The Loss And The Hope In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Helene
Ordinarily I am a glass-half-full kind of person. But when I look at what’s happened to the residents of Western North Carolina, Florida’s Big Bend and other parts of the Southeast this past week, I find myself at a loss. The images of Hurricane Helene’s flooding, debris and devastation are heartbreaking, especially when they are […]
Getting Ready For Hurricane Helene: ALAN’s Five Key Takeaways For Your Organization
As Hurricane Helene approaches landfall in the Florida Gulf Coast, ALAN is busy preparing, and we are encouraging all of our partners to do the same. With that in mind, we’d like to share five pre-storm takeaways that we feel are essential for you and your organizations to be aware of. They’re listed below, and […]
(Marsh) Mellowing Out About Hurricane Season
I am not a patient person. A grad school professor once asked my class how we would respond if we were one of the students in the famous “Stanford marshmallow test.” While my peers seemed evenly divided between immediately eating the marshmallow or waiting, I confessed that I’d eat my marshmallow, then beat up the […]
It’s Time To Get Ultra-Ready
During late March and early April many of you probably spent several hours watching March Madness, the Masters Tournament – or both. By contrast, I spent my time avidly following the 38th annual Barkley Marathons, where just a few weeks ago, history was made. Even if you’re not a runner, this 100-mile, ultramarathon event is […]
Here’s Looking At U2
Last month, I had one of those experiences that you remember for the rest of your life – I saw U2 live in concert at the Sphere in Las Vegas! I could probably stop right there because what could be cooler than that? But the equally cool thing is, it was completely spur of the […]
Check Your Logo At The Door
Whether you work for a business or non-profit, chances are good that it has a logo – and that this visual representation of your brand goes hand-in-hand with almost everything your organization does. In fact, most of us wouldn’t dream of producing anything like business cards, ads, letterhead or corporate swag without one. Which makes […]
Why Do We HEART Our In-Kind Supporters? Let Us Count The Ways
It’s hard to believe. But we’re now a month into 2024 – and less than a week away from one of ALAN’s favorite holidays. We’re talking, of course, about ALANtine’s Day, that special time of year when we take a moment to show some extra love for all of our extraordinary supporters. This year instead […]
Paint Life Grand
Each year at Christmas, my daughter and I buy each other one inexpensive, frivolous gift. This year we somehow both ended up gifting one another coloring books. The book she gave me was of the “paint with water” variety where you reveal the hidden colors on the page by running a water-dipped paintbrush over what […]
Oh The Horror (Movie): 5 Important Things Scary Films Can Teach Us About Disaster Relief
A couple weeks ago, one of ALAN’s team members wrote a blog in which she publicly admitted that she’s the kind of person who makes Scooby Doo look brave, at least when it comes to things like watching scary movies. I’m not huge horror movie fan myself (which is why you definitely won’t find me […]
