The KellyGram

BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE

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A number of our readers have expressed interest in seeing previous issues of The KellyGram, and were pleased to announce that theyre available on our website: www.wordcrafters.info.

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THE QUOTE CORNER (Thankfulness)

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If gratitude is due from children to their earthly parents, how much more is the gratitude of the great family of men due to our Father in heaven?

- Hosea Ballou

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.

- Cicero

Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much.

- A.J. Cronin

Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.

- William Faulkner

Gratitude is riches. Complaining is poverty. Instead of complaining about whats wrong, be grateful for whats right.

- Zachary Fisher

Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies.

- Charles E. Jefferson

So much has been given to me, I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied.

- Helen Keller

Gratitude is the memory of the heart.

- J. B. Massieu

How happy a person is depends on the depth of his gratitude.

- John Miller

No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with the gratitude to the Giver of good who has blessed us.

- Theodore Roosevelt

O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

- William Shakespeare

Gratitude is the homage of the heart, rendered to God for his goodness.

- Nathaniel Parker Willis

A really thankful heart will extract motive for gratitude from everything, making the most even of scanty blessings.

- Anonymous

(Note: These quotations are taken from our collection of nearly 400 published volumes of quotations and 1.5 million entries. If youre looking for some quotes on virtually any subject, send us an email or call us at 480-895-7617. Or, if you have a quote topic youd like us to feature in an upcoming issue? Email it to us and well get it on the schedule.)

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BUILDING MEDIA RELATIONSHIPS (Part 1 of a series)

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"Why didnt they air our PSA?" "They never return my calls!" "How come they didn't use our media release?" "No one showed up at our media conference!" "Dont they realize what we have to say is important?"

Sound familiar? If so, youll be pleased to discover you can develop lasting and profitable media relationships. To do so requires both an understanding of what you want to accomplish and how to effectively communicate with media representatives.

Create a Comprehensive Media Plan

Define your media goals

Make sure these goals are consistent with your mission, vision, and marketing plan. Include your specific target audience(s) and prioritize your goals and the appropriate media outlets accordingly.

Determine what you have to offer relevant to media needs

Its often said that people do things for their reasons, not ours. Its essential to determine what your media contacts need from you, not the other way around. Ask yourself if what youre presenting is really newsworthy? In other words, is it informative, unique, timely, interesting, relevant or significant?

Organize a media list by type of outlet

Your media list should include four major types of outlets:

1. Newspapers (big city and suburban) daily weekly and monthly plus wire services and syndicates.
2. Magazines (consumer and trade).
3. Television stations and networks (commercial, noncommercial and cable).
4. Radio stations and networks (both commercial and noncommercial).

Do your homework

Obtain copies of each publication, reviewing columns, type of news or information reported, features, letters to the editor, community calendars, etc. Listen to targeted radio stations, concentrating on talk shows. Watch programs on your targeted TV outlets, paying particular attention to talk shows and feature stories with a local angle.

Develop a contact list for each outlet

Your list should include editors, reporters, columnists, station managers, talk show hosts, producers, etc. Find out whos in charge of what, as this can vary significantly depending upon the type and scope of the media outlet youre contacting.

Include appropriate names, titles, addresses, phone and fax numbers, email addresses, and any other pertinent information for each outlet youve listed. Keep in mind that many of them may have several different sections, programs, etc., which should be appropriately categorized for maximum publicity exposure.

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AN EXCELLENT NEW RESOURCE

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If youre in the market for a new dictionary, we recommend the new 11^th Edition of Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary, which was released earlier this year. With 10,000 new words and 165,000 entries, its a great resource. It also includes a searchable CD-ROM and a free one-year subscription to a special website that features not only the new dictionary, but a thesaurus, encyclopedia and Spanish-English dictionary.

Among the 10,000 new words is one our friend and National Speakers Association colleague Steve Tyra tells us has the folks at McDonalds fried (and were not talking about hamburgers). The word is "McJob," defined as "a low-paying job that requires little skill and provides little opportunity for advancement." Gee, cant imagine why theyre upset. Bet founder Ray Kroc is (uuh) flipping in his grave.

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LINGUISTIC ABSURDITIES

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Whenever we run out of material for this feature, we can usually find a fresh supply right in our daily newspaper. For example, the day after the latest disappointing defeat by the Arizona State football team, a local columnist, who shall remain nameless, reported that at the end of the game, the ASU players "shrugged their heads" as they left the field.

To shrug means, of course, "to raise and draw in the shoulders." Drawing in their heads must have been quite a trick for those players, especially with their helmets on. Wish I could have seen it!

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THANKSGIVING DAY

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Ever heard of a poem entitled "The New England Boys Song about Thanksgiving Day?" Didnt think so. But youre probably familiar with it anyway. Maybe it will help to name the poet: Lydia Maria Child.

Lydia who? Well, she was a 19^th century American author who wrote many books, most, if not all, of which have long since faded into obscurity. Ironically, of all her writings, it was this one poem which we remember and recite. Actually, its more likely well sing it, or at least hear it sung, on Thanksgiving Day, because the words were set to the tune of an old folk song.

Even if youve never heard its title or the name of the author, chances are youre familiar with it, especially its first stanza. We left one word out and invite you to fill in the blank:

Over the river and through the wood,

To [____________] house we go;

The horse knows the way

To carry the sleigh,

Through the white and drifted snow.

What word goes in that blank space? You probably said "grandmothers." Based on our extensive scientific survey of at least 11 people, everybody says "grandmothers." We did too! But, much to our surprise, the correct word is "grandfathers." Nevertheless, grandmother does eventually show up, in the last two stanzas of Childs 12-stanza poem.

This Thanksgiving, many of us will travel "over the river and through the wood" to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with grandfathers and grandmothers, or with parents, children, loved ones and friends. Whatever the case, we'll be continuing a marvelous tradition that began in the autumn of 1621, when the Pilgrims in Virginia paused to celebrate their harvest, and to give thanks to God, who had provided for them so bountifully.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony observed its first Thanksgiving Day in 1630, though many more years would pass before it became an annual custom. Through the rest of the 17th Century, and on into the next, other colonies began their own Thanksgiving festivals. By the end of the 18th Century, all of New England had Thanksgiving Day celebrations.

George Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789 as the first national day of thanksgiving, but the idea was slow to spread outside New England. It wasn't until November 26, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national harvest festival, that Thanksgiving Day became an "official" annual holiday.

Although there were some variances in the date, Congress passed a resolution in 1941, setting aside the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day, and there it has remained.

The theme and meaning of Thanksgiving have changed little since the Virginia Pilgrims gathered with local Indian tribes 376 years ago to rejoice at their good fortune. Nearly four centuries have passed since that day, and we as Americans have been richly blessed by God throughout those centuries.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers.

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SMILE AWHILE

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The Washington Post asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing just one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are some winners:

SARCHASM: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the recipient who doesn't get it.

INOCULATTE: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

BURGLESQUE: A poorly planned break-in. (See: Watergate)

KARMAGEDDON: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like a serious bummer.

DOPELER EFFECT: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

INTAXICATION: Euphoria at getting a refund from the IRS, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

REINTARNATION: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

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A FINAL WORD

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