Shannon Harvey Insurance

In the wake of any disaster, many reach for their checkbooks and donate money to aid and rescue organizations. The Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance cautions, however, that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is unlike previous disasters and offers specific advice to potential donors and volunteers.

Although tens of thousands of individuals are already involved in the response to the oil spill, many others wonder how they can pitch in and help, whether it means writing a check or volunteering their time.  Businesses, communities and wildlife across several states have been seriously impacted by the spill and the need for assistance is great. However, the constraints in the clean up effort limit what charities can do with your money or how you can volunteer.

Here are a few recommendations that donors and volunteers should consider before donating time or money to the cleanup cause in the Gulf: 

• Beware of well-intentioned but inexperienced organizations - New non-profits and relief organizations spring up following any major disaster. While these groups might have the best of intentions, new charities responding to a crisis may lack the resources, experience and management needed to be effective.  Ideally, look for established organizations with environmental expertise or experience aiding Gulf communities.

• Understand where your money is going - Find out how the organization plans to spend funds for Gulf relief, ecosystem recovery and related activities.  Among the activities that charities are promoting, in addition to shoreline rescue and protection, are needs assessment, litigation, economic relief, advocacy for new governmental energy policies and research into long-term solutions to minimize effects of future disasters.  Ask whether the organization offers to restrict your donation for use in its Gulf-related activities or intends to use it for general support for all of its programs. 

• Rely on expert opinion when it comes to evaluating a charity - Be cautious when relying on third-party recommendations posted on blogs or web sites, as the authors might not have fully researched the organizations they list.  I recommend checking with the Better Business Bureau to research charities to verify that they are are who they say they are & are doing what they claim to be doing.

• Find out if the charity is doing Gulf-related work or raising funds for other Gulf relief organizations - If a charity is raising money for other groups, you may want to consider "avoiding the middleman" and giving directly to those performing the work. Research ultimate recipients of the "middleman's" donations to ensure that these organizations are equipped to do the job you want to support and are aware of the individual or organization soliciting on its behalf.

• Volunteering for Gulf clean-up may require special skills or training - Learn what qualifications are necessary before setting off for the site. If you're looking to get your hands dirty, you're out of luck unless you're certified to handle hazardous materials or have received training to care for injured wildlife. In fact, Gulf residents are being told not to handle any tar balls that wash up on the beach or animals that might be affected by the spill.  Other volunteer opportunities may include shoreline monitoring, fund raising, office work, help in food programs for families in need and providing transportation. Numerous charities with volunteer programs ask that you register with them so that they can assess your skills and place you appropriately when openings arise. 

• There will be many opportunities to give, so keep checking - The Gulf region will be suffering from the effects of the oil spill for years to come and, as the situation unfolds, there will be more opportunities for donors to step in and help in the future.  If you can't find a cause you can get behind right now, plan to revisit the possibility of making a donation or volunteering in the months to come.

As I usually mention, it's better to plan for the worst while hoping for the best and this also applies to researching charities before donating money and/or time.

The month of June conjures up a lot of different associations like graduation, summer, gardening and driver safety. Driver safety? It's true. June is National Safe Driving Month, and it's a great opportunity to update your knowledge of the rules of the road.

Driving involves making one judgment call after another.  Do I have enough room?  Is it my turn?  Am I going too fast for this corner?  Someone can learn the mechanics of how to operate a car, but that doesn't make them a good driver.  Gaining skills as a driver takes a lot of practice.

There were over 34,000 fatal crashes in the US last year, and most of those could likely have been avoided by taking small but important safety measures.  There are a great number of ways to drive defensively, but here are 7 safety tips that make a good primer to your Month of Safe Driving:

1. Don't Trust Anyone: You can never rely on what the other driver will do. Everyone makes mistakes, so don't trust anyone else on the road to not make a mistake. And hopefully, when we make mistakes, other drivers will be watching out for us like we're watching out for them.

2. Pay Attention and avoid distractions: "I never saw him!" is the most common excuse heard after a collision. Virtually all collisions involve inattention on the part of one or both drivers. Be aware of your surroundings, of the vehicles around you and potential risk. Don't text while driving, don't put makeup on while driving, don't eat while driving, don't hold a phone to your ear while driving. Anything that takes your eyes off the road, even for an instant, makes you unable to react to any situation that may come up. 

3. Wear Your Seat Belt: Without a doubt, seat belts are the most significant safety device ever invented. It's a small thing to buckle up and can prevent many injures, yet millions of people don't even wear a seat-belt. Even for the very small areas that don't have seatbelt laws, it's still a bad idea not to wear one. It's untrue, in nearly every situation, that there's a chance seatbelts can cause more harm than good. Properly used seatbelts always help.

4. Know Your Blind Spots: Virtually all vehicles have blind areas, even motorcycles. Know where yours are and, just as important, know where the blind spots are on those vehicles around you. If driving beside an 18-wheeler and he can't see you, if he tries to get in the next lane you'll be run off the road. This isn't just the 18-wheeler's fault, it's also the fault of the driver who didn't pay attention to other's blind spots.

5. Always Signal Your Intentions: One of the biggest pet peeves most people have when driving are when other people don't signal their intentions. Are they turning or are they going straight? It's always best to signal what you're going to do, even if you think it's obvious.  It can help prevent accidents and help prevent road rage.

6. Don't Tailgate: Following too close restricts your vision and your reaction time. A good rule of thumb is the 2 second rule, which is where if the vehicle in front of you passes a sign, it should take you at least 2 complete seconds to reach that same point. If not, you're too close. If someone is tailgating you, then slow down slightly slower than the flow of traffic, and allow the vehicle to pass you. Don't hit the brakes suddenly or tap your brakes, as this can easily cause a serious accident.

7. Don't Prevent Others from Passing: How many times have you had this attitude? "I'm going the speed limit, that guy can just slow down, he doesn't NEED to pass me." It's a natural reaction, but it's not the right one. There are several legitimate reasons some people may need to pass you, including emergencies. It's even being considered for law in many districts to give tickets to those who do not allow others to pass that could easily have done so. If another driver wants to pass, make every effort to HELP them do it. Doing so takes mere seconds and it is a courteous, safe and intelligent thing to do.

 These are just a few of the more basic driving habits that everyone should have. For a more comprehensive list, this is a good site to check out:

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/content.php?6-Defensive-Driving-Tips

This month is a good excuse to re-educate yourself about good driving habits. Helping to educate yourself on how to help reducing traffic violations and crashes, and updating your knowledge about relevant laws, are all great ways to celebrate National Safe Driving Month. Not to mention that our agency offers amazing good driver discounts. Be sure to spread the word and have a great Safe Driving Month!

A few years ago Richard Smith, an Allstate Insurance Agency Owner from Alabama, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given less than a year to survive.  By a miracle, Richard survived it with some experimental treatment.

A former 20 Marine, Richard decided last year he was given a second chance and really wanted to do something worthwhile.  So he re-enlisted at age 50, but the Marines turned him down.  The Army agreed to take him for 1 year, so he could proudly serve his country in Afghanistan, and began so last summer.

Richard writes his family and friends several times per week, and occasionally an Allstate Agent friend of mine will forward these to me.  It appears Richard is counting down the days to July 1, when his deployment ends and he can come home to his family after proudly serving his year in the war.

Below are 3 emails Richard recently sent and I thought it fitting near Memorial Day to share this with you.  No matter how we may feel about our country's involvement in this war, I am very proud and appreciative of our men and women that serve our country.  They protect our freedoms that we all take for granted.

P.S.  I am forwarding these just how he wrote them so please be patient with his grammar =).

Enjoy,

Shannon Harvey, Allstate

Subject: sund nite
730pm salerno time, 10am bama time
auburn 0
bama 0
lukes 0
64 and a wake up till july 1st
hey all,
busy nite last nite, nothing but air assaults, but no shots fired, so i;ll take that. 
need yall to be aware that i will be going to germany for a few weeks, not sure exactly when i will be leaving, but should be within the next few days.  ive had a little problem for the past month or so, and the bottom line is my PSA levels are higher than they should be, so the flight doc doesnt want to take any chances and is sending me to Germany for some more tests to determine why they are high.  they went ahead and took me off the flight schedule so i could leave asap.  but as yall know that have been gettin my emails for awhile, it may take me a week or so to get to germany from here and then that long to get back, so itll be an ordeal just getting there and back.  i may not have much time to let yall know when i leave, if we get a chinook mission to bagram they may tell me at the last minute to pack my trash and get on, and it could be the middle of the night, or they m,ay stick me on a C130 that comes in, who knows but we;ll see.  from here i will go to Bagram, then from there i;ll go back to Krygyzstan proly, and from there eventually Germany.  that would be the planned route anyway, who knows how i will actually get there.  the military doesnt get paid on efficiency, and there aint no first class tickets... lol
anyway, just wnated to let yall know, so if you dont hear from me for awhile you dont think i crashed or something.  Sheri will give you updates im sure, and im taking my computer with me since im going to a "civilized" place i should be able to send out emails... hopefully
yall dont worry, im a tough old bird, i;ll be fine.  im sure its nothing and tests will turn out fine and i;ll be right back to Afghanistan to wrap this deployment up and come on home with the rest of the guys...  but to be honest as we were coming in from our last mission this morning, and the sun was just breakin over the mountains and PANAMA was whaling in my ears, and all the rest of ther crew was singin in their worst off-key voices, i got a rush of reality and couldnt help thinking "this could be my last flight", and the tears rolled on down these cheeks...  i remember telling Phillip when he was playing baseball "you better enjoy it, cause one day you'll play your last game... and youre gonna miss it".  i guess this old Crew Chief should take his own advice. there has to come a day when i'll take that last flight, and whenever that day comes...i know this old country boy is gonna miss it...  God willing i'll have a few more flights before i hang up my flight gear for the last time...
im sure everything will be fine, im sure its just something they can correct with some good german medicine and i;ll be back in a few weeks.   yall take care...  will email when i can, as i said not sure when i will actually get outta here, if i get an idea, i'll keep yall posted...  maybe i can get out and drink a german beer, im not much of a beer man, but got to tell ya, right now an ice cold german beer and some shnitzel (whatever that is) might be just the ticket...  lol
love to all,
RC
Proverbs 27:17
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mon Nite
 
945 pm salerno time, 1215 pm bama time
63 and a wake up till july 1st
hey all,
well still in Salerno, just drinkin coffee and gettin some prelimanary tests done here.  who knows when i'll get outta here,  will be going to Army Regional Medical  Center in Landstuhl, Germany, its in a little town of about 9000 people on the western side of germany, its kinda near Ramstein Air base which most of you have proly heard of.  i looked at pictures of the place on the internet and it looks awesome.  im excited about going there, just wish the circumstances would be different of course.  Sheri is checking with the Red Cross today to see if she can come and meet me there, i dont know if that will work or not, but its worth a try.
well... here we all worried about bullets and RPG;s and dang it if this PSA thing was the thing that rose up and bit me in the butt...  we have a big sign in the CP that says "So yo mama worries bout bullets?     ...Sharks 4, Coconuts 14".   what it means is if you are on the coast, everybody worries about being attacked by a shark, but statistically you are more likely to be hurt by a falling coconut than being attacked by a shark.   and that has held true for us so far, we've had 4 wounded, but 14 hurt by other "accidents" here on the base that didnt remotely involve the enemy.  go figure!!!
ive got over 70 pics on the Facebook album now, so if you havent been on there awhile you might want to check it out.  as you will notice, after awhile all the pics start lookin alike,,,  yeah, yeah, another Chinook, and yeah, yeah, more sand and mountains... and yeah yeah RC eatin another stale sandwich... lol      thats kinda the way i feel everyday here in our briefings after 7 months in country, yeah yeah threats high, yeah yeah target's HVT, and we;re passin each other notes about how good the colonels butt looks today... lol      just give us the freakin grids, load em up and lets crank already....   lol   we try our best to come up wtih stuff to keep us going especially on nights, otherwise you do the same things over and over and over and you lose your concentration.  i think i told you on thurdays, we  have  "yo mama thursday"... so every call from crank to shutdown has to be yo mama related.  it gets pretty wild, but it passes the time.  then other days we do a variety of things... like "thats what she said" Mondays, or "man love" Tuesdays. 99% of the responses i cant repeat here, but you have to keep in mind most of these guys are in their 20's so you can imagine...  but its unbelievable to me how quick witted these guys are.  i dont think i have ever belly laughed so much in all my life... just comedians i tell you, im surrounded by comedians... its somethin all the time.  the other day somebody had ordered a HUGE water balloon slingshot that would sling water balloons about 200 yards, so after we came in we had "Operation Wet T-shirt Apache"  and we slingshotted water balloons onto the Apache hanger until the Captain came out and laughed uncontrollably and told us to get a life...  (I;ll put a pic on facebook of one of the launches).   then one day we were doing ealry morning Air Assaults from another little Firebase that rumour had it that had good cinnamon rolls, so each time we touched down to pick up more troops, the crew chief would run to the chow hall, aboout 50 yards, get as many cinnamon rolls as they had ready, jump back on the bird by the time the troops had boarded and we;d sky out, and pass out the cinnamon rolls to the troops we were carryin (they thought we were crazy, but they all had smiles on their faces and ate that cinnamon roll boy).  you should have seen the look on the chow hall guys faces the first time i ran in in full flight gear and said "bag up all the cinnamon rolls youve got NOW!!!  the other bird won dern it, they made one more haul than we did, so we had to do the daily on theri bird for em when we got back to SAL.  i definitely got my PT for that day!!!  i think we did 7 turns into that place...  lol
aw man, im gonna miss this stupid crap...   
well guess i'lll quit ramblin and go to the Green Bean and get a coffee and read one of my Bassmaster magazines stacked up here that i havent touched in 7 months, and dream bout fishin...
love yall,
RC
Proverbs 27:17
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mon nite
 
1130pm salerno time, 2pm bama time
have to share this with yall, i cant wait any longer.  was tryin to wait till i talked to Katie via email but havent been able to reach her yet.
as yall know my daughter Katie has been attending college and doing really well.  well she has been thinking of going into the military for the past month or so....  and after much thought, she joined the Marines last Saturday.   i couldnt be more proud of her and her decision.  and to make me even prouder, she has decided to be a UH-1 Huey helicopter Crew Chief...
she will be going to boot camp at Parris Island, which is the same place i went years ago, for 3 months, then upon graduation and receiving the Eagle, Globe and Anchor she will be going to NAS Pensacola for initial helicopter systems training, then on to Camp Pendleton, California for additional training, then she will get her first permanent duty assignment, and of course we dont know where that will be...
I want to publicly take this opportunity to thank Katie in advance for her service to our country, and wish her Gods speed in her travels.  I know she will make a great Crew Chief, and the Marines are getting a great girl in their ranks.  Just so yall know it is extremely rare that you see female Crew Chiefs, and of course the Marines are such a small force to begin with, they dont just take anybody, it takes a special breed to be a Marine, an ultimate team player, and one who has the commitment and the courage to make a difference in this world.  Katie will be the elite, of the elite of the elite, and i admire her for stepping up at a time when most shy away.   As Ronald Reagan said, "Most people go through life wondering if they made a difference, the Marines dont have that problem".   and a quote by Army General Johnson, "I can never again see a UNITED STATES MARINE without experiencing a feeling of reverence.", i think that sums it up!!
Welcome Aboard Katie, and Semper Fidelis!!!!!!!!!!   IMPROVISE, ADAPT, AND OVERCOME
i love you all the way up to the sky!
Your Dad
 
RC
Proverbs 27:17

There's plenty boaters can do to protect themselves and others this season.

With Memorial Day Weekend approaching and National Safe Boating Week (May 16-22) already upon us, it's time to start thinking about getting your boats and personal water craft out of dry docks. As temperatures rise, more people begin flocking to the water to get a head start on summer fun. But as boats and watercraft of all shapes, sizes and speeds take to waterways around the country, the increased boating traffic can be especially hazardous for those not keeping safety in mind.

With the start of this year's boating season, there are plenty of simple things boaters can do to protect themselves, their passengers and their property. From following basic safety measures to re-evaluating their insurance coverage, boaters can enjoy a memorable and fun season while making it safe for everyone.

Boating safety starts with one of the easiest measures - simply wearing a life jacket, a practice Allstate has endorsed for years. In fact, earlier this year, the company was selected as a National Water Safety Congress Regional Award winner for Allstate Safety Weekends and life jacket giveaways at boating events.

Although the law requires boaters to carry Coast Guard approved life jackets on board their vessels, 90 percent of all boaters who drowned in 2006 were not wearing life jackets.

Allstate recommends all captains take the Allstate Safe Boaters Pledge this year. In addition to making the wearing of life jackets a rule, the pledge - approved by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Safe Boating Council - recommends the following steps:

• Take a boating education course
• Don't mix drinking and boating
• Know the weather and water conditions
• File a boat plan, and give the information to a friend or relative who can call for help if your don't return as scheduled
• Observe the nautical rules-of-the-road, including speed limits
• Get a courtesy vessel safety check
• Report emergencies via channel 16 on a marine VHF-FM radio
• Don't discharge oil, trash or sewage in to the water
• Properly insure your boat and make sure it has sufficient coverage

For more information on boating safety, or boating other safety topics, give Shannon Harvey Allstate a call at 864-268-9580.

Along with flowers and warmer weather, spring can bring something that's not so pleasant-the threat of severe weather.

Severe weather devastated Mississippi a few weeks ago and a lot of people were hit hard. I wanted to make sure that you and your family were aware of some important preventative tips to keep in mind if severe storms come your way this season.

• It's best to always keep a battery-powered radio in your home so that you can tune to radio stations if you lose electricity. Don't forget to check or change the batteries every so often.
• Keep a flashlight in an easily accessible spot on every floor of your home. Check the batteries monthly, and replace them as needed.
• Keep a supply of candles on hand if the power goes out.
• As a safety precaution before leaving the house on vacation, unplug all electrical appliances except for lights connected to automatic timers.
• If you live in a storm-prone area, nail down roof shingles or use adequate adhesive to keep them from blowing off in a violent wind. For roofs with shingles that are not the seal-down type, applying a little dab of roofing cement under each tab will do the trick.
• A lightning-protection system should offer an easy, direct path for the bolt to follow into the ground and thus prevent injury or damage. Grounding rods (at least two for a house) should be placed at opposite corners of the house.
• Don't go out during a hurricane unless you have to. If there's the possibility of flooding, get to higher ground.
• When a major storm is on its way, close shutters, board windows, or tape the inside of larger panes with an "X" along the full length of their diagonals. Even a light material like masking tape may give the glass enough extra strength it needs to resist cracking.

For some more guidelines and general information about severe storms, The United States Department of Labor has some helpful hints and guides on how to protect yourself and your household.  

On top of the safety of the household, the safety of your house and your household goods are important too. In case anything in your house is damaged, it's important to make sure that you've taken steps to help keep those items safe.

The best thing you can do is keep an inventory of your most important items. There are several ways you can keep an inventory of your household goods, including things like pictures, videos, receipts, and serial numbers.

To ensure that your records aren't lost or damaged, it'd be best to keep them in a safe place, like a safe, a safety deposit box, or something that could easily withstand a storm or a fire. Another good idea would be to upload your information online.

If you would like a Home Inventory Kit, which has all the tools you need to keep a record of everything you own, call our office at Phone (864) 268-9580 or send me an email.

The weather experts are saying it should be nice with a high of 79-degrees next Monday...so wouldn't you like to play golf that day? Especially if it's for a great cause?

Well you're in luck as I'm helping to organize the May 17th Golf Tournament to benefit Pendleton Place Children's Shelter here in Greenville. If you're interested in playing (or know of anyone that is) please call Wanda at 864-268-9645. It's a 9am shotgun start at Verdae Greens Golf Club and the entry fee for a foursome is $350. Each participating golfer will also have a chance to putt for $10,000!

Can't find time to play, but you'd like to support the cause? Thanks to the folks at Dunlop Sports Group here in Greenville we're raffling a Dunlop Loco Stand Golf Bag ($79.99 value) for every 25 Raffle Tickets we sell...and each bag includes a Dunlop Loco T Driver ($99.99 value), Dunlop Loco F Wedge ($49.99), Dunlop Loco Putter ($59.99 value), Loco Golf Towel ($14.99 value) and 15-pack of Dunlop Loco Distance golf balls ($14.99 value). You can purchase a Raffle Ticket for just $20. 

WOW! A chance to win $319.94 worth of new golfing equipment for just a $20 ticket (with all proceeds benefitting Pendleton Place Children's Shelter)...and you have a 1-in-25 chance of being a winner.

Please let us know if you'd like to play in the event, sponsor a hole, or buy a raffle ticket. I really can't say enough about how much good the Pendleton Place Children's Shelter does for the children in their care and Greenville area in general. A small donation can go a long way.

Thanks for your consideration and happy selling!

One of the most aggravating things about air travel is delays and cancellations.  It wasn't too long ago that I was upset because my flight was delayed a few hours due to a bum airplane wheel.... but, could you imagine being stuck in an airport for nearly a week?? 

That's exactly what happened to flyers in some parts of Europe whose flights were canceled due to the volcanic ash clouds forming to the east of Ireland.  Around 95,000 flights were canceled last week due to the ash clouds which was a loss of close to $184 million for the European airports.  This has affected nearly 7 million passengers so far.

Hopefully none of you will have to worry about being stuck at the airport for a week but if you have a long lay over or your flight is delayed, here are 10 tips for making time fly by...

1.       Relax, step-back, take a deep breath and think about things.  Just be positive!

2.       Be a people watcher.  This can actually eat up a lot of time and be fun!  Try to decide what they are thinking and see how different groups of people interact.

3.       If you have your computer with you... get online.  Some airports have free Wi-Fi access and this is a great chance for you to check your email, facebook, etc.

4.       Send someone a postcard.  Almost every airport has a bookstore or kiosk with postcards.  Surprise your family or friends with a postcard from where you are!

5.       Check out some of the airport museum displays.  Just take time to explore the airport that you're at... many have interesting artifacts or art work from different parts of the world.

6.       Play a game.   This can be a game on your cell phone, a crossword puzzle, Sudoku, etc.

7.       Here's a hard one for most people to do... talk to a stranger.  Even if this is out of your comfort zone, you'll be fascinated on the conversations you can have.

8.       Meditate.  Take time to think about life.  You might even want to make a to-do list.

9.       Grab a bite to eat at one of the airport restaurants.  If you're hungry... this is a great way to kill time.  If you not, just grab something small or a drink.

10.   Check out all the stores and kiosks.  There are places that have books, magazines, and newspapers.  Read or buy souvenirs for your family or friends.

I hope these tips will help you or your family in the future if you ever have to wait on transportation.  Remember, if you're sitting at the airport and start thinking about your insurance... give us a call! =)

I came across this Better Business Bureau Alert of the latest scam regarding the U.S. Census work being done now, and wanted you to be aware of this and not fall victim to it.  The information below will be great advice for you to pass along to your customers, prospects, friends, and family.

Wishing you all the best...

For years, your Better Business Bureau has educated consumers about not giving out personal information over the telephone or to anyone who shows up at their front door.  With the U.S. Census process beginning, the BBB advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft.

Census Forms were mailed earlier this year, and if your household returned the form prior to April 1st, you should be done with the Census process and not require a visit from a Census Worker.  However, if the form was not returned by mail, expect a visit in person or by telephone from one of the 140,000 U.S. Census workers who are working hard to count every person in the United States.  Census workers are gathering information about every person living at each address and the collected data includes the name, age, gender, race and other relevant data.

The Census data will be used to allocate more than $300 billion in federal funds every year, as well as determine a State's number of Congressional representatives. Households are actually required by law to respond to the Census Bureau's request for information. 

During the U.S. Census, households will be contacted by mail, telephone or visited by a U.S. Census worker who will inquire about the number of people living in the house. Unfortunately, people may also be contacted by scammers who impersonate Census workers to get access to banking and financial information.  In fact, reports have already been coming in to the BBB concerning visitors who went door-to-door and asked for information such as social security numbers, which would never be asked by a Census Worker. Others report receiving a form in the mail that looked just like a Census form, but also asked for social security numbers. 

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

• If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions.  However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.
• Last year Census workers knocked on doors solely to verify address information. Now they will be asking to verify data on each member of the household, unless your census form was already completed and mailed in. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. Census workers will not ask for banking and financial information nor will they solicit donations.
• Census workers may contact you by telephone, however, they will not contact you by e-mail, so be on the lookout for e-mail scams impersonating the Census. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

How to report scams and bogus Census web sites

If you believe you have been contacted as part of bogus or fraudulent activity falsely representing the Census Bureau:

In Person Scam

• Check for a valid Census ID badge
• Call your regional office to verify you are in a survey 1-888-586-9439

Email Scams

• If you think it is a bogus email, do not reply or click on any links within the email.
• Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain code that could infect your computer
• Forward the email or web site URL to the Census Bureau at ITSO.Fraud.Reporting@census.gov.
• After you forward the email to us, delete the message. You will not receive a confirmation email after forwarding the information to us. However, the Census Bureau will investigate the information and notify you of its findings.

Mail Scams

• Contact the United States Postal Inspection Service through your local post office.

For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org

Wishing you a Happy Easter!

The Easter Lily (Latin name Lilium longiflorum) has become the traditional Easter flower. With all the different flowers available in the spring garden, this beautiful, white flower has come to symbolize the spiritual values of Easter: purity, life and renewal.

Native to Japan, Easter Lilies were imported to the United States until 1941, when World War II prompted Americans to start growing their own bulbs. Today, most of the 15 million Easter Lily bulbs grown in America are produced by just ten farms along the California-Oregon border. Easter Lilies are the fourth largest selling potted plant in America (behind the popular Christmas-time poinsettias, mums and azaleas).

According to Biblical scholars, the Easter Lily was found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas is said to have betrayed Jesus. Legend tells that white lilies miraculously sprung up from the ground where drops of Jesus' sweat and tears fell during his last hours. Today, many churches use large bouquets of lilies to adorn their altars and crosses during the Easter season.

To keep your Easter Lilies fresh and fragrant for as long as possible, purchase potted plants with flowers at various stages of opening and with abundant, dark green foliage. As the flowers open and mature, pinch off the yellow anthers before the pollen sheds. The yellow pollen will stain the other white flowers. Once a mature flower has started to wither, you may cut it off at the base to better showcase the new buds.

Easter lilies thrive in moderately cool temperatures (no higher than 65-degrees Fahrenheit) and enjoy bright, but indirect natural sunlight. Keep soil moist and well-drained. Avoid over-watering. Remove any decorative wrappings or coverings, which can trap standing water in the pot.   You can expect your potted Easter Lily to bloom for 1-3 weeks around the Easter holiday. Despite its name, the natural bloom for the Easter Lily is actually during the summer. Under controlled greenhouse conditions, the lily is brought to an early bloom in time for Easter. If you want to continue to enjoy your lily for years to come, try planting the bulb and remaining greenery in your garden after the flowering is finished. Subsequent blooms will occur naturally in the summer.

Happy Easter & enjoy the beautiful weekend!
Shannon Harvey


P.S. - I'm organizing the annual golf tournament to benefit Pendleton Place Children's Shelter on May 17th at Verdae Greens Colf Club...so if you know of anyone that may be interested in playing or sponsoring this wonderful organization's event please ask them to visit my website for more details.

Does Identity Theft concern you?  Have you done your taxes?  Are you ready to discard all that unnecessary paperwork and protect your personal information at the same time? 

Well, here's your chance!  A FREE paper shredding event will be held at the office of Shannon Harvey Allstate Insurance Agency on Friday, April 23, 2010 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.   This event is being held in conjunction with Shannon Harvey Allstate and Shred-A-Way and is open to all individuals who want to shred their personal or business information.

Representatives from Allstate will answer questions and teach participants to anticipate and protect themselves from potential identity theft, as well as offer an opportunity to safely destroy unwanted documents which may include personal identification, social security numbers, bank or credit card information, etc.,  while Shred-A-Way personnel will destroy papers and documents. 

Location:  101 Verdae Blvd., Suite 140, Greenville, SC  29607.  For more information, please email Shannon at shannonharvey@allstate.com or call Shannon's office at 864-268-9580.