Turn, Turn, Turn

During the Holiday season I had the opportunity to slow things down at bit. Like many of you, I move fast. I enjoy what I do and work far more than anyone with a "typical" 9 to 5 type job. Of course in our industry, most of us don't have typical 9 to 5 jobs and the passion we have for what we do is what makes our career path so rewarding.

From my perspective, reflecting back on 2012, it's been an interesting year. I'm surprised and pleased that I met a modest sales goal for the distributor side of my business, despite very challenging economic conditions in my state of California. (But... we have great weather!)

My business resource program, FreePromoTips has grown in 2012, continuing to evolve into a relevant communication tool for the industry. We were able to help get the word out on the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts facilitated by SAAGNY and PPAI. We shed a light on the 15 for 15 Program created by the Regional Association Council (RAC) to help with business disruptions from natural disasters.

Being passionate about continuing education, we continue to raise awareness for the importance of professional development. We support the efforts of the Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF) that does such a great job awarding scholarships. This is an awesome program.

We launched FreePromoTips SuccessTracks Education Experiences in 2012. SuccessTracks is covering topics pertinent to personal and business development. Our first Education Experience for 2013 was a presentation presented by Ron Baron on the Trade Show Money Machine. You can learn the "secret" in this 30-minute session. The recording can be found here. This content is being brought to you with the support of our friends at SnugZ USA, Warwick Publishing and AIA.

Personal circumstances affected my life as well. I recovered from a successful ankle fusion surgery done in 2011. Having lived with pain for many years from an old motocross racing injury, I'm glad that I finally had the guts to go through this brutal procedure. Life's challenges affected some people I know and I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences. As I am writing this I've been streaming a memorial service for Frank Pastore, a former major league pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds, who became a popular radio talk show host in our area. He passed away after a tragic motorcycle accident. As a rider myself, I realize how fragile life can be.