I received the news from Scott Fresener late Wednesday afternoon (November 17) that Union Ink Company CEO Richard Labov passed away. I am one of a select group of people who had the pleasure of working for Richard for 10 good years before the company was sold.

What I am about to write is not so much mourning the death of Richard Labov as it is of celebrating and commemorating the life of a man who did things his own way almost to the day he died. I say almost because he died in a hospital bed. I think if Richard had had his choice he would have been found slumped over his desk in his office on a Saturday morning. He loved the company and working that much.

This is not to say he didn’t love his wife Carol, daughter Andrea and son Daniel very much. Many times Richard would ask about my family. The interest he expressed in my family proved to me how much he cherished his own family even though this was a side to him that he kept very guarded from outsiders.

Richard didn’t mince words. You always knew where you stood in his eyes. He was the “father figure” of a dysfunctional family of employees particularly the sales team. The sales team was a group of people with completely distinct personalities. The common denominator was that each of us thought we were the one that was right. Joe Catizone and I use to joke about how everyone would argue and take shots at each other but at the end of the day we all came together as a team. Richard was the glue that held us together and because of that he deserved our respect. Every employee all the way down to the janitor worked hard for Richard and I can’t remember a year when our sales did not increase by a substantial margin.

I spoke earlier about Richard being a “father figure”. I remember once visiting Union and being called into his office. I had done something for which I cannot even remember but what I do remember is the “tongue lashing” I received for the first 15 minutes that devastated me. When I left his office I felt better because in the true sense of any good father he spent the last 10 minutes building me back up again. I swear the man raised horses in a former life.

When Richard and Daniel hired me in 1996 I thought I knew how to sell. Little did I know I didn’t have a clue. He taught me that if you make a good product, offer good service and charge a fair price you can make money. There is an element of the market who wants that and he taught us to go out and get it.

I am sure everyone has a Richard Labov story. I am fortunate to have many. This is my favorite.

One of our sales representatives, Jake Smith, died suddenly and Richard flew to Atlanta for the funeral on a Sunday. I was new at Union at the time and picked Richard up at the Atlanta airport to drive to Fort Payne, AL for the funeral. The funeral was to be held in a small chapel on top of a mountain in DeSoto State Park.

We were really early and stopped to have lunch in a small town near the park. After we ate we got directions to the chapel and then proceeded to get lost in the middle of the biggest nowhere I have ever been. We were high on top of mountains and a bevy of dirt roads led off the sometimes asphalt—sometimes gravel roads we were on. If we didn’t find the chapel soon we would be late so when I saw a promising looking dirt road with a mail box I decided to turn down it and see if I could ask directions.

At the end of a road was a house with a front porch open under the porch. As I pulled up two of the largest dogs I have ever seen came out from under the porch and came to the car barking, snarling and growling. One was on my side looking me in the eye and the other on Richard’s staring him in the eye.

Richard looked at me and said without cracking a smile, “aren’t you going to get out and go up to the door”/

I didn’t know the man well and at the time and didn’t realize he was joking. I looked over at him and said “Mr. Labov, in all due respect, this is not Central Park and the dogs are not on leashes being walked with pooper scoopers held behind them. The owner has those dogs because he doesn’t want us here”.

All the while I had been formulating my answer carefully the man was staring straight ahead trying to hide his smile.

Richard was known world-wide. I hope many who read this will have their own special memories of the man as well as your favorite story. If you do I would like to ask each of you a favor.

Would you please take a moment and share your favorite story with the rest of us?

Goodbye Richard, I will miss your emails.

While my last bit of blogging was about fun, today’s blog I hope will make you laughing  uncontrollaby. I found this on the homepage of MSN.   Apparently this is a live sports show that appears every Saturday afternoon on the Fox Soccer network in the United Kingdom.  It has a sports anchor and three or four analysts in a studio reporting and analyzing the day’s soccer matches and  on-field reporters they cut to when something important happens in a match.

 What you are about to see actually happend when a Portsmouth player received a “red card” and the studio cut to the on-field reporter for a more in-depth account of what happened.  Click here to view video.

Now after your laughter has subsided and you have full control of yourself I want you to think if this could happen in the United States.  Can you imagine Jim Nantz anchoring the telecast of  The Masters and cutting to David Faraday or any other announcer for a special live report from let’s say the 13 hole at Augusta National with similar results?

Jim Nantz: ” Ladies and Gentleman we interupt our interview with President Obama to go to the 13 green where it has been reported Phil Mickelson has just made his second consectutibe eagle to cut Lee Westwood’s three  shot lead to one shot.  The roar of the crowd is deafening tell us about it David Faraday.  What has happened?”

David Faraday:” I don’t know, Jim Nantz, I don’t now  I must have missed that……an eagle huh?  Is that what the crowd was going crazy about?”

Jim Nantz:  “David, you don’t know?  What did you think the crowd was yelling about?  What were you doing?  Have you not been watching?”

David Faraday: ” I don’t know Jim Nantz, I just don’t know.  The pollen must have gotten in my eyes….it’s been bad this week.  Maybe one of Tiger’s girlfriends distracted me!”

Jim Nantz:  “According to our sources Phil has just made his second consectutive eagle to cut Westwood’s lead to one stroke…….David, get out your fingers.  If you watched from tee to green count  the number of shots it took for the ball to go in the hole, subtract from five and if you get three then Phil just made eagle.  It’s easy!”

David Faraday:  “Well I saw the ball go in the hole….I heard the crowd roar…..I just thought it was because they liked Phil”.

Jim Nantz:  “Another fine cutting-edge on-course report by the station that brings you 56 uninterupted minutes of  Masters coverage every hour!”

I love my Yahoo homepage.

In this day and age of gloom and doom about the recession, unemployment or any other negative news that seems to consume the front page, there comes a glimmer of hope. Today, a story about Joannie Rochette appeared and it was not simply a glimmer. It was a ray of sunshine so bright it easily penetrated every tear welling up in the eyes of all readers.

How many had ever heard of Joannie Rochette prior to the Vancouver Olympics? For those who don’t know Rochette, she is the Canadia figure skater whose mother had died of a sudden heart attack two days before Rochette was scheduled to compete in Women’s Figure Skating.

Think about something with me. Can you in your wildest dreams imagine what it would like to receive news that your mother died unexpectedly much less getting the news right before you are expected to brilliantly perform in front of your home country in the biggest event of your skating life. I am sure many of us would have given up on our dream and left the games to go home and grieve.

But to Rochette, this was not just her dream. It was a lifelong dream shared with her mother.

What did she do?

With her mother watching over her, Rochette performed brilliantly, performing every jump and technique well enough to receive a bronze medal.

Rochette is not my only hero of these games. My hat is off to the Georgian team who came together and decided to remain in Vancouver to honor the death of their fallen luge comrade, Nodar Kumaritashvili, who tragically was killed in a training run at the Whistler Sliding Center. Wearing black arm bands, this small team marched proudly into the Opening Ceremonies and competed to the best of their abilities.

“Sometimes you can’t wait for the storm to pass, you have to learn how to dance in the rain”!

And, dance both Rochette and the Georgian team did. They should be an inspiration to us all.

Note from Jeff: If I have missed others in the Olympics who have inspired you as well, please reply and let me know who your heroes were…..and thanks for reading!.

I may need to revised my last blog as I have just returned from a kick-ass Imprinted Sportswear Show in Texas. The show was held in Fort Worth and because the show was so good the recession may be coming to an end or else everyone there decided not to participate. For whatever reason noone is complaining.

My last statement is based on the following observations:

1. The aisles were crowded with buyers. And, these buyers were spending money. Equipment that normally sells off the show floor on the final day was selling on the first day. One exhibitor even reported someone came into his booth and bought a press and dryer and paid cash on the first day.

2. Buyers are increasingly becoming more intelligent about spending their money. I was working in the Vastex booth and watched several customers go back and forth between equipment booths to learn about the products of each company so they could make the best choice and get the best value for their money. They weren’t just shopping for price.

3. Many buyers were aggressively seeking ways to improve their existing business by reaching out to more customers. Many questions were asked about sleeve printing, oversized printing and athletic numbering just to name a few.

4. Seminars were well attended. Marcia Derryberry, Editor-in-Chief of Impressions Magazine told me they were extremely satisfied with seminar attendance. I spoke to a group of 15 people on “Athletic Printing”, a fairly specialized subject so if attendance was that good for me I can only imagine what Dane Clement, Charlie Taublieb and Greg Kitson drew in their seminars.

5. The downside of the show to me was the fact that it had less exhibitors. I noticed for instance many manufacturers chose not to exhibit but supported their dealers by having a company representative in their booth. Even though they were represented many customers do not realize they were even there and if they do not see that company banner they do not ask about the products.

6. Manufacturers were coming out with new products. As a matter of fact an old friend, Joe Clark, showed me a revolutionary new squeege blade called of all things “Smilin’ Jack” that looks quite promising. He explained it to me but it was so far over my head I will not even attempt to explain it here. All I know is Greg Kitson has been testing it and because of it he says he is as close to a “one-hit” white on his automatic presses as he ever has been so with that recommendation I will throw my hat in the ring right now. For more info you can see this revolutionary new squeegee at www.cprknowsjack.com.   From all that I had seen and heard from printers that have tried this product you will be happy you looked.

Why is this show a success? To me it’s a combination of things.

1. It’s a great market full of screen printing entrepreneurs and always has been.

2. Fort Worth is a reasonable city for both hotel rooms and food and is easy to navigate. Also, Sundance Square is a great entertainment district full of restaurants, bars, entertainment and shopping giving everyone something to do after the show is over each day. The keyword here is reasonable costs and you can park your car because everything is within reasonable walking distances.

Hopefully, in January the Long Beach Imprinted Sportswear Show will follow suit.

I have been reading the headlines in the newspapers and on Yahoo news for the past few weeks. It’s sickening to say the least. And, it’s not the news that is sickening it’s the attitude.

America, you wanna know what’s wrong. It’s simple. Somewhere down the road we have gotten soft, yes soft. Let me tell you how I came to this conclusion.

1. The headlines in the newspaper that we are investigating unfair interrogation tactics on suspected terrorists.

2. The fact there was very little outrage when that “global power” Scotland released the Lockerbie Bomber for health reasons when we later found out from the BBC that our supposed ally, the United Kingdom, had brokered a oil deal with the Libyans.

3. When I passed the TV and Bette Midler from The View was talking about how disrespectful Republicans were last night because they didn’t applaud everything President Obama said during his health care pitch.

4. Toyota, Honda, Kia and other foreign manufacturers are kicking our butts not only with quality but also in the fact we let them export their cars to the USA for less money than they let us export our cars to their country. And, what does our government do? We open our arms wider to them and pay more unemployment to our laid off workers.

This whole softness started in the early nineties when we quit keeping score at youth soccer games. We said it hurt the loser’s self-esteem. So what, let’s teach them some pride. If they get beat 15-0 enough times maybe they will want to get better instead of being the neighborhood patsies.

Talk shows gurus say that spanking children causes poor self-esteem. Do you really think so? I know many people who are where they are today including me who got their asses beat a few times a day. All it took was one good thumping from my dad and believe me I thought twice before ever pulling that stunt again. Back then no one knew what self esteem even was.

Going back to my four reasons for saying we are soft I propose this.

1. Unfair Interrogation? Let me remind you we are at war. I have a son on a mountaintop in Afghanistan defending this country against the Taliban. If we have to beat a suspected terrorist within an inch of his life to prevent another 9/11 so be it. War is hell and believe it or not this is a war. No more Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and airconditioned interrogation rooms. Let’s get back to blackjacks and toothpicks under the fingernails. And, if we have to get a group of Hell’s Angels to ask the questions I am sure there are a few who would have time to answer the call to serve their country.

2. Release of the Lockerbie Bomber? The Justice Minister of Scotland said he was forced for humanitarian reasons to let this guy go home to “die with his family”. I thought a life sentence without parole was just that–a life sentence. May I remind this jackass that there 207 people or so, mostly Americans, who were killed on that flight who would like to have come home to “die with their families”.

3. No applause from all for Obama? What is this? If you disagree stand up and say so like Wilson did and don’t politely applaud like you even remotely agree. Have you ever watched “Questions to the Prime Minister” on CSPAN? When the opposing party disagrees they hoot and holler and show their displeasure immediately. Our politicians politely applaud then run off and talk behind people’s backs. These guys wouldn’t last 15 minutes on the playground I grew up on.

4. Automobiles? This is simple. Charge the foreign automakers the same tariffs, duties or fees that they charge us. If Americans continue to pay higher prices for foreign automobiles because they are of higher quality than our cars then shame on us. Maybe the pride I spoke of earlier will kick in at some point and we will raise our quality.

Oh yeah I forgot. I also read the headline on Yahoo News that said America was no longer the most competitive nation in the world. Hmm? They are just now figuring that out. I guess it took that extra Latte for the brain to kick in.

In conclusion, do you remember when you were a kid and you looked at something to buy and it said “Made in Japan”? You laughed and noted the cheapness of the product. What does “Made in Japan” insinuate today?

I have a tendency to ramble so I’ll try and be brief today.

Many of you have no idea where I am from other than being able to narrow it down to the State of Georgia.  Many of you probably don’t care but the ones that know me know I am going to tell you anyway.

Most of my friends who live elsewhere  think I am from Atlanta because that is what I have told you.

Actually I am from Holly Springs, a sleeping little town just off I-575 between Woodstock and Canton. Why did I tell you Atlanta?  It’s because it is is so small it can’t be found on most maps and when it is on a map the dot is so tiny it is missed.

My wife, infant son and I moved here in 1988. Back then we had a locally owned pizza place, George’s Store which was a convenience store/gas station and several churches. We had no traffic. Now today, we have grown considerably because people want to get out of the city and have major traffic problems (at least for us). Our City Council has annexed a lot of land expanding the city and allowed for major developers to come in and build industrial business parks and big subdivisions. I feel so lucky we decided to purchase our home in a 26 house development where we have the chance to know all our neighbors. Last year in our Christmas Parade we had the Budweiser Clydesdales because someone on the City Council works at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in nearby Cartersville.

The point of all this is I have always said you can’t forget where you came from and who helped you get where you are today. Those are your roots and you have to be appreciative no matter how long it takes you to develop that appreciation. My appreciation of my roots began in 1988 when my family and I chose Holly Springs for our home.

After I left Milltown, Indiana (pop. 750 in 1970 census) in 1972 I swore I would never ever live in a small town again. There was nothing to do and I had places to go. I went to college at Indiana University where there were more students in my dormitory at McNutt Quadrangle than there was in my hometown. After college I lived in Indianapolis, Nashville and Spartanburg, SC just to name a few of the places.

When Joe Clark and Barry Wolfson (they helped me get where I am today) gave me the opportunity to work for Flexible Products Company in Marrieta, GA and my wife and I began to look for a home I told her “find me a place in the smallest town you can find within a reasonable driving place of the office.

I wanted to come home. My roots were from a small town and I wanted to come back, no more big city for this kid.

Yesterday morning reminded me of what attracted me here.

I was awakened by my dog barking and several other dogs barking in my neighborhood as well as 7 a.m. knock at my door. It was my neighbor from the only other street in our subdivision. Apparently someone called him and asked if it was his goat that had gotten loose and was running around the neighborhood. Yes, a goat. It wasn’t his but he was concerned something would happen to it so he was going to try and catch it.

Gawd, I love this place. Where else can you practice stoop sitting, have live goats pillaging the neighborhood and root for the Georgia Bulldogs every fall?

Where are your roots?