Gettysburg 150th

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend an encampment with New Birth Of Freedom, Boy Scouts of America at the George Spangler Farm in Gettysburg, PA with my son's Boy Scout Troop.  There were almost 3000 scouts in attendance.  I must say  that it was one of the best run events I think I have ever attended.  It was a well oiled machine...boys arrived at appointed station in a timely manner, and the Park Rangers did a tremendous job with educating all of us in attendance, and some 600 of the boys were able to participate in various service projects for the battlefield.  My son's Troop was one of those fortunate enough to take part.  This was a privilege and an honor to be a part of this as it is the 150th Anniversary of this historic battle in the Civil War.

I would like to share several of the photos from this past weekend with you:

 

The boys had a great time & we were all worn out from ALL of the walking, but it was nothing that the Soldiers from the Civil War had endured...

The Closing of Business for Creative Memories

Here is a bit of info from CM regarding the closing of business:

Digital Center
The Digital Center website will shut down at 11:59 p.m. CT on September 23, 2013. All orders for Digital Center or StoryBook Creator projects must be completed by that time. If you’ve uploaded photos to Digital Center, your photos are available to purchase as prints or downloads through 11:59 p.m. CT on September 23. After that they will be removed from our servers and will no longer be available. Please note that we’ve reduced the fee for downloading your photos to $0.05/photo to make it more affordable for you to retrieve any photos you don’t have backed up elsewhere.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to download projects that have been uploaded to the Digital Center.

Project Center
The Creative Memories Project Center website will shut down at 11:59 p.m. CT on September 30, 2013. If you’re interested in preserving any of the project ideas that are on the Project Center, you can copy the images and instructions and paste them into a Word, PowerPoint, Pages, or similar program, then save them to your personal computer for future reference.
We can't thank you enough for your support and input over the last several years.
Sincerely,
The Creative Memories Home Office Team

Shipping update 10/1/13

The materials for the black pages arrived Monday and we have begun manufacturing them.  We are working to get all Direct Ship orders processed this week.

Anyone with a Digital Center order can refer to the anticipated ship date on their order confirmation. They can also watch for their UPS ship confirmation email, which comes from Quantum View. 

You can also check back here: http://www.creativememories.com/index.html

Customer Orders from LCO

Good News!  The Home Office is making headway with ALL of the many orders that were placed during June & July.  Here is an update on the status of the orders from CMHO:

Excerpt from CMC This Week 09/09/13:
Traditional Shipping Update:
The Distribution team’s four lines just for pages and protectors are working very well. Last Thursday the team had a record-breaking day, exceeding the previous record by more than 2,000 cartons.
The team also worked over the weekend, filling four tractor trailers that are now in transit to you and your customers. So now all June orders have shipped, the only exception being those that include black refill pages.  We’re working with our supplier to expedite another shipment of materials, and will continue the pace as we begin fulfilling July orders.


I am very happy to report to my customers that the only orders that have not shipped to date are one's that contain the black refill pages.  I will keep you updated as I get news from CM.



Digital Center Orders:

The in-house processing times for digital products manufactured by Creative Memories has increased slightly, as we are allocating more resources to shipping traditional products.  Please be sure to check the estimated ship date at the time you place your order for the most current processing times. 
As of 09/04/13 we are printing orders and products as follows:
• Calendar Frames

We are printing orders with order dates through 08/20/13

• Calendars

We are printing orders with order dates through 08/27/13

• Cards

We are printing orders with order dates through 08/27/13

• Custom Albums / Custom Album Pages 

We are printing orders with order dates through 08/20/13

• Hardcover and Leather Premium StoryBooks

We are printing orders with order dates through 08/10/13

• Page Prints

We are printing orders with order dates through 08/11/13

• Photo Panels and Phone Cases

We are printing orders with order dates through 08/30/13

• Softcover StoryBooks

We are printing orders with order dates through 08/25/13

Digital News from Creative Memories

Good afternoon, Thank you for your patience as we’ve worked on a go-forward plan for the Digital business. As we’ve shared for the last few months, the goal has been to allow Consultants and customers to have a seamless transition of their software and projects as Creative Memories exits the current digital business, and we've now arrived at a solution so that can happen. We’ve reached an agreement with Panstoria (the creators of Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator) which has been put before the Court. Here are the highlights: Both Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator software will continue uninterrupted. Software can be activated through December 31, 2013, and Panstoria will continue to provide software updates as needed. This means that software purchases you or your customers have made that haven’t shipped can be activated without any trouble, even if they ship beyond September 23. Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator users will be contacted by Panstoria, and will be given access to printing and other features through Panstoria. The plan and timing for printing has not yet been finalized, but will be forthcoming. Please look for Panstoria news and updates in the Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator news feeds (right side of the main page). Any Creative Memories digital artwork you’ve purchased can be activated (without an end date) on any computer. Anyone who’s made an investment of time or money in software, projects or artwork can continue to use them uninterrupted. It’s important to note that the agreement is subject to Court approval, so it is not yet final. But because the motion is being filed today, we wanted to ensure you had the information today. We anticipate a decision from the Court the week of September 23. Also important to note: there are additional conversations happening between Panstoria, Creative Memories and a third interested firm. If that negotiation is successful, it will supersede this agreement between CM and Panstoria, but it will only improve on the above. As a reminder, the last day to order Creative Memories digital products is Sept. 23. Any unexpired Product Credits, Print Plans, StoryBook coupon codes and/or Host Rewards coupon codes can be used on the Digital Center through that date. And while September 23 will still mark the final day for Consultant compensation on Creative Memories digital products, we are pleased that customers and Consultants can continue to use the digital software they've come to love. I understand waiting on this news has been a challenge. Please know we are very grateful for your patience and for the work you’ve been doing with your customers. We will continue to keep you updated on all additional developments. All the best, Chris Veit CEO

Marching Band & Football season has begun

My son's school has an evening where the parents & the rest of the district are invited to come meet ALL of the Fall athlete's.  It's an opportunity for the families to get photos of them and the teams.  I love that our district does this, the parents are able to get the same poses at the yearbook photographer.

I've posted a few from that evening and our 1st football game of the season.  Using my lens that I am in debate about purchasing.  I do like how it reaches out & touches them on the field from the stands!

 

 

Warming up before the program.  It's held at the athletic fields which are located at our middle school.

Local News coverage, too.  They introduce the local high school athletes to the viewing area as well.

 

lined up ready to begin the field show...

 They are to step front & wave to the crowd as they are introduced.

 we are 112 members strong this year.  Largest band in 12 years!

 

It was a perfect evening with the weather and the kids all did a terrific job.


A few photos from the 1st football game (the Iron Spike Bowl).

 A safety!  Our first score of the game.

 

even the team mascot wants to join the band!