10 years goes by in a flash! Tyler was 5 years old and we lived in Vancouver Washington at the time. Our home had two floors and I was sleeping upstairs when Dean ran up the stairs to tell me that the US was at war. It was a surreal moment- I carried Tyler’s little sleeping body down the stairs and sat in front of the television- stunned like I imagine most Americans were. Tears streamed down my face as the reports came in of the people who were lost, the rescue workers who freely gave their lives and the thought that America would never be the same again. I recall so clearly looking at my sleeping son and the stark contrast between his innocence and the hatred

SCAM ALERT – Don’t be a victim! There seems to be a rash of credit card scams lately – the most common over the past few weeks is one that you can absolutely avoid. Here is the scenario: A customer walks into your business or financial institution and attempts to make a purchase/cash advance. When you run the card, you receive an error message – typically “Call” or “CIB” which stands for ‘Call Issuing Bank’ or possibly “Hold Card”. The customer calls their “issuing bank” in an effort to resolve the matter and hands you their phone with the “bank” on the line. The helpful “bank representative” walks you through forcing the transaction through your terminal, providing you with an approval number. The transaction completes successfully, and your

This past weekend- our team took a trip down the White Salmon River. I am happy to report that all of our staff members made it through the adventure unscathed- well almost We had 4 rafts full of our team- lots of fun, splashing and some hard paddling. When it came time to make the BIG decision- which was whether to risk a journey down Husum Falls or walk around- 2 of our 3 boats elected to take on the rapids!! The other two boats elected to walk around the falls: here is what happened- Boat #1- all 6 team members paddled perfectly to get their raft into the proper position and they STUCK the landing! Fully submerged at the bottom of the fall, they were rapidly ejected

Sir Smiley here with a VERY COOL STORY!! We can always use a good smile to start the week and this story should do the trick! A landscape gardener ran a business that had been in the family for two or three generations. The staff was happy, and customers loved to visit the store, or have the staff work on their gardens and make deliveries – anything from bedding plants to ride-on mowers. For as long as anyone could remember, the current owner and previous generations of owners were extremely positive happy people. Most folk assumed it was because they ran a successful business. In fact it was the other way around… A tradition in the business was that the owner always wore a big lapel badge, saying

I was in Reno Friday evening when I heard the news of our country’s credit downgrade. Immediately, I began to wonder how the rating drop would impact the businesses that we work with and our economy overall. After some searching on the internet- I found this YouTube video (under 3 minutes) that explains the situation very well: WATCH THE VIDEO As business owners and those who service businesses, it is more important than ever to be confident and focus our attentions where we can make the biggest positive impact on our economy- please consider the following: VALUE/SERVICE- making sure we are adding more value than our customers are paying for will help them to view our products/services as something they MUST HAVE rather than something they can do

Sir Smiley here with a few tips on proper phone etiquette Before we get into it, answer the following question: The last time I called a business I- A- Got a Busy Signal B- Telecommuted to India or Mexico C- Was greeted by someone who HATED their job D- Got Lost in the Phone Tree E- Received Genuine, Caring Service It is surprising how many times the optimal answer (E) is not selected. The more technologically advanced we get – the more we seem to move away from those personal touches that really make us want to refer and revisit businesses. In a recent USA Today article, these tips were mentioned for achieving proper phone etiquette: • Train everyone in your office on basic phone etiquette. Have a