Fun afternoon!

My youngest daughter, Jade, had been sick with the flu. So it was nice yesterday when she went to school...and then was able to play outside after school. My oldest, Skylar, and her had a fun game of soccer out in the front yard. The weather, the atmosphere, and sounds spoke of spring!

Visit Coshocton Training!

I am working on an interesting new project with the Community Development Council. We are creating a "customer service" training for front line employees here in Coshocton County with a strong Coshocton County slant. In other words, we want folks to have a better answer to visitors when they are asked, "What's there to do here?"

So I am in the process of writing the training now. Have suggestions?

Not a Gamble

Amy and I had the good fortune of attending "Casino Night" last night. The event was a fundraiser for the American Red Cross held at the Elks. Though you would always like to have more folks in attendance, the night was fun. I, for one, gave plenty to the cause as I kept giving my chips to "friends" at the Texas Hold 'Em table.

This picture (from the Coshocton Tribune) features many familiar faces. And I am pretty sure that is my wife's arm cheering to the right! Funny...she didn't share those winnings with me!

Another big day at the Homestead

It was another large attendance day at Longaberger Homestead. As was the case last weekend, I was hired to come in and do some MC duties. It's a fun job and the events staff puts me in a position to give away a lot of cool things. So it's not tough to be popular.


One of the cool acts they had booked there is a guy by the name of JoyUnspeakable. It is really tough to describe (and this picture does not do it justice) but he takes on different "characters" that are part mime, part statue. The crowds absolutely love it. Like I said...tough to describe...but very cool.

In between the acts I had a chance during a break in the rain to check out the monument to Dave Longaberger there. That was constructed after I left the company, and it was nice to sit there and take it in. It's tough not be taken in by the serene atmosphere. And I found myself thinking about where I want my business to go.



My last gig of the day was the Dash For Baskets. We selected 4 participants to take part in the Dash. They each had 20 seconds to grab as many baskets as they could in 20 seconds. It was fun to watch. And if you don't think that's a big draw...then look at this! (And this was just looking one direction!).

Just a moment of life...

I needed to stop and get gas in Dresden today on my way home. As I pulled up to the pump I noticed an employee of the gas station standing just outside of the door. I pulled up to the pump and got ready to fill up the tank and looked back. The employee was standing just outside of the door smoking a cigarette and talking on her cell phone.

I smiled and looked at the sign on the pump that told me it was illegal to do either of those things at the gas station.

On the bright side, we didn't blow up! But I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible!

A night with Friends

Several of our friends got together on Friday night at the Coshocton Town and Country Club. You might be thinking this was some snooty affair...it was not. Our group literally took over one room at the club. Since all of us have children, the room was NOT quiet...and we probably drove a bit of business away for them. But it was fun.

Jenn and Scott Nelson emailed everyone to put it all together so I thought I would share a shot with Scotty...always entertaining!

Another Long-aberger Day

Friday and Saturday found me again at Longaberger Homestead in my MC gig. As I mentioned yesterday, it's fun to see former employees taking a lead there. And in many ways it is like a class reunion. I spent quite a bit of time saying hi and giving hugs to old friends.

Saturday was a very busy day...and next weekend is supposed to be even bigger. Should be fun.

One of the highlights of the day is the Dash For Baskets. Four lucky folks get the opportunity to run up and grab as many baskets as they can...in 20 seconds. It's a big deal for the ladies and is a lot of fun. Here is a shot for the Coshocton Tribune's website. You may think the helmet is just for fun, but we have had at least one lady bite it each of the last two days! My favorite part of this picture if the excited Mime in the shot!




The weather was not friendly, but it is supposed to be better next weekend...when I will be back!

Back to Longaberger

Today was an interesting day at Longaberger Homestead. I was contracted with Longaberger to do some Master of Ceremony duties during the reopening of the facility. They also opened the Longaberger Factory store in conjunction with the big day. It was pretty cool.



At the Homestead they had entertainment, carnival style games, and a "Dash For Baskets." This is where 4 ladies had the opportunity, in 20 seconds, to grab as many baskets and products as they could get. It was fun...but cold!

The event will be going on tomorrow and Saturday (and again next weekend) so feel free to come and check it out. The best part of the day, for me, was to see Tim, Kelly and Dee (all former employees) all in leadership roles for the event. They did a great job and it was fun to seem them in command.

Ironic

With the beautiful weather yesterday, I spent a great deal of the day thinking of walking 9 holes on a golf course. Everywhere I looked I saw people with their windows down, tops down on convertibles and walking. Spring was in the air!

Today I am heading to Eaglesticks in Zanesville to work! Ahh! And we are not even shooting the course. We are doing a 30 second spot on the restaurant. Funny.

The Niece comes to visit!

Last night we had the chance to have a visit from my niece Bella! She is a ball of energy, as you can imagine. My girls love to play with her and she is likely the happiest baby ever.

Here you see the girls at the piano playing a very relaxing tune. And then (as I do nearly every Saturday night) I read her scripture from the Bible.

Great days of spring!

It was a fitting day to "Spring Forward" as the sunshine cooperated to make it feel much like spring. And though there was still a hint of winter in the air (especially in the evening) there were birds chirping when I woke up...and I love that. As I worked a bit in the garage, it was nice to hear the sounds of kids playing in the neighborhood.

What to do...

Editor's Note: In the interest of full disclosure, I worked and had an office in this building. So I certainly might be biased in some way on this issue. Also...pictures provided by the Coshocton Tribune.

City and County officials toured the former JII Building last night as they try to decide whether or not to accept it. As you may or may not know, it has been offered to the city as a gift. The former promotional products and calendar giant's building has enormous space...and enormous potential.

The city is taking its time to decide on the gift...and that is likely prudent. But in my mind, this would be a great asset that would give our community a great deal of economic development flexibility.

The building was for sale before...yes. But what kept many away was not the cost of the building...it was the taxes. Though the city would lose that tax base...it would not be responsible to pay it either. If you take away the mortgage (gift) and the taxes (write-off) then you end up with utilities. The utilities are substantial. But it is a worthy investment in our communities future.

What we need (and frankly it is something we need on a LOT of projects in Coshocton County) is someone to take the lead. I think the city would be willing to take on the responsibility if the Port Authority would work to aggressively market it. That seems to make sense to me.

In addition, it's important to not just market this to manufacturing businesses. We need to quit thinking about what this building WAS and what it could be.

*There is considerable office space here...rent that out to small businesses and individuals. These folks could rent the space and pool resources.

*We constantly hear that we need a business incubator. Here's the space!
*The Arts & Culture Alliance might be interested in space for an artist exhibit.
*Warehousing space is a possibility.
*Then you have the manufacturing space to lease to companies who might only need that space. And if we do it right, we can be VERY aggressive on cost for prospective businesses.

The point is...take a good look at what COULD be on this opportunity. It's not one that will come along every day!

And it's here!

It's time for the latest and greatest Inside Coshocton. This month's feature is on the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum. Please let me know what you think!

Another weekend...

...another dance show.


Skylar was in Cleveland this past weekend with Miss Jennifer's Elite Dance Force. I won't bore you too much with the proud papa stuff, but suffice it to say they won awards. The 2nd Annual Elite Spectacular is coming up on March 30th. If you enjoy dance, then I would urge you to check it out. It is going to be at the High School auditorium...and is a fundraiser for the group. Let me know if you need tickets!



The girls have a number for Grease that is pretty terrific. They have girls that are the "greasers" and "geeks" and "pink ladies." They won best costumes. And below you will find a shot of a daddy's girl and a proud papa.