SIFE Nationals 2008

Hello once again! Thought I would put in a little plug about our SIFE Nationals trip to Chicago. We did well again this year placing within the top 8 teams in the nation (pretty impressive seeing as how there are over 900 teams in the U.S.)! We had a great time leaving early in the morning on May 13th and getting back late on May 16th. We competed against some great teams, and meet many new friends. Here are some pictures from our trip!

This is Kim and I during opening ceremonies at McCormick Place. We were both really excited to get to go there. Our entire conference was held at this location, and what a location it is! Gorgeous views and a great facility!

These are our "runners"!!! For all gathering in the big hall during the event, our team had fabulous seats due to these four gentlemen. A few minutes before the doors were opened and the masses stormed into the auditorium, the four of them would sneak to the front of the line, and make a made dash to the front by the stage! We never had to seat further back than second row all because of our runners!

Kim's finger on the top of the Sears tower! I know pretty exciting right?! Haha!

Jared and I outside of McCormick Place, sorry that it is so dark! Chicago was rainy and windy... imagine that!

And here was one of my favorite things about Nationals this year... look at the top of this huge banner at the competition, see the picture that I have circled? And the red head in the top left of that picture? That's me!!! They used one of the pictures that they took of our presentation team last year for all of there signage this year! We were plastered across signs, banners, video, and many other marketing tools! I have the picture from last year too so that you can all see it!

Rosie

Okay, so I took some grief last weekend for not updating my blog more often, sorry. So here ya go... a new post!!!

I would like you all to meet Rosie. Chris and I adopted her on April 19, 2008. She is a three year-old Tricolor Bluetick Beagle. She lives with Chris in Brookings, and I get to see her most weekends.


She is a honey of a dog. When we adopted her we knew very little about her. She was a stray that an area farmer found one day, and after weeks of listing her in the newspaper, to see if he could find her owners, nothing turned up. So he dropped her off at the Humane Society where Chris and I found her three days later.

Knowing little about her we were somewhat nervous, would this mean months of potty training lessons and late-night howling? After studying her short hair, it seemed as though she must have been a house dog, because she didn't have a winter coat. And as it turns out we were right (or maybe just lucky)! She was fully house-broken! And just a side note she is not a fan of baths.

Even though we try to convince her they are essential, as I am allergic to dogs, she doesn't seem to care. All she knows is that she is wet and miserable! So most of the time, I just stay juiced up with allergy medicine.

Nor was she very impressed with her new kennel to sleep in. But she does enjoy trying to "bury" things underneath her blankets!

We have really enjoyed her! Lots of walks, and trips to the park! Stay tuned for more updates!

Happy Birthday Sunshine!!!

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Bowling Night

The other night a few of us SIFErs took a night off to have some fun. We decided to go bowling, guys vs. girls. We still say that the girls had a slight disadvantage and that's the reason that the guys won... Just thought I would share some photos. SIFE regionals are less than two weeks away, so I have to run!

My Kimberly...

Look! Two posts in the same week!

I'm on a roll!

I wanted to do a post about my Kimberly. I met Kim last May and she has become such a great friend! She joined the SIFE team, and quickly took a leadership role to help me run the team this year. I really don't know what I would have done without her. She is an extremely creative person, and almost an clone of myself. She has the cutest little girl named Theron, who has become our official SIFE baby, and she comes to more meetings than some of our other members.


Kim has been such an asset to our team this year, and I couldn't be happier to have gotten to know her!

New Post!!! Woo Hoo!!!

How is everyone?! I thought I would post an update on what's going on in my life... it's been hectic, as always.

Well my motto to get through everything has now become, "Third week of May."


School is crazy. I was an idiot and didn't cut myself any slack for my last semester. All of my professors seem to think that now is the time for everyone to work in groups, so in all five classes I'm in a group. Great for some, horrible for others where people don't want to do anything. The worst part about groups with senior students, is that we all have crazy schedules, and finding time outside of class when six people can meet, is impossible. But I graduate on May 10th! Yay! Can't wait! People are giving me grief about not participating in commencement, but that's a whole different thread about money and my wising up.


Next there is work at Schwan's University. We are currently going through the process of accredidation, to become the first accredited corporate university in the world.


Alright, now we get to SIFE. {{Play scary music here}}


Regional competition is one month away. I do not have an annual report, a script, or a video. I am freaking out!!! I have soooo much to get done, as far as projects and the like. If anyone has any connections with elementary schools, I could use some help getting an interactive ethics story into some classrooms, if you can make a recommendation and get me a contact I could do the rest. I am working with Unilever corporation to launch a project internationally, secure exclusive internships and establish scholarships. (Unilever is a HUGE company, most known for brands like Ragu, Slimfast, Vaseline, Sunsilk, AXE deodarant, Ponds, Lipton, Hellmann's, Dove, and Bertolli. They also own Target department stores.) Okay... simply stated, SIFE currently has 29 projects, we have completed 11. Regionals is March 26th, and Nationals is May 13.


THIRD WEEK OF MAY!!!

A Long Overdue Update

Okay... so things have been extremely crazy around here lately. So this is now what I look like 24/7...

With the holidays arriving fast it always means more things crammed into the same amount of time... lets break it down.

Work: I've had two huge projects, preparing for a large conference in the cities this week, and creating informational binders containing anything and everything that is Southwest Minnesota to send to a national talk radio host in Fargo in hopes of gaining sponsor for a national movement we have begun. Well, I am proud to say that I finished them on Tuesday, so now I move on to two other major projects... Speech Spectacular 2007 and taking on a major role in the application process for accrediation of the first corporate university in the world (Schwan's University). So things are just going to get crazier from here...

School: Well I have one and a half weeks until finals... so of course all of the large projects that I have avoided all semester are all due next week. Figures... but hey, I work best under pressure and as my mother would say "it's a rush!" Only one more semester after this, and I have to admit I can not wait!

SIFE: Well as most of you know SIFE is a major part of my life. Lately I have been freaking, because I have a little over two months to complete 29 projects... wish me luck! Nature's Backyard is taking up a lot of time lately, as well as the rest of the projects. I'll keep you all updated on how these go. I am hoping to start sleeping again after our directors meeting on Saturday; we will be going through all of our projects and breaking them down... we're looking at 8 hours... ugh.

FAMILY/FRIENDS: This is what is keeping me sane! Thank you all! Mom, Tiana and I went shopping in the cities last weekend and had a great time! We got to see my aunt Kim and cousin Aubrey while we were there, not to mention all of the fabulous shopping (IKEA)!!!

Also, last month my family and I attend the Vikings/Chargers game in Minneapolis. Wow, what a great game!