So like I may have stated before, I got a job at Four Peaks Brewery recently and have been loving every minute of it! Fun environment, great staff, and amazing food everywhere. But it has been a very exciting few weeks for the brewery. Just yesterday Four Peaks was named the Best Brewery in America by Thrillist, this is a followup award when they were also named Best Brewery in America by Travel Channel. They have been receiving large amounts of awards not only for their beer, but also for the food which has anything from grilled cheese for kids to snapper burgers.
Four Peaks was also at the head of the Arizona Beer Bill. This bill looked to change the way microbreweries would operate in Arizona. The proposed changes would make it so microbreweries producing over 40,000 barrels a year would not be able to self-distribute, it would limit their amount retail licences (which would have forced Four Peaks to shut down 2 of it's 3 restaurant locations), and also gives more privileges to smaller microbreweries. Luckily these changes did not go through and Four Peaks will continue to be able to grow and expand their business as it should be.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Free Write
I was just reading an article about music and arts education in elementary and middle schools. And it was not a positive one. I have read quite a bit and studied what is basically the decline of quality arts and arts education in the United States. As more and more schools are forced to make budget cuts more and more arts programs are seeing themselves fold. This is because we have become a society so obsessed with standardized testing, which only focuses on three subjects, that it has been deemed that arts education is unnecessary. This is a crazy idea to me as studies have been done proving that children, especially those in music, have much higher reading comprehension skills and critical thinking skills as they are essentially learning a different language. Arts classes improve creativity and can actually improve situational awareness.
It is sad to see that these courses are not deemed important or necessary anymore. Even if you do not believe these classes hold any real educational value they simply define our culture. Art, music, and food are three of the largest things that define a group of people and what their values are. By taking away the remaining two from schools, as cooking classes and home ec have basically become obsolete in schools we are going to see a massive decline in the quality. Hopefully people will realize this and help the fight to save our arts programs in schools.
It is sad to see that these courses are not deemed important or necessary anymore. Even if you do not believe these classes hold any real educational value they simply define our culture. Art, music, and food are three of the largest things that define a group of people and what their values are. By taking away the remaining two from schools, as cooking classes and home ec have basically become obsolete in schools we are going to see a massive decline in the quality. Hopefully people will realize this and help the fight to save our arts programs in schools.
How my organization demonstrates public service.
Well as I have stated before Bridging AZ is a furniture bank that provides donated furniture, decorations, and bed sets for a fraction of the original cost to certain organizations. Their current major contract is with Southwest Behavioral, who assists individuals with disabilities and other issues in finding work and their own place to live. This is where Bridging AZ comes into play. As Southwest Behavioral does not provide the furniture or any physical good they must contract this out.
Bridging AZ is one of two active furniture banks in the Phoenix Metro area, and is the larger of the two. They take donations from almost anywhere whether it be someones home, an office, or even a hotel. This donated furniture is restored if needed and provided to those in need who are getting their own place to live. Without this service they would be left without even the simplest necessity of a mattress to sleep on. This is a much needed service and luckily donations are always coming in and they are able to continue the service provided.
Bridging AZ is one of two active furniture banks in the Phoenix Metro area, and is the larger of the two. They take donations from almost anywhere whether it be someones home, an office, or even a hotel. This donated furniture is restored if needed and provided to those in need who are getting their own place to live. Without this service they would be left without even the simplest necessity of a mattress to sleep on. This is a much needed service and luckily donations are always coming in and they are able to continue the service provided.
Free Write
Well now that March Madness is over and we have a national champion bracket everywhere were being looked at to see who could win prizes for their accuracy. Well a 6th grader from Illinois tied with another man for the first place prize which is a $20,000 gift card. The one man has already claimed his prize no problem, the 12 year old boy who also won is being denied his prize and it looks like he will never receive it. Why? Because he was under 18 years old.
They claim these rules are there for safety and what not but this is a bracket challenge. All he needed was a account on ESPN's website, which includes no personal information. So why cannot he collect the reward? He should be awarded for his accuracy, just as the other man who did the same as him was. It is a shame that these type of rules are never overlooked, especially since he did it with his parents permission and they are actively fighting for their son to receive his prize they feel he deserves.
What are your thoughts on this? Is it time to change some of these rules?
They claim these rules are there for safety and what not but this is a bracket challenge. All he needed was a account on ESPN's website, which includes no personal information. So why cannot he collect the reward? He should be awarded for his accuracy, just as the other man who did the same as him was. It is a shame that these type of rules are never overlooked, especially since he did it with his parents permission and they are actively fighting for their son to receive his prize they feel he deserves.
What are your thoughts on this? Is it time to change some of these rules?
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Leadership at my Internship
Because there are only 5 of us total (one being another intern) on a daily basis there is almost no defined leader as we are all leaders of our own thing. While I take orders on most things in my internship I am in charge of the inventory system. Because it is a program I setup I have been put in charge of managing it for now while I train them on how it works, how to generate reports, and other various things so when I am done here they will be able to continue to effectively use it. It is nice to be able to use some leadership skills, even if it is a relaxed environment, because in most entry-level positions you will not get that experience so by being able to have it beforehand it can help in the future.
Like I stated before, we are all kind of in charge of our own thing. The other intern who works the same time as me has been given duties to help create a new fundraising event somewhere in the Tempe area. The hope is with his connections to the university and his peers he can help gain a large amount of supports who can spread the word and further increase that support base. We both get a chance to use out leadership skills in different ways and I think it is a great thing to have.
Like I stated before, we are all kind of in charge of our own thing. The other intern who works the same time as me has been given duties to help create a new fundraising event somewhere in the Tempe area. The hope is with his connections to the university and his peers he can help gain a large amount of supports who can spread the word and further increase that support base. We both get a chance to use out leadership skills in different ways and I think it is a great thing to have.
Free Write
Alright, well free agency has started for the NFL and I hope some of you are as excited as me and what has been going on so far! I want to start off by saying I am a huge Colts fan and have been my entire life. While it was disappointing and sad to have to say goodbye to Reggie Wayne (who knows, maybe they offer him a contract) it is great to see Andre Johnson, a player from a divisional rival, join our ranks! He is a great player and has had a tremendous career.
On top of the signing we were able to swoop up Frank Gore in a package deal with Johnson. Now we can finally be done with Trent Richardson and hopefully have a run game again. The Colts were also able to snag Trent Cole from the Eagles the other day. We have been needing a good pass rusher badly and with Robert Mathis coming back next season we can hopefully have a defense that is as scary as our offense. And free agency has just started, next target is apparently Pot Roast!
What is your favorite team and how is the free agency been going for you?
On top of the signing we were able to swoop up Frank Gore in a package deal with Johnson. Now we can finally be done with Trent Richardson and hopefully have a run game again. The Colts were also able to snag Trent Cole from the Eagles the other day. We have been needing a good pass rusher badly and with Robert Mathis coming back next season we can hopefully have a defense that is as scary as our offense. And free agency has just started, next target is apparently Pot Roast!
What is your favorite team and how is the free agency been going for you?
Profile: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream)
I have chosen to profile two people instead of one. But they way they operate they might as well be one. They are Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, better known as the owners of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. I have always idolized them as the ideal CEO, their generosity in employee compensation even almost led to their failure at one point!
From the beginning the managed every aspect of their product, experimenting and testing new ideas to get what they want. That was the interesting thing about all of it, they made what they liked, and sold it. They never went around asking what people wanted but instead chose for them. This could be hit or miss, but clearly it worked out for the better for them. They began their business after Jerry finished college, Ben never did. In fact, they are known for their additions to their ice creams, whether they be nuts or fudge chunks, because Ben suffers from anosmia (no sense of smell) so he relied on texture over smell.
This sort of career path does not really require any sort of formal education, even though even a basic business degree would always be beneficial for any start up. This relied more on the creation of something unique that could captivate a new market. Not only did they promise high quality products, they also relied on quality ingredients and being eco-friendly by using recycled packaging, promoting recycling said containers, and using sustainable practices to reduce their pollution output. They also believed that just because they were CEO's they shouldn't be making significantly larger amounts than their workers, they believe in fairness.
While I do not see myself creating a new and exciting food product their way of running what was a small buisness and how open and caring they are for their employees inspires me to be a positive leader at any position and hopefully the same kind of owner of my own business one day.
From the beginning the managed every aspect of their product, experimenting and testing new ideas to get what they want. That was the interesting thing about all of it, they made what they liked, and sold it. They never went around asking what people wanted but instead chose for them. This could be hit or miss, but clearly it worked out for the better for them. They began their business after Jerry finished college, Ben never did. In fact, they are known for their additions to their ice creams, whether they be nuts or fudge chunks, because Ben suffers from anosmia (no sense of smell) so he relied on texture over smell.
This sort of career path does not really require any sort of formal education, even though even a basic business degree would always be beneficial for any start up. This relied more on the creation of something unique that could captivate a new market. Not only did they promise high quality products, they also relied on quality ingredients and being eco-friendly by using recycled packaging, promoting recycling said containers, and using sustainable practices to reduce their pollution output. They also believed that just because they were CEO's they shouldn't be making significantly larger amounts than their workers, they believe in fairness.
While I do not see myself creating a new and exciting food product their way of running what was a small buisness and how open and caring they are for their employees inspires me to be a positive leader at any position and hopefully the same kind of owner of my own business one day.
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