Day twelve, old friends and new ones too!

I started the day with a trip to Starbucks. All three appointments today were in Wilmington. By the end of the day, I knew how to find this Starbucks shop without a problem. I even knew which coffee table had a power receptacle beside it. (My own little personal office in Wilmington!)

My first appointment was at a place called Great Ideas for Teaching. I really didn’t know what to expect. Usually I stop in at retail stores on this trip. This place appeared to be different. Located on the second floor of a business complex, it clearly wasn’t set up for walk-in traffic. What ensued was one of the greatest meetings of the trip. I was introduced to Jean DeGaetano, company president, and her daughter, Jeannie DeGaetano, who is director of marketing. I could really empathize with Jean. We have a lot in common.

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Jeannie and Jean [left] showing off their new product samples. Their office [right] is much cleaner than my own.

Jean’s background is in speech pathology. Her catalog is especially geared to the needs of speech pathologists. Although she carries a variety of products in her catalog, Great Ideas for Teaching is a way of distributing Jean’s own titles (over 50), which she has authored. The website for Great Ideas for Teaching is: www.GreatIdeasForTeaching.com

Although over the years, her company has grown to include 7,000 sq feet of office and warehouse space, Jean and her daughter are not above picking and packing orders themselves. They laughed and showed me the "food table". Jean said that it’s very important to keep a food table filled with goodies for the staff to munch on.

We had a long discussion about illustrators. Jean has a great story about the main illustrator for her books. Kevin Newman first began illustrating Jean’s books at the age of 17. "He was so young, his parents had to sign his first contract with me," said Jean. Kevin has since gone on to become one of the main illustrators for The Simpsons, the famous television show.

Kevin hasn’t forgotten Jean though, and still offers to illustrate books when time opens up for him. Jean gave me one of her books featuring Kevin’s illustrations. I can’t wait to show it to my own special illustrator, Jessie, my daughter, who has become quite the talented artist and is presently a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Bidding farewell to Jean, I made my way to visit Jim and Scott Long of Educational Record Center. We planned to have lunch together and Jim drove us down to the waterway, where we sat and watched the steamers pass as we ate lunch. I joked when the accompanying photos were taken that I would let everyone know that Jim and Scott do NO work and spend all of their time down by the water!

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Jim, Scott and I catch up over lunch [top left]. Later we take a nice walk along the waterfront [top right]. Outside of Educational Record Center [bottom] I couldn't resist taking a quick shot to remember my visit.

I have known Jim Long for a really long time and Educational Record Center has carried our titles in their catalog for just as long. The first time I visited ERC, in Wilmington, was about 12 years ago. I took along my kids. Jessie was so young she sat on the floor watching Disney videos while Ben insisted on roller-blading in the parking lot.

Over the years, Jim Long has made an enormous impact on our cover designs and he has taught me a lot. For years now, every time we design a new cover, I ask myself "Would Jim like this?"

Media titles, such as music, software, and videos, can be purchased from ERC through their website: www.erckids.com.

Last stop of the day, before driving off to Myrtle Beach, was to, Teacher’s Aid, a parent-teacher store in Wilmington. The owner, Jackie Fuller, has a teaching background and her bright and charming 400 square ft. store is packed with thingscs of interest for parents and teachers. She is also the local distributor for Girl Scout materials.

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The front of Teacher's Aid [top left]. Jackie [top right], the store's owner. There are tons of wonderful products inside the store [bottom].

What would a business day be without one last stop at Starbucks? I made my way to my "Wilmington office" (the corner table at the local Starbucks), for my last contact with the outside world, before climbing into my van for the next leg of the odyssey.