Some thoughts as I sip coffee and enjoy the warmer weather…

I had lunch Tuesday with a good friend of mine.  We were discussing a particular family feud.  One family had every right to disappear during the other family’s time of need.  He quoted a saying from his mother-in-law that sometimes, “It’s better to be nice, than right.”  Wow.  Good stuff.  That kind of sums it up.

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If you follow Nashville news at all, you know that the CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association was fired over an email he sent to some friends (not me).  Click HERE for the story off of wkrn.com.  Walt Baker has been beat up pretty good the last few days including THIS column by well respected Tennessean writer Gail Kerr.  Many Tennesseans (transplanted or otherwise) are pretty sensitive and protective of the state’s image around the country.  It seems for all the strides we make in luring businesses or adding sports or culture to our expanding landscape beyond country music, we shoot ourselves in the foot. 
Two steps forward, one step back. 
Many of us media types that have been in Nashville since the mid ’90’s know Walt from his days of the Senior PGA Tour event held at Springhouse.  I would see him through the years, usually at sports dinners or receptions and a few times on the golf course.  I even emceed an awards event for his association a few years ago.  He’s paying a high price for what he did and there’s no defending his actions.  While I haven’t talked to Walt, I would suspect that no one is being harder on Walt right now than Walt.  He’s worked in the town a long time, helping to build a successful business and then one click of the mouse changes everything.

Most, if not all of us have received something in our inbox that makes us cringe.
 
A good reminder to review my rule for email:
If I couldn’t accidentally send it to my boss, then no good can come out of it. 
Get rid of it.  NOW.  End of story.

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My alma mater has a tremendous reputation for pharmacy, music & dance, and I would like to think Radio/TV.  So what do most people think of when they hear Butler University?  Hoops.  Last night the men’s team clinched its 4th straight NCAA Tournament bid and is currently ranked 12th in the country.  Most academic types don’t like to admit it but football and basketball is the front porch of colleges and universities.  Finding a better vaccine is clearly more important than advancing to the Sweet 16, but donors dig their schools going deep into March.  When I went to Butler, the team wasn’t great but beat a very good Notre Dame team that year.  I’ll share what I think is an interesting sidebar to that game, in the coming days.  My office pool brackets (strictly in theory and if it ever did actually materialize, it would be for entertainment purposes only) will once again be a bust because I will pick the Bulldogs to plow their way the Final Four.  Admit it, you pick your school to go a little too deep too, don’t you?

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So I’ve been racking my brain, trying to craft this blog entry and I look over and see Jack & Diane on their eleventh nap of the day and it’s only 10:00am.  A cat’s life.

Di & Jack with another tough day.

I know, I know.  Jack doesn’t miss many meals.

The world lost one of it’s more jovial voices.

Dan Hickey was his name but he never went by that.
Boomer.
He was always known as Boomer.

I won’t wax poetic about how we were tight. We weren’t. Not for the last 25-years anyhow.
Various reasons.  Distance.  Differences.  Like 99-percent of everyone’s high school buds.

But Boomer was unique. Memorable.  Class clown but not in a goofy, irritating way. He always had a way of brightening up a conversation, a gathering, a party.
Especially a party. In fact he was often the life of the party, and it’s my understanding that it was that trait over the decades that eventually contributed to killing him.

It was not the kind of voicemail I was expecting from my parents over the weekend.  They relayed to me Boomer had passed. It’s my understanding it didn’t come as a complete surprise.  While I never saw Boomer in a bad mood,  it was no secret that he fought a demon.  He would get help, but the demon was determined.

In no way am I passing judgement.  I’m in no position to throw the first pebble, let alone a stone.

Since I hadn’t kept up with him when I would return to South Bend, my memories of Boomer are frozen in a time warp of the 1970’s and 80’s.  Countless Notre Dame games which meant countless tailgaters.  A few road trips during college to see ND play Purdue, Michigan and Michigan State.  Boomer was an ND grad and on game days was dressed as if he walked right off the pages of the Bookstore catalog.

Tall.
Lanky.
Mitts for hands.
Bleach-blond strands that seemingly thinned before our eyes.
And oh, that chin.

That chin can be seen in the picture below.  In ND lore, this is a very famous picture.  Harry Oliver kicked a 51-yard fieldgoal to beat Michigan in 1980.  Boomer is clearly seen right above the kicker’s helmet.  Arms crossed.  Jaw set.  Seconds later the place went berserk. 

One of the few times Boomer wasn't smiling. He, along with 59,074 people in the stadium would be, seconds later.

The moment you walked into a room, he had his arm around you, wanting to know what he could get you and before lurching toward the kitchen, he would stop and tell you a quick joke.

His moods only had one setting.
Good.

Jeff Ryan, Beth Miller, Me, Leslie Kruggel, Andy Makris, Dan "Boomer" Hickey, Charlie Rice

In a box of memorabilia sent to me from my parents a few months ago, I came across this picture of Marian High School Graduation Day 1981.  Somehow, seven of us bunched together for this photo. 

This is how I’ll remember Boomer. 
A broad smile.
Certainly in between a story or joke.

Being around Boomer meant being in that group that was a little too loud, but wasn’t hurting anyone.  He was the unofficial host of whatever gathering you were at, whether it be at a game or someone’s house.  Heck, it could have been your house.  Boomer “held court” as they say.

The world has one less court jester.
That means the world now has a few less smiles.

I had another great morning interacting with America’s youth.

Let me tell you… there’s hope.

I read to another great group of students.  This time it was 3rd graders at Lipscomb Elementary School in Brentwood.

"Maybe if I shove the pictures in their faces, they will continue to pay attention."

Typical TV head. Trying to "sell" the story.

I road tripped it to Leiper’s Fork this morning to read to some kindergartners and fourth graders at Hillsboro Elementary and Middle School.  I believe it’s part of some sort of “reading month” because I have another school to read to tomorrow.  They were fun, fun kids that were very well behaved (or so bored out of their skulls they didn’t care to act up).

This has nothing to do with the above but I found it interesting.  The subject on talk radio was what children were learning (or not learning) and a teacher called in.  She told the story of some high school students who didn’t know how to tell time on a wall clock. 
Think about that. 
They were never taught about the big hand and little hand.  They have always been around digital clocks or watches.  It made me think of life’s current context for grade school students, say grades 4th through 8th. Here’s a stream of consciousness list:

With Velcro on so many children’s shoes nowadays, do all the kids know how to tie a shoe?
Have they ever taken a drink of soda out of an actually glass bottle?
Most weren’t born when the U. of Tennessee won the football National Championship.
They have no concept of Y2K or the Millennium.
Is “long math” still taught?
President Reagan shot in 1981 is ancient history.
They read about the dot-com bubble bursting in the history books.
They’ve never seen a telephone with a curly cord.
Many have never been in a car without a GPS system.
Most/all never remember seeing the World Trade Center Towers burning.
They will never have had or will ever have a pager or beeper.
They will probably will never fax anything in their lifetime.

What can you add to the list?

I often say “it’s when management doesn’t ask you to do things, that’s when you start to worry.”

Note the computer. We are actually encouraged to facebook. Also note the product placement. That's a Make-A-Wish coffee mug.

I received a call from my boss Sunday asking me to come in and anchor News-2 This Morning on Monday.  I did the show in 2006-2007.  Neil Orne is under the weather and he wanted someone familiar with the show to fill in. 
Glad to.

If you’ve ever worked the overnight shift, you know it takes some getting used to. It was great to see the morning crew. We have good people behind the scenes and working with Julie is a pleasure.  Plenty of laughs this morning during the breaks.

So I’m going to keep this short because I have to come back for the 4pm and 10pm.

For all those at work and the morning viewers, thanks for making me feel welcome.

It’s been a busier than normal week with several work-related commitments in and out of the station.  A sampling of that and other things I my mind:

Last night’s News-2 Extra profiling the Nashville Medical Trade Center could be useful for anyone living and/or working in downtown Nashville.  The series will be posted on wkrn.com later today.  Just go to the top left tab labeled “news” and there’s a drop down label “video news.”  The News-2 Extras are posted there.  If things go as planned, the NMTC will arguably have a bigger effect on downtown Nashville’s economy than any other building. 
Mark my words.

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ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser is being scolded by the mother ship for comments made about ESPN anchor Hannah Storm.  Click HERE for details.  You can find more on this all over the Internet.  I may weigh in on this later in greater length but let me say this;  with certain people you know what you get.  Either you pay an opinionated-driven personality for their opinion and let him go nuts or you fire the guy.  To me there’s no middle ground.  What do you think?

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I attended a Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee event at a board member’s home last night.  I’ve said it in this forum several times in many different ways but I’ll say it again;  there are many wonderful causes out there but I’m so proud to be a part of a mission that has such a powerful impact.  A couple wish families were there last night and told their stories.  Great, great stuff.

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Earlier this week at the Nashville Sports Council’s Dinner of Champions, I had the honor of once again escorting Kaia Jergenson to the stage to present the Kaia Jergenson courage award.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10-years since Kaia was diagnosed with meningitis.  She now has a cool husband Doug and a little girl Elora.  She has a great attitude and has clearly moved on in her life.  While I’m not a sportscaster anymore, it’s kind that the NSC still includes me in this event.

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My best friend from Indianapolis is in town attending several Country Music Radio Seminar events.  He bids on packages online to meet and greet country stars.  I mean he’s a real freak about it.  Sure, there are some exceptions but most country acts are so darn grateful to have “made it”  that they are super cool to hang around.  Jeff always has some fun stories to share.  I’m hoping to meet him for coffee before I head to the downtown Y.

Have a great and safe weekend.

Do some of your recall cramming for finals in college?  I would go to the local Denny’s, sit and drink coffee all night while gabbing and then announce in the morning that I stayed up all night studying (without opening a book.  How did I get out in four years?  It’s a mystery).

Anyway, while it’s not an all-nighter, I was at work late last night and in early this morning working on tonight’s News-2 Extra on the Nashville Medical Trade Center.

So allow me to finish up today and I’ll be back to being a blogging fiend.

Good morning…

I’m crunching on a project that airs tomorrow night so I’m going to fall back on the “Best of…”  I like to call these “Dwyer Double Takes”  (or that could be known as entries that aren’t extremely dated!)  I think this one from back in August is timeless.  Lemmee know what you think.

Going “Old School”
August 26th, 2009

A good friend of mine and fellow Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee board member authored the article below that was published in the Nashville Chamber of Commerce newsletter.  I thought it was such a good reminder that I asked Ben if I “steal” it for DwyerWire.com.  After he finally called me back after repeated messages, put me on hold as he was answering his other cell phone and then told me an off color joke, he said “no prob.” (Now Ben, you didn’t expect me to give a straight-faced intro to this, did you?)

‘Old‐School’ Business Etiquette
By Ben Hanback, President, The Hanback Group
On a client call recently, I had to take an elevator up to the top of a building for my scheduled appointment. While lurching up floor by floor, a few things happened in that small space that really made me reflect on how etiquette has virtually vanished in today’s business world. First, two of the people on the elevator proceeded to discuss a co‐worker’s personal problems. Second, when the elevator door opened up on the third floor, two people stormed in without letting the three people out that were getting off. And then, at the same time, the men getting out didn’t hold the door and let the woman out first.

Now before you roll your eyes and call me “old school,” think about this ‐ when was the last time you were in a meeting or presentation and at least one cell phone or beeper didn’t go off? Or when was your inbox not full of chain emails?

I was at a conference a few years ago on workplace stress and the speaker asked everyone in the room (there were probably 200 attendees) to turn their cell phones and pagers up to the “loud” position. You can imagine what happened ‐ over the next five to 10 minutes, the room was full of ringers, songs and beepers. His point was how stressful today’s work environment is, and he easily proved the importance of turning off cell phones during a business meeting. So what’s happened to business etiquette in today’s business‐casual – email –text‐messaging world? Here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind in as you conduct your business and run your company:

Business Dress
My college coach always used to say: “You’ve got to look good getting off the bus.” This is still true, and it’s especially true with first impressions. People want to work with sharp, professional individuals. Even if you’re in a more casual industry such as IT or the music business, you can still present yourself well.

• Stay away from artificial flavors ‐ no heavy cologne or perfume.
• Avoid flashy jewelry or sports watches with business dress.
• If you are ever in doubt, remember, it’s better to be overdressed.
• Update your wardrobe periodically to stay current with changing styles or trends.
• For men, short sleeves are always casual. Rolled‐up sleeves say, “I’m here to repair something!”
• For women, skirts shouldn’t be above the knee and make‐up should stay moderate.

Phone and Fax
I love my cell phone/Blackberry and probably do more business on it than the land line, but everyone has to be reminded of some simple rules:

• Return phone calls by the end of the day – no excuses.
• ALWAYS ask before you put someone on hold and never put someone on hold if you initiated the phone call.
• Make sure to include a fax cover page and call ahead before you send a fax over six pages.
• Don’t even think about taking your cell phone into important meetings. This leaves no room for error – if you have to have it, set it to silent.
• Never leave a voice message much longer than two minutes, and always leave your callback number at the beginning and end of the message.
• If putting someone on speakerphone, always announce who’s in the room before the conversation starts.

Email
Recently, in dealing with a client, I went back and forth on email about attending a Titans game. This happened for almost two days until I realized that the client’s assistant had been checking the emails and responding to me. What if I had typed something inappropriate or off‐color? You never know who is reading or checking a client’s emails. Email is not formal, like a written letter, and it doesn’t disappear when it’s deleted. Email can make you feel like there’s a bond when there isn’t, and should never be used for sensitive messages.

• Respond to all emails within 24 hours. If you anticipate it is going to take longer for you toreply, make sure you have your out‐of‐office messenger turned on.
• Ask permission before including someone on a distribution list. If you are sending an email to a large list, blind‐copy the recipients.
• Always check your address list before hitting send and never forward an off‐color or inappropriate email.
• Don’t use an email to vent. If you are upset, call the person or save the email and re‐read it the next day. Never use all capitals – that’s practically screaming in print.
• We all know if you don’t forward your silly limerick to 20 friends, you will have bad luck the rest of your life, but we don’t care. Never send chain emails to clients, customers or prospects.

Meetings and General Etiquette
A few years ago, I was traveling with one of my sales reps and we were discussing our presentation in the elevator on the way up to our meeting, only to find out that the human resources director to whom we were presenting was riding up with us. Never discuss a client, prospect or meeting until you are back at your office. This includes restrooms!

• For men, always let women off an elevator first and hold the door open when entering a building.
• For both men and women, don’t get on an elevator until all people have exited, and never hold a personal conversation in a public arena.
• If planning a meeting, make sure all attendees know the time, subject and other participants, and send the agenda prior to the meeting.
• If sitting, always stand when introduced and shake hands firmly and look the person directly in the eye.

To increase your etiquette knowledge, many colleges and business schools offer actual etiquette classes, and there are great articles and books on the topic. So shine those shoes, save that cologne for Saturday night, set that cell phone to silent, and get ready to impress your clients.

On the run today from morning, noon and night but here’s a few things to ponder…

Several hockey folks in our building were cheesed that the USA-Canada men’s game was shifted to MSNBC Sunday.  These are the same folks that know better than most how ratings works.  More eyeballs, more money.  More than 8-million people watched the hockey.  More than 23-million watched the ice dancing and other events on NBC.  Did NBC brass make the right decision?  Seems so.

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Nashville Predators play-by-play guy Pete Weber is one of the greatest guys you’ll ever meet.  He’s an encyclopedia of sports history.  I mean, nobody knows more.  Being on his email list is a real treat because he will send obscure, often funny items.  Yesterday I received one more mainstream but if you are old enough to remember the “Miracle On Ice” from 30-years ago, you’ll get a kick out of it.  Click HERE to read.

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Finally, our super duper weathercaster Lisa Patton will occasionally send out a funny email that’s been passed to her.  She sent this one on.  I don’t think I’m blowing any confidence by passing it on in this forum.  None of these will change our world but you might get a kick.  Enjoy.

QUESTIONS THAT
 PUZZLE ME!

   Can you cry under water? 

 How important does a person have to be before they
 are considered assassinated instead of just
 murdered? 

Why do you have to ‘put your two cents in’…
 but it’s only a ‘penny for your thoughts’?
  Where’s that extra penny going to?

 Why does a round pizza come in a square
 box? 

What disease did cured ham actually have? 

 How is it that we put man on the moon before we
 figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on
 luggage? 

Why is it that people say they ’slept
like a baby’ when babies wake up like every two
 hours?

 Why are you IN a movie, but you’re ON
 TV? 

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then
 put money in binoculars to look at things on the
 ground? 

 Why do doctors leave the room while you’re changing?
They’re going to see you naked
 anyway. 

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the
toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being
would eat? 

 If the professor on Gilligan’s Island can make a radio out of a coconut,
 why can’t he fix a hole in a boat?

 Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all
 fours? 
They’re both dogs! 

 If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that
 ACME gear, why didn’t he just buy dinner? 

 Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
 have the same tune? 

 Why did you just try singing the two songs above? 

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog’s
 face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car
 ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Why do we  press harder on a remote control when we know
the batteries are getting dead? 

 Why do banks charge a fee on ‘insufficient funds’ when they
 know there is not enough money?

 Why doesn’t Tarzan have a
 beard?

 Why does
 Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you
 throw a revolver at him?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their
 vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it,
 then put it down to give the vacuum one more
 chance?