I have been hearing about Turkey’s recent earthquake, and the devestation it has caused. What terrible, tragic news. Seems as if every time I turn around some terrible disaster is hitting someplace! Sometimes I wonder if the tragedies are coming faster and harder than they used to, or if I’m just now becoming more aware of them. If it’s me, I wonder if it is just because I’ve been so focused on my own little corner of the world that I haven’t paid much attention to anything beyond the boundaries of my own yard, or if it is because the information age is making it so much more “in your face” than it used to be.
Spread the word
by Mary AnneI can remember in college, taking a course in marketing. I found that course extremely interesting, and considered trying to change my major to marketing and get a job with an Advertising Agency when I graduated. I love to be creative, and like to think that I can be persuasive. When I was single I used to help my future husband and his boss John dream up of ways to advertise their business. The business was a small retail store called “Maine Audio” and it was in Waterville Maine.
Their biggest competitor was a company called “New England Music” and the competition was fierce! This was back in the 70′s, way before the Internet existed, so the biggest media for advertising back then was the newspaper, radio, and television. The advertising budget was very limited, however, so much of the marketing was “word of mouth.” But we had a lot of fun with local promotions, sponsoring events and contests. Not long after my husband and I married, he changed his career path and we lost touch with John. We heard that he died in a terrible automobile accident and the business closed up. That was very sad news to hear.
Today I was talking about my blogging with a lady at work; she suggested that I apply for a copy-writing job with a local catalog sales company. She told me that she used to work part time for them, helping them to write their catalog entries. I was intrigued with the idea, but it brought back memories of a “Jerry Seinfeld Show” where Elaine was working for a catalog company, helping to write their ads. Just the thought of doing something like Elaine did made me laugh!
It’s A Family Affair – Carter Family Style
by Mary AnneOMG I just got word that next year it will be my turn to host the “Carter Family Reunion” I thought I had a few more years before it was my turn, but apparently things have changed and my name is now on top of the list. We have a pretty large group of family members that attend these yearly get togethers and it is a big deal to have the responsibility of hosting one. I’m sure that I’ll have some help from my mother and a few of my siblings that are still in the area, but it will still be a challenge and it will take a lot of time and hard work to pull it off, so I’m glad that I have a year to get it all put together.
The good news is that there are now ways to make events like this a bit easier, thanks to the Internet. My sister has all ready sent me the link to the Online Event Management company that she has heard so much about from people that she works with that have had to organize large events in the past. Eventish.com advertises that they make event management, marketing and ticketing easy and affordable, so I am going to take some time over the weekend and check them out to see what they are all about and see if I think if using something like this would be the way to go.
If anyone out there has any suggestions, I’d love to hear from you by leaving a comment or by shooting me an email at the email address provided in the “About Me” section of this blog. A year sounds like a long time, but the clock is ticking and will continue to do so whether I’m ready or not!
KISS Ms. Sharon Good-Bye
by Mary AnneI see that Sharon has finally had enough of Gene Simmons. I can’t imagine staying with a man for 27 years while the whole time knowing darn well that he is playing around with thousands of other women. I’m just not sure if this is a publicity stunt for their show or for real. Guess time will tell.
A Safer Playground For The Neighborhood Kids
by Mary AnneEvery now and then I will hear a story about how a child has been seriously injured while playing on a playground. It always breaks my heart to hear stories like that. So I’m glad to know that there is a major push going on right now concerning playground safety all across the country. Many public playgrounds are being torn down making way for a new safer version to be built, which I’m so glad to hear about. Such is the case with the playground that is right down the street from where I currently live. I don’t think that there have been any injuries there, but there certainly could have been and I just hadn’t heard about. I’d like to think that the city is just being pro-active and taking the right measures to ensure that we don’t have anything happen to one of the many kids that play there.
From what I understand they are planning on demolishing the old wooden and metal playground pieces and replace them with the new rubberized versions that are so popular these days. They are even going to pay for the new rubber mulch that is being manufactured for playgrounds and landscaping and even being used for equestrian areas, which I think is pretty darn cool. I found an interesting website for a company Rubberecycle that manufactures this safe and environmental friendly product. It seems that they were the ones that provided the White House with their playground that was built right on the White House lawn for their two daughters and their few selected friends to play on while President Obama is in office.
It is pretty interesting info to read and learn about. Anything that makes today’s kids safer is all right by me and the fact that they are using old scrape tires to make this new fangled product that is keeping up with the hot GREEN issue that is all the rage these days!
It will be interesting to watch and see the progress that they make down the street. I hope that it doesn’t take too long to do because I’d rather see these neighborhood kids playing there than running the streets. I’m sure I’m not alone there!