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Wow, it seems like we just got 2012 underway and it is gone! But what a year it was....
BREAKING RECORDS When we started Eye On Annapolis in the spring of 2009, we honestly had no idea how well it would be received--if at all. But 2009 came on pretty strong and gave us some incentive to forge ahead into 2010. 2010 led to 2011. 2011 led to 2012 and 2012 exceeded all expectations! Thank you! While I was hoping to come close to a million visitors in 2012, we hit that sometime in late November and ended the year with 1,072,555 visitors!
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And, as I type this newsletter up, we have had a lifetime total of 2,134,539 visitors! Just WOW! and THANK YOU!
GIVING BACK New for 2013 is a give back program we have developed in conjunction with Sandals and Beaches Resorts. On all of our properties (site, newsletter, twitter, facebook, etc) you will see ads or links for the wonderful all-inclusive Sandals (couples only) or Beaches (families) resorts. If you book a vacation through the link, we will donate $50 (for 3 to 7 night) or $100 (7+ nights) to three area non-profits. So if you book 7 nights, $100 will be equally split between The Light House, The Chesapeake Bay Trust, and the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County
. If you have a particular local charity, let me know when you book, and we can direct it there as well. No pressure, just book it yourself online and help out a local organization that needs it--simple! Wanna get started? Here are the links to Beaches and Sandals--check it out!
CALLING POLAR BEARS If freezing your butt off is more your style, please remember to contribute and help support the Maryland Special Olympics and the Polar Bear Plunge
at the end of the month. They need plungers and donors for this great cause! If you do not know anyone plunging, my daughter will be taking her third dip into the icy Chesapeake Bay-- here is a link to her team's donation page! Any contribution is much appreciated!
INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING If you are interested in advertising, you can request a media kit right online
. It has all the boring facts and figures you need as well some groovy charts. But most importantly it will tell you how affordable reaching our audience can be. Our audience? Well, at a million visitors a year thats almost 3,000 people per day. On Facebook we have just over 55,000 fans that we can reach in a heartbeat. Right now there are 12,000 people following us on Twitter. And this newsletter reaches 5,200. But the cool thing is that we can tell you exactly how many people read your ad, clicked your link, etc. No newspaper or city magazine can provide that! Here is what some others have had to say about their experience with us!
YOUR VOICE MATTERS
In addition to reading what we publish, we always want to hear your thoughts. We offer news stories, editorials, letters to the editor, events, recaps of events and much more. Sound off! Please leave your comments on the site--there is no need to register and you can remain anonymous if you like. But let us know how we are doing--good or bad. Let us know how you feel. The more interaction, the better we can make Eye On Annapolis for everyone!
2013 is chock full of events and please keep your eyes peeled to Eye On Annapolis as they come closer for more details; but here is a rundown of some of the biggies. Here is a link to a listing provided by the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitor's Bureau.
January 26 - Polar Bear Plunge February - Black History Month February 25 to March 3 - Annapolis Restaurant Week March 16 - Green Beer Races March 23 - Annual Burning of the Socks April 20 - St. John's College Vs USNA Croquet Match May 4,5 -
Naptown barBAYq May - Chesapeake Bay Wine Festival May 17-24 - Commissioning Week (Yay, Blue Angels are back) May 18-19 - Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival June - Chesapeake Wingstock Festival 2013 June 8,9 - Annapolis Arts, Crafts, and Wine Festival June 22 - Eastport-A-Rockin' July 12,13 - Annapolis Irish Festival August 17 - Silopanna Music Festival 
We'd be nowhere without you--our readers and we wholeheartedly thank you for the time you spend with us. We are also so appreciative of our sponsors. Of course we solicit advertisers and often we are approached by companies and organizations to help spread their message. What you may not know is that we are very particular and we do not accept advertising from just anyone. We truly support local businesses and believe that they are the core of a vibrant economy. We also believe that these advertisers are the cream of the crop (of course they have exquisite taste in websites as well) and encourage you to support them, please click their ads and check them out.
HOMESTEAD GARDENS--Homestead is one of the most community oriented businesses you will find. As we move into winter, look for their Homestead University with classes in birding, gardening, growing and much more. Usually free or for under $5. And of course as spring rolls around, look for fantastic plants and shrubs and some great events both in Davidsonville and Severna Park! ZACHARY'S JEWELERS--A staple of Main Street for decades and more recently Severna Park. When they suffered a fire, the community came together for them. And they have been giving back ever since. Be sure to check out the monthly events in their stores--always a fun time!
RAMS HEAD ON STAGE--From a small bar to a multi location entertainment conglomerate, Rams Head offers it all. Fine food and the best entertainment in the area. They brought a wildly successful Silopanna Music Festival to the area in August and consistently feature top talent! We are incredibly lucky to have a venue of this caliber in our town! CHESAPEAKE EYE CARE & LASER CENTER--Dr. Maria Scott is the preeminent eye surgeon in the area. In 2000, I had Lasik surgery performed on my eyes and I cannot speak more highly of Dr. Scott and Chesapeake Eye Care. If you have eye problems--give them a call.
GLOW SALON & DAY SPA--Glow Salon & Day Spa is the area's premier hair salon and day spa. Beginning January 15th, you can take advantage of their Groupon GLOWpon and save big bucks on their most popular services. Glow is located near Best Buy at 2603 Housely Road.
CHESAPEAKE HOLISTIC HEALTH
--Vibrant living is you-at your very best-in good health, enjoying life and looking forward to tomorrow. At Chesapeake Holistic Health, we employ natural health strategies to help you achieve your vibrant living goals, including energy, mental clarity and focus, restful sleep, healthy weight, and much more. It's not voodoo; it's holistic!
SANDALS AND BEACHES--
They are all-inclusive resorts located all across the Caribbean. Sandals is adults only and Beaches is for families! Leave your cares behind in Maryland and be waited on hand and foot. PLUS, book through our links and for every 3-7 night trip you book, we will donate $50 to a local charity. Book a 7 or more night trip and $100 will be donated!
CLOCK TOWER PLACE--Nestled off of Forest Drive, Clock Tower Place is a wonderful center with a bakery/patisserie, wine store, wine bar, cheese store, and much much more. Convenient, easy in and easy out with plenty of parking!
CHESAPEAKE BAY TRUST--They are smaller than the "other" organization, but have no problem getting their boots dirty and really making a difference in the health of the bay. FLOYD'S BARBERSHOP--OK, so they are a national chain of uber cool barber shops. But did you know they had their start in Bowie? Yes, three brothers developed the concept and ran with it. Now they are well represented here in the County with stores in Annapolis and Crofton. MIDDLETON TAVERN, OBRIEN'S OYSTER BAR, OB's PRIME, AND ANNAPOLIS UNPLUGGED
--These are the quintessential Annapolis dining establishments run by the the Hardestys who have been in Annapolis for generations. Annapolis Unpplugged is a series of very local (and upcoming) live music brought into their restaurants--often coupled with a WRNR event! The food is consistently great as is the service.
BASHELORETTE--Bashelorette.com (website launching soon) brings you the best deals, recommendations and insider secrets to help plan the perfect bachelorette party. From Vegas and NYC bashes to relaxing spa retreats, every resource you need is right here. Hotel? Check? Bubbly? Check. The perfect outfit? Check.
WELLNESS HOUSE--If cancer has ever touched you, a loved one, or a friend, please learn more about this non-medical care facility for cancer patients and their families.
103.1 WRNR--We love WRNR. It is our local awesome music station who is always partnering to sponsor events in town. We love them even more because they allow us to come on the air on Fridays and talk about what is happening in the area! And we really love that they have the technology to make us sound a little less Fran Drescher-esque! Give them a listen, they are a perfect match!
ANNE ARUNDEL CARES--Anne Arundel Cares is a local fundraising funnel for many of the local non-profit organizations that make out county so special. Through AA Cares, you can donate to one or many and the money goes directly to the charity. Check them out and read some of the stories about the great work our non-profits are doing!
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Thank You!
And finally, thank you for taking the time to visit the site, to engage with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to this newsletter! We appreciate you!
Make sure you let your friends, colleagues, co-workers and enemies know all about us!
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