Next
Issue Due Out 2/28/02 - Deadline For Materials 2/21/02
Media Alert - Atlanta, GA -
Feb. 5, 2002 - Lanier
Technical College, ExxonMobil and SEAMO have announced plans
for a full day of "Reading, Writing and Racing"
to be held during the week of the Atlanta 500 NASCAR Race.
The day's events begin at 10 A.M.
on Thursday, March 7 at the in Braselton, GA.
Guests will be transported from the Chateau to for a presentation and tour explaining
the school's Motorsports Vehicle Technology degree program.
The tour will be followed by a brief
shuttle ride to the for a presentation covering
the driving schools and other resources available at the
track. A buffet lunch will then be served, concurrent with
ride & drive opportunities on the track, followed by
return transportation to Chateau Elan.
Upon return to Chateau Elan, ExxonMobil
will be hosting dinner and a press announcement covering
the new Mobil 1 with SuperSyn anti-wear technology. Plans
are being made to provide shuttle transportation to and
from Atlanta area hotels, as well as to and from the Charlotte
(NC) metro area. Additional shuttle services may be added
pending response to the event.
Please note that two RSVPs are
needed by no later than March 1, to attend all of the day's
events.
For the school tour and track event,
RSVP to Lanier Technical College at (770) 531-6396, or
via e-mail to: cspires@laniertech.org
For the Mobil 1 presentation and
dinner, RSVP to Freda Counceller at (949) 632-1694, or
via e-mail to: prplus@fea.net
SEAMO
Update
With the new year already running full speed ahead, we are
continuing to add new members and beginning to explore different
opportunities for events. Several of our members were in
attendance at the North American International Auto Show
to see the latest in concepts and production models from
Detroit and the world. Thanks to SEAMO member Mike Isopi
of for
displaying our membership applications in the Michelin Media
Center at the Detroit show. Special thanks to SEAMO co-founder
and event director John Harper of Performance Logistics
who provided the legwork of collecting
and distributing press kits for some of the SEAMO
members who couldn't make it to the show.
When talking about SEAMO to some
of our prospective members, I'm frequently asked "why
should I join SEAMO?" As a member of other regional
and national media groups, the answers may seem too obvious
to me, but then again my perspective is from the inside
out, rather than the outside in.
I suppose one of the most important
reasons to belong to any group is representation. Sort of
like saying "yes Detroit, there are plenty of automotive
journalists here in the Southeast!" While Southern
California and the New York City region may not have the
automotive "momentum" that exists here in the
Southeast, groups such as IMPA and MPG have highlighted
those areas prominently on the industry's radar.
Sure, some of the Southeast's journalists,
including myself, have plenty of connections and access
to most of the resources we need, but many of our colleagues
are not as lucky. Collectively promoting our region, our
colleagues and ourselves to the industry will improve access
to resources for everybody in our region, not just those
on top, or those in need.
Another benefit of any group is networking.
Aside from the guy or girl across the desk, or the writers
that you occasionally see at a ride & drive, how many
other auto journalists do you know well here in the Southeast?
And what about news sources? Do you know how many new auto
manufacturing plants are located here in our region? What
about supplier companies? Too often, we go around the world
for the same stories that everybody writes and miss a potential
exclusive that's right down the road from us.
I'd also like to bring up the dreaded
"P" word - Participation! To make the group work,
your participation is required. But that's not such a bad
deal. If you help with other projects, you're likely to
get some help with your own. Maybe a holiday party or an
executive briefing luncheon isn't important to you, but
you'd really like to attend a track day or judge a car of
the year competition. Individually, or in small numbers,
none of these programs are practical, but as a group, we
can share the work and make them all happen.
As you might have noticed from the
new look of our newsletter, construction of the permanent
SEAMO website is underway. Although much of the content
and some of the programming features are being developed
right now, we've already worked out the structure and graphic
design of the site. If you have any ideas for content, links,
or comments about the design, drop me an e-mail
and pass your thoughts along. Thanks again to GM, Hyundai
and Toyota for their sponsorship of the site. As we still
need a few more sponsors, other OEMs and suppliers are encouraged
to help support the site.
Beginning February 21, and every
"Third Thursday" of each month thereafter, SEAMO
will begin organizing no-host lunches in most of the metro
areas where our members work and reside. We've chosen a
convenient location in Charlotte to accommodate our members
in the Carolinas, and we'll be contacting members in other
areas to select venues for their region.
The Charlotte lunches will be held
at the new Lotus Buffet, 9605 N. Tryon (Hwy 29), in the
Terraces at University, from 1 pm till 3 pm, on the third
Thursday of each month. We've checked the place out and
there's seating for about a hundred, a huge buffet featuring
oriental food, and plenty of parking. Members, prospective
members and guests should RSVP to Tom
Kelley, at least one day before the lunch. For directions,
call (704) 593-1388, or type the address into your favorite
mapping site.
By
the way, the closing date for our first printed directory
will be in early May, so to make sure your contact information will be
included.
OEM
Welcome
A warm SEAMO welcome to our latest OEM members from Hyundai.
Jim Weber is Hyundai's
National Manager of Product Public Relations. Although he
manages our region from Hyundai's California offices, Jim
has some roots in Georgia, so he frequently visits the area.
Hyundai is also one of the SEAMO website sponsors. The company's
press website at
provides access to hi-res photos, contact info and other
features.
Member
Profile - Tom Crosby - AAA Carolinas
Tom joined AAA Carolinas in January 1994 as Director of
Communications and became Vice-president of Communications
in November. Tom's various duties with AAA Carolinas include
serving as Editor of GO Magazine and writing car reviews
for a dozen newspapers in both Carolinas. He also is responsible
for Public Relations, legislative activities, Member Relations
and the club's Car Buying Service. He is active in several
community organizations, including the Charlotte Public
Relations Society and the Charlotte Sales and Marketing
Executives.
He is a member of the North Carolina Governor's Highway
Safety Advisory Panel and the South Carolina Transportation
Policy and Research Council.
Prior to joining AAA Carolinas, he
was managing director of Travel Publishing and Inspections
with AAA's National Office in Florida. His 15-year AAA career
also includes serving as General Manager of AAA Hawaii Motor
Club and AAA Alaska, as well as staff director of Public
and Government Affairs with AAA Potomac. Before joining
AAA, Tom was Metropolitan Editor with WRC-TV, a NBC station
in Washington, DC and a staff writer and editor for the
Washington Star in Washington, DC.
He now resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife Kathy, and
daughter Elizabeth.
Tom says, "Driving new cars
and trucks and writing about them is a life-long dream come
true. Not only do I get to experience the remarkable evolution
and innovation within the automotive industry, I get to
be a consumer advocate every day."
Member
Profile - Tom Harley
The vast majority of Tom Harley's working career has been
spent in the automotive industry. Through high school and
college he earned money by working in gas stations and tire
stores to pay for his education and further his love of
all things automotive. Tom's first automobile was a 1963
Chevrolet Biscayne 2 door sedan with a 425hp 409. According
to Tom, "since the first time I firmly implanted my
right foot on the "go pedal", I was hooked on
high performance everything."
After serving two years with Uncle
Sam, Tom completed his college education, and quickly learned
that any type of a career outside the automotive industry
would be out of the question. Tom spent several years in
the retail tire industry before joining BFGoodrich Tires'
high-performance tire marketing group.
At BFGoodrich, Tom was involved with
a broad spectrum of activities including designing, developing
and managing the enthusiast marketing program, which took
the entire line of high performance tires to enthusiast
and motorsports events throughout the U.S. During his tenure
with BFGoodrich Tires Tom had the opportunity to work very
closely with automotive enthusiast clubs and the Specialty
Equipment Market Association (SEMA). He was also involved
in negotiating sponsorships with several automotive special
event producers.
In 1997 Tom left Michelin and spent
2 ½ years with AutoStar Productions, as a producer
of automotive special events, in particular, Super Chevy
Shows. He then joined Eisbrenner Public Relations in July
of 2000 to manage the Greenville, SC office.
After Eisbrenner closed their Greenville
office recently, Tom began working on a contract basis for
several automotive companies while he continues to explore
new business opportunities. These temporary projects create
a win/win situation. The client is able to acquire industry
expertise on a short-term basis, while Tom continues to
network, hone his skills and learn new techniques. "The
automotive industry is amazing," said Tom. "It's
like one big family where everyone knows one-another. I'm
sure that my next opportunity is right around the corner."
Media Tech
As digital cameras are becoming increasingly popular with
many automotive journalists, a few tips are in order to
help get the most from the technology. ,
one of the leading suppliers of removable media for digital
cameras, passes this info along:
While the basic principles of photography
still apply, digital cameras have their own unique characteristics
that differ from traditional film cameras. To compile this
advice, SanDisk enlisted the help of , host of the on the , photography instructor at leading
photo learning workshops around the U.S. and author of 21
books on photography. Here are Rick's 10 tips for taking
better pictures with a digital camera:
1. Move in closer. Most pictures
will benefit if you take a few steps forward. Having your
subject fill most the frame helps your viewer understand
your photo and provides details that are often more interesting
than an overall view. To get the clearest picture, use the
camera's optical zoom if you can't move closer to your subject.
2. Use your viewfinder. A digital
camera's LCD screen uses lots of battery power so to maximize
battery life, use the camera's viewfinder.
3. Anticipate the moment. Most point-and-shoot
digital have an inherent delay between pressing the shutter
button and when the camera takes the picture. Try to anticipate
the action and always be ready to shoot.
4. Use available light when possible.
Indoors, the mood created by natural light is lost with
a flash. Whenever possible, position a subject by a door
or window and avoid using the on-camera flash.
5. Shoot at the highest resolution
available. If you want to print your images or enlarge a
part of the image, you'll get the best results from a larger
file. You can always decrease the resolution of the image
on your computer to e-mail them, but starting off with a
low-resolution image does not give you the flexibility to
print your picture.
6. Take as many pictures as possible.
The more images you take, the better your chances are of
getting that special shot. Because you don't incur any costs
until you print your images, take as many shots as you can.
7. Delete unwanted images 'on-the-fly.'
Immediately deleting images you don't want minimizes the
task of deleting images because you're running out of storage
capacity. When in doubt, save the image until you can view
it on your computer monitor.
8. Use rechargeable batteries. Digital
cameras are notorious for consuming batteries. Consider
investing in an extra rechargeable battery. You can continue
to take pictures while the other set is charging.
9. Think big. In most cases, the
8 or 16 megabyte (MB) card that came with your camera won't
cut it. Get the highest capacity removable storage card
within your budget. For most occasions, a 128MB card will
suffice. Rapidly falling prices are making these cards very
affordable-having more capacity than you think you'll need
lets you concentrate on taking pictures and not filling
up the card.
10. Get an external card reader.
One of the easiest and fastest ways to transfer images between
the camera and computer is to use a card reader. This method
is often faster than using the transfer cable that may have
been included with your camera. In addition, if your camera
does not have a docking/recharging station, the card readers
avoid tying up your camera and draining its batteries when
it is left on for long periods of time while transferring
images.
"Whether you're new to photography
or an experienced picture taker, the important thing to
remember is that digital cameras offer shooting freedom
and flexibility," said Sammon. "Experiment with your camera.
Try new techniques. And above all, remember to have fun
while you're doing it."
On The Lighter Side
CURING A PARROT OF SWEARING
So there's this fellow with a parrot. And this parrot swears
like a sailor, I mean he's a pistol. He can swear for five
minutes straight without repeating himself. Trouble is,
the guy who owns him is a quiet, conservative type, and
this bird's foul mouth is driving him crazy.
One day, it gets to be too much,
so the guy grabs the bird by the throat, shakes him really
hard, and yells, "QUIT IT!" But this just makes the bird
mad and he swears more than ever.
Then the guy gets mad and says, "OK
for you," and locks the bird in a kitchen cabinet. This
really aggravates the bird and he claws and scratches, and
when the guy finally lets him out, the bird cuts loose with
a stream of invective that would make a veteran sailor blush.
At that point, the guy is so mad
that he throws the bird into the freezer. For the first
few seconds there is a terrible din. The bird kicks and
claws and thrashes. Then it suddenly gets VERY quiet.
At first the guy just waits, but
then he starts to think that the bird may be hurt. After
a couple of minutes of silence, he's so worried that he
opens up the freezer door.
The bird calmly climbs onto the man's
outstretched arm and says, "Awfully sorry about the trouble
I gave you. I'll do my best to improve my vocabulary from
now on."
The man is astounded. He can't understand
the transformation that has come over the parrot.
Then the parrot says, "By the way,
what did the chicken do?"
Contact
Info & Links
Here's how to join SEAMO, be added to or removed from the
mailing list, submit news items or photos for upcoming newsletters,
or just make your opinion known.
Next
Issue Due Out 2/28/02 - Deadline For Materials 2/21/02
Send
your comments, complaints, newsletter submissions or mailing
list updates to:
South
East Automotive Media Organization
4429 Back Creek Church Road
Charlotte, NC 28213-5251
