UD MBA Program wins accolades

As I am currently a member of the University of Dayton MBA Program it is nice to be reassured that the rigorous program is alive and well fulfilling its mission: To produce future leaders.

Some background: This case competition is open to all Ohio MBA Programs. UD has won First, Second, and Third place in a tri-fecta sweep for a number of consecutive years. UD has developed a sterling reputation winning 1st place 7 of the last 8 years with 6 of those coming in consecutive years.

See Link and the copied Text below:
http://universityofdayton.blogs.com/newsinfo/2007/05/mba_students_ta.html

May 17, 2007

MBA students take first place ... again

University of Dayton graduate business students continue to prove they are the people to turn to for that winning small business plan.

For the second straight year — and seven of the past eight years — a UD graduate business team won the Ohio Graduate Business Student Case Competition.

UD’s team of Lyalya Esadova, Amy Smith, Connor McCracken, Eric King and Chris Thunander won on the strength of its plan for Hearthstone Inn in Cedarville, Ohio. The team won $3,000 for its winning presentation made last month in Columbus.

“They did an absolutely sterling job that will help that small business into the future,” said Joe Schenk, associate professor of management.

Schenk and Tom Winning, a UD executive-in-residence, advised the team along with Mike Bodey from the Small Business Development Center at Wright State University.

The competition is open to all Ohio colleges with graduate business or accounting programs and students pursuing a master’s in business administration, master’s of science of management or master’s of accounting degree. Judges evaluate teams’ oral presentations, case studies and solutions for Ohio Small Business Development Center clients.

Ohio Department of Development officials hope the competition provides graduate business students an opportunity to work on practical business problems, contributes to Ohio’s economic development and enhances links between Ohio’s graduate business programs and business and industry.

Small Business Development Centers of Ohio, Small Business Administration, Palo Alto Software and Kent State University sponsored the competition along with the Ohio Department of Development.

Bachelor Party Basics

As I am now finding myself still single while my two best friends are getting married this summer I have been quite busy filling up my weekends with bachelor parties. Neither of my friends chose the typical clubs of ill repute, and in fact they both chose very different ways to celebrate their last nights as a free man.

Party#1 a.k.a. The All American bachelor party

The first bachelor party that I will attend will be an all day event. At noon we take a "party bus" down to Cincinnati. I am kind of frightened as to what exactly this entails as I have been on a few that were not exactly sea worthy. When we arrive at the Reds Stadium we will be pampered in the Diamond Seats (@ $202 a pop - I was not happy to find this out) and drink and eat ourselves silly as the diamond seats are all inclusive. We will do our best to get the $202 value from all beverages, I assure you. After we have had our fill of America's favorite pastime we will then party bus-it back up to Dayton where we will crash at the groom-to-be's house.

Total Cost: $350 with tickets, party bus, and beer on party bus.

Party#2 a.k.a. The UD style bachelor party

The following weekend I will be hosting a hog roast at the other Groom's house. Due to my best man responsibilities I will have a much greater authority in what happens. We will roast a complete hog in the driveway, and yes, apple in mouth, of his newly purchased abode. The bourbon spread will be diverse and luxurious as he is from Kentucky. Also, cornhole and other UD drinking games will be rampant (see flip cup). As many of our professors will be attending as well as: My dad; His dad; and the bride's dad. This may sound fairly tame, but I assure you the bride's dad will be the craziest of all of us, and after our parents and professors attended our UD graduation party I am sure they know what to expect.

After the hog roast we will then go to the Olde Tavern, which is where the Montgonery Inn used to be in Madeira. We will then finish off the night with a night cap and a bonfire in the back yard.

Total Cost: $350 - Bourbon ($150); Hog($80); Taxis($60); Bar Tab split ($60)

Two different styles, two different men. One goal: Party like it's your last night of freedom. Good luck Gents! I will leave you with a word of advice:

A bachelor is a guy who never made the same mistake once.
-Phyllis Diller

Dayton City School Levy

For those of you living in Dayton you must realize that Dayton Public Schools, whose reputation is and has been suffering for years, just failed another levy.

As it has been proven time and time again property values are highly correlated with the quality of the public school districts therein. You can see this in communities like Oakwood which has never failed a school levy. Oakwood borders the City of Dayton school districts and if I would really want to prove my point I would put on this blog a 2000 Sq. Ft. home in Oakwood and a similar home in close proximity in Dayton. I will spare you the analysis, you can do that on your own.

So the real question is why did Dayton fail their much needed levy? I ran across a blog that gave some interesting insight. The author suggests that they do marketing research to see what the market will bear (i.e. what 50.01% of citizens will actually agree to). Also the author states that they need to treat their school system like a brand and compares the Dayton Public School system to Nike.

No matter if I agree with every point or not, I was impressed with the new perspective.

I give you Esrati.com

http://esrati.com/?p=265

InBubbleWrap

Free business books? Yes please.

www.InBubbleWrap.com is a very creative marketing tool. It operates as a hybrid blog/sweepstakes for business books. You can enter once a day for your chance to win a free book.

Every day you can log in to see the latest offering from the site. The books are donated by 1-800-CEO-READ and there is always a clever description of the days offering in their entertaining description of the book of the day.

You can read the partial description of the book on the In Bubble Wrap page but if you want to dig further into the book and click to "read more" you will find yourself at the CEO READ website. It is integrated beautifully and is a fantastic example of Guerrilla Marketing (Guerrilla Marketing, is an unconventional way of performing promotional activities on a very low budget).

• There are no ads on the website.
  
• Only those readers interested in the books description end up clicking to find out more about the book
  
• Qualified "leads" being generated for his site
  
• There is a new offering every week day so you must visit daily to enter
  
• Helps make it part of our daily routine
  
• The site most likely gives away a few books per every thousand hits
  
• costs very little
  

And now, I thought it was such a novel (pun intended) idea that I have now done some advertising for him. I can also profess that it is legit as I have actually won a book about business blogging from the site.

Dayton Marketing Community

If you are not frequenting the Dayton Marketing Community squidoo page and you are in Marketing in Dayton you are behind the curve.

For those of you who do not already know, this is a page that is maintained by a local marketing account executive. I find it to be very useful to keep abreast on the latest marketing buzz in the Dayton community. Think of it as a one stop shop for marketing info. This is the type of page that once you realize what it does you get a "why didn't I think of that?" feeling.

Impressive features I use:

• Dayton Daily News aggregation of headlines
• Dayton Community Google Calendar mash up (NEW)
  
• List of professional organizations in the Dayton Area
• Job Search (Thankfully I have not used this one yet)
  

I have been using this page for a few months now and it is getting to the point that it is more of a reference tool than your usual squidoo page. There is so much information that is readily available it is no wonder it is ranked #93 currently in the business section.

The bar has been raised. Bravo.

Makers Mark Bourbon House and Lounge

This weekend as I was at the Derby I visited one of the swankiest bars in Louisville. The Makers Mark Lounge . It is, in my opinion, the crown jewel of Louisville's famous 4th street live scene.

As you walk from the street you are greeted with a red lit wall of bottles and the scene is something to behold. The 58 foot long bar is outdone by what must be 100 bottles of bourbon behind it. As you sit down there is a sheer curtain that you can pull around your table for more privacy and most of the lighting is provided by candles put in glass vases that are dipped in that famous red wax. It is a fantastic experience.

So if you are planning on attending the Derby next year, or just find yourself in downtown Louisville, make this your after party.

Kentucky Derby

Each May there is only one event that I look forward to: The Derby.

A friend of mine introduced me to the Derby a few years ago and I was able to attend, in the infield, the 130th running of the race. Ever since I have been hooked.

The images that the Kentucky Derby evokes are usually of women wearing excessively large hats, men in suits, gambling, Churchill downs, and Mint Juleps. However there is quite another side of the Derby that should be on everyone's "To see before I die" list.

The Infield
The infield must be entered via tunnels. The original ones were built in 1937 to allow better accessibility for racing enthusiasts. Getting to the tunnel from the turnstiles is like crossing traffic and resembles the video game "Frogger." People run amok, obstructing its entrance, and many are staggering drunk. If people aren't careful, crossing at the precise moment, some imbecile might knock them to the ground. They then risk being trampled and possibly having belongings stolen - most notably pride.

Once inside, there is silliness in all directions. People swarm like bees. Some dress in various costumes, and no outfit is too casual. Families spread blankets, while others pitch tents. Elderly folk in wheelchairs sit aside children in strollers. Beach balls are bounced, footballs are tossed and Frisbees are thrown. Little boys and girls play tag.

People behaving like total savages bump shoulders with women carrying toddlers. One can be amid a zoo of lunacy one second, and among a family bonding the next. There is nothing that can prepare an infield virgin for what they witness during initial contact.

The 40 acre spread is filled with college students and blue collar workers. Because is costs $40 to get in there is a certain sense of commrodery that comes along with it. The last time I attended this event it rained hard for probably half an hour. This turned into a slip and slide for the masses. Mud was flying, people were actually swimming in the water and everyone had a blast.

So when you flip on your TV this first Saturday in May, please remember that the least of us will be having the most fun.