Gloria Ferris

I just posted this over at Midtown Brews.  I think the topic, the speaker, and the opportunities at this event are so important and timely that I have decided to post this everywhere.

“Give me land lots of land, lots of land under starry skies above. Don’t Fence Me In”, the Cole Porter song sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters as well as a host of others.  On the other hand, Will Rogers said “buy land, they aren’t making any more of it”.

Our topic for the June 5^th Brews is LAND.  County Treasurer Jim Rokakis will lead our discussion of the proposed land bank legislation that Ohio will tackle in November.  The passage of this legislation is only the beginning of what will be a transformative change in our region and Ohio.  How the land bank advisory board, the disposition of properties, and the decision-making process for local communities are shaped provides a huge opportunity to “get it right”.

Civic engagement and the public process will be critical elements of a “land bank” that will be a deciding factor in a new form of economic development.  How can the land bank be used to draw new businesses to our region?  How will it retain the businesses we now have?  How could it be used to draw in a skilled workforce?  Which communities will find new ways to use this tool to enhance the attractiveness of the live, work and play potential inherent in that community?  What is the potential to use the land bank to strategically plan for shrinking our footprint?  How will we balance quantity with quality?

This brews has the potential to give us an opportunity to start the conversation to begin thinking in new ways and bringing together the best practices of Open Source Economic Development. 

Something is greatly disturbing me on this Election Day.  Reading comments on blogs, reading news stories from the wire services, and receiving three phone calls last night from Republican friends asking for advice on which judges to vote for on the Democratic ballot has made me shake my head in wonder.  How have we come to this?  Has the casino mentality really entered our election process?  For years, I have felt that the comparison to horse races and other sports events didn’t bode well for how we looked at elections, but this year has made me convinced that we have come to what may be seen as a new low.

The crux of my concern is this, folks; apparently the Republicans led by Rush Limbaugh believe that their boy John McCain has a better chance in November if the Democratic nominee is Hillary Clinton.  Hence, Republicans switching parties to help us Democrats choose our candidate to run in November.  Does anyone else think that this scenario is terribly wrong? Independents are the only ones who should decide on Election Day if they want to back one particular party over another to nominate a candidate for president.

Don’t get me wrong. If a Republican or Democrat truly believes that the ideology of their party no longer represents what they believe then by all means change parties, but to cynically change parties for the short term for the ability to choose the candidate for the general election, because you have no race in your own party, is just PLAIN WRONG!! 

The first time I saw this happen was when Democratic women were urged to vote for Robert Dole in the primary so that in November a pro-choice candidate would win the presidency.  I thought it was cynical and wrong then, and I still do.  We should not be switching parties like we do last year’s fashions.  But then again, does this speak to a much deeper problem within our party system?

I think that the bigger question might be why is there such little loyalty to a party that switching is no big deal?  Could it mean that the party system is little more than frosting to hide the fact that under the surface not much is different between them?  Would anyone say that either party speaks to a large percentage of Americans or, would it be safe to say that each party speaks more to smaller factions and special interests while the huge majority of us feel like poor wayfaring strangers?

After the dust settles and the winners are announced later tonight, several questions will remain?  Just whose interests were served today?  And, how can we fault voters for cynically feeling that the votes they cast really don’t mean very much?  I challenge each and every one of us to turn this country toward a new day and get off this cynical self-interested merry-go-round that infiltrates one of the cornerstones of our republic.  We need to treat our election process with the respect and dignity that it deserves.  Our ancestors who founded this country and those of us who had ancestors who came here for a better life deserve better from us their descendents.  Our children and grandchildren deserve a better legacy that what we are forging today.

I hope that each and every one of you voted today for someone that you believed in and not because you thought that that person would lose in November.  How very sad that some of us see changing parties as a valid option, not because of a change in belief but trying to achieve an outcome.  We need to remember that this is not a game of chance but the future of our country.  We may not agree on how to get to where we are going, but we should all agree on how damn important it is.

Just when you thought I had abandoned my blog for other interests, here I come again.  I have longed to take the time to sit and write a few words, but for the last two weeks I have been engulfed by the refrendum initiative to take the 1/4% Sales Tax Increase to the voters.  Some detractors say that it isn’t that much per person, that’s true, but if you read Bill Callahan’s blog post on that issue, the cumulative effect is huge, but that is not why I do it.  Others say but the Convention Center/Medical Mart will be good for our region.  Personally, I am not convinced, but could be if there were more documentation, a business plan or so on. But, that is not why I do it.  Others say it is time to tell Tim Hagan and Jimmy Dimora that they have overstepped the boundaries on this one.  But, that is not why I do it. Others say that a sales tax increase is regressive, it is, but that is not why I do it.

I do it because I believe that the American Public has the right to raise their taxes or not. No one else. My thoughts on the state legislature allowing something so foreign to the American way of raising taxes is a post for another day and time.  The bottom line is that our ancestors went to war because of “taxation without representation”, and I believe that that is where we are at now only now we have “taxation with poor representation”.  I believe that we the people agree to tax ourselves and our representatives at the county then administer those funds in our best interests.  That issue is again another post on another day.

Yesterday, I worked at the Booth at the Cuyahoga County Fair. One lady said, “I happen to believe that a new convention center would be a good thing.” As she walked away, I asked her this question, “Don’t you think that you have the right to decide to raise your taxes if you believe in it?”  She stopped, turned around, and said, “You’re right, I do believe that.  I should make the decision whether to raise my taxes or not to build or pay for anything.”

So there you have it.  I believe that we the citizens of Cuyahoga County are capable of making decisions on how and why our public dollars are spent. The idea of a group of politicians and so-called business leaders using a short-fuse time frame that they contrived appalls me.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Unfortunately, we have less than 12 days to gather all of the signatures we need to get this on the ballot so that We the voters of Cuyahoga Counnnty can decide our destiny. A friend of mine, Councilman Brian Cummins says, “Does any one realize that this has the potential to change the next 80 years?”  I say anything that crucial deserves consideration and delibration, not the type of hustle that has been apparent so far.

So I ask you to do what you can, sign a petition, volunteer to work somewhere gathering signatures for a few hours, circulate a petition, there are so many things we need done in these crucial dog days of summer.  Visit http://www.putitontheballot.com and help us “do things the democratic way”.

I had to chuckle when I read about the kids in Gahanna placing a Big Boy likeness on the roof of their school. When reading about the forklift and manpower needed to rescue Big Boy from his perch and return him to his rightful place, I couldn’t help but wonder how those kids got him up there. They certainly didn’t have access to the equipment that took him down.

And then, I remembered the senior prank of 1968 and how the adults in our lives hadn’t a clue as to how a bunch of us plunked down a boulder that easily weighed who knows how much in the middle of the grassy oval encircled by our high school drive. I wasn’t involved in the placing of the rock, but my best friend Beth and I had a ringside seat as to what transpired later.

When we arrived at school that day, we were greeted by this purple behemoth outside the school doors. Everyone was wondering how in the world it got there and who had put it there. We, in the senior class, of course, suspected the usual gang of players, Mike, Barney, Charlie, Zarlengo, and a girl named Stan. Our class was always into equal opportunity. But, back to my ringside seat to the unfolding show. Beth and I had a class on the first floor at eye level with the oval. It was called Home Management or something like that and was for students that had all the credits they needed to graduate but wanted another “A’ under their belts. Needless to say, boredom was the word of the day.

So when Beth nudged me, I immediately turned my head to see what had caught her attention. Lo and behold, there was our esteemed principal, “Howie” as we so affectionately called him when he was not in earshot, circling the huge boulder warily. To this day, I can see him gingerly eyeing that rock up and down, but I still have no clue as to why he would up and kick something so hard and with such vehemence. It was like he wanted it to sail into the sky, so he wouldn’t have to deal with it any more. Obviously, he thought it was one of the papier mache “rocks” that had been showing up everywhere inside the school.

Each year, the junior class sponsors the Junior Senior prom. This year’s class theme was “Subterranean Gardens” Hence, the dayglo “rock” garden throughout the school. I always wondered if the sophomore class was irreparably harmed by having to wear those caveman outfits. The junior class sponsored and paid for the prom and banquet, the sophomores served as the waitstaff for the banquet and the seniors reaped the rewards of having done it the year before for that senior class. It fostered a sense of community and collaboration that I think is missing today with these “over the top” expensive things we call “proms” . But, I digress. Maybe some day I will relate how the banner from “Riverboat Rhapsody” showed up at our tenth year reunion and how it has made it to every class reunion since that one. But, right now, back to the school prinicipal hopping around the oval holding his foot and howling in pain. By this time, everyone in our class had abandoned their seats and stood looking out onto the scene aghast knowing that our class will again know his wrath.

We realized that there was no sense in denying that members of the senior class had been involved because scrawled across the face of the rock was the phrase “Class of ’68″. What we didn’t know was Barney had taken care of damage control. We had had a love-hate relationship with our principal since we were freshmen and it had only been getting worse as graduation loomed closer. He would be glad to see the doors close on our class, but no more than we would be glad to be shed of him and his arcane rules and regulations that we never seemed to be able to get right. For instance, what is so wrong with adding a rock in a grassy oval that earlier that week had nothing but grass and a mud hole where the rock now sat. A lot of schools have rocks that rival schools paint and classes paint, and back and forth and on and on.

But, no. Not for our school. Nothing new and different and certainly not something that our class would leave behind as a gift. Not fifteen minutes later, he was on the PA system vowing to find those responsible and demanding others to turn them or the senior class would pay for the damage done. As far as we could see there was no damage except to his ego, and that was his own fault. Barney was the only one of us who kept his cool during this tirade. Apparantly, he had known we would need some press about the event if they were going to stay in school and the rest of us were not going to have to pay for the removal of the rock, essentially, cancelling our Senior Party. The press heeded Barney’s call and The Daily Record photographer arrived in the nick of time.

Each year the senior class gives a gift to the school in appreciation of our education and years at the institution. Our class had given our “senior” gift when we were freshman along with the other three classes that year. We bought the sign that sits in front of the school. Each year, the principal suggested we buy something else for the school. I had been the class treasurer our freshman year and was the one who always piped up at class meetings that we had already given our “senior” gift. One year we gave in and bought “lounge” furniture for the lobby hoping to keep the rest of our money for a Senior Class Party. Who knew that the rock that had nestled quite comfortably in a creek bed would serve as probably the greatest gift we could have given to our school.
Nearly forty years later, “grunk” still sits where he was placed in 1968. Over the years, benches and a brick paths have joined him as well as trees, shrubs, and flowers. And, periodically, another school sneaks in and splashes him with their colors, but it isn’t long before he returns to his bright purple color. And so, he stands as a reminder to adults who deal with teenagers that sometimes it is okay to reconsider the “rules” and the “order” that is needed because you may just create a bond that survives across the years, and what some considered a “prank” just might be come a “tradition”.

Yesterday Christine came by for a cup of coffee, and this is how the conversation started. “I thought my pharmacy bag seemed awfully light when I picked it up.” Over the years, she and I have formed this little charade on how we handle these conversations about Medicaid. It’s kind of like a comedian and his straight man trying to make it in The Berkshires while knowing that the material just isn’t too funny. But how else do you deal with this reality played over and over and over? So knowing my part well, I ask “Why was it so light?” And her reply, “Medicaid has disallowed four of my medications.” The straight man had no line to deliver. She asked me, “What am I to do now?” The straight man still didn’t know what to say, so she said “Punt?” Christine said, “I’m not ready to do that.”

I knew that but I truly am out of options of what to say. I don’t know how many times her doctor can act more like a magician than a physician and pull a rabbit out of her hat finding another medication, a new combination that works, a referral to a specialist that turns into a miracle too good to believe. We hear story after story of the doctors who scam Medicaid for millions of dollars, but we seldom hear of the doctors that still take Medicaid patients and work through and around a bureaucratic system that has long forgotten why it was formed but rather is more interested in its own survival than for the vulnerable people it was formed to serve. These doctors are unsung heroes.

Twice a year, Medicaid revisits the approved drug list for the patients under their care. In January, these very drugs now pulled off the list were put on the approved list. Doctors breathed a sigh of relief and began prescribing them for patients that needed these drugs for a better quality of life. Now, five months later, the drugs are gone, the patients have lost faith and neither have any hope for an answer coming from a huge bureaucratic mess.

You see, I think that the problem is that late last year, a new use for Cymbalta was found. It not only was a useful medication for depression, but it was found that it also helped people with extreme nerve pain. This fact would open the door for doctors to prescribe the drug to people with neurological disorders, neuropathy from diabetes, and other conditions. The other medications I didn’t even try to figure out the why or wherefore. It boggles my mind when I hear people my age talking about “Medicaid ” planning for their parents. I can only assume that they have had no firsthand knowledge on working with this agency. Single-payer insurance plan for the nation! I can think of nothing more horrific if it turns out to be administered like Medicaid has been for the poor. I realize there are no easy answers for any of these things, but I can only believe if we try to switch our thinking from a sickness viewpoint to one of wellness, we may begin to turn this elephant around. Christine feels that had she had more preventative care when she was a child that her illness would not be as advanced today. That may or may not be the case and in regards to her, we will never know, but don’t the children of today deserve a better outlook, and how can promoting good health be wrong?
So yesterday was a day that was pretty bleak, but today was a day that again saw Christine looking for answers on how to cope with the extreme nerve pain that would make a lesser person knuckle under. Her latest goal is to score a muscle stimulating machine she was denied last January, causing the doctor to prescribe medication to cope with the pain rather than muscle stimulation. So, she asks me, the straight man, what do I think? Do I think that we can find a way to get one? And me, who am I to rain on her parade? I say, “yeah, yeah, we could try that.”

Yesterday Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s son became the focus of a debate in the blogosphere as to whether Matt Naugle crossed a line when he posted John Brunner’s facebook page on his site and questioned Rick and Jennifer Brunner’s parenting.  Others have very eloquently given their reasons for the separation of private and public lives, so I will focus on the real reason for Matt’s attack on Secretary of State Brunner’s son.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has removed Bob Bennett from his position at the Cuyahoga Board of Elections because he did not have the sense to do it himself.  His colleagues on the board realized that their effectiveness had been so damaged by recent events that they could not continue to lead.  For some time I have questioned Bob Bennett’s reasoning powers, and this refusal to step down only cements that position.

The problems at the Board of Elections have been there longer than touch- screen voting machines and Michael Vu.  Anyone who has lived in Cuyahoga County for any length of time has heard the rumors of unauthorized people being in places on election night where they had no business being, the faulty statistical samplings of votes used instead of counting each and every vote-supposedly put into place durng the Bob Hughes years, the number of employees placed at the BOE for patronage purposes, and the list goes on and on.  These problems reach systemic proportions and are going to take herculean efforts to change.

Personally, I have felt for years that these rumors and suppositions have been the real cause of the deterioration of voting in Cuyahoga County.  True or not, if the preception is that your vote may not be counted, why vote?   When Meet.The.Bloggers interviewed Jennifer Brunner we talked extensively about the integrity of voting and how credibility needed to be restored to the voting procedures in the state and specifically, here in Cuyahoga County.  Secretary of State Brunner and her staff are working diligently to do just that.

Today, the Plain Dealer Metro headline ”Brunner issues Ohio voter ID rules” says it all.  She is doing her job and she is doing it well.  Jane Platten, interim director of the Cuyahoga County elections board says this, ”It’s set, and it’s clear, and it’s something that I can use with poll worker training as well as staff training.”  Go here if you haven’t already read it.  Republicans and Democrats alike should be reassured that she has tackled this problem head on.

I don’t agree with all of SOS Brunner’s ideas.  For instance, the idea of choosing poll workers randomly from voter registrations as juries are now chosen in my mind is a VERY BAD IDEA.  People already use not wanting to serve on a jury as the excuse for not registering to vote. Now, we want to add “I don’t want to be a poll worker” to the list of reasons.  I think that a better idea would be that poll workers should not have to take personal days or vacation days from work to serve as poll workers.  Why not treat poll workers like those serving on a jury?  People serving on juries do not have to use personal time or vacation time.  Why should poll workers? 

The high school senior that served as a poll worker at my precinct was invaluable to us all.  We should encourage more high schools to get involved giving the students who serve as poll workers service points toward the community service requirement that all schools now require. Kiwanis Key Club members could be recruited.  Of course, high schools would have a limited source pool because they would need to be eighteen.  But why aren’t we recruiting poll workers heavily from our colleges and universities? Political science professors could give extra credit points to students who volunteered to work the polls.  What better way to instill in our young people the need to become an active, engaged voter? 

And one final thought,  I am gravely concerned about a society that thinks that personally attacking a public official’s family or using information found on a website in an entirely different manner than it was intended is a rational way to talk about issues.  I think that if we don’t soon get this under control we will find it very hard to find candidates to run for judge or any other position of a public nature.  I mention judges because of the recent incidents concerning death threats against judges and their families. 

But on the other hand,  I am thankful for Tim, Wendell, Jill and Paul as well as many others who debated this issue and I hope that we will be better for the discussion.  (I’m rushed–I’ll make more links later.) 

Yes, I survived my 17 hour marathon yesterday to blog today.  Let me first say, that these are my own personal observations, thoughts and experiences on election day. I am sure that many other people have different thoughts about their experience of yesterday. I hope that they comment here so that I can take these concerns forward to the Board of Elections because I intend to inform them of what I saw that went right, what could be greatly improved, and those things that definitely need to be fixed.  My hope is that this post serves as an education piece on how we can do elections better and find the positive points in a day of long lines and frustration for many people.

THE GOOD:

My assisting judges, EDTs  (Electronic Device Technicians) and my student poll worker. I was lucky I had a full complement of judges, TWO EDTS and a super student poll worker assigned to my precinct.

The first time voters.  We had a huge number of  young people with those strange driver licenses show up to VOTE! It was great.  The other good thing was the number of parents who accompanied these first time voters and proudly told their friends and neighbors that their son or daughter voted for the first time.

The number of voters.  Personally, I think it must be a near record for a midterm election.  The numbers at our precincts were close to presidential numbers.  If you add in the absentee votes cast, I bet we do rival those numbers. Over 1000 people voted at our polling place!

The voters who brought the brochure they received from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.  It had the Precinct prominently displayed by the ward. And also, the ones who brought well-worn cards that they have had for years.  

The civility of the people who live in Old Brooklyn.  Many people stopped by to thank me for working the polls and commented that  they thought we all were handling the crowds and complaints quite well. The way they used their waits in line to catch up with neighbors and friends making the best of what could have been a bad situation. 

The voters who just like me were okay with lots of people and waiting on line because it meant that a LOT of people were voting.

To all of you who thought about leaving but stayed because I told you the wait really wasn’t that bad, and please don’t leave because you’re here now and the line might not be shorter later. I apoligize.  I know that your wait was probably longer than you intended, but thank you for staying and voting. 

The policeman who helped me by explaining to the voters that double parking could not be allowed in the parking lot.  And who told me that I should call the Second District if I had any more problems.  He would make sure that they were aware that we were having a problem.

And to the man that I could not help for his thank you.  He said that it was enough that I had spent time that I did not have to listen to his complaint He said that the whole time we talked he never felt like I wanted to be anywhere but there.  He said “you listened, and that is enough!”

The luck we enjoyed.  Our machinery worked.  We only had three hours of long lines of voters and even then from some of the things I’ve heard things still went relatively smoothly at our polling location.

The Bad:

People who commit to being a poll worker and then do not show.

I lost my provisional vote judge and my student poll worker to another precinct who had one lone woman to man the polls.  Without their help, there is no way the woman could have handled her precinct.  I was glad that I had a full complement so I could share.

Poll workers that decide that treating a polling location like a waiting room is a good thing.

People who do not know their voting precinct.  This would be my number one reason for the slowdown of voting.  We needed a better way to determine precinct designation.

People who come to vote after work and expect no line.  How could this be? After work, is always the busiest time. Although I realize that some people can only come after work, is it really necessary to blame the long lines on disorganized polls and inadequate poll workers?  More people, longer wait. 

The small room that previously held two precincts with an approximate vote tally of 700 voters from previous vote tallies I have seen now held THREE precincts essentially adding another 350 voters.  It was a tight squeeze, but we survived.

The extremely ugly:

A precinct map that was printed on October 25, 2006 was incorrect.  Our precincts M.N. and G had apparently a superimposed map of we believe Fairview Park because for some reason W.220 and other 200 streets appeared as our numbered streets.  Our actual numbered streets are eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth.  Hence, the difficulity of determining what was the voting precinct.  We used an elector worksheet throughout the day but this became extremely difficult as the crowds grew.  It would have been helpful to have had the map so that people could determine for themselves.

Provisional voting. Only one precinct had the luxury of a fourth judge to serve in this capacity.  But the biggest problem was the contridictory instructions on how these votes should be handled. Enough said for now, but I intend to help in any way I know how to make this part of the voting experience better.  I will first offer to help the Board of Elections.  I will keep you posted.  And for those people who voted provisionally at our polling place, I intend to be your advocate to see that each and every one of your votes are counted.    

 I don’t think that we lost many people because they saw large lines. I hope not.  That would be extremely ugly.

And, in conclusion:

All in all, my first experience as a poll worker was a good one.  The number of gracious people certainly outweighed the handful of disgruntled people. Of course, there is room for improvement in the process but after all, there always is room for improvement.  In fact, I would like to bring back the tradition of posting the number of votes cast in each precinct at each polling place.  I believe that this would be a good place to start building trust and integrity with the voting public.  And frankly, I don’t understand why we are not doing that.  When you are staying until ten o’clock anyway what is ten minutes more?  

And, my wishes were granted.  People voted!  My other wish was that I would have a good group of people to work with and that together we would make election day an experience to remember.  To all of my co-workers at the polls yesterday: You are a great group of people and without you, I would not  feel the sense of accomplishment I feel today.  Thank you!

Just posted this comment over at BFD in response to a comment made to this post from Ohio Learn and Earn

Dear Learn and Earn:

With all due respect, what a bunch of b***sh***. Proponents of gambling have tried twice straight up to get gambling in the state of Ohio with no go. Education is a HUGE HUGE issue on the minds of Ohioans and therefore, this time the gambling wonks decided that this would be the way to get gambling into Ohio. Education has never been the issue with these people pushing gambling in Ohio. If it were, why have they been so silent on the unconstitutionality of educational funding in Ohio and pushed for reform?

You can dress up a pig, but a pig is still a pig and this CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT is about gambling, not education.

And maybe telling yourself that helps you sleep at night, but please don’t try to get us to buy the drivel.

Those words that you wrote here is why so many people find this campaign so deceitful and dishonest. You even lie to yourselves.

When will you all realize that the voters in Ohio are not as stupid as you believe we are.

Of course, when you push ads for Issue 3 that promote only education and don’t reveal the other side of the coin gambling how are voters to believe anything you say.

My only hope that voters in Ohio will act as most prudent voters do when in doubt vote no or pass.

Last evening I had the opportunity to be on of the four speakers at the Akron/Canton Chapter American Marketing Association September dinner meeting held at the Sheraton Suites.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls, do so.  It sits right by the Cuyahoga at the falls.  The views from the hotel are magnificent.  There is just something about water that is so beautiful and soothing.  But, the opportunity that I can NEVER turn down is the opportunity to speak in front of an audience.  It is the one aspect of teaching that I really miss because I loved nothing better than to see people listening, interacting, and engaging in learning.  This group was a fantastic group of people willing to give a group of people that they barely knew the chance to talk about two of their passions, blogging and network weaving.

When Tim got up to begin the presentation, he asked how many of them had personal blogs-four and how many had busines blogs-five.  I thought to myself Oh no, fifty people in the room and less than one fifth have blogs.  Tough crowd!  Was I pleasantly surprised.  They asked questions, they listened with attention, some of them were on the edge of their chairs. I apologized for the use of my visual aid, but it is a carry over from my teaching years that I can’t shake.  (Actually, I don’t want to shake it  Visuals are always a help)  I had outdone myself color coded squares, gold stars, and confetti.  One or two were kind enough to tell me later that they loved the visual. George and Jason rounded out our presentation and those two again did their usual stellar work fielding questions from the audience like the pros they are.

If you are ever in the Akron area the third week of the month, check out the site above and stop in for a meeting.  These business people from the Akron and Canton area are a good group–welcoming of people and new ideas, truly an asset to Northeast Ohio and they give me hope for our economic future in our global economy.  

Thanks Akron Canton AMA.  We had a great time!

Tonight Tim, George Nemeth , Jason Haas and I are speaking at the Akron Canton Chapter of the American Marketing Association at their September meeting being held at the Sheraton Suites.  We will talk about blogging and field questions from Marketing representatives from large corporations as well as small marketing business owners who freelance. It should be a good time.  I always like speaking and discussing new, innovative ideas,  but anyway,  go here  and get the rest of the story on Tim’s blog.