MURFREESBORO, TN - Mary Esther Reed, owner of The Learning Circle, the South Church Street Educational Supplies retail store, has been selected for the cover of nationally distributed trade magazine, Educational Dealer.

The featured article, entitled “All the Right Moves”, was authored by Anya Harris and explores Reed’s aggressive changes to The Learning Circle since she acquired the store in 2002.

“During the interview with Anya, I started thinking about how these past few years have just flown by,” Reed explains. “The move from Memorial to South Church Street seemed to happen so fast, but it was good to sit down and assess where we’ve come from and to start thinking again about where we’re going.”

To fans of The Learning Circle, the conversation generally circles around a 115 square foot tree/play room in the middle of the store. The tree plays a starring role in the feature and accompanies Reed on the magazine’s cover.

“All the Right Moves” also explores Reed’s aggressive marketing strategy to assist long-time Learning Circle customers to feel comfortable about the store’s new location and to attract new audiences that would find the new location more accessible and convenient.

An excerpt of the article explains Reed’s strategic partnership with the community’s most visible institution, MTSU.

"One of her most successful marketing efforts was a partnership with Middle-Tennessee State University (MTSU) that rewarded local school students for earning good grades. Every child from a participating school who made honor roll received a voucher for admission to a MTSU football or basketball game on a particular day. A coupon for The Learning Circle, as one of the program’s sponsors, was featured at the bottom of each voucher. It was an effective and measurable way to attract customers, said Reed, and she will do it again.”

In fact, the November 27^th football home game against Florida Atlantic was this year’s Honor Roll Day at MTSU.

Reed was surprised when she was asked to be interviewed for a feature article. According to its web site, the magazine reaches 6,500 school supply buyers in its print edition. The article also appears online at EdDealerMagazine.com.

While the magazine is not generally available at retail outlets, the article can be found online at EdDealerMagazine.com.

Mary Esther Reed purchased The Learning Circle in 2002 and moved the store to its current location in 2008, increasing retail space dramatically.

For more information, contact Mary Esther Reed at 615-904-1082 or on the web at TheLearningCircleOnline.com.