Table of Contents

• COMMITTEE REPORTS
  • MEMBERSHIP REPORT
  • SOCIAL REPORT
  • SPEAKER COORDINATOR REPORT
  • TREASURER REPORT
• LEADS
• NOTABLE MENTIONS
• QUESTION OF THE DAY
• MAIN SPEAKER

Committee Reports

Membership Report
(Click here to go to the Membership page)

None.

Social Report
(Click here to go to the Social Event page)

California Trip:  March 7-10, 2008. Estimate $550-$600 per couple. Flight plan...Gateway to Santa Maria, 10 rooms have been reserved.  Renting vans for transportation (need drivers).  More details to come.

Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)

11-Jan-08	Rex Griswold Mesa City Councilman & Mesa Mayoral Candidate www.RexGriswold.com
18-Jan-08	Dave Lathrop
25-Jan-08	Panel Discussion:  Business Structures (Mark Dreher, Jim Bache, Chuck Hultstrand, Gus Dekavallas)

Treasurer Report

1st 2008 quarter dues billing has been emailed.  Payments are now due.

Leads Report

51-48, 30-22, 32-45, 32-40, 46-28, 46-20, 15-26, 15-10, 17-13, 49-41, 49-17, 12-29, 12-18, 12-13, 12-47, 21-25.

Notable Mentions

Members were given the opportunity to say something about Reg during Leads & Introductions.

• Reg's motto was "attitude is everything" and that described him.

• Everyone thought he was a great, kind guy. 

• Reg was one of the finest men I ever knew.  Everybody loved Reg. 

• He was a real genuine person. 

• Not one person had a bad thing to say about him.

• Super gentlemen.  I regret not spending more time with him. 

• The energy behind the smile was always genuine.

• What made Reg a great photographer was that warmth and personality.

• He touched a lot of people.

• It was a privilege knowing him.

• I wish I had known him better.

• I was amazed at how meticulous he was.

• I was hit hard when Reg got sick.  I am going to miss him a lot.

• Even on MABE trips Reg and Jean would go running and go to church while the rest of us were finishing our morning coffee.

• I was really in awe of him.  That guy was going through chemo and he was training for a triathlon.  It is a rare person that will keep doing what is important to him regardless of his circumstances.

Joe Hesch gave an update on his business.  Spectrum filed bankruptcy.  It was a tough 4th quarter but he is back in business with a new company.

How do you see your business doing in 2008?

Dave Lathrop - If customers perceive your service as valuable than you will be fine.

Gus Dekavallas - MetLife had record profits.  When things are uncertain, people gravitate towards bigger, known companies.  Some businesses are thriving while others are cutting back.  Greed is what got us here.  Things should start getting better in the 2nd quarter.

Mark Howard - The economy doesn't really affect my job.  We will see increasing volatility.  

Althea Bussert - I don't look at business.  I am doing a lot of remodels.

Fred Vandervort - We had our best year ever last year.  So no talk of recession.  Keeping our heads up.

Ralph Cunningham - My other company went national.  It is going to be a great year.

Amy Ahrensdorf - I would like to work on getting more leads this year.

Dave Spiess - I would like to repeat last year because it was a good year.  I would like to improve our efficiency and punch up productivity.

Dave Crissman - It is an unstable time for us.  People are reluctant to make additions to there houses.

Sandro Menasci - I think we are in a correction.  My business will be better because instead of buying new cars people will be getting their old ones fixed.

Barbara Kollman - Some businesses make money, some don't.  It is up to us as business owners to roll with the punches.

Lin Schmelzer - Business for me has been very good.  The media can say what they want. They are trying to sell their news.  I think people believe less than half of what they say and go by gut instincts.  As business owners we just need to keep going on and don't believe the media.

Carole Weishaar - Our Arizona Group has a merger in affect.  I don't know what it means.  We are combining with a huge company in Texas.  But for me it will be business as usual.  Our rich are still traveling and spending.  Maybe they went on 4 trips last year and will only go on 3 this year.  But the spending is still there.  I choose not to dwell on the gloom and doom, but instead be optimistic.

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Members discussed ideas for business topics to discuss this year. 

Bob Busch has experienced that every election year is a bad business year. 
Greg Stewart believes it is because of the indecision.

Denver Johnson asked anyone if they bought a car.  That is a purchase that is often a need. 
Greg Stewart had a client state that it is difficult out there and he is not selling cars.

Jim Bache doesn't believe the current economic situation is due to the election.  There is less spending money out there to support retail.  People are scared about where the economy is going.

Althea Bussert noted how the internet can help some people but really hurt others.  A friend went out of business because of the internet.

Nick Mawrenko suggested that instead of saying "have a nice day", how about MAKE it a GREAT day.  The power is in this group if everyone just uses it.