Hello SURGE Fans and welcome to the 117th edition of SaveSURGE News! We’re scrapping and clawing our way to a fully loaded comeback.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank each and every SURGE fan who participated in September’s National SaveSURGE Month. You made your voices heard and the message was loud and clear: We want our SURGE!

Still, just because the calendar has flipped over to October it doesn’t mean that we should stop calling, writing and generally bugging the heck out of Coca-Cola. Some fans have told us via the SaveSURGE.org Bulletin Board that they plan on calling Coke each and every Friday until their favorite soda comes back.

We’re asking all of you to please keep pressuring Coke. Call them toll-free at 1-800-GET-COKE as often as you can and request that SURGE be brought back immediately. The friendly Coca-Cola representative may try to convince you that SURGE is still available in some areas, but we know better. Currently the syrup is no longer in production and so even if a local bottler wants to produce our beloved citrus soda they are unable to.

Thanks again for making National SaveSURGE Month a success! Let’s keep fighting and hope that next September will be National SavedSURGE Month ;)

Sightings Report
There have been no new confirmed SURGE Sightings since the last edition of SaveSURGE News.

Sadly, there were another 4 deletions in Chicago, IL; Hoboken, NJ; Harrisonburg, VA and Richmond, VA.

Currently, there are 52 SURGE Sightings listed. Thanks to all of you who look for SURGE wherever you go!

For more info, visit SURGE Sightings at:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/sightings.shtml

Drew Plans Follow-up to “Save Surge – The Movie”
Even though SURGE fans are still buzzing about SaveSURGE.org Hall of Famer Drew Bizzell’s documentary, “Save Surge – The Movie”, he is already planning his next fully-loaded flick.

“Return of Surge” is slated to be Drew’s next film. However, as he explains below – there’s a catch: he’ll make the movie when SURGE is back on store shelves.

“In the event that SURGE is resurrected, I think it would be a great idea for SURGE fans to video-tape themselves and their SURGE experiences. It'll be something none of us will want to forget, and what greater way to remember it by than a collection of home movies? It's a great chance for everyone from the site to get a more personal look at their fellow Surge supporters. They will then mail the tapes to me, and I'll edit them together.

Ideally, I'd want to see a little footage before Surge comes back, and after. Here are some tips for recording:

All tapes should be at least 5 minutes long, but no longer than 10 minutes.
When recording, give yourself a few seconds of "pre-roll" before you start your scene
Record SURGE type events,**ie going to the store to stock up, a SURGE party, etc
All tapes are guaranteed to be reviewed, but some may not make it to the final cut
Please don't send original copies, as they won't be returned.”

Drew, I think I speak for all SURGE fans when I say that I hope you get to make this movie!

For more information, you can e-mail Drew Bizzell at: ozma_dude_101@yahoo.com

For more information on “Save Surge – The Movie”, check out:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/drew_movie.shtml

Five Reasons to Stay Positive about SURGE
As the campaign to bring back SURGE continues, once in awhile we hear from fans who are just a little bummed out. They’re disappointed that Coca-Cola hasn’t yet brought back their favorite soda and they ask us for help in curing their blues. So, to help turn those frowns upside down, here are five reasons that you should be positive about the fight to bring SURGE back:

1. We’ve got connections – Ok, so we’re not exactly sitting in on Coca-Cola’s board meetings. However, we do have friends in high places who believe in what SaveSURGE.org is doing. There are people within the company and within bottlers who are on our side and they’re doing there best to convince the powers-that-be. That is a huge step forward and it has all happened within this past year.

2. The community is growing – Each and every day, new fans find out about SaveSURGE.org. The more fans who are aware of the campaign to bring SURGE back, the more calls to Coca-Cola. More flyers are posted, more petitions started, more letters written, etc. Every fan who chooses to participate makes an impact.

3. Days of change at Coca-Cola – The new leadership at Coke has been faced with tough challenges as of late. Their stock price has fallen, Coca-Cola C2 hasn’t sold as well as expected and new CEO E. Neville Isdell has said that the company must do a better job of listening to consumers. Listening to a group of its most loyal customers (us for example!), will not only make those lucky customers happy it will also get some much-needed positive publicity for Coke. It just makes sense for everyone, eh?

4. You are not alone – Over the past 2+ years, if we’ve learned anything at all it’s that SURGE fans are an incredibly loyal and resilient group. Think about it: everything you see on SaveSURGE.org is a product of the fans. The stories, the photos, the Sightings, the expired 12 packs selling for $98 – it’s all you! Without you, there would be no progress at all. When you get down, give yourself a pat on the back and look to other fans for inspiration to keep on trying.

5. The rest of the world is a mess – War, finger-pointing, economic woes – and that’s just the soda companies! Seriously, there are a lot of crazy things happening in the world and if waiting for SURGE to come back is your worst problem, consider yourself lucky. As parents always like to say, “there are people out there who have it a lot worse than you”.

It’s been a long journey so far, but no doubt it’s been a worthwhile one. Even with all the ups and downs, SaveSURGE.org continues to exist because we believe we can achieve our goal. Stay positive and let’s bring it back!

Noah Spreads the Word at School
SURGE Fan Noah was looking for a way to spread the word about his favorite soda. He's helped out by writing a great article for his school's newspaper. He was kind enough to share a copy of the article for SURGE fans everywhere to enjoy.

Read the article in For the Love of SURGE:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/noah_essay.shtml

Link to SaveSURGE.org
Do you have your own website? Then you might want to help spread the word by placing a SaveSURGE.org banner so that everyone will know where you stand on the issue of SURGE!

Get everything you need on our Avatars, Icons & Banners page:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/special_avatars.shtml

Poll Results: Why didn't they watch?
The latest SURGE Poll asked you: Why didn't Coke watch Save Surge - The Movie?

48.7% - They don't care
31.2% - Reasons unknown
20% - It's against company policy

Total Votes: 80

Your guesses are just as good as mine on this one. However, Drew is sending another copy of the movie to a specific person at Coke so let’s hope for a much more positive reaction!

That’s all the time we have for this week. Thank you SURGE fans!

Sincerely,

Eric Karkovack
Co-Webmaster
www.SaveSURGE.org