I'm just too busy to do anything for the community...

So its another Monday almost exactly a month later and I read another article pointing out how apathetic (or maybe just plain pathetic) my generation has handled volunteering.

Today's Tampa Tribune article, Longtime Service Club Calling It Quits, sites "Many younger men don't want the commitment of weekly meetings" according to Kiwanis Club of Palma Ceia-Westshore club President Dan Moore, 73. The club is down to six members now.

Of course maybe there are additional reasons that this particular club has not been able to recruit young members but the overall trend of non-involvement certainly contributes to the problem.

The case can be made that we all have busier lives with more hectic jobs and far more personal commitments than in years past but that does not mean that we don't have any time. I personally know of too many people in my generation who commit absolutely ZERO time and energy to anything relating to the community.

Many of us will work through lunch day after day for no measurable bonus but rather just because it is the "norm" now instead of taking that hour and applying it to something useful...

UPDATE 5/30/07:
I highly doubt the Tampa Tribune is using my blog for editorial suggestions (yet) but I found today's opinion, Trading Kiwanis For 'American Idol', on the subject to be right on track.

Sprint Ahead... of a fast sinking ship?

An Advertising Age article today, Sprint Nextel CMO Mark Schweitzer Resigns, does not come as a surprise. However I find it odd that they give absolutely no reason for Schweitzer's departure.

Could it be he is jumping ship before new ad campaigns by Goodby prove to be entertaining but not convincing enough to help the brand?

I'm getting a Realty Check, Tampa Bay!

I received in the mail this week the official Participant Guidebook for the Realty Check Tampa Bay exercise I am participating in next Friday the Tampa Convention Center.

The guide book is a step by step how to for the event with a great deal of background information on the exercise as well as Tampa Bay's growth projections as compared to other cities.

The exercise will basically produce Lego enhanced zoning maps that show the Tampa Bay region's future population and job distribution as decided by the team of 8-10 people assembled at each table.

The teams will use red Lego's (commercial) and yellow Lego's (residential) to "build out" the Tampa Bay region. The height of the stacks of Lego's will designate the density of any one square mile on the map.

Interestingly Reality Check's exercise occurring just after the State Legislature's creation of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority.

Ironically though Tampa Bay was defined differently by the two with Reality Check leaving out Citrus and including Polk counties while TBARTA included Citrus County with Polk County voluntarily opting out of the group.

Part of the Reality Check exercise is to designate new and/or improved transit and roadway corridors through the region which means the map does not equally match what the new authority will be overseeing.

Personally I don't think it will be much of an issue though. In all reality considering the proximity to Orlando and Tampa Bay the post likely plan for Polk County will be to build whatever future required link between the two metropolitans is needed, (most likely in the I-4 corridor).

The variable will be in weather or not Tampa Bay and Orlando build systems that can be linked... i.e. we build light rail they build tri-rail.

What is Sprint Nextel thinking?

Here's a follow up on my favorite brand mis-match. Today in my AAF SmartBrief, I notice a banner ad for Sprint together with NEXTEL.

So following up on my mention from last month, I guess that Mark Schweitzer, Sprint's chief marketing officer has so much confidence in Goodby that the company now plans to chase customers away with targeted advertising.

There is a quote in the CNET News.com article Advertising seeps into the cell phone from Lowell McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless that Sprint Nextel, who according to the article "will be the first of the four major U.S. carriers to move in this direction", should heed as a warning.

"We are being careful about jumping into advertising," Lowell McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, said during a panel at the CTIA show. "People view their cell phones as their personal space, more so than their PC. If they get an ad they don't want to view, that is a violation."

Why in the world would Sprint Nextel think that this might be a even a slightly good idea?

The company is consistently losing market share, has no brand identity, zero customer loyalty and are just plain fun to beat up on as a brand and company. Being the first in the industry to show ads to its subscribers is certainly not an area of business they should be focusing on.

Really sad statistics on volunteering.

According to an Associated Press article published today in the St. Pete Times, both the state I currently live in and the one I am originally from rank among the lowest of all the states in volunteerism rates.

Most of you know the amount of time I put into volunteering and the importance I feel it has for the community and personal growth.

Here is the URL for the article if you are interested:
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/16/Worldandnation/Volunteer_rates_dip_s.shtml

Here's the lowest five states...

• 47. Mississippi, 24.2 percent
• 48. Florida, 21.8 percent
• 49. Louisiana, 21.2 percent
• 50. New York, 20.1 percent
• 51. Nevada, 17.5 percent

If this statistic makes you feel like we should do more, then just take some time and do something. It's a pretty pathetic statistic to read on a Monday morning.

Using Blogs/Community for Career Advancement

I read the following WSJ.com article on "How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job" and decided it would be a good reference for some of the young professionals and business associates that I interact with to review or see in writing somewhere validation for what I try to have them do for their own business or professional career.

Utilizing Blogs such as this the one you are reading now is of value and a good start to getting your name out there for people to find you and learn more about you.

However, more powerful than that is to grow an active Blog for an association, charity or other community related organization that is bigger than yourself alone. The power of many is just as important in on the Internet as it is in the real world.

I have personally worked to put this to the test with the Blog projects started for Ad 2 Tampa Bay and the National Ad 2 organization. These two blogs, although currently new and maybe a bit anemic on content should prove to be a huge resource to the current and future board members who decide to fully utilize the voice that we have created for them as young professional leaders.

Article Summary & Link: WSJ.com - How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job
Corporate recruiters have long surfed the Web to vet potential hires, but now they are also surfing blogs to unearth job candidates, expanding their talent pool and gaining insights they say they can't get from résumés and interviews.

Ryan Loken, a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recruitment manager, says he spends one to two hours a week searching through blogs for new talent or additional information about the candidates he has interviewed. "Blogs are a tool in the tool kit," he says. Since he joined the Bentonville, Ark., retail giant three years ago, Mr. Logen estimates that Web journals have helped him ...

Here's a link to the entire article if you are a WSJ subscriber.

Revamped Website for the Red Cross Tampa Bay

I worked relentlessly this afternoon and evening (from La Casa Dolce ;-) to get a fresh update done for the Red Cross Tampa Bay so that the website looked a cleaner and had correct information. They will be doing a complete overhaul later this year but for now this was to just get the information out there and correct... quickly.

Red Cross Tampa Bay Chapter, Serving the Community of Tampa Bay since 1917. The Tampa Bay Chapter serves the 2.6 million residents of Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties, with offices in Tampa, Brandon, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Hudson and MacDill Air Force Base. This Chapter is governed by a volunteer board of directors, made up of dedicated and civic-minded community and corporate leaders.

To visit the website please click here.