Red Shoes Speak No. 9 Social Media and ON-Demand Television from Jessica Dennis on Vimeo.

2009 has been quite a year from me and my family. One that will be hard to top.  But, looking back, I have to ask:  Why do we live in a society where people spend so much time writing letters telling people when they do things wrong, but never enough time writing when things are going right?

As 2009 comes to a close I feel compelled to complete the circle on a few things. Sending thank you notes has been one of my goals for 2009 and I feel that I have one a pretty good job. Many times it’s hard to remember, but it’s the small things that count! However, in one specific situation, a simple written card just would not do justice.

Let me explain….

Back in February I went to my first “tweetup.” I had no idea what this would be like. Would it be a fun event or load of guys doing nothing but dinking on their tech toys? Well, it was a bit of both. Picture this…here we are at the food court of the local mall. Just like a money drop in a kidnapping, we picked a public spot, just in case things got bad. We had 3 -4 tables pushed together in the center; ten to twelve males and three lone females in attendance. The sexes were divided like Moses parting the Red Sea- guys on one end of the table with the ladies on the other. The awkwardness of a 7^th grade dance. I had been following most of them on twitter, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into… I had never met any of them “IRL,” in real life.

This is where I had my opportunity of meeting the great ladies from Red Shoes PR. Lisa, her son Manny, Karen, and Maria were all there.  I think Manny was brought to provide protection just in case things got ugly So, that’s where it all started.

Fast forward a few months… May 22^nd was a big day in the life and times of the Tommy household. It started off like any other day…you know, a trip to the local hospital to give birth to our son. A few pictures, a few tweets, and an IV drip and we were off to the races. With all the attention on mom, dad needed something to keep himself busy and out of her hair.  So twitter was it. Keeping everyone up to speed was my new job. Soon tweets started coming in from the 4 corners of the globe. Needless to say the gals at Red Shoes had their ears to the railroad tracks. One thing leads to another and soon I was getting messages from a local TV reporter at WFRV saying they were coming down to do a story?

Coming to do a story? What’s happening here?!?!?!

You all lived it so I don’t need to rehash…

What I do need to do is express my deepest thank you for the love and faith you have put in me and my family.  What started out as a lark certainly has turned out to be no joke! The term social media has no greater meaning than in my  own life experiences. The ability spread your wings and fly is exactly what has and continues to happen.  To date, my sweetheart has always been my biggest fan and cheerleader, but I now have some new faces in my cheering section… and I love it. You gave me a chance… and chance to stretch and do something I have never done before. I was given the chance to speak in front of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce which has blossomed into other speaking gigs and workshops.

2009 has turned out to be such a whirlwind year. Many companies that were pillars in their respective industries have crumbled to the ground and small business like you have flourished and continue solid growth. Red Shoes certainly didn’t get any bailouts or freebees to get along, your hard work and dedication did the trick. Just a great team of ladies…working a little, laughing a little and giving your clients exactly what they ask for…exceptional service.

This secret sauce is one that needs to be captured and bottled. I bet others would pay top dollar for this secret to success!

So to the ladies of Red Shoes PR… THANK YOU! My life has forever changed. I have a new son, I’ve honed some new talents, but most of all, I have some amazing new friends who will be in my life forever. Can it get much better than that? No it cannot!!!

YOU ALL ROCK

-  Tommy!