The Hammock Blog

Those last two items are the most important, General Amos told writer Otto Kreisher, because the Corps must keep faith with those who have served in it.

From a look at the future of the Corps, Semper Fi looks back to the early days of the American Civil War, when a Marine battalion fought with the Union side at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). In reporting on the battle's sesquicentennial, Writer Ross Simpson refutes an old accusation that the Marines ran away from the enemy.

The September-October issue also takes a look at how Combat Cargo and Logistics Marines keep the Corps ready to move at a moment's notice, and how a new communications system may finally link up the entire battlefield.

Hammock Inc. publishes Semper Fi for the Marine Corps. League.

We knew the cover would have to celebrate both that birthday and also the 235th Birthday of the United States of America. So we decided to bake the patriotic cake shown here which is adorned with iconic American images.

What we didn’t know was that there’d be a gift coming for American Spirit and DAR.

The magazine had begun arriving in mailboxes when we received word on June 28 that American Spirit had won its eighth Apex Award Grand Award.

The announcement also fell on the eve of DAR’s annual Continental Congress held in Washington, D.C., American Spirit editor Jamie Roberts and Hammock ceo Rex Hammock are attending the Congress, so they delivered the good news and also joined in the dual birthday celebrations.

One of the best-known and most celebrated women’s organizations in America, DAR has published a magazine continuously since 1892. American Spirit is the latest incarnation, honoring DAR’s core values of God, home and country.

Each issue of American Spirit explores topics that support DAR’s dedication to historical preservation, promotion of education and encouragement of patriotic endeavor.

Sponsored by the editors of Writing That Works: The Business Communications Report, the 23rd APEX Awards competition received 3,329 entries, including 529 in magazines and journals. Only 100 Grand Awards were issued.

American Spirit was entered in the non-profit category, and the judges showered it with praise:

“This is a spectacular magazine on so many levels. The use of typography is almost an art form in itself, photography is world class, and the feature articles are captivating."

We feel much the same way, and, judging from rising circulation figures, so do our readers. And that takes the cake.

The DAR Magazine National Chairman, Pamela Marshall, and her family have been dedicated Civil War re-enactors for 15 years. “Our oldest sons took this hobby to a new level and became U.S. Army Artillery Officers,” she says. "One served in Afghanistan and the other in Iraq."

Ms. Marshall’s sons are two of the brave military service members American Spirit salutes this Veterans Day for sacrificing so much for our freedom and the cause of liberty around the world.

All this extra mass required correspondingly greater amounts of fuel and electricity to run. Now, eying a return to its seafaring roots, the Corps is slimming down. From battlefield to base barracks, the Corps is particularly interested in curbing its appetite for fuel and power. The July-August issue of Semper Fi, the magazine of the Marine Corps League, examines how the Marines plan to get back into fighting trim.

Some of that new equipment was on display at the recent Marine South Military Expo aboard Camp Lejeune, NC. Sponsored by the Marine Corps League the Expos showcase the finest gear available to the military in the world.

Elsewhere in this issue, we meet a Marine veteran who did a tour in Korea during that "Forgotten War," leading a squad of airplane mechanics who kept Marine aviators in the air around the clock. Flight mechanics had to go up with pilots to check out repairs, leading to some hair-raising moments - and a very personal commitment to do it right - first time, every time.

Semper Fi also remembers the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, who used their native language to transmit unbreakable messages during the bloody battles with the Japanese on remote Pacific Islands. With only a few left, they are pursuing a new goal: To build a museum and veterans center honoring their legacy.

The new issue also coincides with the League's 87th National Convention in August in Greensboro, NC, and the magazines salutes retiring National Commandant Jim Laskey.

The issue also reports on progress toward a cherished League objective — redesignating the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps. Though approved by the House and with most of the Senate signed on as cosponsors, the effort still faces potentially stiff opposition when debate starts sometime this summer.

Guadalcanal. Bougainville. New Britain. Saipan. Tarawa. Peleliu. Guam. Tinian. Iwo Jima. Of all the names steeped in blood and honor during Marine campaigns of World War II, Iwo Jima has always resonated most deeply in the American imagination. The March-April issue of Semper Fi magazine, which we publish for the Marine Corps League, commemorates the American capture of that desolate little volcanic island.

But neither casualty statistics nor the strategic importance of its airfields explains why Iwo Jima emerged as an icon. It’s the photograph … THE photograph. Joe Rosenthal’s image of four Marines and one Navy Corpsman raising the second American flag atop Mt. Suribachi flashed around the world days after the event.

Ever wonder how all the puzzle pieces come together to create a bimonthly publication? Take a peek into the process for American Spirit, a history- and preservation-focused magazine Hammock publishes for the Daughters of the American Revolution. The upcoming May/June issue is a special one, as it will be distributed to all DAR members to commemorate the three-year term of President General Linda Gist Calvin. No two cycles of the magazine are the same, but here are roughly the steps the editors and designers take from initial story ideas to the magazine landing on the coffee table:

The illustration of a fashionable woman with a sky-high wig gracing the March/April issue of American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution, is for a story on 18th-century hairstyles. It's a relief to learn that an obsession with how our hair looks is far from a modern phenomenon. Our early American forefathers spent time and money on their hairstyles -- whether importing wigs from Europe or forming their own distinctly American looks. In our cover feature on “Revolutionary Hair,” readers learn more about big wigs, men in pigtails and the origin of the term powder rooms.

In a salute to February's Black History Month, American Spirit's January/February issue features recently discovered information on Eunice Davis, recognized as the first and only known Real Daughter of color. More than a century after her death, DAR historians are delving into the life of this fascinating and passionate anti-slavery activist and community volunteer.

Davis--among the few women with the designation "Real" Daughter, or members of the DAR who were just a single generation removed from a Revolutionary War Patriot--was a founding member of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society and helped catapult it to the forefront of women's abolition groups in the 1830s. Her home was even a station on the Underground Railroad.

Christmastime is magical at Tryon Palace, the Georgian-style palace in historic New Bern, N.C., gracing the November/December issue of American Spirit, the magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Once known as the finest public building in the Colonies, the palace, which was built around 1770 as the royal governor’s home and North Carolina’s first permanent capitol, hasn’t always been so radiant. It was reduced to ruins, until local preservationists launched a campaign to resurrect it. Thanks to their tenacity and the discovery of the original architect’s plans, the palace still enchants the public today, 50 years after its restoration.

A recent article on foliomag.com on the topic came as no real surprise to us.

Patriotism is a regular topic in many of the magazines we publish at Hammock Inc.: Semper Fi, the magazine for the Marine Corps League; American Spirit, the magazine for the Daughters of the American Revolution; and Foundations, which we publish for the families of the Army National Guard. Now we can add one more title to that list.

In the October/November issue of MyBusiness, the magazine we publish for the National Federation of Independent Business, we honor small business owners with a military background in the feature Heroes of Small Business. They share how serving their country has helped them serve their customers.

Wedgwood's storied history as an iconic creator of beautiful ceramics art is the focus of American Spirit's September/October issue.

Last fall, when the economic downturn became a daily news topic, it didn't take long to get a little sick of all of the doom-and-gloom reports. On one hand, it is what it is. The economy stinks. But on the other hand, come on already!

That's why we decided to take matters into our own hands, and shine a different light on the economic downturn with the April/May MyBusiness cover story, "A Helping Hand: How small business is stepping up to end the recession."

It's no secret we're nuts about magazines around here. So today when I asked the Hammorati what their favorites were (besides the ones we do for our clients, of course!) it was no surprise that I was immediately inundated with passionate responses.

My magazine subscriptions have changed over the years, but my favorite will probably always be Rolling Stone. Read on to find out the favorites of the other Hammock staff:

The new Congress and president are focused on the economy and how to pull America out of a recession now, but NFIB expects them to turn their attention to card checks soon. Thus, our cover story—“Face Off: NFIB challenges Big Labor.”

It's interesting to note that President-elect Obama will be sworn in on the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used. This issue also celebrates Honest Abe's upcoming 200th birthday as we check in on the numerous historic sites planning commemorative events and look back on his legacy as a leader.

Furniture lovers--and wannabe craftsmen--will also enjoy this issue's story on crafting a Colonial-era Windsor chair. Our very own Rex Hammock spent more than 60 hours building one during his week at the John C. Campbell Folk School in southwest North Carolina. Although the experience didn’t make for the most relaxing vacation, the process of creating something beautiful from raw wood proved to be an inspiring journey. Take a look at Rex's full story, or view a slide show and some video of him building the chair.

With a new year Semper Fi Magazine takes a look under the armor of a new set of wheels destined for the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army. Fast-tracked for development, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) will eventually supersede the venerable Humvee for many uses where speed, agility and troop protection are of paramount concern.

After years of writing articles and interviewing subjects as a writer and reporter, it's always unusual to be on the other end of the process. That happened again recently, when I was interviewed by a writer from Entrepreneur magazine for an article published in the December 2008 issue ("Change Can Do You Good").

For the third year in a row, FOLIO asked Rex for his magazine and media predictions for the coming year. Here’s his list he shared with FOLIO:

Take one look at the cover December/January 2009 issue of MyBusiness and you just might not recognize it.

The bold illustration of Uncle Sam using Main Street as his crutch is a definite deviation from the typical cover of MyBusiness, the magazine we publish for members of the National Federation of Independent Business. But the message it sends is the same one we send in every issue: Small business is the heart and soul of America, representing 80 percent of total employment in the United States and producing roughly half of the country's annual GDP—and if anyone is going to get the nation through a downturn, it's small business.

In fact, the entire December/January 2009 issue is dedicated to the economy. You'll find recession-busting tips from cover to cover. That's why a typical cover just wouldn't work this time.

And in honor of Veterans Day, the issue expands the regular Today's Daughters department to salute four special members of the Daughters of the American Revolution who contributed to the WWII cause: Doris Alberts, Evelyn Parker Clark, Florrideen Wakenight Lyle and Katharine Phillips Singer. Thanks to them and to all veterans who made sacrifices for our freedom.

In addition to the cover story of the issue celebrating quilt art and spotlighting the 20 DAR quilts on display at the festival, Hammock also designed several ads for The Texas Society Daughters of the American Revolution (TSDAR) to run in the festival's program.

“I’m excited because the DAR quilt exhibit promotes the preservation of a part of our American heritage that is very connected to our families and is connected generationally,” says Jill Brooks, exhibit co-chair for the TSDAR. “Perhaps because it’s tactile, there seems to be something special about quilting and the fact that it’s passed down through generations. There’s a comfort factor involved.”

Congrats to the TSDAR for its part in a "show that even Hurricane Ike couldn't stop!" Here's to a great festival!

Our client, NFIB, believes strongly that the decisions voters make on Election Day at the polls will have profound effects on their lives—and that the effect is even stronger for those who own or work for a small business. That's why we dedicated more than half of the pages of the October/November 2008 issue of MyBusiness, the magazine we publish for NFIB, to the election—specifically to the information small business voters should be armed with before making those important decisions on Nov. 4.

For those still trying to make sense of the issues and where the candidates stand, we compiled the reader-friendly Voting for Small Business feature, which outlines the issues (think healthcare, taxes, energy and labor) affecting small business and both Sens. John McCain's and Barack Obama's positions on them.

The basic building block - the DNA, if you will - of the United States Marine Corps as a fighting force is the rifle squad. And in an era of asymmetric warfare, the Corps is reshaping and re-equipping its squads to do more and do so with greater autonomy.

As described in the latest issue of Semper Fi, the member magazine we publish for the Marine Corps League, "The Marine Corps is the only military service in the world that uses a 13-man infantry squad … The squad is the lowest element in the Marine Corps that can actually receive a mission."

The new issue of Semper Fi explores how the Corps is modifying its DNA at a new facility called "The Gruntworks" aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA. With the assistance of field-proven Marines, the Gruntworks crew is working to lighten, toughen and make more efficient every ounce of gear carried by today's Marines. That's a tall order - typical equipment loads can weigh 100 pounds or more.

Elsewhere in this issue, we begin exploring the history of Camp Lejeune, NC, and the Marines presence in the Carolinas. The flat, sandy coastal beaches have seen innumerable practice assaults as the Corps developed and continues to perfect its signature amphibious attack methods.

Semper Fi also revisits Beirut, Lebanon, where 25 years ago this Oct. 23, terrorists bombed the Marine peacekeeper barracks, killing 221 Marines as well as other military personnel. Many regard that as the first open shot in today's Global War on Terror.

We also remember another iconic moment in Marine history - the 90th anniversary of the bloody, WWI battle of Belleau Wood, France, where tradition holds that the US Marines earned the nickname "Devil Dogs" as they ferociously defeated a larger German army and turned the tide of that war.

When we started researching the cover feature for the August/September issue of MyBusiness—"The New Frontier: Top technologies to plan for in the coming years"—we weren't really sure what to include. What's cutting edge to some people might be old hat to others. That's how we picked the tech concepts we did: Each of them could speak to someone who's new to technology and the Internet (hard to believe that's possible, huh?) as well as to those people who have been online and plugged in for years.

Through the small business owners who have embraced these technologies, we show how these various tools—from social networking to mobile technology—can help transform the way you run your business.

This issue (like all issues of MyBusiness) is filled with ways to transform the way you do small business—from improving loyalty by keeping an open-door policy with clients to choosing the right direction in the midst of a turning point to keeping key employees from being wooed by your competition.

Hammock’s work with the Marine Corps League is featured in the latest issue of the Custom Publishing Council’s magazine Content. The article “Across a Crowded Room, ” focuses on how marketers and custom publishers are finding new ways to target specific audiences with custom content. In the case of our client the Marine Corps League, the association wanted to reposition its magazine for a number of reasons—one of which was to recruit younger Marines.

Read the article from Content here to learn how we redesigned, refocused and repositioned Marine Corps League magazine (newly named Semper Fi) to accomplish the goals of the League. “In the two and a half years since the redesign,” says MCL executive director Mike Blum, “membership in the Marine Corps league has increased 25 percent. Between 15 and 20 percent of that increase can be attributed to the magazine.”

The article on Folio:'s website details our work in redesigning and repositioning American Spirit, the member magazine we publish for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

Read on to see how we helped the DAR:

• Position the magazine as a resource on American history


• Reach younger readers


• Improve circulation

The opening lines to Ben E. King's classic song "Stand By Me" describe the situation American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan face every night when their enemies are on the move. Fortunately, the U.S. leads the world in night-vision technology, which helps deny the bad guys their would-be invisibility cloak.

From a natural disaster to employee theft to bad-for-business regulations, the threats facing the small business owners we interviewed for this issue are real and could happen to any business any day. Just ask Nichole Yarbrough, owner of Shepherd, Texas-based Shepherd Auto Sales, whom we talked to for the Crisis Averted feature. In one day, everything she worked to create was taken from her when a thief stole her purse, which contained credit cards, checks, $5,000 in cash and more than 40 car titles. It was a rough two months putting the pieces back together, but she survived and has since learned the important lesson of protecting her business from theft by backing up data (and not keeping car titles in her purse, of course!).

Turn a few pages past Yarbough’s story and you’ll meet Michael Nevins, who is fighting a much different kind of threat—a challenging small business climate in Michigan, where his business, Full Spectrum Solutions, is located. Nevins uses his involvement in NFIB as a shield to combat onerous regulations. In this article, he explains why his commitment to NFIB is so important.

Also check out the MyBusiness Manual: the Essential Guide to Safeguarding Your Business, where you’ll find tips on assessing your insurance needs, how to prepare for an OSHA inspection and protecting your business against hackers and scammers.

For this and more, check out the “Current Issue” section of www.mybusinessmag.com.

Warriors have always struggled to find uniforms that provide both protection from the elements as well as from enemy arms. Solutions have ranged from the bronze greaves of Achilles' armor before the walls of Troy to the colorful garb of Louisiana Zouaves to the bulky battle uniforms seen on the cover of the new issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League.

Though not as heavy as medieval armor, today's battlefield attire and accompanying gear can add up to 150 or more pounds to the average Marine's 163 pounds. Much of that is in the form of composite armor plates designed to stop a supersonic bullet or red-hot shard of shrapnel. Add to that eye protection, fire-resistant uniforms, weapons and ammo, communication gear, rations and water, and it's a wonder the Marine can move at all.

And what would a family scrapbook be without those faded photos of Aunt Norma and Uncle David posing in their Sunday best? Our cover story, “Treasure Hunt,” outlines new resources to track down family photographs. Thanks to digital collections at libraries and historical societies and Web sites devoted to genealogy, it’s easier than ever to find photographs of long-lost relatives on your family tree--and we show you how.

The April/May issue of MyBusiness which we publish for NFIB is hitting homes this week. The focus is on NFIB's ramped up efforts to reform small business health care. NFIB recently launched Solutions Start Here, an aggressive national campaign to ensure that legislators will keep small business in mind when discussing health care reform for the country. The feature article Solutions Start Here has more details on how small businesses can join the fight.

Also check out this issue's MyBusiness Manual: The Essential Guide to Small Business Benefits for tips on how to attract top notch employees---and keep the ones you've got happy and loyal.

As always, this issue of MyBusiness is packed with tons of great tips, tricks and other must-read stories for small business owners, so head over to MyBusinessMag.com to take a look.

Have you ever thought about how often magazine offices appear as settings in movies? From writer Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" to Andrea Sachs' (Anne Hathaway) stint as an editorial assistant at Runway magazine in "The Devil Wears Prada," movies are filled with characters who dream of making it big in journalism.

If you don't believe me, take a look at this list compiled by Rex a few years ago and you'll see how often it really is.

And it's not just on the big screen. One of my favorite shows (“Ugly Betty”) is all about the making of a Vogue-esque magazine and the crazy people who help put it together.

Whether or not your grasp of etiquette would past muster with Emily Post, be relieved that you didn't have to abide by the rules of courtesy books, 18th-century manuals on the proper behavior of gentlemen and women, which we also spotlight in this issue. From table manners—“Make not a noise with thy Tongue, Mouth, Lips or Breath, either in eating or drinking”—to personal appearance—“Wear not your clothes foul, ripped or dusty, but see to it that they be brushed once every day at least”—these books provide surprising glimpses into the everyday lives and aspirations of early Americans.

The issue also covers the recent International Preservation Trades Workshop, where experts demonstrate hands-on techniques for preserving historic structures. We feature some talented craftsmen and women who are whizzes at reglazing vintage windows, renewing wood finishes, repairing ornamental plaster, carving bricks and stone, and dozens of other traditional methods of historic preservation. This story is especially fitting now that DAR has embarked on a multimillion-dollar restoration of its many historically significant buildings, including the century-old Memorial Continental Hall. The next time you’re in D.C., stop by for a tour of the complex, only steps away from the White House. On 1776 D Street, of course.

One of the photos from the making of the commercial, taken in Columbia, TN, a few miles from Hammock Inc.'s Nashville offices, graces the cover of the March-April 2008 issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League, which we publish for the League.

Elsewhere in the issue, we encounter a different "kind" of Marine - one made of plastic and aluminum and electronics. The Marines and other services increasingly use robots to perform highly dangerous tasks such as reconnaissance, investigating potential explosive devices, even retrieving wounded comrades under fire. While there is not now and never will be a true substitute for boots on the ground, 'bots will take on new and more complex tasks as another weapon in the Marines' arsenal.

Speaking of that arsenal, the Marine Corps League co-hosts three trade shows a year that bring active-duty Marines together with military suppliers. The Marines are not shy about giving the vendors (many of them veterans) a quick and incisive analysis of their products. And the vendors hustle to fix, upgrade and adapt their products and services to meet the warfighters' needs. Semper Fi reports on the Marine West Expo in January aboard Camp Pendleton, CA; we'll be at the next one, Marine South at Camp Lejeune, NC, in early April.

Created by the National Federation of Independent Business for its small business owner-members, MyBusiness magazine handles tough topics like this every issue. A regular feature the past few months has also examined how small business is dealing with the health care crisis. We examine possible solutions, and NFIB's role as the voice of small business on critical issues like health insurance.

Hammock has produced MyBusiness since 2000, but it's only available as a benefit for NFIB members. You can take a sneak peak at MyBusinessmag.com -- also created by Hammock.

Here's a glimpse of the latest issue of Pharmaceutical Commerce, a magazine Hammock designed from the ground up in 2005.

The magazine, which covers the business side of the pharma industry, including marketing, finance, supply chain and packaging, delivers helpful and timely information to more than 16,000 readers.

The next issue should be out in a few weeks. In fact, as I type, Ben Stewart is probably designing some awesome illustration for it.

Other historical features in the January/February issue include David Bushnell, who created the first submersible warship -- in 1776! -- and Colonial businesswoman and indigo farmer Eliza Lucas Pinckney of South Carolina.

The January-February 2008 issue of Semper Fi: The Magazine of the Marine Corps League is headed for the presses this week, and will be arriving in the homes of some 70,000 Marine Corps League members in early January.

The issue also reports on the League's 27th annual Modern Day Marine Expo held aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. in early October. The Expo, and its cousins held in January at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and in April at Camp Lejeune, N.C., bring military suppliers together with Marines who use their equipment. More than just a show and tell for the vendors, the Expos allow the Marines to speak with the suppliers about what works and what doesn't. And when you are talking about something that can literally save your life and those of your fellow Marines, the talk is direct and to the point.

When faced with a tough decision, do you mull it over for weeks or go with your gut? Do you feel comfortable with your decision once you've made it? These are the questions we asked several of the subjects featured in the December/January 2008 issue of MyBusiness, the magazine Hammock publishes for the National Federation of Independent Business.

What we found in our feature "The Power of Trust" was that small-business owners listen to their instincts to help them make important decisions about their businesses, but deliberation is still necessary.

We also talked to some small-business owners who make their communities as much of a priority as their businesses in our inspiring feature "Like a Good Neighbor."

Check out these stories and more in the latest issue, including a staff favorite on how one Arizona business creates success by blending into the crowd—a crowd of trees, that is.

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.