My wife and I just got back from a mini vacation to Lake Tahoe, CA.  We went snowboarding at Heavenly Mountian.  It was a great time even with the lack of snow.  The " Tahoe " sun was out all 4 days.  A suntan was the last thing I was thinking about when I went snowboarding, so I was not prepared.  As lunch time rolled around.. I took a look at myself in the mirror and realized I was going to be in for a world of hurt.  I headed directly to the shop and picked up some promotional sunblock.  They were cool they were branded with the mountain logo and cool image of a snowboarder and they had a sport clip so I could clip it to my board bag and never be without it.  and of course I paid a premium being @ 10,000 feet.  The good news is they even threw in some promotional candy to help heal the pain of the sunburn.

This past Thursday January 26th, Ken, Laura, Samantha and myself attended the SAAGNY winter showcase 2012.  The plethora of trade show items were amazing.  Any promotional product you could think of was there.  Any item you may want imprinted they had on display.  It really makes you think about how many of these items you come in contact with every single day.  We all had a great time walking the show and are looking forward to selling many of these item to our customers!

A few weeks ago the gym I belong to (Ballys) was sold to LA Fitness.  Thankfully due to zoning laws, they had to honor Ballys member pricing!  For customers not as lucky as myself and the other Levittown members, they had tons of promotional products to attract new members.  One of those items I found especially unique was the Dumbell squeezie stress reliver promotional stressball.  This will surely be a great way to attract new customers and have their friends discussing this clever promotional product.

Last year, my mom, who works for a local credit union, launched a company-wide wellness initiative.  I don't think she understood at the time how much she was really taking on -- while we all say we want to be healthy and fit, getting hundreds of people to stick to a wholesome diet and regular exercise regime is tough. 

Over the past year, she's worked harder than anyone I know.  She put all of her time -- weekends, holidays, and even vacations -- into researching and organizing an effective wellness program.  She brought guest speakers into her workplace, booked offsite wellness seminars, brought in catered healthy lunches for her coworkers, and more.  And yesterday evening, it all paid off. 

When I got home last night, I was greeted by the most massive trophy I've ever seen.  Where had the brilliant business award come from?  My mom, on behalf of her company, won the 2011 Action Long Island Wellness Challenge, a "wellness program for the businesses and organizations of Long Island, put on by Action Long Island and the American Heart Association each year, in which companies compete against one-another to have the highest percentage of participation."

I am immensely proud of my mom.  It takes someone very special to keep a company's entire staff active and eating right.  She's come out of her shell in the past couple of years, and she's proved to herself and everyone else that she is a true leader.  Please join me in congratulating her!