Thursday, June 28, 2012

PRS Guitars Summer 2012 Free Strings for a Year Thank You Package and Experience PRS Sweepstakes

PRS Guitars is pleased to announce the PRS Summer 2012 Thank You Package and Experience Sweepstakes. This summer program recognizes customers who purchase PRS products and gives fans the opportunity to win a trip for two to attend the 6th annual Experience PRS open house event this fall.

To receive a thank you package, simply purchase a new PRS or PRS SE electric guitar, acoustic guitar, or amplifier from an Authorized PRS Dealer during the promotion period and mail your receipt, including the serial number of the instrument, a valid home address, name, phone number or email address, and string gauge (if applicable) to PRS Guitars, Attn: Summer 2012 Thank You Package, 380 Log Canoe Circle, Stevensville, MD 21666. Upon submission of your receipt, you will be sent a PRS Thank You Package.

Paul Reed Smith Guitars is a leading manufacturer of high quality instruments in Stevensville, Maryland and has provided some of the world’s most renowned musicians with instruments since 1985. The PRS team of highly skilled craftspeople produces over 1,000 electric guitars each month, as well as acoustic guitars and amplifiers, for worldwide distribution.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Good Manners

Father's Day gifts for your car-driving dad.With graduation and wedding season upon us, many of us are buying gifts. Unfortunately the once standard thank you note is becoming rare. Commentator and free-lance writer, Stephanie Greene, has a modest proposal for a little corrective.(Greene) One often hears new brides and grooms - or graduates - complain that they are just too busy to send thank you notes. That they weren't too busy to spend days mall-crawling in the assembly of their staggering gift registry - well, that goes unsaid.

So. How about a little nudge toward good manners in the form of a microchip embedded in the gift that can only be de-activated at the Post Office when you post your thank-you notes? Otherwise, say a month after the big event, an ear piercing beep emits from the gift - not unlike that of a car alarm.Another month elapses with no thanks given and the gift, like the tape recorder which instructed the heroes in the old Mission Impossible TV show, self destructs in a large puff of smoke. This would be a snap to arrange in a toaster, but even more spectacular in a set of towels.

For larger gifts we might employ a swat team, staffed by repurposed Blackwater ops to repel down the side of the new house or apartment, through a window with a large crash and shower of glass to repossess - say - the wide screen TV, or hotwire the giftee's brand new BMW.Think job creation! Think snappy uniforms - and little gold patches with the logo of the Manners Swat Team. Stateside manufacturing may not be a thing of the past after all.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Father's Day gifts for your car-driving dad

Dad does not live by car alone. He needs clothes, accessories and other accoutrements that offset the occasional aggravation and expense of automobile ownership as well as recognition for his unofficial title of chauffeur.  Here are a few gift ideas for the Dad in your life.Surprise the old man by going at the interior of his car with vacuum cleaner, rag, soap, water, Windex and Armorall.  (Here's a link to an article I published a few weeks ago called “How to clean your car.”) If his car is expensive or new or both, consult the owner's manual for special care, especially where leather is involved. Cost: Less than $10

Ok, maybe Dad doesn't need clippers for his own balding dome, but the kids need haircuts, and these Ferrari-inspired clippers make a good head start for the Scuderia F430 Dad'll pick up when he hits the lottery.  The clippers are actually high-quality, too, fully charging in an hour and featuring a moving steel blade coated in diamond-ish carbon and a fixed blade coated in titanium. The unit comes with a charging stand, a cleaning brush, oil and assortment of comb attachments. 

Bring Pops back to the his heyday, when mix tapes were all the rage, “The Breakfast Club” was cutting-edge social commentary and Ronald Reagan was going mano-y-mano with Gorbachev. This cassette-looking iPod holder will prevent Dad's unit from smashing or skidding when dropped. So what if you have to remove it to charge the iPod? You can write Dad a card that reads, “It beats a tie.” Cost: $1.97


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Thank you for attending the 2012 Trades, Industries & Professions Dinner Season

Thank you to everyone who made the 2012 Trades, Industries & Professions (TIP) Dinner Season a huge success! We could not have had four outstanding dinners without the support of over 3,500 people who attended them, bringing in over $1.6 million for the 2012 JUF Annual Campaign from 1,700 gifts. We are also extremely proud of the 400 new gifts that were made from first-time givers to JUF.

In addition, the Trade Dinners brought in $976,500 in corporate sponsorship, an impressive number, which exceeds our totals from last year. Special thank you to Michael Zaransky, 2012 Trades, Industries & Professionals Chair, along with his leadership team for all we have achieved this year in TIP. See below for photos of our dedicated TIP leadership as well as our dynamic dinner speakers.

Due to the efforts of the Committee, Bastrop County will potentially receive 80 percent of $31.3M in funding from HUD to rebuild homes, county roads and parks in the community. The money is expected in July or August of 2012 with the General Land Office (A Thank You Letter to All Teachers) appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to oversee the distribution of the money. Plans call for the rebuilding of eight homes per $1M to help uninsured and underinsured residents who lost everything in the fires.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

A Thank You Letter to All Teachers

Writing this letter and thinking of those times summons from sealed inner crevices the sort of insecurity that makes me fear that you might not remember me at all. I certainly did nothing noteworthy in your class. On the contrary, I consistently was the slowest, the weakest, the least nimble and coordinated, and always the very last to be chosen in team activities. Yet I remember well your loving kindness and am assured that you probably do remember me, if only because of the degree to which I stood out in those respects and because my mother was a French teacher at our school.

As I think about your gym class so many years later, three things stand out most prominently in my mind. First, during both years that you were my teacher, I had P.E. right after lunch, which made an already uncomfortable experience even less pleasant. Second, I remember changing into our gym uniform -- how I hated those polyester gym shorts, which clung so unceremoniously to my thighs -- and then back into our regular clothes, which meant spending the last periods of the day caked in perspiration. Third, and most important, I remember that you were always there for me and the others who did not belong, and I will never forget that.

During South Carolina's cool autumn months, after the oppressive humidity had lifted to release refreshing breezes that had been locked away since spring, you would lead us all down to the main track, where we began our cross-country course. No matter how disheveled your troops, you were always distinguished in your pressed tennis shorts and short-sleeve sports polo shirt, your whistle fastened snugly around your neck.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Inexpensive Graduation Gift Ideas for the Class of 2012

Teachers can receive gifts of $25 or less.With Dover-Sherborn High School's Senior Class graduating Thursday evening, and with other local high schools and colleges having had their graduation ceremonies, the weekends ahead will surely be full of parties celebrating the students' worthy accomplishments. Set the stage for a fun filled, pre-college vacation with a set of gift cards to all their favorite local hot spots.

However, with many parties, come many challenges. Just how can you give each deserving graduate something personal without breaking the bank? Here are some ideas to help you do just that.f course, not all college students will be living on campus; therefore, there are a couple of ideas that are universal as well.Grads are so proud of their school of choice so why not let them share that pride all summer by wearing some of the school's gear. Sweatshirts and Tees will probably get the most use.

Show your grad just how far they've come—literally—with a dual picture frame.  On one side, put a picture of the student's Kindergarten graduation and on the other side one of their most recent milestone.When the parties wind down, the grad will actually enjoy writing out all those thank you cards on fresh and personal stationary.Set your new grad up for success by providing all the necessary materials for writing thank you notes with ease.  Fill a container of your choosing with…