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Local Couple Selling Greeting Stones As Alternative To Cards After retiring from their professions in New Jersey and moving to South Florida in 2005, Marty and Joan Karasick decided that they wanted a new challenge. They decided to start both a new business and a new industry. Their business is called Greeting Stones. “What do you do with most of the greeting cards you receive? You toss them, right?” Joan said. “That is what most people do with them. So the average person spends about $5 on a greeting card, which is quickly read and tossed shortly thereafter. To do this, we chop down trees to manufacture the cards. Even ecards are read and quickly deleted. We decided that there is a better alternative. Suppose that the cost of Greeting Stones was low enough to compete with greeting cards.” Greeting Stones are premium good luck river stones that are highly polished and engraved. People can write a short sentiment on them using a fine-tip permanent marker. “What would you do with it?” Joan asked. “Probably, you would not toss it. Probably, you would find a great place to display it and always remember who gave it to you.”
Marty and Joan Karasick of GreetingStones.com. Joan noted that the stones are sold on GreetingStones.com. “They are imported with pre-inscribed popular phrases in five different collections, ranging from business stones to celebration stones,” she said. Marty is responsible for getting the stones to the Eagle Shipping Fulfillment Center in Lake Worth. Joan has the harder task of finding
ways for people to locate the business on the Internet. “I have learned much about Internet retailing in the six months we have been doing this,” Joan said. “It is easy to sell on eBay, but creating our own web site took lots of time, and we made mistakes until we worked out the bugs.” For more information, visit www. greetingstones.com.
January 27 - February 2, 2012 Page 33
Planning Congress Elects New Board The Palm Beach County Planning Congress has announced the election of its 2012 board of officers. The new officers are as follows: President Bill Nemser, Vice President Aimee Craig Carlson, Recording Secretary Jennifer M. Vail, Membership Secretary Erin Fitzhugh and Treasurer Wes Blackman. At-large officers are Pete Banting, Erin L. Deady, Tom Mullin, Barbara A. Powell and Rob Rennebaum. Also new to this year’s non-voting board are Professional Development Officer Susan Coughanour and Publicity Chair Caroline Villanueva. The Planning Congress, with nearly 40 years in existence, is a multi-disciplinary organization composed of public, private and nonprofit sector professionals actively involved and interested in the growth and development of the Palm Beach County and region. “We are excited to welcome Bill Nemser as our president as we continue educating our peers and colleagues on growth and development in Palm Beach County and the region,” Immediate Past President Seth Behn said. The Planning Congress was
among the county’s professional societies that recently co-hosted the legislative breakfast in December. Other key events are its annual seminars, “Ethics” and “Planning Challenges of the 21st Century.” These events are aligned with its goals and objectives to provide a public forum, develop policy positions and encourage sustainable and responsible growth management practices. The Planning Congress strives to educate professionals and interested parties in the social, physical and economic development environment within Palm Beach County, the region and the state. It is non-partisan. Although first established as a forum among certified land planners, the Palm Beach County Planning Congress has diversified its membership to include legal, engineering and landscape architecture experts. The Planning Congress is actively seeking new members, noting that annual dues cost $40, which easily pays for itself by attending only a handful of events. For additional information, visit the Palm Beach County Planning Congress web site at www.pbcplanningcongress.org.