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RMI Blog

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Courtney Waters’ (soon to be Kowcheris) RMI Bridal Shower

Yesterday afternoon I asked Court to take a walk, a normal routine for my friendly neighbor and I. As we skipped to the loo, Court already knew that we were really headed to the conference room…

Turns out Siobhan was able to plan the traditional RMI family get together, a surprise mid-afternoon shin dig we throw for all of our brides, grooms, and parents “to be”.

The homemade cake was successfully snuck in and decorations set up, but when it came to everyone shuffling into the room -- the closing and opening, and closing and opening of the door that actually shook Courtney’s cube wall -- she knew something was up.

So although it was not a complete surprise (and Ginny “forgot” to add the Stoli to the punch) we were all able to wish Court the best on her upcoming vows.

Congratulations Courtney and Jeremy. We wish you all the love and happiness life has to offer.

Labels: employees

Friday, October 3, 2008

A la cuisine!

Yesterday, RMI "Social Committee" chairman Carol Forbes hosted our third Iron Chef competition - this time the secret ingredient being apples.

19 awesome entries were submitted in all categories of food - everything from salads and pies, to cakes and cookies - making this competition incredibly difficult to judge, to say the least. But at the end we all applauded three outstanding winners, and the recipients of the much anticipated $100, $75 and $50 gas card prizes:

1st Place: Ginny Naclerio (again!) for her Apple Cheesecake
2nd Place: Janet Ward for her Apple & Grilled Chicken Salad
3rd Place: Courtney Waters (again!) for her Caramel Apple Bars

You can check out a video of the challenge here.

Thanks to all participants and congratulations to our top three!

Labels: employees

Friday, September 26, 2008

Food for thought

Ever since I can remember RMI has supplied candy, mainly chocolate, as a snack for all employees. Not that I’m complaining... it’s a very nice gesture which is much appreciated. But, in an effort to make our office healthier, I’ve requested to change our snacks to something more nutritious for a 30 day trial (commencing Oct. 1st and ending Oct. 31st). With Halloween quickly approaching now seems a good time to start.

Some facts: We have 39 employees in our Danbury office and I’ve been told we consume 28 lbs of “junk” snacks per month. I know… my jaw dropped too. The math is simple 28 lbs/month x 12/months = 336 lbs/year. WOW. That's not including the approximately 20 lbs sent to us during the holidays. That's over 9 lbs per person each year. Geez, I won’t even get into what that equates to in calories.

Now with this being said, Carol Forbes, “aka” my partner in crime, and I took an office survey to determine whether or not the office really wanted healthy snacks. The results were outstanding. Of the 31 employees who took the survey, 25 agreed to try the healthy snacks for 30 days. After our little experiment next month we will determine whether or not we’ll be switching over to something healthier permanently, or at the very least, adding it to the mix. Stay tuned...

Labels: employees

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Courtney's Big Day

For a few weeks RMI will be playing one person short. But it's all good. Our own Courtney Waters, list management's Account Manager extraordinaire, will be getting married to long time beaux Jeremy Kowcheris on October 17th.

So lunch time will be decidedly quieter and Catherine will have to find a surrogate sister for a while.

We took an office poll and found out that what she really wants is for all of her RMI family to visit on their honeymoon. So the sign-up sheet is posted in the kitchen. Hurry so you can get your prime visiting dates.

Much love and happiness from all of us at RMI.

Labels: employees

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Once more into the Kitchen Stadium

Take a team of motivated people, add an extra large dose of hungry co-workers and mix in some competition. What do you get? RMI Iron Chef "3". Our own Iron Chef "Chairman" Carol Forbes has declared Oct. 2nd as the next RMI Iron Chef Challenge date. The not-so-secret ingredient is....wait for it....Apples. You'll want to be around our office that day. If not for the delectables, just for the smell of Granny Smiths or Macintoshes with subtle hints of clove and wafts of Cinnamon. Say what you will, these are"Good Eats".

Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will be awarded ranging from $100 gas card for 1st place and $50 gas card for 3rd.

All this cooking is gearing us up for our next series...RMI Biggest Loser.

Watch for the results.

Labels: employees

Monday, September 15, 2008

Have you seen our video on YouTube?

Last week the mice at RMI produced a great video illustrating how well they work while I'm away. A well oiled wheel, serious noses to the grind stone. A real tribute to upper management.

I feel like Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine fame -"What, me worry?"

Check it out.

Labels: employees, video

Monday, September 1, 2008

Ghosts are prevalent in Savannah

Ghosts are common in Savannah, as my Girl Scout troop found out on our trip to GA last week. I took 8 out of my 10 girls for a 5 day trip to visit the Historic city. I fell in love with the architecture, my girls the ghost stories. We hired a local woman to walk us around to all the most haunted houses. The birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, being number one on the list. It is said her grandparents still wander through the house.

Ghost hunting wasn't the only activity we did during our stay, the girls worked on many badges; cooking, Georgia Coastal Conservation, friendship and archiving. We were also lucky enough to view several of the 1st Girl Scout troop’s meeting minutes, not seen by many any more. We even got to experience what a hurricane feels like while we were touring Tybee Island; Fey was stalled over Florida most the time we were there.

The girls are looking forward to, and will be working hard fundraising for, their next trip; a W.A.G.G.G.S. World Centre in either Switzerland or London.

Labels: employees

Friday, August 29, 2008

Death by chocolate

Yesterday at RMI, our second Iron Chef competition of the summer took place. The not-so-secret ingredient: chocolate. The course: desserts. A whopping 17 entries were submitted from confident chefs in every department with dishes ranging from cakes and pies to cookies and candy bars. 38 judges and 15 broken diets later we named our winners...

3rd Place: Alison Howell (again!) for her Old Fashioned Fudge Pie
2nd Place: Ginny Naclerio for her Frozen Chocolate Fudge Cappuccino Crunch Cake
1st Place: Courtney Waters for her Brownie Crunch Desert

Prizes of $100, $75 and $50 gas gift cards were awarded.

Take a peak at our video of the competition here. Congratulations to everyone and stay tuned for next food challenge!

Labels: employees

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Episode 2

If you know RMI, you know that we are predominately female (80% to be exact). So it shouldn't surprise you that for the next Iron Chef RMI competition the not-so-secret ingredient will be chocolate... every woman's weakness.

Participants are to prepare a dessert for judging on August 28th made out of dark, milk or white chocolaty-goodness.

You may, like Wikipedia, dispute that white chocolate technically doesn't qualify to be considered "true chocolate" because it doesn't contain any cocoa solids, but around here that kind of talk will get you thrown out. White will be honored!

Gas cards of $100, $75, and $50 will be awarded to the creators of the first, second and third place winners, as decided unanimously by the RMI staff.

Let the battle begin!

Labels: employees

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Congratulations to Cyndi Lee

Last week was very special at RMI. We added a new Vice President to our staff. Cyndi Lee is now Vice President of Business Development. As many of you know, Cyndi has been with RMI a little over two years. In this time her impact on the company has been tremendously noticeable. She has added a new dimension to our list sales, both in management and in brokerage, and has introduced new initiatives to many of our clients.

Thanks Cyndi...

Labels: employees

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Welcome Thea & Janet

RMI's management division has just opened its arms to two lovely ladies: Thea Mathis and Janet Ward, both of whom join us with many years of direct marketing, advertising and administrative experience under their belt.

In Thea's spare time she enjoys riding her motorcycle, web designing, chasing her Pomeranian around for bath time, reading the news, and making people laugh.

Claim to fame: Fresh out of college Thea founded and directed a commercial and residential cleaning company that serviced more than 2,400 clients over four years. Nice!

Janet on the other hand enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 children, one of which is currently at West Point. Go Army! She also has passions for going to church and shooting sports (we're confused too), playing with her Black Lab, gardening and reading.

Claim to fame: Aside from over 13 years of direct marketing achievements, we are most impressed with Janet's famous "Happiness in a Jar", an alleged killer Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. We're thoroughly investing this claim. Stay tuned...

So welcome Thea and Janet; we're glad to have you and your many talents aboard!

Labels: employees

A la Cuisine!

Today at Kitchen Stadium (the RMI conference room), "Competition Cheese" took place. Sixteen participants brought in their culinary delights to be tasted and judged.

The judges (Cyndi, Dan and Eileen) had the difficult task of narrowing down the dishes to three winners. There were numerous notable entries; Olga's beautiful smoked Salmon & Mascarpone on a Sesame Bagel, dip entries by Decio and Katie, wraps from Carol and Kathy...

The entire staff waited with anticipation for the winners to be announced (and to dig into the food). Carol Forbes, the organizer and chairman, awarded the following prizes:

3rd Place: Laurie Nichols for the Swiss Cheese Onion Dip
2nd Place: Alison Howell for the Sun Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Puff
1st Place: Becky Terhaar for her Lobster and Shallot Stuffed Mushrooms

Take a peak at our photos and videos of the competition here.

Congratulations to everyone and stay tuned for next month’s challenge!

Labels: employees

Monday, July 21, 2008

Welcome to Kitchen Stadium RMI

Kitchen Stadium Chairman, Carol Forbes, has organized Iron Chef RMI. The not-so-secret ingredient... cheese. On July 31, any RMI culinary combatant can enter their selection, which in this edition must be an appetizer containing the "secret" ingredient.

Now, for those of you who have never experienced an RMI office party, you have to know that we like to eat. We never let a holiday go by without an all out major schmorgas board of palatable pearls. Starting with breakfast goodies and ending in lunch time victuals, we always have "GoodEats" (sorry Alton). So what do you do when there are no holidays near and it's the middle of a hot summer? Make one up.

Now in true marketing style..."but wait there's more"....there are cash prizes. Yes cold hard cash. Well, actually something more valuable than cash. Gas cards! The first three winners get gas cards valued from $50 to $100. So as the challengers unwrap their Gorgonzola, their Bries, their Vachon Mont D'Or, the judges are pursing their lips and waiting to say "a' la Cuisine".

We'll let you know who and what won.

Labels: employees, RMI

Monday, June 23, 2008

Cool new look for HVDMA

The Hudson Valley DMA has a new brochure. Great copy and the layout and artwork is wonderful. Even has current photos of attendees to events. Sounds like I'm promoting? Well I am, since a lot of hard work by RMI's Becky Terhaar and Hillary Taylor went into this little baby.

It will make you want to join twice!!!!

Labels: employees, HVDMA

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Welcome to our new Multichannel Division

We have a few new faces here at RMI that I'd like to officially welcome. Kathy Duggan-Josephs and her group from DJ Associates have joined us as of June 2, 2008.

The move compliments both companies as we have different business concentrations. Direct marketing has changed over the past few years, as we all have noticed. As stewards of service, its incumbent on us to make sure that we constantly monitor what new services our clients need. Both Kathy and I believe this will provide another avenue of information to be utilized by our clients. You'll be hearing more about what those service are in the near future.

As a side note: at RMI, multi-channel apparently equates to multi-talented... Across the board these newcomers have interests spreading from family and pets to, arts, music, English literature, hiking, swimming, singing, down hill skiing, bicycling, gardening, traveling, boating, food, knitting/crocheting, baseball, fly fishing, and pool. And not to mention a combined total of nearly 150 years of industry experience!

So welcome everyone. Your experience and expertise is a great asset to all and we're glad to have you aboard!

(From left to right: Darcy Duggan, Sanja Vanjur, Kathy Duggan-Josephs, Janis Jackson, Alicia Gallagher. Missing from picture: Alexa Kimberley-Bryant, Lori Quint, Mark Eubanks)

Labels: employees

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Welcome RMI rookies!

Well, not entirely... Although these two fine gentlemen (Alan Yu and Dan Gallo) are indeed our new management hires, they both aren't completely new to RMI - and definitely not to the industry.

Alan actually worked for RMI as a Senior Account Executive back in June of '91 until July of '93. We imagine the summer heat must have gotten to him because of course no one in the right mind would ever leave us. But, he's now back with over 18 years of experience under his belt and is taking on the role of Strategic Sales Director.

Alan has a BA in Psychology (read: mind reading) from Binghamton University and is known to participate in competitive sports including fast pitch softball, tennis, and touch and flag football. (Brokers beware!) He's also been flagged as another die-hard Yankees fan on the RMI roster -- sorry Rich & Cyndi -- and takes an avid interest in the NFL, NBA, professional tennis, the stock market, photography, and enjoys playing with his nieces and nephew.

Dan, on the other hand, is joining RMI as an Account Executive with 13 years of industry experience - most recently working for mass publisher InterMedia Outdoors Inc. where he generated record list rental revenue figures last year. Nice!

As far as hobbies are concerned, he has proclaimed an interest in performance cars and auto racing, photography, steam and diesel railroads, singing, music and most of all spending time with his wife and two young children. Understandably, we're curious about the "singing" confession and if he's aware of our promotional videos (and expanding blackmail file).

So welcome fellas! We're glad to have you and your many talents aboard.

Labels: employees, RMI

Monday, May 5, 2008

Debbie & Justine spend some time in the trees

Last weekend Debbie and Justine (the ladies of our ADF account team) took an adventurous journey to Nebraska where they spent two whole days with the Arbor Day Foundation crew celebrating National Arbor Day (and doing really important, highly confidential executive things which we don't talk about).

Of all the special outdoor activities they offered, these gutsy ladies favored the Canopy Tree House, which features a climb 50 feet above the forest floor to look over the Arbor Day Farm orchards, hazelnut fields, Lied Lodge, and natural sanctuary. Their least favorite? They opted for more grounded entertainment when they were asked to put on a harness and learn how trim branches while hanging among the tree limbs. They decided to leave that to the professionals; they'll take care of the direct marketing instead.

Labels: client, employees, green

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

At RMI we love on any old excuse to have a little fiesta - and what better an occasion than Cinco de Mayo! We treat these holidays kind of like a "pot luck" where everyone brings in a dish and we eat all day long. Really. Now if only alcohol consumption were allowed during work hours... (note the missing margaritas)

And don't let our pretty pathetic lack of authentic Mexican cuisine fool you, (warning: plug) we have gobs of data about Spanish speaking people and their cultures. Try us out sometime - see what we have to offer.

Labels: employees, RMI

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Freezin’ for a Reason

If it seems that Mike Kertelits and RMI go to extreme measures to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - you're spot on. Not only are they a top client of ours but, as noted in an earlier blog entry, Mike had been participating in a polar plunge into the frigid Lake Mahopac to raise funds for research to fight CF.

A couple Saturdays ago, Mike and 122 other jumpers took the dip of a lifetime in the lake waters that were beyond cold. And for their efforts, they were able to raise over $90,000 for the cause. Impressive.

The “swim” was followed by a fundraising dinner at the Mahopac Country Club. Some 280 people attended the dinner and were entertained by video of the earlier plunge and an informational video provided by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. (And as you can see from the video, there was a great deal of talk about Mike's interesting choice in wardrobe.)

The local fundraising efforts were spearheaded by the Stack family of Mahopac. Their daughter Jacqueline is 7, and has CF. "She and her family are all the inspiration a person needs to withstand a little cold water in hopes to finding a cure for this terrible disease," said Mike.

Other pictures can be viewed on our Flickr site and further info about the event can be found on freezinforcysticfibrosis.com.

Labels: employees, fundraising, nonprofit

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Post-it note fairies strike again

You may not associate April Fool's Day with Post-it notes, but Laura Smith in Management does. A couple of years ago they visited her office on April 1st and left their trademark on almost ever square inch of her space. This year they returned to bless her car. Luckily for Laura, the fairies understand the damaging effects of sticky glue on paint jobs and simply "stuck" (sorry, bad joke) to all six windows.

Kate Dullard, in our Counts & Shipping department (who also fell victim of the fairies' wrath), said she spotted Laura driving around town after hours with the notes still intact. We know better not to ask about that - nor the so called parking job pictured above.

PS: Tally, who has been with RMI for 20+ years has managed to avoid ever being the butt of an April Fools joke. Yesterday, she chose to work from home. Coincidence? I think not.

Labels: employees

Friday, March 14, 2008

Mike Kertelits to Chair DMA NPF Sub Committee

He’s modest, so he wouldn’t make a big deal about it, so I will. RMI's Mike Kertelits has been asked (and has accepted) to serve as chair of the DMA Non Profit Federations Suppliers Sub Committee. This group represents the whole of the commercial partners to advise the NPF of "issues of interest to the commercial sector that serves nonprofit organizations...". In addition he will interface with the Conference Planning Committees and with the Education Committee.

Thanks for your time and effort to our industry Mike.

Labels: DMA Nonprofit Federation, employees

Rich & Debbie off to Operation New Hope

They may look well and strong now, but Rich (manager) and Debbie (broker) who team together for our client Christian Appalachian Project are about to get their butts kicked by a bunch of college kids.

For the past 10 years, CAP has organized Operation New Hope (aka WorkFest), an annual project taking place in March where thousands of volunteers pitch in to make major repairs to desperate homes in Appalachia. Aside from helpers like us, the main team is made up of good-hearted college kids who have forfeited a week of vacation fun to aid those less privileged. Now, Rich and Debbie are on a quest to keep up with them...

They fly out on Sunday. Come Tuesday, the work will begin. Footage and vital stats posted Wednesday. Stay tuned.

Good luck Rich & Debbie!

Labels: employees, fundraising, nonprofit, volunteering

Friday, March 7, 2008

New baby Tenreiro arrives

You may have read our post last week about the in-office baby shower held for Decio (RMI's Network Administrator) and Nicole Tenreiro (Accounting). Yesterday they gave birth to a beautiful, healthy boy named Hudson. He was born at 2:30 AM and is 9 lbs, 21 inches long. All are doing wonderful. Congratulations Decio and Nicole!

Labels: employees

Thursday, March 6, 2008

We snagged two new employees!

At RMI, we have many perks to offer our potential employees. Some of our key selling points being A) Cake Day (thanks Carol Forbes) B) a 24/7 loaded candy bowl C) killer holiday parties, and D) a bunch of really cool people to work with. Justine Ciocchi (left) and Eileen Harrick (right) have decided to be two of them.

Justine has been welcomed into our management division as Associate Account Executive and will apply her fundraising expertise in the sales of the National Wildlife Federation, Arbor Day Foundation and Consumers Union files. In her spare time she enjoys cheering on the Yankees, organizing, spending time with her three-month old baby boy, and expanding on her handbag and shoe fetish.

We also heard a rumor that one of our brokers, Mike Kertelits, was the matchmaker responsible for introducing Justine to her husband of two years. (Now if that isn't proof that this man can match an offer to a highly responsive audience, I don't know what is!)

In accounting, Eileen Harrick has taken over all responsibilities of Nicole Tenreiro as she's left us to embark on motherhood. Eileen has 19 years of industry accounting experience and prior to that worked as a graphic artist at the Housatonic Valley Publishing Company. She enjoys walking and sports. We also hear she also has a few years of bartending experience under her belt, working part time at the Stony Hill Inn. A thorough investigation of the quality of her beverages will be conducted at our holiday party this year. Report to follow.

So welcome to Justine and Eileen. We're excited to have you aboard!

Labels: employees

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

On a rainy day some showers are acceptable

The name Tenreiro is not a particularly common name here in the US. So if you're active on our website you'll notice two staff members with that last name. Yup, you're right sparky, they are related... husband and wife, Nicole and Decio. But wait, there's more. They are expecting their first child in early March. So we had a little company baby shower for them (which we do for all our expectant parents). It's a nice mid afternoon tradition. Cheers to the little bundle.

We all await the arrival of the newest Tenreiro!

Labels: employees, RMI

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