January 25, 2009 - Another day in the neighborhood

Hey there, hi there and hello there everyone. It's only been a few days since my last blogging action, so this may be a bit of a shorty. A big congrats goes out to Miss Georgia, Chasity Hardman, for her 1st runner-up finish at the Miss America Pageant. I'm still trying to figure out how I got roped into being on the Miss Georgia Board, but I tell you what, watching those ladies last night blew me away with their talent ... I've only sounded that good about once this year after a glass of apple juice in the shower!

Aflac was pretty fun this week as I was able to work with the team to create our strategic 5 year plan for Policy Service ... sounds pretty impressive I think, but we basically put a bunch of ideas on paper with colorful stick figure flow chart pictures:) I even was able to present it to our Vice President on Friday, now that we got the ok ... all that has to be done is what we said we're going to do ... wow, that's a lot!

I had a few YP meetings this week, including a great meeting with the Columbus and the Valley folks. We're trying to create a partnership with them in order to get some more Gen Y articles and contributors to the local magazine, so hopefully we will know a bit more by the end of this week. We also had our first YP event this week which was a networking eve at the new establishment in town, Flip Flops ... they had some great water!

I did get to see my pal Chris Graham perform Hamlet at the Springer Opera House on Friday and hang out with some folks. This weekend though, was amazing ... I didn't do a dang thing! I'm pretty sure I laid on the couch for at least 20 hours this weekend, and wouldn't have gotten up if it wasn't for a visit to church and some grocery shopping action. I did pick up a web-cam to try and see how my little sister is doing over the pond. Now I just have to figure out how to use it:)

I hope all continue to start 2009 off well, and until next time ... don't worry, be happy:)

Alwayz,

Nate

January 20, 2009 - Be the change!

Hey there, hi there and hello there to everyone here and beyond. So, today marks a historic day of change for the US. Although I may not have voted for Obama, he is now the President and has my respect. He has created a groundswell of passion and trust in our government with people that have not been on that boat for a while. If he is able to corral all of the energy that his volunteers expended for his campaign into constructive change for the country, we will be able to look back on this day 4-8 years from now and realize something great. I wish him the best and can't wait to see what the future holds.

A big happy birthday goes back out to my cousin Carter ... hope you were able to find some new arm hairs as you venture into manhood:) Also, another hello out there to the sister in England. She did indeed venture to Big Ben and Piccadilly Circus where I stayed 3 years ago ... awesome.

Aflac has been a whirlwind the last couple of weeks as we put together plans for improvement and the various initiatives of 2009. We had our first Online Services Executive Steering Committee which consisted of five 2nd Vice Presidents and other VIPs at Aflac. I decided it'd be fun to see if I could make a fool out of myself, and I did by telling everyone one thing ... which I later sent an email to correct my brain flatulence. Other than that, they loved the information I put together including all of the positive analysis of the project ... I will consider it a success! I also brought the PIC team together for our collaborative brainstorm session that I facilitated with our manager. We've put together some great ideas on paper, but we will see how they go over with our VP and the various execution plans to coincide. I had another great meeting with my mentor Joe, whom happens to be a wonderful guy to bounce ideas off of. Also, I was able to help get a promotion for one of the analyst on my team, which was well-deserved. I had another great leadership learning experience when I sat down and laid out the opportunity for advancement for the other analysts on the team, which went over 59% better than I thought it would ... phew!

It was a great Toastmasters week as well since we had our International Speech contest. I finalized my speech Tuesday morning, "Moral Opportunity." The judges thought I had done well enough to be given 1st place with a ticket to compete at the area contest in February ... should be a great experience! I had a couple great YP meetings and I think we've decided to have our YP Gala at the beautimus Rivermill in Columbus. Now, all we need to do is raise about $10,000 and get 400 people to pay money to go ... no big deal right ... wow! The Literacy Alliance quarterly board meeting was also today and I was elected the Treasurer and Program Chair (still need to learn to say no:)! It should be an exciting year for the YPs and the literacy within the community, just hope I don't spread myself too thin to make a difference.

The best part of the last week though was having the opportunity to be the change I want to see in the world! I put together a service trip down to New Orleans to help with the ongoing Hurricane Relief efforts. We had 7 Aflac folks (all SIFE alum) and one spouse make up our party of 8 as we traveled down on Thursday eve to the Hands on New Orleans Volunteer House. I could write all night about the adventures, but the pictures and captions will speak volumes:

So we stayed in a 15'x15' room with 5 bunk beds and 8 people with one heater, that kind of worked ... amazingness! Friday you will see us posted on a set of stairs of the OC Haley Blvd. rennovation project. We helped Stephan clean up the backyard of his homes so kids could have a place to play without having to worry about stepping on glass and debris.

Friday night we ventured down to Bourbon Street for some Mardi Gras good times, 80's cover bands and some real southern blues with a wind/brass band.

Saturday we headed over to Ms. Evelyn's house for another great project. She visited and told us the story of how her and her late husband moved into this house more than 30 years ago and she has yet to live in it since Katrina. So, we were tasked with making it beautiful by sanding off the old paint job, putting up three stories worth of scaffolding and repainting the front side of her home. It was one of those projects that we could step back at the end of the day and feel/see a true sense of accomplishment. I just wish we could see the look on Ms. Evelyn's face when she moves in three months from now!

Sunday was our day off, so we ventured around New Orleans. Patrick and I started off the day at the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the US, St. Louis in New Orleans. The Archbishop led the mass, which was absolutely gorgeous and full of music! We then visited the rest of the French Quarter, after our late night on the town, and saw some amazing street artists and performers. Then it was off to see the remaining devastation of the 9th ward which still looks like a 3rd world country compared to the rest of the US. It was sad to see that even three years after the tragedy, people either didn't have the resources to fix what was left, or didn't even come back to what they had. We ended the night though on a much lighter note by traveling over to Mississippi to visit a couple of old friends. Billy Ray and Connie were the two of my pals I met on my first service trip to Biloxi back in January of 2006. They had us over for a full spread and great times catching up. They don't have many volunteers in the ol' Dedeaux School, but we did get to visit the bunks where I stayed. Billy Ray just happens to be the 4th grade teacher of my favorite football player of all time ... Brett Favre. He must've remembered that I was a big fan, so he gave me an absolutely amazing gift ... an autographed Brett Favre football:) Thank you so much Billy Ray and Connie for your hospitality and gifts, you will truly be friends forever. That night we also ventured out to Beau Rivage for some gambling action at the casino. I am happy to say that I was the big winner of the night at the Roulette table ... lucky #6 won me $72:)

Monday was our last day at the house (pictured above) and we had to say farewell to our Hands on New Orleans volunteer crew. Those folks pretty much gave up their life to volunteer for the cause and were some of the greatest people you'll ever meet. We also hung out with various other volunteers, including some AmeriCorps folks ... one of which was from Iowa and ventured many times back to help out after the flood. That day we headed over for the MLK Jr. service day project at Albert Wicker Elementary where I met up with some Mount Mercy Mustangs ... what a treat. They were there for a J-term class, so I coordinated with their advisor to be at the same worksite yesterday where I met some great folks from my alma mater.

On Monday, besides just "hangin' out,' we had the opportunity to build benches from scratch. Our 8 man crew built 3 normal benches, 3 planter benches and stained them all in the matter of a day. We were able to meet the principal of the school and learn of the great things the community is helping them do as a literacy partner. We also helped sketch out murals and paint hop scotch. It was a great way to end the service portion of our trip so we could say we cleaned, revitalize and built all in one trip!

On our way back there was a special request to drive down scenic 90 through Biloxi to see what the storm damage had done right along the coast. I must say, I was elated to see the amount of sweat and tears that must've gone into the rebuilding along the highway. When I was there three years ago, only a Walmart, Home Depot and one casino were open at the time. Now, the scenic route is booming with condos, casinos and Waffle Houses:) We even made a special trip to Saint Michael's Catholic Church where I worked three years ago. It almost brought tears to my eyes to see that the HOPE we had created there, was still alive and well. The Saint Michael's Catholic Church sign and granite creation of the word HOPE were still in tact after three years. Travis Peters and I spent hours putting together a rememberance for the perisheners and it looks like they're still holding on to that sense of hope.

The people you meet and the things you do for others will change your life forever, no matter how big or small the effort it makes a difference.

So here is my thought of the day, "Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all" (Dale Carnegie). Keep giving back and livin' it up!

January 11, 2009 - Cheerio!

Hey there, hi there and hello there to everyone here in the US ... and England now! Cheerio Steph, I am glad to hear that your flight was not too much of an adventure and that your sweet potatoes turned out alright. I'm also happy to see you've joined the blogging community, so check out my sister over the pond at stephanieaklein@blogspot.com. A special happy birthday goes out today for Grandma Park and Uncle Pat, I hope the fish are jumping for you today under the ice:)

After a slow week to begin 2009, the stars have realigned and we are busy yet again ... just how I like it. We are in the process of strategic planning over the next couple of months which has been quite the learning experience I must say. We've got a presentation this week to our VP to go over our 3-5 year ideas, so I guess next week I'll let you know how it went:) I also did a recap with the team on what they thought worked in 2008, what didn't and what they'd like to accomplish in the coming year. I had some great one-on-ones with all of them and I think we're on track to have a wondermously productive year!

This week was also a fabulous week for all of the volunteer action. I had a double meeting day for the Literacy Alliance and Young Professionals group. I've been asked to be the Treasurer and Program Chair for the Literacy Alliance, and that whole New Year's resolution to learn to say no more often ... didn't work, so it should be an exciting year of Literacy for me:) I suppose I could find worse things to take up my time. We also learned Friday that the local TV station, WRBL, is on to help out with our 2nd Annual Favorite Word Gala next year ... yippee.

Then, we had the best YP FUNdraising we've had since I took over last July. Everyone has taken stake and chosen a business to contact for sponsorship, and hopefully by the end of tomorrow we'll have 3 of our events fully sponsored:) Also, we were able to tour the new National Infantry Museum to see if it'll be able to hold our YP Gala later this year. It is going to be an amazing facility with a brand-spankin-new IMAX theatre ... sweeeeeeet!

It should be a pretty exciting week of work and then 8 of us Aflac'rs are heading down to New Orleans for a service trip over MLK Jr. weekend. I'm pretty excited to see the progress that's been made since the last time I was there in January of 2007 (pictured here at Emma & Joe's place). Plus, we're going to meet up with the Mount Mercy group that will be there the same time ... what a cowinkidink;) Seeing as though we'll be there through next Monday eve, my next post will be a little delayed, but wondermous nonetheless.

In honor of Dr. King, take it upon yourself to make MLK Jr. day a day on vs. a day off. Help someone in need or serve the greater good and remember what he said, "Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

Alwayz,

Nate

January 4, 2009 - Yeah, 2009 ... Happy New Year!

Hey there, hi there and hello there to everyone this brand new year. Time flies when you're having fun and there is no doubt that 2008 was just that, so I am excited for 2009 and a new challenge around every corner. Special birthday wishes to Kayla K this past week:) Also, I want to wish my sister Stephanie the best of luck in her travels as she heads over to England to study abroad for a semester ... have a blast over there Steph and stay away from the pubs;)

Aflac has been fairly slow these last couple of weeks, as I'm sure many businesses have. Not a lot of people have been in the office, which has given me the opportunity to work more on plans for 2009 and beyond. This whole strategic planning thing for Online Services is pretty interesting, but something very new for me to think so pie in the sky about an initiative. Hopefully they like my ideas:)

It was a wonderful weekend full of running outside, kickin' the ol' soccer ball around and rollerblading. You just have to love the winter 60 degree weather ... sorry all of my friends/fam back in Iowa!

I would have to say though, the best part about this last week was most definitely the New Year's celebration (which happened to also be my best friend's birthday as well ... happy birthday Gump:). So, I had a crazy idea ... not far fetched for myself ... that I would like to celebrate the New Year not the normal one time per year, but why not twice this year? Now you may be asking yourself Nate, what are you talking about? And it's at this point that I smile, wink and give you the thumbs up when you realize I really did come up with a very stupid, yet amazing idea:) So here's how it worked: we began the evening at Mr. Ed's house with a few good pals (pictured to the left) to celebrate in the Eastern Standard Time Zone with Dick Clark (whom, by the way, I believe they cryogenically freeze for 364 days a year before they warm him up for New Year's). After some card games, we all counted down together and popped open the sparkling grape juice to bring in the New Year ... it was at that instant, where normal people would either kiss their significant other, drink some more beverages or just hang out ... but I'm not normal. So, my buddy Patrick and myself we run off and jump in the Honda for the great part of the evening, our venture to travel back in time to the Central Time Zone to celebrate New Year's one more time and hour behind us ... yes, I know what you're thinking right now ... genius (or weirdo, either one works). We drive 40 minutes to Auburn and after a few moments, we stroll into the Supper Club. Wow, this place is a dive with an old band called the Zigtones playing. Nevertheless, we had accomplished our mission with ten minutes to spare (pictured to left) and we may not go down in the history books for this feat, but it is a great story and I can now check it off my bucket list! Thanks Pat for a great wing man experience.

Also, thank you everyone at Aflac, in Columbus and back home for a great 2008 ... I wish you the best in 2009. Here is my morsel for the beginning of 2009 from my buddy Dale Carnegie, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. People are interesting ... get to know all you can." Give it a shot, let me know how it goes.

Until next time, I hope you all have a great work week and Steph ... have fun!

Alwayz,

Nate

ps, good luck in the ER Jenny:)

December 30, 2008 - Happy Holidays

Hey there, hi there and hello there everyone. I hope everyone had an absolutely amazing Christmas and that this New Year brings you everything you hope for:) It's been a little while since my last post and a lot has happened, but instead of writing a thousand words, I thought I would post a picture collage of the past weeks with captions ... I hope you enjoy!

What a good lookin' crew ... the ol' MMC SIFE gang, best team I've ever been on hands down!

Grandma Naber gets a surprise visit from the grandkids ... great seeing you Grandma:)

Christmas Eve celebration with Dan's parents in Shueyville. This was my first chance to start Kindling:)

Packers game at Lambeau with the fam ... need I say more?

70 degrees in Columbus, GA had nothin' on 10 degrees and snow in Iowa. So, Blake and I decided to make a snowman with a red mohawk and blue eyes while battling our dog Doc for our gloves 'Marley and Me' style!


Klein Christmas up at Grandpa's house with all of the aunts, uncles and crazy cousins ... it doesn't get any better than a Manchester celebration!

Roomate bonding time at the Irish Democrat. Hormy and I dominated Gump in pool ... I will have to say, we three roomies did pretty darn good with our ladies:)

Jenny made me the most amazing Packers blanket (to the left)! Thank you so much for everything, it was a great week of wondermousness hangin' with you:)

Can't forget Poc, MarJoan and Grandma Park for Nicolasa's birthday party on Sunday morning ... you're all awesome!

This was Christmas number one at Dad and Barb's house witht the sisters, guys and nieces. Addison and Lindsay even said hi an played with me without crying:)

Thank you so much to everyone at Aflac and in Columbus, GA for a fantacular 2008 and to all of my family and friends back home. It was probably the best Christmas yet and I have all of you to thank for it! I appreciate not only the gifts you gave me, but the time that we shared together and the memories that will last forever.

I can't wait for 2009 to begin and experience the great things that are in store. I wish you all a happy New Year and hope that all your dreams come true:)

Alwayz,

Nate

December 14, 2008 - It's beginning to look a lot like Chirstmas!

Hey there, hi there and hello there ... one more week and I will be saying hello from Iowa:) A special happy birthday to my pal Ashley "Kabash" Hartman and my sister Nicolasa as well as a happy anniversary to Chad and Kristal.

Someone once told me that work around the holidays was slow ... ha! It was another wonderfully busy week at Aflac, catching up on projects and gearing up for 2009 planning. The team is becoming very close-knit and we're having a great time getting work done. I'd like to see us be able to seek out more cost-saving opportunities but it appears that around every corner there is a mess that we identify or are helping to clean-up ... hopefully 2009 will allow us to do some more innovation in the department.


I had a few meetings for the ol' YP organization this week as we are preparing for 2009 as well. I decided to get a bit more involved with our signature event we're planning for the summer, our YP Gala. I think we're going to have a Young Hollywood theme, hopefully at the Civic Center. We also had our Aflac Christmas is for Kids gift handout on Saturday. It was pretty fulfilling to walk around with these families and help them pick out what most likely were the only gifts they'll have for the season ... always leaves a smile on my face:)


This past week I also had my second Dirty Santa party, this time with my old lady friends ... yes, the average age was around 60 and I was the youngest by at least 10-15 years:) They were a rowdy bunch and very fun; not to mention they had some amazing food! This week we have our PIC team Christmas party as well which is going to be a great time indeed.


Well, hopefully by now you have all received your Christmas card and poem, if not, please enjoy:



It's the most wonderful time, of the year
And now it is time to spread to you some holiday cheer.


Another year has passed in the blink of an eye
So here is a brief glance at the time gone by.


It seems so long ago that I hit a stroke of luck
But this August was my one year anniversary with the duck.


I'm now with some great folks on the Process Innovation & Control team
As the Team Leader, I'm still trying to figure out what that means;)


I continue to volunteer in the community and try new thins
By giving back to those in need, it's wonderful the joy it brings.


Time with the Literacy Alliance and coaching soccer I have lent,
But don't ask how I got involved with the Miss Georgia Pageant!


With my speaking skills that I learned back at the Mount,
I am now also a contracted speaker for Making it Count.


I even did something this year many thought I could not achieve
I am now dating a girl named Jenny, I know it's hard to believe.


We met at a wedding back in Iowa and have had a blast hanging out,
We've been skiing, to the beach, hang gliding and gone fishing for trout.
(ok, that last one is a lie, but it rhymed quite well:)


Life has been good and I'm thankful for the opportunities it lends
Much of the happiness I owe to good times with some fantacular friends.


Been back to Iowa for weddings, help with the flood and I'll be back soon
Time spent with family has been cherished this year in Vegas and Cancun.


Thank you to all of my family and friends that have visited me down here,
You are always welcome and continue to bring me tidings and good cheer:)


Being with friends anf amily back home very soon will be quite pleasin'
Thank you all and I hope you have a wondermous holiday season!



Don't know the next time I will be blogging, but until then ... have wonderful holiday cheer! See you in a week Iowa:)


Alwayz,


Nate

December 7, 2008 - My Favorite Word is Fantacular

Hey there, hi there and hello there to you all. I hope the holiday season is continuing to be wonderful for you and that your December started off spectacularly! Thank you again Jenny for the visit and I hope you enjoyed the Fuji and fun:) A big congrats to my dad and sister for their new gigs at Van Meter and Teach for America (LA, CA) respectfully ... you both made my week:)

This past week was, in a word, productive. Only had about 15 meetings this week, so that left me quite a bit of time to catch up on projects and start up on some new ones. We implemented a training this week to introduce some new automation that our team helped put together to save the company over $100k per year in addition to a project we finished up this week saving the company >$20k. Looking at the savings alone, our team had a pretty darn good week. Our PIC team was the first PIC team to be featured in the Employee Matters company book for our innovative Customer Experience walk-a-round Brown Paper Fair ... very exciting! This coming week will be full of planning for the 2009 business year which should be exhilarating:)

This week was full of volunteer action from start to finish. On Monday, we had our YP board meeting to try and narrow down our 2009 activity list. Then on Tuesday, we had our YP FUNdraising Dirty Santa party and planning which was a blast. Then on Saturday we got together for some early morning flap-jack-flipping for Easter Seals with their semi-annual Pancake Breakfast. Much of this week was spent in preparation of the big Favorite Word Gala. Saturday we had set-up most of the afternoon and today was the big event. As you can see, I turned into the mascot with a two-canvas outfit. One of which is my favorite word, Fantacular (a mix between Fantastic and Spectacular that will one day be in Websters:), painted by my good pal Mary Johnson from the Chamber. It was an absolutely wondermous event in partnership with the local TV station WRBL. We had around 200 people come in and bid on 101 various canvases from elementary school kids to local artists and influential community members to national celebrities like Rachel Ray, Vanna White and Chipper Jones. We helped to raise more than $2,200 for the Literacy Alliance and some of it probably had to do with the superb choice of music for the event ... the Rat Pack:)

Peter Pan at the Springer was a fun new experience on Thursday as Aflac rented out the entire theater. We also had our first planning meeting for our Hurricane Relief Trip in January with the SIFEr group of 10. Then, last night we had our Aflac Christmas party with Shaka Kahn ... wow, that was an experience. No doubt I was out there cuttin' a rug with the classic lawn-mower and shopping-cart moves! (Yup, that's a picture of my team - Haleigh).

Overall, it was a great week and I'm sure this one will go by just as fast with just as much fun! I will leave you with a fun quote from one of the canvases today:

"Smiling is infectious,

You catch it like the flu,

When someone smiled at me today,

I started smiling too!"

No matter where you are smiling in the world, people will know that you are having a good time. So, surprise someone with a smile tomorrow and see how good it can feel:)

Until next week, have good times!

Alwayz,

Nate

ps, keep your eyes peeled for a Christmas card and Nate special poem:)