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.