Marathon president Jim Barahal isn't losing what little Links of London Sale he's getting this week over it.A little background first. Way before the Oregon Ducks' wardrobe, Tiger's clubs and even Air Jordans, Nike was all about running shoes. The ugly but utilitarian Waffle Trainer was the Model T of the running boom.So, there's a certain element of sentimentality when a big running event and Nike part ways.And, the sponsorship money was "not insubstantial," Barahal says. "It was into six figures, for sure."Barahal says it's just a symptom of the economy, the relationship remains good and it's possible Nike could return some year. He's not completely shrugging off the loss, but it doesn't signal the end of the world, or even the marathon as we know it.That's because the big dog remains in place. Japan Airlines -- despite bankruptcy -- is still the major sponsor. More than 60 percent of the Honolulu Marathon entrants come from Japan, and JAL is who generally gets them here.The number of total runners is down, but just a little."Links of London Bracelets a thousand less than last year," Barahal says. "Within 5 percent (of last year's 23,469 entries). So not that bad, considering the economy. And when the people get here, from an economic impact standpoint, it's good. Spending is up."Especially by the Japanese. As it did last year, the strength of the yen compared with the dollar means more purchasing power here, which translates into happier holidays for Hawaii businesses.THERE ALSO IS a plus for the local economy due to Nike's exit. As helpful as the swoosh can be with money, gear, celebrity appearances (I'll miss childhood hero Alberto Salazar in particular) and the general power of a ubiquitous brand, it can also suck the air out of a room -- even one as big as the hall in the Hawaii Convention Center that hosts the marathon expo.With its sponsorship, Nike held merchandising rights that in many cases prevented other companies from getting involved. This year's expo, which starts today, features wares from all kinds of brands previously excluded, local and national.Watumull's has returned to do the shirts this year, and has become "the face of the expo," marathon Links of London I Charm Pat Bigold says.Says Barahal: "Nike did a great job, but it's kind of neat to have a local vendor."ONE LESS big-name sponsor means one less powerful entity to please. Sure, Nike is a loss, but it's a mixed bag, sort of like the lack of state money to support the event, via the Hawaii Tourism Authority.Money from the state might mean the state telling the marathon how to use it.The HTA supports the Pro Bowl and pro golf in Hawaii because without that funding those events might go elsewhere. It's not like the Honolulu Marathon can threaten to pull up stakes to become the Orlando Marathon.The marathon has been successful and self-sufficient all these years because it did what the University of Hawaii athletic department is trying to do: It found a revenue stream in Japan.Barahal says "losing Links of London J Charm in an uncertain economy" got him a little nervous when it happened in February, especially since it caused a raise in the entry fee.But revenue is about the same as last year, and the elite field is strong since the non-return of two-time champion Patrick Ivuti freed up some appearance money (and there's a special surprise coming for those who follow the sport closely)."It's like any business, I suppose; things have been tough.
The crowd included 20-30 alumni, he added.The win Links of London Sale Seymour's season record to 6-4. On Saturday, the junior varsity team will travel to the South Dearborn Invitational, and on Tuesday, the JV and varsity squads have a dual meet at Brown County."We love each other as a result of his loving us first..." This biblical scripture from 1 John 4:19 is what drives members of a local church in their efforts to spread the word of Christ and assist those in need.Pam Garrett is director of the Open Hearts Thrift Store, a ministry sponsored by Liberty Baptist Church of Pinehurst where her husband Phillip serves as pastor. For some time, she says, she and several other members of the congregation had been trying to decide on an outreach program."The Lord really began to work on our hearts," said Garrett. "Then one Sunday Phillip was preaching the word from 1 John, and the Lord finally put the idea in our hearts. We got to work and on Nov. 1 we opened the doors to the Open Hearts Thrift Store."The purpose of the thrift store is to Links of London Bracelets those in need with quality items at a low cost. All the funds from the store then go back into the community to help meet other needs."We really want people to know that Open Hearts is not a fundraiser for the church," said Garrett. "This is a ministry of the church, an outreach program and none of the funds from this ministry goes back into our church."It is like a two fold service. With the economy in its current state, people can come in, purchase inexpensive items and provide for their family. That money goes out in the community and offers assistance in other ways. It is like a circle of giving."Open Hearts recently was able to make its first donation. A $500 check was presented to Deborah Smith with the Department of Family and Children services. Smith said that the donation will be used to help provide for needy families and children during Christmas."We are contributing funds to the area organizations that know where the needs are in the community, such as DFACS," said Garrett. "We know that wherever there is a true need for assistance, the Lord will lead us to that."The Open Hearts Thrift store operates three days a Links of London Horseshoe Charm: Monday from 9 a.m. until 12 noon then on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Garrett says church members are happy to accept any donations, but they ask that all donations be good usable items.Items offered at the store include clothing, household goods, knick knacks, shoes, purses, toys, books, DVD's, etc."We also have a prayer bucket at the store and are always accepting prayer requests," said Garrett. "Each morning we pray for those needs. You do not even have to write any detail, maybe just your name, because God knows the needs without them having to be spoken."Garrett says that her church is really excited about the future and has a number of goals they are working toward. They eventually hope to have a food bank, a Saturday morning Bible story with snacks, and maybe even a medical day with blood pressure and blood sugar screenings."We will go in whatever direction the Lord leads us," she says.Open Hearts Thrift Store is located at 921 E. Union St. in Vienna. For more information, contact Phillip or Pam Garrett at (229) 645-3939."Consider the Links of London hot Pink Heart Charm love that the father has shown us in allowing us to be called 'the children of God' and that is not just what we are called, but what we are." 1 John 3:1.The loss of Nike's sponsorship after 16 years should cause major distress for the Honolulu Marathon, should it not?Apparently, not.
All 14 players on the squad have had years of Links of London Sale playing the game as high school varsity lettermen.Being back on the court to play against the women is rewarding for junior Shawn Murphy."I played varsity for three years in high school, and I've been around basketball all my life," he said. "So it's just a good thing to come here and continue playing with the girls."Seeing the team's progress -- WVU is 8-0 -- has been rewarding for junior Zach Young. Practicing every day has brought back that competitive fire he was missing after high school."That was the first time I ever hadn't been on a real team and had a structure like that," Young said. "Now, being on the practice squad, it's gotten us back to having that feeling."After finishing this past season with a schoolrecord 29 wins, the Mountaineers have their eyes set on advancing far into the NCAA tournament this Links of London Bracelets."They should make another big run in the Big East and NCAA tournament, I feel," Murphy said. "And for us, it's just get out there and help them get better and work them to get a little further than they did last year.""They come out here with a lot of energy," Ali said. "They don't have to be here. For them to come out here and give us their free time to play hard every time against us, it really helps us play tough throughout the season."Seven pins, a decision and three forfeits told Seymour's story in Tuesday's wrestling match at home against Scottsburg.In the third annual battle for the size-18 bronze wrestling shoe traveling trophy, Seymour won seven matches by pin, one by decision and three by forfeit in claiming the trophy for the first time with a dominating 63-18 victory. It also was a win on Alumni Night."I'm very excited we came back and got the win," Owls coach Curt Schleibaum said. "I was a little nervous (on Monday) in practice. We were going Links of London H Charm our ninth match in seven days, so we seemed a little banged up in practice. But I feel like the boys today really rose to the occasion to get the shoe."The 112-pound division opened the match, and Seymour's Levi Hill pinned Justin Wright in 3:36. Each team received a forfeit in the next two classes, and then Scottsburg's Gage Kelly pinned Elijah Toborg in 1:33.The Owls then won the next five bouts, with Benji Loyd (135), Will Coons (145) and Clark Thompson (160) pinning their opponents and Zefe Trejo (140) and Hunter Klakamp (152) receiving forfeits.Caleb Cole then picked up points for Scottsburg after pinning Stephen Fleming, but the Owls cleaned up with Eugene Vivelo's win by decision at 189, Chance Ahlbrand's pin in 35 seconds at 215 and Adam Wolka and Michael Camp's pins at heavyweight and 103 respectively."I thought Benji looked really good tonight," Schleibaum said when asked what stood out in the match. "Coming off of a weekend where he had some tough matches, tonight he started to look like where he was at the end of the year last season. It was good to see him come out Links of London Heart Charm perform at that level again."Scottsburg is operating under a new coach, Patrick Mendez, and the Warriors have some young wrestlers. Seymour, though, had seven competing in their first year of varsity."It's just always a joy to be at home and win one in front of the home crowd," Schleibaum said.
At CVS, there were buy-two-get-one free deals on bath-Links of London Sale -body gift sets and discounts on a 7-inch LCD TV and DVD player combo.Ron and Lisa Johnson of Indianapolis came to Circle Center Mall Thursday morning just to buy boots for their 20-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn Shirar. Nearly four hours later, they sat on a bench with a pile of bags from Nine West, H&M and Forever 21."We haven't found anything that wasn't on sale," Lisa said.Retailers say shoppers mostly had stuck to a big lesson taught by the recession: using cash, not credit. Toward the end of the season, they pulled out the plastic a little more often, but that's normal. Overall, analysts considered the increased spending a sign more consumers paid down debt and had cash to spend.Besides sales, retailers were finding other ways to accommodate procrastinators.Many stores, including Best Buy Co., let shoppers order online and then pick up the merchandise at the store. Best Buy's deadline to order on its website was 3 p.m. Christmas Eve, and most stores closed at 6 p.m.Links of London Bracelets Adoniz, the store manager at Best Buy's store in Union Square in Manhattan, said that as of midday Thursday, 16 people were in line to pick up items ordered on its website.7-Eleven convenience stores, always handy in a pinch, were open all day on Christmas and were expanding their gift-worthy offerings by stocking a broader selection of wines, hand-held games and stuffed animals.Toys R Us planned to keep its doors open until 10 p.m. Friday, but was taking a different tack from the discounters by raising prices on some popular toys to take advantage of shoppers' desperation. It bumped up the prices of the Leapster Explorer hand-held learning device by $20 and the Nerf Stampede Blaster by $5, said Gerrick Johnson, a toy analyst at BMO Capital Markets."Retailers Links of London Dress Charm realizing that rather than give these toys away, they can actually make a profit on them," Johnson said.If all else failed, shoppers could fall back on gift cards. Spending on the plastic vouchers is expected to reach nearly $25 billion this holiday season, 5 percent more than last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Michelle Jose, marketing manager for White Marsh Mall in White Marsh, Md., said that more than half of the mall's gift card sales for the entire year are made in the last three days before Christmas and she expected "strong sales to finish up the holiday."Ian McCarty, 26, who lives in Atlanta and works for Emory Healthcare, found good deals at Lenox Square Mall on Thursday, but had trouble finding the right sizes. He picked up a gift card at the Gap and was on his way to Talbot's to pick another one up for his mother.Named for founder Sam Born, a Russian immigrant, the 87-year-old company manufactures all the Links of London Duck Charm except one -- the 85-pound fiberglass Peeps chick that will drop this New Year's Eve -- with a fireworks display, of course. While ringing in the new year on a balmy tropical island has its obvious advantages, you also can choose between countdowns that include a giant conch shell, a saucy pirate wench sliding down a ship's mast and a drag queen named Sushi who drops inside a giant red high heel.
"You'd pay at least $15 at Target."Both find the Links of London Sale at the 24 Mall friendly and relaxed -- casual even. Each time I visited, some shops were full of merchandise but not open. Many store owners have other jobs that demand equal time. Nearly all shopkeepers speak some English.Besides the scarves, shoppers will find a good selection of sweaters, perfumes, curtain panels, gold jewelry, shoes and rugs. When I asked for the price of an 8- by 11-foot polyester rug, I was told it was $250. I asked the saleswoman if she would take less, and she surprised me by saying the price included two smaller rugs.The traditional food court is replaced with informal, deli-type restaurants throughout, offering several pastry-type entrees and sweets. Sambusa, a tuna- or beef-wrapped pastry, and mandazi, a sweet fried pastry, are popular for only $1 each.The 24 Mall is the largest of Links of London Earrings Somali malls in Minneapolis.Not every mall has a buzz to it, but Hmong Village, which opened in October in St. Paul, already has it in spades. On a recent Saturday, young women wearing elaborate ceremonial skirts and aprons danced through the aisles as shoppers stopped to watch. It was an amazing paradox to see just as many Hmong shoppers dressed in Ecko jeans, Twins caps and leather vests.What you won't find at the mall -- a former school that now houses more than 250 vendors -- are the intricate stitch tapestries that used to be common among Hmong sellers at farmers markets. They took too long to make for too little return, said Thomas Yang of St. Paul. Shoppers searching for the intricate artwork can find murals by artist Ger Yang depicting Hmong life in mountain scenes from Links of London Y Charm.The Hmong mall seems the most Americanized. Besides a video arcade crowded with young boys, there are dollar stores, lots of jewelry and hair accessories, shoes and clothing. Shorter men can find pants with smaller inseams, and most shops offer alterations on the premises. Many health-service businesses have set up shop, including chiropractors, but many young Hmong women frequent the eyelash extension shops.Kristi Jackson of St. Paul shopped recently at Hmong Village for a combo not found at Southdale -- jewelry and produce."The jewelry is unique," she said, "but the quality of the produce is phenomenal, and the prices are reasonable."Farmers market shoppers will appreciate the large produce section open year-round with abundant supplies of Asian eggplant, bok choy, spices Links of London Z Charm persimmon, as well as more traditional peppers, mangoes and carrots.Just as American teenagers congregate at the mall with their friends, Lumina Xiong of North St. Paul does the same at Hmong Village."You meet up with friends, and when you're shopping, you're bound to meet someone who knows your family," she said. "It's a close-knit group."A long wing in the mall is devoted to Hmong restaurants, as well as Vietnamese and Thai. For a traditional Hmong dish, try the papaya salad or, for a fun dessert, the tricolor -- a tapioca in layers of red, green and white -- is a good holiday choice.There's a certain amount of kitsch at Mercado Central. On one level, it's a dollar store crossed with Spencer Gifts.