You Can Find Good News Anywhere — Even In The Middle Of Nowhere

 

 

 

 

 

Hey folks,

 

Greetings from South Nags Head, North Carolina! The beaches are open and so is my beer. As I reported in last Friday’s Weekly Report, I am not only working from home, I am working from a home on the beach. Never fear, my friends, I am washing my hands and practicing “social distancing.” In fact, I had to wash my hands several times today after cutting up some fresh Mullet…and when I went fishing this morning I kept other people at least a quarter-mile away from me. You can do that on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. You can’t do that in Costco.

 

The good news continues to flow this week, in part because I have spent six days without turning on a TV set. The other big reason is that North Carolina is open and my beloved Commonwealth is not. Restaurants here in the Outer Banks opened up for business at 50% capacity today and it seems like every business, big, small, and in-between, are open — and business is brisk. As you can see from the photo, I am very good at this “social distancing” thing, but I am really bad at the “stay at home” part.

 

• The marketing biz is a “leading economic indicator” so you’ll be happy to know that our little marketing firm is chugging right along despite the global pandemic. Normally, we are lucky to pitch three prospective clients in a month. On Thursday, we pitched three in one day. #FingersCrossed

 

• Proving that good news can make the actual news, our clients at Lucy Corr were featured on WRIC 8News last night. Seniors at Lucy Corr have adopted seniors at local high schools — and they have made lasting connections despite social distancing. If this story doesn’t warm your heart, then you don’t have one.

 

• Home quarantine sucks, but the time alone can lead to creativity and fun. This week I changed Siri’s voice on my iPhone so she would speak with an Irish accent. I keep asking her to tell me a joke and I’ve been Dublin over with laughter. Me: “Siri, tell me a joke.” Siri: “A telescope just turned up in our Lost & Found box. We don’t know who it belongs to, but we’re looking into it.” You may not find that joke funny, but you haven’t heard it with a brogue. 

 

• Our friends at Globalvia, owners of the Pocahontas Parkway, recently donated $20,000 to CIS (Communities In Schools) of Richmond. These funds will be used to help families in Eastern Henrico during COVID-19. Thanks to our friend Tom Lappas at the Henrico Citizen for sharing this story with the community. And we are very proud of our client for their generosity during these “unprecedented times.”

 

• One of the most important jobs I have as a Dad is to teach my kids. And the last nine weeks of homeschooling has reminded me of just how much Algebra and Spanish that I have forgotten since graduating from Heritage High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. I am lucky, and so are my kids — but they’ll never admit it — that we have each other and I can help them navigate “the Dad stuff.” Many kids growing up today don’t have a father figure and so I am pleased to share this new YouTube channel I found called ‘Dad, how do I?’ Meet Rob Kenney, a 50-something father from Washington state, who dispenses “Dadvice” in short videos. Rob’s dad left him and his family when he was young, so he pays it forward by helping young folks with how-to videos. He teaches everything from how to tie a tie to how to unclog your bathtub.

 

• I am also excited to announce that our friends at Housing Families First received a COVID-19 Grant from The Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond, which will help them provide support to at-risk families in RVA.

 

• Earlier today we held our ninth consecutive Madison+Main Small Biz MarCom Webinar. We had a big response, lots of questions, and I am pleased to announce this will be our last one. That’s good news! We started these as a way to help small business owners with free marketing and communications advice during the pandemic. Since we are getting back to normal — or the new normal — I figured it was time to say Au Revoir. 

 

• I am pleased to announce that we have a new PR intern this semester. After interviewing many candidates, Communications Director Kent Brockwell and Copywriter Derek Fair chose the University of Alabama’s rising senior Bailey Broughton of Mechanicsville. Bailey jumped in feet first on Monday, came into the office, and began contributing immediately. I didn’t have the heart to tell Kent and Derek that she was my third cousin. Of course, being related to me doesn’t automatically get you employment at M+M, but it does mean that you are probably smart, talented, and hardworking. Welcome to the fam…again…Bailey. And congrats to Darrel and Carla Broughton for raising such an impressive young lady. 

 

• And finally, I wanted to give a shoutout to Carey Bates and the Sweet Briar College Class of 1991. Carey has fond memories of her days at Sweet Briar and her drunken nights at the Texas Inn. Carey sent us a sweet note this week and donated $30 to help keep our iconic restaurants in Lynchburg open. We were touched by the gesture and sent her a gift card that she can use the next time she’s visiting from Brooklyn. You can also help the Texas Inn by buying merchandise or a gift card here.

 

 

 

 

 

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”

— Michael Altshuler (American Businessman)