We request that all snail-mail be sent to our post office box:
Grey Ghost Group, LLC dba PyroGraphics PO Box 5036 Quincy, IL 62305-5036
Our office will be in transition much of the first full week of June as we change our communications services and set up our new office. If you need immediate assistance please call our Google Voice number, (217) 919-0544, contact us by email or submit a support request at http://pyrohelp.com.
Quincy, IL (May 2,
2012) - The winners of The 2012 Communicator Awards have been announced
by the International Academy of the Visual Arts. PyroGraphics received the
highest honor, an Award of Excellence,
for print design on County Market’s Food Celebration campaign as well as an Award of Distinction for the
photography associated with the campaign.
The Communicator
Awards is the leading international awards program honoring creative excellence
for communication professionals. Founded by communication professionals over a decade
ago, The Communicator Awards is an annual competition honoring the best in
advertising, corporate communications; public relations and identity
work for print, video, interactive and audio.
The Communicator Awards are
judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a
550+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of
the visual arts. Current
membership represents a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and
marketing firms including: Time,Inc., rabble+rouser, Lockheed Martin, Pitney
Bowes, Airtype Studio, and many others. Entries are scored on a 100 point scale by the judges.
Generally, Excellence Winners receive a score of 90 or above and Distinction
Winners receive a score of 70 to 89.
Founded in 2008 by Kia and John Hamann, PyroGraphics
specializes in Web Site Design,Graphic Design and Photography. Using
a consistent approach to brand development, PyroGraphics creates
distinctive print, web and interactive marketing for companies of all sizes
throughout the United States.
Contact: Kia Hamann, kia@pyrographics.com
PyroGraphics, (217) 224-1113
Matt McElfresh Scholarship for Law Enforcement Students Established at JWCC
Posted on Sunday, February 28, 2010 by
Gary and Sheila McElfresh, along with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, have established an endowed scholarship with the John Wood Community College Foundation in honor of their late son, Matt McElfresh. Beginning in the fall of 2010, earnings from the scholarship fund will be distributed annually to a student enrolled in the Law Enforcement Program at JWCC.
McElfresh attended JWCC and began work as a deputy sheriff for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in 2001. He served as an investigator for the West Central Illinois Drug Task Force from 2005 to 2009 and was an investigator for the Adams County Sheriff’s Department before a tragic off-duty ATV accident took his life on May 31, 2009.
“Matt truly loved his job and his community,” Gary McElfresh said. “Establishing this scholarship for law enforcement students at John Wood seemed to be the perfect way to honor his memory. His legacy will continue because the scholarship will help educate future generations of law enforcement officers who will protect and serve our community for years to come.”
The majority of McElfresh’s career was focused on drug and undercover investigations. Although very difficult and dangerous, large drug cases were a passion for him, which led to numerous arrests and seizure of hundreds of thousands of dollars in drugs and weapons.
McElfresh’s dedication was often recognized, earning him honors including Deputy of the Year for Outstanding Public Service from the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 2006, Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service and DUI Enforcement in 2003 and an Achievement Award in Recognition of Contributing to Highway Traffic Safety in 2004. The Illinois Drug Enforcement Office, an organization of his peers, recognized McElfresh for work on two major drug cases. He was an original member of the Adams County Special Response Team and earned Clandestine Laboratory Certification from the Drug Enforcement Agency Academy in Quantico, Va. McElfresh had additional professional experience that included Illinois Officer Drug Certification, Juvenile Officer Certification and Breath and Alcohol Operator Certification.
“His spirit is alive and well and this scholarship is just one way that Matt’s legacy will live on,” Sheila McElfresh said. “We are so proud of our son’s accomplishments and continue to hear stories of how Matt’s work as a deputy has made a positive difference in the lives of others. He loved helping kids make good choices, but also believed that people who made bad choices deserved the opportunity to turn things around. His first priority was to protect our community from criminal elements, but he always respected everyone’s dignity.”
The McElfresh family appreciates the continued efforts of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office to raise funds for the scholarship at JWCC.
“They have been so great to us and are really dedicated to helping endow the scholarship in Matt’s memory,” Sheila McElfresh said. “We are planning more fundraising projects together to help build the principal of the scholarship. Our hope is that current and future law enforcement officers will benefit from this fund.”
“Matt was a respected member of our office and did a world of good for our community,” Adams County Sheriff Brent Fischer said. “If we can be part of educating young people who will follow Matt’s example, we will all be better for it. It’s an honor to play a role in developing this scholarship in his memory.”
Part-time and full-time students who are Adams County residents enrolled in the Law Enforcement Program at JWCC may apply for the scholarship. Applicants must submit a narrative statement addressing law enforcement as a calling, have a cumulative grade point average between 2.0 and 3.25 (4.0 scale) and exhibit leadership, dedication, character, potential and motivation to pursue a career in law enforcement.
PyroGraphics assisted the family to create a web site to receive contributions and provide details about fundraising efforts for the McElfresh Scholarship. Information about the fund, giving and JWCC links can be found on www.mattmcelfreshfund.org.
Interested individuals can also make a contribution to or apply for the Matt McElfresh Scholarship by contacting Barbara Holthaus, director of advancement at JWCC, at 641-4105 or bholthaus@jwcc.edu. More information about JWCC scholarships is available at http://www.jwcc.edu/alumni/scholarship.asp
Social networking is about people, whether they are business people, friends, collegues, or investors. Social media is only a new form of the same social networks that people have built for thousands of years only now it is online.
People who are "into" social media don't discuss this fact, they only talk of the latest tools and how to use them. So how do you build your company's brand with social media?
Be authentic. Your messages should be from a real person with a face. Anything short of that is purely informational.
Join the discussion. Businesses on social media sometimes think a discussion is beneath them. Participation is key. Respond to those who talk to you and invite further comments.
Be inclusive. This goes back to being authentic. If you only talk to the same four people all the time you are limiting your reach.
Value of Message. Your message must be one that people want to share with others, preferably over and over again. This is just what makes a message viral. Whether your message is funny, outrageous or just a great deal, it must have value to your audience. Just avoid politics, religion or anything slanderous unless that IS your business.
Link to your Web Site. Always, always, always provide a link directly to your web site somewhere on your profile.
That being said, go on, setup your social media account, it's easy. Here are the links:
Posted on Thursday, October 8, 2009 by John Hamann
What? I have a choice?
I found this video and link over at Google, it does a great job explaining what a browser is and provides resources for choosing a web browser. Especially interesting is this timeline of web browsers.
Most people think the browser that came with their computer is satisfactory but what if a different one rendered pages 20% faster, displayed the page better or experienced far fewer crashes?
Better at Web Standards
Why are web standards important you ask? Because web sites designed to web standards:
have cleaner code
render more consistently
save development dollars
perform better in search results
make developers happy!
Below are the ACID3 results compiled by Wikipedia that demonstrates how well your web browser will render a WC3 standards compliant web page. Anything less than 80/100 should be considered unacceptable. You can try the test for yourself here.
So if you're convinced you to ditch your default browser, now is as good a time as any. Go out and get one, why not, they're free!
Although I'm Happy for the Break ...
Your work's not gonna get done till I'm outta here!
No Web Updates, No Designing
No Email Troubleshooting
No Phone Calls ...
Wait, on second thought ... take your time!
Your donation is my key to freedom! Be proud of the fact that together we're providing help and hope to kids and adults served by MDA in our community.
At PyroGraphics, we spend quite a deal of time on internet technologies and how they can benefit our clients. From Social Networking and Bookmarking sites such as Facebook and Digg to Blogs and Twitter, forward thinking business people are having success driving customers to their business through the Web.
PyroGraphics is on MySpace, Facebook, Linkedin, Merchant Circle and now Twitter. I am still wondering what the point of Twitter is other than a demonic plan by the cell phone industry to run up your SMS usage but we're giving it a try.
As these new technologies grow, the Demographics of the web growing. According to this recent article, the Web is no longer just the realm of the young and tech savvy. 70-75 year olds active online grew by 20% in three short years to 45%. I can only assume this growth will continue for the forseeable future.
Another interesting new phenomenon is online video. Online video has surged to new highs in the past year with set-top boxes popping up everywhere. How long until the web is not just changing the newspaper industry but the television and cable industries as well? I think it is already happening. The Food Guru has been taking advantage of web video for years with his online Video Cookbook service.
Xtreme Structures and Fabrication is a custom manufacturer of aluminum,
stainless and carbon steel structures for use in Entertainment, Worship, Theatrical, Manufacturing and Trade Show industries.
The banners, designed and printed in Quincy, were suspended inside 8' squares of truss manufactured by XSF.
PyroGraphics helps national football team start their season off with a BANG!
Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 by
PyroGraphics recently provided previsualization design and signage development to Hi-Tech FX, LLC of Fort Madison, Iowa. The previsualization illustrations and imagery helped Hi-Tech's client choose the effects best suited to their venue. Below is the before and after.
All the flooding that has been occuring in our region has kept QuincyNews.org very busy recently. In addition to designing and maintaining QuincyNews.org, PyroGraphics provided flood coverage photography for the site during the past few weeks including this one of the Democratic Presidential Nominee and Illinois Senator Barak Obama.
One of our clients and some good friends of mine, J&M Displays in Southeast Iowa, knows all too well what this means. Come summer, their hard working staff work 12 hour days, seven days a week to make sure every community's fireworks show goes off with a bang! Their staff doubles or even triples around the 4th of July when they shoot shows all across the midwest.
J&M specializes in the unique, crowd pleasing shows that leave the audience in awe. If your company or organization does a fireworks show, you should check out J&M Displays for your next event. You won't be disappointed! And if your family wants to see a quality fireworks display on July 4th, come up for their display in Ft. Madison, Iowa, it is worth the day trip. I'll be the guy on the barge setting them off!
PyroGraphics was recently contracted to photograph and videotape the My Waterloo Days, 2008 show in Waterloo Iowa. I also worked as a pyrotechnician for the display. The show was shot in the middle of the downtown over the river on the Sixth Street bridge. Here is a snippet of that show, you can hear the music in the background.
Well, we've finally made it around to launching our own web site. Check it out! We've posted several of our recent web designs and print advertising in the gallery and will have much more to post soon including details of each project.
As with any web site, it is always a work in progress. Web sites are not a static medium, they change and evolve as your business changes. The best web sites have something new and interesting posted every time you visit.
We'll be using this blog to feature our work, our clients and other interesting happenings in the world of PyroGraphics. Stay tuned!
Del.icou.us
Digg
Facebook
Newsvine
My Web
Quincy, IL (May 2,
2012) - The winners of The 2012 Communicator Awards have been announced
by the International Academy of the Visual Arts. PyroGraphics received the
highest honor, an Award of Excellence,
for print design on County Market’s Food Celebration campaign as well as an Award of Distinction for the
photography associated with the campaign.
Gary and Sheila McElfresh, along with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, have established an endowed scholarship with the John Wood Community College Foundation in honor of their late son, Matt McElfresh. Beginning in the fall of 2010, earnings from the scholarship fund will be distributed annually to a student enrolled in the Law Enforcement Program at JWCC.
All the flooding that has been occuring in our region has kept