Home Depot stores to offer'how-to' clinics

Free, weekly in-store clinics to answer questions and give do-ityourselfers handson erperience with home-improvement materials will be oflered each Saturdav and Sunday, Feb. 9 to 24.

The weekly clinies are held at all area Home Depot stores located at 13400 Market Streel 7110 Bellerive Drive; ll00 Lumpkin Road; 8415 FM 1960 West; 123:16 Gulf Freeway; and 7703 Stuebner

Airline Road.

Sessions are led by Home DePot penonnel, professionally trdined home.repair specialists.

For more information, contact any Home Depot store.

I{EWSPAPER clippings similar to this can have the name of your store if you use the ideas presented in this article of labor and materials for the renovation of a local youth center.

Any home center or lumber yard can develop a similar collection of clippings by contacting editors and sending press releases to newspapers. Hiring, promotions, accomplishments of employees, anniversaries, expansions, remodeling, new equipment and how-to clinics are all newsworthy.

Donating materials to worthy causes or sponsoring youth teams can gain recognition and publicity for a store, but there are ways to gain exposure without spending money. Inviting Girl Scouts to sell cookies or calendars at the store or having a special shopping day with refreshments for senior citizens can also merit a story and a photographer. Contacting an editor or passing the word to the person who handles your newspaper advertising should put you on a list of people willing to provide reporters with information. As your name and store appear in articles, you will be paving the way to participation on local radio or tv talk shows on home improvement or speaking to a high school shop class, a garden club or similar group. Editors are busy people. They like material to be concise and accurate.

All news items must be identified with the name, address and telephone number of the sender. The who, what, when, where, why and how formula is best for the story. If you find it difficult to write a news story, simply answer those questions. Above all, be accurate in facts, names and spelling. Ask for a photo if the event is something people will be interested in seeing or volunteer to send photos.

Organization and brevity are essential when making a personal call or telephone contact. Review what you are going to say or ask, get to the point immediately.