Farewell 2011!

This will be the last Hollywood Four blog post for 2011. The video below contains some picture memories from December 2011. Please check back on January 1, 2012 for a fresh, newly designed hollywood-four.blogspot.com website ... oh, and we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Trio of Christmas Parties

As is normally the case, the Hollywood Four celebrated Christmas three times this past week. First we had our own Hollywood Four Family Christmas last Friday; then the Ott Family Christmas in Brighton, MI on Saturday; and finally the Frederick Family Christmas in Big Rapids, MI on Monday. It is always exhausting, but the kids make out pretty well (and the weather was very cooperative). The family time is nice, but it's also good to return home and get ready for the New Year.

Recent Hockey Highlights

Andrew had hockey practice last night but is off now for a full week with no hockey practices or games. So, to tide us all over, here are a few miscellaneous Strongsville Mustangs hockey game highlights from games played over the past couple weeks (including the goal Andrew scored a week ago).

Christmas Fun Revisted

Abby and I were feeling nostalgic this evening so we got our our old collection of family Christmas DVDs. Just as many families send Christmas cards and letters during the holiday season, the Hollywood Four used to send Christmas DVDs to our family and friends. This video contains highlights from the first Christmas DVD we produced in 2004 while living in Chicago. We continued the tradition for three additional years - until I no longer had willing and cooperative participants. It was fun while it lasted ... and definitely fun to look back upon again. They used to be so cute!

A Local Christmas Light Show

How would you like to live next to these five houses? This Medina, OH couple have become legendary in the area for their Disney Christmas light display. Here is a local newspaper article on the subject. We took a drive through last night and here is a short clip of what we saw (you even tune in your car radio to a specific station to here the music that goes with the lights).

The Next Chapter in My Marketing Career

As most of my family and friends know, I have been evaluating new career opportunities over the past few weeks. I have met and spoken with a lot of great people. Some of the companies that expressed interest in my talents include a telecommunications distributor, two logistics software companies, a couple transportation providers and several third party logistics companies - oh, and an eco-friendly bus manufacturer too. The networking experience has been eye-opening and I have also found the true meaning of friendship when it counts most. Even with the positive activity, one organization in particular really showed a great deal of interest in me, and I in them. And so, earlier this week I followed my heart and accepted an offer to join an organization called PartnerShip LLC as their new marketing director. Even though I have not yet begun working for them, their President & COO has already sent an internal communication announcing my addition to the team, as he puts it, to "... help refine existing and develop new marketing strategies in support of business goals and objectives, and create efficient and profitable processes for the execution and implementation of such strategies." I am really looking forward to this new and unique opportunity. The company is a small, for-profit subsidiary of a larger non-profit organization called the National Association of College Stores (or NACS for short). PartnerShip LLC specializes in providing transportation and logistics services to college bookstores and to other small and medium businesses. They recently moved into new offices in Westlake, OH and all of the people I have met so far have been wonderful. It will truly be a breath of fresh air to work for a small, non-public company with a lean, high-integrity management team - and so I am really excited about this opportunity. Thank you again for the support of my family and friends. More Hollywood marketing details to come in future posts.

WhirlyBall Christmas Party

The Strongsville Mustangs had their team Christmas party this evening. The party was at the WhirlyBall facility in Bedford Heights. Andrew and the rest of the kids had a blast (and dads too!). There was lots of junk food and, in addition to WhirlyBall, some of the kids played laser tag. At the end, each of the kids received a team gift: A miniature hockey stick with the team logo and their name on it. Here are a few highlights.

Two Hockey Scrimmages

Andrew and the Strongsville Mustangs played two scrimmages today against the Garfield Heights Bulldogs which is in a the A1 division (we are in the A2 division). Both games were in Garfield Heights. The first game got pretty crazy. It had everything from a penalty shot, two kids being ejected for fighting, one parent being ejected for yelling at the referees, to our goalie leaving the game with a concussion (we had to use skaters to defend the goal for most of the third period). We lost that game 3-10. We recruited a new goalie (one of the players younger brothers) for the second game. The second game was more normal, but we still lost 4-7. However, Andrew played great scoring the first goal in the game and adding an assist later on in the game. More practice this week, then regular season play again next weekend.

Abby's Art

Abby has been really inspired by her art class this semester. She has a new sketch book and she has been drawing some really good pictures lately. Here is one that she showed me when I cam home today. Both Abby and Andrew have always been good at drawing, but I am impressed with Abby's recent improvement. Hopefully she sticks with it - after all, she comes from a family with a lot of creative roots.

More Motown Hockey

The dad of one of Andrew's teammates on the Strongsville Mustangs is our official team videographer. I was able to get a copy of some of the video footage from last weekend's Hockeytown Red Wings Experience hockey tournament. The first video below is just the highlights at, and leading up to, our first game at Joe Louis Arena; the second video below has highlights from our second game in which Andrew had a couple nice shots on goal and one assist in a 4-2 victory.

Hockeytown Tournament

This Thanksgiving weekend, Dad and Andrew parted ways with Mom and Abby (went to Chicago for Oireachtas) so they could travel to Detroit for the Hockeytown Red Wings Experience hockey tournament. Andrew and his Strongsville Mustangs competed in a division of all Canadian teams (except for us). They lost their first game 1-7 at Joe Louis Arena, bounced back to win their second game 2-4 in Plymouth, lost their third game 0-8 in Farmington Hills, then won their final game 5-2 in Dearborn Heights. They finished in 3rd place overall and just missed out on the championship game. It was still fun. The kids got to swim and go to a Red Wings hockey game Saturday night. We didn't get too many photos or video clips (hoping others did), but here are the highlights of what we did get.

Oireachtas 2011

This Thanksgiving weekend Mom and Abby parted ways with Dad and Andrew (went to Detroit for hockey tournament) and headed to Chicago for the 2011 Mid America Oireachtas regional Irish dance competition. Unfortunately, Abby did not place in her category, but I think her and Mom still had fun. Here are some photographed highlights.

Hockey Highlights

Andrew (#97) and the Strongsville Mustangs PW1 team had two games this weekend. The first game was Friday night and the Mustangs let one get away by losing to first place Shaker Heights 2-1 after leading 1-0 late into the third period. Today the Mustangs redeemed themselves by defeating Tri-County 3-1. The Mustangs have now played 4 regular season games and have a record of 1-2-1. Hopefully today's win will get them back on track again. This weekend the team will be playing a Hockeytime Red Wings Experience Tournament in Detroit. They are guaranteed to play at least 3-4 games, one of which will be at Joe Louis Arena. The whole team will also get to watch a Red Wings game Saturday night. Should be lots of fun.

Oireachtas Pep Rally

Yesterday Abby had a practice and pep rally for her upcoming Mid America Region Oireachtas competition that is in Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend. Every year the O'Hare Irish Dance booster club has a pep rally to wish good luck to the girls that will be competing in Oireachtas. It's usually good fun and a nice way to get everyone excited for the competition. Good luck Abby!

Happy Anniversary!

Today, the first "Hollywood Two" (Scott and Karen) celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary. Last year I put together a short video as a walk back through time across our 20 year history. You can watch it again by clicking here.

Mustangs Hockey

The Strongsville Mustangs PW1 regular hockey season is under way! The Mustangs had their first game this past Saturday against Rocky River. It was a nail biter that finished in a 1-1 tie (sorry, no video footage). Our next game is this coming Sunday against Cleveland Heights. The kids got their team pictures back this week so here is Andrew and the rest of his team. Looking forward to a good, competitive and fun hockey season.

Abby Takes First at the Prairie State Feis

Abby participated in two feiseanna this weekend in Chicago at the preliminary championship level. The first competition, the Chicago Autumn Feis, was on Saturday and we won't talk too much about that one since Abby finished 10th overall and 2nd in her set dance. However, she bounced back Sunday with a 1st place finish in the Prairie State Feis that was sponsored by the Mayer School of Irish Dance which was her former dance studio in Chicago. In fact, her first Irish dance instructor, Paul Mayer, had the honor of presenting her with her first place sash and award. Nice job Abby!

Happy Halloween

Tonight Andrew went trick-or-treating with a couple of his buddies on the neighborhood hay wagon. Andrew's costume was a homemade human iPod (middle in photo). The hayride has been a tradition every year we have lived in Ohio. Since we live in a very rural area, the Boyerts of Boyert's Greenhouse & Farm fire up the tractor and hay wagon and cart the kids all around the houses in the area. It's great for the kids and it's great for the folks who live in the area who enjoy giving out candy. Abby didn't go trick-or-treating this year, but she did go to a friend's bonfire party.

Hockey Update

Tonight was picture night at for Andrew and the Mustangs hockey team. They also received the final preseason RPI rankings which have the Mustangs placed in the A2 division for the regular season. That seems like a good placement - should be very competitive, but not so difficult as if they were placed in AA or A1.

Goodbye YRC Worldwide

It is with great sadness and mixed emotions that, after 22+ years of service, I bid goodbye to YRC Worldwide. I will truly miss all of my friends and colleagues at Holland, Reddaway, New Penn and YRC. It's a difficult chapter to close on my career, but it is time for a fresh start. I look forward to sinking my teeth into a new opportunity where I can apply my marketing experience, education and talents towards the success of another organization.

I also appreciate the support of my true friends and family as I transition to a new career opportunity. Your guidance and prayers are welcomed.

Scott G. Frederick
Marketing Professional
http://www.linkedin.com/in/sgfrederick

Mustangs Lose to Geauga

The Mustangs lost a tough game to Geauga yesterday. After giving up two goals because our goalie was late to the game, we couldn't bounce back and lost 6-1. Nonetheless, Mom was present and was able to shoot a little video footage of Andrew.

Mustangs Win Again

Andrew and the Strongsville Mustangs PW1 team played a late away game against the Parma Flyers last night. In another strong preseason showing, the Mustangs won the game 10-0 with the game ending with 7 minutes left in the third period due to mercy rules. Andrew didn't have any points, but he had effective shifts being on the ice when 3 of the goals were scored. Prior to the game, our team had earned the top "A1" ranking in the Cleveland Suburban Hockey League RPI poll (see table to right). This poll is used to determine where teams are placed for the regular season. Hopefully we don't do much better than this, otherwise we could risk being placed in the highest "AA" division. A1 is the second highest division and that would be just fine.

Preseason Hockey

This weekend, Andrew (#97) and the Strongsville Mustangs PW1 team played a couple exhibition games. On Saturday, they had an intra-club scrimmage against the Strongsville Select 2001 team (2 years younger than our Pee Wees). The SYHC2001 team was fast and good! Despite the age difference, they handed our PW1 team a humiliating 1-3 loss. Andrew assisted our team's only goal. To make amends, the Mustangs played the Garfield Heights Bulldogs in a preseason game today. The Mustangs "mercy ruled" the Bulldogs in a 11-1 massacre. Andrew had a couple nice shots on goal, but couldn't get it into the net. Still, he had 1 assist and a +/- of 4 in the game.

School Choir Concert

This past Thursday, Andrew performed in one of his usual school choir concerts. In the past I have posted video footage of these concerts. However, this year Andrew decided he would not sing - or even move his lips - during the three songs that the 7th graders performed. Needless to say, Mom and Dad were pretty furious. In any event, here is a nice photo of Andrew (and friend Nathan) just before the concert began.

Gem City Feis

This is a belated post I forgot to publish regarding Abby's performance at the Gem City Feis in Dayton, OH last weekend. She took home another 3rd place finish (and a nice big gem-sized trophy). That's her fourth straight top three finish. Nice job Abby - and good preparation for the annual Mid-American Region Oireachtas competition in Chicago, IL next month.

Industry Awards Dinner

Last week I had the honor of attending the Logistics Management magazine Quest for Quality awards dinner with some of my colleagues last week in Philadelphia, PA. Four YRC Worldwide companies received awards this year from the readers of this trade publication. This is pretty much the preeminent award in our industry, so it was nice to see YRC Worldwide, Holland, Reddaway and New Penn all receiving awards. After the awards were presented, we were entertained by Bill Herz who was a fabulous magician/comedian act. He did some pretty amazing stuff. The next day I spent working with the New Penn management team in Lebanon, PA. As always, great to get out and about; but also good to return home again.

Hockey at "The Q"

Andrew and the Strongsville Mustangs played an exhibition game this evening against Winterhurst at Quicken Loans Arena, otherwise known as "The Q." The game preceded the home opening game for the Lake Erie Monsters. It was really cool for the kids to get dressed in The Q's lockers rooms, walk the runways to the ice, and then skate on the professional ice. Unfortunately the Mustangs lost to the Warriors 3-2; and the Monsters lost to the Heat 2-1. But it was still a great time for all the kids and families. Here are a few video highlights mom was able to take with her camera.

Abby Takes Third at Pittsburgh Halloween Feis

Today Abby danced at the Pittsburgh Halloween Feis in Pittsburgh. Like last year, she was able to wear a Halloween costume while she danced in the competition. While she did not finish first place like she did in the past two Feis, she did bring home a solid third place finish (she also finished with a second place in her "set dance" competition). Nice job Abby!

Andrew Scores Goal, adds Two Assists

Andrew and the Strongsville Mustangs had two preseason hockey games today. The first game was their first lost of the preseason, a 3-6 loss to Winterhurst. Andrew had a few solid shifts towards the end of the game, but ended up with a +/- of negative 3 (+/- is the net of goals scored for/against while a player is on the ice). He made amends in the second game, however, by scoring a goal and assisting two more goals. He tied with one other player for the game with a +/- of plus 4. They won the second game 7-1 against Geauga putting their preseason record at 3-1. Unfortunately, since dad is the stat keeper, and since mom and Abby were at a feis today, there is no video footage. The Strongsville Mustangs next game will be a scrimmage against Winterhurst this Friday at The Q before the Lake Erie Monsters home opener. That should be pretty cool!

Homecoming Dance

Tonight was Abby's second Homecoming Dance. Just like last year, she went to Homecoming with a bunch of her friends (instead of a boy ... hurray!). Mom took plenty of pictures. Here are the highlights (at least leading up to the dance).

New YRC Promotion

Just launched our next big YRC promotion. We are calling this VIP 2.0 internally because it is a new and improved version of something we did earlier this year. It's basically a program that is meant to build partnerships with our customers by creating a win-win scenario where the customer can receive rebates, or money-back, if they ship over a certain amount during the promotional time period. The improvements include a new website where customers enroll into the program, weekly progress emails to let them know where they are at, and tracking tools for our sales executives as well. On a related note, YRC Worldwide is going through more oganizational changes. Our Chief Marketing Officer lef the company last week and we have new presidents at YRC and Holland. It will be interesting to see where our Marketing function goes from here as well (hopefully in a good direction for me!). More to come.

Mustangs Preseason Hockey

This weekend Andrew and the Strongsville Mustangs PW1 team had their first two preseason games. The first game was against Tri-County and the second against Wooster. The Mustangs won both games easily 5-2 and 6-0, respectively. Andrew had a nice assist in the first game. In the second game his line grinded out some quality, scoreless minutes. Since Dad is the team's official statistician this year, video footage may be limited. Here are a few clips that Mom took (but Mom is not the best at capturing the action). To keep stats, I am using a very cool iPad app called HockeyStatTracker (see image).

Congratulations Abby!

Yesterday Abby competed in Irish Dancing at the Michigan FEIS. Not only was she wearing her new dress, but she was also out to get her second consecutive first place finish dancing at the Preliminary Championship level (she earned a first place a few weeks ago competing in the Great Lakes Feis). The way it works is that dances must earn a minimum of two first place finishes in official feiseanna competitions in order to move up to the Championship level of competition (the highest). I am proud to report that Abby did just that ... so congratulations you Championship Dancer!

Reddaway Trip Out West

Last week I traveled to Clackamas, OR for a quick 4-day stint working with our Reddaway team at their corporate offices. The itinerary included a review of our "Totally California" sales & marketing campaign results, account segmentation strategies, sales reporting and automation, and other topics. I also had a chance to spend some time with our Portland area local sales team. The weather was fabulous (sunny and 80's/90's). I always enjoy my time visiting the Reddaway gang - really good people.

A Day at the Zoo

For our second day with the McEuens, we ventured to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Surprisingly, this was Chloe's first visit to a zoo so it was a special day in that regard. After a long day of walking and seeing the different animals, we all relaxed with a nice, hearty meal at Rockne's (home of the delicious Terminator subs).

Akron Art Expo

Friday night the McEuens came to spend their long weekend with the Hollywood Four. For our Saturday activities, we all went to the Akron Arts Expo to watch to watch Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dance Ohio girls perform. It was very HOT! Afterwards, the boys all went out for burgers at the new Inferno Burger Bar and then went to the movie theater to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The girls went shopping at the Hartville Market (and other places).

Medina International Fest

Today Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dance Ohio girls performed at the 3rd annual Medina International Fest (as they did in 2010 and 2009). Dad and Andrew were at hockey, but mom was on hand to take the following video footage. This was a retirement performance for one of Abby's good friends, Jacqueline (aka, Jackie), who will be hanging up the dancing shoes to focus on her volleyball career.

\

Hockey Tryouts

Today Andrew had his first tryout practice for the Strongsville Mustangs Pee Wee travel team. Parents aren't allowed in the stands, but I was able to get a couple short clips with my mobile phone while watching from the lounge. Last year Andrew was on the PW3 team; this year he will be on either the PW1 or PW2 team. Really makes no difference to us as long as he with a few of his teammate buddies from last year. Today was mostly skating drills. There will be two more tryout practices the week following Labor Day (but he'll still have plenty of regular practices between now and then too). Good luck Mr. 97!

First Day of School 2011

Well, another summer has come and gone, and today was the first day of another school year. Hollywood Abby started her sophomore year of high school this year, while Hollywood Andrew started 7th grade (sort of a sophomore of junior high). As tradition would have it, Mom was on hand to take lots of pictures including the one shown here.

For a walk down memory lane, here are a few links to first day of school in recent years:

• 2010
  
• 2009
  
• 2008
  

Summer Vacation - Part 7 (the end)

This is our final summer vacation post for 2011. To finish off our vacation we toured a couple new minor league baseball parks: the Tri-City ValleyCats (Troy, NY) and Auburn Doubledays (Auburn, NY) home parks. We also walked around the quaint little Finger Lakes town of Skaneateles. To finish off our vacation, we spent some time with the McEuens again in Painted Post, NY.

Summer Vacation - Part 6

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, the following highlight reel is from our final evening and day in Lake Placid, NY which included swimming at the Crown Plaza Resort Boathouse Club and a hike down a short path to see the High Falls Gorge (this latter activity was a paid hike and a bit of a ripoff - but interesting nonetheless).

Searson Celtic Band

One item I forgot to mention as part of our Lake Placid, NY activities was a free concert in the park by Celtic lady rockers Searson. We had never heard this band before, but we all enjoyed it. Yes, you'd think we'd have our fill of Irish music; but still, they were really good. Here is a brief clip of their performance.

Summer Vacation - Part 5

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, on July 27, while Andrew was at his CanAm Hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY, dad, mom and Abby went hiking in the Adirondack Mountains again. This time we hiked the Balanced Rocks off Pitchoff Mountain. This hike turned out to be one of my favorite hikes yet because the payoff at the end was absolutely stunning with large, bald-faced rocks overlooking scenic valleys and lakes.

In Kneed Of Surgery Again

In the winter of 1987, this Hollywood Dad blew out his knee downhill skiing in northern Michigan. Although the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was damaged, I proceeded to have arthroscopic surgery on that knee twice over the next couple years and rehabbed it back into shape on my own. Eventually, in 1999, I had reconstructive surgery to repair the ACL using a piece of my patella tendon. Well, after 12 more years of wear-and-tear, the ACL is still good, but I incurred some slight meniscus and cartilage damage. That was all fixed yesterday with my third arthroscopic surgery. All seems to have gone well and I am now on the mends.

Welcome, Rico

Yesterday the Hollywood Four became the Hollywood Four-and-a-half when Andrew brought home his adopted new child from our local Petco store. As part of Andrew's birthday present he was finally allowed to adopt a pet - a gerbil. Once his new gerbil was all setup in his new habitat, Andrew decided on his name ... Rico. Welcome to the family little lion-man, Rico.

Summer Vacation - Part 4

Continuing on with the highlights from our recent summer vacation, on July 26, while Andrew was at his CanAm Hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY, dad, mom and Abby went hiking in the Adirondack Mountains. First we drove up Whiteface Mountain on Veterans Memorial Highway. The end involved about a quarter mile hike to the lookout post up a rocky stairway. Unfortunately, the clouds rolled in and it began to rain. So we left and found a dry trail to hike on Catamount Mountain. This was a great trail, but the end of it was a bit challenging and the girls were too scared to go farther. Still, great views and some interesting colors along the way.

Happy Birthday - Andrew Turns 12

Today Andrew turned 12 years old. To celebrate, he had six friends over for a sleepover tonight. The boy swam in Lake Frogerick, ate pizza, Andrew opened gifts, they played video games, ate cookies and ice cream, and then played more video games (which they will probably be doing until early tomorrow morning). Happy Birthday Andrew - enjoy.

The Bridgestone Invitational

Today I took my mother (grandma Carole) and Abby to the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club. I was able to (eventually) sneak them both into our YRC/Holland Signature Suite overlooking hole 16 (the Monster). It was hot, but a good time was had by all. My mom was able to get autographs for Jim Furyk and Mark Wilson. He highlight of the day, however, was seeing Tiger Woods. In the end, Adam Scott was the winner this year.

Summer Vacation - Part 3

Here is the next installment of our highlight footage from our summer vacation in New York. This highlight reel is from our time in North Creek, NY (in the Adirondack Mountains). We stayed one night at the Copperfield Inn (near Gore Mountain) in this quaint little mountain town. We hiked a couple mountain trails, went for a swim in the large outdoor pool, walked around the village and had a great dinner at Trappers Tavern.

Temporary Clip for Emerald Key Dressmaker

Summer Vacation - Part 2

Here is part 2 of our summer vacation highlights - Andrew's CanAm Hockey hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY (with the ghost of Herb Brooks in their ears).

Summer Vacation - Part 1

On July 21 the Hollywood Four took a summer vacation. Like last year, we traveled to upstate New York. Our vacation comprised of four major activities this year:

1. Ben (Karen's nephew) and Heather's wedding in Painted Post/Corning, NY on Friday, July 22 (and the weekend around it);
2. CanAm Hockey camp for Andrew in Lake Placid, NY;
3. Hiking in the Adirondack Mountains (mostly Dad, Mom and Abby); and
4. Minor league baseball games at the Tri-City ValleyCats and Auburn Doubledays home parks.

Here is a highlight reel from our activities from category 1) above.

Dance Out in Parma

As she did last year and in 2009 and 2008, tonight Abby and the O'Hare Irish Dance Ohio girls performed at the St. Charles Borromeo church in Parma, OH for their annual carnival/fair. It's always a hot, fun event.

Summer at the Cabin

As was the case in 2010, 2009, 2008 and many more years past, the Hollywood Four (or three this year - no Dad) made the summer trek to the Ott family cabin for some fun, fishing, swimming and relaxation on Lake Miramichi. Here is a short video with some of the pictures that were taken by Mom and Abby.

Astros Season Ends

Despite an outstanding regular season in which the Astros lost only 2 of 14 games and finished second overall in the MYBA league, the Astros saw a quick exit in the playoffs. The Astros earned a bye in the first round but were defeated by the Rockies in the second round. We haven't acquired much video footage of Andrew playing baseball this year; and this wasn't the best game for it. Nonetheless, here are the highlights for Andrew (and his friend Nathan). Andrew was walked, was hit by a pitch, had a couple stolen bases, scored a run and made a nice catch in the field. The baseball season is finished ... time for hockey!

Hollywood Four Auto History

Automobiles are an integral part of our lives. We spend a lot of time in them, whether it's going to work or going on vacation or just going for a cruise. The Hollywood Four have had quite a number of automobiles in their lives over the past 28 years (mostly Dad). In honor of our newest addition to the family today (Mom's new Durango), here is a short tribute to the many vehicles that have been in the family since the early 1980's (as best as I could remember, that is, and reconstruct with photos from the Internet).

MYBA Tournament Bracket Set

The Medina Youth Baseball Association season ending tournament bracket is final (11-12 yr olds). Andrew and his Astros finished second in the league overall, and first among NL teams. This gets them a first round bye in the NL bracket. The winner of the NL bracket will play the winner of the AL bracket for the championship. The Yankees, the top seed in the AL, also finished the regular season in 1st place (by 1/2 game over Astros). Astros play the winner of Reds/Dodgers Monday night (click image to right for magnified view).

Happy 4th of July

Our neighbors seem to be taking the 4th of July celebration seriously this year. They have been launching quite an arsenal of fireworks this evening. Fine by me as it is a great show over Lake Frogerick (our back yard). Here is a quick clip of the action before it gets too dark. Happy 4th of July!

On The Road Again

I am working from the YRC Worldwide corporate offices in Overland Park, KS this week again. This is my fifth trip to Overland Park this year. This week I am working on a special project with our CMO; but hope to also spend some time with some of my fellow marketing colleagues this week as well. I always enjoy a little face-to-face time with the "other half" of our corporate marketing team (the other half, of course, are based in Akron, OH). Word of my trip must have leaked because our stock is up over 40% today! :)

All-Star Game

Andrew was voted by his fellow teammates as one of two players to represent the Astros in the 11 year old All-State game that took place today (two were also voted to the 12 year old All-Star game). Unfortunately, the NL All-Stars lost the game to the AL All-Stars 5-15 mostly due to a poor start in which erratic pitching and fielding put the NL team in the hole 0-7 after the first inning. Andrew struck out his first two at bats and I was wondering if he'd "show up" for up for the game. Thankfully he redeemed himself by crushing a long ball over the left fielder's head in his last at bat for a double which also drove in 2 runs. It was the longest and only extra base hit of the game (yes, Dad was proud). Despite the loss, the NL All-Stars each received a medal of honor at the end of the game. Dad was busy helping coaching, but managed to take a few pictures and video clips with his phone shown here.

Louisville Weekend

This weekend the Hollywood Four all went to Louisville for so Abby could compete in the Louisville Feis on Saturday. She finished 5th overall in her main competition (19 dancers) and 1st overall in her set dance competition (she danced her "the downfall of Paris"). She also took a couple other first place medals in some lesser competitions for specific dance steps. On Sunday, Dad got breakfast in bed at the Hyatt Place. Then we packed up and went to Churchill Downs for the early part of the afternoon (since the kids have been enjoying horse racing 3D on my iPad). We won about $65 and spent only $20 so that was good. In the evening we went to a new minor league baseball stadium to watch the Florence Freedom play.

Astros Win Again

Last night the Astros played the Reds in a late MYBA league game. The Astros continued their hot streak winning the game easily with solid pitching and great hitting. Andrew was on fire with 3 hits in 3 at bats, stole 6 bases and scored 3 runs. In the field he played 1B, 3B and OF. The Astros remain undefeated with a record of 6-0-1. Two more games this week against the A's and the Pirates (although Andrew will miss the second game because we'll be at the Louisville Feis with weekend for Abby).

Totally California Campaign

This past month we launched a new, integrated marketing campaign for Reddaway, one of the regional transportation companies in the western U.S. that is a part of YRC Worldwide. This was the first really complete marketing program I was able to lead in the past year or so given budget cutbacks and organizational unrest. It's a pretty cool program that was supported with a highly analytical business case. The external portions of the campaign include print advertsing, online display ads, paid search, a microsite website, a promotional offer, print collateral, targeted email campaigns, a customer rewards program and a number of other tactics that all support the overall strategy of growing Reddaway market share to, from and within the state of California. Now, just hoping to see some results as the program runs throughout the year.

Astros Win Again

I have not posted much about Andrew's baseball team this year yet. However, they finally have been playing some games (after many rain-outs early in the season). Andrew's Astros played tonight and won again bringing their team record to an impressive 5-0-1 and keeping them in first place. In his last game Andrew had two big hits and earned the "game ball" from the coach at the end of the game. Tonight he was a little rusty but still managed to a walk in three at bats. More to come as the Astros pursue the championship in the MYBA.

San Diego Conference

The past few days I was attending the Transportation Marketing & Sales Conference (TMSA) in San Diego, CA. The actual conference was at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. The facility was beautiful and I was able to get a little bit of golfing in (shot a 91, good for me). The weather was very mild staying between 50 and 70 degrees pretty much the whole time I was there. I was also able to spend some quality time with my former boss as well as a little time with my current CMO. The conference provided some good mental stimulation and the two keynote speakers, Bill Butterworth and Joe Calhoon did a real nice job.

Annual Launch of Kevin

It's a hot Memorial Day here in northeast Ohio. So ... as we did in 2009 and last year, today we launched Kevin into Lake Frogerick. On hand this year to help Abby and Andrew were friends Rebecca and Sean. Happy Memorial Day!

Feis Weekend

This weekend Abby had two Irish dancing Feis competitions. On Saturday she competed in the Akron Feis and finished 5th out of twenty some girls. Today she competed in the Cleveland Feis and took 3rd place out of twenty or so girls again. Here is a short clip of the award presentation from today (taken with my cell phone).

First Swim of 2011

Definitely enjoying the weather this weekend. 70's yesterday; 80's today. Grilled steaks yesterday; burgers today. Mowed the yard and painted a shelf for Abby yesterday; replaced the batteries in all the solar lights today. The boys - Andrew and his friend Nathan - even went for their first swim of the year in the Lake Frogerick.

Spring Hockey - Game 8

Last night Andrew (#97) play his last game of the Spring League hockey season. Although the Parma Flyers lost the game 1-2, Andrew had an awesome game. He scored the team's only goal and he had a nice body check against the boards. He also skated really well and had a few other goal opportunities. The Parma team finished with a respectable 3-3-2 record. That's it for hockey this summer except for some open skate sessions as well as a CanAm hockey camp in Lake Placid, NY in July.

Action News (Drama Club Theatre Class)

Abby began her official acting career tonight by appearing in the short play Action News: Now With 10% More Action! produced by her high school drama club as part of her Intro to Theatre class. Although her performance was brief, she did a fantastic job! Here is an excerpt from the play containing her scene.

Spring Hockey - Game 7

Tonight Andrew (#97), with a few of his former Strongsville Mustang players, again joined forces with the Parma Flyers in a game with the Kent Cyclones. Andrew had an assist on the first goal of the game and Parma held a 2-1 lead with one minute to go. However, Kent scored a goal and the game finished in a tie, 2-2-. Parma is now 3-2-2 with one game left to play in the Spring season.

Spring Poker Fest Results

Eight players showed up for this weekend's Poker Fest #22. And as is the custom, one man was left standing with most of the loot (almost $1k). That man was Stevage. This was his second Poker Fest victory and I am sure it was much appreciated after last year's "deer-crash" incident. Also on hand were Gentleman Jim, OJ Hall, Breakfast Dan, Buffalo Mike, Red Eye Dave (this year's beer wench), Rooter Bill and, of course, Hollywood Scott. The weather was so beautiful, we even played part of the tournament outside. Additional activities included table curling and Kentucky Derby wagers (not serious poker wrestling, thankfully). Here is a very short highlight reel. Already looking forward to Poker Fest #23 this fall.

Spring Hockey - Game 6

Tonight Andrew (#97), along with a few of his former Strongsville Mustang players, joined forces with the Parma Flyers in a high-scoring rematch with the Elyria Panthers . The final score was 9-6 as the Parma team wins again bringing their record to 3-2-1. Andrew did awesome scoring 1 goal and 2 assists. Unfortunately, dad accidentally deleted all of the video footage from the first two periods, so we don't have the goal on film (it was a pile up in front of the net and Andrew slammed it in). The footage below is only from the third period (one of Andrew's assists). Two more games left to the Spring season.

Spring Hockey - Game 5

Tonight Andrew (#97), along with a few of his former Strongsville Mustang players, joined forces with the Parma Flyers to take on the Elyria Panthers for the team's 5th game of the Spring League (wrong title below). The Parma team dominated the game winning 7-3 and improving their record to 2-2-1. Andrew had a solid game with 5 or 6 shots on goal and at least one assisted goal. Next game is Thursday night.

Spring Hockey - Game 4

Tonight Andrew (#97) had another hockey game. At the request of the coach, I recruited two more of Andrew's former Strongsville Mustang players (one forward and a goalie). The results proved effective as the Parma Flyers (Andrew's team) beat the Winterhurst Warriors 3-1 bringing their Spring League record to 1-2-1. Andrew was back to his old Holmstrom-like self too giving the opposing goalie a tough time of it around the net.

Spring Hockey - Game 3

Yesterday Andrew (#97) and the Parma Flyers (remember, Andrew and two of his Strongsville Mustang teammates joined the Parma team for Spring League) took on the Wooster Blades. We were supposed to be the away team (dark jerseys) but Wooster forgot their home jerseys (white). So after the first period we switched to our white jerseys. Parma stormed to a 4-1 lead only to give up 4 straight goals to Wooster. Trailing 4-5 with less than 2 minutes in the game, Parma came through with a goal to end the game in a tie. Andrew's fellow Mustang teammate Becca (#71) scored 4 goals. Andrew's highlight was an awesome check which can be seen about 50 seconds into this 1 minute or so highlight reel. The Parma team is now 0-2-1 with games this Monday and Tuesday night.

Dance Me Out To The Ballgame

Last week Thursday Abby and the O'Hare girls had a dance out for Irish Day at the Akron Aeros game. I guess the crowd was sparse, but it was a neat venue any ways.

Back in KC Again

I have been working out of our Kansas City office again this week. One of the projects I am helping spearhead is developing our "Town Hall Live" internal communications channel. This is a pretty cool channel that will allow us to stream live and recorded town hall meetings over the Internet so that all of our employees can interact in these quarterly (and soon to be more frequent) company events. The image shown here is the login screen which presents the content in a sort of "virtual campus" type of environment. Our first big event will be in a couple weeks when after we release our Q1 2011 earnings. After that, we'll use this channel to help communicate other major events to our employees (like the re-launch of our Time-Critical services). Nice to be in the thick of things here in KC, but looking forward to get back home too.

Happy Easter!

The past few years, Karen, Abby and Andrew went to upstate New York for Easter weekend (while dad stayed home to work). This year, the party was at our house with Grandpa, Grandma, Kathy, Chris, Erica, Kelly, Emily, Jake and Chloe all coming to town. Yesterday we colored eggs and celebrated Grandma Barb's birthday. Today we went to church, opened Easter baskets and had a nice dinner. Happy Easter!

Water Pics from Panama

On our trip to Panama we also had a disposable water camera. Here are the pictures from that camera (took a couple weeks to get them developed).

Back Home from KC

Traveled back home today from Kansas City, Missouri. The YRC Time-Critical Partnership Meeting (see short video clip I took with my phone of the Sprint Center stage) seemed to go well and I got to meet a lot of new YRC folks (in person) that I talk to over the phone with frequently and via email (and I found a very cool, huge cigar lounge called "The Outlaw" near my hotel last night as well). Looks like a new assignment has me going back to Kansas City next week again.

YRC Meeting at the Sprint Center

This week I am in Kansas City for work meetings as part of the relaunch of our YRC Time-Critical service portfolio. We are calling this our YRC Partnership Meeting because some of our "final mile" partners have been invited and are sponsoring, i.e., paying the bill, for a portion of the meeting. The event is at the Sprint Center which is also home to the College Basketball Experience. The venue is actually pretty cool. I couldn't resist snapping a couple photos - one of the 2000 MSU Championship Banner with coach Izzo on it. Mostly light meet-and-greet fare tonight with sales, marketing and operations leaders across the company. More substance tomorrow.

Spring Hockey - Game 2

Yesterday Andrew started playing in a spring hockey league. He and a couple other boys from the Strongsville Mustangs peewee team were recruited to play for the Parma Flyers team. Andrew missed game 1 (there are 8 games total) because we were in Panama for Spring Break (they lost 2-4). After about a 2 month hiatus, Andrew had to get his skating legs back today (also sick). With only 9 skaters, the shifts were long, and Andrew was definitely winded. In the end, the Parma team lost 5-6 in a crazy game against the Kent Cyclones. Andrew didn't score any goals, but he came close on a couple. Game 3 is in a couple weeks (after Easter).

Irish Dance Update

Today Abby competed in the Buckeye State Feis in Columbus, OH. There were about 30 girls in her age group for preliminary championship level. She finished fourth which was another great accomplishment - and the trophy was nice too (unfortunately, no sash though). Way to go Abby! Speaking of Irish Dance, I forgot to post a short video clip from the O'Hare School of Irish Dance year-end revue that was last week Sunday. Abby was the drunken sailor for the Drunken Sailor dance. Here are a few highlights.

Dance Out at Sully's

Tonight Abby and some of the O'Hare Irish Dancers performed at the Sully's Irish Pub in Medina. Sully's is always a fun and interesting venue because of the limited dancing space and the very festive crowd. What was special about tonight's performance was that Abby - and her friend Jacqueline - were entirely responsible for organizing the dances and dancers for the performance (since their instructors was not able to attend).

Panama Vacation - Days 8 and 9

On Day 8 we left our beach house in Coronado and headed back for Panama City where we stayed at the Marriott Courtyard. While the moms and older girls shopped, Dad, Andrew, Greg, Graham and Camille headed out for adventure ... and that is just what we got. We headed for Gamboa where we were going to catch a boat tour to Monkey Island. However, we decided to take the cheap route and catch a ride with some folks at the local marina (long story). Needless to say, we did not end up on Monkey Island; but we did have a painfully long visit on a small island with the Wounaan Village tribe. This "National Geographic" moment, led to another boat ride to the nearest shore and then a bus ride back to our van. On the way back to the city, we stopped and viewed the Panama Canal.

Day 9 was just the Hollywood Four (our friends left home for Denver one day earlier). After some morning pool time, we took a cab to the Casco Viejo area so we could take Abby shopping for a few small gifts for her birthday (she picked out a bracelet, shoes and couple other small items). We finished off our vacation with a nice dinner at the Market restaurant. The next morning we caught our flight back home. The end.

Panama Vacation - Day 7

On day 7 of our vacation we decided to head back for El Valle for horseback riding, mud baths, and the El Nispero Zoo. Then we returned to our beach house in Coronado where we had an awesome birthday barbeque in celebration of Abby's 15th birthday (a couple days early). To top off our crazy day, we jotted down the road to a local outdoor pub - the Picasso Bar & Restaurante - where the girls sang karaoke and danced (yes, we were bad parents that night).

Panama Vacation - Day 6

On Day 6 of our Panama vacation, Dad and Greg drove to La Pintada in the morning so they could visit the only Panamanian cigar factory - Cigarros Joyas de Panama. After a quick tour, including watching a couple men roll cigars for a few minutes, we bought a few cigars and then headed back for Coronado. On the way we stopped at the beach of Santa Clara where we had a great seafood lunch at Cabanas Las Veraneras. Meanwhile, the girls and kids were performing yoga on the beaches of Coronado. After that they went into to town so the girls could all get manicures. To end our day, we had a very Panamanian dinner out at an open-air restaurant where we all ate the Central American specialty: Paella.

Panama Vacation - Day 5 (part 2)

For the second half of our Day 5 adventure, we ate lunch at a little restaurant in downtown El Valle run by a nice old lady. This authentic Panamanian restaurant had a full menu, a cat, a dog, a parrot and plenty of ants. After that we ventured out trying to find some Square Trees and we ended up on some steep mountain roads in the Altos del Maria area - they were so steep, that our mini-van couldn't even make it up the road (despite Greg's determination to do so). In fact, we were all a little scared that the mini-van might slide off the hill on the loose gravel. In the end, we all stayed safe and it was a fun adventure.