Learning More About the Teaching Profession

Posted on October 28, 2015 by brent

I am always trying to learn more about the teaching profession. Not just because I will be marrying a teacher soon but because I am just so interested and appreciative of what they do. Yesterday evening I had the opportunity to grow my understanding of the profession a little bit more.

Our Spadoni College of Education here at CCU hosted the State of Education in South Carolina Educational Forum on Tuesday night. Sidney and I attended. Organized by Edward Jadallah, the dean of the college, it was pretty much an all-star event. The forum brought the state superintendent to campus to headline the evening. Two powerful players joined her on stage as well including the superintendent for Horry County Schools (the district that Sidney works in) and the superintendent for Georgetown County Schools. A couple more folks also added a lot to the event and I will get to them soon.

Dr. Edward Jadallah opening up the forum last night.

One thing you have to understand is that South Carolina is poor. Many students in the state’s schools come from families living way under the poverty line. Much of last night’s discussion centered on this issue.

The evening started with a keynote address from State Superintendent Molly Spearman. New to the job, she made her top goal very clear. She wants to implement more after school programs and summer programs for students in the state. She said it is crucial that these programs are available for the state’s poorest students. When the school year ends and summer begins, the progress that has been made by students coming from financially troubled families dissipates. While kids who are better off go to camps or on vacations, the ones without these advantages stay home and do very little. They gain no “life experiences” (phrase used over and over last night) and their progress shrinks. When school starts back up in August they are behind.

State Superintendent Molly Spearman was the keynote speaker last night.

During Superintendent Spearman’s speech, she also briefly touched on the shocking video of the South Carolina resource officer manhandling a female student in a Columbia classroom. She called it “embarrassing.”

When she finished her address, the fun part of the night started. Spearman went from the lectern to a panel where she sat down with the district superintendents. Joining this powerful three was a teacher from the Georgetown County district and a teacher from Horry County. However, the latter teaching representative wasn’t just “a teacher”…he was Joey Trail, the 2015-16 Horry County Teacher of the Year AND a Coastal Carolina alumnus. Only a teacher for three years, I was excited to hear him speak.

Last night’s panel was made up of (L-R) State Superintendent Molly Spearman, Horry County Superintendent Rick Maxey, Georgetown County Superintendent H. Randall Dozier, Georgetown teacher representative Kristi Kibler, and Horry County teacher representative Joey Trail.

Much of what was said went over my head. Lots of teacher jargon and acronyms. With that said, I was able to pick up two certain points that were communicated with relative ease, mostly because of Joey Trail.

The first issue was teacher accountability. The panel all touched on it but when the discussion got to the very end of the table where Joey was seated, I truly learned what it meant and the controversy that surrounds it.

“Teacher accountability is synonymous with standardized test scores,” the teacher of the year stated.

So much weight is put on assessments blindly pushed to the multitudes that other metrics that should be used to gauge how a teacher is doing go unchecked. What about bringing culture and relevancy to a student with no life experiences? What about making a positive impact on a kid’s life? What about teaching a student to think critically? Why are these things overlooked? Well, Joey explained, it is to be expected when the people in charge of defining “teacher accountability” have never stepped inside a classroom to teach a lesson themselves.

Joey Trail spoke passionately and clearly about teacher accountability.

Immediately this made sense to me. We all have past examples from our own professions and experiences where people who have no idea about what we do and the challenges we face try to dictate the best way to do our jobs or what constitutes success. However, it sounds like teachers have it especially rough. I now have a good understanding of the current climate of teacher accountability.

The second point that was communicated loud and clear to me is that students need love. As I mentioned, South Carolina schools welcome thousands and thousands of students from impoverished and broken homes. These are the kids, explained members of the panel, that need love the most. We aren’t talking a distant, metaphorical type of love either. They mean real love.

Echoed by the state superintendent down through Joey, last night wasn’t the first time I heard about teachers actually loving their students. Sidney tells me all the time that she loves and cares for the kids in her classroom. So while the concept isn’t entirely new to me, I am still trying to get used to it. I had fabulous teachers growing up but did I ever think they actually loved us? Hardly! If I became a teacher do I think I would ever be able to genuinely love my students, especially the ones with behavioral problems? I doubt it.

I really think this might be a Southern component of the education system. Like I said, I just can’t think of any of my past educators having this type of personal love for me or other students. It is definitely a very beautiful thing.

By attending the forum last night I walked away with a better understanding of education in South Carolina. I learned more about the perspective and challenges of Sidney while gaining even more respect for her. God bless our teachers. Don’t Blink.

Enjoy Your Thursday Rundown

Posted on October 22, 2015 by brent

Good evening to you all. I absolutely love these late October days. How about we get right to my latest Thursday Rundown?

Lee Brice Concert – Last Friday I worked the Lee Brice concert here at Coastal Carolina University. Although Brice has put on some pounds, he performed as best he could. I took some sweet photos and enjoyed listening to a couple of his major hits but it didn’t stop me from leaving early. I was tired from the week and the energy in the venue just wasn’t enough to keep me until the encore. After I had gathered enough content for our social media outlets I bolted.

This is one of the photos I took at the Lee Brice concert on Friday night.

Happy Birthday, Chauncey! – Tomorrow night the Coastal Carolina community will celebrate Chauncey’s (our mascot) birthday. We are holding the bash to coincide with the Chanticleer volleyball game that evening. April Betsch offered me the opportunity to work on this project with her and for the past couple months we have put the program together with Nathan Marcus, the marketing assistant for Chanticleer Athletics. Pre-match there will be a tailgate for students and a birthday party for children. At halftime of the contest there will be a special birthday skit. Of course the whole evening itself will be a birthday celebration devoted to our favorite mascot. If you live in the area please come out and eat some cake with Chauncey.

You are invited to Chauncey’s birthday party tomorrow night.

Count Brentula – I am always looking for an excuse to dress up. This past Monday I stretched that excuse just a little bit as I decided that I needed to get in costume for my monthly #CCUSocialMedia Dream Team staff meeting. The night before I bought the cheapest vampire costume I could find at Wal-Mart. It did the trick as I was the cheesiest Dracula on the Coastal Carolina University campus that morning. Of course I was caught on social media…

I was Count Brentula on Monday.

Boomerang – Thanks to a counterpart at the University of Arizona, I was alerted about Instagram’s brand new app that was released today. Called Boomerang, it is a bare bones service that creates one second GIF-like videos…yes…ONE SECOND. You press the main button and the app will take a burst of photos and mash it into a video. Although the app didn’t take my breath away upon playing with it for the first time, I won’t write it off just yet. I need to think about how Boomerang’s super short videos could possibly enhance the experience of #CCUSocialMedia users. (Make sure to click on the below image to see what Boomerang is all about)

Messing around with Instagram’s newest app, #Boomerang.

A video posted by Brent Reser (@brentreser) on Oct 22, 2015 at 11:05am PDT

Wedding Update #10/Golf Update – Sidney and I enjoyed our second Pre-Cana class on Tuesday. We talked more about our upbringings and family traditions. It is important that two of us understand how we were raised and how that has shaped us into the people we are today. The main takeaway lesson is that we can’t focus on changing each other, rather, we need to concentrate on changing ourselves.

Golf wise, we hit the Par-3 again. We went to the same course but played a different nine holes. On a gorgeous morning I played much better than the previous week and pulled out the victory over Sidney.

Me swinging the club this past weekend.

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That is all I got for you tonight. Remember to wish Chauncey a happy birthday tomorrow. Have a terrific weekend. Don’t Blink.

Back to Business Thursday Rundown

Posted on October 15, 2015 by brent

After last week’s birthday-themed Thursday Rundown it is right back to the random, boring rundowns you are used to. Here we go…

Social Circle is Back! – My own social media segment on our University television show, “Coastal Now,” was miraculously picked up for a second season! Not only did they ask me back but I got an awesome new virtual set behind me. For my season two debut, I talked about the major impact our brand new teal turf has had on our social media efforts. To watch the segment, just click here.

I have a new virtual set this year!

Lee Brice Tomorrow – After last year’s very successful Darius Rucker show, our Office of Philanthropy is once again sponsoring another concert. Like in 2014, Coastal will be going country again. Lee Brice will perform inside our HTC Center tomorrow night. Armed with my all-access credential, I will be covering the show for #CCUSocialMedia. I don’t go to many concerts anymore so I am excited to once again hear some live music from someone of Brice’s stature.

Lee Brice will play on campus tomorrow night.

Public Speaking Class – I was once again inside a classroom today covering the action for #CCUSocialMedia. While today’s class might not have matched the abstractness of Monday’s acting adventure, the students I covered this morning still had to be creative. It was COMM 341, the advanced public speaking class on campus. I watched as seven students delivered speeches about their favorite destination in the world. After those speeches, classmates who did not speak on this particular day offered critiques. The professor, Elizabeth Muckensturm, who I have talked with about social media before, also gave feedback. I enjoyed not only covering the class but also knowing that I would not have to speak!

These were the seven students who delivered speeches in today’s class.

New Clubs – My big birthday present this year was a set of golf clubs! Last Thursday I could hardly contain my excitement as I picked them up from Dick’s Sporting Goods. That Saturday we had our sixth golf lesson and then on Sunday, Sidney and I played our first round of golf together! We simply played nine holes at a Par-3 but it was great to get out there by ourselves and break in my new clubs. Sidney broke them in a little better than me as she beat me by a stroke!

I got my new clubs and Sid got her first win.

Wedding Update #9 – This past Tuesday, Sidney and I had our first Pre-Cana class. We have an absolutely wonderful sponsor couple who welcomes us into their home for these classes. Tuesday we talked a lot about our families and how they have influenced us to be the people we are today. Yesterday, Sidney and I went to the community center of St. Andrew where our pastor, Father James LeBlanc, discussed holy matrimony in the Catholic church. He went over marriage, divorce, and annulments in great detail. While of course we are just focused on marriage, we wanted to get an idea on specifically what the church teaches about it all. It was also a great opportunity to hear the questions of others and to personally chat with Fr. LeBlanc.

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This week has seemed to fly by. Enjoy your weekend everyone and, as always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Don’t Blink.

One Neat Class

Posted on October 12, 2015 by brent

One of the best parts about working in higher education is you get to observe firsthand the raw talent of college students. For me, since making the transition from overseeing the social media program of an athletic department to one of a whole university, I have enjoyed a much broader showcasing of talent. Many times I get to experience arts and disciplines that I have no background in. Today was no different.

I started a social media campaign at Coastal Carolina University simply called “Inside the Classroom” (yes, I managed to name a social media campaign without a hashtag). I pitched the initiative as a Facebook feature where I would poke my head inside a class at Coastal each week and quickly take a couple photos. However, starting with my first visit to a photography class in August, the professors made it clear that they didn’t mind if I did more than just “poke my head inside.” They literally opened up their classrooms to me.

What was supposed to be a once a week Facebook feature turned into a twice a week multi-platform spotlight. Instead of just spending a moment or two in these classrooms I was spending a half an hour covering the class via Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and Periscope. A Facebook photo album followed afterwards. Soon, no longer was I seeking out professors to participate. Instead, professors were contacting me asking if their class could be featured.

This morning I covered my favorite classroom yet. Acting 150 is a class for our freshmen theatre students. While they might be young, they are incredibly talented. Our theatre program is nationally renowned. Hundreds apply, few get in. The students I observed this morning are the best of the best.

I observed these students in an Acting 150 class today.

The class was taught by campus-favorite Robin Russell. A theatre professor as well as our host of Coastal Now, she is one of a kind. The class I visited today had some of the most talented students on campus but it also had one of the most talented professors as well.

Robin during today’s class giving her students pointers.

In order to understand what I witnessed, you would just have to throw out any preconceived notion you might have about what constitutes class. Even if you do realize that an acting class might be a little different than a traditional class, you would still be blown away by what went down in the Edwards Building this morning. Students today weren’t reading scripts or listening to Robin lecture about techniques. Instead, they were dancing, or, to use an even better word, performing.

The students engaged in an activity called flocking.

Robin had the students do an exercise called flocking. This was a type of dance where the 13 students would follow what the leader was doing. Sounds simple enough, right? Not so fast. The leader is decided by who is in the front while the group continuously changes facings and directions. With Robin changing the music frequently and encouraging the students to break off in groups, the leader changed rapidly. For 30 full minutes, the students danced non-stop.

The students were concentrated and poised.

Obviously because of my non-existent background in both acting and dance, my lackluster explanations can’t even scrape the surface of adequately explaining this. Please click here to see the low budget Youtube video I made on my personal channel by stringing together my Periscope broadcasts from today.

The students had to feed off the energy of each other and perform as a cohesive unit. It looked to me as if the 13 young men and women had poured some serious time into rehearsing and choreographing what I was witnessing. Not the case. The whole thing was 100% improv. The class had simply woken up on a Monday morning, showed up to class, and performed on the spot. Robin remarked a couple times that she wished she could charge admission for what we were watching.

It isn’t easy to stay together for 30 minutes.

It was fun observing the students work together while Robin shouted directions and encouragement. At one point she even jumped in herself and led the group! I admit it, the type of activity, movement, and music I took in today was completely foreign to me but at the same time it was also very enlightening. Even though I am out of school, I am still learning and broadening my horizons.

These are super blurry photos but I wanted to include a couple images of when Robin jumped in and participated.

After the 30 minutes expired, Robin cut the music and let the students get water. The class then huddled back together and discussed the exercise. After a long period of watching the students remain completely silent and focused on the task, it was really cool to see them open up and discuss what was going through their minds. They brought up challenges while also pinpointing what went right. As the talk was still at a high level, I had to excuse myself so I could get to a meeting. I usually stay in classrooms for 20-30 minutes…today I stayed for almost an hour.

Robin led a class discussion after the flocking exercise ended.

Thanks to Robin Russell and her Acting 150 class for allowing me to visit today. The goal of Inside the Classroom is to show our audience learning in action while also giving our students social media coverage. However, a byproduct of these two things is that I become a more enriched individual. Talk about a perk of the job! Don’t Blink.

Dealing With a Crisis on Social Media

Posted on October 6, 2015 by brent

For social media professionals, it isn’t always about the glory. It isn’t just about developing spectactular content, introducing the newest channels to your audience, and making things go viral. One of the biggest aspects of the job, if not the most important, is how your social media program responds during crisis.

When a storm comes through, whether it be a weather phenonmenon or a tragedy/scandal/unforeseen event, people understandably expect their schools and employers to make decisions. The leadership teams of these entities get together and do all they can to take the absolute best course of action. Believe me, they investigate all possible scenarios and agonize over every little detail. After all things are considered, a decision is made.

Once a direction is taken, it is time to relay it to the public. Press releases are drafted, e-mails are sent, and text alerts hit thousands of phones. Then there is the social media piece…

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At the University of Montana, I oversaw all social media accounts for the heavily followed athletic department channels. I was at the helm when, out of the blue, our athletic director and head football coach were fired on the same day. Because at the time our athletic channels were more followed than the main university channels, the public also looked to our social media program for updates when a ferocious avalanche-inducing winter storm hit the area and when the campus went on lockdown because an armed felon came close to the premises.

Here during my time at Coastal Carolina University we experienced a winter storm earlier this year that resulted in the cancellation of classes. We also experienced a couple other situations that required decisions be made and the public be notified. However, the unprecendented flooding over the past several days gave our university and myself something that up until that point we had not dealt with.

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As opposed to press releases, e-mails, and text alerts, social media is completely different. With social, if you are doing it right of course, it is a live dialogue with your audience. They can question you, they can commend you, they can condemn you. There is absolutely no hiding.

Aside from the actual decision/announcement itself, the most intensive work a social media professional will do is addressing the lead-up to the actual decision/announcement. Here was the deal: We canceled classes and closed campus on Monday. We then delayed classes on Tuesday. On both Sunday and Monday we started receiving inquiries regarding the status of the next day several hours before the decision. A social media program simply can’t ignore the questions and concerns. On both days, we made sure to let our audience know that we were aware of the situation and that an announcement would be coming soon.

Right when decisions were made, we made sure to post the information on social media. Our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts carried an approriate version of the announcement. Once the posts went live, the engagement blew up.

Sunday’s announcement to cancel classes on Monday was popular. Pretty much our whole audience voiced approval. Don’t think that means a social media employee is finished, however. People (again rightfully so) want to know how the decision impacts them. Questions ranging from dining service hours to the work schedule of employees to shuttle service availability to anything else you could think of were all asked. It was my goal to make sure not one question went unanswered.

Questions come from everywhere. On the main post. In the inbox. Off of other posts not related to the subject…and these are just on Facebook! It is easy to get a little overwhelmed because when you refresh your social media accounts, the inquiries keep building up. But it is crucial to just buckle down and respond.

Monday was more challenging. The decision to delay classes was not popular with our commuter population. Once again, I made it a priority to respond to each post. If you let it play with your head, the unhappy comments can really start to wear on you. But I tried to not let it get to me. I knew the people commenting were in tough positions. With support for the decision but with empathy for those students who had to decide whether or not to travel to campus, I did my best to provide a response to each person. I knew I couldn’t please each social media user with my reply but at the very least I could confirm with them that Coastal saw and read their comments.

The texts of encouragement from co-workers and the support of my fiance, along with my love for #CCU, gave me an extra drive to do the best possible job I could with the situation. I felt bad knowing that a portion of our social media audience was angry and disappointed but I also kept in mind that regardless of the decision that was made, some people were not going to be happy. Such is the nature of higher education.

Even tweets from sympathetic students helped!

Did I do everything perfectly the past couple days? Heck no!! When you respond to hundreds of comments, sometimes a reply doesn’t come out the way you wish it would have. I hope to improve next time. But with the assurance that I did try my absolute best at the time, I can sleep well tonight. Yep, social media isn’t just about posting photos and giving shoutouts. Don’t Blink.

An Unbelievable Flood

Posted on October 4, 2015 by brent

What a day!

Although all of us in the Myrtle Beach area had braced for heavy rain, the byproduct of Hurricane Joaquin, I don’t think we expected this. Big time flooding impacted the Grand Strand today and it has thrown a wrench into the upcoming work week.

Little did we know how crazy things were about to get (NOTE: That is a street behind me).

Sidney and I knew the storm had really arrived this morning. We arrived at church and got soaked by something other than holy water as we made the short walk from my car to St. Andrew Parish. By the time the service had ended, sheets of rain were violently coming down. We made it to my car completely drenched and made the challenging drive back to Sid’s house. We ran inside and ate brunch. After watching maybe 20 minutes of TV, Sidney looked outside and yelled at me to come join her.

Her home street, located in a very nice residential area, was completely flooded. It was as if the pavement had been magically replaced by a river. A short time after this discovery, Sidney got notice that Horry County Schools, the district she works in, had canceled classes for tomorrow. With Horry County making this move, I knew our Coastal Carolina University social media channels would be blowing up with inquiries on whether our campus would shut down.

One second there was pavement, the next second there was water. This is the street right off of Sidney’s house.

Shutting down a university is a much more complex process than most people realize. For the next couple hours I kept our CCU audience updated on smaller campus developments (shuttle stoppages, safety tips) until the big decision to cancel classes was made. When the call to pull the plug on tomorrow was official, I was able to get word out on what everyone really wanted to know.

But back to the scene in our neighborhood. The body of water on our street had receded so Sidney took a chance going over to her parents’ house as they live close by. She took my car while I stayed at her place to work on the CCU developments. She didn’t get far. As soon as she turned off her street she encountered gigantic pools of water in the middle of the roadway. There was no way she was getting anywhere in my Toyota Solara.

Driving in this is stressful and dangerous. This was when Sid and I drove over to her parents’ house.

She came back to the house and after about 30 minutes we got in her RAV4 and took a very scenic drive to get to her parents. Even though we bypassed a lot of the insane water, we still gritted our teeth as we went through huge pools and said a prayer as we went by neighborhoods that were completely flooded. After eating a fantastic roast meal cooked by her mom, we ventured back out in the “ocean.” While on the voyage back we encountered a scene so wild that we had to pull over the vehicle and get out. At the entrance to a flooded neighborhood was a jet ski maneuvering through the waters. It was saving possessions and people from flooded houses.

In the distance you can see the jet ski going out to save people and possessions.

We got back home and rested for a few minutes as Sid made cupcakes and I continued to work. After getting caught up, we decided to do exactly what Governor Haley said not to do…go exploring!!

I took this low quality photo as we passed one of those washed out neighborhoods on the way to Sid’s parents’ house.

On foot we left Sidney’s house and started walking around the neighborhoods. Wearing grubby clothes and shoes we walked down the river, um, I mean the streets, as we took the whole spectacle in. The water reached well above our knees as it took effort to walk as the established current ripped opposite of us.

This is me in the water during the expedition that Sid and I took. It would get much deeper than this.

We walked by the unfortunate houses that were prone to flooding. Everyone was out in front of their homes putting bricks or sand bags in front of their garages to prevent too much water from seeping in. A family had an inflatable that their toddler was floating on. I talked to one of my media aquaintances who was interviewing folks. A couple kayaks floated by. Emergency vehicles were stacked up at the end of one of the streets.

People were literally floating by in kayaks.

I did a Periscope broadcast of the madness and at one time over 180 people were on it. They could not believe the scene I was showing them. Questions, well-wishes, and a whole bunch of hearts dominated the time I was live. Sidney and I shook our heads in disbelief at cars that attempted to bulldoze through the flood waters.

Sidney hanging out in the water.

We turned back and came home. Words can’t describe how thankful we are that Sidney’s house nor her parents’ house has been susceptible to this nasty storm. As night has fallen, we are now shut-ins. We plan to relax and just be safe. Although I thought today was going to be my first day off in two weeks, I feel #CCUSocialMedia crushed it when it came to notifying our audience, especially legions of terrified parents, about what was going on at Coastal Carolina University. Thank you all for your support and be sure to watch the Weather Channel for live reports on what is going on in our neck of the woods. Stay dry. Don’t Blink.

September 2015: A Month Worth Recapping

Posted on September 30, 2015 by brent

Every now and then when a month ends, I like to quickly reflect on it. These posts typically come just twice a year and usually cover March or December and a summer month. I have never focused on September before. However, there is a first time for everything.

September 2015 was great from both angles. When I say “both angles” I mean work life and personal life.

Even busier this September than last, I have had my hands full on the campus at Coastal Carolina University. The month couldn’t have started off with a bigger bang. On Wednesday, September 1, we announced that our institution would join the Sun Belt Conference. It was a historic announcement that made for a busy and fun day. Speaking of sports, our football team made its debut on the brand new teal turf. I was there to cover that first game as everything that went out socially that night seemed to turn to gold. I was then back on the #SurfTurf the following week for the second home game. Yes, football season entails that we all work weekends and many times don’t leave the office until late at night but I wouldn’t trade it. Lucky for me, the four game football home stand will continue for the first two Saturdays in October.

Me standing in Brooks Stadium on our teal turf after the September 26 game. Moving to the Sun Belt and the first game played on this field with the new turf brought a lot of excitement in September to TealNation.

With September being the first full month of the academic year, things were just busy in general. I got to fully implement the numerous social media campaigns I created for the year and evaluate their performance. I presented to a couple departments on campus, worked with several student groups, met with my CINO Legacy Mentee twice, and visited several different classrooms where I had the opportunity to capture learning in action. I staged the #CCU Periscope Marathon, an exhausting day where we broadcasted live for nine hours straight. I received recognition from a couple publications, including the student newspaper.

But the crowning achievement for the month of September was no doubt the establishment and inaugural meeting of the #CCUSocialMedia Student Advisory Group. This was a long time coming and one of my original goals so to see it come to fruition was the professional highlight of the month for me.

No questions asked, meeting with my #CCUSocialMedia Student Advisory Group was my favorite professional part of the month.

The overall highlight of the month for me, however, was having my brother come and visit me. As I mentioned in a blog post recapping Glen’s vacation here in Myrtle Beach, it can only be described as epic. Sidney and I had such an enjoyable time showing him around the area and just being able to have fun. It will be something that we will always talk about for a very long time.

Nothing was better this month than having my brother visit me in Myrtle Beach.

September was also the month where I finally learned how to formally play golf. Sidney and I completed our fourth lesson last night and have really gotten a lot out of them. Living in Myrtle Beach, it was definitely time that I actually learned how to play. I also watched as my new favorite show came to a conclusion. It was an intense month of “Big Brother 17,” an emotional roller coaster as my two favorites (Vanessa and Austin) both had their ups and downs. Unfortunately it culminated with a major disappointment as Steve won.

Of course I will always have the lasting images of Pope Francis making his visit to the United States. Watching him make the tour through Washington D.C., New York, and Philadelphia was special. The way he conducted himself and the way the American people and media embraced him will always be cemented in my brain.

Tomorrow, October will begin. It is the month of my birthday and Halloween so it can’t be that bad. If I missed you in September, I hope to see you in October. Don’t Blink.

Say Yes to the Flower Girl Dress

Posted on September 24, 2015 by brent

Hello hello hello. After a great blogging week that included a takeover by my fiancé, a tour of lemonade stands, and an ode to “Big Brother” it is time for the Thursday Rundown. Off we go…

Papal Visit – I can’t get enough of the Pope Francis coverage. It is so comforting to know that I am in the same country as him right now. The example that he sets is just so inspiring and incredible. Even by watching him on television I feel a certain type of way. I don’t think anything is more special than when the pope greets someone and the reaction that follows. Some just break into tears, some go weak, some seem to glow. The message he has been preaching since he arrived in the United States a couple days ago is spot on. I pray that his historic trip to our country continues to go peacefully and smoothly.

Weeknight Ice Cream – Sidney and I don’t normally go out for ice cream during the week but when we do, we make sure it is the best place in Myrtle Beach. On Tuesday after we returned from the driving range at a local golf course we stopped at a colorful and eccentric ice cream shop on the side of the road. Technically in the area called Garden City, we pulled up to Meyer’s Ice Cream Parlor. It was a complete 1950s throwback with walls painted different colors, big cushiony black booths, and decorations/collectibles everywhere. We split the cookie lovers sundae and I still can’t think of words to do it justice. It was two scoops of cookie dough ice cream in a homemade waffle bowl topped with oreos, crushed chocolate chip cookies, and additional cookie dough pieces. It was drizzled in hot fudge and spayed liberally with whipped cream. At the top was an intact cookie. No questions asked, it was one of the best desserts I have ever tried.

This was the amazingly good and large sundae we enjoyed at Meyer’s Ice Cream Parlor.

“Big Brother 17” Reaction – Watching Steve win the final Head of Household competition over Vanessa stung a little bit. He made it no secret that he planned to evict Vanessa and take his chances with the jury against much weaker Liz. Although I never cared too much for Steve it was a no-brainer that he would be crowned the “Big Brother 17” champ over the twin. I just wanted Vanessa to win so bad. She played a masterpiece of a game but came up just short.

#CCU Periscope Marathon Reminder – Just a quick refresher that tomorrow Coastal Carolina will hold its #CCU Periscope Marathon. We will be broadcasting for nine hours straight. I encourage you to watch some of the action by downloading the app and following us at @CCUchanticleers. No other university has ever done something like this before.

Our #CCU Periscope Marathon is a first of its kind.

Wedding Update #9 – Our beautiful flower girl, Russell, now has her dress! Also, our Pre-Cana classes start October 13. In case you are wondering, just 261 days remain until our big day!

Look how pretty she looks in that dress!

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End your week on a strong note tomorrow! Or, if you will be working through the weekend like me, finish strong every day. Thank you for your readership, I genuinely appreciate it. Don’t Blink.

Two Victories: A #CCU Social Media Student Group and a Periscope Marathon

Posted on September 22, 2015 by brent

Today was very exciting for me. One of my goals when I arrived at Coastal Carolina University was to establish a student group focused on social media. Right before the start of this academic year, I received approval to form the #CCUSocialMedia Student Advisory Group. I had students apply by writing an essay on why they wanted to take part in it. After I had selected the members I worked with everyone to find a day of the week and time that would work for all (not an easy task when you are working with busy college students). Almost 16 months since I arrived at this university, we held our inaugural meeting at noon today.

The goals of the #CCUSocialMedia Student Advisory Group are to take the members behind the scenes of what I do, paint an accurate picture of the social media industry, diligently listen to/act on all feedback they provide regarding our social media program, and provide them with opportunities to gain experience. Today we pretty much did that all. After playing social media trivia I presented to the group and told them about what I do. I also scraped the surface of the job outlook for social media positions. We then engaged in a great conversation that dealt with the strengths and weaknesses of our social media program.

I was very happy that I got to meet with our #CCUSocialMedia Student Advisory Group today. This has been 16 months in the making.

But what about the “experience opportunities” part? Oh, they got that too.

About 30 minutes before making the announcement to the general public, I revealed the next big #CCUSocialMedia event to this special group of students. I enthusiastically told them that this Friday we would host the #CCU Periscope Marathon. Going from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 25, our Periscope channel (@ccuchanticleers) will broadcast live for nine straight hours.

Our #CCU Periscope Marathon is a first of its kind.

The best part about the #CCU Periscope Marathon isn’t that it will provide our audience with 540 straight minutes of our beautiful campus. It isn’t that it will educate the masses about the magic of Periscope. It isn’t that no college in the country has never come close to doing something like this. Rather, the best part about the #CCU Periscope Marathon is that it will be largely driven by students.

Yep, I am depending on the #CCUSocialMedia Student Advisory Group to provide most of the content and facilitate the majority of the Periscope broadcasts come Friday. At today’s meeting I flashed a slide that broke down 30 minute shifts for the students to claim. Upon volunteering for a half hour block and signing a contract, it will be all them during that specified time on Friday. Although I have improved my less-than-stellar Periscope narrating skills, our Periscope audience will be so overjoyed to have the fresh voices of college students guiding them through the marathon.

I hope you will tune into our Periscope channel (@ccuchanticleers) on Friday. The allure of watching an original and challenging social media event play out will entice many but the real draw will be the students. Don’t miss out on the fun. Don’t Blink.

Lemonade Stand Competition, Round II

Posted on September 21, 2015 by brent

Last week I reminisced about some of my Kool-Aid stand memories to set up a great event that was held at Coastal Carolina University. Students in a Management 309 class formed teams to participate in a lemonade stand competition. During the morning of September 15, these teams took over Prince Lawn with numerous lemonade stands, competing to see who could generate the most revenue. As I wrote in that day’s blog post, the tactics used were very creative.

Two days later a different Management 309 class set up shop on Prince Lawn and did what they could to raise the most money. Perhaps inspired by the class that went before them, Thursday’s crop of lemonade stands displayed even more creative revenue generating recipes and schemes. As I did last Tuesday, I thought I would shine the spotlight on these most recent summertime drink entrepreneurs.

The first stand I approached opted to go for the “mobile strategy.” The student working the stand told me that she was alone because her two other group members were out trying to recruit customers to visit their stand. However, this team was trying to attract a different type of audience. Instead of hassling students to stop by, the young marketers went right to staff and faculty members! I don’t know if our professional CCU employees responded well or not to the tactic but I definitely thought it was a great idea. The team also “sweetened” their stand by providing homemade lemonade.

This student is at her lemonade stand solo because her group members are out and about convincing staff and faculty members to come purchase their drink.

Still fresh on my tour, I went to the next stand that definitely stood out. These particular students configured their stand to accept credit and debit cards! How cool. They explained to me that most students don’t really carry cash around campus and having the option to just swipe their card for a glass of lemonade is a convenience that would be enjoyed by all.

Their stand itself might not have the best presentation but it doesn’t matter because they accept credit and debit cards.

The original ideas kept coming. The next stand I visited offered cold bottled water with your choice of various lemonade flavor packets to choose from. You could mix your own lemonade drink, knowing exactly that the chief component of the concoction (the water of course) was fresh and pure. The team across from this group went with a much different approach. They were offering Starbucks lemonade, the only premium brand name drink available on Prince Lawn they assured me. Better yet, the group was selling the drink for a 1/3 of the price that Starbucks commands for it.

The group on the left had bottled water in their color and lemonade mixes on the table. The group on the right sold Starbucks lemonade.

I strolled over to the next team and was greeted with two sturdy juice dispensers, one filled with regular lemonade and one filled with strawberry lemonade. The original option had lemon halves floating at the surface while the second option had full-sized strawberries at the top. The students proudly informed me that they were the only stand to offer fresh fruit in the product. Not only that, but the team made sure to grab the most strategic location on Prince Lawn, the area straight ahead from folks the moment they walk off of Wall Bridge.

These students used fresh fruit and a strategic location to attract customers to their stand.

I made the rounds to two more lemonade stands right next to each other. The first one offered regular lemonade but with a chance to get twice the amount. The group had a water pong table set up. If you purchased a glass you had the opportunity to take a shot. If you sunk the ping pong ball in a cup, you received a free glass of lemonade. The other group was selling blue raspberry lemonade. Although the clear blue liquid looked tempting in the milk jug, I think I liked the idea of teal lemonade from the previous class better.

This first group on the left offered a chance to win an extra cup if you made a water pong shot. The group on the right had blue raspberry lemonade.

The final two teams I visited also had unique twists. One of the groups had Gatorade coolers of lemonade and iced tea. Customers were invited to walk up and pour their own Arnold Palmers. The other group offered Capri Sun lemonade for those who wanted to travel back several years to enjoy the drink they received after completing one of their third grade soccer matches.

One group had you help yourself to mix an Arnold Palmer while another group sold Capri Suns.

For me, my choice for favorite lemonade stand was a no-brainer. I thought the group that accepted credit and debit cards blew away the competition. My second favorite idea was the stand that allowed customers to take their own bottled water and lemonade packet and mix it themselves. Of course the ultimate combination would be a cross between the best of the best from the first day of lemonade stands and the second day. The group that sold TEAL lemonade would team up with the group that accepted cards to form a stand on Prince Lawn that would generate a line stretching miles. Needless to say, I would pull out my debit card and buy a cup. Don’t Blink.

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser

Tag Archives: Coastal Carolina University