Jamie Cooper, CEO of Drake Cooper, said, “There is a lot of incredible not-for-profit work going on in the valley and a lot of great people behind that work. We thought the best way to make an impact would be to package our time and services together and select one great cause for the year.”

All Drake Cooper employees will take part in the selection process, said Cooper. “It’s going to be difficult to pick just one. This way, we can come to a decision based on varied perspectives.”

Most recently, Drake Cooper awarded an integrated pro-bono campaign to Idaho Select’s BAM JAM 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. The event benefited the Boys and Girls Clubs of Idaho, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence and Men Today Men Tomorrow.

“I would consider Drake Cooper one of the biggest assets our event had. Their creative ideas, attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile was more than we could have ever hoped for,” said Vince Hordemann, Director of the Bam Jam division of Idaho Select.

Dream Big applications are being accepted now through October 31. For more information on the Drake Cooper Dream Big program or to apply, go to: http://www.drakecooper.com/about/dream-big/.

Anyway, September is Idaho Preferred Month which is simply a time to celebrate Idaho food and wine, and all of the people who produce it. So if you're not familiar with how good our wine is, if you've never had a peach from Symm's Fruit Ranch or herbs from Purple Sage Farms, tomatoes from H&H or sweet corn fresh off the stalk from one of our many corn fields, you should head to the nearest local produce stand, farmers market or grocery store that stocks Idaho products. If you're not already familiar with the quality of food and wine made in this state, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Oh, and First Lady Lori Otter is making quite an effort to support local farmers, ranchers and producers so I've included her photo in this post. I took it a few weeks ago while she was standing in a peach orchard with with Jim Mertz of Symms Fruit Ranch, reading Governor Otter's proclamation of Idaho Preferred Month.