Monday, April 27, 2009

April 27, 2009 - Happy days live on!

Hey there, hi there and hello there to you all.  Wow, another amazing week under the belt ... didn't think I'd be able to have another stupendous one like last week, but I did:)  A big ol' happy birthday to Grandpa K (wish I could've been there for the ice cream:) and to Pam Crum, hope you're having fun in Shueyville!Aflac was absolutely awesome last week as our whole company got a big kick-start.  We had a great Online Services kickoff meeting with about 20 folks from throughout the company to unveil our plans for improvement over the next year.  This has been such a great initiative to be a part of and it just keeps getting better.  The week was full of gearing up for some more future state planning ... yes, more planning ... but a lot of doing as well, so it was pretty exciting.  Best part of the week at work though was the new marketing spin that our Chief Marketing Officer and executive staff unveiled at what was called the, Aflac All Access Webcast.  Tuesday night  they showcased our new Aflac tagline to the agents throughout the US, and then they brought all of the 4,500 headquarter employees together to unveil.  
Aflac used to have the tag-line of: Ask about it at work ... and now, it reads: Aflac, we've got you under our wing.  Doing this helps align us with what we're really about, delivering the promise to people in their time of need ... now, more than ever.  Of course, with any new marketing plan you have to give the employees free t-shirts.  
And to give employees free t-shirts, of course you have to showcase them on a catwalk with Right Said Fred's "I'm too sexy for my shirt" song in front of 500 of your peers ... ok, so you don't necessarily have to do that, but we did.  And for some reason, they asked me to be a part of the show.  So my pal Sabrina (pictured here) and five of our friends dressed up in crazy gear for the new shirt unveiling.  
I of course wore my flannel cut-off shirt, Maverick style jump suit, NASCAR hat and aviator sunglasses with prefabricated sideburns of glory.  When the music started playing, it was on like donkey kong and we rocked for a good minute with the white hurricane dance.  Our crew received the loudest cheers by far and it was a great morning for Aflac that has created a big buzz at work.
I also had the chance this week to participate in National Volunteer Week as the keynote speaker for the Tri-County Volunteer association where I spoke about moral opportunity.  All of my new old lady friends thoroughly enjoyed it:)  I tweaked my speech for the Toastmasters contest this weekend that went well.  Although I did not place, it was a great experience ... and Dad/Barb were there to see me:)
They came down on Friday where I met them in Atlanta to visit one of Barb's friends Jean.  
Friday night we went to get some grub and ice cream before a good night's sleep in Atlanta.  Saturday we woke up to venture to the Georgia Aquarium.  The favorites included the sea otters, crocodiles and of course ... Nico the beluga whale!  After adventuring under the deep blue sea, we went over to the World of Coke for my first visit to the history of Coca-Cola.  It was a great exhibit, including a free taste-testing at the end.  Each continent had it's own carousel of drinks, so of course we had to taste at least something from each.  All of the Coke employees told people to try out this drink called the Beverly ... wow, they got us good because that was the worst drink ever!  Overall, it was a wonderful experience strolling around in the ATL though and I'm glad they enjoyed the stay.
Sunday we woke up in Waverly Hall for some delicious upside down french toast and a trip out to Callaway Gardens.  There we walked around the beautiful gardens, the butterfly garden, 
down to the birds of prey show and over to Cason's Garden for a push-up pop.  After a beautiful day at Callaway, they joined to watch me coach a soccer game, which didn't turn out great, but those kids are awesome.  Dinner with some of the pals and a stroll along the RiverWalk closed out a wondermous weekend!  Thank you both so much for taking time out of your schedule to come and spend with me, and now that you're the first to take a picture with me in the new pad, I can't wait to fix it up with Jenny so you can come and see the finished project.
I've got another busy week ahead, but after locking in my home interest rate at 4.75%, I can't imagine how good it's going to get:)  Thanks again all, and until next time, have a great week.
Alwayz,
Nate

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