More Fair Fun...

Okay...so I am already a bit exhausted from the Coshocton County fair...but it really is a great event for the community.



Today we took the girls down (third day in a row) and they rode rides with my neice Bella. The girls had a great time...and it was a glorious day for it again!

15 Year Reunion

The 15 Year Class Reunion of the Class of 1992 was Saturday at the Coshocton Towne and Country Club. Though numbers were not what I had hoped, it was great to catch up with so many friends.

The person who came the farthest was Stacy Cranston, who came all the way from Seattle for the big party.

I post these pictures not only for the folks who attended...but for those weenies who did not make it. You know who you are!

Here is Tony Seegers and I getting in touch with our inner child.



Jay and I both live here in Coshocton...and don't see each other enough. But I will say that it seems like we just fall right back into conversations.



Here is a great shot of Mark Smith, Steve Netta and his wife!



Here is a shot of Matt Hartley, Mary Ellen (his wife), Stacy Cranston and her domestic partner Nate.



A nice shot of Kara and Josh Beitzel...and Becky (Wagner) Cheney. Nice smiles!



And of course we have to have the obligatory shot of Amy and I!


I really did have a great time. So thanks to all who made it!

The Fair Begins

It's a Coshocton County Tradition! The Coshocton County fair has come to town with all of its noise, tradition, games, and food. Fun stuff.

Each year, people from all over the state of Ohio come to Coshocton to take it all in. We have a fantastic display of livestock, art, rides, vendors and food.



In addition, it is sort of like Coshocton County's own trade show. Local business owners have displays in the buildings to promote themselves.

And this year we have a very cool display in the school building that highlights the "Gateway Project" that is being research here. You can check out the proposed displays of what might be built on the cloverleaf in order to uniquely represent us...and you have a vote!

For more details check out the story on in the Coshocton Tribune.

Arts and Culture Alliance

Here is an email that went out this week that tells some of the follow up that is being done by the Arts and Culture Alliance here in Coshocton. As you will see, Hasseman Marketing is involved in a pretty cool project with them!

September 24, 2007

Hello Friends -

We want to update you on what's been happening since the Arts and Cultural Alliance meetings in August. As you remember, many ideas were discussed with national consultants Jerry Yoshitomi and Christy Farnbauch. If you have ideas or comments generated from these meetings, please let us know.

We have already acted on several of the ideas that were discussed at those meetings including the Quilt Barn project, a Coshocton email newsletter, The Collect Coshocton Art Show, and Buycoshocton.com.

Here is a brief description of each of these projects.

Email Newsletter

Our goal is to let as many people as possible know about Coshocton and what we have to offer. Email is one of the most effective ways to do this and we can use your help. One of the things we'd like to request is that each of you send us at least five email addresses of friends or family who live outside of Coshocton who may be interested in hearing about Coshocton events, information about the buycoshocton.com website and other cultural happenings. Please send your emails to the Coshocton County Convention and Visitors Bureau at coshcvb@coshocton.com.

Quilt Barns
We have a local quilt pattern designer, Theresa Scheetz, on board to work on developing the designs for the barns and we have identified some barns in key areas to have the designs displayed. We will need assistance in securing supplies such as wood to construct the 8' X 8' squares, paint for the designs, and builders and artists. If you can help in any of these areas, please contact Dorothy Skowrunski at dskowrun@cotc.tec.oh.us or Jan Myers at janalanm@roadrunner.com.

Once we have at least three barns displaying quilt patterns, we can put a map together to guide travelers past each of these sites and hopefully have them stop at artists' galleries and shops along the way. There are a number of these quilt barn trails in Southern Ohio that have created a lot of tourist activity. We will be able to link our "trail" to those from other counties. Here are a couple websites with quilt barn information if you are interested in seeing what we are talking about: www.appalachiandiscovery.com and www.athensohio.com.


Collect Coshocton

An initial Coshocton Collects Art Show was held at the Towne Center Civic Hall during the Art Walk on September 7. Twenty-four local artists' works were displayed from the collections of ten local owners. This show was greatly received and will be repeated and expanded in the months ahead. Our purpose is to showcase the extreme amount of local talent in our Coshocton artist community. If you are a collector of local art and would like to share your collection in an upcoming exhibit, contact

Anne Cornell at the Pomerene Center for the Arts at anneecornell@gmail.com, or John Kuhn at the Coshocton Performing Arts Center at johnkuhn2002@aol.com.



BuyCoshocton.com

Buycoshocton.com is in the process of being designed with hopes of implementation sometime yet this year. You will be hearing more about this unique site which will feature local artists, Coshocton-made products and links to individual web sites where available. Hasseman Marketing is developing this site for us. If you are interested in being a part of this internet marketing opportunity with your business or artwork, contact Hasseman Marketing at Kirby@hassemanmarketing.com.

Thank you for your interest in promoting Coshocton. Please let us know if you have ideas for promoting the arts and cultural aspects of Coshocton County. Send your comments to Belinda Williamson at the Coshocton Convention and Visitors Bureau coshcvb@coshocton.com.

Coshocton Training

Well these posts are coming in bunches...but I have to do it when I have time!

This morning was the very first Coshocton Training...very exciting!

What is Coshocton Training you ask? Well it is the Brainchild of many folks in the community that decided we needed to better arm our frontline workers with information...and training. We have thousands of tourists that come to Coshocton County and these frontline workers can ensure we are giving them a great "experience."

So we created this training this year...and today was the inital rollout. John Kuhn and I were at the Public Library bright and early to give the training...and it was a great success (I hope!).



Later in the day John and Carol Remington did the second class. This is a great example of a grassroots effort that is helping to improve Coshocton County from the inside out!

Great job to all involved!

Last Kiwanis Meeting

At my last Kiwanis meeting as President, I was the speaker for the day. I felt like this was an opportunity to thank people...and hopefully motivate them as well. Here is the speech I gave!


What a year! It really is hard to believe that nearly a year ago I was standing in front of you giving you my “vision’ for the 12 months to come. I talked about creating an atmosphere of a Kiwanis Team…and even had little chocolate footballs on the tables!

And I must say after a year I can honestly say that we do have a great Kiwanis Team.

Don’t believe me? Consider trying to accomplish these feats alone:
Mindy and Brad teamed up to have one of our best Pancake Days. They raised over $10,000 and allow us to take on more projects and gifts than ever before!
We gave money to Maternal Child & Health, Coshocton Family Literacy, Salvation Army, The United Way of Coshocton County, Coshocton Schools, Johnson Humrickhouse Museum, Village of Conesville, Meadows Outreach Program, Higher Hopes Riding Center, City Rec, Big Brothers, Kids America, The Alternative School, Sacred Heart, Safety City, and Youth Leadership
We sent 3 kids to Hugh Obrien Youth Leadership Program, and gave $5000 to Dollars for Scholars.
But there was more…we helped Youth Leadership clean up Bancroft Park…we rang the bells for salvation army…we helped the Coshocton County Board of MR/DD have a fantastic Track and Field Day…and I am sure there was more.

Kiwanis’s theme—Serving the Children of the World—is a daunting task. But our team made a good start this year in Coshocton County.

But one of the accomplishments I am most pleased about is the boards decision to re-institute the attendance rule of the past. By encouraging more of our fellow Kiwanians to simply attend the meetings…we will increase our ability to do these good works in our community. We will increase our influence in the community…and make a larger TEAM of Kiwanians in Coshocton County.

Making a change like this might be difficult for some…and we may lose a few of our non-active members in the process. But we need to understand that the “decisions are made by those who show up.” And we need to be here…to make a difference in the community.

We are at a crossroads. As a community, as individuals, and as a club…we are at a place where we need to make some choices. And some of these choices are not the most pleasant ones…but here we are.

The present is a tough place in time to be.

In the past…we might have spoken with the bravado of youth. We could make bold predictions (because we know we won’t have to worry about this for a while). And in the future…well…hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20. But in the moment…well…that’s the tough stuff.

As members in the Kiwanis Club of Coshocton, however, we are in a position to be true agents of change. We can be in the discussion of where we want to see our community go. The question is whether or not we have chosen to put ourselves in that discussion.

As a club…as a group…let’s be a part of the solution for this community. Let’s be involved in our club each week. Let’s help when asked. Let’s make the commitment to make this place a better one.

I have often said it is exciting to realize how big a difference you can make in a small community. I still believe that is true. Let’s just make sure we are doing all we can to make that difference.

So thanks for making my year at Kiwanis President a rewarding one. I encourage us all to step up and help Mindy make next year even more impactful.

Help Wanted. National Organization looking for aggressive, intelligent, thoughtful, creative, giving, caring individuals to help change the world…beginning at a local level. These candidates must be open to new ideas, hard work, and innovative problem solving. Opportunities for advancement into leadership positions are plentiful. Salary ranges from slim to none and is completely non-negotiable…but benefits are immeasurable.

Just ask yourself now…do you want the job?

Final Social as President

You may or may not know that for the past Kiwanis year I have been President of our local Kiwanis Club. The new year begins on October 1st with Mindy Fehrman assuming the duties that I have tried not to neglect.

The other night, we had our final Kiwanis social of the year at Amy and I's house. It was a great night of food and fellowship...and we gave each of the new officers their pins.



I received my Past President pin! Whoohoo!

It was a great night. And it was a great year of working in the community through Kiwanis.

Friday Night Football

So Amy and I took time out to go to Stewart Field Friday night to watch the Redskins of Coshocton take on Dover. It was Homecoming Night and there were plenty of fans in the stands. It has been a long time since we had been to a game...so it was nice to be back in that atmosphere.



Unfortunately it was a tough night for the Skins...but it ws good to see the community out in full force.

What an Event!

Saturday September 15th was the date for the 2nd Annual Wings Over Coshocton Airshow...and what a day! I have not heard an official count but somewhere between 7500 and 10,000 people came to Richard Downing Airport to this family-fun event.



The idea for the airshow is to raise money for the expansion of the runway. This will allow larger corporate planes to land here in Coshocton County...and help with economic development.

The day itself was great. There was lots for the kids to do and of course the actual airshow was dynamic. I will likely post some video from the event soon.



My lovely bride, Amy, was in charge of helping to sell souveneirs for the event and I was the volunteer MC. Fun stuff...and glad to be a part of this great community event!

Catching UP!

It's been a while--due to time constraints--since I have had a chance to update the blog...so now it's time to catch up!

Some of you might have heard that Hasseman Marketing & Communications has launched a Web Services Division. We are very excited about being able to offer a new service to our clientle.

We have a new website ourselves at www.hassemanmarketing.com and our new Director of Web Services is Tom Broadwater. Please let me know what you think of the site!

9 Years Ago Today!

It was 9 years ago today that my oldest daughter was born. It was an extremely long day for me (and I guess for Amy too :) until Skylar Nicole was officially brought into the world.

And then the nurse promptly held her up by her ankle to measure here...and she looked like a carp on a hook! (She was 21 inches long).

As she turns 9 today, Amy and I are constantly told how Skylar has my characteristics...and I am proud of that. She loves to laugh, play and perform...so I don't know where anyone gets that!



In some ways it feels like a lifetime ago. And in someways it feels like yesterday. Happy Birthday Skylar!

Sore today!

It was a fun labor day weekend. As the end of the holiday weekend was in sight, however, one of my friends decided (after more than a couple drinks) that it would be a good idea to play basketball!

As you can imagine, a game of 3 on 3 (and later 4 on 4) ensued with many 30-somethings trying to re-gain their youth. It was a lot of fun playing with the guys but I am feeling it today! I have large gashes on the palm of my left hand (though I did get most of the gravel out last night) and I think I bruised the top of my foot (hopefully it's not broken). But other than that...I feel like 50 cents.

On the bright side I ran into some of the other guys today and they looked like they were moving a lot like me. Thanks to Matt Miller for the use of his home court. And I simply wouldn't be me if I didn't point out that I was 5-0!

As Toby Keith said, "I ain't as good as I once was. But I'm as good once as I ever was!"