Speaking of names, I understand that yours is actually Barry Marder. I thought it better, however, to address this to your alter ego, Ted L. Nancy, to show that I'm willing to play along. Also, Ted seems to be the responsible party here, so let him bear the brunt while you cash the check. Not a bad little arrangement you've worked out for yourself.
Question:
How to start a letter of recommendation
Writing Tips:A letter of recommendation is considered formal writing. This means you should avoid slang, contractions, and other informal language. Your salutation and introduction to the letter should also be formal.
Answer and Explanation:Begin with a formal salutation. If you do not know the recipient of the letter, you can start with To Whom It May Concern, or Dear Sir or Madam....
See full answer below.
A letter from Santa can brighten a child's Christmas.
santa image by ana malin from Fotolia.com
As the Christmas season approaches, many children enjoy sending a letter to Santa Claus. You can help make a child's Christmas more enjoyable by starting your own Santa letter writing business. Set up a system through which parents can contact you and give you particulars on what their child wants for Christmas. You'll mail back a letter from Santa Claus that goes directly to the child.
1.
Register your business with the local government business office to get a business certificate. This will allow you to open a bank account to accept payments in check form or online, and it will also allow you to open a post office box in your company name. You will also need the business certificate to file income tax on your business each year.
2.
Rent a post office box to use as a return address on your Santa letters. You want to avoid giving your home address as a return address if you are sending letters to strangers.
3.
Develop a price per letter for your Santa letters. Roll all costs into your price, including postage, so you present one price per letter. Research other Santa letter services to find out what the going rate is for a Santa letter, and keep your pricing competitive based on that information.
4.
Create multiple letter templates to be used on Christmas stationery. If children are in one home, or if there are several children from the same neighborhood, you will want each child to feel as though he's received a personalized letter. Create between 15 and 20 templates to use for your letters. When creating your templates on a word processor, leave spaces where you will be able to input personal information such as the child's name, one gift she wants for Christmas and the city she lives in.
5.
Advertise your service on the Internet through the free social networking sites and by posting on message boards that parents use. You may also want to invest in display advertising in your local newspaper or, if you can afford it, in a national parenting magazine.
6.
Include a deadline date of December 1 in your advertisement, and let parents know the last letters will be mailed by December 8. This allows plenty of time for parents to get their requests to you, and gives the mail plenty of time to reach the children even during the busy holiday season.
7.
Address the envelope for Santa's letter to the child, make the return address the North Pole, put Christmas stickers on the envelope and create a postmark that will make it appear the letter came from the North Pole. To create the North Pole postmark, use a red circle graphic with a white interior and print "North Pole" inside the circle in green. The graphic can be on a sticker or can be printed directly on the envelope.
8.
Mail the letter to the child in a larger envelope addressed to the parents. The parents can then get the letter to the child. Be sure you advise parents before they purchase your service that this is how you will be sending the letters.
Things NeededGeorge N. Root III began writing professionally in 1985. His publishing credits include a weekly column in the "Lockport Union Sun and Journal" along with the "Spectrum," the "Niagara Falls Gazette," "Tonawanda News," "Watertown Daily News" and the "Buffalo News." Root has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the State University of New York, Buffalo.
Type the letter of recommendation on letterhead whenever appropriate.
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A recommendation business letter -- often referred to as a letter of recommendation -- is a business letter written to vouch for someone's professional qualifications, job performance or character traits. Many times, job seekers ask former supervisors, colleagues, professors and clients to write a recommendation business letter to support a job application. This type of letter is typically sent directly to the recruiter or manager who is considering hiring the candidate, although some letters of recommendation are generic in that they begin with "To Whom It May Concern."
1.
Personalize the recommendation letter by obtaining the addressee's full name, title, company name and mailing address, and the addressee's email address. In case you have questions about the contents of the letter, get the addressee's telephone number.
2.
Type your inside address flush at the left margin. You don't need to type your name on the first line of your inside address because it's listed below your closing salutation. However, you may also type your name and title above your inside address. If you're using personalized stationery that contains your full name and address, skip this step and begin your letter with the addressee's contact information.
3.
Skip down at least two line spaces and type the addressee's full name and title, separated by a comma. Double check your typing to ensure you have the proper spelling, especially for unusual names. Below the addressee's name and title, type the company name and on the following lines, type the company's mailing address, including the city, state and ZIP.
4.
Insert two line spaces and type "Re: Letter of Recommendation for Jane Doe" so the reader knows right away the candidate on behalf of whom you're writing. If you know the position for which the candidate is being considered, type that on the line immediately under the subject line. Indent your subject line. Type the opening salutation to the addressee. For example, type "Dear Ms. Smith," followed by a colon and another line space before your first paragraph of the letter.
5.
Start your letter with an introduction of who you are and how you're acquainted with the job candidate. Set the stage so the reader has a clear understanding about how well you know the candidate, how long you've been acquainted and the nature of your relationship with the candidate. For example, you could write, "I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation on behalf of Ms. Jane Doe for the paralegal position with your firm. I have worked with Ms. Doe for more than eight years at ABC Law Firm. I have been her supervisor for the the last two years, therefore, I have knowledge of Ms. Doe's professional qualifications from the colleague's and the supervisor's perspective."
6.
Begin your next paragraph with a brief assessment of the candidate's qualifications. For example, write, "Ms. Doe has an excellent grasp of legal processes and procedures, as well as the ability to draft complex legal documents and organize materials for courtroom trials." Elaborate on your view of the candidate's suitability for the position for which she's being considered. Don't go overboard with complimentary prose, but provide the hiring manager with two to four sentences about the candidate's functional expertise and her work habits.
TipRuth Mayhew has been writing since the mid-1980s, and she has been an HR subject matter expert since 1995. Her work appears in "The Multi-Generational Workforce in the Health Care Industry," and she has been cited in numerous publications, including journals and textbooks that focus on human resources management practices. She holds a Master of Arts in sociology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Ruth resides in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.
Photo CreditsDoes the city really need to start a letter-writing campaign in support of a second Toronto hockey team?
(Image: Tim Morgan)Last week, Josh Colle presented a motion to Toronto council urging the city to pursue bringing a second National Hockey League franchise to Toronto "should the opportunity arise" (whatever that means). Of course, because that wasn't silly enough on its own, today council's economic development committee put forward a request that Mayor Rob Ford write a letter—we're still not sure if that means the ink-and-paper variety—to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to express the city's interest.
The request was accompanied by a debate hosted by the chair of the economic development committee, Councillor Michael Thompson, who, despite our original suspicion that he would resolve to schedule a future meeting to schedule a future meeting—this is municipal politics, after all—acted as a voice reason and did not support the request.
We're just a little skeptical of how effective a letter from the mayor will be, considering the Brothers Ford have handled their campaign to bring the NFL to Toronto with all of zero grace, drawing the ire of Canadian Football League commissioner Mark Cohon and the entire city of New Orleans.
The perceived and actual economic benefits of sports franchises are worlds apart, so this may have more to do with the fact that Vancouver and Winnipeg have been hogging the hockey spotlight as of late. Glad to see our tax dollars hard at work.