A subsciber's advice to the Morning Call newspaper

I have been a subscriber/reader of the Morning Call since taking my first job in the Lehigh Valley in 1989 at the old George Washington Lodge on McArthur Rd. The paper does a better job than anyone turning over leads for sales professionals in the tourism business. They get all the news and PR releases before anyone else and their stories in the morning paper are a great source. Often the fact that I have read the paper by 7AM allows my first sales call at 8:30AM to be the one early bird that catches the worm.. With that said, one of my recent pet peeves with the paper is their decision not to send a reporter on the road with the Phillies Major League Baseball team. As much as I am sure there are fiscal concerns, I also understand that every decision has a financial impact and one is chosen over another for many reasons. I must say, reading an AP report on the Phillies is painful. Odds are if someone is reading the paper in this day and age, they are looking for insight and content not how the runs were scored. Mandy Housenick has done an exceptional job in her short couple of years covering the team and making the hard task of getting something out of the players and coaches that we didn't learn on tv or on the internet. Having Mandy at only the home games, probably makes the Morning Call a second class citizen when it comes to getting the behind the scenes news. I hope you will give some thought to this idea of sending Mandy on the road. Also, I have a few thoughts on the real estate section, but will leave that for another day....

Zoos belong in Stimulus Package

Stacey Johnson, Executive Director Lehigh Valley Zoo, forwarded me an editorial from Jim Maddy, President and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, in regards to Zoos being excluded from the stimulus package. I am sure there is some political partisan reason behind this, but why Zoos. I am off to Washington DC, National Zoo the weekend of March 20th, I will be sure to look up President Obama, and ask him personally, why did you pick on Zoos.

Smokey and the Bandit & Social Media

Was the CB radio the start of Social Media? I had the pleasure of catching Smokey and The Bandit with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field on TNT HD or one of the 150 channels this weekend and could not stop thinking that we had social media decades ago, and it died! Why did it fade away? Was it a fad, will Facebook, Twitter and all my other widgets at the bottom of the page fade away like the CB radio? I would like to hear what you think, before I buy the next generation of SMART phones only to have them sitting at someone's yard sale in 10 years.

Ten Strangest Jobs in the Travel Industry

The Ten Strangest Jobs in the Travel Industry
By Ann Tatko-Peterson, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
January 30, 2009 -
Not your everyday job
Top 10 Strangest Jobs in the Travel Industry, according to Travel + Leisure.
--Hotel Falconer, Biltmore Four Seasons, Santa Barbara -- walks falcon around pool to shoo away seagulls.
--Airport Hunters, Zurich Airport, Switzerland -- chase off wild animals near runways.
--Coconut Safety Engineer, Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas -- picks ripened coconuts before they fall.
--Karaoke Taxi Drivers, Helsinki, Finland -- drive karaoke-singing riders.
--Duckmaster, Peabody Hotel, Memphis -- cares for five mallard ducks who live and perform at hotel.
--Tourism Ambassador, Japan -- role currently held by anime character Hello Kitty (pictured).
--Sewer Guide, Paris -- boat tourists through Museum of the Sewer under Paris' streets.
--Lego Professional Gluer, Legoland California, Carlsbad -- glues toy bricks based on designers' plans.
--Monkey Men, Amanbagh Resort, Rajasthan, India -- keep native monkeys from stealing guests' cookies.
--Manners Police, Venice, Italy -- keep unruly tourists in check.

NorthStar Adventure Teams up with Lehigh Valley GrandPrix to Deliver High Powered Team Building Training

Area leaders in experiential teambuilding provide full day of leadership development and fun!
January 13, 2009, 2008 – Bethlehem, PA. Companies have known for a long time that having a strong leadership team in place is the key to weathering tough economic times. Delivering memorable and coachable moments that create high performing teams has been the business of NorthStar Adventure at Dutch Springs and Lehigh Valley Grand Prix since their inceptions. Now the two adventure training specialists are teaming up to provide a fun, fast-paced day of experiential education with their 2009 Survive, Thrive and Drive teamwork development sessions.
The new teamwork development sessions are designed especially for Star teams. Star teams are recognized as the best of the best performing teams in an organization. These teams generally deliver 80% of the results of a given department or business unit and are asked to deliver more with less during these tough economic times. The teamwork development sessions will focus on increasing teamwork, communications, trust and identify strengths and weaknesses of the organization.
Each teamwork development session will consist of a full day of facilitated teambuilding exercises, complete with pre and post workplace assessments. The first half of the day, teams are led through a series of customized challenges designed to deliver on pre-determined goals. The second half of the day participants take to the race track and get to experience the thrill of racing at 45 miles per hour in formula one-style race cars. “This type of Peak Adventure is very popular within today’s highly competitive workplace,” commented Jason Chartrand, Director of NorthStar Adventure. “Many of our adventure challenge course alumni are planning to get behind the wheel,” he added.
The full day program takes place at Lehigh Valley Grand Prix’s state of the art racing facility. According to Mike McCreary, “LVGP has ignited new energy in over 200 companies in its first 18 months of operation. Give your team the adrenaline rush they need to propel them to the next level,” he added. The racing facility offers a training room, separate dining and social area, in addition to the race track. Program fees begin at $300 per person for a full day of training and lunch, and can be reserved by calling either NorthStar Adventure at Dutch Springs 610-759-2270 or Lehigh Valley Grand Prix at 610-432-RACE. Additional information can be found at http://www.northstaradventure.com/ and http://www.lehighvalleygrandprix.com/.
NorthStar Adventure at Dutch Springs offers facilitated team building and leadership programs for corporations, executive boards, universities, schools, churches, sports teams and organizations around the Lehigh Valley. Dutch Springs is a 100 acre facility offering Scuba diving in their 50 acre lake, a water amusement park equipped with inflatable attractions and the Sky Challenge a 34 ft. high ropes adventure course and rock wall. For more information visit http://www.northstaradventure.com/ or call 610-759-2270.
Lehigh Valley Grand Prix (LVGP) is a great place to break barriers and build relationships while having fun in a recreational but challenging environment. Whether you’re on the race track or in the workplace, it is important to develop a strong and cohesive team. Race teams devise a strategy, learn the most effective driving line, overcome race obstacles and work together to achieve victory.

Under close LVGP supervision, we now offer an afternoon of team building for your department, company or organization. Start with lunch at the track, get your team assignments, prepare for an endurance race and role play a situational race experience. Take advantage of this opportunity to organize an exciting and memorable event that your staff can truly look forward to. For more info call 610-432-RACE or visit http://www.lehighvalleygrandprix.com/.

Can facebook Save the Lehigh Valley Zoo?

It worked for President Barack Obama, now it seems the powerful social media group facebook, may save the Lehigh Valley Zoo. When I first received an email from the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce that it had a facebook page, I giggled and thought who has time for that? Next, the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau said they were launching InSite, their new Blog. Again, I said who has time for that? Then on January 7th an old fashion email came across my computer from Tracey Werner, the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau Director of Public Relations and everything technology manager, said there is a group discussion on Linkedin about the Lehigh Valley Zoo, you should check it out. Now, I had time for that!

Saving the Lehigh Valley Zoo, has been my cause, since its threat of closure in 2004. Concerned about the loss of the quality of life benefits derived from having a zoo in our community several concerned citizen’s developed the Lehigh Valley Zoological Society and hired professional zoo management to operate the Zoo in Lehigh County.

As I stumbled my way through the social media maze of networks, groups, friends, etc. I stumbled on the Save the Lehigh Valley Zoo facebook page. Here was a grass roots effort to again save the Lehigh Valley Zoo. Just like the old days (2004), when Diane Stein, aka the Zoo lady, passed around a notepad at the Lehigh County Commissioner’s meeting, for concerned citizen’s to submit their email address. Four year’s later email is yesterday’s news. The Save the Lehigh Valley Zoo facebook page on January 16th had approximately 150 members. I joined the group and challenged them for 5000 members by the year’s end. In 12 days, the group passed 700 members, 5000 by year’s end seems conservative.

January 30th, Lehigh County Commissioner Bill Leiner Jr. posted a “come out and see you local government in action, support the Lehigh Valley Zoo at the February 11th commissioners meeting” This is when legislation to fund the Lehigh Valley Zoo will be voted on. Commissioners Dean Browning and Glen Eckhart have a facebook page, along with County Executive Don Cunningham. This event may need to be moved to Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena, if all the Save the Lehigh Valley Zoo facebook members show up.

Joanna Hansen the creator of the Save the Lehigh Valley Zoo facebook page has organized a couple of days to meet face to face at the Zoo, Friday February 13th and Saturday February 28th at 10:30AM. How many ppl show up will be dependent on the weather and how powerful this social media culture can be. Are these fans of the Lehigh Valley Zoo, truly engaged, or are they merely trying to add contacts, to beat some social network Guinness Book of world record? I hope they donate their time and money to saving the Zoo!

Today, many marketers are debating the power and usefulness of social media for the promotion and delivery of information for small businesses, big business, political campaigns, and mainstream media. In the past 2 weeks, I have become a believer and look forward to celebrating 5000 members on the future We Saved the Lehigh Valley Zoo facebook page.