Some of the best online videos are designed by people who might not be experts with a camera, but who have unlimited imagination and enthusiasm.

We’ll uncap some of that creative talent in Europe, where we’re celebrating the first anniversary of our Amway Home brand with a call for original video demonstrations.

Video entries are due today for this pilot program. The videos are made by and star our distributors, as well as Amway Home laundry, dish or surface products. To date, more than 160 videos are contenders. [Update: The final number of entries totals more than 220.]

It’s a simple idea, but one that could have far-reaching potential. Our research shows that a home care demonstration increases sales volume, and improves both distributor and customer engagement.

Our Research and Development team will help judge the winning entries, based on novelty, simplicity and relevance.

We can’t wait to meet the winners later this year. Not only do they each earn a trip for two to Amway World Headquarters, they’ll also perform in their own demos, which will be professionally produced.

Watch the Insider for a future sneak peak!

Jesseca Frost, Amway Public Relations Intern, co-authored this post.

Yesterday, the top leaders in the Amway business departed Portofino, Italy and returned to the 14 countries from which they hail. It is our hope that the following words, which appeared in the customary take-home packet, remain with them and are meaningful to all readers of the Amway Insider:

“Where we go tomorrow, well, that’s really up to all of us, isn’t it? We are all the current caretakers of the Amway business, and we have an awesome responsibility.”

That responsibility – to fellow members of Amway, family members, friends and strangers alike, communities and countries – can be seen, heard and most importantly, felt in the videos created to honor the seven new members of Founders Council in 2012.

In one of the videos, here and embedded below, a former film editor expresses that responsibility in his terms: “We would interview, shoot, and edit programs. When something wasn’t right, we could always rewind. But we can not rewind and restart in life.”

That was his reason for joining Amway – for saying “arrivederci” to editing and hello to a business opportunity with endless potential.

When we say we’re a company built on values, we mean it.

Freedom. Family. Hope. Reward.

Those are our Founders’ Fundamentals that are embedded, literally, in stone in front of our World Headquarters in Ada, Michigan.

These principles, along with our corporate values and mission, provide a solid foundation for all our business operations, from our dealings with distributors to the leadership positions our executives hold within their communities.

To find out how, inspired by our values, we collectively improve the world around us, read our Corporate Citizenship Report.

Or watch this video of Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel and President Doug DeVos discussing what the Founders’ Fundamentals mean to our organization.

YouTube Direkt

 When Dick DeVos and Doug DeVos are inducted as members of the U.S. Direct Selling Association (DSA) Hall of Fame, they’ll join their father, Amway Co-Founder Rich DeVos, in this exclusive group of direct selling pioneers and leaders.

And Rich will be there to welcome them to the club.

The DSA announced today that Rich will present Doug and Dick as the newest Hall of Fame honorees June 5 during the organization’s annual meeting.

It will be a family affair as Rich welcomes his sons to the association’s honorary group of leaders who have made significant contributions to the industry.   It is the first time since 2009 that DSA will add industry leaders to the Hall of Fame.

Portofino is known as one of the most beautiful ports on the Italian Riviera, a place where artists have long found inspiration and tourists have found rest and relaxation. This week, it is home to our annual Founders Council gathering of top Amway distributors from around the world.

They will certainly experience history with a visit to the 1361-built Cervara Abbey, but they’ll also get a glimpse of the future through the eyes of our executives.

As Doug DeVos shared with them, “For over 50 years, the decisions we’ve made, the relationships we’ve forged, the successes we’ve seen are a result of bringing to life the vision, values and cause of the Amway business. The partnership that began with Rich and Jay so many years ago and the partnership we have with you is what’s made this business what it is today . . . and will make this business strong for generations to come.”

Poet and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said Portofino was the perfect example of the profound connection between the places that have inspired artists and intellectuals and their works. In our case, it’s inspiring more than 90 Amway distributorships and through them, a global family of celebrated accomplishers.

How do we put America’s economy back on track?

By unleashing something we already have in abundance: The entrepreneurial spirit. 

In a U.S. Chamber of Commerce “CEO Leadership Series” appearance today in Washington, D.C., Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel told a beltway audience that an entrepreneurial approach is a part of the solution to our nation’s challenges.

“Entrepreneurs are innovative, have good ideas and are willing to try new things. They work best in an environment with fewer unnecessary and burdensome regulations,” he said. “If we applied these principles to business, we’d see more hiring, more confidence and more optimism than what we have today.”

Harnessing these qualities will “unleash a spirit of entrepreneurship – where hard work is rewarded, innovation and creativity are encouraged, failure is not feared.”

View a webcast of Steve’s appearance here.

With more than 66 million independent business owners in more than 100 countries, direct selling companies have a great potential to do good works just about anywhere.

This month, Direct Selling News highlights how direct sellers are positively affecting the world through philanthropic efforts that vary as much as the products they offer.

At Amway, sharing resources is as important as sharing talents, Corporate Citizenship Manager Debb Kalmbach told the industry’s top trade publication. “Volunteering is a critical component. It is much more engaging when people can see the people they are helping.”

We’d like to share a few of those stories.

Highlighted in the 2011 Amway Corporate Citizenship Report are Amway China’s efforts to provide migrant children with education and nutrition; NUTRILITE Little Bits childhood nutrition program and matching corporate grants for projects like Habitat for Humanity in Guatemala.

For details on our efforts to make a positive impact on people’s lives,visit the Amway One By One Campaign for Children’s blog.

Australia, Croatia,  Vietnam, Zambia.

The names of the places where our company, employees and distributors make a difference in a child’s life range all the way from A to Z.

Here are just a few of the many generous efforts last year that positively affected more than 1.5 million children around the world:

Australia: Many of the 3 million people affected by flooding received relief.
Croatia: 100 children with chronic childhood diseases were treated with new medical equipment.
Vietnam: 140 children with cleft lips and palate deformities received life-changing surgeries.
Zambia: 175 children received essential micronutrients through NUTRILITE™ Little Bits.

To find out how Amway is making a difference in your community, visit the Amway 2011 Corporate Citizenship Report. A global summary starts on page 18.

Thomas Edison was a brilliant inventor.

That’s why our Fulton Innovation team is privileged to win the Gold Edison Award in Applied Technology for Power Management for eCoupled Intelligent Wireless Power in the internationally renowned 2012 Edison Awards.

Fulton’s innovative entry impressed the judges – a group of more than 3,000 senior business executives and academics – with a collaborative effort with Motorola Mobility to provide a wireless power option for the DROID™3.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from the prestigious Edison Awards,” said Dave Baarman, director of advanced technologies for Fulton Innovation, in a news release. “Our work with Motorola, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), and our many partners enable us to bring advancements in wireless power directly to consumers to simplify their lives.”

In their pre-Amway days, Co-Founders Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos embarked on a sailing trip to the Caribbean. They didn’t let the fact that neither of them knew how to sail stop them from their wanderlust.

Well, the boat sank in the waters off Cuba, but one of the things salvaged was the boat’s bell, which Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel will talk about in his May 2 speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C.

“It’s something I keep right outside my office at Amway’s headquarters as a constant reminder of Dad and Rich’s sense of adventure and willingness to take on new challenges,” Steve says. “These were two guys not easily deterred by hard work or rejection.”

Steve will highlight the importance of that adventurous spirit when he visits the Chamber. It will be a familiar venue for him. He has served on the Chamber board since 1996, is a past chairman and currently serves as treasurer.

Our guest blogger is social media consultant Cami Reister.