Mugging for customers

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal May 20, 2009

I picked up my Club Ed notepad and grabbed a KVHC pen from the Kee Motors mug I use as a pen holder. I wrote out my grocery list and stuck it to the refrigerator with the A-1 Transmissions magnet.

I was late for an appointment, so I grabbed the A&M key ring, my UT travel mug, and my UNT gimme cap and dashed for the car.

Welcome to the world of advertising specialties.

Putting ads on common items began back in1845, when an enterprising insurance agent printed his business message on calendars he gave as gifts. Over 150 years later, we still are suckers for freebies.

Just gazing at my desk, I see a Zurich letter opener, Office Max jump drive, and several calendars from printers, insurance companies, and LP gas suppliers. I even use a Fredericksburg Community Education screen cleaner to wipe off my computer monitor!

Could we make it through a day without using these handy gadgets? More important, why would we want to?

I asked Betty Braswell, owner of ADCO Advertising for 27 years.

"Everybody uses them," Braswell said. "People do like to get free things. We hope the items we sell will stay with the customers as advertisements for business."

Braswell noted that pens are perennially popular, along with caps, T-shirts and trophies. Drink mugs for cars are big, and "koozies" to keep bottles and cans cool still stand out. Braswell noted that couples are now giving away custom koozies as wedding favors.

The tchotchke doesn't even have to be useful or functional to be effective. One of my favorite pickups was an inch-long triangular plastic gadget that flashed intermittent red LEDs when you pushed on it. I still have no idea of its purpose. For all I know it's a universal homing device and an alien race will soon land on my lawn.

At Club Ed, we are not immune from using ad specialties to keep our name in front of customers. Our little logo (the Club Ed guy getting conked on the head by a coconut) graces notepads, calendars, T-shirts, banners, and the crowd favorite - pink flamingo-shaped writing pens.

It is silly to think that getting a free wooden yardstick will sway our decision on which real estate agent to use, but it happens. One salesman swore he closed million-dollar deals by giving the buyer a pair of cowboy boots. I am among those who feel a sense of elation all out of proportion to getting a free screen cleaner.

A question for the ages, I decide, as I sip coffee from my Club Ed mug.

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Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes with 3000 enrollments. The fall session begins in September. To sign up, ask a question, suggest a class, or apply to teach, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

Whacking away

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal
May 13, 2009


As a kid, Matt Trevino tagged along as his grandfather played golf. No one in his family played all that well - they couldn’t break 100. But those golf outings made an impression on young Trevino that drives him to pass along the passion of the game to today’s youngsters.

“I was enamored of beauty of the course as I tagged along,” the Riverhill Country Club head golf pro recalled. “We have three beautiful courses in Kerrville, and you can't ask for a better golf atmosphere in a community. In order for the game and the courses to survive, we need to get young people playing.”

Getting young people playing is the purpose of Trevino’s summer junior golf clinics at Club Ed. Trevino, who had no lessons as a kid, loves introducing youngsters to the sport.

“None of this was taught to me at school, so I had to learn on my own,” he said. “I love the game. It can teach us a lot of lessons other sports can't. I am trying to make the game more accessible to the community. The earlier we get them started, the better chance to grow the game.”

Trevino starts by teaching the rules and etiquette of golf. Then he “lets them whack away.”

“They are looking to hit a bunch of shots,” he said. “We let them figure out how fun it is. They all want to hit balls.”

Trevino employs a three-pronged approach to teach kids - or adults - to be better golfers. First is to get them to put their hands on the club the right way. Then they learn how to stand. And finally, how to swing.

“I you get them to grip it right and stand right, odds are they are going to swing right,” he explained.

Most kids he sees in junior camps start at the 8 to 10 age range. With golf, younger is better.

As to those lessons that golf teaches? Trevino ticks them off.

“Golf is a tough game to learn,” he said. “It is a very individual game and what you put into it is what you get out of it. You don't have somebody to pass the ball to. It is a game of integrity - almost every penalty is self-imposed. So it teaches honesty, builds integrity, and teaches you how to work hard.”

Trevino’s vision goes beyond the immediate improvement in kids’ golf games.

“Part of my feeling and part of my job as a PGA professional is to grow the game for years to come,” he said. “These kids will be the pros of the future. I can't imagine having grown up and learned a different sport.”

XXX

Matt Trevino will teach Junior Golf sessions this summer on Wednesdays at 4:30 at Riverhill Country Club. Club Ed offers15 enriching summer camps and programs that range from rockets to computers to horses. To sign up, visit www.clubed.net or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes with 3000 enrollments. The fall session begins in September. To sign up, ask a question, suggest a class, or apply to teach, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

An artist at any age

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal - May 6, 2009

We always say folks can learn at any age, but it is still a good surprise when someone comes in to sign up their 86-year-old mother for an art class.

Why would someone put an octogenarian in a beginning art class?

“Because she raised seven kids and never had the time to do any fun stuff,” her daughter - whom I’ll call Alice - replied. “Our daddy was in the military so we moved all the time, and she had to be a homemaker until her oldest girl started college.”

Alice’s mother’s yearnings for something deeper started early in her life. Her father died when she was only 9, so she went to work as a secretary at 15 in order to help support her large family.

“She didn’t get to do any fun stuff in school,” she said, “Just typing and shorthand. She just wanted to know how to draw.”

While her mom lacked experience, she did not want for confidence. Maybe it was a trait she picked up from her hard early life.

“She would look at the work of a grand master painting and say, ‘I can do that!” Alice said. “She always just wanted a chance to draw.”

Her mom started drawing on her own, putting pen to any paper she had handy, even using the backs of used postcards. She would make intricate drawings, sign them and sometimes frame them, telling friends and family, “See, I can do this.”

So now her daughters were getting her into an art class. Still, their mother didn’t go without protest.

“I saw it there in your catalog and said she is going to love to draw,” Alice said. “She would not ask to take a course, because she felt guilty asking us to drive her to class.”

“Our mother thought taking a drawing class was a waste of time,” she added. “After all, a child of the depression just didn't do that stuff.”

Thanks to her daughters, one child of the depression is proving again that it is never too late to learn.

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No matter your age, for information or on signing up for any class, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.