“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
Hey Folks,
According to Lite98, Easy 100.9 and Sirius XM’s Joy Channel 17, “it’s the hap-happiest season of all, with those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings when friends come to call…” The holiday party season is upon us and that reminds me, our holiday party is next Thursday and the theme is “Island Casual”. #NoAndyWilliamsSweatersAllowed. Madison+Main is a busy beehive of activity and I just broke out my Santa jacket, so I could wear it to all of the parties.
Monday, December 1st – Although it’s the season of giving, I found myself in an unusual position on Monday. A business acquaintance asked for my assistance five weeks ago. She asked if I would connect her to some investors to get her business idea off the ground. She dropped off a nice bottle of Eagle Rare bourbon, after she made the request. I shopped the idea around, but alas, no takers. Her response? She wanted her bourbon back. I laughed, but she was serious. Who drops off a bottle of nice bourbon at an ad agency and expects it to remain unopened for a month? Nevertheless, I stroked a check Monday to repay her for the gift. #JawDrops, #WTF.Another friend, LeClair Ryan partner Will Shewmake, called me Monday and invited me to see the Redskins play this weekend. I am quite confident this time that the tickets are a gift and he won’t ask me to pay for them next month. #FingersCrossed
Tuesday, December 2nd – On Tuesday the temperature dropped again so I put on a tacky Christmas sweater and locked myself in the office for most of the day. The sweater helped me unleash my inner creativity and by shutting the door to my office, I increased personal productivity by 61.73%.On Tuesday afternoon, our amazing clients from First Bank – Jamie and Greg – arrived in RVA, making the long drive from beautiful, downtown Strasburg, VA. Kara and I met them for drinks at Morton’s and had a delicious dinner at La Grotta. I saw Morton’s Marketing Director AnnMarie Grohs briefly, and congratulated her on her new gig. AnnMarie is moving on from Morton’s and has accepted a position with Carreras Jewelers. She is no longer marketing my favorite thing – meat – however, she is now marketing Sue’s favorite thing – diamonds. Wishing her all the best!
Wednesday, December 3rd – We spent most of the morning working on First Bank’s 2015 media plan. The bank announced recently that it’s expanding and purchased 6 Bank of America branches in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia.
On Wednesday, World’s Best Cheesecake sent out a press release with some exciting news. In only three short weeks, the company has seen incredible site traffic and brisk sales and has signed two Richmond area retailers to carry their 4 lb. gourmet cheesecakes. The company also added Mason Jar cakes to its dessert delivery website. And, if you’re in RVA and don’t want to wait two days for your cheesecake to arrive, you can now pick one up at Libbie Market or Chesterfield Berry Farm Market. In other news, NBC12 Anchor, Heather Sullivan, produced a nice story about our start-up, which ran Wednesday night. In case you missed it, click here.
Thursday, December 4th – On Thursday morning the Insiders Club met at Dransfield Jewelers in Shockoe Slip. I was five minutes late… the traffic situation downtown has deteriorated, but the parking deck adjacent to the new Courtyard by Marriott should help the situation. In the meantime, small businesses in downtown continue to suffer.
I had coffee with a smart young man named Matt Whitworth on Thursday morning. A year ago he started the Coolidge Project. Interesting stuff. Check his video out here.
On Thursday afternoon, we had some very productive meetings with our friends at Village Bank and immediately after, I attended my last official meeting of the Chesterfield Chamber Board of Directors. That was a quick three years and I am so proud of all the things that the Chamber has accomplished. My last official duty will be to MC the Chesterfield Chamber’s Annual Gala on January 15th. I can’t believe they’re going to give me a microphone and let me speak in front of so many important people. I may have to turn this solemn affair into a lewd Friars Club Roast.
Thursday night was the opening of my friend Joshua Barber’s new show Eleven.
Friday, December 5th – The holiday season can be bittersweet, especially when your beloved interns leave. Today was Caty and Christine’s last day at Madison+Main. We celebrated their accomplishments this semester by feasting on Joe’s Inn pizza and some leftover World’s Best Cheesecake. We appreciate their hard work and talent this semester. Caty will be following her “boy toy” Ryan to Washington D.C. next month, but Christine is happy staying right here in River City. Both will graduate from VCU next Friday. #PompAndCircumstance #GiveThemAJob #WatchOutWorld #GoRams. Speaking of the Rams, my beloved VCU Men’s Basketball team will prove once again that they are the best Division 1 college team in the Commonwealth tomorrow, as they crush the Cavaliers of UVA. Sue and I will be there in our usual seats 16 rows behind Shaka. We’ll be the ones wearing VCU sweatshirts and screaming a lot. #AllIWantForChristmasIsAWin. Mele Kalikimaka, Dave