Among the business letters available for one’s use, is the letter announcing a hiring freeze and is probably one of the most delicate announcements one could ever make. This is so because it will greatly affect not only the physical but also the moral aspect of the employees and potential employees. Hiring employees greatly affect the stability of the company. Such measures are usually taken in order to protect and secure the safety not only of the company profit, but also to maintain a good performance and status of the company.

A hiring freeze is usually brought about by the slow movement of revenue in the company. Making an announcement regarding this matter must be delivered in a clear and reasonable manner.

Reasons for such a decision must be explained clearly. It does not need to be extremely detailed, but it should be enough to tell your employees why your company decided to commit to such a decision. Below is an example of a letter announcing a hiring freeze for a company.

SAMPLE

November 25, 2010

Moon and Shine Jewelry Company
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, PA 10987

Moon and Shine Jewelry Company – New York Branch
2345 Antioch Drive
Queens, NY 02345

To All the Employees,

This is to inform everyone that the Moon and Shine Jewelry Company will have to put on hold the hiring of new employees. The administration understands that various sectors in the company are expecting to receive help, and this freeze may cause a little hardship in some departments. Rest assured however, that this will not last long.

The hiring freeze has been decided by the company in an effort to recover and create strategies in approaching the market due to the slow reception of the market to the products brought about by economic adjustments the state is currently experiencing.

Rest assured that this time will be used wisely to formulate new approaches in facing the market, so that by the start of next year, plans of hiring new applicants will finally be put into action.

The Company sincerely hopes for your understanding and support as we cope under the current situation. Rest assured that we will get back on track the soonest time possible.

Thank you, and good day!

With my most profound gratitude,

Eric Carter
CEO
Moon and Shine Jewelry Company

It is important to keep your employees informed whenever there are new programs that must immediately be implemented in the company. Whether it is a mandated company policy or something that is optional, you should still find time to inform everyone of this certain program to keep your employees well informed of the matters going about in the company.

One of these programs usually mandated for employees is the Drug Testing Program, to make sure that your employees are, naturally, toxic-free in order to establish a drug free working environment. As drug testing is a delicate matter, it must be announced to your employees in a careful way which, even if it is commanding and executing, must still be delivered in a nice way that seeks understanding and patience.

Announcing a drug testing program is almost the same as announcing a change in a company policy; it must be informative and delivered with utmost care. It should be easy to understand and approachable. Here is an example of a business letter announcing a mandated drug testing program.

SAMPLE

November 25, 2010

Alpha-Omega Corporation
Medical Division
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, PA 10987

Alpha-Omega Corporation
ALL EMPLOYEES
2345 Antioch Drive
Queens, NY 02345

A Notice to All Our Employees,

Due to the recent events, issues and disturbances related to drug-related incidences, the company has decided to take necessary actions in order to assure not only a drug free working environment, but also to secure the welfare of the employees. In line with this, therefore, effective December 10, 2010, the company, this will be administered by the company clinic staff, and will perform drug testing, to be done all throughout the year. It is our hope that by the end of the year, all our employees would have completed at least one random drug test.

The employees shall be informed an hour before the actual test. Testing will be scheduled and performed only during office hours. Your supervisors shall also receive the same notification to allow you to have an hour off so that you can attend the drug procedure. The entire drug testing shall be free of charge and will be under the direct supervision of the company clinic.

For concerns regarding this matter, you may direct your queries to your immediate superior.

This program is a mandated procedure subjected for everyone’s strict compliance.

Noted,

Dr. Joseph Andrews
Company Physician

A contest does not only serve its purpose of rewarding an individual, the announcement of the lucky winner of a the contest serves as a promotion of your company. A letter to announce a contest winner must be presented in a manner which you are aimin

g to deliver the good news to the winning party, and at the same time, you are proudly informing everybody of such wonderful result.

This aims to tell everyone that you chose the best person which performed well in the contest. Also, it must encourage the readers that they, as well, will be able to win prizes just like the lucky party, if they join and participate in the future contests. Also, make sure to inform not only the winning party, but also the readers as a whole of the prices the winner gets to receive.

Most of all shower the winner with congratulatory messages. In this article, you will be able to view a sample letter announcing a winner in a company contest.

SAMPLE

November 25, 2010

Rejoice and Revive Modeling Agency
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, PA 10987

To Our Valued Customers and Contestants,

It is our pleasure to inform to every one of you that Ms. Jane Lennon, a sophomore of St. Mary’s Academy has won this year’s Rejoice and Revive Anniversary Promo.

Of all the thousands of participants and hopefuls, Ms. Lennon has showed our dear judges her exemplary skills in the field of beauty and aesthetics. Born and raised in Ohio, she proved herself worthy of our company’s attention for a job well done. For this, she will receive five thousand dollars ($5,000) cash, plus a chance to be a part of our company as a fashion director. For this, congratulations, Jane!

In line with this, we would also like to grab this opportunity to thank you, our dear participants for making this promo possible. Rest assured that in the coming years, you will experience more fun, more challenges, and better prizes for you to fight for. So keep yourself at bay and be prepared.

We hope for your enthusiastic participation in the future as well!

Truly yours,

Evalyn Lopez
Promotions Director
Rejoice and Revive Modeling Agency

The fastest way for you to announce a price decrease or increase of your products and services is through emailing your clients.

This is one of the mediums to disseminate information faster about your current developments in your company. Keep in

mind that you may use the announcement letter for your advantage.

Use it as a key opportunity to strengthen your relationships with your customers, thank them for all the support and at the same time promote your organization.

Below are sample letters on announcing a price decrease or increase of your products and services.

EXAMPLE Announcement of Price Increase

November 25, 2010

Mr. John Smith
Purchasing Head
XYZ Company
[Address]
COMANY Inc.

Dear Mr. Smith,

Greetings.

Due to the increased costs of our raw materials, we regret to inform you that we have to increase the cost of our products. We tried our best not to increase our prices but we can no longer pull our strings.

For your reference, we have attached a catalogue with the new price list of our products which will be effective December 1, 2010. For any orders you will make from now and before December 1, 2010 will be charged at the lower rates.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support and patronage of our products.

Should you have any questions regarding the new rates, feel free to contact us.

Yours very truly,

Jane Doe
Sales and Marketing Head

SAMPLE Announcement of Price Decrease

November 17, 2010

Mr. John Smith
Purchasing Head
XYZ Company
[Address]
COMANY Inc.

Dear Mr. Smith,

Greetings.

We rarely have the opportunity to advise our customers of such good news. Due to the decreased costs of our raw materials, we are glad to inform you that it has made it possible for our organization to decrease our prices.

Effective December 1, 2010, the attached catalogue with the new price list of our products will be implemented. By the way, these prices do not include the discount we have given to you prior the changes of price.

We would like to take this opportunity as well to thank you for your continued patronage of our products.

Yours very truly,

Jane Doe
Sales and Marketing Head

NOTE:
The above letter is a good news letter. It contains welcome information. It can communicate to your customers that you are doing your best to serve their needs especially during these trying times. It shows how you value your customers. Grab this opportunity to establish good will and confidence between your customers.

A personal letter is very informal and warm. This is a form of how you share your personal feelings about a certain event such as an engagement to someone close to you. How can you share such good news? Of course, write a personal letter. When you write a personal letter, you may include pertinent information like the date, time and venue. Do it in a conversational tone like they are just in front of you.

Thank you to the technology because you can make a personal letter through email which your receiver can get it in just seconds. You do not have to worry if they will not get it on time or will be lost in the post office.

Some announcements can also be done in a website and then send a link to the people whom you want to read the announcement. Although, keep in mind as well that there are members of your family or friends who are not technology savvy. You have to know those people whom you need to write a personal letter using the traditional way.

An example of a personal letter is announcing an engagement of your child. It is very personal and an important milestone for your child and your family. Such event is very special that you want it to announce to your relatives and friends. Here’s an example of a personal letter announcing an engagement.

SAMPLE

November 25, 2010

Linda Kent
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, PA 10987

Christina Reiner
2345 Antioch Drive
Washington, D.C. 02345

Dearest Chris,

Hope this letter finds you well. How are you?

I’m writing to share with you a very joyful event from our family. This calls for a celebration for our entire family. Our daughter, Jane was asked by her long time boyfriend, John Smith to get married this coming year.

John asked Jane last week over dinner and they are planning to have a party for close family and friends to celebrate the wonderful occasion.

In such wonderful event, we would like you and your family to be part of it. Here are the details:

December 19, 2010, 7:00 pm at Spaghetti Home’s, 103 Sicilian Drive, Washington DC.

I hope that you and your family can attend this very special and personal event in our lives.

I look forward seeing you on December 19.

Sincerely,
Lino and Linda Kent

This kind of announcement is formal. It is a public statement that a couple has intentions of getting married. It usually states the name of the engaged persons, their parents, and where they live.

You have to check first with the newspaper editor the guidelines and requirements before submitting your details. It should also use appropriate words if one of the parents is deceased, the parents are divorced or the couple is the one making the announcement and not their parents. Writing this type of announcement is really a challenge because anyone could read your announcement.

You might consider disclosing some details and facts. You have to double check the data that you plan to include in the announcement. For instance, is it logical and safe to state the address and number of your child or yours? It is highly recommended that contact details should be kept away from any public announcements.

Keep in mind that a newspaper is a public communication tool and you are posting a very personal event. Just be discreet with other information.

Here are some general tips on how to write an announcement:

1) You have to be concise and direct. Make sure that your reader will be able to get and understand clearly the information you want to convey.

2) It should be friendly and short especially if you are sharing good news to the readers. Your announcement should post positive feelings.

3) When writing an announcement, you should give complete details.

4) Once you are done writing your work, proofread. Consult online dictionary, thesaurus or grammar check if you have to.

For your guide, see sample letter to know how to announce a very important event such as an engagement in a newspaper.

SAMPLE

November 25, 2010

George and Brittany Washington
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, PA 10987

Nicolas VonStoudt
2345 Antioch Drive
Queens, NY 02345

We are glad to announce the engagement of Jane Smith and John Doe. The couple has been dating for five years already and just last Saturday, over dinner, John asked the hand of our daughter in marriage.

To all our families and friends who know our daughter or John, kindly email us at engagement@engagement.com. Please include in your email who you are and your mailing address for us to send a formal invitation for their engagement party.

All our family and friends are invited for a simple gathering. Hope all of you can attend.

Thank you.

George and Brittany Washington

The graduation of a son or daughter is the most anticipated day of the parents. It will not only be a proof that the child will face the real world and find a job, but to add relief to the parent’s everyday spending. A better way to give your child a good pat on the back is to make a post graduation party for him. Better send a graduation announcement letter to your other relatives and your child’s friends.

A graduation announcement letter is an invitation to a post graduation party for your child. You can inform your immediate family, friends or other classmates of your child.

If you are sending a graduation announcement letter, it is best to inform the relatives and friends two weeks in advance. The timeframe would make the guests prepare and allot time for the party. The letter could be engraved with glossy words on hard stationery and can be placed inside an envelope or fold into three ways and the name of the guest at the front.

When you are writing, make sure that it is straight forward to avoid confusion. You can also attach a map if the venue is farther than the school. Add your child’s achievements to make it more special like magna cum laude, valedictorian, etc. Also put a R.S V.P. note to make sure that the guest has an option not to attend (which works for his not-so-close classmates). A themed letter and party is much more suited to the kids especially if it takes until morning. The usually themes nowadays are dance parties, movie themed parties, TV show themed parties, and techno parties.

Here is an example of a graduation announcement letter.

SAMPLE

April 25, 2010

Victor & Erica Maldonaldo
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, NY 10987

Christine Goodspeed
2345 Antioch Drive
Queens, NY 02345

Dear Christine,

Come with us as we celebrate the graduation of Summa Cum Laude Bryan Maldonaldo from Meadow University.

It will be held at our home at 3086 Tail Ends Road, Meadowlark, New York on the 21st of May 2010 at 7 pm after the graduation rites. A map is included to this letter to direct you. This party will be hosted by Mr. Victor and Mrs. Erica Maldonaldo. Attire is casual, don’t forget your dancing shoes.

See you there,

Victor & Erica

Please R.S.V.P. by the 10th of May to Mr. Ricky Berry. Call him at 312-555-3486 or send a message to his email account, rickyAberry@super.com.

No one wants to hear the news that his family member or friend had passed away. It is also difficult to the boss and the company management to handle a deceased employee or a mourning employee over the death of his loved one. That is why death announcements are posted on their billboards; to let other employees and employers have sympathy for the grieving family.

A death announcement of a company is a sensitive company announcement. They request other officemates to understand the grieving family and have some time to visit them. Sometimes, donations are requested to help the family but it is not compulsory.

The tone of a death announcement letter has to be solemn yet positive. It has to state full details like the name of the decreased, the relation to the employer, the time and date of departure, the time and date of the memorial service, and if donations are needed or not. You can also put encouraging words to help the employer cope with the present situation and encouraging others to support him.

If the deceased is an employer, the harder it is for the employees. The statement has to be short and understandable with the picture of the employer attached. You can also put the address of the memorial service and the achievements of the employee in the company like the Top Employee Award. There is no need to write redundant sentences in these letters.

Here is a sample announcement letter of death of an employee’s parent.

SAMPLE

July 25, 2010

HagerLand Inc.
Michael Flowers
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, PA 10987

HagerLand Inc.
Sales Division
2345 Antioch Drive
Queens, NY 02345

MEMORANDUM 110898

To All Employees:

HagerLand Inc. is sad to inform everyone that Christina White, the mother of the Sales Representative Ruby White, is passed away on July 17, 2010. Her remnants will be at the St. Francis Church at Winchester and buried on Brentwood Memorial Park in Sunday.

Donations are kindly accepted by the White family. Please contact Ruby White or her father, Michael White at this number: 516-555-9266 or go to their home address at 926 Creeky Road, Winchester, California92234.

Let us give our condolences to the White family and pray for them and for the decreased.

Mike Flowers
CEO of HagerLand Inc.

Losing someone in the family is hard, especially if you know that he/she is about to die. It is even sadder if you need to tell relatives who live far away about the news. A less painful way to do this is by sending them a death announcement

letter.

A death announcement letter is a personal letter telling the sad news about a family member who passed away. It is easily written since you don’t have to pick up the phone and bring yourself to tears every time you say it. Usually, long distance relatives are informed in this way.

Writing a death announcement letter of a family member should be personal, unlike in an obituary. You need to give the basic information like when your family member died, what is the cause of his death, and where and when will the funeral services be held to let the recipient know.

You may also ask him to rush and go to the mortuary or send funeral donations if he cannot come. The tone of the letter must be entirely solemn; otherwise your relative will be angry at you for being impassive.

Here is a sample of a personal death announcement letter.

SAMPLE

November 25, 2010

Paul Jones
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, PA 10987

Laura Jones-Smith
2345 Antioch Drive
Queens, NY 02345

Dear Laura,

I am sad to tell you that our grandfather Theodore passed away yesterday at 9:00 this morning, November 25. He ended his battle peacefully with liver cancer. One month ago, we celebrated our grandmother Rosita’s birthday, and he said farewell to us. Two days ago, he was breathing very hard and so we brought him to the nearest hospital. He said his final words to us and he died peacefully.

His funeral will take place at St. John the Baptist Church in Warrensburg, PA his hometown. He is scheduled to be cremated at Cedar Funeral Homes near Rainbow. I have attached a map to let you know where you must go.

Please make it on time as soon as you can.

I hope someday, we can talk about lighter things about our own lives. If you want to ask more information about the funeral, don’t hesitate to call me.

Sincerely,
Paul Jones

Losing someone in your family is painful. It hurts and you must deal with it for months, or even years. The last thing that you can do for that family member is to write an obituary for him.

An obituary is a public announcement about a death of a person. It is a perfect chance to tell to the world the achievements of that person during his life time. It is a good announcement to make that will reach other family members and friends of the deceased. To pay homage and an invitation to come to the funeral and memorial ceremony.

Some newspapers publish short obituaries for free. For longer obituaries, a fee is may be charged by the newspapers because of additional formatting, number of characters, and the space that it fills in the obituary page. If you want to publish the obituary worldwide and free, you can search for obituary websites and post your obituary there.

When writing an obituary, you must include a picture of the deceased, his full name, age when he died, the date and time of his departure, the immediate survivors like children, spouse or grandchildren and sometimes that cause of his death. Also include where, when and what time the funeral and memorial service will take place. If you are writing paid obituaries then you must include the background of the deceased such as his previous work, organizations he joined and his achievements.

Here is an example of an announcement letter in an obituary:

SAMPLE

November 25, 2010

Filson- Stokes and Associates
1234 Narrow Road
Rainbow, Texas 70987

The Filson and Stokes family are sad to announce the passing of Joseph Filson aged 80 of Dallas, Texas on the morning of November 23, 2010. He died due to health complications.

Mr. Joseph Filson was the son of a farmer and a housewife. He studied at the University of Texas by age 15, and pursued his dream to become a lawyer. He co-founded the Filson-Stroke law firm here in Texas.

He married his childhood sweetheart, Laura Rubin and has a daughter Kim and a younger son, Timmy. He has 8 grandchildren.

His remains will be at the Jesus the Light Church in Dallas, Texas beginning November 27 and will be buried at the Tavern Memorial Park on November 30.

Donations are welcome. For more information, please call Kim Stokes at 304-555-2465 or email at KimFStokes@fsa.com.

Kimberly Stokes
Business Manager
Filson-Stokes and Associates