Sandy Wilson, Public Relations, Media Relations, Communications in Jacksonville, Florida

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We're back from our travels and happy to report good green planning all along our ho-ho-holiday way.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in beautiful Callaway Gardens and loved their natural decorations @ the Lodge and Spa.  Located on top of Pine Mountain, Georgia, Callaway Gardens is committed to eco-friendly living, environmental education and renewable energy year-round!

As we passed through nearby Atlanta on our way to Nashville, we learned that Atlanta  has also established forward thinking green initiatives.  In 2003, the city of Atlanta passed an ordinance requiring all city funded development to be LEED certified. That's thoughtful planning for the future. 

As we headed into good old country musical Nashville, we noticed a spectacularly clean downtown area and we were so pleased to discover a concerted city-wide effort to establish Nashville as a leader in green initiatives and livability.

We're back in Jacksonville now.  We're taking down the Christmas decor, and gearing up for Tree Hill Nature Center's Bring One For the Chipper event on January 9, 2010.  Bring your UNDECORATED  Christmas tree to Tree Hill on January 9 and take aromatic mulch home. Great way for the family to recycle.  (NOTE: Tree Hill is a client and the event is FREE.) 

I avoid paper.  Usually, at this time of year, I send an html greeting to my friends. 

Yesterday, however, I stumbled on these cool eco-friendly holiday cards soooo, last night, for the first time in years, I pulled out my snail mail address book and began some furious addressing.

o<|| : o} > Santa is real darn happy.

We switched to LED lights for our holiday tree last year.

Real or fake tree? We go real to support the local economy.

This year, we're recycling our year-round grapevine wreath and are using solar powered spotlights.  We also bought live plants from a local garden center that we'll replant after the holidays.  We're "wrapping" gifts with reusable shopping bags from PUBLIX.

We're going green gradually - eco baby steps are better than none, right?

More ways your family can go green/er this season:
Holiday Decorations for Green Geeks

Earth 911 Holiday Gift Guide

Wrap Art - how cool is this?

OK, everyone knows I don't do paper business cards, right?

I've tried a few digi-card options but haven't been especially happy with the results. 

Well, I stumbled on a new digital business card "Dub Me Now" in my ongoing quest for cool online gadgets.  I love it!

Check it out - it's the best digital business card (on my horizon, anyway) & the locate button is way too easy.  When two people have downloaded the (free) DUB software on their PDAs, they can press the locate button, and both will be prompted to download each others contact information.  

If you live in another state from the person you'd like to add to your contact list, just add their email address or their cell phone number. The contact information can be downloaded in your Outlook as a V-card, as well.  

In addition, DUB's contact information stays current with automatic updates for all contacts who have downloaded the software.  Did I mention that this service is free? Did I mention that I love it?

If I know you IRL, shoot me your cell # or email if you want to see it in action.

Holiday travel is most definitely on the horizon.

We have a ton of family coming into town for turkey and pies. 

Unless you're a Scrooge, you're probably traveling or expecting family to travel to you for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.  

Travelocity offers a great green resource page to help us all travel as green as we possibly can.  Check it out!

If you're a Scrooge,  however, just throw on your nightcap, close your eyes and wait for your snazzy travel guide : ) 

I'm slowly recovering from a nasty bout of diverticulitis and am preparing for Tree Hill Nature Center's Music and Harvest Moon Festivals on Saturday, October 24.

There is a HUGE, GIGANTIC, ENORMOUS divide between the two - hospital and fun event.

That said, for a mere $5 admission fee, you should come to Tree Hill to hear incredible live music all day long in beautiful, luscious nature.   October 24 from 10 am - 6 pm @ Tree Hill Nature Center.

Back to the beginning: During my hospital haze, I wondered if the health care industry is implementing strategies to save resources.   Looks like we have an affirmative on that.  Yeeahh!

I've been traveling this month and experienced an amazing family vacation in the Outer Banks, NC.  There were many opportunities to commune with nature and I was happy to see lots of green thinking. 

OBX has a ban on plastic bags now and even the local Brew Station is going green.

We wondered who owned the windmill we saw from the summit of the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

TreeHugger has created a tribute page dedicated to collecting blog posts that detail Ted Kennedy's history of championing environmental issues throughout his career.

What a wonderful example of the way one person can make an impact for many. 

No matter how you feel about Kennedy,  personally or politically, there is no denying that he followed his footprints on a green path for the benefit of many.