Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Missouri Tour II Begins! (With a slight detour...)
This week, I begin my 2nd long tour in the "Show Me State"...I will be in Missouri for almost 3 weeks this time, with stops in the Central, Southwest, West, Southeast, and Northeast parts of the state. In other words...I'm gonna be all OVER the place!
But first, we have a bit of unfinished business up in the Dairyland State, Wisconsin. Schools in WI are quite fortunate as there are a number of state agencies that reaaly see the value of what we are doing in these shows. So much so, that I am being brought up into WI several times over the next month to help our Youth Speaker Tech up here cover them all. So today, I found myself crossing the Wisconsin state line on I-90 headed towards Dodgeville, a city of just over 4,000. I'll be presenting shows at the High School in the morning, and the Elementary School in the afternoon.
I love driving in Wisconsin, the topography is varied and diverse...so once you get off the Interstates, there are few dull moments. I found myself going up and down g
entle rises, down state routes cut through rock hills, and even catching glimpses of...rainbows? It is not as visible in this photo, but if you look carefully in the center, you will see...well, a piece of a rainbow! I was driving West, the sun was at about 11 o'clock, and there in front of me, hanging in the sky- there it was. Only in Wisconsin- I love it. After about a 3 hour drive, 
I arrived in Dodgeville, and shortly after, the Super 8 on North Johns Street. I'll be hanging my hat here tonight- and it is a nice place to hang your hat if I do say so
(well, the only place...but that's another story). No pool, but a fine whirlpool tub- so if you will excuse me, I am going to relax for a bit in the whirlpool before having my Girl Scout Cookie dessert (yes, they are in and if you ordered some, you'll be getting them soon) and hitting the hay for tonight...later!
But first, we have a bit of unfinished business up in the Dairyland State, Wisconsin. Schools in WI are quite fortunate as there are a number of state agencies that reaaly see the value of what we are doing in these shows. So much so, that I am being brought up into WI several times over the next month to help our Youth Speaker Tech up here cover them all. So today, I found myself crossing the Wisconsin state line on I-90 headed towards Dodgeville, a city of just over 4,000. I'll be presenting shows at the High School in the morning, and the Elementary School in the afternoon.
I love driving in Wisconsin, the topography is varied and diverse...so once you get off the Interstates, there are few dull moments. I found myself going up and down g
entle rises, down state routes cut through rock hills, and even catching glimpses of...rainbows? It is not as visible in this photo, but if you look carefully in the center, you will see...well, a piece of a rainbow! I was driving West, the sun was at about 11 o'clock, and there in front of me, hanging in the sky- there it was. Only in Wisconsin- I love it. After about a 3 hour drive, 
I arrived in Dodgeville, and shortly after, the Super 8 on North Johns Street. I'll be hanging my hat here tonight- and it is a nice place to hang your hat if I do say so
(well, the only place...but that's another story). No pool, but a fine whirlpool tub- so if you will excuse me, I am going to relax for a bit in the whirlpool before having my Girl Scout Cookie dessert (yes, they are in and if you ordered some, you'll be getting them soon) and hitting the hay for tonight...later!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Kansas Unit School District #3- Kansas, IL
I said goodbye to Decatur this morning about 9:30am after spending 3 great days there. If you ever come to the area, be sure to stay at the Ramada Limited & Suites- it is a fantastic facility.
My 1-1/2 hour drive took me to the town of Kansas, IL (pop. 820), a little over an hour SW of Champaign. It is the home of the Kansas Unit School District #3, which is an all-in-one building for the area's K-12th grade. The total student body there is about 200-ish, 91 of which is 7th-12th! While the school may be small physically, they make up for it in spirit.
I had a great team of HS guys that helped me setup...it was a kind of unique setup as we placed the screens on the stage, and had the projectors behind seating chairs on the floor, which meant using the the projector stands fully extended. The result was kind of cool though as it gave the room a (kind of) movie theater-like feel. We showed Attitude of Gratitude to the K-6th graders, and Fearless to the 7th-12th graders. Both were received well, and a lot of thank-you's were received.
A little after 3pm, I was packed up and ready for the trip home. It was a long day, but satisfying. Tomorrow we go to a local show, in Plainfield, IL.
My 1-1/2 hour drive took me to the town of Kansas, IL (pop. 820), a little over an hour SW of Champaign. It is the home of the Kansas Unit School District #3, which is an all-in-one building for the area's K-12th grade. The total student body there is about 200-ish, 91 of which is 7th-12th! While the school may be small physically, they make up for it in spirit.
I had a great team of HS guys that helped me setup...it was a kind of unique setup as we placed the screens on the stage, and had the projectors behind seating chairs on the floor, which meant using the the projector stands fully extended. The result was kind of cool though as it gave the room a (kind of) movie theater-like feel. We showed Attitude of Gratitude to the K-6th graders, and Fearless to the 7th-12th graders. Both were received well, and a lot of thank-you's were received.
A little after 3pm, I was packed up and ready for the trip home. It was a long day, but satisfying. Tomorrow we go to a local show, in Plainfield, IL.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
McGaughy Elementary School - Mt. Zion, IL
After a relaxing day off (where I turned the brain off for awhile and did something I don't get to do often, watch mind-numbing amounts of TV) it was time to get back in the groove. My travels today took me to a small community about 25 minutes Southeast of Decatur...Mt. Zion, IL. Admittedly, this was an easy day- 1 school, 1 show and I didn't have to be there until 12 noon! Life is SO hard sometimes. :-)
One of the most notable claims this community has is immediately evident on entering town- the PPG Works 14, a large glass plant that sits on the outskirts of Mt. Zion. The plant is probably a full city block long and then some!
This school was one that got canceled due to the cold and snowy weather that was had in Central IL a few weeks ago, so it was good to get here to finally present Attitude of Gratitude. After checking in at the office, I was met by my 5 squirrely but very eager helpers. Together, we got everything setup in about an hour or so (this was partially due to my having a not so weak headache that was not responding to the dose of Motrin I took before leaving the hotel.)As I was finishing setup, I was approached by a photographer from the local Mt. Zion paper who wanted to ask a few questions about the show and what Motivational Productions does. Wow! Appearantly they like to heavily cover the school activities in town. I chatted with him for a bit while I finished...I can't wait to see if this results in an article for MoPro!
The show went great, and I got several compliments from staff members...and the kids! I was walking through the main hall from the office after getting a signature, and was having a great time time with the kids as I left...that 'rock star' treatment that you sometimes get- it felft good to get 'thank you's' and high fives from the kids. It's one of the things that makes the job worth it. :-)
Tomorrow, I move on to the last city in this swing through Central Illinois...Kansas (IL). See you then...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A Day Off!
Had a nice day off today...I normally don't get to watch a *lot* of TV, so I kinda vegged in front of the TV while I worked and played games on my laptop. After dinner, I took a swim. It was a nice relaxing day!
Monday, February 2, 2009
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