Uncle Ralph Turns 90!

Grand Rapids, Michigan – June 1, 2019 – 80 people gathered to enjoy a birthday party for Ralph and Ruth Johnson.

Aunt Ruth invited friends, extended family, and next of kin to Reds at Thousand Oaks just off the East Beltline 5 miles North of I-96. We enjoyed a Champagne toast, salad, roast beef, chicken, and cake. A friendly “Share a Sentiment and Roast” followed where family and friends shared encouraging words about Ralph.

Then 41 West and the Koulband kicked in from 7 to 9p. Steve Azkoul played guitar. Dominique Azkoul played bass. Luke Noordyk also sat in on bass. Steve’s friend sang. Bennie Keys played the drums. And I had a ball rockin’ my 1948 vintage Hotrod Hammond BV with Trek Percussion, and Twin Tube 144 Leslies with 147 amps.

We played the Good ole tunes like Mercy Mercy, Fly Me To The Moon, Sweet Potatoe, This Masquerade, Have You Seen The Rain, Spooky and many more. Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ralph even were inspired to dance together.

Happy 90th Uncle Ralph!

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Sunday 41West Band Live Downtown Marquette

41West band logo from www.41West.org

MarquetteJuly 20, 2017 – I am excited for Sunday morning because the band is back together.

This Sunday 41West is playing as a 5 piece live at the Presbyterian Church downtown Marquette.

Todd Noordyk’s recent setup while playing in Gwinn

Pastor Jenny Cammarata and Bill Houghton Sn., along with Pastor Nick Cammarata all helped us setup Thursday evening and work the bugs out and we are ready for casual worship.

Bill Houghton Jr. will be rockin the drums.
Gene Uuro has a great sounding Lead Guitar.
It’s Cool Hand Luke Noordyk on the bass.
Plus Naomi sings like a bird.
I’ll have the Hammond B3 and my SAX on site

So come by & hear a Good Talk With Nick, and enjoy some fun loving music. It begins at 9:45am right next to the Landmark Inn on Front Street downtown Marquette.

If you like the fun sounds of Eva Cassidy and Mavis Staples and Lincoln Brewster, you will enjoy the Sunday service.

I hope to see yah on Front Street at 9:45a.

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Trump’s Amazing 100 Days

April 29, 2017 – on Day 100, media’s big story this morning is ​Trump’s 100 day Summary.  The summary is out. CBN and Fox News contributors say Trump has had numerous successes.

With Trump’s new opening bid tax reform plan details came out this week showed the plan helping the middle class the most, reducing 7 brackets to 3, and no estate tax. I noticed the markets peaked to the highest levels ever this past week.  So apparently the financial community is positive on Trump’s tax effort.

The Rule Of Law is back. Fox reports Border Crossings are down 70%. There’s No wall yet. But it is still slated to be paid for by Mexico. In some areas even though there’s no wall, crossings have a 70-90% drop. It’s because of Donald’s stance of “No More” unlike Obama’s Welcome Sign. The word is out in Mexico “No More.”

I would say the world has been put on notice, largely because of Donald’s solid stance on human dignity and human rights. His strong statement like saying No to Syria, and his solid people like Rex and Jim matters alot. For example China’s cooperation is up with China tuening in our favor now putting pressurer on North Korea. Our military team has disabled a few recent launches including this morning missel launch in North Korea nixed. Motivating China to work on our behalf or the world’s behalf is unprecedented.

30 some bills have been passed plus Donald’s some 12+ executive orders repealing past regulations, including lessing the war on coal, and lessening back yard ditches for the EPA, the pipeline, drilling, is making processes better for those needing help.

Despite so many national media outlets, outside of conservative Radio, it seems only FOX News and CBN actually reports both positively and negatively on Trump. 

A new justice, jobs comng back, allowing ICE to do their job, reforming the VA, and even straightening out trade announcements this week with Canada,  fortunately Donald is still moving forward daily, and remains very positive and directed. I guess the sky didn’t fall, there’s over 300,000 new jobs and our economy if working better, and there’s more hope.  I kinda agree woth the guy in Virigian Beach having breakfast this morning and drinking coffee said, “Go Donald”!

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Mow Like A Pro With An Altoz

Marquette –  April 24, 2017 – Join the GLR team with your business advertising affordablly and Mow Down THE Competing with our $10,853 Mow Like A PRO Giveaway. Have customers visit your store to win this mower. Call Joe, Bill, Adam, Jerry, Bruce or Todd at GLR and get in the action. Dial 906-228-6800

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Wild Spring Nites Bring Fresh White Stuff Weekly In April

April 22, 2017 – We have had a few hints of spring in Marquette with nicer weekends.  But over the past two weeks, it seems like Monday is a real MOnday MOnday.  So Tuesday morning we are snow packed. But then it’s all better Wednesday morning with a Sunny Sunrise. Plus it’s time to save money on the weeks Shopping Show at 9am.  This 24 hour swing though from 63 degrees to 33 is a real bender for the mind.

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Newberry Motors Owner Kevin Vanetta On The Move

Newberry – Thursday April 20, 2017  – I had a fun and enlightening tour of the brand new Body Shop in Newberry. This is a State Of The Art Collission Repair Facility that is just about completed at Newberry Motors. Owner Kevin Vanetta has invested heavily in the old bowling alley next door and has created a safe, worker friendly Collission Repair Facility that will make your car look factory again after a fender bender. Good things are happening at Newberry Motors. Watch for grand opening in Newberry very soon.

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Six Inches Of Fresh Snow

April 21, 2017 brought a fresh batch of snow in the woods by Negaunee Township’s Dead River Basin. All I can say is ,!@##^%52&&* and Wow”

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25th Anniversary and Beyond

 Marquette  – August 25, 2015  –  Great Lakes Radio, Inc. continues to enjoy prosperity and success in the local Upper Peninsula market with strong tools-staff-clients-listeners.  We have “Pennies from Heaven” come our way daily.  From a client perspective new buys come in daily and new clients join our fold often.  We also retain a good percentage of our older trusted guard of clients.  We are very thankful for that.

We create lines for clients like at Applebee's.

We create lines for clients like at Applebee’s.

Listener wise, we’ve never been stronger. Listeners call, visit our studios, email us, visit our events, click on our feeder sites 2million times a month, attend our parties and shop our clients.   Staff wise we have the brightest and best in media and they engage with our greater community and clients daily.  Our Tools are second to none including the best state of the art facilities and marketing systems to entertain, capture and motivate listeners.  Bottom-line we generate leads and new customers for clients that engage with us.

GLR brought the first and only commercial HD radio station to the Upper Peninsula Now with 11 commercial signals with impact programming and the right music, we reach virtually every demo in the Central Upper Peninsula market.  GLR stations and Feeder Sites reach virtually every age bracket 18plus where listeners have disposable income.  GLR’s 11 stations are supported by 12 web sites acting as Feeder Sites rising high on Google reaching out to folks on-line far past our signal reach.  Our daily articles posted by our team of 20 are read some 2million times a month and the url’s we log reach from a Wisconsin line from Madison to Milwaukee North,  to a Michigan line from Port Huron to Muskegon North.  These are people that really care about the U.P. and either have a camp here, vacation here, grew up here and have moved with the hope of returning, or have family here. Things are good at GLR.  Why don’t you join us!

I am attaching my 2016 plan and sales process for review.Sales Line In the Sand

I am attaching “Why we do what we do” for further ideas into why our media efforts work so well. Why We Do What We Do

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Big Valley Ford in Ewen is always fun to visit!

Ewen-August 4th, 2015 – Big Valley Ford in Ewen is always worth the short drive, whether you’re going there to find a great vehicle, or you’re going to shoot fun youtube videos (like me).

I always have a blast talking to Derrick about the cars they have for sale out there.

Check out these videos from my last trip there:
I got to see this big 2010 Dodge Ram:

I also got to check out this White 2004 Chevy Colorado:

Last, but not least, Derrick showed me this ’06 Dodge Ram:

Check out these cars and more all at BetterGetAFord.com!

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Bad Things Can Cause A Greater Good So Persevere

They nicknamed me “Teflon Todd” several years ago because difficult things just seem to slide off. I REST ON THIS PHILOSOPHY and THIS IS MY BASIS…Bad things can cause a greater good.

Many times in a business relationship, especially with a boss and employee, we don’t know why? We don’t know why because many times as an employee, can’t see the Boss’s picture, not seeing the company’s end from the beginning. With that said, the Boss is not always right either.

Jimmy Stewart’s, It’s A Wonderful Life, basically conveys that our life is wonderful because we have an impact on other people and we don’t even know what that is. We don’t even know what the greater good our actions have caused others.

We do know, given the ripple effect, it’s powerful when we engage. Apply this to a client as a Sales Pro… By Visiting, Talking, Engaging, Inspiring, Motivating, forming a Contract of  Agreement, performing an Advertising Campaign, getting him business – this is all very powerful. We do that at Great Lakes Radio daily.

Sometime as workers, we always think it’s always about us, and really in our day to day it’s always bigger than just us.

As the boss, I need to grow the business. To grow the business, I need to grow the employees. Since 7 out of 10 sales happen because we showed up, I need to manage activity.

I need the Sales PRO to show up, and I need to know daily if they did or not, and to help that Sales PRO win, I need to know who was talked to and what that marketing manager wishes to get done marketing wise in the next 30 days.

When a young or seasoned Sales PRO is onto growth and change, there’s initially no comfort there. So I realize, to meet my goal as a manager, and as a seasoned PRO, I need to help my team navigate the waters. I have been there and have faced the adversity and have persevered. SO my extra job is to help the Sales PRO work it through.

I know that we as Sales PRO’s can’t develop Perseverance without Obstacles. They come.
We can’t develop Patience without Tribulation. I feel this weekly.
We can’t develop Character with out Adversity.

As manager, I continually try and extend Grace and to take the high road, but the tough calls have to happen. Somebody has to manage and to manage you need data.  But as you gather the data, you want to have your employees feel like they want to work for you, and then they will be the most loyal of all.

We also can’t develop Faith in the Business model, without a Financial Need. We need $’s. This is motivating in itself.

These growth scenarios all require Pain…

We know from watching the example of stars playing at a Collegiate or NFL level, that if you have more pain, you have more gain. These difficulties are really enhancing our capacities. This is hard to remember as we seek comfort over adversity and growth.

If we go through all the trouble and all the adversity , we will enjoy the Victory.
If there was no possibility for defeat, we couldn’t have the Victory. That would be depressing.

In this world, we can’t get our problems solved every time.
In this world, nothing works perfectly.
It doesn’t always go the way we want it to go.
But, if bad things don’t happen to us, we don’t grow.
Who you become through this process, is what’s important.
Difficulties are necessary. And my job as manager is to comfort folks in their trouble and help them come out on the other side. I have had the trouble, so I can show comfort and help others work through those trials since I have persevered through similar business trials.

We know in this world, to achieve Another level, there’s Another Devil.
Another level – Another Devil
Actually, since we grow through adversity, the world is better with the Devil in it, as long as we keep our foot on his neck.
A little bit of evil is necessary to cause us to grow.

So, together, let’s get through the thorns, trials, troubles, show perseverance, conquer, & grow! As a Sales PRO this is hitting the pinnacle.

SPIRITUALLY, the final HOPE… Some day, in the end, I believe it all will change. Because History-Science-The Bible, all convey the big guy’s son showed us 2,000 years ago, that He had Power OVER Sickness, Death, & Nature. At the upcoming future time of return, He cures the Big 3, basically all of our troubles. When He comes back as spelled out in the prophetic book of Revelation, then sickness, death, and natural disasters will go away. His miracles 2,000 years ago show He is the Messiah and what he said was real.

Until then, I will Persevere and Grow, seeking to move to the next level and encouraging others along the way.

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