If you've ever wondered how anyone could have survived the Bataan Death March in World War II, here is an opportunity to learn the story of someone who did. Here's a news release I wrote for the Marine Corps League that provides details on the June 18 presentation:
Bataan Death March Survivor to Speak to Marine Corps League
Billy Templeton, a survivor of the Bataan Death March in World War II, will talk about his experiences at a meeting of the Simpson-Hoggatt Detachment of the Marine Corps League, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at the Disabled Veterans of America location, 8787 Old Santa Fe Rd. in Kansas City, Mo.
Infamous for its brutality, the Death March started on April 9, 1942, on the Philippines Bataan Peninsula. Templeton, an Army Air Corps radio operator, survived the 60-mile trek in blistering heat and then was held as a prisoner of war for three-and-one-half years. His 2006 book, Manila Bay Sunset: the Long March Into Hell, describes his ordeal and “personal triumph.” He now lives in Lee’s Summit, Mo.
The event is free and the public is invited. For more information call Commandant Ken Spencer at (913) 362-8383.
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Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Memories of Mom
Here's the "As I See It" article I wrote that appeared on Mother's Day 2005 in The Kansas City Star:
Remembering Lessons From Mom
This year I’ll face Mother’s Day for the first time without Mom, who died April 1 at 88.
She was never like anyone else’s mom. Though she always told me I was an accident, I knew I was loved. But I also learned the world didn’t revolve around me. Other lessons Mom taught me are also deeply ingrained:
“Be independent.” At 5 I walked to school and saw a mother with her son in tow, also headed for kindergarten. I thought, “My mother would never do that. I’m on my own now.” She said she never had “empty nest syndrome.”
“Don’t leave things to the last minute.” She had a running contest with a friend to finish Christmas shopping by Oct. 1. I was glad I followed her example and completed college in three years. If I hadn’t, Pop wouldn’t have lived to see me graduate.
“Don’t let yourself go.” She’d immediately cut back if she gained a few pounds. When I asked why she ate half a doughnut, she said it was because “I’ll only get half as fat.”
“Good health is everything.” She ensured my sister, brother and I got regular checkups. At 77 when she learned she had cancer and needed to have her leg amputated below the knee to “buy time,” she didn’t hesitate. She “bought” nearly 12 years.
“Don’t spend everything you make.” When I left Hallmark, Mom pushed me to roll over my profit-sharing money into an IRA. It will someday help fund my retirement.
“Write thank-yous.” Mom sat us down to write notes right after Christmas. Learning that lesson helped me get at least one job, at Kansas City Power & Light, which led to meeting my husband Larry. I thank her for that training.
“Have a good time.” Mom said that when she died, people would say she had a good time. As a teen-ager, I thought that seemed shallow, but now it makes more sense. Sure enough, one of her longtime friends said at the funeral, “We had a lot of laughs.” So perhaps it’s fitting that Mom died on April Fool’s Day.
“Life is for the living.” When Pop died on the golf course at 58, I knew Mom would remarry. Later she reported that a man had visited “to pay his respects to the lonely widow.” I was matron of honor at her wedding 10 months after my dad died. She was married 33 years to my dad and nearly 30 to my stepfather when he died. Mom said that people who disapproved of her remarriage had probably been unhappily wed.
So through the tears, I’m reminding myself, “Life is for the living.” I’ll always miss Mom, but will remember, “We had a lot of laughs.”
Remembering Lessons From Mom
This year I’ll face Mother’s Day for the first time without Mom, who died April 1 at 88.
She was never like anyone else’s mom. Though she always told me I was an accident, I knew I was loved. But I also learned the world didn’t revolve around me. Other lessons Mom taught me are also deeply ingrained:
“Be independent.” At 5 I walked to school and saw a mother with her son in tow, also headed for kindergarten. I thought, “My mother would never do that. I’m on my own now.” She said she never had “empty nest syndrome.”
“Don’t leave things to the last minute.” She had a running contest with a friend to finish Christmas shopping by Oct. 1. I was glad I followed her example and completed college in three years. If I hadn’t, Pop wouldn’t have lived to see me graduate.
“Don’t let yourself go.” She’d immediately cut back if she gained a few pounds. When I asked why she ate half a doughnut, she said it was because “I’ll only get half as fat.”
“Good health is everything.” She ensured my sister, brother and I got regular checkups. At 77 when she learned she had cancer and needed to have her leg amputated below the knee to “buy time,” she didn’t hesitate. She “bought” nearly 12 years.
“Don’t spend everything you make.” When I left Hallmark, Mom pushed me to roll over my profit-sharing money into an IRA. It will someday help fund my retirement.
“Write thank-yous.” Mom sat us down to write notes right after Christmas. Learning that lesson helped me get at least one job, at Kansas City Power & Light, which led to meeting my husband Larry. I thank her for that training.
“Have a good time.” Mom said that when she died, people would say she had a good time. As a teen-ager, I thought that seemed shallow, but now it makes more sense. Sure enough, one of her longtime friends said at the funeral, “We had a lot of laughs.” So perhaps it’s fitting that Mom died on April Fool’s Day.
“Life is for the living.” When Pop died on the golf course at 58, I knew Mom would remarry. Later she reported that a man had visited “to pay his respects to the lonely widow.” I was matron of honor at her wedding 10 months after my dad died. She was married 33 years to my dad and nearly 30 to my stepfather when he died. Mom said that people who disapproved of her remarriage had probably been unhappily wed.
So through the tears, I’m reminding myself, “Life is for the living.” I’ll always miss Mom, but will remember, “We had a lot of laughs.”
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Honored to Be Selected for Honor Flight
I was pleased to receive an invitation from Gary Swanson to be a “guardian” (volunteer helper) on the Honor Flight planned for next fall.
Honor Flight, www.honorflight.org, takes groups of World War II veterans to visit the Washington, D.C., memorial dedicated in their honor. With an estimated 1,000 World War II veterans dying each day, time is of the essence to honor as many veterans as possible. All costs are covered by donations to Honor Flight.
Since the mid-1990s I have volunteered my time to help publicize World War II veterans from the European and Japanese theaters of war, including troop carriers in the Pacific and Army troops who landed in France right after D-Day. Since 2001 I have also been working with the local Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, and "adopted" Dorwin Lamkin, who was a Navy corpsman, as my uncle after my last uncle (also a WWII Navy veteran) died in 2003.
Honor Flight, www.honorflight.org, takes groups of World War II veterans to visit the Washington, D.C., memorial dedicated in their honor. With an estimated 1,000 World War II veterans dying each day, time is of the essence to honor as many veterans as possible. All costs are covered by donations to Honor Flight.
Since the mid-1990s I have volunteered my time to help publicize World War II veterans from the European and Japanese theaters of war, including troop carriers in the Pacific and Army troops who landed in France right after D-Day. Since 2001 I have also been working with the local Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, and "adopted" Dorwin Lamkin, who was a Navy corpsman, as my uncle after my last uncle (also a WWII Navy veteran) died in 2003.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Greed Is Not Good
The public outrage over million-dollar bonuses for bad performance proves that one thing money can't buy is a good reputation.
This type of situation always reminds me of a lesson I learned from my father, a successful International Harvester farm implement dealer in Quincy, Ill. When I was still in grade school, he told me about a businessman who owned a local appliance store, but was suspected of cheating his customers on repairs. To see if the suspicions were true, my dad had one of his employees get repairs after first marking all of the parts. Sure enough, the employee was charged for parts that weren't replaced. My dad made a point of noting that even though the businessman happened to be a deacon in our church, he was dishonest and deserved no respect.
One definition of public relations is "doing good things and then telling people about them." One of those good things, as my dad made clear, is to treat your customers with honesty and fairness. If you don't, no amount of PR will save your reputation.
This type of situation always reminds me of a lesson I learned from my father, a successful International Harvester farm implement dealer in Quincy, Ill. When I was still in grade school, he told me about a businessman who owned a local appliance store, but was suspected of cheating his customers on repairs. To see if the suspicions were true, my dad had one of his employees get repairs after first marking all of the parts. Sure enough, the employee was charged for parts that weren't replaced. My dad made a point of noting that even though the businessman happened to be a deacon in our church, he was dishonest and deserved no respect.
One definition of public relations is "doing good things and then telling people about them." One of those good things, as my dad made clear, is to treat your customers with honesty and fairness. If you don't, no amount of PR will save your reputation.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Kelly Ludwig: A Rare Vision
Congratulations to self-described “queenodesign” Kelly Ludwig, who is much in the news lately. She is featured in a splashy story in the March 2009 issue of Spaces magazine. Titled “Inside Out,” the four-page article highlights Kelly’s love of the “colorful, modern folk and outsider art” she collects and uses to cover the walls of her Brookside bungalow in Kansas City.
She fell in love with collecting while serving as the designer for the KCPT-TV road-trip series “Rare Visions,” which showcases folk art and unusual roadside attractions across American byways. The series has also led to her book on Detour Art plus an upcoming update to the first Rare Visions volume.
Next up: “Rare Visions – Detour Art” exhibit featuring a selection from Kelly Ludwig’s collection, March 6 to May 1, 2009, at Belger Arts Center, 2100 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo., www.belgerartscenter.org.
I first met Kelly about five years ago when she brought me in to work on a writing project for a client of her design firm, Ludwig Design Inc. I was impressed with Kelly, her design work and her dedication to serving clients. Her Web site is lots of fun, too. Visit it at http://www.ludwig-design.com and see for yourself.
She fell in love with collecting while serving as the designer for the KCPT-TV road-trip series “Rare Visions,” which showcases folk art and unusual roadside attractions across American byways. The series has also led to her book on Detour Art plus an upcoming update to the first Rare Visions volume.
Next up: “Rare Visions – Detour Art” exhibit featuring a selection from Kelly Ludwig’s collection, March 6 to May 1, 2009, at Belger Arts Center, 2100 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo., www.belgerartscenter.org.
I first met Kelly about five years ago when she brought me in to work on a writing project for a client of her design firm, Ludwig Design Inc. I was impressed with Kelly, her design work and her dedication to serving clients. Her Web site is lots of fun, too. Visit it at http://www.ludwig-design.com and see for yourself.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Gown Gallery Makes News 3 Times in 6 Days
Even a small shop can make a big splash in the media. Pepperdine & Associates client the Gown Gallery is a good example:
1. On Jan. 9 multiple segments aired on KCTV-5 and Fox 4 TV about a 15-year-old honor student and several women planning to attend inaugural balls in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. Video footage showed them in the shop getting fitted for their gowns.
2. On Jan. 13 an article and photo appeared in The Kansas City business section, quoting owner Sharon Miller and telling how the Gown Gallery is thriving despite the recession.
3. On Jan. 15 an article and photo appeared in the weekend preview section of The Kansas City Star, again talking about dressing women for the inauguration and the planned move to a new location in the downtown garment district.
Stay tuned! And visit www.gowngallery.com for more information.
1. On Jan. 9 multiple segments aired on KCTV-5 and Fox 4 TV about a 15-year-old honor student and several women planning to attend inaugural balls in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. Video footage showed them in the shop getting fitted for their gowns.
2. On Jan. 13 an article and photo appeared in The Kansas City business section, quoting owner Sharon Miller and telling how the Gown Gallery is thriving despite the recession.
3. On Jan. 15 an article and photo appeared in the weekend preview section of The Kansas City Star, again talking about dressing women for the inauguration and the planned move to a new location in the downtown garment district.
Stay tuned! And visit www.gowngallery.com for more information.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Johnson County Transit to Expand Service
Good news from Johnson County Transit, a client I have been working with the past couple of months. On Nov. 6, 2008, they received approval for emergency funding to buy up to additional seven buses to handle increased ridership. A Fox 4 TV reporter called me, and I worked to get an interview set up with Chuck Ferguson of JCT, which ran on the evening broadcasts. The news release also generated coverage on KSHB-TV 41 and in the print media.
NEWS RELEASE
Release Date: Nov. 7, 2008
Contacts: Phil Detrixhe, Marketing Manager, (913) 782-2210 or Phil.Detrixhe@jocogov.org
Susan Pepperdine, Public Relations, (913) 262-7414 or susan@pepperdinepr.com
Commissioners Approve $2.45 Million in Funding
For Johnson County Transit to Expand Service
OLATHE, KAN. ... By a unanimous vote of 7-0 on Thursday, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved Johnson County Transit’s (JCT) emergency funding request for $2.45 million. The funding includes a one-time capital expense of $1.4 million to be used to purchase as many as seven additional buses, and $1.05 million transferred from the general fund to increase current operating hours by an additional 50 hours per day.
Currently The JO buses provide 254 hours of daily service – not enough to handle ridership that is at an all-time high. “Since January 2008 The JO has experienced unprecedented growth in ridership as well as requests for additional service, complaints regarding overcrowding and service delays,” explained JCT Transportation Director Alice M. Amrein in her briefing sheet presented to the commissioners. Safety and comfort have become a concern, with many routes operating under “standing room only” conditions, she reported.
Release Date: Nov. 7, 2008
Contacts: Phil Detrixhe, Marketing Manager, (913) 782-2210 or Phil.Detrixhe@jocogov.org
Susan Pepperdine, Public Relations, (913) 262-7414 or susan@pepperdinepr.com
Commissioners Approve $2.45 Million in Funding
For Johnson County Transit to Expand Service
OLATHE, KAN. ... By a unanimous vote of 7-0 on Thursday, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved Johnson County Transit’s (JCT) emergency funding request for $2.45 million. The funding includes a one-time capital expense of $1.4 million to be used to purchase as many as seven additional buses, and $1.05 million transferred from the general fund to increase current operating hours by an additional 50 hours per day.
Currently The JO buses provide 254 hours of daily service – not enough to handle ridership that is at an all-time high. “Since January 2008 The JO has experienced unprecedented growth in ridership as well as requests for additional service, complaints regarding overcrowding and service delays,” explained JCT Transportation Director Alice M. Amrein in her briefing sheet presented to the commissioners. Safety and comfort have become a concern, with many routes operating under “standing room only” conditions, she reported.
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