Donate To United Way!

Those who read this blog regularly know my lovely wife is the Executive Director of the United Way. Though I am certainly biased, I believe she is doing a great job.



Now that campaign season is in full swing, I encourage you to give to the United Way of Coshocton County. Just think, if each person in Coshocton County gave just $30, we could raise over $1 Million! Just think what good could be done...the lives that could be touched...with that sort of investment in Coshocton!

So as you see the campaign thermometers around town, please take just a moment to ask yourself if you are doing all you can! Remember...together we can accomplish things none of us can on our own!

For more information or to give online, go to www.coshoctonunitedway.org.

A Beautiful Fall Morning

Usually when people mention fall, I think of that gloomy November day were there are no leaves on the trees and it's 35 degrees and raining.

Though I am not usually a fan of the fall season, this did catch my eye. We were at my in laws house Sunday morning and saw the sun in the blue sky. The fog was rolling off their lake it is was beautiful.

Make A Wish Halloween Event

Last night was an event that is sort of a tradition in Coshocton County. The "annual" Make A Wish event actually took a year off last year...but was back last night.

Though I think the numbers were down a bit this year, the event seemed like a great success and was a lot of fun.




The group of us dressed up to be a part of the festivities. Amy and I (and Heather and Chad Guess) were trashy hillbillies. And Bill Potter was a rasta Buckeyes fan (37-17 over Penn State!) and Roxanne Potter was "Ann Nemic" complete with a blood bag.


All in all it was fun stuff! Any time you can dress up, have fun and raise money for a good cause...that's a good night.

Official Disney Update...Thursday

So the trip begins today at 5:30am when the alarm gets me out of bed. Not sure if you know, but we are not morning people...so we MUST be excited!

We flew out of Akron and immediately found that we had friends on the flight. The Simpsons (Karen, Alexandra, Suzie and their grand-parents) were on the same flight. It made the flight fun for the girls...and made it easy for me to read and relax.





Once we got to the resort (with a ride on Disney's Magical Express) we quickly got lunch and got a lay of the land. We had a show at 6pm that night and wanted to be ready to enjoy "Mickey's Backyard BBQ." We were especially excited about this because Amy and I's friend Trevor Drehr is the Trick Roper in the show.

We called and got information on the shuttle system and were told it would take us "about 20 minutes" to get to our destination. Uh...not exactly. Long story short, we took 3 shuttles (not two like we were told) and it took nearly 2 hours! We got to the show at 6pm and luckily found out it did not begin until 6:30. Here is a shot of us forcing smiles as we waited for another shuttle!



All's well that ends well though! This party turned out to be fantastic! There was a buffet with great food...and all the beverages you could drink. And of course the characters were there dancing and partying with the kids.



In addition, after the trip we got rock star treatment. We got reserved seating (near the food and bar!) and the characters and help kept asking us if we were Trevor's friend.

And when Trevor came out, he was great! Skylar was even pulled in to be a part of the show.



This was probably my favorite part of the whole trip! We also got some complimentary pictures that I will scan in and update later!

Trevor even gave us a ride back to our hotel so we didn't have to take the shuttle back!

Official Disney Update...Friday!

We chose today to head to Epcot. As a teen, I came to Epcot and remember liking it quite a bit. In addition, they were in the middle of what is called Wine and Food Festival at Epcot.



So let me get this straight...I get to go to each area represented in the world and try food, wine and beer from each? Uh...jackpot!

Unfortunately the 9 and 6 year old were not quite as excited about that. Go figure.



We did have a fun day but the girls were not quite as excited about this park. We did make the circle and took some fun pics though.



And we even got a chance to see Mulan...and the girls got their picture taken with her.



For my tally I had a German beer and a French wine...and some great chinese food. I was loving it!

And that night we went to see LA NOUBA! This is the Cirque Du Solielle show at Downtown Disney. It was absolutely amazing. We wanted to give the girls this experience, and to their credit, they soaked it in. This was one of the things they said they enjoyed best of the entire trip!

Official Disney Update...Saturday!

Today was the longest day of the Disney Adventure. We started the day by getting both girls ready to perform at The Magic Kingdom.



We then met the girls at the park and Miss Jennifer's Elite Dance Force rocked the Galaxy Theater! They really did a nice job. I even give Jade her props and she only had a couple of weeks to learn the routines!







After the girls performed, everyone went their own way and we spent the rest of the day at Magic Kingdom. As you can imagine, there were way too many things to mention. We had a great time. Some of the highlights include the parade...



...the girls also got a hair bead extravaganza. I don't really know what the hell it was called but it cost quite a bit! So it must have been good!



All in all it was a "magical" day at Disney. We spent 10 or 11 hours at the park so we were all pretty pooped at the end of the day. It may be a "small world" but the freakin park is huge!

Official Disney Update...Sunday!

Today was the day of the "big surprise" that Amy had planned for the girls. So we got up early (really early for us) and were at Downtown Disney by 9am.

We went to the World of Disney (the world's largest Disney store) and introduced the girls to their personal Fairy Godmother for the morning. At the Bippity Boppity Boutique (I can't make that up) Skylar and Jade both got their own Princess Makeover. They got their nails done, spoiled, and their hair done up as well.

I thought it was interesting that each chose their own hairstyle. Jade went with simple and elegant. Skylar went for over the top. Not a surprise there huh? Well they certainly are my little princesses.









After this excitement in the morning our "plan" was to get a shuttle back to the resort to regroup and then head to MGM for the day. We went to the shuttle shelter and got on a shuttle supposedly heading to our resort. We even asked the driver, "All Star Movies?" to which he replied, "Yes."

So of course he took us to Animal Kingdom.

Amy and I looked at each other and decided not to argue with the Disney shuttles any longer! We went to Animal Kingdom!

At Animal Kingdom we saw the Lion King production and that was great. We also met up with several Disney Characters for pictures and autographs.



When we left Animal Kingdom, we decided it was time to rent a car and have some control over our own destiny. We took the opportunity to go shopping that night off the resort and have dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse.

It was nice to have a night off of Disney property...even if it was only for a short trip!

The Official Disney Update...Monday!

The day is Monday and we realize quickly that Florida has moved hundreds of miles closer to the sun. It is about 110 degrees (no joke) when we get to MGM Studios. At this point we are all very tired...but still wanting to make the most of it.

As I will have updated, we have rented a car and drove the park ourselves. This was actually quite easy...a pleasant surprise.

We got to the park and checked ou the layout so that we could get to the center in time to see High School Musical 2! Obviously this was a big highlight for the girls. It was a pretty cool show and they drove a float right down Hollywood Boulevard with music blaring and they were dancing on the float. Then they brought the crowd in close and the show took off.



The girls even got in on the act. When we say we are taking Skylar and Jade to "perform" at Disney, we are not joking!



In addition, we had the opportunity toi see some more characters (quite a highlight) and even see another parade. Good stuff.





We ended the day at Downtown Disney for some shopping and headed back to the resort to eat a bit more quiet dinner before packing. This was a bit of a slower day...and I don't think we gave MGM a chance because of fatigue...but it was a good one nonetheless.

The Official Updates From Disney...Coming Home!

Okay...I was going to update the blog while I was in Disney with the family...but...I forgot a cable. So I am going to update you all about the trip from home. And I am going to do so in reverse order so you can read about it in order...got it?

So today is Tuesday and we (as a group) are completely worn out. We are up early and are on a shuttle to the airport. Disney took our luggage at the hotel and printed our boarding passes. Amy and I were both nervous about this. The airlines are good enough about losing luggage...I didn't think we needed to add a link in the chain.

The flight home was uneventful and we got to Aakron at about 12:30. We headed to baggage claim and got 2 of our bags. Unfortunately there should have been 3. Ahhh...Disney Magic!

They are going to contact us when they find it. It was a the largest of the three and contained all of our souveneirs and most of our clothes. So if you are reading this and think we should have brought you something back...it is likely in Cuba by now!

It was a fun trip...but we are truly all glad to be home!

The Big 4-0

I think it's important to note that she asked for it.



One of our best friends, Betsy Brown, had told her husband Jim that he "needed" to throw her a 40th birthday party. Jim, who is a smart man and a good husband was only doing as he was told.

So this past weekend a group of us celebrated Betsy's 40th birthday by officially saying goodbye to her 30's. What do I mean? Let's start from the beginning.

The event was a simple get-together until after the Customer Appreciation event, several folks were sitting around discussing the event. Our friend, Matt Miller (who is also the local funeral director), got involved and the idea got a bit more elaborate.

Jim had nearly let the surprise party slip the morning of the party by telling her that "today was the big day." She asked what that meant...so Jim told her (after some quick thinking) that he was taking her to dinner and they were going to be picked up in a Limo. Cool huh?

Only the "limo" was a hearse! Betsy was picked up in the hearse and driven to the local country club where her friends were (unbeknownst to her) waiting. When Betsy walked into the club (after circling the parking lot with the hearse lights flashing) she came in to find her friends seated in a memorial service.



The viewing included a real coffin with detailed cut-out numbers of her 30's. It was beautiful!



And as she came in the door, the Reverend Kirby gave the Eulogy with some help from the crowd. Really at that point it went downhill in behavior...but it was fun!



The ceremony included even printed memorial programs, a sign in book, (and of course the hearse and coffin) and the obligatory cake.



The question following this fascinating evening was simply...how do we top it next time?

Customer Appreciation Day

Last Thursday was a big day for Hasseman Marketing & Communications. We held our 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation day at the Civic Hall in Coshocton. We had several promotional product suppliers there from all over...and we had displays of video and web services too.



It was a way for us to show some of what we can do...while saying "thanks!" to the customers who do business with us all year long!



Thanks so much to those who attended...I hope you enjoyed it!

Noises Off

On Friday Night, our gang went to see Noises Off at Triple Locks theater. Good stuff! If you have the chance to check it out, I would recommend it. It was very funny...with a PG-13 rating.

What a weekend for Sports!

Okay I don't often post about sports (though I am a sports nut), but this weekend is a great weekend for human drama.

First you have college football, where USC got beat by 40 point underdog Stanford. LSU barely survived Florida in a great game. (That game was a win-win for me. If LSU lost, then OSU would have moved up in the rankings...but Florida lost for the 2nd time knocking them out of the national title picture. Too bad! :))

And of course we had our beloved Buckeyes on National TV last night taking on the Boilermakers of Purdue. The Buckeyes won 23-7...but it really wasn't that close.



But wait...there's more! The Cleveland Indians are playing the New York Yankees today in playoff baseball. The Tribe is up 2 games to none as the series heads to New York. Go Indians!

Oh...and I haven't even mentioned the NFL. Great weekend in sports!

A Great Day for A (Parkinson's) Walk!

This morning was the 2nd Annual Parkinson Walk in Tuscarawas County. My mom and dad were instrumental in getting the event started...and again in keeping it going this year. (Actually the event last year was my first post on this blog!) The walk is an event that is held in order to raise money for Parkinson's research. As the speaker today pointed out, it costs around $1,000 per minute to research for a cure...so each dollar is vital.



Again this year, they had a nice turnout. This year the event was at the Buckeye Career Center, where my dad teaches. They also started a Tulip Garden this year that everyone helped to plant after the walk.



And of course it was nice to see the members of my family there to support Mom and Grandma! Below is a nice shot of my sister Hillary and my niece Kacie!



Below is a shot of my cousin Amy, her son Beaux (it was his birthday!) and my grandma Peg.



Here is a shot of Hillary, Amy and of course Hillary's daughter Bella. She's a cutie!



And finally here's a shot of my grandma...the inspiration for the event...and my sister Hillary. Apparently every time I turned the camera on, my sister must have dove in front of it!

A nice afternoon

So after a great morning of activities at the Parkinson's Walk, I had the girls for the afternoon.

It seems as though every time I see the girls, one of us is running at full speed to the next event. So we took a about an hour or two and just "hung out." It was great.



We went over to Lake Park and took a walk around the lake. It's not a long walk...but it was plenty warm!

And we also checked out the Monticello that was having rides as well.



It was a nice Saturday afternoon.