Kicking resolutions and bagging events: Here we go again!

The New Year is upon us. For some, that means trying to stick to resolutions-- the same resolutions perhaps that have been made every year-- but that's not what it means for the ice business.

For Ice Now, the new year means providing ice to a slurry of events. Lots. And lots. Of events.

Of course there were plenty of holiday season events. We love the holidays! But this time of year is different. Think less snow, but more ice.

Not only does the year open with a broad spectrum of activities, but we handle them on two fronts.

Our Phoenix division is located in the hub of Super Bowl mania. And aside from this stint as the host city for the big game, there are always festivals, sporting events, and music festivals to serve.

In the meantime, our Las Vegas facility is situated right in the epicenter of every convention known to man. Las Vegas plays host to every fascination that has assembled into a formal group. They conjoin in the city for a special touch of flair.

By providing beverage ice we are at the service of diverse patrons. And it spans the gamut of possibilities. In addition to conventions, the city also offers the opportunity to provide ice to beer festivals, foodie events, sporting events, and fundraisers. There is never a down-time.

This time of year means new opportunity. We welcome the challenge to serve the unique needs of each event client we work with and understand that coming through on time not only puts our reputation on the line, but our client's reputation on the line. But that's what we do-- we deliver.

We welcome the opportunity to bid on any event you may be planning this year. Simply contact us through our website or by using the contact information on the side bar to get in touch.

Our most popular questions revisited: Can I order dry ice?

Mike Noyce

So far, we've had positive feedback on our newest blog series. We appreciate your thoughts and try our best to address any further questions.
Today, our series continues as we explain and answer more of Ice Now's most popular questions.
Last week, we talked about the products that we DO sell.
This week takes a new turn-- it's all about dry ice.
Our question of the day is: "Can I order dry ice?"
Let me explain...

Do we or don't we?
Out of the continuous calls we receive during the day, a good number of those are asking to purchase dry ice.
So to be up front- the answer is NO, we do do not sell dry ice. That is... We do not sell it in bulk, in small quantities, or at all. Our primary customers are events and businesses that need beverage ice.
There are businesses, and even grocery stores, that sell dry ice. But we do not have relationships with any of these companies and can't recommend a good supplier at this time.

The fine line
While we don't offer dry ice, this makes it easier to continue to fulfill our drink ice and snow orders. Our services may grow at some point, but our expertise is currently in these areas. And the related products we currently offer.

Our most popular questions revisited: What products does Ice Now sell?

One thing that new customers have in common is that they always have a lot of questions. Some of these questions are answered on our Commonly Asked Questions page, but we didn't have the space to dive in and go too deep. We felt this was a better place to dig in and answer more specific questions. So in the next blog series we're going to re-visit some of the most reoccurring inquiries we get.

At the end, feel free to let us know if you still have questions about the featured topic or if you would like to see a specific question or topic covered in a future post.

What products does Ice Now sell??

Ice Now is still strongly rooted in our base business which is delivering beverage ice to businesses, restaurants, private parties and events. Our drivers have a daily list of customers that need ice and make a route each morning. When an emergency comes up, we contact a driver in that area to cover the delivery as soon as possible. Sometimes that means the driver has to pick up more ice, which is why we need a specific window of time.

But we don't just drop off ice. Sometimes our customers, especially in the case of special events that will span one day or multiple days, don't have anywhere to store the ice they order. This is why Ice Now also has bins, merchandisers, coolers, and trucks available for rent.

Another product category for us are the ice sculptures we sell. These are custom made creations that we deliver directly to an event location. During the time we added this service, ice luges also became very popular. Since most of our customers were serving alcohol at their functions, we received requests for ice luges to. It wasn't a far stretch so we included this product in our repertoire, allowing customers to customize their luge with a logo or design.

Our last service, which is our newest, is the winter snow we provide to customers. Ice Now has snow-making machines both at our Arizona location and in Las Vegas. Our snow professionals make fresh snow by using beverage-quality ice that is crushed and sprayed out a hose wherever we need it. Surprisingly, man-made snow acts exactly like freshly fallen "real" snow. It can be packed into snow balls, used for sledding, and takes a long time to melt (varying of course based on the weather that day).

This is a fairly concise run-down of the services we offer. If you have further questions about this or another topic, feel free to comment below. We will do our best to answer.

News, Photos and a Holiday Season recap

 

Greetings again!

We just wanted to take time today to check in with everyone and give you all a quick update on what Ice Now has been up to.

The holidays were a busy time for us this year. One of our biggest changes in 2014 was that it marked the VERY FIRST year that we offered snow in the city of Las Vegas.

This launch was HUGE for us and required new strategies as we always have a manager on site to oversee the snow production and trouble-shoot as necessary.

These types of events are different each and every time we do them. Most obstacles we can pinpoint ahead of time, and some pop up unexpectedly no matter how much planning is done beforehand. This is exactly why we always do a site visit (which is free) before the day of the event.

And while we can’t say that every event went off without a hitch, we can say that every customer we had a contract with received the snow they ordered on time. That is something to be proud of.

We had so many opportunities through our new Las Vegas division. We delivered snow everywhere from private events to paid public sledding, small 10 ton deliveries to 40+ tons of snow, and from North Las Vegas to Henderson.

There are two things we can say from our experiences. First, Las Vegas loves to have a good time. And second, we look forward to providing snow into the New Year and then coming back to do it all again.

*Note: While Ice Now produces snow year-round, the busy season is in the colder months*

Thank you for following us into the New Year. Follow and see the surprises we have in store!

'Snow Party' bonus gift: Free custom party invitations

Ice Now's snow production team is in full swing this season. The response this year to our snow delivery and snow parties has been incredible!

No. Like. Really. Really. Incredible.

The demand for snow literally has us running all over Phoenix and Las Vegas. We're meeting new faces and making it snow for churches, communities, public events, and private gatherings.

As a 'thank-you' to our customers, I'd like to share free custom party invitations you can use to invite guests to your next snow extravaganza.

Punchbowl has a wide selection of invitations. Whether your snow party is a birthday, holiday, or seasonal affair, they make it easy to navigate to the right invitation. (And it's at the perfect price of FREE.)

They even have incredibly popular Disney 'Frozen' theme invites.

Here are a just a few of my favorite snow invitation templates.

 

 

Snow parties are pure fun, and your invitations should be fun to. Email invites are easy to manage, quick to send, no-postage-necessary, and the best way to count your RSVP's.

 

Book your next snow party, then tell everyone! Pick out your perfect Punchbowl party invitation. Remember. Your party is only as fun as the friends who share in enjoying the day.  

Phoenix and Vegas neighborhoods with spectacular Christmas/holiday light displays

One of my favorite childhood memories was driving through neighborhoods lit with Christmas lights. These were homes transformed into magical kingdoms of moving figures and electric bills totaling hundreds of dollars a night to delight those who drove by. Our eyes would grow bigger the more extravagant that the displays became.

I now scope out light displays to take my children to see, ones that elicit 'oohs' and 'ahhhhs' from the backseat.

There are several of these neighborhoods in Phoenix, Arizona-- notably an area of Glendale with homes owned by the Swift trucking company-- but also areas like THESE.

Las Vegas is also no stranger to spectacular light displays. The City of Henderson is even hosting a Christmas Light Competition where 50 homes can compete in different categories. If you want to see what locals recommend, check out the conversation HERE.

We at Ice Now AZ and Ice Now NV may be a little bias, but don't you think these homes would look even more spectacular lit up AND covered in snow?

We still have a few snow appointments available so be sure to contact us soon!

As ice-bucket challengers splash away, Controversy reigns

John Maino performs Ice Bucket Challenge: commons.wikipedia.org

Has your news feed been cluttered with ice bucket challenges? Mine to.

Has every celebrity now and past accepted a challenge? It would appear so.

And as Twitter, Facebook, and Yahoo circulate the latest and greatest ice bucket dousing, voices of doubt seem to be growing louder to.

But is it legitimate or unjust negativity?

The challenge

As you may (or may not) know, the ALS ice bucket challenge is a fundraiser to rally donations for Lou Gehrig’s disease. The concept is that those who are “nominated” can either donate to the cause or douse themselves in a bucket of cold ice water. At this point however it seems that donors are also choosing to douse themselves in water. For extra affect. And possibly for viral video rights, but whatever.

According to Fox News, “As of Aug. 22, the ALS Association has received $53.3 million in donations, compared with $2.2 million donated during the same period last year.”

That’s great news, right? Well…. Maybe.

Controversy with a captal “C”

Nay-sayers have begun to question everything from the scope of the campaign to the reason why participants are taking part.

Is the money really funding research?

Are the donations enough?

Are the donations too much?

Who is really benefiting from the YouTube views and social media hype?

Is the average man just trying to get famous?

Is the famous guy just trying to get more famous?

Let’s break down the debate…

“Way to go” vs. “Gone too far”

For starters, let’s investigate the financial aspect of donating to the ALS ice bucket challenge, shall we?

Going back to Fox News…

 “for organizations that depend on a continuous support of donors, a one-time spike in revenue is only part of the picture. Another factor to consider is the number of people who publically show their support, for example, by dumping ice on their heads, versus the number who make a financial contribution, and may continue to do so, said Kirk Kristofferson, a researcher at the Sauder School of Business in Vancouver, Canada, who studies marketing and prosocial behavior.

If a fundraising campaign has a high percentage of people who voice their support without actually donating that could raise the problem of "slacktivism," which is the practice of engaging in virtual support such as "liking" a charity's page on Facebook, without having any real-world effect.”

Good point. The ALS campaign doesn’t end with the popularity of the bucket challenge. It’s ongoing. And needs long-term donors who will stand the test of time along with the fight for a cure. Much like the popularity of Breast Cancer awareness.

How much awareness though does the ice bucket spectacle create? As part of a Forbes.com article, Will Oremus was quoted as saying,

“As for ‘raising awareness,’ few of the videos I’ve seen contain any substantive information about the disease, why the money is needed, or how it will be used. More than anything else, the ice bucket videos feel like an exercise in raising awareness of one’s own zaniness, altruism, and/or attractiveness in a wet T-shirt.”

Here’s a test… do YOU know where to go to donate? Do you know how much you can/are expected to donate? I can’t tell you without a Google search. And I’m guessing more people are with me there.

There are certainly some legitimate points to be made in the skepticism circulating as quickly as the videos supposedly supporting the cause.

If you need further exploration, feel free to read this blog post Is Dumping Ice Water on Your Head Really Helping?

Did we miss the point?

As E!Online pointed out recently, most people are simply missing the point. That would be to make a donation, not to dump ice water on one’s head. The dumping remember—is the punishment for not donating in the first place.

Yes, perhaps challengers are thrilled at their “popularity” first for being nominated and called out publicly. Second, the thrill of making a video showcasing the thrilling, terrible, oh-so-shameless spectacle of being wet and cold for all to see. But by now the majority of us probably don’t really care anyway.

A few critics have complained about the water wasted to perform the ALS challenge. But since the average American already wastes roughly 50 gallons of water PER DAY, the one-time ice bucket phenomenon really isn’t the problem… now is it?

 

In the meantime, donations are still pouring in. ALS has been more than a mere mention in passing news (in the past mainly regarding someone famous who has been stricken). And maybe more Americans will think about additional causes close to their hearts worth monetary support.

What is being funded?

My research into the subject was wrapping up when I stumbled upon the most compelling perspective yet.

What kind of research is being funded??

In his own piece titled Why I Can't Accept the Ice-Bucket Challenge, Nathanael King details his own personal experiences with loved ones who have suffered with ALS AND why he has chosen not to accept the challenges he has received.

King steers clear of all the typical arguments and dives into the meat of his personal stance. He simply does not agree with all the types of research being performed by the ALS Association-- specifically, stem-cell research.

King writes:

"Sometimes, stem cells are harvested as part of in-vitro fertilization as described above, and other times they are harvested as part of an abortion procedure.  For example, one clinical trial, which was supported by the ALS Association with a $500,000 grant involved 'stem cells ... from the spinal cord of a single fetus electively aborted after eight weeks of gestation.'  At 8 weeks, a baby has it's own unique DNA, is 2 centimeters long, has tiny fingers and toes, and a heart beat of about 160 beats per minute."

 And on a moral level, he is not okay with that.

To dump or not to dump

The bottom line is... we all have a moral compass and we all have values with meaning. And if your chosen plight is the fight for ALS patients, no matter the cost, that is your call to action. However, if you have moral, social, or environmental issues with any aspect of the challenge, you have the right to not participate.

Choice-- is the true American dream. Every day we choose what we stand for. But at least respect yourself enough to stand for something.