Marketing Packet
How do you create a cohesive and desirable marketing packet? This is the question I'm posed with now as the completion of both the foundation brochure and DVD near. What is the best way to present these two items to the public? It's a very, very important decision to make, and one that's a little strange to me as well. When you're working on big projects like this, there's always a tendency to feel that when you're done, you're done; however, that's obviously not the case. Now that the brochure and DVD are almost done, I must tackle these new questions. It's a reminder that I always need to be forward thinking and not just locked in the present tasks. So, now I need to think about this marketing question...
Logan
Brochure
We'll have a foundation brochure for everyone to look at very soon. It's a piece I'm real excited about because it relays in one swoop what the foundation is and what we do. A concise but thorough guide about the foundation is something that we've needed for a while, and this brochure is exactly that. Both visually and literally it will allow the public a window into the Forest Foundation. Plus, it'll look good too.
Logan
Today's Schmooze Room
The Forest Foundation has been sponsoring an amazing program for the past two years. its called the Schmooze Room and it is based out of the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara. It is a activity based luncheon for Jewish Seniors and the Forest Foundation is responsible for creating programs each week. Today's progream was "Summer Fun Day" and the seniors participated in activities like cherry seed spitting contests and shooting water guns at toy soldiers. For more information about the schooze Room check out the websit.
Jordan
Summer Reading
The full-time staff of the foundation are starting something new this summer: every two weeks, we are each responsible for reading a book that will contribute in some manner to our personal growth and reporting on the book to the rest of the group. I think this a great idea because , as I've written before, the more self awareness we have the better we'll do in all aspects of daily life. This includes our jobs. It's a practice that we have extended to our program directors for quite some time and no we're taking a crack at it ourselves. I normally wouldn't read these types of books myself, so I think it's a good opportunity to find if I've been missing out on something and how I can make my life better.
Logan
Book Editing
The book about the Forest Foundation that I've spent the last several months writing is now in its final stages. I'm editing and rewriting large portions, and doing so has turned out to be quite an impressive task. It turned out to be a lot more difficult to write a book than I thought. I still loved doing it, but it wasn't easy. I guess maybe I thought too short-term, like the composition of the book would be comparable to that of an essay, and I was way off. I have to take time with the editing to make sure I get the book the way I want it.
Logan
Hot!
It is extremely hot here in Santa Barbara. Days like this really make me happy I have the freedom that this job allows. Rather than work in the office without air conditioning, I can go to a nice cool spot and get my work done. Hope everyone can find a way to stay cool today.
Logan
DVD Meeting
I meet with Aaron Schiff to discuss how his work on the Forest Foundation DVD is going today. I have very high hopes for this DVD; I think it'll turn out really well in Aaron's hands. I'm more excited though because it'll give people a first hand view of what actually happens in the foundation. Rather than tell people about our work, now people can see it. The DVD comes out in August.
Logan
Music
Music is a great asset to work. Whenever I'm typing something up for the foundation or creating a new document, I have music playing to both inspire and motivate me. I know a lot of people would probably say that music on the job is a distraction, but I feel that my job is much more enjoyable and productive when music is playing. Of course, this probably isn't the case for everyone, and I don't think one could say that everyone should be able to play music at their desk. But for me, it helps, and whatever helps you in your job is worth continuing.
Logan
Website
Websites are tricky things to work on. As soon as you get something up that you like, it's almost as if that look is outdated. And aside from just the aesthetics of a site, you have to think about user accessibility and pleasure. Our web designer, Richard Sloven, works very hard to maintain an engaging, informative, up-to-date website for the foundation. I come at him almost daily with new posts to put up or new ideas to tinker with the look, and he always jumps right on board to get everything done right and quickly. Soon we'll have a new look to our website, and when you all see it, or other sites as well, think for a moment about the work that went into making that site what it is. It's no easy task.
Logan
Summer Pace
I like the pace of the summer, it's nice. We're not absolutely overloaded like it felt at times during spring quarter; rather, I think we have a nice mix of programs and projects running for the foundation right now. I know for myself, I've been able to focus intently on specific tasks this past month like I wasn't able to do before. But that's my preference, as I'm a little bit of a perfectionist and like to take my time with things so that I know they're done exactly as I envisioned them. Not to say that the bustle of the school yeat isn't invigorating or fun, because it is, but the summertime pace is a little bit more my style. Hopefully you are all enjoying your summer as well.
Logan
Lauren
Lauren's back! Lauren is our administrative assistant at the Forest Foundation HQ, and she left for about a month to do some traveling, but she's back now and we're all the better for it. She keeps the sanity in the office and adds a great female presence to our workplace. I can't put into words how much her help means to us, and I'd just like to say Welcome Back Lauren! It's great to have her.
Logan
Schmooze Room
One of our programs that's carrying on through the summer is the Schmooze Room, and today's program is karoake. It's a great chance for all the seniors to show off their singing skills that others might not know about. Karoake's a great program idea because it's a social activity that builds self-confidence and brings people together. The idea itself stemmed from the full-time staff's love of a karoake night at a local bar. So the Schmooze Room continues to be a great program that persists holding weekly meetings year round.
Logan
Writer's Block
Writer's block, that's what I've got today. It's strange when I get writer's block, because a large part of my job with the Forest Foundation is to solely handle writing. So when I get it, I feel as if I'm not doing my job, which in turn makes me try force writing something even harder, which then only compounds the problem. It's a huge catch-22 and extremely, extremely annoying and frustrating to me. I know it comes with the territory, but that still doesn't mean I have to like it. What's worse is that I took the entire weekend to think about what I would write today, had everything all planned out, and now I can't find the spark at all to actually put into written words what I spent the last 48 hours planning. Only time cures writer's block, and in the meantime I have to just wait it out. What a relief it'll be when it's over, but who knows how long that will take.
Success in all your endeavors.
Logan
Jordan's Birthday
A big happy birthday today from the Forest Foundation to our very own Jordan Fruchtman. Jordan today has reached the ripe old age of 24. I've had the pleasure of knowing Jordan for the past six years, as we both became easy friends during a freshmen year at UCSB. It's been terrific working with him for the past several months. A lot of people tend to have the impression that working with your friends would put a strain on your relationship, but that hasn't happened between Jordan and I. If anything, our friendship has made our work smoother and more efficient than it would be otherwise. So I just wanted to wish Jordan a happy birthday today, and here's to many more good times into the future.
Logan
DVD
I met with Aaron Schiff this morning and we went over what he has created so far for the Forest Foundation DVD. He has edited together a four minute introductory piece for the DVD. It looks great, but my favorite part about it is the creativity Aaron has brought. I can already tell that he's putting not just his head into the DVD's creation, but his heart as well. I can't wait for everyone to be able to see this DVD.
