As the 75th Anniversary year of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park comes to an end, I just want to congratulate all those who were responsible for the heightened awareness and meaningful celebrations that educated us and reminded us of what a treasure we have here in our own backyard.  We live where millions come to visit each year, and it is our responsibility to keep this park pristine and enjoyable for future generations.

Through my involvement as a board member of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, I have come to appreciate the incredible gift that these hard-working and knowledgeable folks give to thousands of school children each year, as they seek to instill in them a permanent love of these beautiful mountains and a lifelong commitment to preserving them.

I used to say that a goal of mine was to hike every single national park in America, and while I don’t think I’ll make that goal, the ones that I have experienced are all breathtaking in their own, very special ways.  I encourage you to get out and see these magnificent places, to share their legacy with your children and friends, and to consider a holiday gift to the park or park project of your choice.  It’s such a great way to invest in our future!

What she really is, though, is the heartbeat of our company.  She knows everything (literally!) about our business, about our clients, about what makes us tick.  It is largely because of the daily attention she pays to the details of what make us a very stable business that we have never had an unprofitable year, never had a lay-off, and have experienced fantastic growth during our 28 years.  Crystal is Ms. Internal to my Ms. External, fastidiously looking after every critical detail of how our business operates.

She is also the person to whom all of our employees go when they need a reality check, a word of encouragement, or sometimes a kick in the behind when necessary.   To me, she is the most trusted of confidentes and personal advisors, someone whom I know will always tell me the truth, whether I like the particular message or not. 

So it is with a great deal of pleasure that I announce her promotion as well as a great deal of gratefulness that I recognize her years of valuable service to our firm.

A few years ago (shortly after my beloved father passed away), I wrote a brief story about how we shared a love for this wonderful holiday, and why. I thought it would be nice to share this little story again, so here is a PDF reprint of the story as it appeared in a column in the Knoxville News Sentinel in November, 2004.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

]]> http://www.ackermaniablog.com/thanksgiving-my-favorite-holiday/feed/ 0 http://www.ackermaniablog.com/a-rivr-of-opportunity/ http://www.ackermaniablog.com/a-rivr-of-opportunity/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:18:16 +0000 cackermann http://www.ackermaniablog.com/?p=1081 Most of us in Knoxville know Rivr Media as a television producer for DIY and other national networks.  But few probably know that they are launching a new line of digital books to engage and inspire young readers.  Called Moving Picture Books, they are hitting 200 Walmart stores all around the country in time for the holidays.

These high-quality digital versions of classic children’s stories can be purchased as DVD’s or downloaded directly to iPods, cell phones and most mobile devices.  What a hit for busy parents who can just download a story and keep a child entertained while traveling or waiting in line!

So far, 44 stories are available in English and Spanish, with more in the development pipeline.  And Moving Picture Books is participating in a study with the University of Tennessee on early literacy, examining digital engagement and its impact on learning to read.

If you are a parent or grandparent looking for a great new holiday gift, check them out online at www.MovingPictureBooks.com or at online retailers such as iTunes.

They have to all HOLD hands and approach marketing challenges and opportunities as a united front.  This has always been the right thing to do.  It’s just that when corporations were fat and happy, they could afford to tolerate these internal disciplines not talking to one another. 

I am reminded of an article I wrote for one of our national trade publications MANY years ago on the value of an integrated marcom approach.  As soon as it was published, I was immediately taken to task by several of my PR peers, who, as “purists”, were horrified by my suggestion that PR hold hands with marketing and that PR could actually be a marketing tool, as opposed to a straight image enhancement tool.  My, how times have changed. 

Today, the smartest companies are those who explore EVERY avenue for pushing their products out the door,  those who have become masters at leveraging all of the tools in their toolbox against each other, and certainly those who realize that digital and social media is an increasingly huge part of the marketing and outreach mix. 

I believe that doing more with less is going to be a common refrain for awhile now…and that savvy integration of all the marketing and communications strategies available is how that will happen.

This experience has convinced me, over the years, of the extreme value of identifying with a group of trusted peers to whom you can truly “spill your guts”.  It is so easy for business owners to become isolated as we go about our business.  It is difficult for owners to let down their guard and admit that they don’t know everything because we are so accustomed to the playing the role of  “all-knowing leaders” with the troups that we manage every day. 

I never fail to return from this journey into the high desert full of new ideas to implement and with a fresh perspective on my firm and on my “highest and best use” as the owner of that firm.  For  three days, I work not IN my business, but ON my business, with people just like me who are dealing with similar issues and challenges.

The theme for this year’s Tour is “A Journey Home”, celebrating the fact that 1,227 children were welcomed into their permanent homes last year!  The Adoption Tour began in 2004 and has grown exponentially since then.  It is sure to be exciting and inspiring this year with so many riders, and I want to encourage all our friends and business associates to watch for it, read about it, and support the great work of this wonderful organization. 

You may find out more about the places the Tour will go through by visiting their website at www.adoptiontour.org. You can also ride along via Twitter by following the Adoption Tour’s Twitter feed @adoptiontour. Cheer them on!

Nothing creates anxiety faster than the fear of the unknown, and unknowns are caused by — you guessed it — lack of communication.  We desperately need our leaders on both sides of the debate to boil it all down to the things we can relate to and tell us exactly what their positions are on this topic that is so near and dear to us, called healthcare. 

As a lifelong communications professional, it is frustrating to see how many important leaders are fairly inept at slicing and dicing a critical issue into bite-sized pieces that we can all understand.  It is through this lens that the raucous town hall meetings we have been witnessing lately have found traction.  People are downright scared, and they are begging for their elected officials to “tell it like it is.” 

We counsel our clients to hone their messages into the key points that matter to their audiences and that add value to the conversation.  Whether it’s a business challenge, a personal issue, or the debate over how to reform healthcare, constituents and customers alike deserve to have a clear line of communications with their leaders.  Those leaders should feel obligated to communicate in the most concise, understandable language possible and to do it often and consistently. 

They say the mark of a good leader (our latest newsletter, posted on this website, is dedicated to the art of leadership, by the way) is the ability to take people where they didn’t know they need to go.  Let us hope that those we depend upon to change our lives for the better will let us know when and how they intend to do it.

However, I must say that if our PR firm is a barometer, things are looking up for us all.  Within the last 30-45 days, we have seen a marked change in terms of momentum and confidence within our client base.  Business owners are starting to come out of their cocoons and stretch their muscles again.  They are moving ahead with projects that had been put on hold.  They are laying the groundwork for a positive fourth quarter and an even more optimistic 2010.   

We are not yet ready to declare an end to the recession, but we see definite signs of it easing up and of people getting back to normal business practices.   Yea!!

Folks have obviously been calming their recession-wracked nerves with a shot of whiskey because bourbon-maker Knob Creek has run out of bourbon!  Last month, they ran ads in several newspapers across the country, apologizing for running out of stock until November.  Ad copy that read “thanks for nothing” was paired with a near-empty bottle. They’re even selling t-shirts about the “drought of 2009.”

If the tongue-in-cheek thank you note sounds like cold comfort to thirsty customers, think again.  Knob Creek has managed to do what most other brands haven’t — pin a silver lining on a stormy cloud.  The company is actually growing by double-digit percentages, and the American consumer is to thank. 

Perhaps by the time Knob Creek’s holiday batch hits the shelves in November, we’ll be starting to toast our recovery instead of drowning our fiscal woes!