Spring has sprung, summer has baked, and fall is quickly approaching. Cooler temperatures mean young and old will be getting out to enjoy every bit of the outdoors they can before cold, damp weather makes us all into reclusive internet users again. That means its almost time for pumpkin-flavored everything, the last big fling of summer (Labor Day weekend), and football season!
 
Fall colors and flavors make for interesting topics. Why not host a contest for the best fall decor/recipe/celebration over at your website and award prizes to the winners like coupons for coffee from a local shop or a few of your own products? Ask for submissions by a photo, video, and print that can be shared with your readers.
 
Labor Day celebrates the working man and woman and all they do year-round to keep the businesses running for everyone. Celebrate your employees or contractors with a small gift of appreciation and feature them on your site with an explanation of the valuable skill/service they provide to your company.
 
Football season is coming and that provides a host of recipes, colors, teams, rivalries, celebrations, and traditions about which to write. In fact, you could take each month of the football season and highlight some aspect of how we enjoy the sport, using the aforementioned topics. Ask for reader submissions and ask a local football pro or announcer to judge the entries. Award team-themed or business-oriented prizes to the winners.
 
Holidays and Special Days
 
College Colors Day (September 1)
This day is celebrated annually to commemorate the traditions and spirit that embody the college experience by wearing your college team’s colors and apparel. Get out those old college t-shirts or tune in to your favorite college football game today—true colors and spirit run deep.
 
Labor Day (September 3)
Do you get weekends off work? Lunch breaks? Paid vacation? An eight-hour workday? Social security? If you said “yes” to any of these questions, you can thank labor unions and the U.S. labor movement. Many of the most basic benefits we enjoy at our jobs today were the result of years of hard-fought battles and the legislation they inspired.
 
National Read-a-Book Day (September 6)
Some people just can’t stop reading, especially those writers among us, but most tend to put reading on the back burner. National Read a Book Day is the perfect opportunity to make some time in your life to read. Books bring whole new worlds to life, not to mention shed light on world events and share perspectives on the human experience in a way that other mediums cannot. In a world of increasing technology and screen-based communication, National Read a Book Day encourages us to switch off and turn some pages for a while.
 
National Grandparents Day (September 9)
The smell of cookies baking. Memories of learning how to ride a bike or going fishing. Celebrating holidays with grand meals and gifts. Receiving special kisses and gifts just because. These are all experiences we strongly associate with our grandparents. Grandparents are with us from the very beginning of our lives—they accompany us through our childhood, are present at our most important moments, and cheer us on from the sidelines through it all.
 
National Day of Service and Remembrance (September 11)
On the National Day of Service and Remembrance, Americans pause to reflect on the devastating September 11 terror attacks. We commemorate those we lost and give thanks to the brave first responders that put their lives on the line to help. We were faithfully and heroically served by common heroes doing their jobs. So, this 9/11, take a moment to remember with us by serving your local community in some way.
 
Constitution Day (September 17)
Today we commemorate when delegates came together in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and signed the United States Constitution into action. In 2004, Senator Robert Byrd passed an amendment that effectively renamed the holiday “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day,” which requires public schools and institutions to provide information on the history of the country’s constitution. Celebrate our freedoms today!
 
September is National Suicide Prevention Month
There is an average of 123 suicides each day in this country. It’s the tenth leading cause of death in America — second leading for ages 25-34, and third leading for ages 15-24. Moreover, a rising number of American service veterans succumb to suicide each year. In order to create awareness and strengthen the fight against suicide, the entire month of September is Suicide Prevention Month. Participate in the fight by getting involved with local organizations and listening to those who need help.
 
Birthdays
 
September 1, 1908- Estee Lauder, founded cosmetics & fragrance company
September 1, 1923- Rocky Marciano, champion boxer
September 1, 1933- Conway Twitty, country singer
September 1, 1946- Barry Gibb, singer, songwriter, member of the “Bee Gees”
September 1, 1950- “Dr. Phil” McGraw, TV personality on “Oprah Winfrey” and “Dr. Phil” shows
September 1, 1957- Gloria Estefan, singer, Latin Pop music
September 2, 1948- Terry Bradshaw, NFL quarterback, sportscaster
September 2, 1948- Christa McAuliffe, teacher, an astronaut killed in Challenger shuttle explosion
September 2, 1951- Mark Harmon, actor
September 2, 1968- Salma Hayek, actress
September 3, 1856- Louis H. Sullivan, architect, developed skyscrapers
September 3, 1913- Alan Ladd, actor, “Shane”
September 3, 1965-Charlie Sheen, actor
September 4, 1918- Paul Harvey, radio personality, quote: “And now, the rest of the story”
September 5, 1847- Jesse James, Outlaw, bank and train robber
September 6, 1888- Joseph P. Kennedy, Kennedy family patriarch
September 6, 1937- Jo Anne Worley, comedian, actress
September 7, 1923- Peter Lawford, actor
September 7, 1931- Al McGuire, basketball coach, sportscaster
September 7, 1936- Buddy Holly, singer, musician
September 8, 1932- Patsy Cline, country singer
September 8, 1957- Heather Thomas, actress
September 9, 1941- Otis Redding, singer, “Sittin on the Dock of the Bay”
September 9, 1949- Joe Theisman, NFL Washington Redskins quarterback, sportscaster
September 9, 1966- Adam Sandler, actor, comedian
September 10, 1929- Arnold Palmer, golfer
September 11, 1913- Paul “Bear” Bryant, Alabama football coach
September 11, 1924- Tom Landry, NFL Dallas Cowboys coach
September 11, 1940- Brian DePalma, filmmaker
September 11, 1967- Harry Connick Jr., actor, singer
September 13, 1860- John J. Pershing, World War I General
September 13, 1903- Claudette Colbert, actress
September 15, 1857- William Howard Taft, 27th U.S. President (1909-1913), chief justice of the Supreme Court
September 15, 1890- Agatha Christie, mystery writer
September 15, 1903- Roy Acuff, country singer
September 15, 1940- Merlin Olsen, football player, sportscaster, actor
September 15, 1946- Tommy Lee Jones, actor, “M.I.B.”
September 15, 1946- Oliver Stone, director
September 15, 1961- Dan Marino, NFL Miami Dolphins quarterback
September 16, 1924- Lauren Bacall, actress
September 16, 1924- B. B. King, blues singer
September 18, 1939 -Frankie Avalon, singer, actor
September 18, 1971- Lance Armstrong, six-time Tour de France cycling champion
September 19, 1929- Adam West, actor
September 20, 1878- Upton Sinclair, novelist
September 21, 1866- H. G. Wells, novelist
September 21, 1931- Larry Hagman, actor “I Dream of Jeannie” and  “J.R. Ewing” on “Dallas”
September 21, 1947- Stephen King, novelist, horror stories
September 21, 1950- Bill Murray, actor, comedian
September 21, 1967- Faith Hill, singer
September 22, 1927- Tommy Lasorda, MLB baseball manager
September 22, 1960- Joan Jett, singer, guitarist
September 22, 1961- Scott Baio, actor
September 23, 1949- Bruce Springsteen, singer, songwriter
September 24, 1896- F. Scott Fitzgerald, novelist
September 25, 1944- Michael Douglas, actor
September 25, 1947- Cheryl Tiegs, model
September 25, 1951- Mark Hamill, actor
September 25, 1952- Christopher Reeve, actor, “Superman” movie
September 25, 1961- Heather Locklear, actress
September 25, 1968- Will Smith, actor, “MIB”
September 26, 1888- T. S. Eliot, poet
September 26, 1968- James Caviezel, “Jesus” in movie “Passion of the Christ”
September 27, 1722- Samuel Adams, Revolutionary War leader, politician
September 27, 1840- Thomas Nast, political cartoonist
September 28, 1573- Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio, painter
September 28, 1901- Ed Sullivan, TV personality, “The Ed Sullivan Show”
September 28, 1973- Gwyneth Paltrow, actress
September 29, 1901- Enrico Fermi, a nuclear physicist
September 29, 1907- Gene Autry, actor, singer, the “Singing Cowboy”
September 30, 1924- Truman Capote, novelist
September 30, 1931- Angie Dickinson, actress
What ways do you plan to spend the glorious days of September? How can you leverage these holiday events or happenings to attract customers and impact your business? Share them in the comments and of course, share them with your readers! Until next month, enjoy the colors, root for your favorite team, and as always, keep writing!