I was never much of a motorcycle fan – no one in my family rode, so I didn't have many occasions to consider it as an option. Frankly, I had many of the usual stereotypes of riders in my head, mainly a group of rough, tough and gruff men. I'm grateful for the opportunities to work on events in the riding community, where I've learned that my stereotypes were very, very wrong.

Jackson Marketing Group truly does whatever it takes.

I've watched a lot of football in my life, and the one parallel between football and business keeps coming back to my mind – the importance of a strong team. Regardless of the franchise tags and celebrity labels our society places on some players, the truth is even the greatest quarterback must have line to protect them, running backs to loosen up the defense and receivers who can run the routes and catch the football.

2010 is looking to be a positive year for bringing back marketing and brand awareness. Looking back at 2009, companies had to re-evaluate what their key strategies and investments were in order to keep some sort of ROI, but there seems to be a dim light at the end of that bleak tunnel. The budgets will not be what they once were in the previous years of fun and excitement but a little of something is better than the absolute "nothingness" agencies had to prudently work with to maintain a level or even positive ROI.

Going GREEN is all the rage, from an individual to the corporate level. As meeting professionals, we have to be on the edge of the trend whether it be mini-projectors, buzz marketing tools or creating a sustainable event. Corporations want to prove that they are saving money and being more responsible in their daily business, so it's only natural for this to stem into their Event Marketing campaigns. There are several ways to appear Green and even more ways to BE Green. You can appear Green by giving away recycled notepads or you can be Green by giving nothing at all and donating to a local organization instead. Here are a few ways to make your event a little more Green:

Nowadays, everybody's personal life is crazy and work can be hectic. Keeping your work and your personal life balanced can be tough. Throw the added stress of traveling for work into the mix, and that balancing act can become quite complicated. So, how does one achieve this balance while being away from home for work over 50 percent of the year? You have to stay connected, have good time management, patience and make the most of your time at home.

In a recent motorsports meeting, I was blindsided by the fact that one of our newest "business" partners was trying to go around us to the main client in a tacit, possibly deceptive way. After the red flags and sirens died down in my head, I realized that they were trying to be smarter with their investments. 'Working smarter, but not harder,' if you will. Shouldn't we as an agency, be doing the same thing?