3 Quarters Today

My Life, my photography, my passions

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NKC Dog Show-Mission

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Madison & Memphis

This weekend I spent a lot of time at the Nebraska Total Dog Experience Show in Omaha, Nebraska. I started working for Pet and Kennel Supply this spring as their marketing manager but, I love dogs of sizes  so it’s really not like work. But that can be my little secret.

I also enjoy meeting interesting people and people watching, in this case it’s a combination of people and dog watching.

I met Memphis and Madison, wonderful Great Danes from the Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, and Trace, and 18 month rambunctious Afghan Hound who was a delight. Trace was the 6th generation of dogs the Watling Street Kennel has raised, and she was absolutely beautiful inside and out.

My task was to network with any of our vendors that were exhibiting and establish relationship to further marketing campaigns. This included talking with NutriSource, Purina, and ProPac representatives, learning about their products and brainstorming marketing efforts.

Afghan Hound
Trace the Afghan Hound

My brain was on overload as I was connecting a social media cloud on possible blog articles, facebook page updates, twitter connections that could be made with product tie-ins, human interest, and dog information. Fresh material, not rehashed information that seems to clutter cyberspace and get lost in the shuffle.

So like someone said before, “Someone stuck a quarter in her, she’s up at 1am writing”  More updates to follow as I met more interesting people and dogs at the show.

Good N’ Plentys

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Food, or sometimes candy has the power to invoke memories and connect you to a person or an event.

I probably wouldn’t be a fan of Good & Plenty candy if it weren’t for my Dad. A month before he died I went to visit my Dad in the hospital. I wanted to give him something that would make him smile, and there wasn’t anything in the gift shop that met the criteria, except for a bag of Good & Plenty Candy.

Black licorice was his favorite candy, and I had this long ago memory that he liked the pink and white candies, that they were special to him.

As I laid the bag on his tray he looked at me and smiled. He poured them out and proceeded to separate the pink and white candies. Then he pushed the pink ones to me. I smiled as our eyes met. When I was a little girl he would share his Good & Plenty candies with me, the pink ones, because I was his little girl.

Now I eat them and remember my Dad, and smile.

Friendly’s Restaurant

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I’m not too passionate about restaurants, but Friendly’s restaurant is my exception.  Give me two minutes of your time and I’ll tell you why.

For those of you that live west of New York you may not understand the reason why I love a restaurant and why it holds a dear place in my heart. The credit goes to my teenage years in the 1980’s. Every outing with high school friends ended with a trip to Friendly’s: the beach, tubing, movies, you name it Friendly’s was involved. Maybe it’s the reason I lost 20 pounds my freshman year of college, we didn’t have Friendly’s.

Friendly's Sundae To Go
Friendly’s Chocolate Chip Sundae To Go

Friendly’s is a New England tradition, the ice cream parlor around the corner where young and old can met in the corner booth, order a Happy Endings Sundae for 99 cents and have it served in a real glass sundae glass with whipped cream and a cherry on top.  Don’t know if Happy Ending are still 99 cents, but in the 1980’s they were just the right price. Some of my friends liked Fribbles better. (No, not Tribbles, but I wonder where they got the name) Fribbles are deliciously rich shakes, that almost need a spoon.

Get extra spoons though because with my group of friends sharing wasn’t an option, it was mandatory. Sharing sundaes is such a tradition at the restaurant that Sharable Sundaes were created, starting with the Jim Dandy

Sure, they serve burgers, salads, fries and the like, but who really goes to Friendly’s for real food when they have a whole menu dedicated to sundaes! I loved their ice cream sundaes so much I asked for a sundae menu to take to college.

Maybe it was the name that is inviting? It just sounds like a place for friends, family and good times. As a marketing geek I love the concept from start to finish. The name, the friendly setting, and the branding of the company has transcended generations and miles. I recently met someone in Nebraska who misses the sundaes as much as me and we are both fans of the Friendly’s facebook page. With over 300,000 fans there are a lot of people that love Friendly’s. I even read their Mom’s Just Want to Have Fun blog

Friendly's ice cream is best shared with friends. The Friendly's restaurant chain can be found east of Pennslyvania in the United States and they are best know for their sundaes

So now I marry my food passion with social media passion. Every Friendly’s Facebook  post receives dozens, if not hundreds, of comments and likes. Talk about a social media success! But it proves that online social media is just not a stand alone marketing method, it starts with “real” social media with “real” customers who have a social connection. There is a Friendly’s Twitter page if you’re into Twitter.

Friendly’s ice cream couldn’t be more social in the physical world, it’s all about interacting with friends. A perfect formula that transcends into online social media.  Excitement and new products are created, in this case new ice cream flavors and new salads. Social media is a great place to listen to your audience, and comments about store locations, hours, and complaints are posted as well. What a great way to listen to your customers. Every now and then the CEO of Friendly’s get’s on to chat. I’m campaigning for a Friendly’s restaurant in Nebraska, don’t know if I’ll get it, but it’s fun asking. I love it!

No reunion with friends is complete without a trip to Friendly's restaurant
No reunion with friends is complete without a trip to Friendly’s restaurant

The only advantage to not having a neighborhood Friendly’s is I can still walk through the doorway without walking sideways. Metabolism after age forty is a terrible thing. But when I go home I still gather with my best friends and order the mint chocolate chip cookie sundae shared over laughter and tears all those years ago.

Yes, longer than 2 minutes, but it got you craving for ice cream didn’t it.

If you like to make your own ice cream then head over to my ice cream recipe article.

More Friendly’s Articles

Are You a Good Marketer or a Great One? – bly.com blog … – Bob Bly

Friendly?s restaurant, regardless of what you think of their food, is often a great marketer. Yes, when you walk in, there are always specials, enticing you to buy more during your visit. These specials often include an ice cream …
Save Huge By Cutting Out Friendly’s Printable Coupons Inside your …

You could just be shocked at how many people throw their friendly s ice cream coupons away. You may determine to shop distinct retailers for savings instead of going to one shop at a time. Dollar shops usually can help you save an excellent …

Do you have any favorite Friendly’s restaurant memories?

Let me know by leaving a comment believe, or if you liked this article share it with others. You know the share buttons, click on one.

The Arts Are Alive in a Small Nebraska Town

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I live in the small community of Elmwood–Murdock Nebraska. Really they are two separate towns, six miles apart, but we are a community that share together. We share a common culture, a choice for living outside of a metropolitan area (Omaha or Lincoln) and we share our children. No, not in the literal sense, but we share their accomplishments, and support of our youth. We don’t have a movie theatre, a shopping mall, or other “popular” activities, our social life and entertainment revolves around our school. This brings us together.

Our entire school district kindergarten through high school consists of approximately 425 students (depending on who moved this year) and the high school has on average 120 students total in grades 9-12. With that being said many would think we would have limited activities and little exposure to music and the arts. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Marching and Concert Band is 73 students strong. Almost a 70% participation rate and recently they marched in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC. This is directly related to our band director, Mr. Michael Hansens’ dedication and talent who took a band of 25 students and grew it to a size rivaling the big city schools. They compete in several marching band competitions including Harvest of Harmony Parade, one of the oldest and biggest in the country, and because of their winning reputation received the invitation to Washington D.C. Take a look at them below. Yes we are proud.

In addition to the Marching and Concert Band is the high school choir, and in our school choir was cool before Glee was even on the air. In 2003 Mrs. Betty Colbert, the choir director started with 12 students and with her guidance it has grown to over 60 voices. Many were students with hidden talent that just needed to be coached and given confidence. They have gone on to win many contests winning superiors from all judges.

Their highest achievement was singing at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2009. Although I can’t publish their crowning performance, here is a sample of why the whole community attends our concerts.

So now you can see why we are proud of our students, they perform sing at various events during the year and more of their performances can be found on my YouTube Channel

Community Links of Interest

Elmwood City-Data (pop 668)

Murdock City- Data (pop 264)

Elmwood-Murdock School District

Marching Through Adversity