Farm Bellewood

Bellewood is officially a farm with my new yard mates. I have named them Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Kabob.  Any of my concerned Anchorage neighbors have Stuart and Michele Ray to thank for their rooster-sharing generosity.   

Day 1.  
5:15 a.m.   They are talkative little critters, aren't they.

8:30 a.m.  I don't necessarily believe that seven roosters is better than one.

10:45 a.m.    Stuart Ray has changed his cell phone number.  

Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School Meets Opporteen!

Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School Dean Jim Bradford

Spent today in Nashville working the streets with Opporteen!  Working to define how the program best plays out at The University Level in Nashville.  Thank you Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School Dean Jim Bradford, and Owen Professor Dawn Iacobucci, for taking the time to meet me, hearing my Opporteen story, and for your thoughts about the program!  I appreciate and value input from everyone at the university level, especially those from one as prestigious as The Owen Graduate School at Vanderbilt.   Opporteen's success is dependent on acceptance by and involvement of university leadership and faculty.   I'm grateful for your insight and look forward to sharing more.

Village Anchor Celebrates It's Third Best Restaurant In Louisville Award in Three Years!

I'm not a late night kinda guy, but last night was the exception!  'Til early this morning, The Village Anchor and Sea Hag teams celebrated its third Best Restaurant in Louisville award!  This one by the readers of Leo Magazine with their 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards--taking first, second or third place in Nine of the 50  categories, Including Best Restaurant In The City! 

With 30,000 votes cast, The Village Anchor won more than any other restaurant in the history of the Awards!  Thanks to Everyone for Making The Village Anchor The Best Dining Experience In The City! Here’s how it played out:

Best Restaurant in Louisville, First Place!
Best Restaurant for Outdoor Dining in Louisville: First Place!
Best Chef In Louisville: Second Place (Geoffrey Heyde)
Best Wine List in Louisville: Second Place
Best Place for a Romantic Dinner in Louisville: Second Place, (The Anchor Lanai)
Best French Fries in Louisville: Second Place (Sweet Potato Fries with Marshmallow Dipping Cream)
Best Hot Brown in Louisville: Third Place  (The Pulled Chicken Hotter Brown)
Best Breakfast/Brunch in Louisville: Third Place (The Sunday Village Brunch and Red Velvet Pancakes With Cream Cheese Filling)
Best Dessert in Louisville: Third Place (Myra's Banana Pudding)

THANKS TO OUR GREAT TEAM, OUR GREAT CUSTOMERS AND ESPECIALLY LEO WEEKLY FOR CONDUCTING THE SURVEY!

In 2013 I Will Learn To Ride and Use My Stable

Much fun this weekend at Dan Ison and Debbie Holloway 's Simpsonville Ranch.  I've decided that I am committed to learning how to ride in 2013, and I'm dedicated to putting two horses in my own twin-spire 100-year-old stable next year!  I need help with fencing.....any takers?

Phoenix, Opporteen and 100,000 Students

Nearly 50 percent of the junior and seniors in Phoenix are
Latino, African American or American Indian

Check out the view from my room in Scottsdale, Ariz. this morning.  I'm there this week to meet with folks in The Phoenix/Maricopa School System to get feedback on Opporteen and how it can affect minority markets. There are approximately 100,000 high school junior and seniors in Phoenix, and nearly 50% of them are either Latino, American Indian or African American. An element of Opporteen is being built specifically to address these important segments. Please like us and friend us! And follow my blog at http://kevingrangierusa.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday, Dad! 72!

Happy birthday, Dad, who celebrated 72 years with family and friends last night at The Village Anchor!  Thanks, also, to the kitchen for a fabulous meal and an amazing chocolate gananche raspberry cake!

Opporteen's High School Teen Leadership Panel Says Communicating With The Counselor Is One Thing; "Time To Assist" Is Another

More than 1 million students drop out of high school
each year.  Opporteen is designed to directly impact these
students at no cost to schools, students or the system

I came across this Huffington Post piece that shares the importance of asking what students think to enjoy more satisfying outcomes.  http://ow.ly/ejf5S   It points out the age-old and common-sense approach to understanding the customer -- know where their heads are and what it is that influences their actions at the most fundamental levels -- information that those of us as marketers have known--and relied upon--for decades. 

As I've only been in the restaurant business for short of three years, I can tell you that customer feedback is the foundation of its success, having been named the best restaurant in the City by many groups three years running.  I can also say that the food business is no different than any other--you have a product, a customer, employees, interaction at some level, issues, a changing environment, and a thousand things competing for headspace.  While I can't think of any other industry that has as many touch points, I would suggest that education with its student/parent customer base runs a close second.

Interestingly, Opporteen's leadership panel (Opporteam) which consists of 103 junior and senior high school students across Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, was polled about the subject just a few weeks back.  93% of the team says that students' thinking about their futures are not directly asked and, more importantly, the majority of those believe that what is said falls upon deaf ears or isn't acted upon.

So it begs the question of which is more important?  Reaching a student who doesn't believe the process or what it is you have to say, or transitioning the student's thinking to trusting what it is you are saying and making respectful how it is you are trying to say it.

We know that students today enjoy a freedom to think and do as never before, and a level of independence that is, while bothersome in this writer's opinion, prevalent to the point of no return.  

Among its many objectives, Opporteen is designed to leverage students' independence to think and do, and to connect with those beyond the walls of their schools who can make a difference in their lives.  Non-profit Opporteen is an independent resource that motivates students to connect with people who can enlighten them to opportunity and, in some form, hope for their futures -- something that by nature will always be difficult for schools to accomplish--simply given their massive responsibility and the resources available to them to get there.

Please like and follow us on Facebook at Opporteen, or my blog at kevingrangierusa.blogspot.com, and learn how Opporteen helps students to communicate with counselors and schools, and how the outside world (you and I) can influence the futures of our next generation.  

Thanks to EVERYONE who is helping to make Opporteen a reality that will effect so many.