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Friday, October 9, 2009

Modern Masters of Social Media



We attended an outstanding program presented by the HVDMA on Wednesday at the Fairview Country Club in Greenwich: Meet the Modern Masters of Social Media. (Kudos to our Hillary Taylor for helping orchestrate the event!)

We were treated to 3 very entertaining social media success stories from industry experts.

Ken from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters gave an overview of the various social media channels they are using as “listening” channels. His advice was to pay attention to what is being said about your company and be sure to react to both good and bad.

Valorie from a creative consulting company shared the success stories of Bigelow Tea across Facebook, Twitter, their own blogs, etc. She pointed out the importance of being “real” in your use of these social media channels.

Darryl, our advertising and social media genius, explained how they have learned to use social networking to stay ahead of the competition. They started blogging before it was even a word, and now their blog gets over 3,000 hits a day.

With the roadblocks the USPS keeps putting in front of mailers, there is no reason not to wholeheartedly embrace social networking. There is an investment in time and expertise, but the return can be impressive.

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posted by Kathy Duggan-Josephs at 1:24 PM   0 comments

Monday, August 31, 2009

RMI Round-Up: Meet Debbie



In 1985 - back when hair was big, acid-wash jeans were all the rave, and Marty McFly was a household name, RMI Direct Marketing was born. And with it, our first receptionist - Debbie McLain. Twenty-four years later, Debbie has grown from an RMI rookie to a mail planning sensation as RMI's Senior Vice President; Director of Nonprofit Brokerage.

In an "exclusive" interview [cue the Access Hollywood music] that I had the pleasure of conducting with Debbie we uncover everything from quirky anecdotes, to family life, to industry outlook and more.

Q: How would you spend your ideal day?
A: Hanging out with my 13 year old son, Tyler, and husband, Matt, at the beach on a beautiful sunny day.

Q: You just won a sweepstakes and have the choice of getting a lifetime supply of anything. What would it be?
A: Good red wine.

Q: If you could have any super power what would it be?
A: The power to protect the ones I love.

Q: What three things do you want to do before you die?
A: Take my son to the Grand Canyon, see my son grow up, see Greece with my husband.

Q: Without forfeiting anything (work, family, money) you can pick up and move from Connecticut to anywhere in the world. Where would you move to?
A: There’s no place else I’d rather live full time. However, I wouldn’t mind having a house in CT, a house in FL and a house in ME.

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: I have so many!!! But, if I had to choose one, I guess I’d have to say when people are inconsiderate of others.

Q: How did you fall into the direct marketing industry and become the broker you are today?
A: Long story but I’ll try to make it brief. When my future husband brought me to NY in 1985, we stayed with his friend and his fiancé while we looked for a place to live. The fiancé worked at RMI and told me they needed a receptionist so I applied for the job. Within 3 months, we all knew I had a future in direct mail! They promoted me to Assistant Account Manager, then Account Manager. Martin took me under his wing and proceeded to teach me everything he knew. He pushed me on to the next step, even when I thought I wasn’t ready, and he was always right. He gave me every opportunity to expand my knowledge and experience and I continued to take on more and more responsibility.

Q: As a broker, what success story are you most proud of?
A: That’s a tough one. There are so many, I can’t name one specific thing. But I am always proud to be a part of so many terrific organizations and to be able to help people through them. It fulfills the social worker in me - which is what I actually went to school for.

Q: What advice would you give to marketers looking to “mail smarter”, and “do more with less” in today’s climate?
A: Look at every aspect of your program to see where you can save money, be more efficient and get better results. Whether it's improving list selections, negotiating better deals, improving the merge process, tweaking your control, getting a better price from your printer, leave no stone unturned and never stop asking “how can we do this better, cheaper, more efficiently”.

Q: Now that economic recovery is underway, how have response rates trended thus far in the 2nd quarter?
A: Some mailers are starting to see improved results in 2009 but it varies a lot. The mailers who started seeing the decline earliest are seeing the most improvement, whereas those who started seeing it the latest are still struggling. Some are seeing improvement simply due to the fact that they are only mailing their core files. And some are flat compared to last year. But I definitely think we’re seeing some improvement over last year.

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posted by becky terhaar at 11:10 AM   0 comments

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Martin's Moonlighters



On Friday, June 5th I participated in the Annual Moonlight 5k Road Race. I have been competing for years in these types of events. But this race had a little extra meaning because I was part of a team called Martin’s Moonlighters (fitting name), for our Martin Stein. One of Martin’s friends formed the team to bring awareness and to raise some money for cancer research. In doing so she also gathered some of his closest friends to engage in a healthy activity. It sure did rain that night but it didn't stop us from having fun.

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posted by Decio Tenreiro at 6:38 AM   0 comments

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Yes, another RMI fiesta



And you thought we finally let a holiday slip by where we didn't celebrate with food... Thanks to our lovely "Chairman of the Social Committee", Carol Forbes, yesterday we had another Cinco de Mayo, Mexican pot-luck all day binge fest. Just be thankful we left out the videos of our Next Top Mariachi competition! (Kidding)

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posted by becky terhaar at 5:46 AM   1 comments

Friday, May 1, 2009

RMI Round-Up: Meet Jackie

For the past year or so, every time we take on a new employee we give them a grand-old welcome on our blog - talking about who they are, their interests, what they'll do at RMI... yadda yadda. But what about all of those folks who have been with us for 5, 10, 15 or even 20+ years? We've decided it's about time we introduce you to some of those "oldies but goodies".

And if you know RMI, you know our corporate philosophy is "ELEVEN" - an office culture of constantly raising the bar. Going above and beyond. With every employee highlight, we're going to let them explain, in their own words, what "ELEVEN" means to them.

Today's lucky contestant: Jackie Pufahl.



Jackie is the one RMI employee who looks just about as old as the # of years she's been with our company... a whopping 19! And don't be fooled by her presence in this video. She may be petite(somewhere around 5'?) but this little lady has a voice and presence that could hush a crowd.

On a day-to-day basis at RMI, Jackie is our Accounting extraordinaire - working with team members to handle collections, process refunds, and produce pristine month end reports. Not to mention her specialty - operating as an all around Mrs. Fix-It, solving and squashing problems if they dare arise.

At home, Jackie enjoys time with her husband, Jon, and two boys, Ryan and Justin. She loves the beach, traveling, hanging with friends, and watching her children participate in sports.

If you'd like to chat with Jackie, you can reach her at 203-825-4607 or jpufahl@rmidirect.com.

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posted by becky terhaar at 9:23 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A weekend with the trees



On Friday afternoon, our Alan Yu, Debbie McLain and Mike Kertelits skipped town to spend the weekend on the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. According to Mike, the farm was "very inspiring," it looked "like Arbor Day took 260 acres of woodlands, and plopped them down right in the middle of the corn fields in Nebraska."

The plan was to attend the 2009 Arbor Day Awards Ceremonies & Banquet and tend to some business - but the photos show they ended up doing a lot more: tree climbing, playing a marimba, sawing a log, touring Hero Gallery... (why wasn't I invited?)

They also had the opportunity to visit Laura Smith's Pioneer Elm Tree, planted last year in her honor. We've been told it will grow to be very big and very beautiful some day...

Until next year, it's out of the trees and back to selling and mail planning for this trio. Maybe next year they'll invite me too.

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posted by becky terhaar at 6:26 AM   0 comments

Cat & Carlos tie the knot



It is wedding time again at RMI and I had the pleasure yesterday of returning the favor to Catherine. Six months ago she brought me to my "surprise" shower (even though I wasn't surprised :) and finally we were able to pull it off for her. A few minutes after 3:00 Catherine and I were talking and I struggled to find a way to get her in the conference room, where everyone was waiting to surprise her. So I just came out and said "I have to deliver you". She looked at me like I was crazy, so I repeated it again, "I have to deliver you". Finally she said "Today? Oh man, I look terrible". HA! Such the bride!

Siobhan did a great job of organizing the shower and making another delicious home made cake! Catherine was very happy but embarrassed since she doesn't like to be the center of attention. She only has 2 more days to get over that! On Friday her and her long time friend, now fiancé, Carlos are tying the knot. We are all hoping and praying to the sun gods that they get a gorgeous day.

Congratulations to Catherine and Carlos - all those years of being friends finally paid off :) We wish you both the best life has to offer!

Check out the photos and videos of the surprise here.

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posted by Courtney Waters at 6:22 AM   0 comments

Friday, April 3, 2009

Is it summer yet?



You would think it must be based on the number of people who went running into Lake Mahopac last weekend. Unfortunately, the water was a tad colder then one would hope, but the cause was far greater then just a refreshing dip. About 250 divers, jumpers, walkers, took to the frigid waters in a showing of solidarity in their fight against Cystic Fibrosis.

Yes, March 28th, was the date for this years Freezin for a Reason. The 8th year of the local event, to raise money for research for Cystic Fibrosis, was held in Mahopac. I participated for the second year, and although my outfit was toned down a bit this year, from last, my enthusiasm certainly was not.

The event is coordinated & planned by the Stack family and some phenomenally dedicated volunteers, who work tirelessly to raise money that will find a cure for this horrible disease. The actual jump only lasts for about a minute, but the effects can be felt by many for a lifetime.

CFF is a long time client of RMI’s, and a wonderful organization who makes sure that 90 cents of every dollar that is raised goes directly to research. New developments are being made every day. It is rewarding to know that in some little way we are helping to provide more birthdays for children in our and other communities.

I am happy to report that monies in excess of $75,000 were raised this year. The jump was followed by a reception at the Mahopac Golf Course.

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posted by Michael Kertelits at 6:49 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Martin goes one-on-one with List Insider



There was a really nice interview with our Marty in the February issue of List Insider. Check it out. You'll get the skinny on how he got started in the list business, who his mentors were, his biggest challenges and more.

Of coarse the piece did not mention anything about his experience building pumpkin air cannons, or space ships out of 4 wheel drive Subarus - but hey, I guess you have to set your parameters somewhere.

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posted by becky terhaar at 6:19 AM   0 comments

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

RMI Round-Up: Meet Decio

For the past year or so, every time we take on a new employee we give them a grand-old welcome on our blog - talking about who they are, their interests, what they'll do at RMI... yadda yadda. But what about all of those folks who have been with us for 5, 10, 15 or even 20+ years? We've decided it's about time we introduce you to some of those "oldies but goodies".

And if you know RMI, you know our corporate philosophy is "ELEVEN" - an office culture of constantly raising the bar. Going above and beyond. With every employee highlight, we're going to let them explain, in their own words, what "ELEVEN" means to them.

Today's lucky contestant: Decio Tenreiro.



Decio is RMI's 7+ year veteran Information Technology super-genius... AKA our Network Administrator. If you're a client, you may recognize Decio as being our Web Reporting Technician or Reporting Analyst. To us, he's much more. Aside from occasionally entertaining RMI employees in banana, hazmat and centaur costumes - he is also our Database Administrator and runs the RMI NSF Check Recovery Program.

On the home-front, Decio spends time with his wife and 1 year old son Hudson. He also enjoys saltwater fishing, boating, and running 4-5 miles daily. We think that's a little neurotic, but hey - he's healthy, lean, and has endurance on the job so who are we to judge.

If you want to give a shout to Decio you can call him at 203-825-4605 or email dtenreiro@rmidirect.com.

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posted by becky terhaar at 6:02 AM   0 comments

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Hillary Taylor enlightens us on Package Inserts



RMI's own "PIP Princess", Hillary Taylor, wrote an article that made it into DM News on February 2nd. It's a nice concise piece with some food for thought about testing out-of-the-box ideas for insert media success. Definitely worth the read.

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posted by becky terhaar at 7:06 AM   0 comments

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Hear Ye!! Hear Ye!!



All rise, for the new President of the United States! Who would have thunk it? Direct Marketing professional works his way up to become the new Commander-in-Chief. Check out that photo above. Perhaps this new face on the DC scene can help solve the economic crisis facing our country.

This pic and many other more interesting ones were taken at Madam Tussaud’s museum in Washington during the networking reception at the recent Nonprofit Conference. Take a moment to see if you could tell who is actually made of wax.

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posted by Michael Kertelits at 8:09 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Meet the Debbie



Incase you missed it, Jim Emerson had a segment in Direct featuring our resident super-broker Debbie McLain on Thursday. Jim touched on Debbie's 25 years of experience, her outlook on the future of direct marketing, and her thoughts on how brokers can help fundraisers mail smarter. A nice piece for a truly stellar marketer.

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posted by becky terhaar at 7:47 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Cyndi Lee looks ahead



Incase you missed it last month, our Cyndi Lee had an interview in Folio and Audience Development about her outlook for the DM list sector in 2009. She provides some great insight on topics regarding hurdles, threats, opportunities, and trends for mailers and list owners this year.

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posted by becky terhaar at 9:19 AM   0 comments

Off come my clothes!



And on goes a bathing suit (whew!) All for a great cause, raising money to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

Counting down the days, until I get the opportunity to once again participate in the 8th Annual Freezin for a Reason jump into Lake Mahopac. The event is scheduled to take place on March 28th at the Mahopac Golf Club. The actual jump will take place from 4:45-4:46, so don’t be late, because I don’t plan on being in the frigid waters for more than just one minute.

I have been spending my time taking cold showers, eating snow (the non yellow version) all as part of my training regimen. For those of you who can’t join me in person, you can learn more about the jump at www.westchester.cff.org/freezin.

Cystic Fibrosis affects some 30,000 children in America today. It is an awful disease that needs to be eradicated.

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posted by Michael Kertelits at 6:33 AM   0 comments

Monday, December 22, 2008

Who knew?!?



Alan bakes! When he was growing up, his stepfather's mom Jane Rigby had a long standing tradition of making Christmas sugar cookies. When she passed, a young Alan took the reins and has baked the cookies using Jane's recipe ever since. Typically, Alan would make them on Christmas Eve but this year he broke tradition and made them earlier so he could share with his RMI colleagues. "Jane was a very important person in my life and I honor her every year by doing this."

Happy Holidays everyone...

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posted by becky terhaar at 7:02 AM   0 comments

Friday, December 12, 2008

This holiday season, caroling gets extreme



By now I'm sure many of you have seen our Santa's Little Helpers holiday video of RMI's participation in the Extreme Caroling Association... Now, take a look at some photos from behind the scenes as we spent a few hours doing push-ups, throwing hot chocolate, and screaming in the office. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't an absolute blast.

And we were all totally impressed with everyone's acting abilities. There were just two lines scripted in the entire video, the rest was all spontaneous! But, no worries - until we find a proper manager and feature film to star in, we'll ignore Hollywood's beckoning call and stick to our day jobs diligently devising mail plans, selling lists, and pushing orders. We are however signing autographs on demand, with leaderboard ad space available at $35/M. Contact Hillary for more details.

So, what do you think... if RMI was to hold an Academy Awards, who would you vote for?

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posted by becky terhaar at 6:23 AM   2 comments

Thursday, December 4, 2008

RMI Holiday Luncheon



Yesterday was the RMI Holiday Luncheon at the Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury. I sat at a table with Rich Leary, so you can imagine my time was especially entertaining. But asides from that, there were a few special moments to be acknowledged...

Every year at this time we recognize our employees who have been with us for increments of 5 years. This year we honored Kathy Englund, our Human Resources extraordinaire, for her 20 years of service with the company. With that came an engraved, framed certificate, a travel voucher, a few long time friends (like fellow 20 year vets Tally, Martin, Debbie, and Dan), and probably some gray hairs.

We also received our first installment of the "Stein Stimulus Package", a little giffy from the man himself to boost the economy and aid in our holiday cheer. And luckily no, it was not a membership to the Jelly of the Month Club. Just another one of the little perks of working at a great company.

All in all it was a great time; thanks to Tally, Martin and Kathy for throwing a fabulous event like they do every year!

Check out pictures and videos of the day here.

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posted by becky terhaar at 12:55 PM   0 comments

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

A wedding in the works



More nuptials are in the wings for another RMI staffer. But we have a few months. Catherine Ryan, our Data & Reporting Specialist, is getting married on May 1st, 2009 to her long time friend Carlos Dos Santos. What's truly beautiful about this is that they have been friends since the third grade. Sometimes you just know early on.

We'll keep you posted on the wedding arrangements as we know them. Sounds like a contest in the making. We all get to vote on every aspect of the wedding like what they do on the Today Show, only we won't pay for it!

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posted by martin stein at 4:42 AM   2 comments

Friday, November 14, 2008

The RMI family



Alright, before you go spreading rumors - no, RMI has not gone "uniform"... nor are we adamantly expressing grey as the latest fashion trend... nor is this some weird episode of the Twilight Zone. We just got some awesome new RMI embroidered LL Bean fleeces, compliments of Martin, and wanted to rock them out in a group photo!

Plus we figured it's been a while since you've seen all (well almost all) of our smiling faces together in one group shot. Take a peak at our pearly whites and scroll over each person's face here to find out who's who.

You'll notice though that some of our team members are missing from the picture...

Alison Howell
Cyndi Lee
Justine Ciocchi
Ginny Naclerio
Kate Dullard
Lisa Davis
Rich Leary
Behind the camera: Katie Geraci
Yours truly: Becky Terhaar

And those from our satellite offices...

New Hampshire: Alexa Kimberley-Bryant
North Carolina: Mark Eubanks

Doggone-it we're a good lookin' group. Thanks Martin!

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posted by becky terhaar at 7:17 AM   0 comments

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween RMI Style




There isn't a single holiday that slips by where RMI doesn't have some sort of party extraordinaire (all while diligently attending to orders and client needs of coarse) - and Halloween being no different. Every year we all pitch in to make breakfast, lunch and desert dishes for an all day binge-fest, with our kids joining us in the afternoon. And if that isn't enough, almost everyone comes to work in full costume for judging.

This year's winners?

1) Kathy Duggan-Josephs as... we're not really sure, but it was definitely ugly and absolutely hysterical
2) Siobhan Caragine as a shower curtain
3) Decio as a centaur (1/2 man 1/2 horse)

Now if only we had Martin's old pumpkin air cannon. Rumor has it, it would launch a pumpkin 3500 feet... Maybe next year.

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posted by becky terhaar at 1:11 PM   2 comments

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.

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posted by Catherine Ryan at 7:17 AM   0 comments

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!

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posted by becky terhaar at 11:28 AM   0 comments

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...

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posted by Decio Tenreiro at 8:54 AM   0 comments

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.

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posted by martin stein at 3:11 AM   1 comments

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.

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posted by martin stein at 2:00 PM   0 comments

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.

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posted by martin stein at 4:00 AM   0 comments

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.

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posted by Siobhan Caragine at 7:53 AM   0 comments

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!

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posted by becky terhaar at 9:00 AM   1 comments

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!

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posted by becky terhaar at 8:30 AM   0 comments

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...

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posted by martin stein at 12:01 PM   0 comments

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!

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posted by becky terhaar at 10:39 AM   0 comments

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!

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posted by Tally at 9:44 AM   0 comments

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.

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posted by martin stein at 6:29 PM   3 comments

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!!!!

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posted by martin stein at 10:08 AM   2 comments

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)

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posted by martin stein at 10:56 AM   0 comments

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.

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posted by becky terhaar at 12:22 PM   0 comments

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.

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posted by becky terhaar at 12:28 PM   0 comments

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.

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posted by becky terhaar at 12:00 PM   0 comments

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.

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posted by becky terhaar at 11:02 AM   0 comments

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.

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posted by becky terhaar at 6:26 AM   0 comments

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.

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posted by martin stein at 11:47 AM   0 comments

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!

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posted by becky terhaar at 9:54 AM   0 comments

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!

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posted by becky terhaar at 6:24 AM   0 comments

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!

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posted by martin stein at 1:17 PM   1 comments






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