Many of you know that I'm retired Coast Guard. I wanted to share with you this greeting from our active duty Coasties. I'm not so sure these days that I would be so cheerful about going out in the snow!
By the way. Have you seen the series "Coast Guard in Alaska" on the Weather Channel?
Awards and Engraving ...
Now Part of What We Do!
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Great News!
As of September 1, Crystalake Engravers will operate as a division of Allegra of Tysons Corner. Crystalake, which has been in business in Vienna since 1975, will relocate its production resources and employees to the convenient Allegra facility in Tysons Corner.
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"This is really a good fit" said Dave Young, Allegra's owner. "In addition to bringing in work that we typically subcontract, there are opportunities to complement services to our respective customers and even offer new products to our customers."
Crystalake's founder, Todd Meloy is equally excited about this merger. "This gives us a chance to expand our product and service line. While Allegra has previously outsourced much of their engraved product business, our equipment and skills bring these capabilities on site and their marketing, design and printing capabilities perfectly complement the Awards and Recognition business." Todd will remain with Allegra in the capacity of business and market development.
Lets get acquainted!
We invite our Crystalake customers to become acquainted with Allegra. We're part of a nationwide partnership with 500 locations which have the strength and diversity of skills to meet nearly any business communications challenge. We know that you have trusted Crystalake to create and produce your very important awards in recognition of employee or sports team performance. As for our "old" Allegra customers, please ask us about these new products and services. We're sure that our related skills and experience will strengthen your confidence in us.
Mary Ann and I went to the Bridgepoint Connections Mixer at Chima last night. Thanks to Phil Kratovil of the Vienna Presbyterian Church for putting this together.
I have to admit that it was a bit noisy, and at one point someone asked me what I did, I virtually had to shout back “printer”.
His eyes lit up and he asked “what demonination?”
OK, after one beer I get a bit flippant and so responded “Twenty dollar bills”.
His face took on a clouded look and he said “what church was that you’re from?” It turns out that he thought I said “preacher”, not "printer". An exchange of business cards quickly solved the communication issue.
Since this was a networking group with several new members, I passed out my "24 Networking Tips That Actually Work". This is available in our Resources/Articles section of this web site.
Beautifully filmed, what might have been a dry technical explanation is instead a mesmerizing look at what goes into color, gloss, and consistency. Suddenly, I feel an urge to play with fingerpaints.
I dropped in on our Fairfax County Economic Development Authority Offices this morning. They held the first of a series of workshops on Marketing Communications Essentials presented by Siddall and the Hodges Partnership. Today's topic was "Building Your Brand" and while it wasn't imperative that learn how to establish a brand (I am one over 500 locations in the Allegra Network franchise), there is always something to learn to pass on to my customers who DO need to design and establish an identity.
One thing I rediscovered: What you believe may NOT be what is perceived by the customer. All the more reason to keep in touch, keep asking and keep adapting.
Besides, the coffee and donuts were good. And I met an old customer that has started her own business (again). That's always good for a hug!
If this workshop is any example, the rest of the series will be informative - I highly recommend it. See the rest of the schedule here at
fairfaxcountyeda.org.