Time To Make Some Changes Wednesday, May 8 2013

“Your position is being eliminated.”

In the back of your mind, you always know this could happen, but your conscience self just keeps working away at preventing that. I won’t get into the whys or hows, but this is what happened to me just this week. Wow!

Day 1 was a decompression day, getting to do some of the odd chores I never seemed to squeeze in to my schedule and planning to tackle some of the others.

Day 2? Time to dust off that resume.

As I look back on this last chapter of my career I realize…I’m good with where I am. I came to reshape the brand presence of Isle of Capri Casinos, and that is what happened. Of course, when I got here, I wanted it to be immediate. It wasn’t. Six years in the making. One of the deepest economic dips any of us will remember. Restricted capital markets and yet somehow, this company has come out the other end as a more relevant, contemporary  experience for over a million active customers. Check out the Isle House of Brands.

It took a partnership with our agency The Media & Marketing Group, a partnership with the senior leadership of our company, a partnership in the field and a great team of clever creative people, but it happened slowly and solidly over time.

Mission completed. Time to move on.

Day 3 of “Jules Rules 2.0″ ahead. P.S. Thanks to Jan Talamo for my new mantra.

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Meet Elissa Plastino Tuesday, Mar 5 2013

Today, I have the honor of sitting amongst several women who have marked achievements in business, community, family and sometimes all three. One such woman is someone I have the honor of working with every day, Elissa Plastino. She’s our brand manager, a volunteer with the heart to get all around her involved, and, most importantly, a wife and mother.

I decided to give you a little glimpse into Elissa the Brand Manager. Hopefully, you’ll see why she was an easy choice for me to have her join my team and honor today.

JC: Tell us a little about your background and what brought you to Isle?

EP: I’ve worked in public relations for 12 years in a variety of industries like sports, tourism, education and mental health. I joined Isle in 2006 when the company moved its corporate office (and my husband’s job) to St. Louis. Thankfully the company had a new job opening up in the marketing department that I was a perfect fit for. Not long after moving I was offered the position and started my new career in the casino industry!

JC: I remember when I asked you to move to brand marketing, you were visibly surprised. What was your biggest fear and did it come to fruition?

EP: My biggest fear was failure; I don’t like to fail. PR was where I was strong, but the new position also added advertising, brand marketing and various other duties that were unfamiliar to me. It was a whole new ballgame. I can confidently say that I didn’t fail and I think that’s because I’m not afraid to ask questions and/or admit when I don’t know the answer. If I didn’t understand a question/task/decision, I questioned it and gained a better understanding.

JC: What was the biggest surprise or challenge you encountered and how did you handle it?

EP: I think the biggest surprise was the increase in emails I started receiving on a daily basis! Wow! Suddenly there were lots of emails with questions, comments, different creative visions that needed to be worked through and more! I had to figure out my own system for staying on top of these things and not let something slip through the cracks.

JC: So, now that you’ve tackled brand marketing, what do you want to be when you grow up?

EP: Hmmm. Funny, this question comes up every year during annual review time! I love my job and hope to stay with Isle for a long time. I’m always up for taking on new projects and there’s never a shortage of those, so I hope my drive & work ethic will allow me to earn leadership positions within the company.

Want to know more about Elissa? Follow her on Twitter at @eplastino but be prepared (like me) to get involved in a host of non-profit work!

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You Have Arrived At Your Destination Thursday, Sep 20 2012

I wrote this post about three weeks ago. since that time, my personal life has been a bit of a mess, but life goes on. I still feel this was an experience with insight to share. So here go my 3 week old thoughts.

You may know that the company I work for is in the midst of building a brand new casino. In addition, we are updating – and in some cases rebranding – existing properties. As a team, we’ve looked at hundreds of paint samples, carpet samples, and finishes from faux brick to granite and marble. We play mix and match until we feel we’ve created the perfect physical experience and that any guest will innately feel our brand promise upon arrival.

Any architect or designer will tell you that the “sense of arrival” is of utmost importance – a first impression that you only get to make once. We always assume folks arrive at our doors ready to have fun and in the happiest of moods, but do they?

A recent trip home to New Orleans gave me much to think about. Everyone assumes that people come to New Orleans ready to drink hurricanes and show their you-know-whats to get rewarded with whatever beads other tourists are offering. Earlier this year, I returned home to say farewell to the mother of a dear friend. This week I returned home in a somewhat unfocused state. Waiting at baggage claim, sorting through unread emails on my phone, I heard the familiar strains of brass instruments warming up and soon they started the joyous music of so many happy memories.

Bienvenue à la Nouvelle-Orléans!

The airport is still under seemingly endless construction and the baggage claim area is a compilation of posters on construction walls, low ceilings and dim lights. Even in this old, dated spot, my mood instantly changed to one of fun and joy.

My company is often faced with how to liven up equally old, dated surroundings. It’s easy to turn to capital improvements to do this, but as you see in this video, you don’t always need that. Sometimes you just need to create some fun!

Here’s some more of that great New Orleans-style music.

I hope you enjoyed this little musical interlude and that it inspired you to think about how you’re greeting guests when they arrive at your doors.

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Working For Your Gold Watch Sunday, Aug 19 2012

Yesterday, I was chatting with my neighbor about being past my “sell by” date at work. Until very recently, I seemed to have this time limit of 2 years for employment at any one place.

I know that this short employment window must’ve given my parents pause to think I was not settling into a career. I know that none of my friends ever understood this sense of boredom that always seemed to overcome me. I even work with someone who looked at my office once and said I needed to “nest”. She said this to someone else just recently, and it made me realize that it was her way of knowing you were still going to be around.

It used to be that you got a job and you stuck with it until you got your gold watch for your years of service. People are so much more mobile now, and just when I got into an industry that seemed THE most mobile of all, I settled down past my sell by date! More than once!

I look back and I realize that I have one of the most exciting and exhilarating jobs of all. Although the customer seems to remain unchanged from year to year and from company to company, the competition does not. That makes it even more fun to think of new approaches and strategies. It makes working on the weekend seemingly “normal”.

Because you have the opportunity to move into different specialties, working in casino marketing is a great way to keep your job fresh and work toward that gold watch.

The ding ding ding of the slot machines continues to be music to my ears.

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Local Teen Makes a Difference with St. Louis Food Rescue Friday, Apr 20 2012

It’s Friday of National Volunteer Week and the fifth and final Blogging for a Cause post. I can’t thank Elissa Plastino enough for coming along on this ride with me. It was fun. It was exhilarating…at times a little crazy! OK. That was my fault. I’ll admit it. Thanks to you also for letting us share a little of the lights that shine in our lives.

Hey, Hey #PumpkinNation, how are you doing? Well, I guess we are a little out of season for #PumpkinNation, but for this blog post, Elissa and I are going to spotlight the young mind behind that campaign who is also the founder of St. Louis Food Rescue.

High school junior Nate Noss started St. Louis Food Rescue in August 2010. Each week he hops into his little Prius, rounds up donations from retailers such as Whole Foods, Costco, Einstein Brothers and Donut Palace, and then delivers the food to three local homeless shelters.

Each weekend, St. Louis Food Rescue saves over 5,000 pounds of produce, baked goods and dairy products that would have been discarded at the end of the day and deliver it to various organizations such as The Salvation Army Church and Community Center,  The Salvation Army Family Haven – A Community in Partnership, and The New Life Evangelistic Center for the Homeless.

We first met Nate last fall when our CEO asked Elissa & I to provide a little social media assistance. You see, Nate is a teen with a heart of gold (obviously, I mean he started a non-profit when he was 15). Anyway, his big heart and big ideas got him in a bit of a pinch last fall when he decided he was going to use leftover pumpkin patch pumpkins to feed the homeless. Next thing you know, he had 1,200 pumpkins in his parents’ garage. We, along with several colleagues in St. Louis and another in Boonville, Mo., immediately jumped in to help and #PumpkinNation was born. While Nate was so thankful for our help, we were equally thankful to have been able to help the amazing young man. He is going to go so far in life, and well, we’ll always have pumpkins!

In January 2012, Nate was awarded the Outstanding Young Alumni Award by The Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership program.  The nation’s foremost youth leadership program gives this award out annually to one of its alumni who have made a significant difference in their communities, ages 16-25. There were over 100,000 people eligible to apply for this year’s award — and Nate won! Nate represented his high school at the HOBY Missouri seminar, and went on to represent Missouri at the World Leadership Congress.

And as much as Nate is doing for St. Louis Food Rescue, he can’t do it alone. The organization needs volunteers, donations and sponsors to keep helping the local homeless population. To make a donation or volunteer, contact Nate, he’d be happy to hear from you!

By the way, you don’t have to wait for National Volunteer Week to come around again, you can volunteer in your community for a number of good causes. Find the one that inspires you, or be inspired by a new cause. The Points of Light Institute has a great search function to help you find something.

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HavenHouse – Providing The Comfort Of Home When It’s Needed Most Thursday, Apr 19 2012

When I stumbled upon the Blogging for a Cause idea, I immediately roped in my co-worker, Elissa Plastino. We worked on a list of causes we wanted to spotlight and knew immediately that HavenHouse had to be on it. Then, I got really brave and asked our CEO, Virginia McDowell to be a guest writer and introduce you to this great group of people. She said, “Yes”!!!!

Last week, I lost a brilliant colleague and very dear friend to a valiant battle with cancer.  As a cancer survivor myself, I know how difficult it can be to not only to deal with the physical impact of the disease and the side effects of the various treatment options, but the mental impact as well.  While we are told by friends, family and medical professionals of the importance of focusing all our energy on getting well, the simple truth is that life goes on.  Bills need to be paid, meals have to be made, and just the arduous process of getting to and from a seemingly endless schedule of doctor’s appointments is a daunting task.  It is for this reason that I thought of HavenHouse many times in my friend’s final days.

HavenHouse is aptly named – it is a truly a haven for families traveling to St. Louis for medical care, serving families and patients of all ages. Perched on top of a hill overlooking Olive Boulevard in Creve Coeur,MO, the facility sits in the middle of beautiful, park like surroundings, but is within walking distance of a large selection of shopping, dining and entertainment options.  In addition to private rooms that are lovingly decorated by volunteers who even add such homelike touches as handmade quilts, HavenHouse also provides meals prepared with love by Miss Georgia; shuttle transportation to all St. Louis hospitals and critical support services from a staff that includes professional social workers.  From the complimentary long distance phone service and internet access to the community washers and dryers and gym, HavenHouse is truly a home away from home.

Why is this important?  Because it gives patients the ability to focus on their treatment in calm surroundings, knowing that they are at a place where the staff will always go the extra mile to help them. To be told that you or a member of your family has a serious disease that requires immediate treatment by specialists is devastating. To be told that the necessary treatment is hundreds of miles away in an unfamiliar city just adds to the stress, as does the cost of long stays away from home.

As a Board member of HavenHouse, I have come to know many of the families who have stayed there, and heard their stories, both of heartbreak and triumph. But they all say the same thing – to be able to stay in the safe embrace of HavenHouse, to eat the scrumptious fresh meals prepared with love by “Miss Georgia”, to know that you always have a ride home after a long day of chemotherapy, and to be welcomed back with a warm smile for an average cost of $35 per night, HavenHouse gave them hope that all would be well.

We are always looking for new volunteers and donors, and I would encourage everybody to visit our website at havenhousestl.org, or call us at (314) 434-5858 to schedule a visit.

Because of Virginia’s inspiration, I have gotten very close to the people at HavenHouse, even counting them among my friends. I’ve loved working with them with my fellow Community Aces – even down to gardening and messing up my manicure! Check out this video about them.

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The Inspiration of a Lifetime Wednesday, Apr 18 2012

Post #2 of our National Volunteer Week focus on the charities that hold a place in my heart.

As children, we’re exposed to many good and bad things. As parents, you hope that all those exposures combine to create a decent adult that will carry on your name. My co-blog writer this week, Elissa Plastino and I both participate in Great Strides to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation. We do this, not just because it is a good cause, but because of the inspiration of another co-worker, Mike Hart (one of those decent adults). Mike, in turn, was inspired at a very young age by his childhood friend Jill Roberts, or as he likes to refer to her “the Amazing Jill Roberts”…and amazing she is.

The average life expectancy of a CF patient is currently 37 years.  Jill, through dedication to her treatments and overall healthy life style, has done amazing things that a lot of us probably could not do.  Jill continues to participate in stair climbs and run 5K races…amazing feats as there was a time in college that Jill could not walk (while carrying an oxygen tank, by the way) from the car to her classrooms without stopping. One reason this is possible is that 14 years ago this past Thanksgiving, Jill received a most precious gift–the gift of life.  She received a perfect pair of lungs from an anonymous donor. As a result, she continues to inspire Mike and the people in Mike’s life. Jill’s dedication to just survive and take that next breath is what makes Mike step back and reflect on his life and say if Jill could beat the odds that she has been dealt (she was not to live to see elementary school), he can do what he can to help find the cure for this devastating disease. And so can we.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that:

• clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and
• obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.

In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people (like Jill) with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

It is a very exciting time to be involved with CF.  Why?  Just this year the Foundation and Vertex pharmaceuticals had a major breakthrough on a drug now namde Kalydeco  that will help correct the underlying defect that causes CF for about 4% of the population.  While this is not a cure and will have to be taken daily as a maintenance drug, the Foundation now has the road map on how to work on the underlying defect and can start to “cure” a bigger population. This development is HUGE for the foundation.

Community Aces - Cape Girardeau 2012

So, what can you do? Coincidentally, it’s Great Strides time again for us in Missouri, and in many places across the country. If your company has a team walking, join them by walking alongside them or donating. Individual walkers are also welcome! Elissa just finished a great walk in Cape Girardeau, MO, and I’ll be taking steps to help in a few weeks in St. Louis.

St. Louis Walk-Carondelet Park, Boathouse May 5, 2012 (http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/dsp_DonationPage. cfm? walkid =7947& idUser =375286)

St. Peters Walk-Laurel Park May 19, 2012 (http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/dsp_ DonationPage.cfm?walkid=7949&idUser=375286 )

Find a walker/team http://www.cff.org/great_strides/findwalker/

Spread the word http://www.cff.org/great_strides/spreadtheword/

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For Sarah: Connecting Women to Success Monday, Apr 16 2012

This is Day 3 of National Volunteer Week and the 3^rd of the posts Elissa Plastino and I are sharing with you about the causes that are near and dear to us. When I saw the Blogging for a Cause idea, I expected to have some fun and share some of the reasons we try to help others, but what I’ve realized is that it’s been quite a soul-searching experience.

Monday’s post, Relay for Life, took on greater meaning when our good friend passed away. It took me two days before I was brave enough to read Elissa’s words. Yesterday’s post while inspirational, makes me wonder just how long Jill Roberts will be able to share her strength with the world. Today’s post reminds me of how easily things can slip away.

I met a young lady by the name of Sarah Wayson in 2005. She was just out of college and starting a new and exhilarating job at Wynn Las Vegas – at the time THE place to work in Las Vegas. Coupled with the high-profile our jobs had, it could very well be a slippery slope. Over the years that followed Sarah grew to be a very strong, independent and confident woman. She struggled and made it through in a way that surprised even her. Tragically, her life was cut short, and something about that spurred me to find a way to help women who were in some way struggling for that strength and confidence Sarah found.

Connections To Success was that way for me. “Connections” was started by a remarkable woman by the name of Kathy Lambert who first started helping women by helping them find the appropriate interview attire through Dress for Success…to the point of taking the shoes off of her feet to complete one woman’s outfit. She realized, however, that dressing them was not enough and began to develop additional programs: mentoring, skills training, health & wellness and even developed a program for providing cars. Do you know that even though a woman may find a job that helps her break through the struggle that transportation can still be a basic challenge to success?

Connections is dedicated to helping men and women achieve economic independence. The programs are not a temporary fix. They are intended to promote a life change through a holistic approach. Its family of programs is designed to encourage life-long engagement with all participants.

And, Connections is making a difference:

74% job placement rate for participants that have completed the Connections program versus the 40% national average for offenders in the first year of release

The recidivism rate drops to 14% for Connections participants versus the 44% national average in the first year of release

The average wage of participants engaged in the Pathways to Success program is $10.60/hour

Employment retention for Connections participants is currently 71%

Connections program participants earn 86% higher wages within six months of landing employment than those not in the program

58% fewer are on Medicaid

87% fewer live in shelters or other temporary housing

How can you help? Volunteer. Donate work-appropriate clothing. Donate cars. Donate cash. Become a mentor. Gather some family, friends or co-workers and take The Power Walk for Dress for Success this coming May 12.

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Blogging for a Cause: American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life Sunday, Apr 15 2012

As part of National Volunteer Week, my co-worker, Elissa Plastino and I decided we’d dedicate our blogs this week to some of the causes we support throughout the year and share with you some of the inspiration we get and hope to pass on. Today’s post comes from Elissa. We lost a friend this weekend. This post took on much more meaning than we could ever express here. She wrote this post following the sad news.

There is nothing you could ever do or say that will take away the pain someone feels when they lose a loved one to cancer. But, through the American Cancer Society‘s Relay For Life, you can help raise money so that through research, a cure can be found and fewer families can be spared that same grief.

As I write this blog post I do so with a very heavy heart for tonight we were told that we lost a brilliant colleague and dear friend to this horrible disease. Tonight, a wife lost her husband and best friend. Tonight, a daughter lost her daddy only weeks before she was to graduate high school. He won’t be there to walk her down the aisle at her wedding or hold her first born child. My hope is that she truly understands how proud he was of his little girl, always grinning from ear to ear when he spoke of her.

For the past seven years or so I have been involved with Relay For Life in a variety of ways. I’ve been event chairperson, marketing/PR chairperson, and for the past two years, team captain of our corporate team.

Through those years I have worked to educate people by answering the question: What is Relay For Life? Simply put, Relay is a time for communities to Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.

We celebrate survivors who have fought this disease and won.
We remember those who we loved but lost. And we fight back against a disease that impacts too many people too often.

Community Aces

An overnight event, Relays allows teams to walk through the night, from dusk to dawn, and symbolizes that cancer never sleeps. Families, survivors, friends and others in the community share memories and a commitment to find a cure.

Money raised through this event goes to support a variety of programs and services offered by the American Cancer Society such as Hope Lodge, Road to Recovery, Look Good…Feel Better, and Reach to Recovery. It also funds college scholarships for teens with a history of cancer.

In 2012, it is estimated that more than 1.6 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed; and more than 577,000 deaths from cancer will occur. That is just in this one year alone.

Last year I introduced our friend, colleague and newly-diagnosed cancer patient to Relay For Life. He LOVED the event and walked with us wearing his purple “survivor” t-shirt. This year he will be there in spirit when we walk in his memory. We will work extra hard to raise money so that other families don’t have to feel the pain that his is right now. We will keep fighting the fight knowing that is what he would want us to do.

For more information on Relay For Life, start your own team or make a donation, please visit www.relayforlife.org.

You can follow more of Elissa’s musings at Life, work & all things in between

If you’re one to pray, I ask that you keep Paul Keller’s family in your prayers as they learn to cope without the light he shined on all of us each day.

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Saying Goodbye Monday, Mar 5 2012

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing. You want to hold on to people and memories as strongly as you can. I think about the various moments of goodbye that I’ve had in my life: the deaths of loved ones, graduations, or making a move to a new town or a new job.

As an employee of a few different casino companies, I’ve had the pleasure of saying hello to new properties (either newly opened or acquired) and the people who give them life. Today, I start a new process: saying goodbye to one of our properties. For a variety of business reasons, the company I work for has chosen to a sell this property to a new operator, one that I hope will love and care for it and the wonderful people who inhabit it.

In the five years that I have worked with this team, I’ve had great fun working together with them and making new friends. I’ll miss them, but I’ll hold on to some great memories. The good news is that these transactions take time. So, we have an opportunity to create more memories.

You never really know when it’ll be time to say goodbye. Take advantage of every opportunity to create lasting memories.

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