Do as I say, not as I do...

Greetings Internet "fans". As you can see from the date of this post (and the date of my previous post), it's been a while since my update. Therein lies the message for my title because as an "Internet Consultant" what I tell my clients is that if they are going to have a blog, they need to get in the habit of creating posts on a regular basis - and by regular I'm not talking about every month and a half. What's the saying that comes to mind... "The Cobbler's children have no shoes" or something like that. Well, here's my quick attempt to "catch up" and chat about all that's happened in the past several weeks so that we're all on the same page.

MBA Annual Convention
I've actually lost track of how many times I've been to Mackinac Island and the Grand Hotel for the banking convention since we have been going since I was a kid. My father (banker) attended these every year and when we were not staying with the grandparents, we got to go to "the Grand" and enjoy what I dare say is one of Michigan's coolest places. What's not to like, fudge, "fresh" air and bikes galore. This year's convention marked the first one I attended as a "non-banker" but I felt right at home and it was great to see all my "banker buddies". Many asked how the new business was going and I was pleased to be able to say (honestly) very well! I pinch myself in the morning that I get to do what I do...

Website Award Nomination
Speaking of banking and my "new job", I was excited to find out that one of my site projects for Isabella Bank in Mt. Pleasant, MI was selected as a finalist in WSI's Web Awards contest. Their new site was picked as the best financial services site and was one of only a handful of sites selected out of the thousands of sites that WSI Internet Consultants from all over the world had created over the past year. Voting is limited to only WSI employees, but that means that my peers are reviewing my work and makes it even more special to be recognized by the folks that I work with on a regular basis. The "Grand Prize Winner" will be announced at our E&I (Excellence and Innovation) convention in September, so keep your fingers crossed for me. E&I is in Vegas this year, so maybe lady luck will be on my side...

Thomas Team Visit - Ohio
We got away for a quick weekend and headed to Port Clinton, Ohio to visit the Thomas Team. We had a blast and spent the day at Put-In-Bay to listen to Pete and Wayne (not for the faint of heat, mind you), got to get in a great bike ride with Shayne and enjoyed the annual drive-through safari park. Good thing Shayne drove because the animals really don't have much regard for interior cleanliness and by the time we left the park, much of the food they sell you to feed the animals ends up on the floor of your vehicle. We always get a great laugh out of our time at the park and come away with at least a few "did you see that" moments.

CBAO Annual Convention
Saturday, August 9th marked my first "outside of Michigan" bank speaking engagement when I presented at the CBAO's Annual Convention in Chicago. I spoke on Internet strategies for community bankers and got lots of great comments, questions and opportunities to be spending a lot more time in the buckeye state. Special thanks to CBAO staff for taking such great care of my wife and me for the weekend and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to get more involved with that organization in the months ahead.

Thomas Team Visit/Vacation
Yup, you're reading it right. We got to see the Thomas Team twice in th past couple of months and they recently joined us for the start of our vacation up to Houghton Lake. The weather was great and we enjoyed the pontoon, WaveRunners, got in a couple of bike rides, the ladies got out for a couple of walks and the dogs loved having Shayla around to take care of them the entire weekend. After they left for Ohio, we continued to enjoy great weather and I worked in the mornings until early afternoon and then took some time to get away and enjoy some time with Alicia and the "kids".

Here Comes September...
So, where did the summer go? Seems like we were just getting ready for Memorial Day and now Labor Day is right around the corner. We'll be headed up north again for the 3-day holiday weekend and are hoping for more warm weather so I can continue to practice my "pontoon captain" technique.

Trying to look at speed at which the summer has flown by with the "half-full" perspective, I guess you can say time flies when you are having fun. I'm really enjoying my "new life" as an Internet Consultant with WSI and am looking forward to our upcoming E&I Conference and meeting many of the folks that, up until this point, I've only been able to talk with on the phone or over Skype chat. We have some great sessions planned in areas like social media, web 2.0 optimization, local search and so much more. We've also got upcoming conferences for the MACB and MAR as well, so the momentum will continue until we get to October. Hopefully I'll do a better job of updating my blog - but remember, do as I say, not as I do (grin).

Until next time...
Eric