Full Moon Rising - Made In The USA

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

"Dear Brian ,
Would you cover a $5 cab fare for a veteran trying to change America for the better?"

That's how the e-mail message started out.  I don't know about you, but it caught my attention.

Why yes, I am trying to change America for the better.

Why yes, I am a veteran (as are my Full Moon Rising, Inc. partners, Bryan and Jeff).

And yeah, even in these tough economic times, I do have $5 to spare.  I'll have to suffer one or two fewer Espressos this week, but hey, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

I'm using the word 'sacrifice' in that last sentence quite sarcastically, of course, but I got a huge lump in my throat as I read through the rest of the message.  The message was from Todd Bowers, a Marine Sergeant and Iraq War Veteran, who is currently serving as the Director of Government Affairs for the IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America). 

The IAVA is putting out an appeal for support as it tries to address "critical issues facing new veterans and their families, including mental health, Traumatic Brain Injury, a stretched VA system, inadequate health coverage for national guardsmen and reservists, and outdated GI Bill educational benefits.  IAVA is dedicated to educating the public about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, advocating on behalf of those who have served, and fostering a community for troops, veterans, and their families."

"IAVA was founded in 2004 by current Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff and his fellow Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. After returning home from their tours, these veterans came together after quickly becoming concerned with the way the war in Iraq was being portrayed in the media and the overall plight of newly returned veterans. There were many policy experts and talking heads on TV, but very few people who had actually served on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan. There was no one talking about what our wounded friends needed and the issues they faced. The creation of IAVA allowed thousands of veterans to join the national dialogue, and to explain what was really happening on the ground overseas and back home in the US." (quoted directly from the IAVA website)

Sacrifice. 

They've really sacrificed.  Some have sacrificed all, but all these vets have sacrificed.  Many continue to suffer.

Yes, Todd, I want to help.

Fortunately, they've made it easy for anyone to support the IAVA as they support the vets. Go to the IAVA website to donate.  $10 can cover a meal for a vet, or $75 could help pay for a night of hotel lodging. 

As Todd explains, "these aren't lobbyists or politicians. They're men and women who bravely served our country during war, and they have first-hand knowledge of the issues currently facing veterans.  When they speak, Congress listens. And right now, they need your support."

It's time to help.  Sacrifice.

Brian Fallon
USAF '84-'88

Customers need playtime, too!

One of the exciting things about going to the annual Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) Expo in Las Vegas is to see the overwhelming amount of promotional products available to us. It was indeed heartening for us to see the increase in the numbers and varieties of USA Made manufacturers this year (with several others confiding to us that they're planning on pulling their production facilities back onto U.S. soil soon).

Make no mistake about it - the promotional products business is serious, hard work. But there are those innovative few who never forget that promoting your business should be FUN for your customers! One USA Made manufacturer knows this better than most; Thermapro, Inc is a producer of carnival-like games and promotional toys.

When asked what the "bottom-line" message he wants his customers to understand, Mitch Gould, Director of Marketing for Thermapro is unequivocal: "Our products are FUN!" Whether it's their Toss N' Win game, one of their themed Raffle tumblers or Prize Wheels, or their latest creation, Plinko, if your organization or business needs a fun, eye-catching way to create a crowd fast, Thermapro's got the goods.  Or, better said, the good promotional games.

But what makes them one of Full Moon Rising, Inc.'s favorites is that while they're all about creating a fun environment, they're also serious about preserving our environment. All of Thermapro's products are 100% recyclable, and they even have a production waste recycling program. Now that's something to feel good about! So next time your company is having a picnic or your organization is holding a fund-raiser, let Full Moon Rising, Inc help you find the perfect game to help you score big with your customers!

All hail the King...King Louie America

Full Moon Rising, Inc. has worked hard over the years to earn a reputation for delivering customized quality products and apparel at affordable prices.  But in order for us to do this, we need to have access to the manufacturers which produce the highest quality products and apparel at affordable prices.

One of FMR's favorite USA Made apparel manufacturers is King Louie America!  King Louie is widely known for its superb quality and attention to detail.  King Louie is also proud to be a 100% Union shop, knowing that in order to produce the highest quality apparel, they need the highest quality workforce.

King Louie America is truly an American success story.  Founded in 1937 by a pair of Polish immigrant brothers, Morris and Victor Lerner began their business humbly as a cap manufacturing company.  Business thrived, despite the turmoil of the Great Depression and World War II (in which Morris proudly served our country in the Pacific Theater).  As the war wound down, the Lerner brothers revved up, opening new manufacturing plants and expanding into a full-blown apparel company they named King Louie. 

In the mid 1970's, King Louie was bought by a group of investors who continued to expand the size and scope of the company, but the flood of cheap, foreign-made apparel (often produced at the expense of extremely poor and poorly treated workers, not to mention the environment) into America over the next 20-some years proved to be overwhelming, and in 2006, it was announced that King Louie would be closing their doors.

Morris Lerner's son, Michael, couldn't stand to see his father and uncle's legacy go down without a fight, so he orchestrated the purchase of the domestic division of the company, now known as King Louie America.  "I believed King Louie’s reputation for quality products and services still justified the investment in a UNION MADE IN THE USA apparel manufacturing company," Michael explains.  "Our customers have proven me right."

We at Full Moon Rising, Inc. couldn't have been more pleased by Michael's unwillingness to yield his family's honor.  To us, Customer Service is King, and nobody helps us serve our customers better than King Louie America.  We love their helpful staff (a big 'shout out' goes to Rosalee & Rachel), their outstanding quality, and their consistent reliability in ensuring that we get just what we need, right when we need it.  And to know that King Louie values its employees, well, that's something that we just can't put a price on.

L to R: John McMillan, King Louie V.P. Sales & Marketing, Brian Fallon, FMR Inc., and Brett Hackworth, King Louie CEO, at the PPAI Show in Las Vegas last week.

We're in the process of updating our USA Made Clothing and Union Shop webstores to showcase the 45 new styles and colors King Louie America has added to its already large selection of Union Made shirts, outer wear, active wear, and ladies wear. 

Thank you, Michael, for doing the right thing, for your family, your workers, and America.

Three Amigos

Here we are at the Scott Deming seminar!

L to R: Brian Fallon, Bryan Thompson, and Jeff Parrish, the Three Amigos of Full Moon Rising, Inc!

Customer Service? How are we doing?

We were recently in Las Vegas at a trade show. PPAI, Promotional Products, Clothing and more.

We had the opportunity to hear Scott Deming during a luncheon.

To say we were impressed would be to diminish the experience. Scott is an exceptional speaker, and has many stories to tell that illustrate his points.

We have always worked to improve our service level, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing. Always striving to do better and figure out ways to make the experience better. We attended this luncheon hoping to find some new ideas.

Scott had some great examples: His story about Sears is a classic. How Sears failed to provide Scott the help he needed. Scott then proceeded to cut up his credit cards and then tell everyone he knows about it. He has also written 3 books including this experience in each one, and spoken about it to groups ever since. Sears even contacted him once to try and repair the relationship. Then once again they failed to follow up in the end and here he is still telling the same story.

I like these types of stories, because they illustrate how important it is for everyone in a company to always do their best in each customer encounter. That person you just blew off may be a CEO or a janitor, you never know who they know either way.

There is also another relationship changing concept he brought up. I do not think I will explain it as well as he did, but I will offer a synopsis and you should buy his new book to get all of this and more in his style.

I'll start with an example. A father comes home from work, bad day and tired. He wants to have some quiet time alone. As he walks in the door his kids greet him and have something to tell him that they think is important. The inclination is to brush them off and tell them we will talk later.  This is hugely disappointing to the kids. However, if the father for a moment considers things from the children's perspective, he would know that this is important and would take the time to listen.

If in each encounter, I think to myself, "What does this person want from me right now?  What would this person want me to do right now? or, What would they like for me to say?"  I believe that this kind of perspective can be relationship and life-changing if I do this with each encounter.

Overall it was a great experience and as you can tell I am doing just what he wants. I am telling others about the positive experience. This is what we all want our customers and those we come in contact with to do. Be our evangelists, tell everyone about us and why they should call us or use us for whatever service we provide.

I'd like to know what examples of great customer service you have experienced.

Thanks for listening

Bryan

P.S. Best sushi I have ever had. RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Vegas. Get the Angry Lobster roll if it is available.

iTunes Offers 10 FREE Downloads of Sundance Short Films (but hurry: only until 01/25/09)

Follow this link

Acting for the Camera -An acting class. Today’s scene: the orgasm from ‘When Harry Met Sally.’

Countertransference -A comedy about an awkward woman with assertiveness problems who seeks the questionable help of a therapist.

HUG-Drew is a musician with a contract ready to sign. When Asa, his friend and manager, realizes Drew is off his meds the across-town drive to sign the contract becomes significantly more complicated.

Field Notes From Dimension X: Oasis -Captain Fred T. Rogard muses in isolation on planet Oasis.

From Burger It Came -An animated film that recounts early 1980s-era Cold War fears of a young boy in middle America. Using a variety of techniques, the visual narrative is colorfully assembled over semi-documentary audio conversations between a grown adult recounting his fears and his mother’s memory of the time and her own concerns.

I Live In The Woods -A Woodsman’s fast-paced journey, fueled by happiness, slaughter, and a confrontation with America’s God.

Instead of Abracadabra-Tomas is a little bit too old to still be living with his parents, but his dream of becoming a magician leaves him with no other option.

James-A young man grapples with the impulses and thoughts about being gay.

Magnetic Movie-Natural magnetic fields are revealed as chaotic ever-changing geometries, as scientists from NASA’s space sciences laboratory excitedly describe their discoveries.

This Way Up-Laying the dead to rest has never been so much trouble.

Unruffled feathers

So much of our time is spent doing this and doing that, running here and there in mad pursuit of some goal, only to find that in a week or a month or maybe even a day it will be deemed totally irrelevant.  I know some days I have trouble finding the time to go to the bathroom.  But at least I have learned to recognize that when I get into that state, the very best thing for me to do is to stand still for a moment, breathe deeply, and absorb my surroundings.  It is then that I can see what is happening around me, notice the delicate features of Life Being Lived and Love Being Shared. 

This little Thoreau-ean disport was sparked by an accidental discovery of a wonderful little blog called Hedge Sociey.  The blog itself is about art, books, and other wonderfully beautiful bauble, but its inspiration comes from the author's observation of the birds outside her office.  Despite whatever the headlines scream, irregardless of Holidays, the birds would gather to talk amongst themselves.  Were their songs a comment on the seemingly irrational behavior of the colorful bipeds scampering around below?  Or are they a debate amongst themselves about what to do about the cat creeping up the tree?  Or perhaps a celebration of the discovery of some especially tasty seeds or berries?  One thing is for sure - they were singing, and it was beautiful.

Father Winter is riding his sleigh towards my area as I type this; tomorrow I'm supposed to take wing and migrate to warmer climes for a week.  Should I fret about delays, cancellations, and inconveniences?  Yes, I have obligations to fulfill and No, I don't have money to burn, so I must stay realistic in my behaviors.  But my attitudes need not be compromised.  When I was a kid, I used to dream about flying.  Now I groan with the thought of dragging unwieldy baggage around an airport and suffering the indignities of security checkpoints and trying not to sound selfish and self-centered to overwhelmed ticketing agents when I'm asking about alternative methods to get me out of the snow and slush and into the sun and warmth. 

How the Hedge Society must delight in watching such silliness from their perch on top of the tail of my jetliner.  Or, perhaps, they're just concerned with taking care of each other, helping each other find food and adequate shelter, and keeping a safe distance from the cat.  They must, I believe, delight in their aerobatics through the dancing snowflakes.  I know I delight in watching them. 

So the question for myself today is, what kind of society do I choose to live in? 

I think I know the answer.  A little bird told me.

Take care,

Brian Fallon

15% Coupon

We are reactivating / extending our 15% off coupon until June 1st of 2009

This is your reward for reading our blog!

This is good for any purchase on our web stores and is good for the clothing. Upcharges and decoration are not included.

Look for a free shipping coupon in the future.

We would be interested to hear which you prefer when shopping.

Coupon code is FMRBLOG

Thanks
Bryan

It's More Than Just A Business Card

Today's business cards are more than just a way to communicate your name, address and telephone number.

Your business card is also a marketing piece that is consistently being requested by others. Here are some creative ways to use and distribute them.

1. Send your business card in every piece of correspondence including letters, invoices, holiday cards, etc.

2. Include back copy on your card - Add information that will be useful to your clients. This will give them a reason to hang on to your card.

• A list of provided products and/or services
• Calendar
• Sports Schedule
• Appointment Information
• Price lists
• A map to your business
• A coupon or special offer

3. Attach a business card to a promotional product or business gift.

4. Insert a business card into your product before delivery.

5. Have your spouse, family members, neighbors or friends carry some to hand out in the case they meet someone who would be interested in your product or service.

6. Instead of "Hello, my name is..." use your business card as a name tag at meetings and conventions.

7. Ask surrounding businesses if you may display your business cards near their registers.

8. Tack them to bulletin boards at restaurants, retail stores, supermarkets, etc.

9. Leave them on the table when you visit a restaurant. Put your generous 20% tip on top of your business card.

10. Have your card designed as a file card.

11. Print your card on a label and attach it to packaging, samples, brochures, etc.

12. Use them as bookmarks in your library books and "accidentally" forget to remove them.

13. Hand them out during personal meetings such as the PTA, church, your children's hockey games or any place you meet new people.

However you choose to distribute your cards be sure to carry them with you at all times. Keep a stash in your wallet, purse, car, briefcase, jacket pocket, planner, at home or any place you can think of and refill often.

Blogs - What are you reading?

I am looking for some good blogs on Eco subjects, and am wondering if there is anyone else covering the Buy USA theme?

Send me some love, links, why you like them, etc.

Those we like we will add to our list of blogs.

Here is one I found on a different subject.

Lifelong Project

Posted: 31 Dec 2008 04:19 PM CST

Craving something more substantial for your New Year's resolutions than the old "only once a year, then forget em" model? Do you LOVE it when a plan comes together? You should definitely check out the Lifelong Project.  The question this blog is trying to answer is "what would happen if you treated the next year of your life like a project?"

Here's a favorite quote of mine from a recent post:

Life is wonderful. There is so much beauty in this world, so much to experience, to sample, to learn, and to love that it’s sometimes difficult to know what to do. The key, in the Project Life, is to identify what’s important, create priorities, create plans, and then to act on those plans. If you want to make 2009 a year full of memories, great experiences, and a year to become a better, richer, more joyful person: you can.

Lifelong project has some other great posts, like how to set out with your own planning for 2009, or maybe you need a nudge towards defining priorities, or understanding your capacity to accomplish great things.

A safe, happy, and wonderful Project 2009 to all!

Visit Lifelong Project.

I like the idea, I try to make sure I accomplish as much each day as possible. You can never get the time back, so make the most of it. I am a firm believer that no matter how good your ideas are, without hard work you will not be successful. Unless of course you are Paris Hilton or Britney Spears and forget to wear panties when you go out.<G> Then you will get TV shows and record deals even though you have little or no talent.

Next is a useful bit of info I found on linked in about Groups.

(http://www.fmrincorporated.org/social_networks.php for info on how to connect to me)

LinkedIn's Most Unusual Members: Meet The Super-Connected
http://www.cio.com/article/print/470122

and from a posting on Linked in (read the thread http://tinyurl.com/7ectsm)

Why Join Groups on Linkedin? -- Business AND Pleasure?

Dear Friends, Classmates, Colleagues, & Linkedin Member Community –

Being a well-connected Open Networker and loyal Linkedin member, I have created, maintained and managed several dozens of groups here on Linkedin Groups. The groups range from Alumni and Corporate association, to Networking and General Interest networks. The primary function of these groups is to get back in touch and keep contact with past/current colleagues, classmates and friends, as well as connect with other trusted individuals and interesting, innovative and trustworthy connections. Although I admit that some groups are more active than others, we do share interesting conversations, engage in strategic conversations or stimulating idea-sharing, and offer observations, advices and support to one another. Feel free to contact me or join the groups per URL below.

Link to my Group list, in six (6) .pdf pages:

http://tinyurl.com/yrw6hw

Thank you, and have a wonderful day!

- Steven Burda

P.S. In my opinion, Linkedin is the greatest asset in today’s virtual professional networking world. In addition, if you have any questions or concerns about using Linkedin to your advantage, see the FAQ section or feel free to contact me as I have couple of years under my belt in using Linkedin. I’m not affiliated with them directly, but as a dedicated member, I’d be more than happy to discuss this with you in greater detail. Have fun!

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As you can see from the link above this article, we post our connection info on our web sites, as we want you to connect with us. We are building a community online, and we need you to join us to do that.

once you join, you are only connected to us, not everyone on our list.

As I learn more I am amazed to see we are following what others are doing, but not by choice, but intuitively. It just made sense to me to do it.

Take care and hope to see you online.

Bryan