Quick Quack Car Wash, a Roseville, California-based company, has announced the sponsorship of a creative writing contest aimed at fourth to 12th-grade students aged eight to 18 years old. The writing contest encourages students to invent the biography of the company's beloved mascot duck named Quackals.

When you're rolling down Front Street and you get the sense your ride might need some tender-loving care, ditch the Connector and make a right-hand turn on 14th Street. There you'll find the big red car wash that'll leave your wheels in tip-top shape. 

Rio Car Wash hosted a charity car wash event at both of its Fredericksburg-area locations last month. All of the proceeds from that day’s washes went to benefit Empower House, a non-profit organization that provides confidential domestic violence assistance in the city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George and Caroline. 

Racer Classic Car Wash has reached, so far, $100,000 in donations for Covenant Children's. All locations of Racer Classic Car Wash have been donating $1 per wash on the third Tuesday of each month from the general public, and $1 any day of the week from Covenant Health employees showing their badge. The partnership with Racer stared in April 2013; Racer will continue making the donations.

Gleaners and Crew Carwash are teaming up for the "Hungercrew" fundraiser on Sunday. Teams at all Indianapolis and Columbus Crew Carwash locations will collect donations for Gleaners. Anyone who donates cash or a canned foot item will receive a free Fast Wax service. Gleaners works to provide food to the hungry in Central and Southeast Indiana. 

Trademark Carwash opened its second location Sept. 6 at 1101 Coit Road. The car wash business is offering exterior car washes only, but it will provide all detailing services by the end of September. Trademark Carwash offers full-service and exterior car washes as well as interior and exterior detailing services. The lobby features a large viewing area and an espresso bar. 

Rich's Car Wash continues to grow and thrive with the development of its 12th location in Daphne, Alabama. The debut of Rich's Car Wash will include a 150-ft. conveyorized wash tunnel, over 30 free vacuum bays, and a separate 75-ft. polishing tunnel featuring the Perfect Polish system. Perfect Polish is a three-minute express wax applied by hand and buffed to perfection in the polishing tunnel. Rich's is the first and only car wash in the country to build and operate this groundbreaking technology, which was developed in conjunction with Sonny's Enterprise.

When Leif Babin became a Hell Week instructor for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S), he had already served as a Navy SEAL platoon leader in the most decorated special-operations unit of the Iraq War. Still, he learned a profound lesson about leadership: "There are no bad teams, only bad leaders."

The war for top talent is fiercer than ever. It goes without saying that you need a great compensation and benefits package to attract quality employees. But every day, headhunters and rival companies are working hard to lure your best people away. Which raises the question: What are you doing to keep them around? 

Competition in the hotel industry is fierce, requiring companies to get more and more creative with their marketing strategies in order to stand out in their crowded field. No wonder industry leaders have developed innovative marketing strategies that can be translated to fit almost any other type of business. Here are those strategies.

Social media’s potential impact for small businesses cannot be understated. But if you’ve been using social media for awhile, then you probably already know a lot of the standard tips. However, there are plenty of other things you can do on social media aside from just posting product photos and responding to customer inquiries. Here are some social media marketing tips that you don’t hear every day.