"Story From A New Friend"

Last night changed my life. I visited an event that caught my attention simply because of its name “story from a new friend.”  when I walked in, someone said the event moved up two months because due to the speaker’s battle w/ als, they weren’t sure how long she had left to live. That put me into shock. Just as they pointed her out (a young woman w/a cane in a pink dress), she was making her way toward me w/a notebook. Als had apparently taken her ability to use her mouth to speak, because she scribbled “thank you billy,” and then gave me a hug. I was numb.

That’s me and her above. Her name is anne marie. She is a super smart, funny sweetheart who might be the strongest person I ever met.  I don’t know if you can tell by my face, but to be honest, I didn’t know how to feel.  I was sad and scared at first talking to someone I was told would soon be gone, yet I quickly began to chuckle words back to her as she scribbled funny things about what we had in common, how our lives have crossed in the past, and if she gave me a pair of underwear that promoted her blog, www.kissmyals.com, would I wear it. (I said yes of course! And I am promoting it now)

I learned a lot. She was an executive coach for powerful business people and companies, a ballerina, a sommelier, and so much more… even though she couldn’t do any of that anymore because of als, she somehow showed all of us in a powerpoint speech she gave (unable to talk) how she was so empowered, happy, enlightened, positive,… even when she broke down crying in front of us (broke my heart) during parts that showed the reality of what happens to those diagnosed w/ als, she recovered fast & furious w/a smile, and her strength, optimism and focus became contagious… and a lesson in life.

Imagine standing there being told how not to waste time & your life, while you have it, from someone dying. It was chilling, so true, wont forget it, and I am changing a lot of how I live my life because of it. thank you anne marie my new friend for your story. Oh, she had a request, connect with her, find her, on her blog above, on facebook, twitter, say hi… for me. (and ask her how you can get the speech she gave… so wonderful, sorry delivering it myself doesn’t do it justice, it takes hearing it from her posititon)

Anne marie you are absolutely amazing.  And to you “story of a new friend,” it was a pleasure hosting your event, thank you for creating such an inspirational series.

(((Updated June 3rd :: The next series of Story from a New Friend will be next Friday, June 11th at The Underground (56 W Illinois) featuring Malachi Leopold and his documentary; “Everyone Has a Story.” visit www.anewfriend.org for more info.)))

Tags: als, kiss my als, story from a new friend

Common Movie Premiere Party for "Just Wright"

Tags: allied advertising, bobby simmons, chicago, common, hollywood, just wright movie, just wright trailer, nba, premiere party, private party space chicago, queen latifah, sunda, the bucks

My Cameo on "The Hills" because of "Chicago!"

Tags: 2016 olympics, brody jenner, kristin cavallari, MTV, mtv "the hills", rockit, sunda, the hills

Chicago Based Intelligentsia Coffee Wins Again!

Tags: barista world championship, chicago tribune, intelligentsia coffee, michael phillips

World Malaria Day in Chicago

Tags: africa, american idol, charity, chicago bears, elliott yamin, emmy, entourage, golden globes, governor pat quinn, idol gives back, japan, jeremy piven, jerry azumah, kyoto, malaria, malaria no more, mariners, pat quinn, white sox, world malaria day

Happy Earth Day Chicago!

Tags: carbon footprint, earth day, earth day 2010, flair tower, go green management, leed certified, mother earth, steve green

Speaker at Restaurant, Hotel-Motel & International Wine, Spirits & Beer Show!

The National Restaurant Association (nra), founded in 1919, now comprising of 945,000 restaurant/foodservice outlets & a work force of nearly 13 million employees, has once again chosen chicago to be their home for the annual Restaurant, Hotel-Motel & International Wine, Spirits & Beer Show! Not only should we all be huge fans of the nra for the tremendous amount of income this show brings to our great city of chicago (and to the u.s. in general), attracting tens of thousands of attendees & visitors from all 50 states & 100+ countries, but also because it showcases more products, services, innovative ideas & growth opportunities than any other industry event, reinforcing once again that chicago is a world class leader in all things food, innovation, entertainment, creativity & hospitality!

As for me, I have been attending every year for as long as I can remember to enjoy, absorb, network, learn, and to be inspired.  Last year, I was actually asked to speak on their opening panel! I have to admit, sitting up there between big dogs like mcdonald’s & dunkin donuts scared the heck out of me.  But, sharing whatever I had, to help anyone that could benefit, was a wonderful feeling! So, when they asked that I come back this year, it was again an absolute honor & a no brainer! The coolest part was… this time, I was asked to be creative & make up a panel that I thought would be extremely exciting, desperately needed & all around different- so I did!  And here it is…

First off, picking the subject of my panel session was easy.  I am asked almost daily, by all kinds of people & businesses, how to communicate w/ the public when many forms of advertising, marketing & pr have not only been unaffordable in our current economic downturn, but more importantly are beginning to be considered “obsolete” due to the way the internet & social media has changed the game, so I will open up and share my successes, failures, strategy & grind on all that and whatever else I’m asked about.  The nra apparently had been asked much about these issues as well, as they quickly green lighted the idea, and summed up what they thought I had to best offer, and thought most people wanted to hear of my strengths, by giving my panel the name of “Learn how to leverage your product or brand through personal relationships, traditional media, social networking & celebrity!”

Oddly enough, the surprise hard part for me was deciding who should be on my panel!  There are so many amazing restaurant operators, managers, marketing consultants, publicists,..  in chicago, who I would be absolutely honored to share a table w/ at any time, but felt to explain my process of how I go about attacking the above issues, I needed to bring something to the table (literally) that is a true representation of the resources, stories, signs, processes,… that I tap into and consider when doing what I do. Which I guess to sort of some it all up, although will better explained in person, is that (1) I intensely listen to people, through their actions, reactions, story, and all around messaging about their thoughts, wants & needs, and (2) figure out the meaning of it all and use it to deliver value to them, even if not directly from me, through a mix of old & new tactics, that I will gladly share w/ my fellow panelists.

So! Long story short, I made a list of 20 people I thought would be fun & helpful in explaining what I mean by the above, and thankfully, the 1st three on my list quickly agreed to jump on board and it was a go! Of the 1st three, in no particular order, I picked Richard Roeper for his award winning 22 yrs of story about people, society, pop culture & more in the suntimes & beyond, along w/8 years of tv on “ebert & roeper” where in my opinion, like all other areas of his work, he intensely listens, analyzes & translates the stories the world is telling us, in this particular case obviously through film. I picked Alpana singh not only because I think the nra audience would love to interact w/the superstar who paved her own way to becoming the youngest person ever to achieve the rank of master sommelier, but because of her unique position as host of the award winning tv show “check please!” where she facilitates the discussion & expression of what consumers like & dislike about every aspect of the restaurant industry’s stories that are told in what they offer to their guests in products, services & experiences.  And to even get closer to magic of delivering story about food experience specifically for the benefit of our nra guests, I chose 12 time beard award winner steve dolinsky, who has been at the top of the food media chain for as long as I can remember on abc tv, wbez-fm, and many other mass communication channels, really focusing on what story is trying to be told by the world through anything & everything related to food, and what all of it means to all of us…

Seems pretty cool & different huh?!? I promise you it will be entertaining & helpful in so many different ways…I know I am there to learn as much as anyone else… so the approach will be interesting… not only will we dive into all of the above, get to address any questions that any of you want, but of equal importance, I picked this crew so we can also get an in depth look at how they evolved (w/social media, interactive marketing,…) w/ their own brands, craft, outreach, routine, strategy,… as they too have faced the same challenges we all are experiencing, as what we are talking about really applies to everyone if you think about it!  So join us! It would be an honor- noon on may 24th , 2010!  For all info go to www.restaurant.org/show.

(btw, leave me whatever questions you want my fellow panelists and i to answer in the comment section below!)

Tags: alpana singh, beers, check please!, chicago convention, convention, dunkin donuts, ebert and roeper, entertainment, food service, hospitality, hotels, james beard, mcdonalds, motels, national restaurant association, nra, richard roeper, service industry, social media, speaking panel, spirits, steve dolinsky

"A Grandma's Culinary Legacy" leads to Chicago

Woke up to the most amazing story about our long time executive head chef & partner james gottwald’s story of his “grandma’s culinary legacy” on the cover of the sun-times food section today, by a great writer by the name of seanan forbes… I’m just dazed & amazed… and had to share it with you all… click here to read the article… or click continue reading below… and please, stories like this need to be shared, so feel free… and enjoy!

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Tags: culinary, james gottwald, legacy, romania, seannan forbes, sun times

Natalie Merchant for Poetry Center of Chicago

Tags: Art, art institute of chicago, Music, natalie merchant, poet, poetry, rubloff auditorium, the poetry center of chicago, workshop

Chicago Office of Tourism Goes Deeper w/ www.explorechicago.org!

I have always been a big fan of the chicago office of tourism not only because tourism they rightfully & successfully promote our city as one of the best in the world creating international fans and big visitor income for the people of our city, but also because they have become an amazing resource for even life long locals like myself who love to learn new things about this deep, historic, diverse & exciting mix of communities, talents, cultures, backgrounds,.. that make up our great city of chicago!

I have always been a big fan of the chicago office of tourism not only because tourism they rightfully & successfully promote our city as one of the best in the world creating international fans and big visitor income for the people of our city, but also because they have become an amazing resource for even life long locals like myself who love to learn new things about this deep, historic, diverse & exciting mix of communities, talents, cultures, backgrounds…that make up our great city of chicago!

Most impressive is how developed they have managed to build their site www.explorechicago.org which basically has become the 1st stop for all things chicago for way more than just tourists, offering more exciting things happening than you can possible do in a lifetime (all though that would be really cool to try!). not only have I heard many times from others that their site is an industry leader w/many even outside of the tourism industry using it as a model to follow, word is on may 25th they are improving it even further launching all kinds of expanded content & tools to explore & reveal all the history & character deep within Chicago’s 77 distinct communities… to really get the feel for what we are made of….

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Tags: chicago, chicago office of tourism, communities, explore chicago, tourism, travel