Stoked to be Home...

Just got back from a long work trip...As you can see, several places were visited along the way. The purpose of the trip was to take a couple of engineers from our boat division in Japan to survey some dealers about some super secret kick tail new product...All in all, it was a successful trip. The two dudes from Japan were super cool. Didn't know a lot of english but I helped with that. They will go back with some Jonathon-Nese...
Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pics during the trip...
Here's a few though...
Johnathan Hillstrand from Deadliest Catch. We met him at a sushi place in Sarasota. Super cool guy. He sat down and rapped with us for about ten minutes. Said the new season that starts on April 15th is going to be off the chain...


Here's a few shots from fishing on Sat. in St. Petersburg. Great day. The guys had a blast and the fishing was pretty good too.
One of the several reds that we caught...

My boy Mochizuki...He was big dog that day...

The other guys we were fishing with


Saw a real cool band at the hotel we were staying at in Shreveport...Whiskey Folk Ramblers...Go check em' out here.

Really stoked to be home. This was the longest amount of time that Amanda and I have been apart since we've been married and it sucked. So thankful to be home...

Have a great Easter everyone...

I just had one of those days where I realized how much I love my job. I know it sounds kind of corny but I really do. I seriously cannot sleep right now because of all the stuff I have rolling around in my dome.

Usually when I get asked what I do for work, I can't really explain it. After I tell them I work for Yamaha, and then have to explain that we sell outboard engines and not electronics, I tell them my title is Supervisor of Business / Market Planning and they want to know what a Supervisor of Business / Market Planning does. And honestly, I can't give them an answer. My job description is a blank sheet of paper. And today was a perfect example of that and I really do have to share...

We have had our three boat companies in that we own as well as our newly purchased propeller manufacturer discussing year end for 2008 and the forecast for 2009. And if you hadn't noticed, it's kind of a tough market out there right now and we sell a product that isn't really a necessity. So we have to drastically change our course to survive...So between these meetings as well as the other things I have going on right now, here's a random smattering of things that I did today...

1) Discussed the timing of new EPA regulations and how it pertains to the pricing, programs and new product launches for this year and beginning of next.
2) Dug through different HR stuff (ie work share programs and WARN act) as we deal with staff reductions at some of our facilities
3) Talked through aluminum ingot prices and how they are affecting gross profit at our boat builder in Missouri. We use several million pounds of aluminum each year at this factory so you can do the math when we have a penny swing per pound in aluminum pricing.
4) Had a conversation with a web designer in Southern California who I am working with and talked through the layout of a new product we are trying to get introduced in about a month.
5) Worked with our product manager on the copy for a brochure we are getting ready to pull the trigger on...Need to finish this one first thing in the morning.
6) Had to explain what is going on with the Yen vs. the dollar and how that affects cost of goods. If you didn't know, Yamaha is built in Japan where the Yen is kicking the dollar's ass right now.
7) Attended a video conference with another boat builder in Vonore, TN and was given the lead on reducing our emission footprint at each of our group's five locations.
8) Drew up a new process for our monthly financial meetings...First one due on Wed.
9) Starting pulling data for 50 different markets in the US for a huge competitor of ours to find out their market penetration and how we can combat.
10) Worked with our boat builder GMs on contingency plans on wholesale and retail financing of boats and motors (If anyone has any good ideas, I would love to know it because getting money right now sure isn't easy)
11) While giving a tour of our new warehouse, saw that some product I just had brought in had a wrong label and had to call our supplier in Indy stat...This one kind of sucked...
12) Talked with a boat designer in Florida about our schedule moving forward on some really cool stuff...
13) Began making plans for a couple of focus groups in Dallas and Shreveport for above said "cool stuff"...
14) Learned about acid passivation on stainless steel boat propellers and how to combat rust
15) Ended the night with a video conference with some super cool electic Japanese boat designers on some new concepts

Whew!!! What a day...It's typically not that crazy where I'm juggling so many things at once. I'm usually working on two - three of those things a day but nothing like today...But seriously, I loved today. That's pretty much why I can't explain to anyone what I do or what my job title means. I really just want to put "Dude" down on my business card. I think it would better suit me anyways and I wouldn't have to really explain it.

I'm so thankful that I have a job that isn't boring. I'm so thankful for my bosses for letting me run with some of this stuff and letting me make big decisions. I'm so thankful for the incredibly smart people I get to work with and absorb stupid amounts of knowledge.

Anyways,,,just wanted to get that mind dump on paper while I was rollin' around...Time to go back and spoon with the missus...

Yachts, Wood and Holland...

One of the many cool things about my job is the fact that I get to be around boats...I love boats, I love being on boats and I love seeing how boats are built. I think it's so cool that talented individuals can create something so cool...

Well, the past couple of days, I've been in Holland, Michigan meeting with a group of designers talking about new boats to build in the coming years. Great stuff...Great people. And I'm really looking forward to what the future holds for the stuff we are talking about. It's been a long term project that I've been working on for the past three years and it's cool to see some of it starting to come to fruition...

So the guy that I'm up here with, knows a guy that knows a guy that is the head sales dude at Tiara Yachts...Tiara just so happens to be in Holland, Michigan. Of course we had to go check it out. Absolutely amazing is all I have to say. By far the biggest and most impressive boat manufacturing facility I've ever been to. They build boats that our bosses boss buys. That's why there are called yachts and not boats. That was yesterday...

Today, while at lunch with head guy of the design company we're talking to, I asked him about the wooden boat company that he's done some work for. He said it was right down the road and asked if we wanted to check it out...We were like, ahh yeah we want to see some wooden boats...

And what a treat it was...totally different from yesterday...Small place (maybe 5,00o square feet)...No fiberglass, about 10 employees that build all 20 of their boats per year by hand. It was incredible to watch these craftsman at work. The company is called Grand Craft and they make replica boats of the past. Wood used to be the material of choice when building boats but manufacturers got away from it and starting using fiberglass...These guys are keeping it real. Something crazy...It takes about 90 days, start to finish to build a 58' Yacht with triple engines and it takes these dudes about 8 months to finish a 26ft boat with twin engines. You guys probably could care less but it's really cool stuff...

Anyway, that's been my last couple of days and I wanted to share because I thought it was so cool...

This is the Tiara's plant...Employs a lot of people...

And this is an example of what they build...


This is a grand craft...36 ft. Commuter...

Another...23 ft. Sport...

My first Post in August...

Been totally weak on the blogging thing lately and I oh so apologize...

I'm in Texas right now working with my boys at Skeeter on some real cool strategic business planning stuff that they are going to unvail this fall. We are putting some awesome stuff together and I think the finished product will produce some great results...

It's crazy how booming the economy is here right now...The oil and natural gas fields are going crazy. We went to Chili's tonight (that's the extent of Kilgore restuarants) and 85% of the people in there were oil field workers...And I have to say that I have a greater respect for those dudes after watching a mini marathon of Black Gold on Tru Tv on Sunday...For the most part, the people here have no idea that the US is kind of in a recession...I'm sure as heck not gonna tell them cause they're buying boats like crazy...

I'm really stoked about tomorrow morning...A good friend of mine and his wife are scheduled for their second little dude to enter this world at 7am tomorrow...I'm headed to the hospital in the morning...Really stoked for both of them...Can't wait to see the new little guy...And to those who are curious, Amanda and I are waiting for a couple of years to have one of our own...

That's about it...

Oh, one more thing...I freakin' miss the heck out of Amanda...Now that we're married, being out of town is a lot different. I miss you baby and can't wait to see you tomorrow night...

Oh...Someone's real funny...

Last week while out of the office, someone at Yamaha decided to have fun with my recent office move and decorate while I was gone...

I come in Monday to an empty office, Zach Efron, Hannah Montana, pink pillows, pictures of other people's wives, cardboard cut out of pro fisherman and little high school musical stickers all over the place...

Someone's gonna pay...

Green with Envy...

Check out my boys from Skeeter talkin' smack about my big win last week...Read here...

Random stuff while in Hotel Room....

I'm in Panama City...

Continuing my boat builder journey with my new Japanese friends. Century Boats

Nothing really cool to report on.

It's Spring Break down here so I'm holed up in a La Quinta because everything else was booked. I don't like La Quinta. I like Holiday Inn Express. Good breakfast.

I'm ready to be home in my bed for a few nights.

I'm ready to eat at my house.

I hate missing small group.

I hate not hanging out with Amanda.

Working out and eating decent while traveling is virtually impossible. I brought my workout clothes but they have remained in my bag.

The seafood down here is way better than Atlanta though. Had a crab cake sandwich this afternoon for lunch that would make you slap yo' momma.

That's it...I'm out...Lets hang out this weekend...

Oh What a Week...

Again, I want to wish everyone Happy Easter and hope everyone had a great day. I'm winding down the day here getting ready to take off again tomorrow to Panama City...But before I do, I wanted to tell a few stories from my travels last week...

A few months back, my bosses asked me if I could chauffeur a Japanese visitor who wanted to see our three boat companies. So last week we saw two of the three...Along with my new friend from Japan came another guy that just moved here from Japan to get some exposure to our companies.

Last Sunday night, I met the gents (Neil and TK - American nicknames) at the ATL for our flight to Springfield. Our flight got pushed back an hour so we headed to Chili's for a little grub. When we got back to the gate, Delta decided the flight was pulled back up and we were hosed on the flight. Last flight to Springfield. Great first impression huh??? Fortunately, there was a flight going to NW Arkansas that we could make but would have to drive to Springfield. Had to do it...So we booked through the airport and made it...After getting the rental car situated, we headed to Springfield. We were supposed to go all the way to Lebanon, MO where our boat builder resides but of course I can't pack light and checked my bag which was now in Springfield...So here's drive No. 1...Late night, early morning to get back at airport...

From there, we went to our boat builder (G3) in Lebanon. I love going to our boat builders because I have great respect for people that can build things. Watching things being bent, shaped and welded into a finished product is freakin' awesome to me. Great couple days of hanging out with the guys at G3. My guests were stoked on the processes in place and gave thumbs up...

Here's a shot of a guy that is laying down a perfect bead down on a pontoon log...I can't do this and probably never could, so this guy in my book is freakin' awesome...

On Tuesday, when we were done at the plant, we had a few hours to kill before our flight and decided it was necessary to go to Bass Pro in Springfield. For those of you that enjoy the outdoors have most likely at least heard of Bass Pro Shops. They are "The" place to get outdoor toys...Well, the Springfield location is the Mecca of all things outdoors as it is the original. It's huge, it's ridiculous, it's beautiful....

After a few hours in Bass Pro, I thought it may be a good idea to make sure our flight was on time since it had been raining all day and I heard there was going to be rain in Dallas as well. Good thing I did...Canceled flight...Re-booked for the next day...Boo bears...I really didn't feel like sitting around for the rest of the day in Springfield so I asked the boys if they were cool to drive down to Kilgore. They were all about it. More driving...

After switching up rental cars at the airport we made our quest down to Kilgore. Not a bad drive. Some conversation in broken English. Lots of rain...And one 200 yard puddle that caught me off guard that made everyone in the car scream like girls. It was funny after the fact but I thought the Ford Taurus was going to be scuba diving...Finally made it into Kilgore around 1:30am. Tired, but glad to be there...

I always love coming to Skeeter. Once again, I have great respect for the people that build the product. I also enjoy talking with all my old friends from my Skeeter days. Great stuff. Productive two days with my Japanese guests. I introduced them to Tex Mex and had to explain that the "J" doesn't get pronounced in jalapeño or fajitas...That was an interesting conversation...

Thursday night, I headed over to Tyler to see my buddies Austin, Lee and Travers. Watch some B-Ball and was gowned early...

Woke up at 4am on Friday to fish the Good Friday Skeeter Employee Tournament. This is an annual tournament for Skeeter employees that they let us fish in. There was all sorts of smack talk leading up to the tourney. I showed them...I was paired up with Terry Pitman (TP) and Dorian...5 Fish 11.54 lbs. Winners!!!! Each taking home $130...Boo yah suckas....Great day, got sunburned...

Here's a photo at take off in the morning...Had about 20 boats in the tourney with 50 or so anglers...It was a blast...

The winning team and our catch...Ahhh yeah....

After the tourney, Neil, TK and I had to head to Dallas for a next morning flight. I took a little back road way to introduce my new friends to crawfish...I had seen this place the day before and was cravin' some craw-diddies. Just a little road side place that needed to be patronized...

5 lbs. Crawfish
1 lb. Shrimp
6 Potatoes
4 Pieces of Corn
Burnt Lips

Here's TK and I showing off a couple of the diddies...They were good. I can't wait for more in a couple of weeks at the bachelor party...

After spending the night in Dallas, we were back into the ATL on Sat. afternoon. Good week. Long week. Although there was a language barrier, we managed. Both parties showed patience throughout the week. I realized how much slang I use. It was cool to teach some of it to my new friends...TK now knows what "This Sucks" means when you're sitting in traffic...

Sorry for the long post...I need to do a better job of keeping ya'll posted throughout the week. I'll try harder...Off to bed. Early flight to Panama City tomorrow morning...

Crusin' Home

I'm at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport fixin' to head home...Tired, sunburned and looking forward to seeing my best friend...Lots of stories to get you caught up on once I get home...

The Power of Power Point

I'm fixin' to be out of the office a bunch over the next several weeks doing various things. So today was my final so called day of organizing and planning. Powerpoint and me got down today. Slides everywhere, several presentations at once, shear pandemonium I tell ya...I was pretty much in the conference room the entire day...The pic below somewhat captures the moment...

My brain is fried...I'm going to bed. Early flight to Indianapolis tomorrow. Go Hoosiers!

Want me to work on your engine????

This past week as part of my management training program I was enrolled in Module 1 Technician training. Yup, that's right, this desk boy got a wrench in my hand and got to get down with some nuts and bolts. It was a great week and I learned a bunch about our product. Huge props to Wayne the trainer and the two dudes that were in my lab group for being incredibly patient with my neophyte self.


Fortunately for Yamaha I didn't blow anything up this week. I did however almost drop myself while holding onto the leads of a digital multi meter gauge and firing up an engine...No bueno...A cuss word was said as several volts were transferred throughout my left arm...So dumb but it definitely gave the couple of old timers in my group a big laugh for the rest of the week.

Despite my lack of all mechanical know how I did pass the test and passed the class. I'm now officially on my way to becoming a master tech. Well, probably not, but I'll be taking more classes. Check Module 1 off the list as done done and more done...

Look at this in the mirror and you'll be able to read it...I just reached new levels of coolness with this...

Welcome to Miami...

I greatly apologize for not posting this past week...Work took me down to Miami Beach for the Miami International Boat Show. It was a good week but was rather uneventful. I didn't take a single photo while there but stole a couple of pics from the hotel's website....Here are some random thoughts from the week:

• I realized how incredibly not tan I am while hanging out at the beach
• I greatly appreciate how classy Amanda is
• Trying to eat decent and work out while on the road is virtually impossible
• I miss little Rye Rye after getting to hang out with him a couple of nights
  
• Read an awesome book during the flights (More to come)

This is the hotel I stayed at in Miami Beach...It's nice, it's call the National. If you have lots of money, I would tell you to stay there...
Here's the beach behind the hotel. I walked by the beach but didn't actually go on the beach itself. It looked nice though. Here's where I learned I'm not tan...
Here's the pool at the hotel. It's a nice pool that I had grand allusions of swimming in during the week. I didn't. But it still looks nice...

Final Day in 07' at Yamaha

It was pretty slow today at the office as most of our customers are shut down for the Holidays so I got my clean on all over my desk...

I usually keep a pretty tidy area but there was entire too many folders that were dated that needed to get the boot and when I went through my desk drawers I found three staple removers. Really??? Three!!! I don't think I used one the entire year. Plus, I'm a total pen hound and I weeded through about 100 pens that I really didn't use. Then I went deep into the ol' supply closet and found a drawer organizer. Oh my gosh was I stoked on life...Doesn't take much.

Two trash bags later things were looking pretty darn good. I can't tell you how fired up I am to go into work on Wed. to kick off 08' with a bang...

So for anyone that ever wondered where I go to earn my paycheck, check it out. That's right, I'm the only person with a cubicle and a view. I feel kind of special...

Staples could probably use this in their next catalog it's so beautiful...This will most likely be a disaster in about a week...


What did you do today????

Back to Business...

I apologize for the lack of blogging here lately as I've been on a long work trip over the past week and a half. Great trip. More details below.

I have several things I need to write about but first a few house cleaning items...

Check out Wes's post for some 4th of July pics on Lake Allatoona...

Definitely need to check out Curt's recent posts concerning his trip to Bolivia...Read it, you won't be disappointed...

Now back to my recent travels...

I first headed off to Shreveport, LA for the Skeeter Dealer Meeting. This is always a fun meeting for me because I get to see a bunch of people that I used to work with. Very fun meeting. If you get a chance to peruse the internet, check out www.theworldoffish.com. Pretty funny stuff. This guy hosted the awards banquet and he is freakin' hilarious.

After a few days in Shreveport, I headed to sunny Sarasota, FL. I've been to this meeting several times and the hotel that it is at is totally cool. Right on the water - Sarasota Bay. Once again, a great meeting and got to see a bunch of folks that I don't see enough. On Sat. when the meeting was done, my buddy Dean, his wife Paula and my bro Joe cruised on a boat for a while and beached it on this little island. We marinated in the sun for about 5 hours. Besides for the lobster red back, it was awesome. Sunday morning Joe and I made a run at some Tarpon but didn't see any. Nonetheless, great freakin' trip....

Here's an original 1948 Wooden Skeeter...Oldest Bass Boat company in the industry

Here's another....

Here's the newest of the new...iclass...a cool 50k and it's all yours...

Here's the new Yamaha F350 on back of a Century

Joe and me enjoying the meeting being done

Our tour guide Joe waiting as we got supplies for our boating adventures

Here's a Sarasota sunrise on Sunday...The only thing that would have made it better was a couple of Tarpon

Why my job doesn't suck....

Regardless of how much you like your job, there are times when you just want to bounce out and try something else. I think it's a natural feeling that most people get if they dig their job. I am one of those people. We've been extremely busy at the office here lately and I've been kind of blah about things. Well, this week I got a huge re-charge in my batteries and remembered why I like my job, my company and the industry I work in.

Every year, we invite our boat builders we do business with to show them new programs, pricing and product. The last couple years, it has been more about programs and pricing opposed to product. The product is the fun part in my industry though. This year was a much different story though. We held our meeting in Chattanooga, TN and at our test center in Bridgeport, AL. The whole meeting, cocktail party, jibber jabber stuff was cool but the fun started yesterday as we headed to the test center to run product on the Tennessee River. What a blast!!!! I hadn't been on the water for a while so this was a much needed adventure.

We had 14 boats in the water ranging from a 14ft. Aluminum Boat to a 36' Contender Offshore boats with triple F350's (More on this later). I think I was able to get on 9 of the 14 boats. And to make things even better it was about 85 degrees outside. I love it....

A few of the fleet resting before more testing...

This is the 360 Grady White Express with twin F350s. Nice boat. Wait, I take that back...Extremely nice boat. Those are some Japanese staff that were getting their first taste of the action of this beast.

This is the Contender 36 I mentioned before. Imagine a 36 foot thing with 1050 HP strapped to the back. Bad to the bone is all I have to say. 70 mph!!!!! And I got paid yesterday for driving this thing....

Here are the three beasts that power this big boy...Not two "O's" but three "O's" in Gooose boys...
And this is the free hairstyling you get when you run boats all day....That's called boat head. Sweet huh??