Inform: Provide relevant, meaningful information about your organization, your team, your events, your service and your goals. Be genuine. Communicate in a personal, authentic voice.

Entertain: Provide "Rich content" of interest such as photos, graphics, video, audio, articles, etc. Give them lots of links to click.

Provide Opportunity: Tell them about things they can do, places they can go, how they can learn more and how they can help. Give them lot's of ways to take action. Provide them ways to get involved that don't require giving money. Of course make it easy for them to give money if they're ready to.

How do you measure success? That depends on your goals. Social Media serves different audiences in unique ways. If all you do is increase reach and engagement, that's a good thing. I always say, "Cash follows contact." Social Media gives us a few new ways to keep making meaningful contact and building or deepening relationships with our communities of support.

A note: Don't be discouraged if your Social Media is slow to take off. You may be doing better than you think. Here's a great infographic regarding the reach of various kinds of Facebook pages. 

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Connect with GoalBusters     

Jim Anderson      GoalBustersJim

Alice Ferris, ACFRE      alice.ferris

Convert Your Business Facebook Profile to Fan Page

If you know you're ready to make the switch, click here to convert your profile to a fan page. If you're not sure why you should bother, read on...

Point of Caution If you do not have a Personal Profile separate from your Business Profile and ALL of your Facebook interactions happen on your business profile, please read this Mashable Blog detailing the potential pitfalls of conversion. If that is the case you should create a personal profile as soon as possible for personal interaction apart from your business interactions. If you already have a separate Personal Profile the risks associated with conversion of your business profile to a business page are minimal and are detailed below.

PROFILES vs PAGES There are many businesses, organizations, bands, etc. who have set up Facebook accounts as "people" or personal profiles. Contrary to the US Supreme Court and Mitt Romney's assertations, businesses aren't people and Facebook agrees.

Click here for Facebook's explanation Why should I convert my profile to a page? clearly stating that setting a profile for anything other than a person is a violation of their policy's and could result in you losing the page. Yes, it happens and will likely be happening more frequently.

To better benefit your business and more securely protect your "friends" data, businesses should set up their Facebook pages as fan "pages" NOT as personal "profiles." If you are a business and you have "friends" on Facebook, you should convert your profile page to an actual Facebook page. Yes, I know you like your "friends" and they like you, but they can't invite your store over for dinner with the family or take your business to movies.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Fan Pages are indexed by search engines. Profiles are not. If you want your Facebook page to improve your results in Google, Bing or Yahoo searches, do NOT set your business up as a personal profile. Create a fan page so "new" people can find you.

Capacity Fan Pages can have an unlimited number of fans. Profiles are limited to only 5,000 friends. Even if you only have a few hundred fans now, why would you choose an option that limits your maximum number of fans.



Delegation Fan pages allow you to assign numerous administrators.
This is great so that one person doesn't have to do all the work maintaining the page. It's also helpful if you're not available to monitor your page due to travel or illness. When an administrator posts, they do so as the page, not themselves personally. Although, I encourage signing your post when it's obviously a personal comment or a reference to someone else on your team.



Multiple Identities
You can manage multiple fan pages from a single personal profile. This is important if you want to promote various businesses, organizations or groups. Alice Ferris and Jim Anderson both have personal pages and we share administration rights for numerous clients and professional organizations we're affiliated with. Including: GoalBusters Consulting, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB), KGHR Navajo Public Radio, KAWC Colorado River Public Media, KUYI Hopi Public Radio, AFP Arizona Statewide Meetings and the Public Radio Program Directors (PRPD)

Personal vs Professional Profiles If you have a business fan page, people will still want to connect with (most of) you personally on your profile. They want to know the people behind a business.

Consider your business fan page to represent your brand and your personal profile is a "sub-brand." You may also consider setting up two personal profiles. Use one openly and professionally taking care with the nature of the content to minimize offending customers or clients. Use the second as a "private" profile with your family and true friends. This is a good way to separate that crazy uncle or the person you dated in high school from your professional acquaintances.





Advertising Opportunities Facebook can help you advertise your page, not your profile.


Ready to Convert? The Social Media Hound suggests a review of the following information before your convert your personal profile to a page.

• All your confirmed friends will be converted to people who like your new Page.
• Your profile pictures will be migrated to your new Page.
• Photo albums, profile information, etc. will not be transferred. Be sure to save any important content before beginning your migration. (see step one, below)
• Once you convert your personal profile to a business page, that profile will no longer exist.
• You will not be able to convert your page back to a personal profile.
• You will continue to login with the email/password that you used before you converted the page.

Convert your Facebook profile to a business page:
Step one
Backup your Facebook profile. Login to Facebook and click the down arrow next to Account in the upper right corner of your screen, then select Account Settings. Toward the bottom of that page, you’ll see Download Your Information. Click the "learn more" link to the right and follow the instructions.

Step two
Post a notice indicating you are going to convert the page and explain the page may look different as you complete the conversion and update your information. When you are ready to begin the conversion click here and read How do I convert my profile to a fan page? Follow the instructions. After conversion post another notice to your friends who now "like" your page informing them of the conversion and thanking them for "liking" your organization


Good luck with your conversion.

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Contact Jim.Anderson@GoalBusters.net with any questions regarding Social Media.

Connect with GoalBusters
Jim Anderson GoalBustersJim
Alice Ferris alice.ferris

What Would Mr. Rogers Do?

Public broadcasting has been part of our lives for a LONG time. Here's Alice at about 1 year old, with her mom, Annie Lin, and Mr. Rogers. Public Broadcasting is probably as much a part of your family as it and Mr. Rogers are a part of ours.

Why does Public Broadcasting deserve the small investment of support it receives? Simple. It changes lives. How's that for "ROI?" Public Broadcasting has faced relentless attempts to eliminate it. Why is that? Why would Public Broadcasting so frequently be on the chopping block? More importantly, why have these attacks historically failed?

Mr. Rogers himself defended Public Broadcasting decades ago. His comments ring true today.

It was 1969 when Fred Rogers from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications to express his disagreement with a proposal by President Richard Nixon to cut federal funding for public broadcasting. Rogers detailed the guiding influence of television, and helped sway the Senate’s decision to leave funding for public broadcasting intact.

All Sponsors Are NOT Created Equal

Congratulations! You've nearly "SOLD OUT" the sponsorships for your event! You are Rock Stars!!

But... Now you have to deliver the value you promised. Now you have to make sure that you honor and recognize your sponsors in a manner consistent andequitable with their level of support. You can accomplish this by consciously making decisions about the size, order andtitling of sponsor logos in your media buys, online promotion and advertising opportunities. As you consider these options keep in mind that ultimately it's about visibly demonstrating the level of investment of your sponsors. Let's take a look at the one "virtually" free resource you can offer...

Finding Dollars in a Desert - Tools for Successful Fundraising in Tough Economic Times

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In a challenging economy, people make tough decisions about where they spend their dollars. How do economic realities and personal perceptions affect the nonprofit sector? Some decide to give less to each organization they support. Others may choose to stop giving to certain organizations. How do they make these decisions? What efforts can you take to minimize the impact on your organization?

In this interactive session, GoalBusters Consulting's Alice Ferris and Jim Anderson discuss:

-Economic realities for charities nationwide and locally
-"The Perfect Storm"
-Strategies to minimize or avoid these economic pressures
-What to do (and please DON'T do) when a donor says, "I can't contribute now"
-Six things you can do now to stabilize your organization and empower your team
-How to find the "oasis in the desert." Ten practical strategies for successful fundraising regardless of economic conditions.

(Recently hosted by the Yuma Area Nonprofit Institute (YANPI) and Arizona Western College, at the AWC College Community Center (3C) in the Schoening Conference Center, Yuma, Arizona.)



Connect with GoalBusters: LinkedIn - Alice Ferris / LinkedIn - Jim Anderson / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Myspace

Finding Dollars in a Desert - Fundraising in Tough Times - GoalBusters Consulting

View more documents from GoalBusters LLC.

Reflections on Food: Yuma, Arizona Trip Report

Cross posted from Chowhound, my favorite foodie site.

Just finished up another week long trip in Yuma and thought I'd post my dining thoughts. I'm totally bummed that apparently I crossed paths with Chowhound Yuman Ed Dibble and didn't get to meet him! Ed, next time!

Day 1: Nature's Express, Healthier Fast Food. This totally plant-based menu is deceptively good, and Dr. Carl Myers, the owner and an oncologist, has said in the past, "If I can make this work in Yuma, I can be successful anywhere!" I love the sauteed greens, which are very simple, stir fried (usually) kale with tons of garlic. I also am fond of their wraps, especially the thai peanut. They also make a darn good reuben that beats many meat-filled reubens! Real rye bread with caraway seeds and a thick layer of something that resembles meat. Not sure what it is, but it's tasty.

Dinner at Mi Rancho. I've now given this place two tries and I think it's just okay. I tried the al carbon and the birria (stewed goat). The al carbon was better than the birria, which was very fatty and more bone than meat. The broth was good though. On the positive side, the al carbon was very flavorful, and I really like the salsa. I think I just need to go to Tacos Mi Rancho instead, because the service was erratic here.

Day 2: Ah-So Sushi and Steak. Had to attend the Village Jazz Series for work, so we thought we'd go hang outside at Ah-So and have some creative sushi. We had a great experience last February and thought we could recreate it. Well, we had to be extremely persistent to get a good experience this time. In general, I've heard from several people that the service here is sub par. I would have to agree, unless you can speak to the manager, Joe Corona. Our initial server was totally flummoxed with the request to "let the sushi chef do what he wants." While Jim was going back and forth between the concert and our table, the server came back twice trying to convince me to order something...anything...off the regular menu. Just when I was about to close out the tab and go someplace else, Joe returned from a break and spoke with me about ideas. Thank goodness! We ended up with very fresh shrimp (amaebi) with the heads battered and flash fried--crispy and delicious; mixed tempura with the usual dipping sauce spiked with chile sauce; monkfish pate, super white tuna, and togorashi crusted seared albacore. So we ended up with a great meal, but it sure was hard to get from point A to point B...

Day 3: Bad meal day.
Lunch at The Crossing with a donor. Chicken salad was incredibly icky. Swimming in mayonnaise and lots of non-chicken filler like eggs, celery and more mayo. Ugh. Our server was incredibly nice though.

Dinner--leftovers heated in the microwave in my room. Like I said, bad meal day.

Day 4: Taco trucks! YAY! Went back to Juanita's for the campechana cocktel. This is SOOO good. Delicate tomato broth with tons of fresh seafood. After that, over to Mariscos Nayarita for shrimp empanadas. Thanks Ed.

Also stopped at Raspados Piguino for dessert, since I wanted something frosty. I had never had raspados, so the kind person behind the counter gave us a quick lesson in what our choices were for this Mexican snow cone. Between Jim's functional Spanish and the counter guy's halting English, I ended up with a tamarind version with vanilla ice cream, which was mildly sweet and very refreshing. Jim had the pineapple version with vanilla ice cream--the pineapple flavor was incredibly concentrated and a great counterpoint to the ice cream. Yummy.

Day 5: Back to Nature's Express for dinner. Felt incredibly virtuous.

Day 6: Lunch at Ciao Bella. I inhaled my pesto capellini with lots of veggies. I also had the red pepper bisque, which is really rich in roasted pepper flavor. Dr. Myers would be so proud of my plant-based diet.

Happy hour at the hotel and wings at The Crossing. Even though I hate their chicken salad, I do like their spicy sweet wings. So much for the plant based diet.

Day 7: Lunch at Burgers and Beer with a client. I like their asparagus fries, but I really wish they would be more careful about trimming the woody ends. It's really inelegant to be picking stringy asparagus out of your teeth in front of a client. I also had the guacamole burger, which is a total mess, so I didn't do so well on etiquette points.

Day 8: Lunch at Mimi's Cafe with a client. I like their blue cheese and walnut salad, but everything else was just adequate.

Dinner at River City Grill. Excellent, well prepared cocktails and I really liked the red snapper dish, which had nicely spicy black beans, basmati rice, and a tasty, fresh salsa on top. Jim had the mustard crusted halibut, which was also light and tasty.

Oh, one more thing from this day--donuts from the Campus Community Center on the Arizona Western College campus. It's pledge drive. No protein in sight, but lots of coffee and sugar.

Day 9: Lunch at Highway 95 Cafe. They always seem so happy to see me there--wow, a real Chinese person. In Yuma! I stuck with the super combo bowl this time, but added some sauteed bean sprouts on top and lots of chile sauce. It's very quick and affordable.

I missed Los Manjares de Pepe, the Pupuseria, and Carla Renee this time, but they are on the list for next time. Also on the list for next time is Mustards, which had gotten good reviews from friends and Tacos Mi Rancho. Any suggestions for my next trip in May are welcomed and appreciated!

If you really want to know what we're eating on a regular basis, and other (work stuff) we're doing, follow us on Twitter or check out our Twitpics.