Please Support Jaime Whitmore

2003/04 XTERRA Triathlon European champion

2004 XTERRA Triathlon World Champion

2007 XTERRA Triathlon USA Champion...

It took skill, strength, determination and faith to win these titles. And it will be these same traits that will pull Jaime through her recovery from tumors that were removed from her pelvis earlier this year.

However, she and her husband, Courtney, also need our support and prayers. It's time to give back - back for the thrill and excitement she has given to the sport over the years as she became a champion and raised the bar for other athletes. But more than thrills and excitement - she's given us part of herself, as well as her support when needed and asked. This I know personally...

I first met Jaime at the Wildflower Triathlon in May 2008. There we were with our booth trying to get people to try Action Wipes. This was our first time out and no one had a clue of who we were, or what we were about. So I wasn't surprised as this man and woman walked slowly past the booth, with their heads turned toward our sign and her mouthing the words "Action Wipes - The Ultimate Wet Wipes; what are those?" So I waved them over and asked if they would please stop and try them. They both looked at each other, shrugged and came over.

As she tried the wipes, the smile on her face spread from ear to ear. She told the man to try them. All he could say was "ah-hhhh" as he cleaned off the sweat from his face and neck (it was in the 90's that day!). They both loved them. YES! So we continued to talk - them asking questions about how I came up with the idea and me telling about the struggles of getting them launched and getting people to try them.

As always, I told them I was very appreciative that they had taken the time to stop and try Action Wipes. And as always, I said "ACTION WIPES - SPREAD THE WORD!" Her reply was, "I will, I'll blog about them. I blog, so I'll be sure to tell people." Oh. A blogger, cool. Again, thankful. The man looked at me with a quizzical look on his face and asked "don't you know who this is?" Apologetically, I said "no". "This is triathlete pro Jaime Whitmore, I'm Courtney."

I then had the quizzical look on my face as I looked down at her leg, which was in a brace, and her walking cane. I guess they could tell I was wondering what had happened to her as she immediately told me "I've just had surgery to remove a tumor from my pelvis and am starting cancer treatments". Well, at that moment, my eyes teared up, I choked on my words and all I could say was "oh". You see, my mother's passing from cancer treatments was, and still is, painful for me. At that moment, all I wanted to do was hug her.

But Jaime didn't want my sympathy, or anyone else's. She just wanted my prayers. She was confident, and remains so, that she would get through all this, because - she has the power of God.

True to her words, when Jaime returned to her home from Wildflower, she spoke of Action Wipes in her blog. With everything else that she was dealing with, she was thoughtful enough to remember us. How selfless. How giving.

That's Jaime with the Action Wipes on her head walking around Wildflower - spreading the word.

So how can we help?? First, if you're going to the Xterra U.S. Finals in Lake Tahoe, October 5, please be sure to participate in the Silent Auction to Support Jaime Whitmore. There will be a lot of cool items, including a years supply of Action Wipes, that you can bid on. Click here for more info. Second, you can do one of the following:

• Buy a gift card for any of the following: Gas, Grocery Cards such as Safeway, Trader Joes or Raleys, Petco (their dogs get a specific brand of food, Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish Dry Dog Food, available only at Petco), Jamba Juice (both Jamie and Courtney love their Jamba Juices!) Mastercard, American Express or Visa cards are also great as they can be used on any number of items to help them out during this difficult time.
• Send money via Paypal to help Jamie and Courtney cover all the huge, unexpected medical and extra living expenses they have suddenly been hit with. If you don't have a Paypal account yet, it's very easy to open one here and then just send what you can. Jamie's Paypal address is gutzytrigirl@hotmail.com
• Send a card or an email to let Jamie know you’re thinking about her
• If you live near their area, run an errand for them.
• Send some current magazines and books. Jamie likes to read about kitchen and bathroom remodeling, and storage solutions, so books and magazines like Simple, Remodeling and others like that would be great.
• Send a card or an email to let Jamie know you’re thinking about her

Please send letters, cards and gift cards to: Jamie Whitmore, P.O. Box 339, Mount Aukum, CA 95656

Feel free to call Janet Soule at (530) 220-2522 or call Cliff Millemann at (530) 220-0344 if you have specific questions on how you can help.

The Competition

They say copying is a form of flattery. I think it's a lack of creativity!

Recently, I've noticed some competitor networks coming to our Action Wipes website and spending quite some time going through our web pages. Two that really stand out are The Thymes Limited and Johnson & Johnson.

So, what are they looking for?

J&J is a household name - they are a HUGE corporation with great baby products, K-Y Jelly and Neutrogena to start. They started coming to the site in June, having landed on our home page by googleing the key words "refresh soothe". Our tagline of course is "Clean. Refresh. Soothe." We've been using it since the day we created Action Wipes.

So maybe they're thinking of doing something with "refresh & soothe" and their Neutrogena brand of products. I think their current tag line, "Touch and be Touched", along with their commercials is sexy and alluring. I wish I had come up with that tag line!

But then I noticed they kept coming back, only this time it was direct, so they must have bookmarked our site. The second time, they spent more time looking at our Slick Lube. One of the things I love about J&J is that they've brought sex into the mainstream with their K-Y Jelly commercials - even though they're a little bit over the top. I mean COME on, who really starts making love at 8pm and keeps it going till 3am?? And without the little blue pill or the one that keeps it up for 36 hours?? Wow. Oh yeah, that's right, it's because silicone lubricant last much longer than sticky water based lubes. Hmmmm, we personally like our C&M Couples Create Passion Personal Lubricant.

Anyway, this has been going on for months...they keep coming back, having taken a look at all our products by now. Jeez, why don't they just call and hire me as a consultant??

The Thymes Limited is not as big as J&J, but they're certainly not small and are a little more bold when it comes to competitor Research & Development. (You typically see their bath & body products at places such as K-Mart, Walmart, Target, specialty boutiques... ) They first came to our site by googleing "essential oil wipes" and landed on our Essential Oils and Aromatherapy page. From there, they explored further and they too returned later - having bookmarked our site. However, they weren't satisfied simply reading about our products - they wanted to actually smell, feel and experience them...

So within a couple of weeks, we receive an on-line order from Madam X for a 15 ct pack of Action Wipes, which sell for $9.50. For shipping she chose UPS Ground, which was a little over $10.00 and would have taken 4-5 days to deliver. So as I typically do when ever someone chooses UPS and I know U.S. Mail will be more cost effective and quicker delivery, I immediately sent her an email and asked if she would prefer U.S. Mail. Offering to make up the cost difference by sending an extra pack of wipes. She wrote back and agreed to the U.S. Mail, but asked for a refund of the difference.

Through out this exchange, I had not paid attention to her email address - until she asked for a refund. Now typically, most buyers choose the extra pack as it's a really awesome deal - so I check out the email address and find that the extension is xxxx@thymes.com. I then check the delivery address and guess what? It's The Thymes Limited headquarters in Minnesota. Now COME on...I'm not a genius, but I'm not stupid either. (However, I do know women with extremely high IQs, but they're still stupid. I call them "stupid smart women" (SSW).) Do you really think I can't figure out what they are up to?? Of course they're in the process of developing their own wet wipes!

Needless to say, I refunded her the money - all of it, including the pay pal fees and advised I could not put my heart into delivering my baby into their hands for R&D purposes. I know they'll find a way around me if they're really interested, but let them work harder at it! What would you have done??

We'll save the Burt's Bees story for later...

Burning Man 2

So if getting a call from Burning Man's attorney wasn't enough, I get the following email from a Burner (names have been withheld to protect the innocent):

From: webhosting-userform@actionwipes.com
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2008 7:19 AM
To: martha@lifeelements.com
Subject: Yahoo! WebHosting Email

I saw your ad posted on a sidebar in gmail making some obscure reference to using your product at Burning Man. I just have to say that your product is on the opposite spectrum on everything that BM stands for, and furthermore promotes a one-time-use lifestyle. Please remove your Burning Man links for advertisement. Thank you.

Here is the email thread that followed:


-----Original Message-----
On Mon, Aug 11, 2008 at 8:55 PM, Martha Van Inwegen wrote:

Hi XXXX! Sorry for the late response, but I've been out of town till this afternoon.

I appreciate your vision of staying true to what BM stands for, but I'm not sure how we differ from the hundreds of other vendors advertising their wares through google adwords and other means, the attached are just a couple I captured on one site minutes ago. And I won't even get into BM's control of their "brand" and how they make money.

Last year, we stayed true to the vision by offering our wipes to participants at no cost - all we asked in return was to send us comments. We even took the time to cover our labels in the spirit of the BM charter. Overall, we gave over 2,000 packs at value of $19,000- a generous gift wouldn't you say? Of the 2,000 folks that took us up on our offer, less than 5% gave us feedback. So this year, when those same 2,000 people started asking us for wipes, we advised we could not afford it, but they could be purchased.

If you had actually read about our wipes, you would know that we are far from promoting a one-time-use lifestyle. Our wipes are reusable and recyclable. They can be washed multiple times and repurposed for other uses, unlike the baby wipes many will most likely purchase by the hundreds at Costco, Walmart or Target. Further, unlike those baby wipes that are made in China, we ensure everything is made here in California. Way more expensive for us, but we have values XXXX.

As you know, the theme this year is "American Dream", for which they ask: "What has America achieved that you admire?" I admire that America allows who ever wants, to participate in its economic development and entrepreneurial spirit. We're a very small company XXXX, it's just me and my husband, trying to make a go of the American Dream. Please don't judge us.

If you would actually like to try our wipes before you berate them any further, I would be more than happy to send some for you and your friends. Just send me an address, or come see us on Sunday at Prepare for the Playa.

Warmly,
Martha


-----Original Message-----
From: XXXX
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 10:28 PM
To: Martha Van Inwegen
Subject: Re: Burning Man Ad

Martha,
I am touched by your response to my comment about your product. I do apologize for my quickness to judge without reading further. I am currently residing in Portland, OR but visiting family in upstate New York at this time. The lack of consren for conservation and the concept of recycling astounds me in the place in which I grew up [NY].

I saw your ad while reading a Burn related email, and due to recent conversations i have had about disposable lifestyles, I was unduly frustrated. I have read about your product further and am very interesed in trying it. I will pass on my address, but I am just as comfortable purchasing it. Is there a retailer in Portland that carries them?

Thank you again for your kind response.

-----Original Message-----
On Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 12:29 PM, Martha Van Inwegen wrote:

XXXX, thank you. As we are still too young in the industry, we don't have any retailers outside of our own city :-( But I want to gift you the wipes, so I will ship them out today.

You'll appreciate more our final vision - and that is to purchase a local piece of property so that we can turn it into an organic teaching farm and get off the grid completely. But they say it takes 5-7 years to get a company off the ground, so for now, we live vicariously through our friends at Windrose Farms (www.windrosefarm.org).

Enjoy your time with friends and family in NY and have a safe trip home!
M.

-----Original Message-----
On August 13, XXXX Wrote:

Wow, amazing paradigm shift! I am looking forward to handling your product and admire your direction in general.
Best of luck!

Burning Man

A lot of folks have heard about Burning Man, if you're one of the few that has not, you can learn more about them at http://www.burningman.com/. I personally am grateful for this annual event as it is because of it that Action Wipes came to be. (You can actually read about this in the "About Us" page of our website (actionwipes.com/aboutus.com)).

We personally have not been to Black Rock due to circumstances beyond our control (last year I had to have surgery, this year our good friend David was getting married). However we plan on attending soon - I even have my Glow Fur (http://www.glowfur.com/) ready! However, my personal relationship with Burning Man management is somewhat strained at this moment...


You see, during the months of June/July, I noticed that "Black Rock City LLC"s network was visiting the Action Wipes website a lot. This of course got me excited - I mean come on, Burning Man headquarters checking my site out?? Could they possibly be interested in getting some Action Wipes for Center Camp? That would be so-ooo cool. I was even prepared to send them a free case if they were interested. But alas, that was not what they wanted...


One day, I got a call from their attorney's office in San Francisco - they weren't pleased that I was using a photo of the "burning man" on our website that a friend of ours had taken. So I took it down - and they made sure I kept it down by continuing to visit the site - both Black Rock City LLC and their attorneys. So that's my beef with management for now. I'm cooling off and will soon send them a case of Action Wipes anyway - maybe they too will cool off.

The Big Sand Box

Since our launch at the Wildflower Triathlon this past May, we have received hundreds of inquiries, comments and stories about Action Wipes. Many have moved me and even brought me to tears. Tears of joy, compassion and hope - hope that our war will end soon. Here is an email thread as a result of an order placed through our website from Iraq. It's long, but please keep reading to the end, it's touching. I've removed my friend's name as I do not wish to divulge it. This is a promise I make to anyone that writes to us. Please keep our men and women in the service in your thoughts...

-----Original Message-----
From: Martha Van Inwegen
Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2008 12:30 AM
To: XXXX
Subject: Your Action Wipes Order Has Been Shipped

Hi XXXX, I'm not sure if you got my former email, so I went ahead and shipped your order via Priority Mail. I think you'll be happy with the added "samples".

Thank you again for checking us out and please, let other's know about them should you find them useful. If not, send them back and we'll refund your money! If you get a chance, drop me an email after you've tried them and let me know what you think, I would really appreciate it.

Oh, your Priority tracking number is: xxxxx

Warmly,
Martha Van Inwegen

-----Original Message-----
From: XXXX@bdab.afcent.af.mil
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 9:21 PM
To: martha@lifeelements.com
Subject: RE: Your Action Wipes Order Has Been Shipped

Martha,

Sorry that I did not respond to you earlier -- I am currently out of country and the time difference makes communication a little tricky.
I'm actually having the wipes sent to my wife for her to receive and then send to me.

Thank you so much for pushing the order out despite my email neglect . I look forward to the spray samples!

Very Respectfully,

XXXX, 1st Lt, USAF

-----Original Message-----
From: Martha Van Inwegen
Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2008 7:45 AM
To: XXXX
Subject: RE: Your Action Wipes Order Has Been Shipped

Travis! Are you deployed or just traveling? Let me know...

M.

-----Original Message-----
From:

Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:41:00
To:
Subject: RE: Your Action Wipes Order Has Been Shipped

Yes, I am deployed -- I work Air Force logistics in Baghdad. I support the TAC-Ps here in Iraq (TACPs, or Tactical Air Control Party, are the Air Force guys embedded with the Army; their job is to direct and control all air-to-ground aircraft munitions).

That's my two cents...I've been here for 4.5 months with only 1.5 remaining (not bad considering the Army's 15 month tours).

Thanks for such great customer service!

Respectfully,

XXXXX, 1st Lt, USAF

From: martha@lifeelements.com
Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2008 8:55 AM
To: XXXXX
Subject: Re: Your Action Wipes Order Has Been Shipped

I'll send you more wipes! Rather than have your wife pay for the shipping, send me the address so I can ship it directly.

And thank YOU for being out there for us! BTW, my father-in-law is a retired general from the AF :-)

Send me the address and good night.

M.

-----Original Message-----
From: XXXX@bdab.afcent.af.mil
Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2008 7:27 AM
To: martha@lifeelements.com
Subject: RE: Your Action Wipes Order Has Been Shipped

Wow, that would be great -- thank you so much. Please include a handful of business cards/brochures as I will be sure to share the wipes with those that need it most (a Marine friend of mine is deployed to Fallujah -- I will definitely share with them).

Below is my address

Thanks again -- what a thoughtful, unexpected treat!

Respectfully,
XXXX, 1st Lt, USAF

-----Original Message-----
From: Martha Van Inwegen
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 10:18 PM
To: XXXX
Subject: Your Action Wipes Order Has Been Shipped

Travis, I shipped you a box last Thursday, let me know if it gets there ok.

Martha

-----Original Message-----
From: XXXX@bdab.afcent.af.mil
Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2008 3:47 PM
To: martha@lifeelements.com
Subject: RE: Your Action Wipes Order Has Been Shipped

Martha,

Martha,

The wipes arrived yesterday. Thank you so much! Tomorrow I am going to send out a lot to my Marine friend in Fallujah as well as some of the Air Force guys embedded throughout Iraq with the Army.

Thank you also for such a nice, personal note. I am rather excited to see what else you put in the package to my wife (I looked at your sister website, CM, and think that I will definitely have to consider more purchases in the future).

It's funny that you mentioned "re-acquaintance" in your letter -- that is the primary reason I went looking for a good body wipe. My wife is picking me up from the airport and then we are staying in a fancy hotel downtown. Obviously, I want to look my best for her (24hr plane rides just don't help with this issue). Anyways, I called the airport to see what sort of shower facilities they had available (none) and figured the next best thing was to find the most popular body wipe available. Long story short, the plan is to jump off the plane, get squeaky clean (courtesy of Action Wipes!), change out of my uniform into a new pair of clothes (I bought them just for my homecoming ), and then celebrate our reunion...

Thanks again for your gifts and exceptional customer service...I will be sure to spread your wipes all across the sandbox.

Have a great day!

Very Respectfully,
XXXXX

Thank you for visiting our Blog

Thank ou for visiting our blog, we sincerely appreciate your interest in our evolution as we strive to make it as a small company with big dreams. This blog will take you through some of our experiences as we evolve and manifest into our ideal company.

Through our blog, you will read about our challenges, triumpths, and everyday life. Thank you for taking the time to join us on our journey...

Martha Van Inwegen
Creator

Chris Lieto

In June 2008, we received the following from Chris Lieto's manager:

"We heard about your great product at Wildflower. We'd love to talk to you about sponsorship opportunities. I manage Pro Triathlete Chris Lieto who has launched the very successful Green Athlete program this year. He travels to all of his races in his Green van run on biodiesal living out of it along the way. Action Wipes would be a great product for him and a great product for him to promote along the way. Please contact me at your convenience - we'd love to put something together."

As an approved green business, of course we were very interested in being a part of Chris' green initiative. We responded immediately advising we would be more than happy to participate as a product sponsor. We sent a box full of samples for him and his manager to try out and eventually received the following from his manager:

Hi Martha! Yes, I received the package. Thank you very much. Chris just returned today after racing the Columbia Triathlon so I will make sure to give everything to him when I see him this week. And I'll get you feedback asap. Thanks.

That was the final email. I continued to call, send emails and eventually sent Chris a direct email through his blog, but we never received a response. Not even a courtesey email to say they didn't like the wipes, or perhaps they needed more than just product, anything would have been nice. Needless to say, I was bummed!