Throughout my life, I have in one way or another been involved with community service.
Whether it was in my early days visiting retirement communities with my church youth group, Saturday morning clean up with the Key Club in high school after a Friday night football game, serving as a Big Brother in college, maintaining hiking trails with the local chapter of the Sierra Club, taking the kids at the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls out for a funtertaining event, facilitating a warm meal and place to stay overnight for the homeless at the Carpenter’s Shelter, volunteering and working to help Gallery 5 Arts in Jackson Ward, or playing in a golf tournament to help raise funds for a young child needing brain surgery, I’ve been giving back.
However, I now feel it’s time to give back more than I have been giving, and I am acting upon it with full conviction of this purpose.
My latest community service outing was working in the warehouse for the Central Virginia Food Bank last week. Our task was to sort and filter the various types of food donated from a common bin, organize, and place the items in a bin designated for them. For example, tomato soup has its own bin, as does chicken noodle soup, and green beans, and corn, and beets, and potatoes, spaghetti, peanut butter, etc. While I was working away, a feeling came to me that had been missing for some time. It was a feeling of accomplishment in serving a greater good for my fellow man and community. And just as the feeling came to me, I said to the other volunteers around me “I almost forgot how good this feels. I could do this every day.”
I am neither a saint nor a savior. I am merely a humble servant in this world with my flaws and imperfections, but I am finding great comfort and peace within that I now choose to serve more. And as I write this message and share with you all, I hope that you too will want to serve more because our world needs it.
My reaffirmation to serve did not come from myself alone. It also manifested through the example of others like Deona volunteering with Meals on Wheels, Mark and Shelli working with the kids at Mind Games, Wayne feeding the homeless in Monroe Park every Sunday, Tom and Amanda providing a place to transcend artistic boundaries in the Richmond community, and Stan going to Guatemala on a mission to help improve living conditions for families there.
These are just a handful of examples I have witnessed and encountered recently. I know there are many more, so I encourage you to share with me and others reading, your stories of serving and giving back to the community.
In closing, I believe the quote below compliments my note rather appropriately.
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” - Albert Schweitzer
Here’s to you all who have lighten and will continue to light the flame in me and others. Spark on!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
They must be joking, right?
As many of us know who are in the marketing and communications industry, part of our duties and essential to our livelihood is to look for, cultivate and win new business opportunities. And with the way things are in today’s economic climate, it’s been very challenging to say the least.
About 2 weeks ago, I ran across an ad posted on a job listing board as follows.
=====================================================================================
Internet Marketing Person (Richmond VA)
Looking for part-time person with professional marketing experience to work a few hours a week with an upscale florist in Richmond VA. Must have internet marketing and search engine knowledge to be able to work with the web site and search engine optimization. Position is flexible for some of the work to be done from home.
====================================================================================
As I read this post, I immediately began to think this could be a good opportunity/project for me. Then, I looked “below the fold” and saw the compensation was $12 per hour.
$12 PER HOUR???? ARE YOU !@#*+-! KIDDING ME???!!!
Obviously, by my tone, you can see that did not bode too well with me. And it still doesn’t. I find the audacity, disrespect and ignorance of the person/”upscale florist” owner to be appalling and disgusting. I guess they do not know or appreciate the true knowledge and skill sets required for web site and search engine optimization work, especially if they want results that will drive the bottom line for their business.
Perhaps, they might understand from where I’m coming if I equate their compensation for such work to their business.
Let’s say this “upscale florist” sells a dozen red roses for $15, and that price is considered the average market value for such a purchase in today’s “undervalued” world.
A quick reference check at www.indeed.com to determine the average salary for a person doing web site and SEO work in the Richmond, VA market is about $42,000, which comes out to $21 per hour. In fact, I calculated this salary by seeing an Internet Marketing Specialist salary of $39,000 and an SEO Specialist salary of $45,000, so I split the difference. And these salaries are on the low-end for this type of work, as well as 6% lower than average salaries for job postings nationwide.
So, $12 divided by $21 results in a 43% devaluation of market value.
So “upscale florist”, to put it in your language, I’m only willing to pay you $8.55 for those dozen red roses.
Kinda’ hits you in the gut doesn’t it?
Well, I hope it does.
And in your pocket too!
About 2 weeks ago, I ran across an ad posted on a job listing board as follows.
=====================================================================================
Internet Marketing Person (Richmond VA)
Looking for part-time person with professional marketing experience to work a few hours a week with an upscale florist in Richmond VA. Must have internet marketing and search engine knowledge to be able to work with the web site and search engine optimization. Position is flexible for some of the work to be done from home.
====================================================================================
As I read this post, I immediately began to think this could be a good opportunity/project for me. Then, I looked “below the fold” and saw the compensation was $12 per hour.
$12 PER HOUR???? ARE YOU !@#*+-! KIDDING ME???!!!
Obviously, by my tone, you can see that did not bode too well with me. And it still doesn’t. I find the audacity, disrespect and ignorance of the person/”upscale florist” owner to be appalling and disgusting. I guess they do not know or appreciate the true knowledge and skill sets required for web site and search engine optimization work, especially if they want results that will drive the bottom line for their business.
Perhaps, they might understand from where I’m coming if I equate their compensation for such work to their business.
Let’s say this “upscale florist” sells a dozen red roses for $15, and that price is considered the average market value for such a purchase in today’s “undervalued” world.
A quick reference check at www.indeed.com to determine the average salary for a person doing web site and SEO work in the Richmond, VA market is about $42,000, which comes out to $21 per hour. In fact, I calculated this salary by seeing an Internet Marketing Specialist salary of $39,000 and an SEO Specialist salary of $45,000, so I split the difference. And these salaries are on the low-end for this type of work, as well as 6% lower than average salaries for job postings nationwide.
So, $12 divided by $21 results in a 43% devaluation of market value.
So “upscale florist”, to put it in your language, I’m only willing to pay you $8.55 for those dozen red roses.
Kinda’ hits you in the gut doesn’t it?
Well, I hope it does.
And in your pocket too!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
With All Your Might
I recently had the pleasure of going to my local DMV office to get a copy of my driving record.
Now, I know some of you will think, “Why in the world would you do that when you can get it from their website?” It’s true, you can, but you need a PIN to log in and if you don’t have one and I did not, you have to sign up and then they will snail mail it to you, which will take 3-4 days if you are lucky.
Just writing that exasperates me on how their processes, as well as many other local, state, and federal government entities operate. If you want my list, let me know. I’m happy to share, but I hope you will have time because it’s quite a list. >>>> Oye vey!
Now back to this story, my apologies for my digression.
While I’m sitting there after I went to the “Customer Service” front desk to get my ticket, which was E637, I see I have some time on my hands because they just announced “Now serving E631 at window number 5”. All I could do was laugh about it and smile to keep my head from exploding.
So, what did I do with this time while waiting to hear the intercom announce my ticket? I checked my emails and sent a few text messages on my mobile, but that only took 10-15 minutes, and by that time, they had just announced “Now serving E632 at window number 5” as I sent my last text.
A quick scan around the room, which was nearly full with people eagerly awaiting their calling to one of the two, and I repeat two windows utilized by this fine establishment, which is another story unto itself, when they have 10 windows and several employees in the back room just hanging and chatting away like people do at work standing by the water coolers. Breath in, breath out, I’ll get through this, I know.
I had taken a seat in the back of the waiting room next to the restrooms and water fountain. I typically like to sit in the rear because there is always something to see and experience in front of me that may bring a smile to my face or a quiet chuckle inside. And today was no exception.
There was a woman waiting there just like me and I watched her walk across the room and head in my direction. She had been standing to wait for her ticket to be called, and there were a few open seats next to me, so I thought maybe she was coming to occupy one of those seats.
Nope, not the case. She was going to the restroom. But wait, she couldn’t open the door. And there was a sign next to the door stating “Please lock restroom while using.” Apparently, someone else was in there. So, she waited for that door to open.
Several minutes passed and the door remained closed. I then heard her ask another woman who was standing in the back of the room if she had seen anyone go in there. The woman said no, and she had been there for about 15 minutes and had not seen anyone come or go. So, this woman decides to tap on the door. No response, no reply, nada. She waits a few more minutes and taps again. Same result, no word or sounds to be heard.
By now, she is really getting concerned because she has to “go”. She asks the same woman if she would mind watching the door if she slips into the men’s restroom to take care of her biological needs. The woman complies with her request, but before taking such a drastic measure, she decides to go to one of the windows and ask if someone can come open the door. She heads back over my way from the window exuding more confidence and relief knowing the door will be opening soon so she can empty her bladder.
Then I hear “Now serving E635 at window number 5.” Sweet, this will all be over soon.
Several minutes pass since she went to the window, and the door still remains closed. So, I decided to try and help her by going to the front desk where you get the little ticket and see if the woman there can be of assistance. As I approach that desk, I see 5 people standing in line to get their ticket, but there is no one behind the desk to help. All I could think was “Absolutely ridiculous”. Hey, I gave it a shot, but to prevent myself from having an aneurism, I had to go back to my seat. Not to mention fear of missing my ticket being called resulting in having to get another ticket and wait even longer. Not going to happen.
I head back to my seat and the woman is still there standing next to the restroom, and she’s doing those body motions indicating she’s about to bust or something. I think we may all know that feeling and get the picture, so I won’t elaborate any further on that.
So, what’s it going to take to get that door open?
The woman goes up to the other window to see if perhaps that customer service person can help get the door open. The rep looks at her and grins, then leans toward her and responds. The woman immediately turns and heads back to the women’s restroom, and tells the other woman standing there, “She told me…With all your might, push the door as hard as you can.” So, she did, and vualah, the door opened.
And then I hear “Now serving E637 at window number 5.” :-) :-) :-)
Now, I know some of you will think, “Why in the world would you do that when you can get it from their website?” It’s true, you can, but you need a PIN to log in and if you don’t have one and I did not, you have to sign up and then they will snail mail it to you, which will take 3-4 days if you are lucky.
Just writing that exasperates me on how their processes, as well as many other local, state, and federal government entities operate. If you want my list, let me know. I’m happy to share, but I hope you will have time because it’s quite a list. >>>> Oye vey!
Now back to this story, my apologies for my digression.
While I’m sitting there after I went to the “Customer Service” front desk to get my ticket, which was E637, I see I have some time on my hands because they just announced “Now serving E631 at window number 5”. All I could do was laugh about it and smile to keep my head from exploding.
So, what did I do with this time while waiting to hear the intercom announce my ticket? I checked my emails and sent a few text messages on my mobile, but that only took 10-15 minutes, and by that time, they had just announced “Now serving E632 at window number 5” as I sent my last text.
A quick scan around the room, which was nearly full with people eagerly awaiting their calling to one of the two, and I repeat two windows utilized by this fine establishment, which is another story unto itself, when they have 10 windows and several employees in the back room just hanging and chatting away like people do at work standing by the water coolers. Breath in, breath out, I’ll get through this, I know.
I had taken a seat in the back of the waiting room next to the restrooms and water fountain. I typically like to sit in the rear because there is always something to see and experience in front of me that may bring a smile to my face or a quiet chuckle inside. And today was no exception.
There was a woman waiting there just like me and I watched her walk across the room and head in my direction. She had been standing to wait for her ticket to be called, and there were a few open seats next to me, so I thought maybe she was coming to occupy one of those seats.
Nope, not the case. She was going to the restroom. But wait, she couldn’t open the door. And there was a sign next to the door stating “Please lock restroom while using.” Apparently, someone else was in there. So, she waited for that door to open.
Several minutes passed and the door remained closed. I then heard her ask another woman who was standing in the back of the room if she had seen anyone go in there. The woman said no, and she had been there for about 15 minutes and had not seen anyone come or go. So, this woman decides to tap on the door. No response, no reply, nada. She waits a few more minutes and taps again. Same result, no word or sounds to be heard.
By now, she is really getting concerned because she has to “go”. She asks the same woman if she would mind watching the door if she slips into the men’s restroom to take care of her biological needs. The woman complies with her request, but before taking such a drastic measure, she decides to go to one of the windows and ask if someone can come open the door. She heads back over my way from the window exuding more confidence and relief knowing the door will be opening soon so she can empty her bladder.
Then I hear “Now serving E635 at window number 5.” Sweet, this will all be over soon.
Several minutes pass since she went to the window, and the door still remains closed. So, I decided to try and help her by going to the front desk where you get the little ticket and see if the woman there can be of assistance. As I approach that desk, I see 5 people standing in line to get their ticket, but there is no one behind the desk to help. All I could think was “Absolutely ridiculous”. Hey, I gave it a shot, but to prevent myself from having an aneurism, I had to go back to my seat. Not to mention fear of missing my ticket being called resulting in having to get another ticket and wait even longer. Not going to happen.
I head back to my seat and the woman is still there standing next to the restroom, and she’s doing those body motions indicating she’s about to bust or something. I think we may all know that feeling and get the picture, so I won’t elaborate any further on that.
So, what’s it going to take to get that door open?
The woman goes up to the other window to see if perhaps that customer service person can help get the door open. The rep looks at her and grins, then leans toward her and responds. The woman immediately turns and heads back to the women’s restroom, and tells the other woman standing there, “She told me…With all your might, push the door as hard as you can.” So, she did, and vualah, the door opened.
And then I hear “Now serving E637 at window number 5.” :-) :-) :-)
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