March Madness is Back!!!

It's that time of year once again for the annual Six Degrees of MVNUSID men's college basketball March Madness bracket contest. Two years ago, my wife, Carla Parsons, won the inaugural event, and last year Steve Wilging beat out 67 other entrants to claim his championship.

March Madness is a great time of year for college hoops junkies and even the casual fan. One of the best ways to follow the action is to fill out a bracket and then root for your picks to advance. Go the safe route and pick all the higher seeds or be the one person to take an underdog Cinderella team to the big dance. Either way, it's lots of fun to participate and bragging rights as well as some good food in this case are up for grabs.

That's where my contest comes in. For the third straight year, my contest is free to enter so there is no excuse not to get on board. The overall winner will receive a $25 gift certificate courtesy of my friends at Outback Steakhouse. And, they have been gracious enough to throw in free Bloomin' Onion cards for the winner of each round, too. So, the steaks (er...stakes) are high and you need to sign up today!!!

To enter, just follow this link to the private group that I have set up for my friends on ESPN's site. The group name is 6 Degrees of MVNUSID if you need to search for it and the password is Bonzer - well, 'cause that's what Outback is. (If you need the back story on my history with Outback, you can read it here. I would also encourage you to follow them on Twitter at @Outback.)

I'll look forward to having you join in on the fun. Your entry (only one per person) must be submitted before the first game tips off on Thursday around noon ET. The First Four games (played in Dayton on Tuesday and Wednesday) are not picked in this contest.

Outback Surprise Comes Full Circle

Those of you who know me very well know that eating good food is one of my passions and that Outback Steakhouse ranks at the top of my list of places to eat. Most of you who are familiar with this blog probably also remember how Outback shocked me with a package full of "Outback Surprises" for me and 40 of my friends on my 40th birthday back in November. As you can see in that recap, I had fun distributing the prizes to various people and even making some new friends like Mount Vernon mayor Richard Mavis and Jack Hanna of the Columbus Zoo along the way.

Well, it took a little bit of detective work and then some patience, but I was able to get the Outback Surprise concept to go full circle much to the surprise and delight of the social media folks at Outback. When they sent me the box, the only directions they provided were to watch the video on the flash drive that was enclosed. It was highlights from Lucas Jatoba's 30th birthday in Australia when he wrapped up 30 presents and gave them to random people. It's basically what inspired Outback's birthday idea for me. Outback didn't ask me to do anything else...they left it up to me as to what I would do with all the wrapped presents.

That's where I feel like Outback made a great choice in choosing me. I saw this as an opportunity to once again prove the power of social media and especially Twitter to others. I tracked down Lucas and got him to follow me on Twitter. He was kind enough to give me his mailing address after reading my initial blog, and I shipped him one of the surprises with the only requirement that he film himself opening it so I could include him among my videos. The biggest catch was that once the package got to Australia he was out of the country until the beginning of February. However, once he returned home, he was quick to hold up his end of the bargain and you can see the video below:


Once again, I have to say a huge thanks to the folks at Outback who have made me feel like part of their immediate family. If you aren't following them on Twitter (@Outback), you need to because they interact with everyone in a very personable way. Just tell them that @MVNUSID sent you and they'll take good care of you.

Oh, and one final note...If you have been counting the Outback Surprise giveaways (and I know that some of you were), you'll probably point out to me that I only gave out 39 of them. That is correct. While the hope was that Lucas was going to get the 40th one, I still have one that has yet to be delivered. And, with my wife rolling her eyes as I type this, it's got Debbie Gibson's name on it. :) Yes, being a fan of 80's music, I'm a big Debbie Gibson fan and I thought she would be a fun person to try to get involved with this 40th birthday fun.

So, Debbie, help me finish off this project and take a quick break from your Celebrity Apprentice duties to be a part of what has been a pretty entertaining adventure for me. Everyone around me tells me that I won't get you to do it AND I've also had to explain to a lot of people 25 and younger who you are. However, I have a feeling that you'll come through for one of your fans 'cause that's just the kind of person you are. I know this request is "Out of the Blue", but help me show people that "Anything is Possible". Thanks in advance, Debbie! :)

Groundhog Day - A Chance for a Do-Over

One of my favorite movies from the early 90's is Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. If you have never seen it, here's a link to the trailer. A brief synopsis is that it's about a weatherman who keeps re-living Groundhog Day over and over and over again. Once he figures out that he's stuck in what seems like a never-ending time loop, he starts to work towards having a perfect day. He gets to use trial and error to keep finding combinations that work in his favor in the encounters that he continues to have over and over once the day resets for him.

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, everyone has the best of intentions to keep them going throughout the entire year. However, plenty of studies have shown that life happens, excuses start to be made, and pretty soon a majority of those positive changes have been discarded along the wayside and given up for lost well before they even become habits and party of our daily routine.

There are several ways to successfully keep your New Year's resolutions. First, they should be challenging but also attainable. If there is no way that you can succeed or even get through the first couple of days, it will be a lot easier to give up on them. However, if you set goals that you can reach and that can be measured or monitored daily or at least weekly, you have a big sense of satisfaction that you have accomplished it as you do it. For example, my goal/resolution for 2012 is to do 100 pushups and situps each day. For some, this might be easy and for others it might seem impossible. It's been a challenge for me as I wasn't doing any prior to attempting this, but it has gotten easier as my body has gotten used to it. It's already becoming part of my morning routine and that's where being able to daily check it off my mental to-do list is helping me strive towards my goal.

Another way to successfully reach your goal or keep your resolution is to be accountable to someone about doing this. Every day, I post on Daily Mile after I've done my workout and the people who follow me on the site help encourage and hold me accountable to keep doing it. This adds powerful positive reinforcement to what I am trying to do.

Finally, don't beat yourself up if you have an occasional slip up along the way. For me, I know that there will come a day when my schedule makes it tough to find the 15-20 minutes I need to get my workout done. My body also might not feel like doing this some day, especially since I have a couple of marathons on the docket and you tend to be pretty sore and stiff after running one. However, I know that this daily choice has already benefited me and I want to keep it going.

So, in honor of February 2nd being Groundhog Day, let's give those New Year's resolutions a do-over if you have slipped up or if you forgot to come up with any. And, if you are doing great, give yourself a big pat on the back and keep doing what you are doing. I would love to hear what your resolution or goal is for this year and by posting a comment you are taking the first step to being held accountable to reaching your goal. Whether the groundhog sees its shadow or not, this is one prognostication we can all help each other do! Hopefully, we'll all be celebrating all the great progress we've made when February 29th rolls around and we celebrate Leap Day by jumping for joy. :)

How TV and Twitter Replaced My Broken Window

I'll admit it...I'm a fan of reality TV shows. I would love to get on The Amazing Race some day, and I watch other shows like Survivor and Big Brother and enjoy all the unscripted interactions and drama that unfolds while the camera is rolling.

As a former business major, another show that I really enjoy watching is Undercover Boss on CBS (Sunday nights up to this point, but moving to Friday nights on February 17). For those of you who haven't seen the show, the CEO or one of the highest ranking officers within a company or organization disguises their identity and then goes to work in various aspects of that company's day-to-day operations. They usually learn about some areas in their organization that need to change for the better and they usually find out about great front-line employees along the way. At the end of each episode, the CEO reveals his or her true identity and usually makes the necessary changes and rewards the deserving employees. It's usually a real feel-good hour that may or may not have you reaching for kleenex to dab the tears from your eyes.

Two weeks ago, the season premiere for the second season of the show was about Stephen Cloobeck, the CEO of Diamond Resorts International. For the first time in all the episodes that I have watched, I really felt like his appearance on the show hurt his company's public perception. If you watched the episode (or click this link to view it online now), I would love your take on him and whether or not you would do business with his company after seeing it.

The next episode a week ago was about Dina Dwyer-Owens, the CEO of the Dwyer Group. Her organization oversees the operations of seven service-based franchise organizations: Aire Serv®, Glass Doctor®, Mr. Appliance®, Mr. Electric®, Mr. Rooter®, Rainbow International® and The Grounds Guys™. In this episode (which you can view here now), Dina worked as a plumber, a groundskeeper, and an appliance repair person. She was able to help one franchise owner see the value of her organization's Code of Values. She also came across talented, hard-working employees, who she was able to reward and hopefully secure as long-tenured partners in the mission of what the Dwyer Group is all about.

I'll be honest...I had never heard of the Dwyer Group (which is headquartered in Waco, Texas) or any of the seven franchise brands prior to watching that episode of Undercover Boss. However, I was impressed with Dina and was tweeting about the show while it aired using the #UndercoverBoss hashtag. After my very first tweet, I got an almost immediate reply from Lori Johnson, the Marketing Director for the Dwyer Group, saying "and she really is like that - a wonderful person and leader :) thanks for watching!" I was floored! I exchanged a few more tweets with her and several of their corporate accounts started following me.

When the show was ending, Dina made an emotional statement about hoping that her deceased father was proud of the leader she had become and also how she was running the organization. I immediately tweeted her saying that he was and that she shouldn't ever wonder that again. I never really expected a response being that she was a busy CEO, so imagine my pleasant surprise when this tweet popped into my feed:

@MVNUSID So happy you discovered @DwyerGroup! Thank you for the kind words. What a thoughtful thing to say. ow.ly/8GktQ

— Dina Dwyer-Owens (@DinaDwyerOwens) January 25, 2012

I had a few more tweet exchanges with Dina, Lori, and various members of the Dwyer Group family and researched what all they were involved in. We had a broken window at our house that I had needed repaired for awhile, and with Glass Doctor being one of their franchises I thought I would see if they serviced the Mount Vernon area. To my surprise, they did! So, I sent them a service request through their website and waited to see what would happen. Pretty soon, I got a call from Jared, the owner. He was pleasantly surprised when I told him that I was calling after watching the show. He said that corporate had told them that they might see an influx in inquiries because of the show, but he was a little skeptical about that. We had a great conversation and left it that he would get back to me when he could schedule a service appointment.

Well, he was able to come today and he did a great job replacing the window for a very reasonable cost. We also had a great chat about my views on the importance of social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, in spreading word of mouth advertising for business such as his. I think he left with a greater appreciation for its value and I won't be surprised when he sets up his very own Facebook page and Twitter account for his business. In fact, he has an open invitation to call me for any help with that. :)

I type all of this to say that once again Twitter has come through in connecting me with another great brand that I met through of all things reality TV. They have been very proactive in using this positive publicity to connect with potential customers. I know that Dina has been busy responding to everyone who tweeted her about the show, and she's taken the opportunity to attach coupons to those replies as a way to possibly encourage business like mine. I look forward to following the success of Dina and the Dwyer Group moving forward.

Mamma Mia! Here I Go Again!

Last night, my wife, Carla, and I had the opportunity to go see Mamma Mia! on opening night at the Palace Theatre in Columbus and what a fun time we had!

Over the last couple of years, we have really come to appreciate all of the great Broadway Across America shows that CAPA brings to Central Ohio. For us, it all started when we saw Mamma Mia! the last time it was in Columbus and we have been hooked ever since and try to go whenever it fits into our busy schedules and tight budget. We've even introduced our kids to a couple of shows as they have now seen Wicked and Mary Poppins and loved both of them.

Back to last night's show...we arrived along with what appeared on the main level to be a near capacity crowd who all seemed eager to have a fun evening. Once the doors opened and we all settled into our seats, the fun began and ran uninterrupted nearly three hours with one intermission between the two acts.

The setting is a Greek island where a wedding is about to take place. It's the story of a single mom (Donna) and her daughter (Sophie) and everything that has led up to this big day. There are lots of twists and turns and plenty of laughs as Sophie tries to figure out who is going to walk her down the aisle on her big day. And, it's all set to the backdrop of ABBA's greatest hits!

Chloe Tucker, who plays Sophie, is a bundle of energy as she handles the role effortlessly. She has good chemistry with Happy Mahaney (Sky) and is equally as talented vocally as she is delivering her lines with both dramatic and comedic timing. If you really want to see her enjoying herself, watch her get after it during the finale. That alone might be worth the price of admission. She was also nice enough to chat with Carla and I after the show, and I found it refreshing how much she still thrives on the role with more than a year of doing it under her belt.

Kaye Tuckerman, who plays Donna, also did a solid job in her role. She nailed all the songs although there were a few times that the sound just was not quite loud enough on some of the quieter parts. It didn't detract from the overall performance, but it would be the only negative that I could find in the show.

For me, what makes the show so much fun are the great comedic relief moments provided by the supporting cast. Donna's old friends and former band members, Tanya (Alison Ewing) and Rosie (Mary Callanan), steal the scenes over and over again and will have you laughing until your sides hurt. Donna's old flames, Sam (Christian Whelan), Bill (John-Michael Zuerlein), and Harry (Paul DeBoy), also each play their roles with gusto and are very talented. And the ensemble cast is very good and works together like one big, happy family. There's even a dance routine in scuba gear that is hilarious.

If you are looking for an entertaining night out that will have you at the very least laughing at the dialogue and tapping your feet to the music, then Mamma Mia! is definitely the show for you. It will continue its run at the Palace Theatre through December 18 and you can find tickets by contacting the CAPA ticket office. This is one show that shouts "Take a Chance on Me" and is well worth it.

Starting a New Tradition

Ever since I started running a year and a half ago, I have been trying to figure out some way to make my new-found love of running about more than just myself. Sure, I have REALLY enjoyed the physical benefits of running (weight loss, fitness improvement, stress reliever) as well as the social benefit of the addition of an entirely new segment of GREAT friends. However, all along I felt like something was still missing.

That all changed on Thursday morning. With the help of my daily running partners, we sponsored the inaugural Mount Vernon Running Buddies Turkey Trot 5K. The purpose of this event was to encourage people to come out and get some exercise either walking or running prior to eating a big Thanksgiving meal, while also donating money or non-perishable food items to the local Food for the Hungry Drive.

While we have created several themed running events before, we decided to make this one as official as possible without a budget or required entry fee. We were able to get the local radio stations and newspaper to promote our event and we posted an event invitation on Facebook. We had no idea what would happen, but I was optimistic that we might be able to get 50 people to come and participate.

I got up at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday and headed out to get things ready. I groggily picked up cups for water at Kroger and then bought pretty much all the Timbits that the local Tim Horton's had on hand at that time on Thanksgiving morning. Then, I drove to the course to put up signs, set up tables, fill coolers full of water, and wait to see what would happen.

Pretty soon, a few people started to arrive. There was Sandy Rhoton from the Food for the Hungry Drive committee. Then, our first runner, Brian Vinson, who is someone I've come to know over the past year. And, then, George Hartz, another of the Mount Vernon Running Buddies. We decided to move the sign-in area inside since it was pretty breezy and chilly. I worried a little that people would drive into the parking lot and think there wasn't a race, but I trusted that they would still come.

The time kept ticking away and before long it was 7:30 and there were only a handful of people there. Then, it happened!

Suddenly, people started pouring in with bags of canned food items and monetary donations. The sign-in line to get race numbers backed up, but George did an excellent job of keeping things moving while Scott, Mary, and Zoey Burgess along with Sandy and my dad and I began stacking the food donations into a display.


The energy in the room was awesome and I was so excited as the crowd continued to swell well past the 50 that I had hoped to somehow reach. At about 7:55, I stepped outside for a quick look to see if we had any last-minute people coming from the parking lot. I let out an audible "thank you, Lord" as at the moment I was overcome with gratitude towards everyone who had taken time out of a busy family day to do something bigger than themselves. After taking in that moment, I quickly pulled myself together and walked back inside to give the instructions to the participants.


From everything that I have heard, the race went off without a hitch. 76 people from five different states ranging from 6 to 73 years old set off behind my dad who rode his bike on the chilly morning to lead the way. Brian, who had shown up first for the race, finished first in a time of 19:28 to just miss having a personal best by one second. Tricia Pokosh, a member of the Mount Vernon Running Buddies, finished 10th overall and was the fastest female in 23:27 as she joined Brian to take home the two inaugural trophies.


Most importantly, over $150 dollars and 160 food items were raised for the Food for the Hungry Drive. I've also gotten tremendous feedback from both people involved and people who have found out about the race afterwards and I fully expect this to become a new tradition for the Mount Vernon community that will quickly grow into triple digits in participants.


Thank you to everyone who helped to organize, promote, and make this happen. And a big thank you to everyone who came and participated. Together, we all made a big difference and did something pretty special. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Turning 40 in Style...Outback Style

On Sunday, I had a milestone birthday. Yes, I turned 40. To me, age is just a number and so I try to have fun with it. In fact, as a runner, it's kind of fun to move into a new age group.

If you have followed my blog or have connected with me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that I love Outback Steakhouse. They are great to interact with in the social media world and they have been more than kind to me. My earlier "Talk to the Brand" entry gives you the back story of my relationship with them.

Well, imagine my surprise when on Friday out of the blue I get this tweet from Outback. Immediately, I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Sure, I had joked with them on Twitter about throwing my birthday party at their nearest restaurant, but never once did I expect anything. Some of my Twitter followers who also follow Outback saw the tweet too and were just as curious as me.

Tweets started flying fast and furious as we all tried to figure out what was going to happen. Outback sent another message saying that the package was out for delivery. I quickly told our secretary that I needed to run home and leave a note to allow the package to be left since I wasn't sure if it was coming to my home or work address.

While I made the quick trip home, more and more people began to follow the thread on Twitter as everyone was trying to figure out what was going to happen. I got back to my office just in time to read this tweet.

I realized that my package was on campus and I needed to find our delivery person to claim it. I went to our shipping and receiving area while my Twitter followers waited patiently (ahem).

I found the box, but the delivery guy was nowhere to be found. So, I left him a note and headed back to my office to open it. I called my wife, Carla, who also works at MVNU, and asked her if she wanted to come watch and then waited for her to arrive. In the meantime, one of my other Twitter followers saw me enter the building with the box and posted this picture. It was fun letting the anticipation build. :)

My wife arrived and I asked her if she would use my iPhone to record me opening the box. I had no idea what was going to be inside, but I figured that I owed it to the people following on Twitter to capture the moment for them to see. Here it is:



At this point, my heart was really racing. I had no idea what to expect on the video. I'm feeling like Tom Cruise in "Mission Impossible" as I insert the flash drive into my laptop. There's one file on the drive labeled "Dave Parsons 40th Birthday", so I click on it. Here's what popped up:



The light bulb in my brain clicks on and I know right away what's going to most likely be in the rest of the box. Once the video ends, I ask my wife to record me opening the rest of the contents. Here it is:



There was a very generous $45 voucher for me to use with "Happy Birthday, Dave" written on it as well as a cool Outback backpack to help me transport the Outback Surprises - 40 individually wrapped presents of which I had no idea of the contents.

Twitter followers started tweeting for me to find them and give them a surprise, but I tried to think about what I wanted to do to make the most impact. It was a no-brainer for me to give my wife the first present and so I did and started filming each and every Outback Surprise so everyone on social media could see it. I also found out quickly that people were counting the gifts as they were given to see how many I still had to give. :) Here's the other videos so far:

George & Gwen Hartz, two members of the Mount Vernon Running Buddies

Julie Burke, MVNU's athletic department secretary

Keith Veale, MVNU's baseball coach

Four members of the MVNU admissions staff

Rick Burke, MVNU's IT guru and technical support

Scott Peterson, MVNU's chaplain, and Dr. Brad Whitaker, math professor

Joe Rinehart, WNZR 90.9 FM

My daughters, Ashley and Kylie

Rob at Firestone

Morgan, an MVNU college student

Robert Audia, former MVNU student body president

Eric McKenzie, Cleveland Indians' director of group sales

Jim Parks, MVNU professor and basketball official scorer

Scott Sharpes, pastor of Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene

Dr. Dan Martin, MVNU's president

Members of the Mount Vernon Fire Department

Brian Humphrey, MVNU's athletic trainer

Kurt Ludlow & Josh Poland, WBNS 10TV (CBS affiliate)

Richard Mavis, the mayor of Mount Vernon

Dr. Ryan Halley, a friend & fellow runner who lives in Oregon and will do the Hood to Coast Relay with me in August 2012

Jack Hanna of the Columbus Zoo and a world-renowned animal expert

Let me just say that this has been so much fun!!! I really appreciate Outback continuing to allow me to connect both with them and to help me show my friends and colleagues what an awesome brand that they are.

I still have two Outback Surprises to give out and I have some ideas about how I'm going to do it, so stay tuned to see what happens next.

On a side note, my family and I decided to go to the Outback on Bethel Road in Columbus on my birthday. This is the same restaurant that I wrote about in my original blog about them, and ironically we ended up with the same waitress. The plan was to use the voucher that they had sent me for my birthday and to try to keep a low profile. Well, that plan failed miserably when Chris Pyles, the owner, came over and talked to us. He ended up giving me my meal and one of the new Oreo chocolate waffle desserts for free since it was my birthday. He is way too nice and definitely another extension of the great Outback brand.


I share all of this not to brag, but to say that you just never know what a brand might do to show how much it appreciates the support of its followers. And, I am by no means the only person to get Outback Surprises although I do kind of feel like their version of Subway's Jared and I will happily play that role for as long as they will allow me to. :)

Update: I just heard from Outback and they appreciate the blog and my followers. They are going to send me a $45 voucher to give away to one person. To qualify, post a comment and let me know who you would give an Outback Surprise to and why. For an extra entry, tweet this post out with @Outback and @MVNUSID included and let me know that too. Good luck!