I’ve stayed in one place for too long
Gotta get on the run again
I saw the one thing that I want
Hell bent, get outta bed
I’m throwing rocks at your window
You’re tying the bed sheets together
They say that we’re dreaming too big
I say this town’s too small
Dream
Send me a sign
Turn back the clock
Give me some time
I need to break out
And make a new name
Let’s open our eyes
To the brand new day
It’s a brand new day
~ Ryan Star “Brand New Day”
“There’s a lot of people who talk about doing good, and a lot of people who argue about what’s good and what’s not good, (but there were also some other folks who) just put their lives on the line for what is right.”
– mother of Ruby Bridges (first black child to integrate New Orleans schools) in Robert Coles, The Moral Life of Children
What are you passionate about? Where does your passion lie in this ever changing world of business and culture? I am passionate about telling stories…stories are the foundation for how I do business. I tell stories for my clients, the students I teach, the causes I represent…but does this help the greater good beyond just creating revenue?
I want the community I live in…here is Anderson, SC to be successful. A community that supports entrepreneurship and innovative business…they type of growing innovation that provides local support to big businesses like the AnMed’s, Bosch’s, Michelin’s, and Walgreen’s of Anderson County. It is their best interest that innovation and entrepreneurship live right here in Anderson County, and eco-system of the knowledge wealth that promotes innovation and a prosperous educational, knowledge economy.
Isn’t it in the best interest of the Anderson County School Districts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, a conversation that resonates at the dinner table every night between families. How about Tri-County Technical College and Anderson University, creating entrepreneurial education for the working class along with the innovative education for the high-school graduate who might want to be a nurse or a teacher, who might have an idea one day that turns into a high-impact business. One that stays local and grows as big as the organizations it supports.
Where are the stories of individuals who have been raised, educated, and become successful right here in Anderson County. The ones that have transformed the way that we view Anderson merely by being leaders right in their own classroom, their emergency room, their business…and have gained that knowledge to become successful right here in Anderson.
It is time to start finding those stories..right here, right now.
Take a look…here are the next wave of entrepreneurs, just look below. This is our future…here they are. Have you taken time out of your day to seek them out? Have you taken a few moments to identify them…taken them to grab some coffee. They are all around you.
These people are young, insightful, and most importantly hungry. They are embarking on the dream of tomorrow and it is our responsibility to ensure that they are successful. They will be the ones that will become our policy makers, our leaders, our nurses, our lawyers, and our providers. Somewhere in that bunch of active minds you will find our next president, the next CEO of Ford Motor Company, the next FDA Spokesperson, our family practitioner, our next Rhoades Scholar, etc…
They will decide to make a home right here in South Carolina, the upstate, and maybe even in Anderson…what are we doing to make sure we give them what they need to be successful. How will they help us raise the average per capita income from $29,084 here in Anderson County to exceed the national average of $38,615? How will we insure that the density of the Anderson County population (179,964) that contains these successful entrepreneurs/innovators increases the strength of this innovative conversation.
I want the people in this picture, students at Clemson University in my Business Writing Class, to become successful, help me become successful and take us into tomorrow’s knowledge economy.
Well the new year has kicked off with a big ole bang and I am ready to hit it full force. Lots of changes in my world, leaving a partnership and venturing out on my own. So it is going to be the purpose of this bog to follow this path of business for the next year. It is going to be a path of doing business entrepreneurial style, defining for the community at-large (and myself) what BobbyRettew,llc is all about. But the conversation is going to center around my life doing business for myself and my family, building a solid customer base, building a community around vision, life as a college instructor at Clemson, and how Anderson, SC can build a bigger and brighter entrepreneurial community.
In December of 2009, I formed BobbyRettew,llc as a company to do a few things:
Is that too much to ask for? 2009 was wrapped around public perception and spin that there was and still is an economic downturn in this ever changing economy. It is my goal to make 2010 (I am saying it Twenty-Ten) to put the word “Innovation” back in the spin. Anderson, Greenville, and Clemson are lively, vibrant areas with lots of Innovation and Thought Leadership and there is a true buzz of entrepreneurship in this community. I want to be a part of that conversation. It is time to take to “Potential” and turn into “Kinetic”.
As I sit looking out my window, the largest employer in Anderson County is a stone throw away: AnMed. Don’t you think they have a vested interest to ensure that the small business community is successful and the human growth potential in entrepreneurship brings value to the tables of every household in this county. I would think so, they wrote off $77 Million Dollars last year. It is in their best interest for entrepreneurship to be alive and the small business community is successful; that turns into paid health care. So if the largest employer in Anderson County finds value in the small business community…that tells me there is a tremendous opportunity for success. So how many other AnMed’s are out there that have a vested self interest to ensure that small business community is successful?
After walking away from the a Business Advancement Committee meeting this morning at the Anderson Area Chamber, I thought to myself…it is time to surround myself around entrepreneurs and small business owners that want the same things. I want to make the next 360 days of this year to be centered around tapping that potential, building good business, find entrepreneurs who have that same drive, and building strong relationships that lead to long term business.
Here’s to Twenty-Ten!
About a week ago…I get a call from the Anderson Area Chamber to help take part in their yearly membership drive. At first, I was kind of perplexed about this request, but I believe in the life of the chamber so I was happy to jump on board. Plus, I have never taken part in a membership drive so I was interested to check out the process and maybe build some relationships along the way.
To the pleasant voice on the other side of the phone, I happily agreed to show up for a training this morning. So 8am this morning, I made my way into a conference room at the Area Chamber of Commerce where the room was full and the coffee was brewing. JAVA – Good!
What I walked away from this hour and half experience is that the Anderson Area Chamber is building communities, raising awareness, and not just making simple cold calls asking for membership dues.
The Anderson Area Chamber brought in a Membership Campaign Consultant to help the 25 plus members (that agreed to take part in this effort) come together as a group and use their sphere of influence to ask non-chamber members to consider joining their “Tribe”…their “Ecosystem”…their “Sphere of Influence.” Sheryl Ross is her name and empowering communities is her game.
This is here membership game:
Communities —> Awareness —> Membership
As I looked around the room, there was a wide representation of membership taking part in this event. Each one was hand selected, each one has a sphere of influence, each one is passionate about small business development, each one consistently understands the meaning of leveraging relationships. Sheryl Ross was brought in to empower the membership represented in the room about the benefits of a chamber membership; and to empower this membership to expand the “Sphere of Influence” by tapping into their personal/business address books.
What is the point of joining a Chamber of Commerce, especially one that has a broad “Sphere of Influence”? How about to have a voice, generate revenue, and save money. That is the bottom-line. The Anderson Area Chamber is building their “Tribe”, expanding their sphere of influence, and gaining momentum for the following:
Empowering Membership —> Empowering Awareness —> Empowering Business
This is a training session that I enjoyed…I guess I drank the kool-aid. But whatever the reason, I want to be a part of this “Tribe”. I want to grow my “Sphere of Influence.” That is the benefit for each member that showed up for this training session. An opportunity to grow their “Tribe” by networking and engaging in fluid conversation with others in the room, those potential “Tribe” members that will be recruited, and ultimately to feel like they are a part of a “Tribe”. While the chamber is leveraging their membership in the room as means to grow and find new members, the membership in the room is recruiting new members and growing their sphere of influence…this is a mutually beneficial relationship. Business and engaging/building/leveraging relationships is fun. I want some more kool-aid….actually some more coffee.
Well…according to John Warner on SwampFox.ws, it is defined as:
“In the annual InnoVenture conference’s sixth year, the economic storm is raging all around us, wrecking havoc with organizations trying to reinvent themselves and launching out very talented people looking to create new ones. In addition to the Innovation Hall with dozens of exhibits by major corporations and universities, and fifteen entrepreneurs making elevator pitches, InnoVenture also features an awesome line-up of global thought leaders.”
Wow…now that is a loaded answer. It is true, the economic storm is raging all around us, and yes organizations are trying to reinvent themselves. How about organizations, entrepreneurs inventing themselves…Innovating and collaborating in one forum, one place, one hall, with many conversations.
How does that conversation happen, well for every action there must be a reaction. How about Dissoi Logoi (a Sophistic writing by an unknown author) – the words are “Greek words for ‘different words.’ The phrase really carries the meaning of contrasting words, and it refers to the ancient rhetorical practice of arguing both sides of an issue. ”
This leads me to think about the first part of InnoVenture…Inno for Innovation. There will be people from all walks of business talking innovation in their contexts. Whether it is Sustainability, Advanced Materials, Entreprised Systems Management…or digital media, social media, logistics, medical devices, or just being an entrepreneur. Different people from different disciplines, different walks of life coming together with their own “rhetorical argument” seeking conversation of opposing thoughts.
We are all a part of innovation by merely walking through the doors at the Carolina First Center in Greenville, SC. Why? Well, it is like being a part of a fraternity, people that you can connect with who understand what it means to push the boundaries, broaden the mind, and engage in a conversation. A concersation that might lead to an idea that has not been considered…listening to those “different words”, words of innovation.
We are “people looking to create new ones”, new ideas, new thoughts, new conversations…we are looking to innovate. I know I am! I hope to engage!
It has been a while since I sat down and jammed out another edition to Bobby’s Blog. For all you faithful readers, I have taken on a new name on this Road Trip…Bloggy. My real name is Robert Alan Rettew, Jr. and my father decided I looked like a Bobby when I popped out into this crazy world. Well, now Bobby has morphed into Bloggy…hmm, not sure about the sound of that, but I guess it will work? Now, let’s get back to the heart of the matter. Last week was absolutely crazy…and I mean weird, wacky crazy. From Biltmore to Mooresville then the South Park Tree lighting…we needed a day to enjoy family, food, and REST. Well, actually more food than rest. And as my family sat around the table we each took a turn sharing what we are thankful for…and it occurred to me to do the same for this edition of Bobby’s Blog.
Oh…where do I begin??? Hmm, I would have to begin how thankful I am for the many friends we have made along the way on each stop. It all started in Baxter…I never thought we would have so many people show up for Halloween. If you can only imagine all the different people from all the different cities that stuck their neck out, open their parking lots, cooked us food, and made sure we had all the necessary tools to make television magic!
It is still up for debate who loves us more…those Shelby people or the Gastonia people??? Alright, I am done being sentimental for a while. Let’s talk about what I am really thankful for, so buckle up.
I am really thankful that last week is over! Wow, the tree lighting was one long day. So long that I didn’t even have a chance to get my new Digital Canon D20 out to capture the madness. If people only knew what it took to actually get that day started, it would blow their minds. Just imagine three sets of “PR” people from three separate groups trying to make sure we park in three different spots. Three hours later we had displaced enough grass to sod a new single family home. I am still wondering if we are going to receive the bill for the trench the satellite truck dug while trying to park for the third and final time?
I am especially thankful for Friday and our visit to the new Northlake Mall. Let me clarify, I am thankful that Momma Bloggy was able to join the crew for a day while visiting during the Thanksgiving Holiday. Did she ever get an eye awakening moment! We pulled every bit of cable we had to get inside that mall and finished that last little bit of tape – which helped cover the cable so hundreds of thousands of eager shoppers wouldn’t trip and sue the pants of WCNC-TV. Momma Bloggy got to witness the Mike Redding antics as he laid flat on the floor of the mall, pretending he was exhausted from shopping. He was actually exhausted from being the only on-air talent that has been running from one side of a location to the other in less than 30 seconds…by the end of the Road Trip; he will be fully trained for the Boston Marathon.
So what else am I thankful for…hmm, let me think? Oh yeah…I still have one more final thought concerning the little wager between Chuck and I!
If most of you remember, Chuck lost a “little wager” when USC lost to Clemson two weekends ago. Yep, he bet his faithful colleague – me, Bloggy (who is a Clemson Grad…GO TIGERS). And being a man of his word, he did his sports last Tuesday night during the Mooresville Parade in a BRIGHT ORANGE jacket! While moaning and groaning (as any loyal USC fan would do) he explained the wager – with the help of Terri and Mike – and reminded us all that there will always be next year! Because of Chuck’s plight, I am thoroughly thankful that it wasn’t Bloggy’s plight, wearing Gamecock paraphernalia for a solid week! PUKE! Ohhh…am I thankful, the thought of Garnet & Black and the word Cocks (you know GameCocks) plastered to my head just doesn’t sit well with me. I would equate this with kissing my sister, cleaning a gorilla’s toe jam, or eating beets – maybe all the above! Thank you for Chuck Howard and his dire love for USC! I will quit harassing Chuck and taking advantage of his plight…it was fun though!
And finally, I am thankful for the wonderful crew on this ole Road Trip. We spend at least twelve hours a day, five days a week together. Traveling up and down the road, dealing with the worst situations and finding a way to make them work…visually! I am thankful (get ready, here comes the sentimental stuff) for the many friendships that have evolved, especially when I get irritable and they have to deal with my nasty mood swings! I am just plain thankful for the Road Trip!
Bobby
Originally posted: http://www.beloblog.com/WCNC_Blogs/blogger/archives/2005/11/what_im_thankfu.html
There is a reason why so many people trek from all over country to see the Biltmore House.
There is a reason why so many people trek from all over country to see the Biltmore House. Every which way you turn, there is just such a beautiful, peaceful image that you could only wish your digital camera could capture.
When it is time to chop down the ole fern and unpack those dusty boxes full of decorations, the Biltmore takes on a whole new life. I think of the Biltmore at Christmas as everyone person’s fantasy of the perfect holiday home.
First of all, there are more rooms, walkways, and hidden passages than one could walk through in one day. Can you imagine sitting in front of a fire place that you could actually drive a Mini Cooper through? How about dining with the family in a room twice the size of the average American single family home, with a towering 30 foot Christmas tree…then disappearing behind a tapestry into a private room just to get away from the in-laws?
And for all you Martha’s, as you walk through the house, you are taking mental notes “Ahh, I am going to wrap garland around my chandelier this year.”
It is every American’s ideal home, the one you only hope and dream of somehow achieving in a lifetime, and it was only Mr. Vanderbilt’s bachelor pad!
I can just smell the sweet fragrance of the Christmas tree over the soft choir voices echoing from one stone pillar to the next, the sights and sounds of Christmas…Biltmore style. And then…we pulled up!
Yep, once again our over achieving alter egos parked that big ole satellite truck right smack dab in front of Biltmore’s front doors. I even took a picture from the RV to prove that our production vehicles (with 6NEWS plastered all over the place) were sitting a short jaunt from the main atrium.
And then, it was time to pull some cable. Hehe…I laugh now; but Tuesday, the Biltmore security was up in arms as we drug 5,000 feet of wet, smelly, black cable through the front of one of the French doors.
If you have ever been to Biltmore (at any time of the year) you will remember all the security, roped off rooms, and explicit instructions DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING! It was like taking a herd of cattle through a room full of fine china from the Ming Dynasty! And there were pots from the Ming Dynasty in the library – used to have palm trees planted in them until the curators got a hold of them!
Where was I, ohhh; see…we get a little focused. One of the prerequisites for working in television is you have to have a great case of ADD. When we start working, there is nothing stopping our focus. Yeah…then, we met the security force of the Biltmore.
We were allowed behind the scenes and ropes of some of the most treasured areas of Biltmore. Every time we crossed a rope, a PR/Marketing representative had to call security to tell them we were crossing the rope, get clearance, then and only then were we escorted to the destination. That sounds reasonable if you are only carrying one load…yeah right.
We had to bring in cable, cameras, lighting, wireless microphones, and monitors. We had to test the cameras, audio, and lighting. Then we had to have furniture moved by a curator…if there was a slight possibility we might brush by the priceless article.
Now imagine this for eight different rooms spread out all over the house! And to top it all off, we had to pull cable up the front span of the house to the roof top.
Mr. Vandy must have been rolling over in his grave. I mean, if he was such a visionary…why not already have cable pulled throughout the house for us to plug into? It would have saved a lot of trouble on ours and the staff’s part! Oh, I remember, it was built in 1895…no television then, how could I forget. Well regardless, Mr. Vanderbilt was a true visionary! This man had all his I’s dotted and T’s crossed. We took a short tour of the attic and I noticed that the skeleton was built from steel. He was afraid of fires! There two-foot thick brick firewalls separating all the major sections of the house!
Anyways, it was worth all the mediation between the Marketing department and the Security force because the show was beautiful. It is not hard to do a visual show in such a visual setting! I am going to give a little shout out to K.C. of the Marketing department…she was the force behind our storm. If there was a way to walk from one side of the house to the other in less than a minute, she would find it!
But the best part of the day is when I made a new friend. I was trying to find a way to move into this next discussion with a natural twist. He came walking down the main staircase sporting his true colors! Yep, he was a South Carolina grad with all his garnet shining proudly as he walked in front of our lights. As you remember I am a Clemson grad and blood runneth ORANGE. So I put away all my pre-dispositions and shook his hand, because we beat those Gamecocks this past weekend.
This brings me to my final thought. Chuck Howard (faithful Gamecock) talked me into a little, let’s say friendly wager. I’m just glad Clemson won, because I was sweating the whole game – it was close, 13 – 9. Let’s just say Chuck will be sporting a Clemson pull-over tonight, ON AIR! Whoooo, Did I say I am glad we won…I am not sure if I could handle wearing something that says Gamecocks for five days straight! See ya at 4:30…Chuck will be there with all his colors; better yet, color – ORANGE!
Bobby
Originally posted: http://www.beloblog.com/WCNC_Blogs/blogger/archives/2005/11/road_trip_moves.html
Did anyone ever think it would take five trucks to put on a month long show on the road? I mean we travel like no other; we have a satellite/production truck, back-up microwave truck, a lighting truck, an F-150 full on engineering paraphernalia, and a HUGE RV. I mean…an RV, just so we can meet, eat, and fill up three parking spaces! Well, most stops when the 6 News crew shows up on location, there is always that one person or security guard that didn’t know we are supposed to be there. You know, that one person that hasn’t had their ego petted lately and the MEDIA shows up in all its glory. And it takes three acts of congress, and enough time for me to play the slowest game of Sunday morning golf, to actually get in position to begin set-up.
But on Wednesday, the Carolina Place Mall gave us THE WHOLE LOADING DOCK to ourselves. I couldn’t believe my ears. We even had security guards waiting to accommodate our entourage! Allison, our trusty leader could have even parked her Monster Truck of an SUV in the spare space. Her Chevy must have forty-eight inch tires with a six inch lift; she will be premiering in the Monster Truck competition later on this month! The point of this is…the staff at Carolina Place Mall had their ducks in a row.
A brief tangent…where did that little get your ducks in a row idiom come from? I referred to the definition of the idiom on www.dictionary.com and found the following:
– Complete one’s preparations, become efficient and well organized, as in I’m trying to get my ducks in a row before I go to Europe. This synonym for get one’s act together probably alludes to lining up target ducks in a shooting gallery.
That’s weird, comparing organization to shooting fake ducks! I guess the next time I want to get all my ducks in a row…I will just line up the random things in the office I am trying to organize and shoot them with my grandfather’s, single action .357. More like disintegration than organization.
Anyways, now that I have cleared that up…Oh what fun it is to ride in five truck caravan, hey! And our caravan found the newly renovated Carolina Place Mall Food Court ready for our three thousand feet of cable, three cameras, six wireless microphones, two dozen lights, and four festive anchors (Chris, Terri, Mike, and Chuck). I am just surprised we didn’t trip any young children with all the cable we pulled! We used so much tape to secure the cable to the floor; we had to call in reinforcements…the Carolina Place Mall support staff. Yep, they made sure those mats – covering the cable for all the cameras – were so secure that it took almost the same amount of time to play another eighteen holes of golf to rip the tape back up! No one was going to trip on their watch!
There was a lot to do at the mall. From Mike trying to take us on a “Behind the Scenes” tour of Victoria Secret – Mike remembered it was a family show –, to Santa making an early appearance, and of course….food! Yep, a taste-test of some really good turkey…Chris is still nibbling.
But the highlight of the night was the fashion show. I am not sure if the WCNC-TV Engineering staff was more excited about the fashion show or the parents of the models because they were on live television! Both were taking pictures…and not of each other! And there was a chance to check out some new gadgets from Radio Shack. Terri and Chuck got so carried away with all the radio controlled toys…that the frequency from the controller messed up the frequency of their microphones. I guess no one was really listening, they were watching Chuck trying to run everyone over with the radio controlled hovercraft! Boys and their toys??? Actually my grandfather told me that “he who dies with the most gadgets, WINS!”
Speaking of men and their toys…we are off to the Convention Center in Uptown Charlotte for the 2005 International Car Show. I hope they have the new Mini Cooper! The Road Trip roles on…ZOOM ZOOM!
Bobby
Originally posted: http://www.beloblog.com/WCNC_Blogs/blogger/archives/2005/11/a_loading_dock.html
You think Mariano was scared of T-Rex…even the snakes made him quezzy. Direct quote from Mariano, “Whenever I see a snake in the road, I will cross ten lanes of traffic to hit it, then stop, back-up, and run over it again!” Man, what a barbaric guy…and he has two kids! Let’s just say we kept him isolated to the production truck! Enough of giving Mariano a hard time…let’s move on to more important topics.
One of the highlights was Mike Redding and his weird phobia not wanting strange animals to crawl all over him! Let’s just say he was attacked by a Kinkajou. BLESS YOU! No, that is not a French sounding sneeze; it is a monkey looking animal that is about is hyper as the Tasmanian Devil on a mixture of crack and chocolate! Can Tasmanian Devils eat chocolate??? Are they like dogs and die from a single dose???
I don’t know, it just sounded funny right there, maybe not! Anyways…that poor little Kinkajou was fixated on trying to get down Mike’s shirt. Now ladies…don’t get jealous; Mike put a good fight. I think he was actually scared of the harmless little guy! Now that I think about it, the little Kinkajou actually reminded me of a mixture between a little monkey and a cat. It had a cute little face and long tail like a cat, and the hands and feet like a small little monkey. And yes, the demeanor of a Tasmanian Devil on a mixture of crack and chocolate! Newsflash…straight from the Allison Andrews news ticker update – “This just in…Mike Redding was just attacked by a Kinkajou where the only injury sustained was the mangled earpiece ripped from his ear. Let’s hear from Mike ‘I’m just glad he didn’t eat my ear. Allison could have assigned me to hold the snake.” I think the Kinkajou has been taking lessons from Mike Tyson!
Now on to the animals that give most of us the creepy, crawlies – including Mariano – PYTHONS. Yep, as promised…the Schiele Museum of Natural History has a python and is about as fat around as my arm! Chuck, Chris, and Emmy Award Winning Photojournalist Steve Reynolds received a first hand Show & Tell session of our slimy friend. I am glad I was at least ten feet away…you know, the length of the python. As Steve was shooting the python, I could hear Mariano screeching over the headset.
I would be willing to bet that a snake that size could knock the alignment out of his car! Maybe the cost benefit analysis would be worth it in his mind…one more snack, off the streets! Mariano secretly works for animal control, undercover snake apprehension officer Poor Mariano…I have been fixated on his trepidation of snakes, all in good humor!
Well, I just want to give a shout out to the peeps of the Scheile Museum of Natural History! You have basically made four grown men want to crawl back to their mamas! Way to go…we hope to see you next time! And to Paige Herman – Marketing Director – you now have a new marketing campaign: They Came, They Saw, and They Left…Plum SCARED! The Road Trip roles on to another chapter in this month long quest of public relations!
Bobby
Originall posted: http://www.beloblog.com/WCNC_Blogs/blogger/archives/2005/11/snakes_parrots.html