Get to Know…Jackie Hooper!

 

What’s your position at Ecolink? Marketing Coordinator

How long have you worked here? I started last May, so just shy of 1 year!

How long have you been doing what you’re doing (before Ecolink!)? Before Ecolink I was at Georgia College & State University (yes, it’s a mouthful—I bet you can’t say it 5 times fast!) where I was studying marketing and management and graduated in May with my BBA!

How did you get involved in this industry? I found Ecolink at the AMA Atlanta Collegiate Conference and was chosen to be one of the social media marketing interns! And I guess you could say the rest is history.

You just accepted an award on behalf of Ecolink. Tell us about it! We just won an AMY Award in the SEO (search engine optimization) category in March! It was an amazing experience and even more rewarding to have been a part of what got us the award in the first place!

Has Georgia always been home for you? Basically! I’ve lived here for over a decade although I’ve been to Florida enough visiting family that I might as well call it a second residence.

When you aren’t at work, what are you doing? What every normal, rational girl does—shop. Kidding (not really). I’m usually at the park with my dog, trying a new restaurant with my friends, or going to see a movie that has just been released (I’m a HUGE movie person).

What would be the first thing you’d do (or buy) if you won the lottery? Pay off my student loans! (Kidding…but not really)

Are you a cat person or a dog person? Dog person, most definitely. Cat people are a completely different breed of humans.

Do you have any pets? Tell us about them! I have a Cocker Spaniel-Poodle mix (or Cockapoo) who is pretty much the cutest thing on Earth. No joke. He’s basically my first child.

What’s your favorite time of year? Fall! October is my favorite month for a few reasons—there’s always a lot of fun stuff going on (festivals, College football, etc) and the weather is perfect!

Favorite iPhone/Driod app? I’m not sure I can limit it to just one app…but I guess I’d have to say Pinterest (my virtual closet at my finger tips, duh!) or Instagram (it makes anyone, including me, look like an awesome photographer).

What super hero power would you want to have and why? Teleportation, hands down. Sit in Atlanta traffic ONCE and you’ll wish it was your super power too.

What TV shows do you watch religiously? Glee (I’m a newly pronounced “Gleek”), New Girl, Vampire Diaries, and How I Met Your Mother just to name a few!

What was your first car? What happened to it? A 2002 Honda Accord coupe…and I totaled it when I was a freshman in college. Oops.

If you could travel in a time machine, would you go to the past or the future? The future!

Best piece of advice you were ever given? Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue.

Favorite holiday? Christmas (so cliché, I know) but there’s something about making a fire, decorating the tree and the house, and smelling the delicious pies/cookies that are baking (or in my case, just lighting a candle that smells like said pies/cookies) that make you feel so cozy!

College football or pro? College, for sure. Even though I didn’t go to UGA, if you aren’t rooting for them on game day, we’re going to have a problem–I bleed black  and red. GO DAWGS!

Favorite food? I love spicy food—so anything from Mexican to Thai is right up my alley.

What really gives you the creeps? Little kids in horror movies, especially when they do that head tilt to the side and have their hair all in their faces. Ah, I have goose bumps already.

Playlist of your current top 5 favorite songs?

  1.  Anything from the movie Pitch Perfect
  2.  Muse—”Madness”
  3. Fall Out Boy—”Light Em Up”
  4. JT—”Mirrors”
  5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis—”Can’t Hold Us”

Most importantly: what’s your favorite part of your job? I’m a problem solver, so I love helping customers find a solution for their problems. Also I love all aspects of marketing so I’m incredibly thankful to be able to dabble in all of them with my job!

AQMD: Using Low VOC Products to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution

The Air Quality Management District (AQMD) defines volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as the emission of harmful and destructive gases emanating from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, most of which could have short-term, or even more serious long-term adverse health effects. VOC’s are a direct effect to the spike in air pollution, and they are even more harmful indoors. Concentrations of most VOCs are consistently higher indoors—sometimes up to ten times higher than the concentrated count outdoors.

The AQMD warns that several organic chemicals that cause harmful pollutants are widely used in the ingredients of household products. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do numerous cleaning, disinfecting, and degreasing products. Most fuels consist of organic chemicals. All of the previously mentioned cleaning solvents and products release harmful organic compounds while you are using them, meaning you are likely oblivious to the fact that you are potentially hurting yourself by breathing in the chemicals and getting them on your skin.

The Environmental Protections Agency’s Office of Research and Development’s “Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) Study” have discovered air pollutant levels of more than a dozen common organic pollutants to be two to five times greater inside a home than outside, regardless of the location of the area, or if it was in a rural, suburban, or urban locale. TEAM studies indicate that while people are using solvents and cleaning products containing organic chemicals, they are exposing themselves and anyone around them to inordinately high pollutant levels. In addition, elevated concentrations of these harmful chemicals will sustain in the air at least a day—often longer—after cleaning has been completed.

This is why the AQMD stresses individuals and companies that use degreasers, solvents, or any type of cleaning product to make sure low VOC products are being used, whether it is outdoors or indoors. Low VOC products are ecofriendly, and significantly reduce the harmful emission of chemicals in gas or liquid form that hurt and endanger every person, as well as our beloved planet. The AQMD insists that, if you do frequently use harmful solvents and cleaning products indoors, that you immediately consider a switch to low VOC products to significantly reduce the threat of danger to yourself and to the environment.

Ecolink offers a variety of air friendly cleaning products.  Browse our products here.

Ecolink Presented the Atlanta Marketer of the Year “Amy” Award for 2012 SEO Marketing

Amy AwardEcolink is proud to announce the company’s winning of the prestigious “AMY” Award within their selected category for SEO Marketing. The AMY Awards, presented by AMA Atlanta, is a creative award presented to those companies that have successfully constructed innovative strategies with consistently outstanding results. The award is an annual recognition of both companies and individuals who have achieved incredible results within the Atlanta marketing scene. The winners are awarded the symbolic Red Pencil—a symbol for the spirit of excellence, as well as exuding the refinement, reduction, and resolve needed throughout the creative process. The Red Pencil is a reminder of the wonderful ideas each company produced to achieve results.

Because there are so many unbelievable and accomplished marketing firms throughout the greater Atlanta area, Ecolink is appreciative of such a prestigious bestowment, and we are committed to continuing our endeavors that brought us such esteemed recognition. Each member of the Ecolink team played an integral role in making our firm one of the best companies in Atlanta that use SEO Marketing as a tool to produce significant results. We invest in our marketing, and we believe in our concepts and production, coupled with a dedicated and professional team that puts all of these terrific elements in motion.

Ecolink would like to thank AMA Atlanta for this incredible recognition, as there were many other companies nominated who are quite successful with their craft. We would also like to thank the judging panel. Most importantly, Ecolink thanks its wonderful and talented team—the whole is only as strong as the sum of its parts. Luckily, Ecolink has an awesome foundation that allows us to continue to build on our current success.

Industrial Degreasers – Getting Eco-Friendly Cleaning Solutions

Several common cleaning products that can be found in homes and are purchased by unsuspecting people contain hazardous chemicals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that emit smog-forming chemicals and can be harmful to anyone who comes in contact with the noxious gas. All-purpose cleaners and industrial degreasers, as well as specialty products can pollute indoor air quality and might cause respiratory illness, along with eye and skin irritation to those who are around it frequently, particularly janitorial and other cleaning staffs. Substituting traditional, yet harmful cleaning products for ecofriendly cleaning solutions and safer industrial degreasers improves air quality and protects the health and safety of individuals exposed to the chemicals they emit, as well as the environment.

Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from cleaning products occur when propellant and organic solvents evaporate. Released chemicals remain in the air for an entire day, and often times longer. For example, in the greater Chicago area, twenty tons of VOCs are released into the air from the use of cleaning products each day. It is estimated that for every one hundred janitors who switch to more environmentally friendly (green) cleaning products, VOC emissions will drop by one ton per year. Studies have also shown that the use of “green” cleaning products reduces the incidents of health problems among janitorial staffs. It has also been proven that green alternative cleaning solutions are less expensive.

Who should get ecofriendly cleaning solutions and safer industrial degreasers? Any person who uses cleaning products at home or work (industrial degreasers) should replace hazardous, VOC emitting degreasers and cleaning products with green alternatives and safer products, such as ecofriendly cleaning solutions. In addition, those who truly care about making a difference with safer degreasers and solvents should join Clean Air Counts—a Chicago region clean air initiative.

The benefits of using low VOC cleaning products include significantly lower emissions of smog-forming chemicals into the air from VOCs, much improved health safety for individuals using these industrial degreasers and solvent products. To those who might still be on the fence regarding these green alternatives or are concerned that these ecofriendly cleaning solutions are more expensive, explain that Low VOC cleaning products have been proven to cost less. Though saving money is quite important, the main reason for switching to ecofriendly cleaning solutions should be to protect people and the environment.

Call 800 886-8240 or email info@ecolink.com to discuss your current use of industrial degreasers or cleaning solvents. With over 200 products to choose from, including several new formulations not yet listed on the website, we feel certain we can expand upon the savings and safety improvements enjoyed for nearly 20 years. Chemist owned and operated, we offer guaranteed FREE samples, including FREE freight, to evaluate for a RISK-FREE evaluation.

 

Air Quality Management District – Low VOC Cleaners Keeping the Air Clean

The purpose of the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is to act as the air pollution control agency for a given location, for example the South Coast Air Quality Management District oversees all of Orange County, including the urban areas of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Their job entails the collection of data on current air quality, provide forecasts to their designated areas and warning areas of hazardous air quality, as well as analyze the trends that spike the levels of pollutants.

The duty of the AQMD is to make sure that, if levels of air quality are in the danger zone, that preventive or restoring measures are taken to reduce the rise in negative air quality. A recommendation the Air Quality Management District might make is to suggest to companies the use of low volatile organic compounds (VOC) cleaners to help keep the air clean. Most people do not realize that numerous common cleaning products popular on the market actually contain hazardous chemicals and VOCs, which emit harmful chemicals that induce the forming of smog and are harmful to its oblivious users.

Substituting cleaning products that pollute the air and harm those around it with low VOC cleaners is an excellent way to improve air quality, which in turn protects and preserves our planet, along with individuals exposed to the chemicals emitted. VOC emissions from supposed safe cleaning products occur when the propellant and organic solvents evaporate. The just released harmful chemicals remain in the air all day—often longer than an entire day.

The key for the Air Quality Management District is to get people to understand how important it is for their company to switch to low VOC cleaners. Even though the health benefit to individuals and to our planet should be more than enough reason to make the change. It is reported that low VOC cleaners are actually more cost effective than traditional cleaners. A recent report estimated that for every one hundred janitors who decide to switch to low VOC cleaners, dangerous emissions could potentially drop by one ton each year. Studies have also shown that the use of low VOC products reduces the incidents of health problems among janitorial staffs.

Ecolink values the health and safety of our earth and for every individual. This is why we strive to make all of our degreasers and cleaning products as ecofriendly as possible. We support and abide by the rules and regulations of the Air Quality Management district. Browse our list of products here.