Aug
13
Why Donate to The Red Cross
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Recently, I was asked to chair the Red Cross Blood Drive for my Club 99 Rotary group and I couldn’t have been happier. I have always liked the Red Cross. Part of my duties was to inform and invite our members and to solicit volunteers to help. I started thinking about what I knew about the Red Cross. A host of memories began to flood my mind. My favorite memory, and the one I decided to tell, was one of my father’s. After you read my short speech below you will again be reminded of why they are called “The Greatest Generation”.
My speech went something like this:
Everybody has heard of the Red Cross and knows they collect and distribute blood exceptionally well. And that there name seems to be synonymous with disaster relieve. But they are more than that.
Can you remember the first time you heard or learned about the Red Cross? Can you remember what you thought?
I can.
My father was a prisoner of war during WWII. Shot down in Germany in 1944. He spent 2 years in Stalag 13. Yes, it was the same Stalag number as Hogan’s Heroes, but it wasn’t like the TV show.
Like so many war veterans, my father didn’t like to talk about the war. He didn’t want to think about the hard times and the people he killed, or the people he saw killed. But as time went by he healed and became proud of his service, the colorful war stories, and his purple heart.
I was about 12, when at the dinner table, father began to talk about the end of the war and how he was released from prison camp. That is when I heard about this magical organization, called the Red Cross. Dad said, “The day the war was over, we were released from prison, and walked out the prison gates to a Red Cross truck loaded with coffee and donuts. They were the first Americans we saw. We were so happy.”
At the time of my father’s release from prison, he weighed 90 pounds.
The Red Cross story was the first positive thing my father ever told me about the war. I believe there are many more Americans with similar stories of hope brought by the Red Cross.
I hope you will all join me in supporting our local chapter. This month we will be having a Rotary Blood Drive for this great organization.
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Oct
20
The Battle of the Collective Bulge
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Our company wide weight loss challenge looks to be back on track this week.? No big losses by any of the three teams but collectively we had a pretty good “loss” for the week!
Here is The Guru’s message for the week -
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Progress! Good job everyone. Some pretty good progress was made this week. Let’s ride this wave of success to the next level.
Kerry, I think it’s time to have the talk… Everyone seems really motivated but they lack the tools they need to succeed. After this talk, everyone will walk away with useful and applicable knowledge… They will OWN it! Like that seen in the matrix when Tank uploads all that data to Neo’s brain… You’ll walk out of the room saying, “I know Kung Fu!”
Another factor that will impact fat loss progress is something we haven’t really addressed yet… Exercise. After talking to a few of you today I have determined that there is enough interest to propose a workout program that can be done in 10-15 minutes right here at F&B without having to even go to a gym using inexpensive resistance training bands as the equipment that will rev up your collective metabolisms. More on that later.
Here are the numbers today:
Some upsets today… White has come from behind for the first time since this contest started to tie it up with team Red. Team Blue dropped behind, but only by 1 pound.
Red: 1255 lb, down 3 pounds this week and down 25 pounds from initial weigh-in.
White: 1039 lb, down 25 pounds from initial weigh-in (a loss of NINE pounds this week!)
Blue: 1247, up 3 pounds this week, down 24 pounds from initial weigh-in.
The total F&B loss is 74 pounds from the initial weigh-in, so you are all 3541 total pounds as of today.
Keep sending me questions. I think you’re all starting to figure this stuff out, so don’t be shy. I want all of you to succeed!
Good job guys!
JP
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Oct
13
One Step Forward… Two Steps Back
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So the weight loss challenge is picking up steam… just not in the right direction!? I didn’t post anything last week because, well, the numbers did not look good.? This week? Not much better and it isn’t even the holiday season yet!
Two weeks ago we had lost 100 pounds as a group. This week we back-tracked and are only down 65 pounds as a whole.? We’ve gained 35 pounds in two weeks!
Here is J(the fitness Guru)P’s inspiration for the week -
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The entire F&B staff gained a total of 18 pounds this week. The adjusted initial weigh-in total was 3615 pounds. Today’s total is 3550 pounds, putting the entire staff at a total of 65 pounds lost.
No more messing around. Let’s not make excuses. Take care of your body because it’s the only one you’ve got! Re-read last weeks email that I just sent this morning and make a promise to yourself to be accountable. Get a little notebook that you can journal your intake. I promise that you’ll see results quickly. It’s easy to think you’re eating okay if you’re not keeping a record of it because there are lots of little snacks that you don’t count. No one gains weight while eating a sub-maintenance calorie diet. If you are gaining then you are simply ingesting more than your body’s energy requirement. The numbers don’t lie!
It’s only going to get harder with the cold weather and holidays on the way. Take charge NOW.? Like Kerry has said, take advantage of my offer to help individuals with stalled progress.
Your friend in fitness,
JP
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Sep
29
Company Weight Loss Challenge
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So, about a month ago we started a company wide weight loss challenge.? Every week we have a fitness guru (Jean-Paul Francoeur of JP Fitness) come in and weigh all the participating employees.? We are divided into 3 teams – the red, white, and blue teams.? The team that looses the most weight by the end of the year wins the pot!
And what is in the pot you might ask? Well, to begin with it was a nice wad of cash that Arkansas Flag and Banner put in to seed-the-pot.? Each week if you, individually, gain any weight from the previous week you have to put in a dollar.
And I’m proud to announce that to-date we have lost a combined 100 pounds!? But we have a long way to go to reach many of our individual goals.
JP is good about sending us motivational emails after each week’s weigh in… I thought I would start sharing them with you.
Here is last weeks, and NO… I’m not dressed like a hooker!
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AFB CREW – Looks like we’re getting back on track. If last week helped let me know. Don’t be shy about emailing me questions either. If you’re okay with everyone else benefiting from my reply just send to “all.” If you prefer to ask questions privately I’ll respect that too. I want to see a major loss this week!
Somehow (I don’t know how) Red team held on to their lead, but only by 3 pounds. Blue is hot on their heels. Red actually gained a pound last week, as did White team. Blue had the most loss this week with a drop of 6 pounds!
The numbers:
Red: 1382 (up one pound from last week and down 34 pounds from initial weigh-in)
White: 1217 (up one pound from last week and down 28 pounds from initial weigh-in)
Blue: 1240 (down six pounds and down 31 pounds from initial weigh-in)
Total amount lost from the entire staff since the weigh-in is back on track at 93 pounds. Congratulations F&B crew!
I want to issue a challenge this week. I think that if every person in this contest were to drop at least one measly pound we would have a 20 pound loss. IF you guys can lose a net of 20 pounds, Kerry has agreed to spring for a nutrition lecture by yours truly. And Kerry will dress up like a prostitute and walk downtown at lunch for an hour and try not to get arrested. (Just kidding on that last part)
Here’s how you can do it. It’s a simple matter of caloric restriction. Follow the guidelines I sent you last week but in addition to that, drop your regular serving size portions in half, and skip all dessert and beer for one week. Just try it for one little ol’ week.
Blue team, you’re only 3 pounds off… Every time you sit down to eat remember that you could pass Red this week and take one for the team! White, get back in the game. No more taking up the rear. Show ‘em that you’re still a contender.
I’m out… eat trout,
JP
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Jun
29
Dreamland Ballroom by Kerry McCoy
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I first fell in love with the Taborian Hall from its outside appearance, a stately, three story, red brick building, standing alone on I-630, abandoned, with a huge hole in the roof, letting in the sun and rain. I always envisioned, my company, Arkansas Flag and Banner, housed in a building of such grandeur.
After driving by many times, I finally got up the courage to come inside. Stepping over debris and skirting the homeless people, I worked my way to the third floor and it was beyond love at first site. Because the roof was missing, birds were flying around and the sun was illuminating. Staring across the open hole, in the floor, to the Dreamland stage and box seats, I had a feeling that was indescribable, a kind of euphoria. It could have been because I was pregnant, with my third child, and my nesting instincts were heightened, but whatever it was it sent me on a chain reaction that I have never regretted.
I love this old building and have had many offers to purchase it, renovate it, make a club of it, or some apartments but I keep to my original vision. Maybe not the best business decision, but a decision of the heart; to renovate the Dreamland Ballroom into an event center to be shared with the whole community.
If you are ever lucky enough to go upstairs and see the Dreamland, I think you will feel its magic too. I have become accustomed to it aura but people tell me, upon seeing it for the first time it still feels indescribable.
Follow along with Dreamlands progress by joining our email, snail mail list, or become a fan of our Facebook page. We dont Twitter, yet.
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Apr
18
Kerry McCoy Correspondence
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All this correspondence to read! For Real!
Does anybody really want to know what I am doing all the time (ie. Decided not to go to Walmart today because it is raining)? I don’t really care what everybody else is doing all the time. Does that make me disingenuous? Or maybe just a poor reader.
Reading is not really my forte’. I have the gift of gab, you might say. And that does not really translate on paper unless you are like, a great writer. And I am not.
But I get it. Blogging is for people with opinions, I have them but try to keep them secretive (I’m failing). Facebook is for party invitations and pics. And twittering I have not gotten into yet, but I will, cause I just gotta know.
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Feb
27
Lent for Kerry McCoy
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I love the Lenten season. It is a good excuse to try something different in your life without any peer pressure. Like one year I gave up alcohol for 40 days and none of my friends could give me any sh… because it was Lent, another year cursing, and this year I gave up talking about people. This idea was told to me by a friend who said she did it one year and it was a real eye opener. So for 40 days, no more bad-mouthing my friends, family, employees or even peripheral salespeople.
I am kind of excited about this sacrifice. As usual, I am thinking about how it is going to affect me (selfish even in my sacrifices) and I think it may have a very positive effect on all aspects of my life. I will let you know after Easter.
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Jan
7
Dreamland Ballroom, cont.
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Dang it! Another year and no Dreamland Ballroom, but I am the eternal optimist and I have not given up. My timing may be bad but my ambition is still good.
In an effort to move Dreamland forward in this poor economic time I am now planning on building in phases. I am scaling back the new construction and only doing the bare minimum to get the Dreamland open.
Will see.
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Oct
4
Razorback Football and Sarah Palin’s Loosing Streak
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Watching the Arkansas Razorback game this weekend was a lot like watching Sarah Palin in the Vice Presidential debate. My expectations were so low that I was relieved when the underdog didn’t loose by too much. Last week the Razorbacks lost by 50 points and the week before by 40, so being down 10 points at the half just didn’t seem so bad.
I felt the same way watching Sarah Palin in the Vice Presidential debate. By her own admission she is average and after her interviews that is apparent. She is so average (except for her looks), that I think people were relieved when she didn’t loose by too much.
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Apr
2
I’m Winning
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For the first time ever, all the number one seeds have made it to the final four. This phenomena has made all the chicks in our office winners in the pool.
If Memphis wins, Stephanie wins. If UCLA wins, Holly and I have to split the pot. I am glad to split the pot with Holly, because it alleviates some of my female guilt that would have come from being the boss and winning the whole pot.
It was really fun having the NCAA tournament in Little Rock. You don’t realize how big those players are till you stand next to one. Recently at the Tip Off Club I had my picture made with big Joe Klien, formerly an Arkansas Razorback and a Chicago Bull.
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