Month: December 2020

Around the Agency: News Roundup

Luke Thomas22 Comments

Check out December’s latest updates from around Team SAM! If you have updates you’d like included, make sure to submit them to your department’s story collector or manager.

 

Production

  • Andrea Kring and her husband, Tim, put the SAM Green Egg to good use this Thanksgiving. Smoked turkey was DEEEE-licious. #ThanksJP #TurkeyStrong

 

Graphics

  • Art is creating new Google ad banners with hidden disclaimers
  • Art is updating the hub pages with a new look, thanks to the competition we held a few months back

 

Digital

  • We are excited to begin working with Corbitt Chandler, Digital Marketing Consultant. Corbitt is helping us improve and rethink our arsenal of digital products

 

Direct Contact

  • We are rolling off of a record November for direct mail and eCampaigns and expect December to set new records as well!
  • Very excited to have Mimi back from maternity leave this month!

Sheila’s No-Travel 2020

Luke ThomasLeave a comment

If there’s one thing that’s synonymous with Sheila Grandy, it’s travel. But like many of us in 2020, she has had to take a different approach to leisure. So, how has Sheila spent her time when cruises and weekend excursions are off the table?

That’s what we’re here to find out.

Squeezing in a Little Sight-Seeing

Sheila and her best friend, Kim, got to enjoy one pre-pandemic trip this year.

“I did make it to Houston before everything shut down,” Sheila said. “We were dying to go to the rodeo, so we flew there at the beginning of March, right before everything really hit. We brought scarves to keep our faces covered, but that was before anyone was even wearing masks. Once we got back, the rest of my travel plans were off the books.”

Some of Sheila’s 2020 plans included Chicago in May, the New Orleans Essence Festival in July, Major League Baseball in August, and San Fransisco for New Year’s Eve.

After being forced to shift gears, Sheila said the memories of past trips helped keep her spirits high.

“My friends would always laugh because I took so many photos on our trips,” Sheila said. “Now, I’ve been sending and sharing those to help us remember the good times.”

Sheila recounted how, on a girls’ trip in 2018, the group went to New York City. On the last night, she insisted they walk the Brooklyn Bridge (they had already walked 12 miles that day). Her friends grudgingly agreed, but it turned out to be one of the best travel photos Sheila has ever captured. Now, the friends look back on that photo with nostalgia.

To fill her time this year, Sheila has enjoyed spending more time outdoors.

“I’ve always walked about 5 miles every morning, but typically I would go to the YMCA to do that,” Sheila said. “I’ve switched to outdoor walking since it’s safer, and I’ve really enjoyed the fresh air.”

Sheila has also enjoyed watching new church services online. There is one that particularly speaks to her in Chicago, and she plans to visit in person once travel is safer.

“After Chicago, I’m planning to take a girls’ trip to Savannah and Charleston,” Sheila said. “Everyone knows I love cruises, and this year was supposed to be my ninth. But land travel will come first.”

Despite the difficulty of traveling this year, Sheila has managed to tuck a few excursions under her belt. Her list includes an outdoor concert in Biloxi for the Fourth of July, a couple of trips to Memphis, and a recent visit to the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, AL.

Sheila has definitley found ways to make a challenging year interesting. Like the rest of us, she’s hoping for a speedy return to normalcy as we make our way into 2021.

Charlene Gets Hitched!

Luke Thomas211 Comments

It was more than 40 years ago that Charlene Meeks Barnett first met her husband-to-be. In the halls of their shared high school, it was Ricky’s cerulean eyes and peppy demeanor that drew in Charlene. However, their destiny was not to become high school sweethearts. Twenty-five years would pass before the two ultimately reconnected.

Charlene and Ricky went on their first date nine and a half years ago and have been together ever since.

“The timing wasn’t right to get married any sooner,” Charlene said. “With our families now more settled, we decided this summer that it was our chance to tie the knot.”

On Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving, the couple was wed at an intimate ceremony at a friend’s lakehouse. Originally, they had planned to marry in relative secrecy and surprise their families on Thanksgiving but decided it was better to share the moment with their loved ones.

“All of the people at our wedding have been there for me throughout the past 20 years,” Charlene said. “You could just feel the love pouring out of the moment.”

Luckily, the weather held out and let the love pour rather than the sky. The storm clouds from earlier in the day parted to reveal a picturesque sunset under which the couple took their vows.

Charlene stated that she felt lucky the pandemic didn’t alter her plans by much. She was wanting an intimate ceremony from the beginning without too many bells and whistles.

“My daughter is getting married this April, and I didn’t want to detract from that,” Charlene said. “It’s her time to shine.”

After the wedding, Charlene and Ricky enjoyed a honeymoon built around spontaneity. Their roadtrip spanned northern Georgia and parts of North Carolina. Charlene insisted that the couple make no reservations and have no itinerary. They would simply land wherever the wind blew them.

“My life at work and even at home is so structured all of the time,” Charlene said. “It was so nice to go on this honeymoon roadtrip with nothing we had to do. If we saw somewhere we wanted to stop, we stopped. We stayed at this quaint little inn off the city block in Elijay, GA, and walked to dinner that evening. They had rooms, so that’s where we landed.”

The Barnetts visited Blue Ridge, Amicalola Falls, Elijay, and Cherokee as part of their trip. A wine tasting session at Frogtown Winery in Dahlonega, GA, was one of the highlights for Charlene.

Back in Alabama, the Barnetts are establishing a new life together as a married couple.

“Ricky is great with my grandkids,” Charlene said. “They’ve known him most of their lives. I’m just having to get used to living with a grown man again!”

We at SAM wish the best to the new Mr. and Mrs. Barnett, and a hearty congratulations from us all!