The Hammock Blog

Over the weekend of 9-11 November, five members of our production team for Semper Fi, The Magazine of the Marine Corps League, went to Washington, DC, to participate in celebrating the U.S. Marine Corps 232 Birthday and also the annual remembrance ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Our group - John Lavey, Patrick Burns, Kerri Davis, Carrie Wakeford and Bill Hudgins - first went to the Marine War Memorial in Arlington, often called the Iwo Jima Memorial because it commemorates the raising of an American flag on Mt. Suribachi during the desperate struggle for the tiny island.

We spent part of Saturday afternoon at the year-old National Museum of the Marine Corps, discovering that the riches it holds take far longer than a couple of hours to see, even for the fleetest footed visitor.

Saturday night, we joined our client, the Marine Corps League, at its 2nd annual Birthday Ball. At both the museum and at the ball, Marine tradition was observed as a Marine sliced the birthday cake with a Marmeluke saber and handed the first piece to the oldest Marine present. That Marine took a bite, then handed to the youngestﾑthe passing of tradition and duty from old to new.

Sunday morning, crisp, clear and mild, we joined thousands at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 48 million American veterans who, starting with the American Revolution, offered all, including their lives, to protect the nation. More than 310,000 of those veterans are buried at Arlington. The Marine Corps League was this year's host veterans' group for the national observance, and its commandant, Jack Ryan, was joined at the dais by Vice President Cheney after the vice president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Following our annual Hammock tradition of dressing up for Halloween, we decided to increase the stakes this year and have an official Costume Contest. The field included:

Black cat (Lena), Little Devil (Carrie), G.I. Jane (Emily), Count Chocula (Jamie), Surfer Dude (Patrick B), Orangutan (John), Little Red Riding Hood (Barbara L), Edie Sedgwick (Allison), Nurse Gollum from South Park (Barbara M) and the Crazy Cat Lady (Megan G).

Our special guest judges from Capital Records weighed in and awarded first place to Count Chocula, second place to the Crazy Cat Lady and third place to Nurse Gollum. A special honorable mention was awarded to the Orangutan.

Happy Halloween!

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Being the big Apple nerds that we are here at Hammock, we've been waiting with bated breath for the release of Apple's new operating system, OS X Leopard (that's 10.5 for you Apple n00bs out there). Not wanting to wait until the 6 p.m. retail release, IT Director Patrick Ragsdale cleverly pre-ordered the systems so we would receive them first thing this morning.

Unfortunately, all the excitement that comes with a new Apple operating system was a bit much for Patrick to handle so early in the day, and he was found laying near his desk mumbling something about "Time Machine... Spaces... 300 new features..."

Thankfully his iPhone rang, jarring him back into reality and on to the task of installing the OS onto our office computers so we could start basking in its much-anticipated glory.

We've all been so busy, that Hammock Publishing's official 16th Birthday on October 1 snuck right by us. Time to fire up 16 candles.

At last, we can legally drive the company car. Next year, we can
do magic.

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Over the weekend some friends from church came to see our burros, Edgar and Rice. The guy is a retired veterinarian, and the younger woman is his granddaughter. The burros were their usual gregarious selves, especially since treats were involved. This is the younger and more playful burro, Edgar.

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On August 15, Patrick Ragsdale and his wife Lorraine welcomed their daughter, Iris Mae Ragsdale. The newest addition to the Ragsdale family arrived at 10:11 am, weighing 7lb., 11oz. and measuring 19 inches long. True to his role as Hammock's Director of IT, Patrick twittered the news of Iris' birth via his iPhone. And yes, Iris does already have her own blog, one she shares one with her big brother Isaac. How cool is that! (Disclaimer: Mom Lorraine is the current Webmaster, but if Iris and Isaac are as bright their parents, we expect the precocious siblings to bump their mom out of her role in a few short weeks.)

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Earlier this week we had a few very special guests in our offices: Hammock writer Shannon McRae and her six-month adorable son Wills. Shannon and her husband William recently relocated from Portland, Ore., back to their southern rootsﾑto Dothan, Ala. Seeing Shannon was a treat but we were even more excited to meet sweet Wills for the first time. We think you'll agreeﾑhe's a cutie!

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For the fifth consecutive year, American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution, has been honored with a Grand Award of Excellence from the APEX Awards organization. In making the award, the judges commented: ﾒSpectacular photo spreads, beautifully written, compelling stories, and appealing use of spot color, sidebars and functional captionsﾑall contribute to an enjoyable, absorbing read. Stuck in an elevator? This is the one you want.ﾓ We, of course, recommend reading American Spirit anywhere, especially in locations more comfortable than an elevator; still, the judges' comments definitely "lifted" our spirits. Seriously, it has been a distinct honor to be afforded the chance to work with DAR and help carry out its programs of preservation, patriotism and education, and we look forward to each issue with great enthusiasm.

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Among the intense debate over the war in Iraq, one salient point is agreed upon by nearly all sides: Troops need more protection from roadside explosive devices. Help is on the way, in the shape of heavily armored, specially constructed MRAP - Mine Resistant Ambush Protected - vehicles, which will replace many of the Humvees now in use for patrol. The Marine Corps is selecting several companies to rush-produce MRAPs and get them into the field to protect the troops. This issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League, which we publish for the Marine Corps League, reports on the vehicles under consideration and how they work.

Also in this issue, Semper Fi commemorates Camp Pendleton's 65th anniversary as a Marine Corps base by looking at its colorful history as a Spanish-owned rancho that covered more than a quarter-million acres. As in every issue, Semper Fi also reports on the activities of the Marine Corps League in supporting the elite fighting force and its veterans.

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From Sea to Shining Sea, it's summertime in America, and even with new mid-year series and episodes on cable, there's only so much TV you can watch. Instead of working on your monitor tan, check out the July/August issue of Ride Personal Watercraft Magazine, which we publish for the the American Watercraft Association for some ideas on how to cure your summertime blues.

Ride visits a couple of kick-back spots, that welcome PWC. Lake Norris in East Tennessee is a deep, clean lake formed behind a TVA dam, offering not just house boats, but floating houses for visitors to rent. Just toodle up in your PWC, tie off and step into your kitchen for a snack. Or, roll out of bed and onto your craft for an early morning ride.

For the more adveturous, join a group of somersaulting, high-flying riders who gather annually in Georgia - this year at Lake Allatoona - for three days of trick riding and festivities.

For those living on the ocean, tag along on a sojurn out from Southern California to Catalina Island - just remember that the ocean can change fast!

This issue of Ride also includes a visit with the "Dean of the PWC Nation," John Donaldson. A longtime rider, industry executive and now member of Kawasaki's PR agency, John has forgotten more about PWC than most of us will ever learn. And he spends every day fighting the good fight to secure your riding privileges.

Also, each issue of Ride also features great places to take your PWC, new products for the water sports fan and information on PWC racing.

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Summertime just isnﾕt complete without a road trip. Nothing spells freedom like driving down a winding country road on a sunny afternoon with your windows rolled down, your radio cranked up and a cool breeze and clear sky ahead. In the July/August issue of American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution, our resident road warrior Bill Hudgins reveals that early Americans, too, shared this fascination with the open road. Our story, ﾒAmericaﾕs Main Street: The Historic National Road,ﾓ explores the history behind the nationﾕs first federally funded Interstate highway and explains how its construction paved the way for the America that we know today.

We hit the road to Indianapolis in our Spirited Adventures feature for a stop at Conner Prairie, a living history museum where interpreters make it their mission to transport visitors back to Indiana pioneer life, circa 1836. If youﾕre hankering for historical travel with dose of authenticity, youﾕll want to visit. We also check out a series of upcoming cross-country events celebrating the 250th birthday of the Marquis de Lafayette, the Frenchman who endeared himself to early Americans during the Revolution by helping them secure their independence.

On an adventure of another kind, we track advances in online genealogy, which allow you to trace your roots from the comfort of your computerﾑwithout traveling to out-of-the-way courthouses and digging through musty stacks of documents. Discover how these sites make it easy to research your lineage and connect with long-lost relatives without ever leaving home.

Wherever the road takes you this summerﾑwhether it be one of the beaches along our nationﾕs coasts, a historic hideaway or a spot for family funﾑhappy travels!

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Here at Hammock the typical business day is anything but typical, especially around deadline time. As a small business ourselves, we felt some kinship when compared to the hectic days of the small-business owners we shadowed for our ﾒDay in the Life of a Small-Business Ownerﾓ feature in the June/July 2007 issue of MyBusiness. The sheer energy and dedication exhibited by Caroline Geishecker and Mike Mitternight as they rise before the sun and work well into the night in order to ensure that their businesses run smoothly is exhausting even to read about.

But even long days at a tireless pace wonﾕt eliminate bumps in the small-business road. Issues like health care and tax relief can throw even the most committed entrepreneur for a loop. We asked five small-business owners how they confront the burdens of business ownership in the ﾒHandle the Headachesﾓ featureﾑbecause we believe there's no better avenue for advice than real people dealing with real challenges.

When including state political and legislative news inside MyBusiness became one of NFIBﾕs strategic goals, we worked together to make it happen with the June/July issue. For the first time, this issue featured 51 versions, one for each state (and donﾕt forget Washington, D.C.). Just another (long) day at the office!

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An invisible enemy stalks battlefields and follows a number of warriors home after war's end. At varying levels, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) afflicts an unknown but substantial number of veterans, as well as active duty troops. This issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League, which we publish for the Marine Corps League, examines how PTSD has long remained shadowy and difficult to diagnose because its sufferers did not want to be perceived as "weak" or unfit for duty. The condition is emerging from the shadows as the Marine Corps and the other services work to change the cultures that have encouraged silence. At the same time, the Veterans Administration confronts a rapidly growing challenge to identify, diagnose and treat growing numbers of troops seeking help for psychological aftereffects of battle.

On a lighter note, Marine Corps chow has improved mightily since the days of WWII C-rations. While far from Mom's kitchen, mess halls and field food services strive to sling more than hash and SOS for hungry Marines. Some Marine Corps League members also recall how they used USMC initiative and, um, reconnaissance skills to rustle up some unexpected treats.

Also in this issue, Semper Fi salutes the contributions of Women Marines, whose roles have expanded from mainly clerical and administrative to equal partners with their male comrades. We celebrate the life and career of one Woman Marine who is still involved with the Corpsﾑin her 90s!

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Almost as easy to use as just hopping in the car and going, personal watercraft are perfect for family recreation and impromptu weekend getaways. Todayﾕs four-stroke engined PWC are far cleaner and quieter than earlier models, and easily carry two or three riders, as well as gear.
The May/June issue of Ride Personal Watercraft Magazine, which we publish for the the American Watercraft Association visits a Hawaiian enthusiast who combines his lifelong love of fishing with his passion for Yamaha watercraftﾑwith startling results. Speaking of things that live in the water, we also meet a dolphin whose tail was injured by disease but, thanks to Bridgestone, now has a prosthetic tail and can swim and leap for joy.

We also travel far from the ocean to Americaﾕs Heartland, to see where Kawasaki builds its Jet Skis, in Lincoln, Neb. While winter snows swirl outside in the prairie wind, employees inside are crafting years of warm-weather fun. As a bonus, we peek inside Kawasakiﾕs new musclecraft, the 250-hp Ultra 250.

PWC have a serious side as well as their fun-loving personality. None other than the United States Marines use them to provide safety during offshore maneuvers. We go aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif. (one goes aboard a Marine base, just as one goes aboard a ship) to see Marines being trained to operate PWC in the surf in case their comrades need a lift.

Each issue of Ride also features great places to take your PWC, new products for the water sports fan and information on PWC racing.

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Here at Hammock, you'll find lots of shoe junkies. From spikey black stiletto boots to jeweled flip-flops, we love to experiment with different styles. What you see on someone's feet tells you a lot about who they are. So to learn more about the lives of colonists for our May/June issue of American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution, our resident shoe connoisseur, Shannon McRae, followed the path of footwear in early America and found revealing tidbits about colonists, their sense of style and the influence of shoes on early American movements and customs.

Our Visions of America series takes readers on a journey of another kindﾑa pictorial walk through the history of Americaﾕs quintessential emblem of freedom, the Liberty Bell. From the bellﾕs beginnings as a symbol of the Quaker vision of freedom to its evolution into a universal icon, we explore its surprising past, as well as the mystery behind what the bell sounded like, where its legendary crack came from and what became of a replica bell the DAR helped cast years ago.

Another image revered by most Americans is the U.S. Capitol. Ironically, the designer behind this famous structure was a man who dabbled in many fields, but lived in obscurity. We delve into little-known life of William Thornton, a self-educated savant who gained respect among his contemporaries for his scientific, medical and architectural contributions, but whose legacy has largely been forgotten.

We also turn the spotlight on another group of Americans relegated to history's shadowsﾑentrepreneurial women known as ﾒshe-merchantsﾓ who owned importing businesses. In an era when men dominated trade, these progressive women overcame hardship and limited legal rights to expand their empires. Maybe youﾕve never heard the names of ﾒMargaret Hardenbroekﾓ or ﾒElizabeth Murrayﾓ before, but after hearing their stories, youﾕll never forget them.

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This weekend John Lavey and I both participated in the Country Music 1/2 Marathon, which, combined with the full marathon, brought 32,000 people to Nashville this weekend. From my location at the start line (about 20,000 people back), I could see Hammock Publishing headquarters, and for a split second considered just coming up here and watching it on television. But you see, spending almost four months bragging about how you're running 13.1 miles at the end of April pretty much precludes you from chickening out. That, and fellow Hammorati Barbara Greenfield and Allison Lund were camped out at miles 3 and 6 respectively to cheer us on. I couldn't let them down. Thanks guys!

John finished in 1:38:46, and I crossed the finish line right behind him (or some 9,500 people behind him) in 2:27:05.

In addition to running it for himself, John ran with Team Rio, benefitting Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee, which, with a little help from Hammock Publishing's corporate sponsorship, raised more than $100,000 this weekend.

In the Monday morning meeting, Rex suggested we put together a Team Hammock for next year. Kerri Davis, who walks every morning before work, offered to coach the speed-walkers, and Barbara Mathieson said to count her in for the running team, even if she has to use a cane to cross the finish line. And Julia Boklage is already planning the Hammock cheering station.

It's 363 days away, but I think I can already tell that next year's race is going to be the best one yet.

Hammock Publishing President and Founder Rex Hammock recently was interviewed by Peter Beisser from Publishing Executive magazine, where they discussed Hammock Publishing's foray into innovative online media, as well as how Rex's personal blog, Rexblog.com, has become a staple in the RSS readers of magazine industry folk.

"The president of Hammock Publishingﾑa Nashville, Tenn.-based custom publisher of print and online media, including 60 award-winning recurring titles created for various corporate and associationsﾑuses his digital soapbox to talk about industry news and offer links to interesting headlines on the Web. Heﾕll also post observations about other completely unrelated things that engross him as the day goes on. Hammock jumped onto the Web in its earliest days, and in the years since, he has worked to incorporate his love for online media throughout his entire organization."

Read the full interview online at Publishing Executive.

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Shannon McRae and her husband William welcomed their son, William Earl McRae IV ("Wills"), on Thursday, March 8. He was only a day past deadline, arriving at a healthy 6lb., 9oz., and 19 inches long. Everyone is doing well, though dog child Ricky Martin has eyed his brother warily. And yes, Shannon, we agree: The newest Hammoratian is as cute as a button!

Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends today posted an interview with Rex about SmallBusiness.com, a giant wiki-model project the conversational media folks at Hammock have built and host. If you are interested in the creation of collaborative, wiki-model media, you may find some helpful things in Anita's interview. Or, if you just want to know what the heck SmallBusiness.com is, it will be insightful. Thanks, Anita.

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We Hammockites love our moviesﾑso much so that we wrap up our Monday morning staff meetings with reviews of flicks we watched over the weekend. Thatﾕs why we had fun in the March/April issue of American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution, spotlighting a piece of the cinema making a comeback in communities across the countryﾑthe historic movie theater, one of the National Trust for Historic Preservationﾕs most endangered places. Our cover story details the saga of the grand, glittering movie palaces and chic neighborhood theaters of the early 20th century and the efforts to transform them into the cultural gems they once were.

With warmer weather on its way, we also delve into the roots of a tasty springtime ritual: tapping maples for sap to be boiled into syrup. Our story takes readers through the centuries-old maple-sugaring processﾑfrom harvesting the sap to converting it into the mouth-watering confection that sweetens your stack of Saturday morning pancakes.

American Spirit tells stories you wonﾕt find in most history books. This is particularly true of our ﾒRevolutionary Martyrsﾓ feature, a dramatic tale about British prison ships docked near present-day Brooklyn, N.Y., where thousands of Patriots died during the Revolution. By preserving a monument honoring these forgotten martyrs, groups like the DAR hope to make their sacrifice known to all Americans.

Those of us at Hammock who attempt to give up sweets for Lent usually cave once the Girl Scout cookie orders come in. Early Americans faced the same temptationsﾑwithout as many opportunities to cheat, as our Colonial junk food feature illustrates. Our peek into a Colonial cupboard reveals favorite indulgences of sweet-tooth lovers today, including French fries, doughnuts and ice cream.

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This time of the year is tough. The holidays are over, your waistline has expanded and the weather outside is still frightful. Motivating yourself--much less your employees--is hard. Small-business owners everywhere battle burn out, so in the Feb./March issue of MyBusiness (the magazine we publish for members of the National Federation of Independent Business) Hammock's Emily McMackin set out to find ways to make work fun again.

Staying engaged is just one of the many challenges involved in running a business. Many independent owners also struggle when their businesses experience rapid growth. In "Growth Gone Wild" Hammock's Lena Basha talked to several owners about how they handle the often unanticipated problem of managing too much of a good thing.

With tax time just around the corner, the MyBusiness Manual offers small-business owners tools and tips on staying straight with the IRS. The only good thing about April 15--at least spring has arrived.

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The Tennessean today gave Hammortian and web-guru Laura Creekmore a nice shout-out. Her East Nashville neighborhood listserv has grown to over 850 participants. She was online community before online community was cool.

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I love it when I'm running around town, shopping and seeing the sights, and I run into a local business to find the NFIB member plaque behind the counter or on the door. Since NFIB is a favorite client of ours, it makes me feel like we're supporting an organization who supports small, local businesses -- and in turn, my shopping habits.

I had the same sense of pride last week when my husband and I were visiting the University of Texas campus with cameras in hand. We went to capture a few pictures of some statues that a handful of students want removed from the UT grounds. While snapping pictures around the Tower and the South Mall, we ran across one of George Washington (no one wants him removed, by the way). He stands with a perfect view of the state Capitol, just beneath the famous Tower.

Without wanting to just point, shoot and run, we stopped to read the plaques and inscriptions on each and every statue. And when reading this one, we learned it was erected as a "monument of affection and gratitude" by another special client of ours -- DAR.

It's a small world, and these are just two examples of how all of Hammock's incredible clients will soon take it over.

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Our offices are closed for the holidays until January 2, 2007. In case of an emergency, you can call the number 615-690-3456 and leave a message. That number is being monitored throughout the week. Also, individual employees of Hammock Publishing will be checking e-mail and voice mail, so feel free to call them at their direct numbers or through our main number, 615-690-3400. (Oh, and I've been known to check my e-mail at all hours of the day and night so feel free to contact me by translating the following into an email address: rhammock[at]hammock[dot]com.) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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Today is Editorial Director Bill Hudginsﾕ 13th anniversary at Hammock Publishing, and appropriately enough for this veteran copy cutter, it falls on a Friday. Heﾕs already answered a set of Hammock Day questions last year, so we came up with a different list for this time, appropriate to the anniversaryﾉ

1. December 15 is your 13th Hammock Day. How does that make you feel? Amazed. It truly doesnﾕt seem like that long, although my newspaper and PR days that preceded Hammock. seem far, far in the past. And its being the 13th anniversary doesnﾕt bother me ﾐ for all you wordies, the fear of 13 is called Triskaidekaphobia.

2. Since we are on the subject, do you like horror movies? I havenﾕt seen any of the Friday 13th movies or others in that genre, except for part of the battle between Freddy and Jason, which was on TV last summer. I really liked the old horror standards, like The Wolfman and Dracula, which scared me silly as a child. Young Frankenstein is practically sacred to me. Oddly, I find some Disney cartoon classics more upsetting than gory stuff like ﾒAlien.ﾓ I have a strong negative reaction to the theme of children losing one or more parent and/or being separated from parents. I could barely sit through ﾒFinding Nemo.ﾓ

3. Scariest moment of your life? In college, while on a trip to Yosemite, a friend who had been working there convinced me to jump off a 20-or-so-foot cliff into a mountain stream. He went first and was fine. I jumped, looked down, and could see clear to the bottom. It looked like there was 6 inches of water, and that I had failed to jump far enough to clear an outcropping of rock. Turned out the stream was at least 15 feet deep, but so clear that it was like glass, and I did jump far enough. I will never do that kind of thing again unless I must to survive.

4. What has been the biggest change for you since last Hammockday? Workwise, itﾕs been adding "Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League" to our production cycle on top of "Ride PWC Magazine." I didnﾕt think it could be done. During the last two weeks of the cycle, I still donﾕt believe it. Getting to go to the Marine events such as the Evening Parade in DC and the Expo trade shows has been an amazing experience for me, a non-veteran. Personally, itﾕs the weight Iﾕve gained during this same period.

5. What are some things people donﾕt know about you? I used to belong to a union, and walked a picket line. For a time in college and afterward, I worked in college libraries and thought about becoming a librarian. I hate Brussels Sprouts, but have eaten a wide variety of odd foods, including eel, bear and haggis. I've seen a UFO, and once lived in a dorm that had a poltergeist. When I was a child, my grandfather who worked on a railroad in Virginia let me ﾒdriveﾓ a diesel train ﾐ i.e., hold the throttle. I had a twin brother named Bob. I have never played Nintendo, XBox, PSP, or any other TV video game.

6. If you didnﾕt work at Hammock Publishing, what would you be doing? Freelance writing, probably. Maybe back to a newspaper, or get a degree in library science and do that. Or run a barﾑI have a name stolen from an old New Yorker cartoon: ﾒThe Strength to Go On Bar and Grill.ﾓ

7. What jobs would you really hate having? I would loathe having to work in a big bureaucracy in any industry. Iﾕve worked in a college bureaucracy, and that was bad ﾐ if you think academia is somehow purer than other fields, it ainﾕt. Working at a big newspaper was also something of a bureaucracy, although I was at the low end of the pipleline. I would also not do well at all in sales.

8. What is your dream vacation destination? I am not much of a beach personﾑitﾕs never as good as Jimmy Buffett makes it sound. The West Coast is a place I never get tired of visiting, although I got tired of living there years ago. Like J-Rob, Iﾕd like to see the Greek Islands again, especially Mykonos. My wife and I hope to go to Russia again next year ﾐ I am starting to brush up on my Russian already.

9. What is the one thing you wonﾕt leave home without? My wallet. I can do without most anything else, but even when just walking in the neighborhood, I carry it.

10. If you could do something over at Hammock, what would it be? There are a number of hindsight errors I would avoid, but if I hadnﾕt messed up in the first place, I wouldnﾕt know how to handle them, I guess. The one omission Iﾕd correct is that I never took off a few weeks to learn how to drive a big rig when we published a trucking magazine.

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One year ago today, Megan Goodchild walked into the Hammock Publishing offices to stories of great Christmas parties, movie reviews, and the truth about how our dogs actually run the place. We stopped her today on her way to the annual Hammock Publishing Christmas soiree to get her thoughts on the past 365 days.

1. December 7 is your Hammock Day. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? One glorious year.

2. What do you remember most about your first day here? That it took me more than an hour and a half to get here and just as long to get home. Luckily I was able to adjust my schedule so that it only takes me 45 minutes to an hour each way now, if there are no wrecks. (Or oil spills, like last night!!)

3. What is your favorite Christmas carol? You know, I'm not too big on Christmas songs (I think working in retail for eight years ruined all seasonal experiences for me.) But if I have to choose, the two I am least sick of hearing are Carol of the Bells and Greensleeves (the latter isn't technically a Christmas song, I guess, but I tend to hear it more around this time of year.)

4. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what would you be doing? Crying in the welfare line. No? Well, I would probably still be in the communications department of my previous corporate job, watching all the talented, long-time employees around me get fired because some new CEO decided he didn't like it that they had a good relationship with the CEO before him. And I would still be looking for a more fulfilling, less hostile job than that place.

5. What is your favorite, can't-miss television show? I don't really watch too much TV, but I do love CSI (the Las Vegas one) and House. That guy is so crotchety, but it's brilliant.

6. Where did you grow up? Go to college? I grew up in Des Plaines, a suburb just a few minutes outside of Chicago. I moved to Murfreesboro to go to college at Middle Tennessee State University, where I majored in mass communications and Spanish. I liked it well enough here that I've lasted almost 10 years!!

7. What is your dream vacation destination? My last semester in college was spent studying in and around Madrid, Spain, and I would love to go back. People always tell me I should vacation someplace that I've never been before, but I loved the culture and my experiences there so much that I would go back in a heartbeat. I miss it every day; I can still remember what the air smelled like and how I felt walking down the streets.

8. What has been your most memorable day at Hammock Publishing so far? I guess so far it's been my first day because I had no idea what to expect, but people keep telling me that the Christmas party will be an experience I'll never forget. I'm excited, but a little nervous, too!!

9. What is the one thing you won't leave home without? My cellphone. I know it sounds lame, but I am such a worrywart and I feel like if I don't have it with me, something bad will happen. Murphy's Law, I guess.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for a day, who would it be and why? Carrie Wakeford, Kerri Davis or Lynne Boyer. It was always my secret dream to become a professional graphic designer, but I never really knew how to go about getting good training and therefore never seriously pursued it (I did some design at my previous job, but nowhere near the level of what these folks do). I'm definitely not one with natural talent in the arts, so my money was probably better spent studying what I did. It probably would have taken a looong time for me to get any good.

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Are you born an entrepreneur, or do you become one? That's the question debated in the cover story of the Dec./Jan. issue of MyBusiness, the magazine Hammock publishes for the National Federation of Independent Business. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management recently found a strong connection between entrepreneurialism and genetics. But the small-business owners in this story say genes aren't the strongest indicators of business success. Hard work, a willingness to take risks and a whole lot of passion for what you do ultimately influence whether you make it.

Regardless of your genetic makeup, once you're in business for yourself, life can be stressful. That's why our inspiring story about how to cope with some of life's most difficult moments speaks to anyone. Faced with financial, emotional and physical set backs, the business owners we profiled dug deep and found the courage to keep themselves--and their businesses--going.

Check out these stories and more in the latest issue, including a staff favorite on how one Florida teenager earns a (sizable) living teaching others to play video games.

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In 1977, actor Roger Moore as the redoubtable James Bond made a kind of film history by riding a "wetbike" - an early type of personal watercraft - which at the time was a novel and not well known craft. As Bond films often have done, the movies helped fan the tiny spark of this little known craft into a fad and then into the racing and recreational industry that surrounds today's PWC.

Hammock Publishing makes its own contribution to PWCing by publishing Ride PWC Magazine for the American Watercraft Association (www.awahq.org). The current issue of Ride (Nov-Dec 2006) showcases the new 2007 models and shows how far they have some since Bond's bouncy little 'bike. Today's models can carry up to three people, have stock engines packing as much as 250 hp., and even carry satellite radio and GPS units so M will always know where you are. You can choose sitdown models, which are by far the best-selling models, or standup versions that have long been popular with racers and freestyle riders who execute amazing leaps and bounds.

In addition to the new model review, this issue reports on the results of the 25th annual World Finals at Lake Havasu, Ariz., and on other racing venues. We also meet a couple from West Tennessee who fell in love aboard a jetski - after each had retired! - amd ride along with AWA members from Lake Superior to Wet - sorry, West - Virginia to Old Mexico.

Also, AWA Executive Director Chris Manthos outlines the challenges facing watercraft enthusiasts who want only to be treated equally with other power boaters, and not discriminated against because they ride small, nimble craft.

As always, the AWA stresses safe and responsible riding in every issue of Ride. Had it been around in 1977, AWA would have strenuously objected to Bond's riding a PWC without a personal flotation device. Good heavens, 007, that kind of thing is dangerous! (Of course, knowing Bond, his PFD would have come equipped with martini makings and a blonde.)

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This time of year, as things speed up around us and we attempt to slow down to take it all in, our thoughts turn to giving thanks -- and simply giving. So many times, the act of giving turns into a gift we never expected to receive.

From the arts to animals, from the hungry to the homeless, the folks at Hammock Publishing are dedicated and involved in giving back to each of our communities. We share these examples of giving back to our community not to toot our own horns, but to learn from each other, to get to know each other better, and maybe encourage one reader out there to give back to their community in their own way -- big or small.

Barbara Mathieson: I give back by volunteering at the Nashville Zoo about 100 hours a year. After 9/11, I wanted to get involved in the community. The Zoo has been a perfect place for me in ways I never expected.

Because I care about animals so much, the Zoo gives me an opportunity to be around an exotic variety of them. Recently, I was in a room with two snow leopard cubs and was able to observe them up close. I've touched a giraffe and felt his breathe and have fed a grape to a cassowary. (Please don't do anything like this without zoo staff supervision. These situations were closely monitored by staff members. Never feed a zoo animal.)

As a docent at the Zoo, I talk to visitors about our animals. I love meeting the wide variety of people who visit. Everyone comes to the Zoo. I was once showing Amish visitors snake sheds when two tattooed and pierced 20-somethings walked up, and all of us interacted with each other about the snake skin sheds. The cultural differences didn't matter.

I've had the opportunity to meet folks from all over the world and from all ethnic, economic, political and religious backgrounds that I would have never met otherwise. It's great to find our common interest.

Allison Lund: Most people that know me well would know that the majority of my "giving" is for animals. I've given (and still give) time, money and needed items to the Nashville Humane Shelter, Love at First Sight and the Metro Animal Control Facility. But I guess what I do most is take care of three stray cats that came with our house when Erik and I bought it. When we found out from the previous owner that these kittens had been born under the deck, I didn't have the heart to take them to a shelter, but they were also too feral to be adopted into homes. I knew I had to get them spayed/neutered as we didn't want any more cats, so I got some humane traps and was able to capture them and get them to a vet to be spayed/neutered and to get shots. They weren't too happy with that, but after I brought them back to our yard, I worked at gaining their trust, named them, fed them, got dog houses for them (that are heated in the winter) and have been caring for them for almost four years. I always think I would love for them to have a permanent inside home, but they are still very scared of anyone but me and they do not like being inside. Plus, I know I would miss them.

Another way I have given to the community is through my church. The Downtown Presbyterian Church has a large homeless program and every Sunday they have a breakfast for the homeless. They open the church fellowship hall on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. for what is usually a large homeless crowd. They are welcome to stay for the service afterward, but unfortunately most do not participate. For about two years, Erik and I volunteered once a month for the Sunday breakfasts. We don't do it as often now as a lot of downtown businesses have started donating money, items and time/people to this cause on Sunday mornings.

Laura Creekmore: I don't know that I could pick a favorite among these and many other things I do [not one to be bored], but I spend a lot of time working in the Junior League [www.jlnashville.org] -- nearly 2,000 women in Nashville working to build a better community. I love that because much of my volunteer work there in the past few years has helped me to meet people working in nonprofit agencies throughout Nashville.

I am vice president of the board for East Nashville Cooperative Ministry, which works with the low-income and homeless people in my neighborhood, providing a variety of services. I love to volunteer on a good political campaign, too... mostly local races.

Bill Hudgins: The Gallatin Noon Rotary Club raises money through an auction and solicitation to take 100 or so youngsters Christmas shopping the weekend before Christmas each year. Members accompany the kids through Wal-Mart. They are supposed to get some basic clothes for themselves, but other than that are free to get gifts only for themselves or for anyone else, up to the spending limit. Members also wrap presents for the kids. In addition, each family gets a shopping basket brimming with canned ham, turkey, milk, eggs, bread, fruit, etc. My wife, Wilda, is a member and she is the unofficial photographer; I wrap. High-school students in the school versioni of Rotary also participate.

Two stories: One year, Wilda was taking pictures as a family was headed out the door. One of the children, a little boy, looked at the basket and said, "Look Mama, a whole gallon of milk!"

Another family, when they received the food basket, seemed reluctant to accept. One of our high-school members probed a bit and found out they family's refrigerator didn't work. She told her parents they were buying a fridge then and there, and it was delivered to the family so the Christmas food wouldn't spoil.

This day is our Christmas. Everything else is just tinsel and garlands.

Megan Goodchild: I run the crazy cat house in the neighborhood. My boyfriend and I feed the stray cats in the neighborhood and, believe it or not, most of them end up finding permanent homes. We have taken two in ourselves; one we've gotten all his shots and let him stay inside whenever he wants. The other one is still an outside cat (he lives in a little doghouse on our back porch that we've filled with blankets and a heating disc), but once we can trick him into getting into the cat carrier, we're going to take him to the vet to make sure he's neutered and has all his shots, too.

Natalie Willis: I'm sad to say that my only giving this year is in the form of a canned foods donation that my daughter's daycare is having. This Thanksgiving, I am focusing on giving thanks to my parents and in-laws for all the help they have provided during the past year. Jason and I rapidly grew to a family of four, and this is the first year that I have actually needed help from my family. I've always been self-sufficient until the arrival of Sienna and Tyler. My parents and in-laws have done more for me and my children than I could ever hope for.

Kerri Davis: We are sort of just getting into the giving part of the year, but so far we helped prepare a meal and some supplies for the Ronald McDonald house thru my daughter's 4th grade class. We did this a couple of weeks ago. Their school also did a fund drive for the Graceworks food pantry last week. Every year during the winter months, our church hosts Room in the Inn and our Sunday school class sponsors a weekend night throughout the winter. We either provide, food, cleanup or spend the night services for that.

Rex Hammock: Many years ago, the Nashville Rotary club (of which I've been a member for 20 years) came up with an idea that I think is wonderful. Rather than spread their civic projects across a wide region, they determined to focus the club's considerable voluntary efforts into one Nashville downtown neighborhood (nashvilletn.clubwizard.com/Projects.cfm: links on left go to individual agencies).

In addition to financial support, club members have built over 20 homes, restored a community park, worked with small businesses, and provided a wide array of scholarships, tutoring and mentoring services to kids in the community. Civic and church leaders from the neighborhood were recruited to join the Civic Club and to help determine priorities for the involvement of the club members. The project has been carried out for over a decade, and one of the most amazing by-products of the activities has been the personal relationships that have developed among young people in the community and the executives and governmental leaders who have volunteered for the projects. I have participated in several of the activities over the years -- not nearly enough -- and, as with any type of volunteer work in such a community endeavor -- I always get back so much more than I put in.

John Lavey: I heard a sermon recently where they asked all of us in the audience to be honest about what gave us more pleasure: giving or receiving a gift? My kids were quick to say they'd rather receive one. I couldn't blame them for thinking that because I would have agreed with them, until more recently than I would like to admit. However, then I realized how giving is truly more rewarding. I believe we give because it is more fun. That said, here are some of my favorite fun things:

1. Alternative Christmas Market. This very creative program offered through Christ Church Cathedral allows you to make choices about how you want to give, such as a week's free meals and a week's daycare for a family that needs it, or immunizations, or the ability to pay someone's heat bill. We gave gifts to others this year by making gifts that were in their name to this program. What's cool is that we can match people's interests (like doctor friends) with immunizations.

2. Adopt a family and buy their Christmas gifts for their family through Nashville Child Advocacy Center or St. Luke's Community Center. This is great for getting kids involved. We've done this the last several years and it is the first thing in years that gives me the same sense of exhilaration that I had as a kid getting a bike for Christmas. They tell you ages of kids and some of their interests and you can go to town.

When I give time, I like to focus on programs where there are one-to-one opportunities to make a difference. The two organizations I serve are the Nashville Adult Literacy Council and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. Both groups provide one-to-one mentoring to make a difference in the lives of those who are being served (adult learners who need help with their most basic literacy skills in the case of the NALC and kids who need a caring adult mentor in the Case of BBBS).

Carrie Wakeford: I donate to the Nashville Rescue Mission. Very little money provides Thanksgiving dinner to many who otherwise would not get any.

Shannon McRae: I recently heard that Portland, Ore., (where the West Coast Hammock office is located) has more nonprofits per capita than any other city in the country. That makes it pretty easy to find some group that needs your help. My favorite one so far has been the food pantry at our church, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Meeting the people who come for food bags is a good reminder that they're human, too -- just not near as lucky as I am.

Though it's not in my neighborhood, I never want to miss a chance to plug my favorite nonprofit -- the Africa Foundation, a conservation group that also works to help the people who live in villages near protected areas in South Africa. My brother worked for the organization for a couple of years, and I got a chance to see the amazing things they do for people and animals when I visited there exactly two years ago this week. Distance doesn't allow me to give anything more than money, but it's nice to know that my tiny little bit helps do things like build schools, buy medicines and transport water to people in great need.

www.trinity-episcopal.org/sections/Outreach/Food.htm

www.africafoundation.org/about/default.php

Lena Basha: For the second year in a row, I'm running in the Boulevard Bolt (www.thebolt.org) on Thanksgiving morning. It's a five-mile race/fund-raiser for the homeless. I think it's important to think of all the people on Thanksgiving who are much less fortunate than you. And on a more personal level, it makes me feel like less of a pig later that day when I'm on my third piece of pumpkin pie.

Summer Huggins: Each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, one of our local pottery galleries participates in the annual Empty Bowl Project. For your donation of $15, you can pick out a hand-crafted bowl from dozens of local artists. Your bowl is then washed, dried and prepared to be filled with soup from one of dozens of local restaurants who donate their recipes and time. You then sit down outside with your new bowl full of warm soup and listen to some live local music. I heard this year that each bowl purchased provided 75 meals through the Capital Area Food Bank in Austin (Hammock's southern-most office). www.austinfoodbank.org

I also can't pass up the Salvation Army Angel Tree every year. With no kids of our own, it's fun to have a reason to buy cute little clothes and fun toys for a child in the community who really might receive otherwise.

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Welcome, Baby Kate!

David and Lisa also have one son, Parker, who was slightly bashful about meeting his little sister on Friday. Lisa and David are thrilled to finally have Kate here in spite of Lisa's early comments that Kate is very loud.

Congratulations to the Ask family.

Hammock Publishing's Bill Hudgins had a tremendous Veteran's Day weekend. As editor of Semper Fi: The Magazine of the Marine Corps League, Bill attended weekend ceremonies dedicating the new National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Here is Bill's field report:

The congressionally chartered League was founded by Gen. Lejeune more than 60 years ago to help the Corps carry out its promise that ﾒonce a Marine, always a Marine.ﾓ The museum has been a dream for many years, as a permanent home for the Corpsﾕ treasures, mementoes and legacy. The League has been instrumental in furthering this dream and bringing it to fruition.

Nov. 10, 2006, marked the 231st birthday of the Marine Corps, and the day was filled with Marines old and young and their friends and family wishing each other Happy Birthday. The day is celebrated worldwide - Marines are stationed in more than 140 countries - and the celebrations often include a cake, cut with a Marine Mameluke sword.

We started the day by going to the wreath-laying ceremony at the Marine Corps National Memorial in Arlington, the statue based closely on the iconic photo by the late Joe Rosenthal of the flag raising on Iwo Jima in WWII. After days of rain, Northern Virginia shook the drops off her shoulders and stood to attention with crystal blue skies. The rain had cleaned the air and shined the fall foliage which gleamed scarlet and gold around the Memorial - an appropriate color choice as these are the colors of the Corps.

People started assembling a couple hours before the 10 a.m. ceremony, and we could hear in the distance riflemen practicing their salute, and Marine band drummers warming up. The crowd was a blend of League members in scarlet jackets and windbreakers, 50 or so Arizona veterans who had come clad in patch-bedecked vests or leathers, some biker vets from who knows where, VIPs in expensive suits and Marines in dress blues, with enough brass to keep 100 polishers up all night.

The ceremony began as the Presidentﾕs Own Marine Band marched in and played several tunes by their most famous leader, John Philip Sousa. (Thomas Jefferson bestowed the name on this band.) Three platoons from Washingtonﾕs Marine Barracks at 8th and I streets marched out - they did not perform their world-famous drill, sadly, but formed an honor guard. The Commandantﾕs Own Band - the drum and bugle corps - joined the field and played during a number of maneuvers, including the presentation of the colors.

The keynote speaker of the day was Virginia Sen. John Warner, himself a Marine. He talked about his experiences in the Marines, including a funny anecdote about being given the task of moving a half-size model of the Memorial to the main gate at Quantico, where it is today. The then-commandant of the Marine Corps warned the young lieutenant that there had better be no damage to the model. ﾒThe mission was accomplished,ﾓ the senator said, then added that as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he had recently succeeded in approving funds to repair the cracks that had formed in the model during that move more than 30 years ago.

On a more serious and political note, Warner revealed that his recent comment that the situation in Iraq was ﾒdrifting sidewaysﾓ was a quote from a young Marine he had met during a trip to see the situation first-hand. And, that as the senior senator from Virginia, he was looking forward to working with the new junior senator, James Webb, who had been Warnerﾕs aide years ago in the Marines.

The ceremony completed, we hustled south toward Quantico, Va., the mother base of the Corps. Traffic crawled periodically as normally lead-footed drivers panicked at the site of dozens of Virginia state troopers and other police. The bears werenﾕt hunting speeders this day - they were were to secure the area in anticipation of the arrival of President Bush as the keynote speaker at the museum opening. Our late start almost cost us the opportunity to see the event - we pulled up to Lejeune Hall at Quantico (familiar to those who have seen the old TV series ﾒMajor Dadﾓ) just as they were closing the doors on the last bus to the museum.

Maybe 10,000 or more people had arrived before us. The League had seats fairly close to the front, and in my dark suit I -- neither a Marine nor a veteran -- felt somewhat out of place as I followed the scarlet jackets through the throng. As we sat down, my jaw dropped to see four or five Navajo Code Talkers in front of us with a small group of Young Marines, a youth group sponsored by the League. Sixty years ago, these Native Americans came off their reservation to help the nation that had so mistreated them and their ancestors to win a war, by using their unique language in a code that was never broken.

It was a place filled with heroes. Survivors of Iwo Jima, Tarawa, Peleiu, the Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, Beirut, Fallujah and dozens of other battles. Recipients of the Medal of Honor and Navy Cross (Note: No one wins a medal and most certainly not these. They are awarded, received, earned - not infrequently, posthumously.) They were here because as young men and women, they had chosen to test themselves to a point beyond the reach of many of us, in order to earn the right to be called Marines. Thereﾕs an old saying that you canﾕt choose your family, but the thousands of Marines there would say otherwise. They werenﾕt coming to a museum opening - they were coming home.

The crowd began to applaud as Air Force One and its decoy twins thundered in overhead. Giant TV screens broadcast the entry of the Marine brass and other dignitaries, guest speaker Jim Lehrer and finally, striding in alone from the museum to the dais in front, President Bush.

The ceremony included a display of the different flags carried by the Corps over more than two centuries, borne by Marines dressed in period uniforms. Four FA-18 Hornet jet fighters roared past overhead. Lehrerﾕs recollections of his time as a Marine were punctuated by calls of ﾒOORAHﾓ as fellow Marines enthusiastically agreed.

One of the most moving moments of the day was hearing the announcement that a Medal of Honor will be awarded posthumously to Cpl. Jason Dunham, who died in Iraq in April 2004. The Wall Street Journalﾕs Michael Phillips details the award. Phillips first wrote about Dunham in a Wall Street Journal article in 2004 and in his book, The Gift of Valor. When an attacker dropped a grenade threatening the patrol he was leading, Dunham hurled himself on top of it, using his helmet to try to blunt the force of the blast. From the injuries he sustained from the blast, he died eight days later. According to his fellow Marines, Dunham had extended his enlistment shortly before he died so he could help his comrades.

The final event of the day was the Leagueﾕs first-ever National Marine Corps League Marine Birthday Ball, held at a hotel in Falls Church. With a color guard from Quantico, a big cake sliced by a gleaming sword - the tradition is that the first piece is shared by the oldest and youngest Marines present, which in this case was an 80-plus Iwo veteran and a 19-year-old private. And who knew - Marines can dance!

The museum opened to the public Nov. 13. It is absolutely worth the effort to get there if you are in the area, because once youﾕve been through, you will have some inkling of what it takes to be a Marine.

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When you are 231 years old like the U.S. Marine Corps, youﾕve got a lot of history, memories, traditions, legends and keepsakes that youﾕd like to shareﾑbut where to put them all? Sometimes, you need a bigger home. On Nov. 10, the USMC opened its breathtaking new homeﾑthe National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, Va., where the Corps invites visitors to ﾒEnter and Experience What It Means to Be a Marine.ﾓ

The November-December 2006 issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League, which we publish for the League, previews just a few features of the Corpsﾕ new ﾒhome.ﾓ From storied weaponry to beloved aircraft to quiet paths where visitors can reflect on valor, courage and sacrifice, the new museum helps the non-Marine begin to understand Semper Fi: Always Faithful.

The museumﾕs design echoes the immortal photo of five Marines and a Navy Corpsman raising a flag over Iwo Jima in World War II. Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal passed away this summer, and Semper Fi remembers him and the world-famous moment he captured atop Mount Suribachi.

Elsewhere in this issue, which coincides with the Corps' 231st birthday on Nov. 10, we include a number of League membersﾕ memories of holidays spent in the service of their country. We also report on the Leagueﾕs annual Modern Day Marine Expo trade show at Quantico, where Marines and those who supply them come together to review the latest gear and, more important, learn how to make it better. Future issues of Semper Fi will examine some of these materials in more detail, and how Marines put them into use.

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How can you promote a banquetﾕs theme through its menu? What are guidelines for serving wine at an event? How can you set up a buffet to limit consumption during a cocktail reception?

Find those answers and more event planning strategies in the hot-off-the-presses Experient Guide to the Food and Beverage Experience, sponsored by Hilton Hotels and published by Hammock. Enhanced by dozens of photos of delectable food and festive events, the 64-page resource draws on the considerable food and beverage expertise of both Experient, an integrated meeting and event planning firm, and Hilton Hotels. Featuring an introduction by Emeril Lagasse, the Guide gives best practices for everything from menu planning and negotiation to decor and serviceﾑall with the goal of making events more authentic, enjoyable and memorable. Go to Experient's Solution Center to download a pdf.

The Guide is Hammockﾕs second collaboration with Experient, a leading industry resource for full-service, customized registration, housing, event management and lead retrieval services. This year Experient will serve more than 2,800 events attended by 3.2 million people who will occupy and drive purchasing of more than 4.2 million hotel room nights.

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The Daughters of the American Revolution has long had ties to Ellis Island, so it was fitting that present and past shots of the immigration station graced the cover of the November/December American Spirit, the magazine Hammock publishes for the National Society. DAR members were there helping immigrants when Ellis Island served as a bustling processing station, and it was there when the island was in dire need of a restoration, donating more than $250,000 to the effort. Hammock's own Lena Basha tells the stories of today's genealogists who are using the current resources of Ellis Island to connect with their ancestors who passed through the gateway more than a century ago.

To subscribe to American Spirit--and to read a Veterans' Day-themed salute to a DAR member and her three daughters who all serve in the United States Army--go to the magazine's online site.

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If you've been around here more than just a few minutes, you've probably picked up on the fact that Rex Hammock, our president, not only is a blogging evangelist, but he's also become pretty well known in the blogging and marketing communities for his views on magazines, marketing, social media, branding and -- well -- we can admit it -- Titans football. While sports didn't come up in Rex's recent interview with Monica Powers, we think you'll be interested in his comments on the other topics.

Powers, a Nashville-based marketing and strategy consultant, talked with Rex recently about how Hammock Publishing helps our clients develop better relationships with their customers and members, how blogging has changed our business, and Rex's dream client. (Don't be alarmed if you're a client reading this right now -- Rex pointed out, this is a client with a "dream" of a problem that we could help to solve. We all know we work with the best clients out there already!)

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That quote from German author Hugo Ball kicked off a recent FOLIO: Show session led by Scott Kirkwood, editor of National Parks Magazine, and Debbie Bates-Schrott, of Bates Creative Group. In "Working With the Art Department to Advance the Editorial Mission," they compared the relationship between designers and editors to that of any relationship--both need defined roles, trust, honesty and accountability to work harmoniously. Thankfully, we have those kinds of great relationships here at Hammock, but it was funny to hear the presenters voice some common stereotypes of editors and artists. How often have we been guilty of thinking:

Artists tend to take things personally and only focus on design.
Editors are all about the words and don't care about design.
Artists have poor communication skills.
Editors type out an e-mail instead of talking through the problem.

To overcome the communication barriers caused by such narrow-minded thinking, Scott and Debbie suggested the following guidelines for editors when approaching designers:
1. Start with what is good about the design first.
2. Put yourself in the designer's shoes, and show respect for their work. Remember, writers, you don't like to have your work rewritten either.
3. Begin with a meeting of the minds based on facts: an understanding of the publication's mission and reader demographics.
4. Be ready to answer WHY for your choices and decisions. No more "I don't like it" or "That just doesn't jive." An editor has to explain why a certain font or layout isn't working, just as a designer has to be able to point to how her choices make sense for the magazine's mission.

This session and other presentationsﾑincluding Rex'sﾑhave been posted to the FOLIO: Show Web site. Save NYC airfare and lodging and check out sessions on editorial, sales, marketing, production & design and circulation topics.

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We're not exactly sure if we have an annual tradition of dressing up for Halloween, however, we know we've done it before and someone suggested that we restart the tradition this year -- so it's now official. The competition was fierce among the five finalists (left) but then Issac Ragsdale showed up with his turtle costume (right) and easily swept best-of-show. All together now: Ahhhhh!

I had a chance to catch the last 20 minutes of Rex's "marketing track" presentation at Tuesday's FOLIO Show in New York. (I hid in to the back to avoid notice; at last year's FOLIO conference, Rex had a ball embarrassing Shannon and me.) In his session, "Managing a Creative Services Operation: From Ad Creation to Custom Publishing," Rex zeroed in on strategic ways custom publishers can partner with clients to publish content that truly fulfills an organization's mission. Whether that's creating a blog that adds value to a magazine for an influential association, or creating inventive content that subtly and effectively promotes the goals of an esteemed genealogical society, custom publishers make it their business to make a client's goals their own.

Rex also got some great questions from the crowd. My favorite: "How much time do you spend writing your blog every day?" Yea, no comment from me.

P.S. It was impressive to see all of Hammock's magazines, Web sites and blogs onscreen--seeing them at somewhat of a distance reminds me why we should feel really proud of what we do.

What a great way to start our week! Last night, MyBusiness (the magazine we publish for members of the National Federation of Independent Business) was honored at the Folio Show in New York with a prestigious Ozzie design award for best feature design in a business-to-business magazine with a circulation above 100,000. This award is a big one within our industry. At Hammock, we liken it to an Emmy, though as Managing Director John Lavey points out, itﾕs really more like a Golden Globe. Either way, weﾕre thrilled to have won.

The winning entry was a feature in our February/March 2006 issue about a business owner who single-handedly rescued the small town he loved as it teetered on the edge of extinction, like so many other small towns across our country. Congrats to our fabulous design department for their smart work and excellent photo direction.

Select any of the spreads at the left to open a PDF of the full article and see the whole thing in its full-fledged Ozzie-rrific-ness.

We were going to do some cute post about the 15 things we love most about Hammock Publishing to commemorate Hammock's 15th anniversary this month. But when we started the list of our favorite parts of working here, we could tell we would pass the 15 mark several times over.

It the simplest terms in boils down to this: We love working at Hammock because of the:

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  Work/life balance
  
  


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  Latest and great technology
  
  


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  The cool Christmas parties
  
  


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  Freedom
  
  


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  Internet
  
  


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  Gambling
  
  


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  Celebrity gossip
  
  


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  The great Christmas parties
  
  


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  Creativity
  
  


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  Movie reviews
  
  


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  Great coworkers
  
  


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  Diverse clients
  
  


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  Trust
  
  


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  Challenges
  
  


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  Naps in the company hammock
  
  


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  The fun Christmas parties
  
  


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  The view from the "pie in the sky"
  
  

Bill Hudgins: "From a selfish employee perspective: I have worked in large and small organizations, including a unionized place, and none of them ever offered benefits as generous or working conditions as friendly and caring as Hammock. If this is your first 'real' job, you don't have any way to compare, unlike those of us who have worked other places. The only other place I worked that encouraged creativity, self-improvement and initiative as much as Hammock was the PR agency where Rex originally hired me."

Barbara Greenfield: "Rex and Patrick R. keep me 'technologically hip' so I don't feel like an idiot in public when I hear people talking about Apple's new innovation and RSS feeds. And people here love what they do. It's not 'just a job.'"

Jamie Roberts: "Hammock has the best Christmas parties -- and after-parties."

Megan Goodchild: "A work-life balance is definitely supported at Hammock, and it's not the end of the world if you get sick or have to go to the doctor during the day. Also, being an Apple/technology nerd is pretty much encouraged.

Summer Huggins: "To anyone in the blogosphere, Rex is a celebrity! (So to steal words from Heather Armstrong:) Working for Rex is like working for Brad Pitt's cousin. Say the words 'Rex Hammock' in some circles and people are impressed and a little verklempt!"

Shannon McRae: "I love working at Hammock because I learn about things like mobile blogging and RSS before most anyone else I know, thanks to Rex's love of technology. And the laughs we share from recounting stories of Hammock Christmas parties past. And the total lack of micromanaging."

Lena Basha: "That pour-your-heart-out speeches at Hammock Christmas parties are well-received with responses like, 'Oh my goodness, you almost made me cry,' and 'I was thinking the same thing.' And that celebrity gossip is encouraged."

Lynne Boyer: "The Hammock Publishing office experience. You have to be a part of it to understand. And we actually have fun office Christmas parties, ones that employees/significant others want to attend."

Recently, I attended the 8th annual reunion of folks who worked at the Nashville (Tenn.) Banner, a storied (no pun meant) afternoon daily that folded in 1998. I left the Banner in 1987 after five years as a reporter and editorﾑI changed careers by going into public relations. As it happened, Rex Hammock hired me at that other company. Aug. 31, was the 19th anniversary of my first day working with Rex (I'm going on 13 years here, so do the math). We worked together for about four years before he started Hammock Publishing, and here are some recollections of that era:

The office was a remodeled car wash on 8th Avenue South. Itﾕs still there. When they opened it, they threw a party with invitations printed on hand-size highly compressed sponges, and everyone who came got a red plastic bucket and a towel. I still have my bucket.

Guys wore suits or coats and ties, except for the designers. Women wore dresses or suits and whatever kinds of shoes they wear with that kind of an outfit.

Our computers were the tiny Apple Classicsﾑif you visit Hammock Publishing today, you will find a couple still going, displaying the vintage black and white aquarium screensaver. In 1987, there was no email, no Internet as we know it today, and no CompuServe, Prodigy or AOL available to us. When I left that company in late 1993, two years after Hammock Publishing started, the company had a CompuServe account, and you had to get permission to use it.

I had left the Nashville Banner newspaper, where we worked on computer terminals that were tied into a mainframe. During the couple of weeks I took off before starting in PR, Rex let me have one of the Apples to play with. It came in a bag that was about the size of a cooler ﾐ you had to carry a keyboard, too, of course. That was all the training I ever had, or needed.

We did have a primitive internal network eventually that let us move files around. There was a rudimentary interoffice email or messaging system, that didnﾕt always work.

Rex, however, was already looking into the Internet. So his interest goes way back, and when he started Hammock Publishing, everyone had access and was encouraged to use it. What we take for granted today in finding images and writers and so on, was heady stuff in those days.

Cell phones were huge and hugely expensive. Our VP drove off one day with the office cell phone ﾐ yes, that is right, the office cell phone ﾐ on top of his car. It was never heard from again.

Of course, no PDAs or Treos or anything like that. Lots of Franklin Covey DayRunners. Those of you who know him, just pause for a moment and imagine, if you can, an unwired Rexﾉ

Our PR clients were mostly also clients of our advertising agency parent company. We did a lot of press release and event stuff, along with custom publishing. Eventually it was about half and half. Advertising, public relations and custom publishing do not all play by the same rules and expectations, which created some tension.

I started out as an account executive. After a while, the editorial director left, and I gratefully accepted the offer to fill that post. I still had to wear coat and tie. I still have some of the ties and two pair of Johnston-Murphy wingtips I bought around 1990 for the job.

Rex and I had met before, when he was the press guy for a former Nashville Congressman. After he started his PR career, I ran into him doing consumer intercepts on the street taste tests for New Coke. When we worked together at the PR firm, we had some unusual uh, opportunities. He and I once visited the Savannah River Nuclear Plant in S.C. (ﾒPrince of Tidesﾓ territory) for a DuPont spinoff company that made a herbicide-laced industrial fabric it claimed could keep roots from invading radioactive waste burial sites for many years. A good thing, unless you want your geraniums to be as tall and mean as Godzilla.

The same fabric was also marketed to the cemetery industry as a protective covering for burial vaults and coffins, thus earning it our internal nickname, ﾒCasket Gasket.ﾓ I sent a story about it to a cemetery mangement trade magazine, and, when I followed up a couple weeks later to see if they would use it, was told the editor had ﾒpassed.ﾓ So, too, did the idea of capturing that market.

Although we no longer do traditional public relations, a lot of what we do in publishing today goes back to that time, in terms of how we think about stories and design and reader relationships. I can't begin to count the number of times over 19 years I've heard Rex quote Osmo Wiio's commentaries on communication, on how to approach communication. Ultimately, the quality and integrity of our work has to be strong enough to stand on its own, and we have to serve the readers interests.

The Rex we know today is very much the Rex of 19 years ago, with the wisdom (and scars) of building several businesses on a foundation of creativity, inspiration, fun and treating everyone with respect and decency.

He even kept his office at 50 degrees back then.

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Last night, Hammock Publishing participated in the 13th Annual Corporate Spelling Bee, a fund raiser for the Nashville Adult Literacy Council. As many of you'll remember, Team Hammock (represented by Carrie Wakeford, Bill Hudgins and me, Lena Basha) took home the big championship trophy last year after an awe-inspiring performance.

We got just as many oohs and aahs from the audience this year, amazed at our precision and cheetah-like reflexes when prompted to spell words like inveigle, colloquy and lornette lorgnette, but fell a touch short of first place. Yeah, we didn't realize kookaburra was spelled with two Os either, but that's OK.

Congratulations to the fine folks (and exceptional spellers, I might add) at Waller, Landsen, Dortch and Davis, the winners of this year's spelling bee, and thank you to the Nashville Adult Literacy Council for their gracious hospitality (and free gifts!) and the opportunity to participate in such a fun event.

Hammock's Editorial Director Bill Hudgins and Managing Partner John Lavey recently spent several days embedded with the US Marine Corps at its sprawling base in Quantico, VA. John and Bill attended the 26th Annual Modern Day Marine Expo sponsored by Hammock Publishing client, the Marine Corps League, for whom we produce the bimonthly Semper Fi, The Magazine of the Marine Corps Leagueｪ.

The three-day expo is one of three the League sponsors annually to bring together established and emerging suppliers of military goods, ranging from socks to aircraft, with Marines and military procurement personnel, to see whatﾕs new, what works and what could work. The Expos are also attended by invited military guests from other countries, and by everyday Marines and, often, their families.

With more than 300 exhibitors ranging from giants such as Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon down to tiny businesses such as Gunzilla (which makes a gun cleaning kit), itﾕs impossible to give a detailed account of the kinds of things we saw.

But there were some themesﾑﾒdefeatingﾓ roadside bombs from destroying vehicles and killing coalition soldiers was a big one. Devices to detect traces of explosives and gunpowder on suspected insurgents and terrorists were another. Electronics such as sophisticated battlefield optics systems, hardened servers, training software and simulators were another.
At the other end of the spectrum were things like T-shirts designed to help warfighters stay comfortably dry and warm or cool depending on the weather. Some were made with yarns that contained silver fiberﾑand could soon be imprinted with integrated circuitry so troops would literally wear their radios and other electronic gear.

Again and again, vendors told us that they had been working with the Corps to develop a needed item, often going back to the drawing board multiple times to get it right. And they heard plenty from the troops who inspected their wares, and who have an immediate and intensely personal reason to want them to work right first time, every time.

But beyond the geewhiz technology and the deadly serious purpose of the products on display, we witnessed first-hand the incredible bond that being a Marine forges among those who have worn the uniform. Two Marines who meet as strangers instantly acknowledge each other as brotherﾑor, increasingly, as sister. The bond transcends age, race, religion, political affiliation. This is a large part of the reason that the Marine Corps League existsﾑto help reunite members of this unique family, and put their talents and their loyalty to continued service to their nation and each other.

Everyone at Hammock Publishing knows what today is. Listed on the company calendar, among the various meetings and we all have today, is this: International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (Yeah, we have a huge Jack Sparrow fan in the office.)

In celebration, we're taking a few minutes to bring out the swashbucklers in us. I'm not feeling well today, but it hasn't stopped me from exclaiming the occasional "Aargh!"

Not the least bit surprising, Bill Hudgins, one of Hammock's editorial directors, is really getting into it. I sent him an e-mail earlier and got this in response: "Arrr, poppet, then ye are doomed!" Thanks, Bill.

Jamie Roberts, the aforementioned Jack Sparrow fan and another one of our editorial directors, says she's too busy for a proper celebration, but did manage to find the time to figure out what her pirate name would be. "It's Red Jenny Rackhamﾉpassion is a big part of my life," she says.

As for Production Director Barbara Mathieson, well, she asked if she could sail away with Johnny Depp. I told her she'd have to ask Johnny Depp. And her husband, probably.

Finally, Editorial Director Laura Creekmore, who's never one to not say something, had this to say: "I dislike made up holidays. I'm also not fond of non-Irish people who celebrate St. Patrick's day or non-Mexican people who celebrate Cinco de Mayo, particularly since no one seems to know the true meaning of the day and seems to think it's Mexican Independence Day, which it's not. I think that's Sept. 16th, right?"

A simple 'Aargh!' would have done just fine, Laura.

So there you have it. From our office (except Laura Creekmore, apparently) to yours, have a happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Several Hammock Publishing folks have been involved with the organization Hands on Nashville since, well, longer than we can remember. Hammock web guru and foodie blogger Laura Creekmore even chaired it one year. So when Nashville blogger Mr. Roboto contacted us to sponsor a team of Nashville bloggers participating in this year's grassroots community involvement day, we responded, "Where do we sign up"? In addition to sponsoring the team, several of us will be participating on September 30. Check back here for photos from the day.

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For the last several months, we've been marking the days on the calendar that commemorate the starting date of each of the members of the Hammock Publishing crew. Today, we caught Patrick Ragsdale at the single-serving coffee maker, again, and asked him about his first year with Hammock. We wish him many more...

1. July 11 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? 1 short year.

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? The single-serving coffee machine. We've spent many minutes together since that first day.

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? I would probably be working at a large company like Dell and traveling a lot for their sales department. I had great interviews with both Dell and Hammock. Choosing Hammock was pretty much a no-brainer.

4. What is your favorite movie of all time? That would be toss up between the narrated version of Blade Runner and Zentropa. The directors cut of Blade Runner removed Harrison Ford's narration, which was a mistake. Zentropa was the first Lars von Trier film that I saw. It's a very cool film. Multiple languages and interesting exchanges between cinematography and graphic arts.

5. If you could own a sports team, which one would it be? I'd like to own the Nashville Predators but still have plenty of money to spare. That way I could subsidize the high cost of tickets for the fans.

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? Out of all the great days I've had at Hammock, the one that stands out as the most memorable here would be the day you all held that baby shower for Lorraine and me. We hadn't been in town very long and you all were so thoughtful with your gifts. We really felt welcomed and overwhelmed. I can't imagine having a more memorable day at any job I've had!

7. What is the last musical act/group you saw live? This is pathetic. I can't remember the band's name since they were mediocre, but I enjoyed the last venue I was at. It was The Middle East Restaurant and Night Club in Cambridge, Mass., on Mass. Ave. Great place.

8. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? I'd probably buy a bottle of wine on the way home. There's this $25 bottle of Ravenswood Merlot that I think is great.

9. What is your favorite summertime vacation destination? Holden's Beach, N.C. Lorraine and I have been going there since childhood.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? I enjoy what I do so much that the thought never occurred to me before.

15-minute pause.

I think it would be nice to have the ability to do Natalie's work since she knows so much about contracts and business law. So, if I were to switch places with someone, would that mean that I gained their knowledge permanently or just for that one day?

Happy Hammock Day, Laura! We'll be lighting up the extra fireworks today to celebrate your 12 years with Hammock.

1. July 5 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? I started working at Hammock July 5, 1994. There is what I've taken to calling my dot-com sabbatical ﾐ from January 2000 to May of 2001, when several other Hammock employees and I created a separate company to build smallbusiness.com. But the whole time I've worked for Rex.

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? It was a long time ago, but I do remember that I was sunburned from canoeing on the Harpeth River on the Fourth of July, the day before I started.

3. What is your favorite movie of all time? I try to hide my sappy side, but here's where it comes out. Major. These three have to top the list:

• 
  
  Roman Holiday
  
  


• 
  
  The American President
  
  


• 
  
  You've Got Mail
  
  

4. If you could own a sports team, which one would it be? Easy, the St. Louis Cardinals. Except, I think they're already doing a pretty bang-up job of running the team, so I don't want to mess with that. The Cardinals even financed construction of the new stadium themselves, instead of pushing that off on the public. Bless them.

5. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? This is the hardest question to answer. I have been here so long, and there are so many, but it's hard to say that any one stands out above the crowd. Can I say the best thing about working here instead? I love working with such smart coworkers and clients. I feel like I'm constantly challenged to do my best. Maybe I'm being sappy again (don't let that get around) but it keeps me happy.

6. What is the last musical act/group you saw live? You think I have a social life? What a nice compliment. However, one night last year, I went with a friend of mine to the Bluebird Cafe to see her friend Lari White in the round with Amy Grant, Ashley Cleveland and Leslie Satcher. And Vince Gill sat in.

7. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? I keep promising myself that it would be a big donation to my church. Of course, I also keep not entering the lottery.

8. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? It depends. Have I won the lottery yet? Yes: I would just be a full-time volunteer. No: I would own a little boutique. Come to think of it, that also might require lottery winnings for financing.

9. Knowing you love to cook, what would you consider your signature dish, your favorite to prepare? That's probably two different dishes. The thing I'm most known for is Cheese Krispies. These little cheese wafers of cheddar cheese, butter, flour, Rice Krispies. They are delicious. But I have made them so much that I could do it in my sleep, and although I don't dislike making them, I wouldn't say I love it.

I really enjoy making desserts. I like complex ones especially, lots of steps. I like making candy at Christmas. Peanut brittle is fun because it's so easy to get it wrong; I guess you'd say I love anything that's a challenge.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? Well frankly I love my own job. And we all know I'd be particularly rotten at a couple of folks' ﾐ like Julia's. No one is ever going to let me near the books and we're all the better for it. So I'll say, Susie Garland, our creative director. She touches everything we do in some way, and she's fabulously creative in every way.

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Warning. What you're about to read is filled with pride. It is an unabashed and completely shameless exercise in self-promotional shout-outs. But forgive me: I am very proud of some folks at Hammock Publishing and, well, I've warned you.

There's a saying that if you want something done, give it to a busy person. When we recently got the opportunity to revamp and relaunch a magazine for a new client, The Marine Corps League (founded in 1923 and the only federally chartered Marine veterans organization), I "volunteered" several already busy people: an editorial team led by Bill Hudgins and creative director Susie Garland. Designer Kerri Davis (and the rest of the design squad: Lynne Boyer, Carrie Wakeford and Sandy Mueller Shelstad) charged into the project, as well. Also, intern Matt Kelley -- a recent Vanderbit graduate -- was drafted into service when we learned that he'd spent a year in Navy ROTC and has an encyclopedic knowledge of military history. (John Lavey and I we're cheerleaders from the peanut gallery.) The team produced the first issue of the magazine in just seven weeks, from creative presentation to rolling off the presses.

I can't say enough about how extraordinarily helpful Mike Blum, the League's Executive Director, was. He repeatedly spent all the time with us we requested in helping us understand what the League is all about, and, more critical, to school us on the Marine Corps and Marines. Collaborating with Mike and sitting down with Marine Corps League members was critical to the process. Mike also challenged us with a healthy dose of skepticism -- a not unfamiliar skepticism we often greet with new clients. He didn't think a bunch of non-Marine publisher-types could ever "get it" enough to produce a magazine that would ring true with League members. Especially, this fast. I kept telling him that the key to producing a great magazine was for us to listen and absorb and listen more -- and then not only "get it," but, more importantly, to get out of the way of the conversation taking place among the only folks who matter: the members of the Marine Corps League.

(Left: The "before" magazine.)

Within moments of our first meeting with officials at the League, we heard the expression we've heards hundreds of time since: "Once a Marine, Always a Marine." The more we listened and learned, the more we saw that the League and its programs embody that. Bill Hudgins and I mentioned the project and that motto to a number of veterans from services other than the Marines. Every one of them said something like, "You are a Marine for life. I wish we had something like that." After that initial meeting, the crucial question in our minds and in Mike's was how we could get out of the way of that message, one of pride and loyalty that knows no bounds.

Our mission had several objectives: Transition from the current publisher, increase frequency, revamp the editorial mix, redesign the publication. We also made a recommendation to do something rather radical: to rename the magazine Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League," after the Corpsﾕ motto, Semper Fidelis -- "always faithful." Mike, who uses the expression in all correspondence and to end each conversation, was supportive of the recommendation and helped us tweak the exact wording of the title. He also guided our incorporation of "Once a Marine, Always a Marine" into a theme expressed throughout the magazine.

A highlight of the process was Mike's approval of our attempts to "get it" in our meeting to present him our recommendations. After seeing our ideas, he declared: "Welcome aboard and OOORAH!" ﾑ- an exclamation not often given non-Marines. We were humbled. We were also highly ﾉ motivated. Our press date was only seven weeks away, and we had three other magazines and a host of newsletters moving through at the same time. It was truly all-hands on deck! The Hammock team burned a lot of midnight and weekend fluorescent during those seven weeks. Colleagues from other projects pitched in to help when they had spare time. Editors and writers roughed in some layouts to make it easier for the real designers to work with accurately trimmed copy. Our ace circulation and office management staff juggled multiple circulation and distribution challenges. The production team solved numerous printing and production issues, and pre-pressed the layouts into shipshape files that would require minimum if any tweaking at the printer.

Despite the pressure not only to meet deadlines but to refine designs on the fly and polish copy until it shone like a pair of boots at inspection (I apologize for the military metaphors). Despite the tension that always accompanies the launch of a magazine -- and despite the inevitable glitches and computer hiccups -- everyone worked in close harmony. Challenges arose and the team here met them head-on. They thought we were busy before, but they fit Semper Fi into our workflow brilliantly.

Mike Blum gave us another "Oorah!" when he saw his first copy, and as the issues arrive at members home, we're hearing from them, too. Mike spent a lot of time and effort alerting members to the change, and from the early feed-back, it is a welcome change. It makes us proud to now be a tiny part of the history of this storied fighting force and to be exploring its rich traditions and extraordinary camaraderie.

And it makes me proud to work with such a great group of folks.

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Posted on July 1, 2006 4:07 PM | Permalink

June 30, 2006< back

Actual memos from the Hammock Publishing vault

Some 'internal' messages at Hammock (we have a cool intranet) should be shared with a bigger audience. Here's one that was posted this morning:

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court today decreed that Hammock Publishing must immediately free up to 50 percent of the contents of its office refrigerator to make room for refreshments currently in a cooler in the back of Bill's car.

Writing the majority opinion for the court, Justice Antonin Scalia-Lite - sorry, Joseph Alito - opined that nearly empty containers of hummus and cottage cheese, as well as browning pieces of celery and wilting fruit "may well be at substantial risk of further decay and after a long weekend will present an increasing level of grossness to others who must occupy this same environment."

The case has been handed back to local authorities to take prompt action if the offending material is not removed "within a reasonable number of hours."

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Posted on June 30, 2006 9:06 AM | Permalink

June 22, 2006< back

Happy Hammock Day to you, Julia

We're a day late wishing Julia Boklage a happy Hammock Day. But that doesn't mean our good wishes of celebration are any less. Even during the craziness that has been this week, Julia took a few minutes to answer some random questions about her time here at Hammock, hateful cats and the Rolling Stones.

1. June 21 was Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? I have been with Hammock seven years.

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? I remember feeling totally overwhelmed. My predecessor was passing down a lot of rules on how to do things, particularly in our accounting software. I kept thinking that I would never remember it all! Turns out, much of it was not necessary, but it took me a while to figure that out.

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? Something very similar. It's what I like to do.

4. What is your favorite movie of all time? I have a lot of favorites but the one I watch most and never tire of is "Overboard" with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Totally silly and very entertaining to me.

5. Do you have any pets? That's hard to answer. My daughter, who lives with me, has a crazy cat named Target. So, she's not really mine but I get to reap the benefits as well as the drawbacks of having a paranoid, sometimes loving, often hateful odd little cat.

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? Probably 9/11. I am most often the last to arrive, and when I got here that morning, totally unaware of what was unfolding, I could almost sense the tension. A complete horror that I'm sure none of us will forget.

7. What is the last musical act/group you saw live? Oh my! Most recently, I saw Michael W. Smith in his Christmas performance with the Nashville Symphony. The last great performer that I saw was Ray Charles, not too long before his death. Highlights of my younger days would include The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and many more. Attending concerts was the "thing to do" back in the day. We would drive hundreds of miles!

8. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? I would buy a large piece of land and build a wonderful house. It has been a dream for a very long time.

9. Where do you hope to retire someday? I really don't know. I guess I think I'll be working forever.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? This question gave me the most pause! As I said, I really love what I do, it suits me. But, if I have to choose, I think it would be Kerri. It would be a lot of fun to enjoy her creative talent for a day.

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Posted by Summer Huggins on June 22, 2006 4:06 PM | Permalink

June 21, 2006< back

Hammock Team at the NFIB National Small-Business Summit in D.C.

This is one of those times every couple of years that some of us just live for. It's no secret that our office is chock-full of political junkies and small-business fans ﾑ and what better place to celebrate either persuasion than at the NFIB National Small-Business Summit? The biennial gathering of small-business owner/activists from around the country always attracts heavy-hitters from the political and business-speaker circuit; this year the agenda is strong.

Hammock's MyBusiness and NFIB.com staff were in force at the Summit, working with our client, the National Federation of Independent Business. It's a great showcase of their power and strength on Capitol Hill, and we're glad to be a part of the event. Below are the Hammoratians there: (L-R) Rex, Barbara, Emily, Lena, Summer and Jamie.

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Posted by Laura Creekmore on June 21, 2006 7:06 PM | Permalink

June 2, 2006< back

Third Year's a Charm: Lena Basha Celebrates "Hammock Day"

Spring is a time for baseball, rain and celebrating Hammock Days around here. The sixth member of the Hammock team to celebrate her Hammock Day in less than a month, Lena Basha sat down with me over margaritas to answers a few questions about dating, movies and being chased in the parking garage...

1. June 2 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? Three years.

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? Barbara Mathieson. In the parking lot. Riding my tail. Honking her horn. Flashing her lights. Yelling, "Park, you slow poke!" I embellish, but it's not far from the truth. Our relationship has since improved.

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? Hopefully a similar job, but not nearly as fabulous.

4. What is the last movie you saw in the theatre? "Ice Age 2," but I'm more of a renter. Last night, I watched "Winter Passing." It stars Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel. I was all, "Oh, I loved them in 'Elf,' I bet this will be great!" I was wrong. It was horrible. Don't rent it.

5. Do you have any pets? No.

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? That day Rex stopped by my desk and asked me if I was dating Mr. Roboto.

7. What's your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate? Oh goodness, where to start? "The Real World," "Laguna Beach," "The Hills" (premieres this week!), "The Real Housewives of Orange County," the list goes on. I don't think I'd participate, though. Despite appearances, I am shy. I think it took me at least a year and a half to speak without spoken to here at the office.

8. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? A trip to New York.

9. Where do you hope to retire someday? I feel uncomfortable answering a question that suggests I am already thinking about retirement three years into my job. I love Hammock Publishing.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? Lynne Boyer, as long as I get to keep her lockerﾑand the key that goes to it. I think she has 18 million snacks locked up in there. Also, she is an exceptionally fast and skilled designer.

Posted by Summer Huggins on June 2, 2006 9:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

June 1, 2006< back

June 1 Marks "Hammock Day" for Emily McMackin

By now, you probably know the routine. An employee celebrates their anniversary with Hammock Publishing (a.k.a. "Hammock Day") and we corner them with questions to get to know them better... What makes them tick? Their taste in movies? What do they really think of Martha Stewart? Today, Emily McMackin tells all...

1. June 1 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? 1 year

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? It was so quiet. When I arrived at 8 a.m., it was dark, and nobody was here except for Bill Hudgins, who graciously pointed me to a machine that made individual cups of coffeeﾑthe coolest office contraption I'd ever seen. I thought about how different this office was from the daily newspaper I had come from, where mornings consisted of people yellingﾑand sometimes sprintingﾑacross the room in the rush to get the paper out, and the coffeepot was a decade old and made a toxic brew. I was impressed by how friendly everyone was here and how much they smiled, something that didn't happen often at the paper. I knew I was in a better place, and I was glad.

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? Freelance writing for magazines or maybe teaching English overseas for the Peace Corps.

4. What is the last movie you saw in the theatre? "Poseidon." a movie that has many moments that seem like a modern version of Titanic, except the plot doesn't revolve around a love story or an iceberg.

5. Do you have any pets? No, except for the geese in my apartment complex that perch on my porch.

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? When we won one of our major client accounts. Rex shut down the office at 3 p.m., and we all went out for drinks. I realized how nice it was to work in a place where accomplishments were celebrated, and the attitude wasn't "Congratulations, now get back to work."

7. What's your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate? I know the critics panned it, but I really liked "Martha Stewart: The Apprentice" because it was not only about making money, but also working together on creative projects. I'm not sure that I would have the guts to face Martha in the boardroom, though. She can be scary.

8. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? A round-trip ticket to Europe for a month, and if any money was left over, a house with new furnishings.

9. Where do you hope to retire someday? After taking a trip to the Virgin Islands, I discovered a spot where I would love to spend my last daysﾑSt. John. It is so beautiful, and it is spiritual. Since I doubt I will ever make enough money to live there, I would settle for a little house with a porch swing in my hometown of Tuscumbia, Ala., for my rocking chair years.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? Shannon McRae. She gets to work on so many different kinds of projects for her client and that takes so much creativity. Even though she is crazy busy all the time, she always has a smile.

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Posted by Summer Huggins on June 1, 2006 9:06 AM | Permalink

May 24, 2006< back

11 Years of Hammock Days with Kerri Davis

On May 21, Kerry Davis celebrated "Hammock Day," marking 11 years with the company. I bribed her to answer a few questions for us; terms of our agreement will not be disclosed.

1. May 21 was Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? 11 years

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? That I don't think some of the partners even knew that the creative director hired me.

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? I'd probably try to pursue an interior design degree. I love looking at and thinking about interiors.

4. What is the last movie you saw in the theatre? Friends With Money

5. What did you have for lunch today? Hummus, pretzels and a Zone bar

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? There have been a few that we don't talk about. Other than that, the O.J. Simpson trial (everyone jammed in the kitchen watching TV) and 9/11 (same scenario).

7. What's your favorite reality TV show? Basically, I'm sick of them and don't really watch them that much. Back in the day, I was a huge Real World fan. I remember watching the Sunday marathon of New York and San Fran. Loved Puck! Would you ever participate? Never.

8. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? Plane tickets! Lots of them!

9. Where did you grow up? Aberdeen, Miss.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? Probably Bill Hudgins. I'd love to spend a day with all the words in his head. He can drop a two-word headline on you in seconds... a designer's dream!

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Posted by Summer Huggins on May 24, 2006 9:05 AM | Permalink

May 19, 2006< back

Celebrating "Hammock Day" with Lisa Ask

Lisa Ask celebrated her anniversary with Hammock Publishing on May 17, so I cornered her to ask her a few questions about the occasion...

1. May 17 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? Seven years.

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? Uh oh, I don't recall much of my first day. I suppose I remember the Monday morning meeting. Back in the old days we had our meetings where the art department now sits.

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? It's not every day one finds a company to work for as great as Hammock Publishing. If I didn't work for Hammock, I'd probably stay home full time with Parker.

4. What is the last movie you saw in the theatre? Mission Impossible 3

5. What did you have for lunch today? I haven't had lunch yet.

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? I will never forget having to find a meat wrapper [for packaging] for the "Hammock Beefy-T's." Never a dull moment at Hammock!

7. What's your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate? American Idol. Being brutally humiliated by Simon Cowell doesn't appeal to me, so no, I wouldn't participate.

8. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? I'd hire a personal chef and house cleaner.

9. Where did you grow up? Hendersonville, Tenn. I'm home grown.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? Oh, I don't know. I'd probably take a stab at something more creative. The entire art department seems creative, so I'd trade places with one of them. As much as I love numbers, there isn't much color or pizzazz involved!

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Posted by Summer Huggins on May 19, 2006 9:05 AM | Permalink

May 14, 2006< back

Fire drill

The landlord here at Hammock HQ holds a fun fire drill a couple of times a year. Fun? Sure, they even provide ice cream. Here's a set of photos that proves how fun it is to have a Hammock fire drill.

Posted on May 14, 2006 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 3, 2006< back

Happy Hammock Day Times Two

Two members of the Hammock Publishing crew, Barbara Mathieson and Carrie Wakeford, celebrate Hammock Day today. Hammock Day? The anniversary of their first day on the job. We cornered them with a few questions to get the details...

10 questions with Barbara Mathieson...

1. May 3 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? Iﾕve been at Hammock Publishing seven years.

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? An employee, who no longer works here, walked into my office and promised me that she would make my life here very difficult. I asked her not to do that.

During the staff meeting that morning, employees would give the status of a job, as TA bills June 15; JC Bradford bills June 30. Since I didnﾕt come from the agency world, I found that amusing.

When I left at the end of the day, I exited out the entrance to the parking garage. I remember being very rattled, after day one.

Also, there was a very destructive tornado in the southwest that evening. Was that an omen?

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? Possibly I would be at American Profile, another Nashville publisher. About the time I came to Hammock, American Profile was starting up, and I talked to them a couple of times.

If I wasnﾕt in publishing, I would be a zookeeper.

4. What is the last movie you saw in the theatre? I saw the documentary, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, which was shot at the Ryman Auditorium last summer by director Jonathan Demme.

5. What did you have for lunch today? A Hammock Publishing favorite, Jimmy Johnﾕs. I ate the #13 Gourmet Veggie Club on the 7-grain whole wheat bread.

John Lavey is the Jared of Jimmy Johnﾕs. Last year, John ate nothing but Jimmy Johnﾕs for 60 days.

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? That was the Friday afternoon when Rex came back to Hammock Publishing from smallbusiness.com. He addressed the staff after having to close down his dot.com business. I know that this was a painful day for him. I developed a respect for him that day that has grown deeper over the years, as he overcame other challenges to his small businesses.

Although I wanted smallbusiness.com to succeed, I was glad to see him come back because I felt that Hammock Publishing lacked a visionary leader in his absence.

(Side note: Visit the new and improved smallbusiness.com today. We think you'll like it!)

7. What's your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate? I despise all reality television. I find it exploitive. So, no, I wouldnﾕt participate. Plus I donﾕt look great in a bikini.

The Office to me is reality TV. It reminds me of my days in the corporate world.

8. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? I would fund an exhibit for the Nashville Zoo, hopefully something I think is cool, like giant anteaters or komodo dragons. Then I would take an extended vacation.

9. Where did you grow up? I grew up in Winchester, Tenn.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? I would love to switch with one of our editorial staff, because I always wanted to be a writer.

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10 questions with Carrie Wakeford...

1. May 3 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? Two years!

2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? I was very nervous about being the new person. Then when I got home I realized my fly had been down all day and no one told me. I could have died.

3. If you didn't work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? I would probably still be working at the Nashville Scene designing ads, desperately needing a change.

4. What is the last movie you saw in the theatre? Walk the Line

5. What did you have for lunch today? A bagel (plain) and a diet coke ﾐ not the most exciting meal.

6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? Hmmmﾉperhaps my most memorable day would be the day after my first Hammock Christmas party (2004). We all had new iPods to set up. Then John made Shannon go get Krystals with the leftover cab money. Or maybe I could go with the most memorable Hammock trip to Chicago for the How Design Conferenceﾉ lots of fun!

7. What's your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate? I donﾕt think it is a secret that I am a fan of the Bachelor. Would I participate? Not unless Travis Stork decides to try again.

8. If you were to win the lottery this week, what is the first purchase you would make? First I would pay off my graduate school debt. Then I would give much of the rest to my dad. I think that might begin to pay him back for all the money I have borrowed from him in my 31 years of existence. Does that count as a purchase?

9. Where did you grow up? Albany, Ga., which is in southwest Georgia.

10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? This might not be the point, but if I could switch places with anyone it would be Kerri Davis. Even though we are in the same department she is fast as lightning doing layouts. The best part is that her layouts while quick are always amazing and fresh.

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Posted by Summer Huggins on May 3, 2006 1:05 PM | Permalink

May 1, 2006< back

You did WHAT on a Saturday morning?!

Because I've been talking about it for the past four months, it's no secret that I ran the Country Music 1/2 Marathon this weekend. Besides the sweet medal I took home (I came this close to wearing it to work todayﾑyeah, I'm glad I didn't either), here's what I took away from the experience:

･ Everyone I work withﾑboth clients and coworkersﾑare super nice as they all wished me good luck.

･ John Lavey, who finished in 1:39, can run faster than I can, information to keep in mind if he's ever mad at me.

･ Nashville is hilly. Like, really hilly. Ouch.

･ Despite the hills and the overwhelming oh-my-goodness-when-will-this-end feeling, it was great hearing coworkers like Emily McMackin and other fans scream "GO LENA!!" at mile 12.

Overall, it was a great experience. I can't wait until next year! Who wants to join me??

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Posted by Lena Anthony on May 1, 2006 9:05 AM | Permalink

April 26, 2006< back

When the Music's Over

Inspired by a recent CNN.com article, we decided to conduct our own poll here at Hammock of the worst songs of all time.

Barbara M. had several nominations, and said, "The 70s was the decade of bad music. That's why I listened only to jazz and fusion." The songs that drove her away from the radio were:

"Afternoon Delight" by the Starland Vocal Band

"When Will I See You Again" by Three Degrees

"Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady" by the Commodores

"Copacabana" by Barry Manilow

"Baby I'm a Want You" by Bread

"Escape, the Pi紡 Colada Song" by Rupert Holmes

"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" by Cher

"You're Having My Baby" by Paul Anka

Bill:

"Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" is certainly close to the worst in my memory.

I have a special thing for "The Tennessee Waltz." I hear it played in all sorts of romantic settings, like a wedding reception recently, and it always puzzles meﾐﾐthat is a cheating song, people! Why play it when youﾕve just gotten married?

Rex had a tie:

"Feelings (Nothing more than feelings)" vs. "Achy-Breaky Heart."

Allison:

Barbara voted for my top pick, "Escape, the Pi紡 Colada Song." The absolute worst song. Also, "We Built This City," by Jefferson Starship. They had some ok songs, but this was the lowest point for them.

Lynne:

"Seasons in the Sun."

"We had joy we had fun

We had seasons in the sun

But the hills that we climbed were just seasons

Out of time..."

What a stinky song.

Megan:

I have several suggestions, including everything ever uttered by Britney Spears, and Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine." Also, "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys, "Macarena" by Los del R弛 and "Come Dancing" by the Kinks (which Barbara M. and Bill have admitted they like).

Posted on April 26, 2006 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 23, 2006< back

MyBusiness Magazine wins Jesse H. Neal Award

Congratulations to to the MyBusiness editorial teams at Hammock Publishing and our client, the National Federation of Independent Business, NFIB, for receiving the top editorial honor in the business-to-business publishing field. Today at a ceremony in New York, MyBusiness Manual, a feature in each issue of MyBusiness Magazine, won the The Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for "Best Department" in the large-circulation category. The Neals are the industryﾕs most prestigious and sought-after editorial honors. Established in 1955, the Neal Awards recognize and reward editorial excellence in business-to-business publications. MyBusiness has been published by Hammock Publishing since 2000 for the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation's largest and most influential association of small businesses.

Link: American Business Press press release.

Posted on March 23, 2006 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hammock Blog Updated

We've updated our hardware and software. We're running the current version of WordPress 2.0.2 on a 1.8GHz machine. I hope you all enjoy it.

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Posted by Patrick Ragsdale on March 23, 2006 7:03 AM | Permalink

December 20, 2005< back

T-party like it's 2005

For the past 14 years or so, Hammock Publishing elves have used all the skills learned from working those summers at the Gap, to fold and box up T-shirts to mail to our friends who read this blog (and many who don't).

Last Friday, we once more gathered together to carry-on this tradition. (Except for Shannon, who, get this, had to work!) Despite appearances, no child labor laws were broken in the packaging of these T-shirts.

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Posted by Summer Huggins on December 20, 2005 2:12 PM | Permalink

September 20, 2005< back

Titans VS. Ravens

I had the pleasure of attending the Titans game this past Sunday with my dad. It was the first time either one of us had been to the Coliseum. We sat directly behind McNair's family!

If you have a chance to go, make sure you know the correct street for parking since several are blocked off. We drove around the entire stadium to get to lot F (enter from 1st street for a much more direct route). I wore my t to show off my Hammock pride.

In case you didn't know, we won 25 to 10.

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Posted by Patrick Ragsdale on September 20, 2005 9:09 AM | Permalink

August 8, 2005< back

Stopped ticking, briefly

For over 1,000 days, the server which hosts Hammock Publishing's website ran continuously. That's right. Never a crash or interruption. It took a fire in downtown Nashville near the hosting facility we use to stop this baby. And the fire would not have done so if the fire department had not made the hosting facility shut down the auxiliary power (some lame excuse about the fire and the diesel fuel needed to keep those generators humming). Thanks to Patrick Ragsdale (and Blair & Julia for the phone-relays) for spending his Sunday evening getting all our servers back up and running. 12 hours and ticking.

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Posted on August 8, 2005 12:08 PM | Permalink

August 3, 2005< back

Jamie in Greece

Hello from Greece.

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Posted by Patrick Ragsdale on August 3, 2005 7:08 AM | Permalink

July 21, 2005< back

No Parking: T-Shirt Spotting

I am in a hammock T-shirt taken last week at Iowa 80 Truck Stop, The World's Largest Truck Stop, at Walcott Iowa, just off I-80 at exit 284.

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Posted on July 21, 2005 3:07 PM | Permalink