Cheers!
As many of you know, I married a Brit. My wife Sue is actually Manx — what you call someone from the Isle of Man. I say she is a Brit, but she doesn’t think so. It doesn’t matter to most people — English. Irish, Scottish, Welsh, or Manx – Americans use the word “British” to describe all of them. What I have learned about the British is that they are smarter than we are. Just ask anyone and they will tell you… Sue is smarter than me. I say that for two reasons; (1) because it’s true and (2) because she reads the weekly report every week. I’ll give you an example why Brits are smarter than Americans. In America, if you have good manners you say “thanks” to someone if they do something for you, like serve you in a restaurant or open your door at the valet station. In the UK, they say “cheers.” “Thanks” is just a basic acknowledgement of gratitude but “cheers” is gratitude and celebration. What a great concept! It’s so smart, that I’ve now started using the word “cheers” to say thank you.
For the record, I’ve been saying “cheers” for years… it’s because I like drinking. In fact, last weekend I took the bride for a tasting and tour at New Kent Winery and yesterday we drove out to CrossKeys Vineyards and raised a glass to our new clients. Hey, don’t judge me… they are both clients of ours, thank you very much. Er, I mean cheers.
Monday, January 22 – LII
Monday was a blur. It started with a 7:30AM networking meeting and ended twelve and a half hours later with the Brandermill Church Council meeting. I am told that I accomplished a great deal between those two meetings, but it is Friday and I can’t remember what those things were.
On Monday, it suddenly dawned on me that this years Big Game (you can’t call it Super Bowl unless you pay the NFL) will be the one NFL team I despise more than any other – The Patriots – playing the team I despise almost as much – The Eagles. How did this happen? How did we get here?
“And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack. And you may find yourself in another part of the world. And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile. And you my find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife. And you may ask yourself, ‘How did I get here?'”
Super Bowl 52 features two teams I despise. I’m still going to watch the game… so I can see the ads.
Tuesday, January 23 – Cheers Lindsay!
On Tuesday we celebrated Art Webb’s second anniversary with the company. We placed such a large order at Five Guys, that the folks at VISA‘s fraud department put a hold on the company credit card. The conference room still smells like french fries, but I’m okay with that. Our spring semester intern Lindsay Andrews, a rising Senior at Randolph Macon College, learned the hard way that our VISA card had been temporarily shut off, when she had to put $108.12 on her own debit card. We reimbursed her right away because we understand college kids are poor. So we gave a $25 Starbucks card. #lindsayisatrooper
Our Spring intern Lindsay is graduating in a few months. She needs a job, and more connections on LinkedIn
Wednesday, January 24 – Cheerless
On Wednesday night it was great to see my son Jack back in action playing for the Manchester JV Lancers. He and and his teammates walloped the nearby Cosby High School Titans by 30 points. The players were really on it, but the cheerleaders seemed to have an off night. I know I really shouldn’t point this out, but half of them had bored looks on their faces and the other half were actually scowling. Maybe we can blame it on teen angst or a dispirited crowd, or perhaps there was a surprise test in Algebra II, but those were the most cheerless cheerleaders I’ve ever seen.
Thursday, January 25 – Salud!
Enterprise Rent-A-Cars’ main selling point is “We’ll pick you up,” but the office is only 1.5 blocks away, so we have a corporate account with them. After our Business Manager Brandy Seay harangued them about their silly check-in procedures, Account Executive Leanne Ferry and I found ourselves driving to the Shenandoah Valley on Thursday in a brand new Volvo S60 for the same price as a crappy little Hyundai Accent. Speaking of accent, have you ever noticed all the luxury car brands have British voice overs?
Leanne and I visited with Babak and Nikoo Bakhtiar, from CrossKeys Vineyards Thursday afternoon, where we delivered our marketing report and 2018 marketing plan. This award winning winery is set in the beautiful rolling meadows of the Shenandoah Valley south of Harrisonburg, at only a two hour drive from RVA. (Trust me, you should visit them.)
Who says real men don’t eat quiche? I do. Cheers to Elizabeth Coffey from e. strategic design, who bought me a delicious and nutritious lunch at Tazza Kitchen.
The Calendar!
Virginia Home Show
Meadow Event Park
January 27-28
The Virginia Home Show returns to the Farm Bureau Center at Meadow Event Park THIS WEEKEND. This exciting two-day event produced by Marketplace Events offers attendees a convenient chance to shop, compare, and save with hundreds of experts in remodeling, kitchen and bath, flooring, and more all gathered under one roof. Use promo code DAVE to save $2 on tickets!
FC Richmond Juggle Challenge
Huguenot Park
March 5-6
Youth soccer players from FC Richmond will be putting their fanciest footwork on display for a good cause this March. The club is hosting a Juggle Challenge to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, as well as the club’s new soccer complex development in Moseley, VA. Stay tuned for details on how you can donate.
Friday, January 26 – Welcome to Madison+Main!
On Friday, the international Headquarters of Madison+Main looked more like Grand Central Station. Our friend JJ White, host of The Great People Show, and his co-host James Munsey dropped by the office to talk about marketing this cool, new radio show and podcast. You can catch JJ and Jim on Thursdays at 9 am on WNTW, 820 AM and 97.7 FM on your radio dial.
Before the meeting ended, 19 students from JMU‘s Ad Club walked in for a tour, and they were wowed by Creative Director Art Webb and Sr. Graphic Designer Kaity Carr.
Cheers to the JMU Dukes Ad Club, who traveled to RVA to tour the worldwide headquarters of Madison+Main.
To help promote this weekend’s Virginia Home Show for our friends at Marketplace Events, we got an early start today. Communications Manager Kent Brockwell was at WTVR CBS6 with AJ White from Byler Barns & Backyards on Virginia This Morning. Then it was off to the Radio One studios with Kris and Alicia Angstadt from Tiny House Building Co. for interviews on ESPN 950AM and KISS FM.
After lunch, Kent and Media Planner Meredith Mason headed out to Meadow Event Park for a Facebook Live interview with CW Richmond.
“Lets raise our glasses this Thanksgiving and say cheers to those of us who give thanks by saying cheers!”