Happy Halloween Hour

Next weekend is Halloween! Since it falls on a Sunday this year, it stands to reason that the Halloween parties will actually occur on Oct. 30. But c'mon! Halloween is so fun that there have been parties already happening for a week or more!

Just as a heads up, Halloween now holds the title as the busiest bar night of the year. That's right-there are more folks in bars on Halloween than St. Patty's Day.
Please just keep this in mind next weekend, K? There's more than trick or treaters to watch out for on Halloween. Happy Halloween!

When You're Tipping Back A Few Words...

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with my family-in-laws. In the car were two ministers, two gospel singers, one president/CEO of a Christian Bible college, one manager/producer of gospel music and, of course, my redneck self sitting in the midst. Love these folks dearly, don't misunderstand me, I'm just the black sheep, so to speak.

While we're driving around town, the driver is incessantly texting. This guy would probably never take a drink outside of moderation and/or safety, but when it comes to texting, hey, whatever.

Yet, study after study keeps showing how texting can be just as dangerous, if not moreso, than driving drunk. Just ponder that for a minute...would you ever drive drunk? Chances are, your answer is no, never. But texting, something just as dangerous? Well, we give that a little more grace. Should we? Frankly, I don't think so...the repurcussions of texting are identical as driving drunk. People still get hurt, people still die. I hope you'll ponder this perspective next time your text alarm goes off while you're behind the wheel.

DeSales University and Marcus: Half Decade Anniversary

Again for 2010, I was honored to be a keynote presentor for DeSales University in Pennsylvania. Wonderful group of freshmen participating in the Character U. program, plus incredible clients with lots of laughs! What could be better?

Special thanks to Wendy Krisak, Dr. Gregg Amore and Chad Surface for being such good friends and great clients! Can’t wait to come back to DeSales for the sixth straight year!

Does A Higher Alcohol Content Appeal To You?

A few nights ago, we got to have dinner with a couple old friends from St. Louis who were in town on vacation. We went to a microbrewery for food and fun and had a really great time. It also gave me a little pause to raise an awareness eyebrow.

Once we were seated, our waiter started to list off the different beers they brew. The first three (the stout, the red and the porter), he listed as their most popular due to their alcohol content at 8%. This, I found interesting.

He didn't comment on their flavor, on the hoppiness, the finish-just their alcohol content. And said their most popular were the highest alcohol content.

Unless someone is specifically looking to get rip roaring intoxicated, is there a point in discussing how high the alcohol content is? Beer nerds love this, heck, my geekiness makes me want to know everything, but to discuss a beer's popularity based on it's high alcohol content just seems like something a customer doesn't necessarily need to know.

Hotel Parties Just Got A Little Harder!

Back when I was a minor, there were quite a few hotel parties. Sometimes, a person would book a hotel room for the night with the sole purpose of getting drunk and staying the night. Good to keep any drunk drivers off the road, but in retrospect, since people would stop by for a few drinks, it may have put more drunk drivers ON the road. Plus, hotels, especially nicer hotels, have had the bar right in the room. With the ability to order specialized beverages and sacks to the room, well, you can tell the ease with which minors can get their hands on alcohol.

Now, in my professional career, I spend nearly 100 nights per year in hotel rooms. I'm a member of every rewards program under the sun and, subsequentally, I get every E mail special that comes along. This week, I was glad to see Hilton hotels put a disclaimer in their E mail update that all Hilton properties comply with the drinking laws of that state or jurisdiction. For an international company, this is a big policy. Just wanted to give a shout to Hilton properties for helping to keep underaged drinkers from having easy access to alcohol in their hotels.

MADD Ohio and Some Staggering Stats

Earlier this year, the MADD Ohio monthly newsletter ran a story on yours truly. Now, I get MADD Ohio's newsletter in my inbox once per month. Even though I work in the prevention field, even though I'm a victim survivor, even though I write this blog, there is still so, so much to learn. And today, thanks to MADD Ohio's newsletter, I learned something new...

For many moons, I've contended that the future of DWI prevention lies in technology. When technology can detect intoxicants in one's system through sweat, breath, the eyes or any number of other ways, technology then has the power to keep individuals safe; includng the driver ready to make an unsafe choice to drive.

This technology would prevent the very thing I read in MADD Ohio's newsletter this morning. One stat the newsletter gave was that an estimated 50%-75% of drivers with a suspended license due to DWI are (wait for it....) still driving. And they can. Not legally, but legality has no bearing on whether or not one can turn the key in the ignition. Again, technology is our next (and safest) step to preventing unnecessary loss of life and limb due to this senseless crime.

AHEAD 2010

Last week found the AHEAD conference in the Mile High City…and with yours truly exhibiting as always! The Assoc. on Higher Education and Disability is composed of disability support services professionals at colleges and universities across the country, plus a variety of other professionals who work in the field with disabilities. And, as always, it was such a great time seeing awesome people!

Special thanks to Jenny Dugger, Rae, Melanie Thompson, Emily, Erin, Lana, Tamara and a whole slew of others who I did NOT get to go to dinner with!

Thanks to all who stopped by our booth and got books, grabbed info and expressed interest in bringing the Marcus message to campus this fall!