Daniel Hoyos - SNAP Program

Daniel Hoyos - SNAP Program

Recently we started a new program that is becoming very popular with our clients. It is called the SNAP Program. SNAP stands for Social Networking Action Plan. Under this plan we can help a company or business owner or anyone to stay on top of all these new Social Networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Biznik, MySpace, Plaxo, and blogs, too. Under the SNAP program we establish a web page at each of these sites, and then do daily monitoring for you. Daniel Hoyos is one of our interns who has decided to help us with this new program. For more info about the SNAP program, call 425-284-1900.

Naveen Jain - CEO of Intellius

Naveen Jain - CEO of Intellius

It was raining in Bellevue that day when I interviewed Naveen Jain, CEO of Intellius. I was there to interview Naveen for the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce for their Eastside Business Awards. Intellius was a finalist for two separate awards. One for Eastside Business of the Year and one for their philanthropic work. Naveen was very enthusiastic and powerful during our interview. I was impressed with the scope of the donations and charity work that Naveen has established with Intellius. To learn more about Naveen Jain and Intellius, go to www.intellius.com

Carla Corkern - CEO of Talyst

Carla Corkern - CEO of Talyst

I first was introduced to Talyst a couple of years ago when we were hired by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce for the Eastside Business Awards video. Talyst was a finalist and did win an award that year. Over the past couple of years we also were fortunate to do a couple of Case Study video productions for Casey Cram, the VP of Marketing for Talyst. This month the Bellevue Chamber asked us to do the new Eastside Business Awards video again for our third year. On the list of finalists again was Talyst. I drove over to Bellevue to capture some video footage and to interview the CEO of Talyst, Carla Corkern. I cannot tell you how much I was impressed with Carla. She is a bundle of enthusiastic energy about her company, her team, and her vision for the future. I always thought Talyst was onto something big with their work in automating pharmacies to eliminate mistakes in the delivery of prescriptions to people.

Carla recently was promoted from the COO of Talyst to their CEO. To learn more about Talyst, go to www.talyst.com

Dara Khosrowshahi - CEO of Expedia

Dara Khosrowshahi - CEO of Expedia

I drove over to downtown Bellevue to the new tall black building with the Expedia sign on it. I was there to take some video coverage of Expedia and to interview Expedia's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, for the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce. Expedia was a finalist for the Eastside Business of the Year Award. I was very impressed by Dara and his team at Expedia. Dara was very strong and confident during our interview. The Expedia team was incredible and hospitable as we went floor by floor interviewing people and capturing spontaneous moments. Everyone we met was genuine and seemed to be very happy to be there. I think I can sense why Expedia is so successful. It has very strong leadership and very strong people who really care about their work. Everyone was having a good time and they liked their work a lot. I think all American companies should model the positive success at Expedia and do what works: Happy People!

Bedford PA – Schneider National Trucking

Schneider National -- Bedford, PA

I drove up from Washington DC to Bedford, PA to interview some truckers who have been through the Excellent Cultures training programs. It was a beautiful morning. I was very impressed with the professionalism, energy, and hospitality of the team there at Schneider National. They gave testimonials about how the Excellent Cultures program had made a positive impact on their efficiencies, teamwork, and productivity. To learn more about the Excellent Cultures program, go to www.excellentcultures.com

Joe Denver - Veterans History Project - B-17 Pilot

B-17 "Flying Fortress"

I drove over to Ardmore, Pennsylvania to interview veteran Joe Denver. Joe was a B-17 pilot during World War II. I was met by his two sons. They were very excited to have me interview their father. The home was like a museum, with lots of great memorabilia from World War II. I also noticed they had a wall full of Civil War stuff. Since I had just visited the Gettysburg battleground, I was instantly moved to their Civil War area. The Denver family had a long tradition of serving in the US military. One of the Denvers served in the Civil War. They had his original gun, hat, and the bullet that killed him. I sat down with Joe with my HD video camera, set up a light and microphone, and then we talked. Joe was mostly blind, so I couldn't use my cue cards with my specialized 124 questions. So we just talked and I went through the questions one by one. Joe did a super job talking about the way things were during his lifetime, growing up in the Depression, serving as a B-17 pilot during WWII, and his life after the war. Joe is a super guy and a real character. He has strong values and as terrific memory for details. He has a great sense of humor, too.

Arlington National Cemetery -- Jimy's Parents

The main reason for the trip to Washington DC was to capture on video the internment of Mary and Byrd White into Arlington National Cemetery.

Mary and Byrd were the parents of a good friend, Jimy White. Both of his parents served during World War II. Mary was a nurse in the Navy and Byrd was a doctor and served in a MASH in the Army.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center -- Air & Space Museum - Dulles International Airport

The Flying Wing

P-61 "Black Widow"

I drove over to Dulles International Airport to see the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a new part of the Smithsonian Institute's National Air & Space Museum. The Center was named for its major donor, Steven Udvar-Hazy.

I was there to get some pictures and video footage of the famous "Black Widow P-61" and the "Flying Wing." Both of these aircraft were first flown by test pilot Johnny Myers years ago for Northrop. I am producing and directing a new documentary about the life and times of the great aviator Johnny Myers. Johnny Myers was a mentor to so many pilots. He passed away last year.

The P-61 was the first aircraft to primarily use radar and to fly at night during WWII. It was used at both the Battle of the Bulge and at Guadacanal.

The Flying Wing was really the early prototype for what eventually became the stealth bombers. Johnny Myers was the test pilot for the Flying Wings at Northrop.

Thanks to everyone at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for their hospitality.

RJ's Visit to Gettysburg

Gettysburg National Military Park

My friend Jimy White and my uncle Tom McHatton had Scrapple for breakfast, then loaded up in the rental car for a drive to see Gettysburg. I had seen the Gettysburg site almost 40 years ago when I was a kid. Jimy is a real history buff and he pushed us to make the two hour drive to see the battleground of Gettyburg. My memories as a kid told me that there wasn't much to see there, just open fields where once there was one of the worst battles in history. My uncle Tom told us that things had changed a bit over there in recent years.

We got more excited as we approached the signs to Gettysburg. It was a nice and warm day. We drove up to the main Gettysburg museum site where we went through some exhibits, the gift store, watched an IMAX video about Gettysburg, and then we watched an incredible multimedia presentation in a giant round room where we call one of the world's largest paintings come alive. I never knew about the giant round painting of Gettysburg. It is called the Gettysburg Cyclorama Painting. It was orginally painted in the late 1800s by French artist Paul Philippoteaux. It is almost 400 feet in length and in the round room, you feel you are actually in the middle of the Gettysburg battle. I really recommend you see and experience this if you ever get a chance. Its worth the time to see this incredible artifact come to life.

Then Jimy, Tom, and I jumped in our rental car to take the Car Tour of the actual Gettysburg battle. We had purchased a set of CDs which has stopping points marked along a driving route throughout the battleground. The CDs tell you the real story of what happened at each location. This was the best part of the day, and we were really sad to see the sun fall into darkness. I learned more about the Gettysburg battle and the real people who fought and died there. I recommend you take the audio tour, because you will never look at Gettysburg the same way ever. We drove back that night to my uncle's house and we could not stop talking about the great time we had at Gettysburg. We saw the spot where Abraham Lincoln gave that famous speech. We saw where the Picketts Charge happened. We saw Little Round Top and saw the view from where Robert E Lee watched the battle, and watched his forces fall.

General John Dailey -- Smithsonian Institute - Air & Space Museum

General John R. Dailey -- Director at the Smithsonian Institute - National Air & Space Museum.

I drove up to Washington DC from Baltimore. It was raining in Baltimore, but the sun was shining in DC. There must be something huge happening in DC because there are kids and buses everywhere. I circled around until my GPS took me to the entrance of the National Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institute. I was there to interview the Director of the Museum, General John R. Dailey, for my new documentary "The Flying Man" about the legendary test pilot Johnny Myers. Johnny Myers once was a board member at the Smithsonian and General Dailey had become a close friend of Johnny.

My interview with General Dailey went very well. He talked about the wisdom and character of Johnny Myers and how each had a unique view on aviation history. Johnny Myers was a test pilot, and John Dailey was a four star general, a Marine pilot with over 6000 hours of flying experience including fighter planes and helicopters. General Dailey had flown over 400 combat missions in Vietnam. He earned numerous awards, including the Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Vietnam Gallantry Cross. After Vietnam, Dailey continued his dedication to his country by working his way up to General. He also worked in the top leader positions at NASA and the Marine Command. Now John Dailey is the Director of the Smithsonian Institute's National Air & Space Museum.

I was really moved and impressed by my interview with John. He is truly a nice guy, and he gave me a great interview about Johnny Myers. I would like to return soon to interview General Dailey about his own personal life story. When you meet some of these heroic people, its sometimes hard to believe that this person did all these incredible achievements. It makes you realize that we are all people and that anyone can be a hero if they dedicate themselves to others.

I learned a lot in my short interview with General John Dailey. I asked myself what can I do to serve others and sacrifice for others, the way General Dailey has done his entire life.

Karen Ridlon -- Founder of Eastside Baby Corner

Karen Ridlon--Founder of Eastside Baby Corner

Producer Bill Maxwell and I drove over to Issaquah to interview Karen Ridlon, founder of Eastside Baby Corner, for the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce's annual Eastside Business Awards. The Eastside Baby Corner had been nominated under the Non-Profit category.

Bill and I were totally surprised and impressed with Karen and the wonderful team of volunteers working diligently there at Eastside Baby Corner. I had never heard of EBC before this meeting. EBC has been around over 18 years. The warehouse was full of volunteers and lots of clothing, toys, etc dedicated to the needy kids we don't think about sometimes. Karen told us that the EBC focuses on the needs of kids from birth to the age of 12. EBC works to organize and distribute materials to over 100 other non-profit agencies around the Puget Sound area. Some of the agencies benefiting from EBC's work is Hopelink and Head Start. Items distributed include things like baby formula, car seats, beds, cribs, bedding and diapers. My eyes grew big and started tearing up as I saw the incredible enthusiasm from the volunteers and how this EBC was really making a difference. I asked myself "How could I not have heard of EBC before?" You can learn more about the Eastside Baby Corner at www.babycorner.org