Vancouver, B.C. – Doug Morneau, Chief Rhino of Rhino Marketing Inc., was recently named Business Leader of the Year by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce. Morneau tied with Layne Magnuson of Metro Ford for the title. The award was presented at the Tri-Cities’ Business Excellence Awards on Saturday, January 29, 2011.

“The Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce is very pleased to honour the Business Leaders in our community like Doug Morneau,” says Michael Hind, Executive Director, Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce. “Doug and his team at Rhino Marketing have built a hometown company and a brand which continues to grow and raise the bar for Internet marketing.”

“I strongly believe that this award belongs to the entire Rhino Marketing team,” says Morneau. “Without a great team, there is no leadership. The Rhino team makes coming to work a pleasure and their abilities and expertise allows me the time to serve on a range of boards and committees in our community. To me, great leadership is about bringing out the best in people and supporting your community. I am honoured to have been named Business Leader Of The Year by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce.”

Founded in 1997, Rhino Marketing Inc. is a Vancouver-based Internet marketing boutique. They are a full-service Internet agency that understands business and how to connect clients with customers online. With offices in Canada and the United States, Rhino Marketing Inc. offers clients a single source for the design, execution and ongoing advancement of Internet marketing initiatives. The Rhino Marketing team operates at the intersection of traditional strategy-based marketing and the rapidly evolving digital world of e-marketing, providing clients with a strategic, integrated approach that creates strong results. An active member of its community, Rhino Marketing is involved with a range of charitable and philanthropic organizations, events and initiatives. As Rhino grows and expands as a company, so does their commitment to making the world a better place, locally and globally.

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For more information or an interview with Doug Morneau, please contact Paul Holman at paul@ahacreative.com or at 604.303.1052.

Vancouver, B.C. – The creative juices are flowing at Happy Planet – Canada’s pioneer in everything drinkable. The Happy Planet Team has come up with two new delicious, healthy, and antioxidant packed beverages – just in time to help you exceed your New Year’s health resolutions!  The two great tasting superfruit offerings – Organic Acai Berry Bliss comes in a 1.89-litre take home carton and Pomegranate *Anti-ox Fruit Smoothie, a 325-millilitre grab n’ go smoothie for right now – are ready to do battle with any free radicals.

Antioxidants are among the most widely known protective compounds in plant-based foods. They work to prevent carcinogenic oxidation of cells that result from aging and exposure to pollutants in the environment.

Organic Acai Berry Bliss is a 100% juice and puree blend containing only certified organic and kosher ingredients and, like all Happy Planet beverages, contains no added sugar, preservatives, artificial ingredients, colourings or artificial flavours. What this awesome take home carton does contain is lots of the Brazilian Acai (pronounced as-sigh-eee) berry which is renowned for its high concentration of antioxidants and it is considered to be one of the most nutritious and powerful superfruits in the world. The sugested retail price for the 1.89-litre container is $4.99.

The Pomegranate *Anti-ox Fruit Smoothie is made with Happy Planet’s proprietary “Berry Boost” – a proprietary blend of wild blueberry, strawberry, cranberry, bilberry, elderberry and raspberry seed extracts – so you can feel good about drinking something this tasty. Happy Planet smoothies are never made from concentrate and they offer five or more whole pieces of fruit in every tasty bottle and this smoothie has the equivalent of one large pomegranate! Pomegranate juice is a rich source of polyphenols, a group of strong antioxidants that slows or prevents cell damage. The suggested retail price for the 325-millilitre bottle is $2.99.

Happy Planet makes meeting your New Year’s resolutions tasty and easy. Whether at home or on the road, Happy Planet has you covered!

Both new Happy Planet products are now available in Toronto and Vancouver in the refrigerated juice section of many community grocery stores (Whole Foods Market, Capers Community Market, Choices Market, Organic Garage, Fiesta Farms, Michael-Angelo Market Place,  Metro, and more) and are coming soon to major grocery retailers.

Happy Planet Foods, Inc. (http://www.happyplanet.com/) is Canada’s leading natural and organic food and beverage company. Since squeezing the first apples in 1994 in Vancouver, B.C., today the company sells premium organic and all natural juices, smoothies, soups and sauces, as well as health shots across Canada. All Happy Planet products come from 100% natural ingredients from the best sources on the planet and are made without preservatives, artificial ingredients or colourings.

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For more information please contact Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies at paul@ahacreative.com or 604-303-1052.

Santa Monica, CA – Cycling enthusiasts look no further – the first of the New Zealand Cycle Trail’s “Great Rides” just opened near Hanmer Springs on the South Island. This is the first chance for cyclists to cover New Zealand on the nationwide cycle network.

The trail passes through the iconic backcountry of St. James Conservation Area and is marketed and branded as one of the country’s Great Rides under Nga Haerenga, The New Zealand Cycle Trail.

The 64 km-long St. James Cycle Trail offers iconic scenery and a mix of trail standards. Ride down spectacular river valleys, past high-country lakes, through beech forest and grassland valleys.

Of the 18 nationally promoted cycle trails, it requires the greatest level of experience to complete.

Experienced mountain bikers are expected to complete the full trail in roughly 10 hours. There are four huts along the way, providing a chance to make a weekend of it.

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For information about New Zealand’s extensive vacation options, log onto the 100% Pure New Zealand website at http://www.newzealand.com/. 

For other media information, log on to http://www.media.newzealand.com/. 

For high-resolution images, visit http://www.images.newzealand.com/. 

For year-round travel deals to New Zealand, visit:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/getting-to-around-nz/getting-to-nz/travel-deals/canada/.

For more information, please contact Paul Holman at paul@ahacreative.com or 604.303.1052.

Santa Monica, CA – Wellington, New Zealand is the highest ranked capital city to be featured in Lonely Planet’s ‘Top 10 Cities 2011’ list in the new Best in Travel 2011 guidebook. This is the first time a New Zealand city has been included on the list.

Lonely Planet’s Asia-Pacific Travel Editor Shawn Low said Best in Travel 2011 draws on the knowledge, passion and miles travelled by Lonely Planet’s staff, authors and online community. Previously, the top 10 countries, regions and cities have been listed alphabetically, but Lonely Planet has revealed them in ranked order for the first time in its sixth edition.

Best in Travel 2011 writer Catherine Le Nevez describes Wellington in the book as “Cool-with-a-capital-C, crammed with more bars, cafes and restaurants per capita than New York.”

“With its quaint wooden houses tumbling down a ring of hills to the city center, clustered on reclaimed land around the glittering harbour, in ‘100% Pure New Zealand’, the country’s most innovative and inspiring city might just be the ‘Best Little Capital in the World’.”

The abundance of arts and cultural events, the culinary and film scene, and the city’s attitude to sport are among the things that make the Wellington stand out. Wellingtonians also get a well-deserved mention.

“Wellingtonians are modest-as; they just figure if you’re going to do something, why not do it well?,” Le Nevez writes. “Its compact size energizes its sense of community. Locals love their city…and get a kick out of helping visitors fall in love with it too.”

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For information about New Zealand’s extensive vacation options, log onto the 100% Pure New Zealand website at http://www.newzealand.com/.

For other media information, log on to http://www.media.newzealand.com.

For high-resolution images, visit http://www.images.newzealand.com/.

For year-round travel deals to New Zealand, visit:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/getting-to-around-nz/getting-to-nz/travel-deals/canada/.

For more information, please contact Paul Holman at paul@ahacreative.com or 604.303.1052.

Santa Monica, CA – New Zealand luxury retreat Eagles Nest was among the winners at the prestigious World Luxury Hotel Awards in Thailand. The Northland retreat was recognized as the ‘Global Winner: Luxury Coastal Hotel’ at the awards.

The World Luxury Hotel Awards are regarded as the pinnacle of achievement for luxury hotels worldwide. The award was established as a celebration of the ultimate achievement in the worldwide hotel industry. It is about recognizing hotels that have taken the ultimate step and distinguished themselves as truly exceptional hotels.

Eagles Nest owners Daniel and Sandra Biskind are thrilled by the win. “This international recognition for Eagles Nest further reinforces that the New Zealand luxury sector is amongst the best in the world,” says Sandra Biskind. “We feel profoundly honoured by this Global Award – especially considering that Eagles Nest is a relatively young and uniquely different property.”

Sandra Biskind was in attendance to receive the prestigious award at the black tie ceremony at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand. “This was one of the most exciting nights in my career,” says Biskind.

Marinique Truter, executive manager of the World Luxury Hotel Awards™, agreed that the award is exciting for the luxury property. “I firmly believe that a World Luxury Hotel award is the highest accolade that a hotel can receive.”

Eagles Nest is a retreat set within a 75-acre estate atop its own private ridge line, offering spectacular views of the Bay of Islands. Four of the five world class villas offer their own private heated horizon edged lap pool, all offering private Jacuzzis, original art work and a fully equipped gourmet kitchen.

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For information on Eagles Next visit http://www.eaglesnest.co.nz/.

For information about New Zealand’s extensive vacation options, log onto the 100% Pure New Zealand website at http://www.newzealand.com/.

For other media information, log on to http://www.media.newzealand.com/.

For high-resolution images, visit http://www.images.newzealand.com/.

For year-round travel deals to New Zealand, visit:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/getting-to-around-nz/getting-to-nz/travel-deals/canada/

For more information, please contact Paul Holman at paul@ahacreative.com or 604.303.1052.