Coming Soon: 1100!

It is a rather staggering figure when you think about it… 1100 blog posts in 1100 days. It is actually still amazing that I have been able to find something to write about on each of those days. Of course, there are clearly some days when one can tell that there wasn’t much to write about but sometimes that is what happens. It is a simple matter of having to work with the information given no matter how little that may be. For me, that means life is a lot like work.

On the other side of things, there have been quite a number of days when there are multiple events, thoughts, topics that I would like to write about. This usually has me pulling out my planner and trying to figure out where I can fit some of these subjects into the schedule. At times this is a rather easy problem to fix as the topics fit into some of the weekly themes. Other times, they are beyond the purview of these scheduled posts which leaves only a few days each week where they can be fit in.

I guess you could say that this is sometimes just part of the routine. However, the timeliness of topics can sometimes change things up. Also, the simple desire to write or not to write has to be taken into account. Topics can be a factor in this as there are times when I don’t have any desire to write about a topic that I previously planned no matter how rich the subject matter may be. This means that, for me, this blog is a lot like work.

All of that being said, somehow I have managed to put up a post for each day and, at least on occasion, these posts have resonated, entertained, of flat out pissed people off. However, more than that, it has started numerous conversations with people from around the world and with a wide variety of backgrounds because we share a common idea, interest, or opinion. Sometimes these communications have surprised me as I received praise for certain stances that I have taken on a variety of topics. Even those whom have disagreed with me have at least brought their own opinions to the fore and opened a dialog on specific topics.

This blog has always been a means of recording life and part of life is the wonderful conversations, experiences, and people that I have been able to meet along the way. So, in essence, this blog has been a means to enhance life and bring about experiences and provide introductions that I would have otherwise never had the opportunity to enjoy. It really is interesting how things come full circle in that regard and makes the time and effort that I have committed to these words worth much more than the modest investment streaming from the tips of my fingers.

Sunday Search: Connections Through Occupations

There is a wealth of information that can be found in the census. Some of those facts prove to be quite useful when trying to pull the pieces together in order to learn about a distant relative. And while there are a number of things that should be checked and double checked, there is one piece of information in particular that seems to be regularly reliable… occupation. While the spelling of names, use of nicknames, and inaccurate dates abound in these national reports, the occupation of the individual is something really hard to mess up unless the census taker is told the wrong information on purpose.

While most of my family can be found listed as farmers and homemakers, there are the occasional outliers that catch my attention. Not because they are of any extraordinary profession but because it is simply something different than the norm and it makes me think about what that job must have been like at the time. After all, while the basic functions and responsibilities associated with a particularly line of employment, the means by which the tasks are completed are vastly different from that of over 100 years ago. There are exceptions to that rule as well.

Of course, what is even more interesting to me is the interplay between the different lines of the family tree. Sometimes there are other common connection both in geography and occupation that makes you wonder if ancestors in question ever ran into one another. This is where the intrest is really piqued and when the imagination can sometimes wander in to the realm of possibility regardless of how improbable it may have been. Let’s just take the 1900 Census for example.

In 1900 and at the time of his death in 1902, my great great grandfather on my dad’s side, Samuel Ardis, was a clerk for the railroad most likely the Pennsylvania Railroad which, at the time, was headquartered in Philadelphia (my three times great grandfather was a messenger for the railroad as well). Who knows, maybe he ran into my great great grandfather on my mom’s side, William McKannan, who was a Railroad Night Caller in Trenton. While he may have lived and worked in Trenton, there was still a lot of family that remained in Philadelphia. It is interesting to think about the duties and responsibilities that they each had and whether there was a possible connection between the two families over 70 years before my parents got married.

Another interesting consideration is the fact that at the turn of the 20^th century another one of my great great grandfathers on my mom’s side, John Uttley, was a Philadelphia Police Officer in Ward 5 (Roxborough). For good reasons or bad, I wonder if he ever ran into some of the other members of my family years before the trees would merge. You simply never know if there was ever an introduction among the families before the actual connections were made years later.   

And this is just one year of the census, one family, and one geographic location. There are undoubtedly times when you will see different families within the same page or two of the census but it is fascinating to look back decades before the families would eventually merge to find the possible points of contact and connection that may or may not have existed at the time. In a dedicated passion that requires facts, sometimes it is nice to think about the possibilities despite the lack of evidence. I guess you could say that this is part of the process as well. After all, you never know what you might find.

Setting Aside Networking Time

Every day I try to set aside about 15 minutes simply to send out a few emails or make a couple of calls to people that I have met recently or to reconnect with those that I haven’t spoken to in some time. This is both something that I enjoy doing but also part of my job as networking is essential to my line of work. Investing that nominal amount of time each day is well worth the effort and has proven to be hugely beneficial over the years both personally and professionally.

However, there are a few things that I have found to be essential to this outreach over the years. The first being that you cannot be selling when trying to open or reopen communications with someone. I have fallen into this trap a few times in my life when trying my hand at various occupations related to sales. That being said, I have never claimed to be a salesperson and never will claim to have the skill set necessary for success in that line of work. But it is an aspect that I am still well aware of in my current outreach as I prefer to focus on getting to know people rather than trying to get business from them or persuade them to attend an event.

The second essential aspect to effective outreach for me has been to forego social media. While these sites have undoubtedly proven useful in making the basic connections with people and to learn a little bit about them, they should not be used as a means of communication. Personal emails are much more effective in opening up a dialogue but still have limits. Connecting over the phone provides a personal touch and demonstrates that you are taking the time and putting forth the effort to not just talk but to listen and learn about the other person.

The third and final piece of the puzzle is the easiest of them all… listening and learning. Don’t just blankly reach out to people; learn all you can about them before writing that email or picking up the phone. This is where social media should be leveraged. See what they have posted, liked, commented on. Find their birthday, dates of life events, work anniversary, previous places of employment. Essentially, find that commonality that you share with them and use that to start the conversation. Networking is not about business, it is about getting to know people and finding things in common with the people you know is a great way to strengthen your network.  

Finally, familiarize yourself with pictures. There have been countless occasions when I have been at business and social event when I have seen a familiar face. Many connections have started in the virtual world but, by knowing what many of my connections look like, I was able to properly introduce myself in the midst of a large crowd. Most of the time, this is what truly separates you from the countless other connections that someone has made in the virtual world. In the end, never forget the importance of meeting someone face to face… networking can only survive and thrive in the real world.

Sunday Search: Topic Of Conversation

This past week I spent a lot of time at business dinners where the topics of conversation varied pretty significantly from course to course and from meal to meal. However, there were a few subjects that came up regularly during those times around the table. The first two were, of course, the most obvious as business and the actual trade show we were attending were discussed at great length. Beyond that discourse, the primary topic that we talked about at length was genealogy.

Many of the people with whom I spent the first part of the week had at least a basic knowledge of their own family histories or were interested in pursuing that knowledge. Because of the neutral nature of the discourse, we went from moment to moment and from generation to generation of predominantly United States history with each subject and time period allowing us to learn a little more about each other while remaining appropriate for a business gathering. I guess you could say that this is one of the ancillary benefits to the work that I have done regarding my family history.

It was actually quite surprising the commonalities that many of us possessed in both geography and in the participation of our ancestors in particular events. There wasn’t a single statement that wasn’t followed up by either a story or a question. And this was going both ways as there were definitely some aspects of history of which my knowledge is limited or a local history of which I am completely unfamiliar. In the end, we all came away with a much broader sense of the reach and inter-connectivity that our histories have in relation to one another. And that was just the people that knew at least a little about their own ancestry.

For those who were still unfamiliar with their familial past, it was an eye opening experience that ignited a desire to know about their own families. Hopefully the basic outline that they were given is enough to keep that interest going and that they begin to fill in some of their own trees. After all, it would be great to learn a little bit about their families the next time that we are all together around the dinner table. Who knows, maybe we will find some stronger historical ties between our ancestors. And maybe they can use that new found knowledge, as many of us have, as a great topic of conversation during casual business meetings and, more importantly, with their own families.

Mortgage Monday: People You Can Trust

Now that my wife and I have pulled together our list of things that we need to get done, want to get done, and what might need a second look in the future, it is time to start lining things up and getting many of the ‘projects’ evaluated. While we have both been around and lived through renovations, large and small, in the past, this is the first time that we are looking to get the work done ourselves. With such limited experience, it is best to review these growing lists with some professionals. Thankfully, I have a few resources that will be able to let us know what is worth doing, how much it will cost, and how long it will take.

When it comes to having work done on our home I want to make sure to hire people whom I trust. There are many people to which this applies and I will be reaching out to many of them in the near future to have them look at what needs to be done as well as consider what we want to do in the future. Of course, family comes first and I am fortunate to know a family member who will be able to help with some of the renovations needed… this also might be the biggest project that we are considering as well which makes the whole process that much easier.

For many of the other things on our long, and growing, list I have turned to a few of the brothers from my lodge. The members of the lodge represent a hugely diverse mix of occupations, professions, and specialties and while I don’t know what everyone does for a living (not at this point anyway) I know enough brothers whose knowledge and skills will be a tremendous help to me. So far, I have already been in touch with a few contractors, a couple of electricians, and an architect. All people whom I trust and know that they will do great work at a reasonable price.

This is the basic reason why it is so important to get to know the people in your life. Knowing what they do for a living can be a tremendous asset when you find yourself in need of their services. And you never know when they might need your assistance with a project. The most important thing is that we make sure to help, aid, or assist those in our life. Whenever given the opportunity, take the time to help someone. When you need help, don’t be afraid to reach out. This isn’t just something that applies to home ownership, it is a way to live your life. It just happens to help during times like these.

Sunday Search: Familiar Faces

When my mom and I were looking through some of the family photos last weekend there were a number of times when we could easily see some other family members in the faces of the ancestors who have long since left us. And it was interesting as to when it would hit us as there was really no guarantee whether the person’s name or the current counterpart would be thought of first. At the same time, there wasn’t any certainty as to which one of us would make the connection either.

In some instances my mom would tell me who someone was in the photo and then follow up with something along the lines of “I didn’t realize how much your cousin looks like her.” There were other times when I would see either an aunt, uncle, or cousin in one of the people and as soon as my mom told me who they were it made complete sense. And, of course, there were various combinations of this throughout our time with the album on the table in front of us.

While it is certainly clear to those who know my family, I get much of my looks from my father’s side of the family. However, in looking through the photos with my mom I could see a little piece of myself in some of the pictures. I noticed a couple of little things like my hair line and posture but what really stood out to me, which I knew of before, was the handwriting that was on the backs of many of the photos. While my looks may be predominantly from my dad’s side, my handwriting is, without question, from my mom’s side.

Sometimes these ties are really what make looking through old photos in particular so interesting. On the surface you are putting faces to names but on a completely different level you are finding yourself and many of your other family members in little pieces of the past. It just goes to show that your family, your whole tree, plays a big role in who you are regardless of what you might think. This, of course, is in addition to the obvious genetic traits that we carry. Sometimes it is in the simple things like looks but sometimes it can be in other ways like handwriting, the way you hold yourself, and your demeanor.

For better or worse, I kind of have a mix of all those things. There are little pieces from both sides that I carry with me every day. And I am certain that there are many other similarities that I have yet to discover with some of my ancestors. So you can look at genealogy as pulling together the family history or you can look at it as finding pieces of yourself. For me, it is definitely a little of both.

Filling In The Foliage In The Family Tree

The most recent addition to the family research...
the final resting place of Laura Belle Redcross and Marcellus Nickolas Love.

Over the weekend I spent some time talking with the other genealogist in the family, my aunt, about the impasse that we are now facing. We have both spent the last several years working on the family tree trying to fill in the leaves, trim the branches, and follow the roots as far as they will go. We are now at a point where all of the information that can be found online has been found, catalogued, and added to our tree. We are at a point when it is going to take a considerable increase in effort in order to achieve even the smallest of results…. traveling and physically searching for documents.

While that is a huge part of the ongoing work that we need to get done there is also a completely different task which we need to accomplish. For much of the family we have the documents, the lineage, the connections from A to B, and we know of events that occurred in their lives. However, there really is no narrative that has been written on each of the generations to give us some color and fill in what was happening not only in their lives but also what was happening in the world around them. Facts can only tell you so much. The story is what makes the person, for lack of an original term, come to life.

While you have all read about Jacob Wirth and his death aboard the USS Tecumseh which I wrote about back in November, I haven’t really done the work to tell some of the other interesting stories from the tree. Sure there have been plenty of lists like the ones I have compiled for the Sons of the American Revolution and outlining connections to the Monacan Indian Nation, I haven’t done my job as a story teller in recreating the lives, connections, and service in the family. And there are so many beyond those few that have previously been listed.

Sometimes it’s not about the events in their lives, sometimes it’s about the lives that they lived. While those lives may seem unremarkable to many, they are part of what made this family and guided us along the way. What if my grandfather never moved the family up to Pennsylvania from the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia? What if Samuel Ardis lived past 28 years old? What if my great grandparents never divorced? What if each of the immigrants just decided to stay put?

Obviously, we will ever know the real answers to the hypothetical questions. We will also never know if the stories we tell are completely accurate. But we can at least attempt to breathe life back into our ancestors and try to better understand the lives that they lived, the hardships they faced, and the decisions that they were forced to make. This should be interesting.

Thinking Back There Seems To Be Something Missing

Every week I am amazed at how fast time seems to be drifting by. Every once in a while I stop for a moment, look back, and think about all that I have been able to do, see, and accomplish. However, this time around, I noticed something missing from my memories.

Truth be told, I haven’t been able to attend a Rotary meeting since September or October and while I have done my best to keep up to date with everything going on (thanks in large part to the weekly phone messages from my club) there is still a gap in my memory. Obviously, there is a huge difference between experiencing something and simply hearing about it. And because I really only write about my thoughts and experiences, there has been a lack of Rotary related posts since the last time I was surrounded by my fellow Rotarians.

That is something else that I struggle with. While I am still an Honorary Rotarian, I am pretty far removed at this point from the goings on in my club and in my district. Personally, I don’t know if I should really be called a Rotarian. Don’t get me wrong, I take great pride in my affiliation, but I really can’t say that I am earning that honor at this point. That is how I honestly feel at this point. With that said, I still carry the Four Way Test with me as a reminder and I still have a plethora of pins that are used in a Rotary rotation but that has been about the limit of my connection over the past half year.

I’m not sure if my current situation is fair to my club and to all the great people that I have had the pleasure of getting to know since I originally became a member in August 2012. I consider them all great friends who have supported me during a difficult transition period in my career but, since getting things back on track, I have not been able to enjoy their company. However, that only accounts for the meetings. I have not kept in touch with the club as I should have been doing all along. For that, I really don’t have a reason or an excuse.

It just goes to show that for many of us if we are not present and active in a club, organization, or fraternity we gradually become a bit disconnected both from the entity and from the people. I saw everyone once a week for over a year and now I haven’t seen them for over 6 months. A group of people and organization that was once a large part of my recollection and reflection is not oddly absent. I think it is time to change that. At the very least, I should pick up the phone.

Shifting Priorities

When a door closes pick another one to open!

Yesterday was a hectic day at the office. Really nothing earth shattering in that statement. That pretty much sums up every day at work for me. But yesterday was a little different than most as it left me scrambling to adjust my list of priorities for the foreseeable future. Every PR firm has clients come and go. It is the nature of the business and something that is to be expected. While I prefer the former, the latter can sometimes free up some much needed time to ramp up other projects for other clients.

However, I absolutely hate seeing a client go especially when the business/product is something unique that is certainly going to continue to be a huge success. While there seems to be specific reasons for every client departure they vary greatly from company to company. The only thing we can do is make sure that things are taken care of on our end so that if the company does move on we can look at the decision as something that is out of our control.

I have seen and heard all different kinds of ‘reasons’. Sometimes it is a shift into a new direction, sometimes is a personal connection/contact they have with another firm, sometimes it is a matter of style. It all comes down to the fact that while from the outside PR can seem like an industry that is impersonal and monotonous or, more precisely described to me, “a business of repetitive acts both in form and practice” that really doesn’t come close to what we really do. Some have even said that it is easy.

For those that have any experience in the industry know just how personal this business can be if you truly invest in your work. Most days it is a one on one discussion during which you get to know the person on the other end of the phone, table, or computer screen. At the same time you are trying to bring them along on the story you are trying to tell. If you believe in your clients, you enjoy talking to people, and you respect the publications you are reaching out to this can be a very personal process.

A certain amount of pride and appreciation is experienced with every placement not because your name is anywhere in the text (as a PR professional you don’t want your name anywhere near the text) but because you have done your job and got the story out into the world. You do it for the client. The same can be said when you produce content for a client and you craft the messaging in such a way that grabs someone’s interest while hitting all the points that need to be addressed.

I guess this is why the creative side of me enjoys this field as much as it does. While there are undoubtedly routines in my day (like any industry or occupation) there is a tremendous amount of creative freedom and personality that, when applied properly, can produce exceptional results. And it is because this is such a personal profession for me I hate the few times I have experienced when a client has left. But when that does happen, as it just has, it does allow me to share that passion with another company and gives me the excuse to get to know a completely new group of people. So I guess you could say that it is both a really good and really bad situation but I am going to do my best to focus on the positive.