With so many families facing tough times, 2009 was a year that Santa needed a little back up. A regular participant in the Person to Person holiday program, Smith-Dahmer Associates sponsored two families of five, fielding requests from both children and mothers for everything from dolls and basketballs to pajamas and perfume.

Watch out, SDA is using power tools again! For the second year, SDA’s Consumer Insight Strategy Team teamed with Whirlpool Corporation’s Insight and Strategy Team in one of their Habitat for Humanity builds.

This spring, a group of Smith-Dahmer researchers, project coordinators and techies teamed up to develop a set of new tools to address some of our clients’ recurring challenges:

Smith-Dahmer Associates is proud to announce an addition to our website: an original series of short essays delving into the consumer psyche in a style that is both whimsical and extremely relatable. 

And they say nice guys never win. . . This March Ann Dahmer and Joan Smith received an award recognizing the values (click here to see SDA’s operating values) on which they founded Smith-Dahmer Associates.

Michigan’s Chamber of Commerce along with the economic development organization, Cornerstone Alliance presented Ann Dahmer and Joan Smith with an award honoring the tenets of celebrated businessman and philanthropist, Merlin Hanson.

Clearly, the presents and decorations are peripheral when it comes to a happy holidays, but let’s face it: a few toys and some turkey can go a long way in making the season bright.

While a dismal economy forced families across the country to scale back holiday festivities, Smith-Dahmer Associates was happy to help several families celebrate as they had in better times. Each office purchased gifts and groceries for local families in need.

According to SDA associate, Sally Geldhof,

“Grueling;” “incredible;” “inspiring.” These are a few of the words Smith-Dahmer Associates used to describe their recent week teaming with Whirlpool on their annual Building Blocks Habitat for Humanity project.

According to Smith-Dahmer Associate, Valerie Crosby, “It was such an incredible experience . . . it took us out of our element and pushed us all beyond what we’re used to doing – individually and as a team.”