Interstate All Battery Center encourages residents bracing for the storm to:

-Store commonly used batteries in an easy-to-find place

-Secure a battery-powered or crank-powered weather radio to listen to local news reports. The Red Cross recommends listening before, during and after severe weather.

-FEMA recommends that every family member have a cell phone. Equip each family member with a back-up charger powered by alkaline batteries that can re-charge cell phones and laptops keep families connected during emergencies.

-Keep a water-resistant hand-cranked flashlight on hand, along with a more powerful, battery-powered flashlight. Most Interstate All Battery Centers stock about thirty different flashlights, including models like those used by firefighters and other rescue workers.

-A portable generator or solar power charger can provide enough power to keep refrigerators and air conditioners working in the event of a power outage.

-An inverter can be hooked to your car battery or to a SLI battery and generate enough power to prevent food from spoiling and to power small devices like lamps until electricity is restored.

“We’ve helped countless people and relief organizations power through storms,” Interstate All Battery Director Jim Eades said. “Our All Battery Center franchisees along the east coast are encouraging their neighbors to be sufficiently prepared for the hurricane by adequately stocking up on batteries to power emergency items during this critical time.”

The event was the first official all battery recycling effort in the region, and residents were encouraged to drop off all types of batteries for free, including lead-acid, alkaline, lithium and rechargeables.

Store visitors were treated to barbecue from specially designed barbecue grills built inside an automobile body and entered to win a grand prize race weekend in Las Vegas.

At the end of the day, the Kelowna All Battery Center’s special collection bin and scale measured approximately 3,300 pounds of batteries to be recycled. Way to go!

In honor of the No. 18 Toyota driven by Kyle Busch, participants registered to win one of 18 battery giveaways, including automotive, boat, truck, motorcycle, or lawn and garden batteries.

This is Dennis’ second franchise location and he plans to open two more stores in the Indianapolis area. Congratulations!

To keep their fun running and spirits high, Interstate All Battery Center donated 480 packs of alkaline batteries to the hospital this week.

“We are so thrilled about Interstate’s wonderful donation of batteries,” said Alissa McKinney, Blank Children’s Hospital Director of Development. “It’s great to get that kind of support. What a benefit for our staff to help make a child happy by getting that toy up and running again. The folks at Interstate are going to help a lot of kids.”

Larry’s idea encouraged his fellow chapter members to participate in the meet and greet. For two hours on Saturday, fellow Longhorn chapter members helped bag batteries and other goodies and passed them out to the returning troops. Larry said the experience was truly heartwarming. “It’s just a very personal way to say thank you to each of them for risking their lives to protect ours.”

Here’s Coach on his relationship with Interstate and Norm:

• Estimated attendance at the race: 174,000
• Estimated total TV viewers (TNT): 6.1 million

Kyle led the race for 23 laps until an unfortunate accident on lap 103 ended his night early. But coverage of Kyle – and the accident – gave the Interstate All Battery Center logo lots of airtime!

Fans were also interacting with Interstate All Battery Center on social networks during the race. The official Interstate Batteries Twitter account (@interstatebatts) gave “behind-the-scenes” information and photos, and several trivia contests on our Facebook page generated hundreds of entries – and drove participants to our list of All Battery Center locations.

San Diego’s Ron Cummings got to attend the race as the winner of Interstate All Battery Center’s 2009 Rookie of the Year award, and Aurora, Nebraska, franchisee Lee Danhauer was also rewarded tickets for his store’s performance.

Watch the video below for fun behind-the-scenes footage of the Daytona race weekend:

He writes:

Joe and Jim are professional and expert without wasting a minute. My wife went in my truck to drop the kids at school, a 20-25 minute trip, and I went to repair her van’s start problem due to the battery. I parked in the front, opened the van’s hood and went inside to look for some help. Joe was ready with his testing meters and tools and asked me before I could ask someone. Jim brought the cart with other tools. My battery was bad. They hooked up a small battery to keep any accessories running and replaced my old battery with a new one. My old battery was a year or so old, so there was no cost to me. The best part is that I was at home before my wife came back. It feels like a civilian race crew where maximum time efficiency is met with quality and the best care in mind. I am very satisfied. Thank you Joe and Jim at Interstate All Battery Center! ‎