The Soft Pitch

Educating Al

Note: Today’s Educating Al covers “turkey technology” instead of computer technology.

Now that is a bird!

Since it is Thanksgiving, the Byte would not be complete without an in-depth report on the famed and oh so delicious dinner fare of Thanksgiving:

Yes, the Turkey.

I for one love turkey and really don’t know why we don’t cook them more often. Other than the smoked leg at the county fair each year and the occasional turkey sandwiches, I really don’t do turkey except at Thanksgiving.

For many years the frozen bird was the way to go. I remember my first Thanksgiving on my own. My roommate and I were each just 18 and the turkey we bought was 34 pounds. It would not fit in our little bachelor oven, so we had to hit it with a hammer to make it fit. After a couple of good whacks with a mallet, the bird was in the oven! We were 18. I have learned a few things about cooking a turkey since then and I have never hit a turkey with anything but spices and butter.

My favorite kind of turkey (other than the 34-pound monster “first year on your own” turkey) is fresh turkey. For those who have not tried a fresh turkey, I highly recommend one. For the longest time my family would drive up to Dewey, AZ to buy turkeys from Young’s Farm. They always had the very best turkeys. They would clean and package the turkey within hours and you would be taking home the freshest, plumpest and most flavorful bird available.

Sadly, Young’s Farm closed down two years ago. This left the valley with a shortage of fresh birds. Well, last year “Red Bird Poultry” out of Colorado opened a distribution center in Phoenix and you can find fresh turkeys at some Bashas and at A.J.’s Fine Foods here in the Valley. Additionally you can find fresh “major brand” turkeys, but I don’t believe they are as fresh or as good.

For me, there is no comparison in regard to the tenderness and flavor of the Thanksgiving bird if it is fresh. If you are interested in learning about Red Bird check out their website.

More Turkey news: If you wish to feast on turkey like the original pilgrims, you can find the species of turkey. It is called a “Heritage” turkey. I have listed the types of turkeys below. I found the web site for the Conservancy interesting.

Natural: No artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredient, chemical preservative, or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient, and is minimally processed.

Organic: Organic turkeys are free-range birds that have fed strictly on organic grains that contain no pesticides, chemicals, hormones or antibiotics.

Fresh: This label means your bird has never been kept at a temperature below 26 degrees Fahrenheit.

Frozen: The turkey has been flash frozen at 0° F, which will ensure freshness when it is defrosted.

Heritage: These Turkeys more closely resembles what the Pilgrims would have eaten at their Thanksgiving. More common breeds are: Jersey Buff, Bourbon Red, Black Spanish, and Narragansett.

For more on the heritage turkey you can visit the official website for American Livestock Breeds conservancy.

Basted, Self-Basting, or Enhanced: These contain added ingredients to keep the meat moist and tender as well as provide extra flavor.

Kosher: A Kosher turkey must be prepared under a Rabbi’s supervision.

Free-Range: This means that the turkeys must have access to the outdoors (sometimes for only minutes), but can live their lives like conventional birds.

A heartfelt and warm Happy Thanksgiving!

The Weekly Byte team and all of Operations wish the Weekly Byte readers a wonderful Thanksgiving.

For many, Thanksgiving is the most cherished holiday of the year. It is a time when friends and family come together for a wonderful feast and to share in giving thanks. From the Byte team, we wish you the best possible holiday and plenty of juicy turkey and at least a few nibbles of everything else!

— Bruce Gorshe

Steve Phillips is our CIO…the Brit is becoming very well known man in PHX after just a few years…I think not only because he is talented, but his personality is as interesting as his accent and humor.

Last night he was introduced as the Arizona Tech Council’s new chairman in front of approx 900 attendees of the Governor’s Celebration of Innovation awards in PHX. The Tech Council has 500 members and is one of the most succesfully assocations in the state. I’m proud to say and willing to bet he will do a great job

A few of his opening comments…”Innovation is what fuels American business.  And this same positive energy that innovation creates is what draws us all together here tonight….in fact at a very innovative time slot and with a diiferent approach to awards programs

The Governor’s Celebration of Innovation is a great opportunity to come together once each year to recognize some of Arizona’s best and most exciting technology-driven innovations that our state has produced over the last 12 months. 

I can tell you that the quality of the submissions has absolutely gotten better, year after year. I can also tell you there is a tremendous effort being given by many of you in the room to ensure that the trend continues. 

This is no easy task.  Arizona is in serious competition with many other established and growing states and metropolitan areas.  Our goal is to attract the most innovative thinkers, entrepreneurs and business leaders needed to build a diverse, growing economy. 

This effort requires that state and local governments, secondary and tertiary educators, non-profits, and the private sector must all work together to meet this goal. 

This combined effort will be all the more important as we enter what many predict will continue to be a challenging business environment.  The innovation required will need to extend beyond technology.  We need innovative partnerships.  Innovative approaches.  Innovative strategies to help ensure that Arizona emerges from this downturn stronger and more diverse than ever before.    

But that’s work for another day.  Tonight, let’s take a moment to turn our backs to the wind for a moment.  Let’s celebrate together the amazing and inspiring things that can take place when world-class talent and imagination is given the opportunity to fully express itself.” 

As Announced at NEDA’s conference earlier this week —

Atlanta, GA—The National Electronic Distributors Association (NEDA) bestowed its highest honor, the Gail S. Carter Award, to Roy Vallee, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Avnet, Inc.  The annual presentation was held during the 2008 NEDA Executive Conference at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel. The award acknowledges electronic distributor principals who have made significant contributions to the distribution industry, have taken an active role in NEDA and civic affairs, and are recognized by the industry as leaders.

NEDA President Frank Flynn of Sager Electronics, presented the award and praised Mr. Vallee’s contributions to the industry. Under his leadership, Avnet has been a steady champion of NEDA throughout the years. Mr. Vallee has generously supported its programs and encouraged senior Avnet executives to serve on the NEDA Boards. “It’s not often that an organization enjoys this type of high-level deployment of executive talent and expertise,” said Robin B. Gray, Jr., NEDA Executive Vice President. Mr. Vallee has also been an active leader within the NEDA Large Company Council. Avnet has helped to improve the visibility, importance and growth of electronic distribution, NEDA and raised the professional standard and ethics for the electronic distribution industry.

In his acceptance, Vallee spoke of the rewards of Avnet’s involvement in NEDA and called on others to make the most of their NEDA membership.  “It’s an honor to receive the Gail S. Carter Award and be included with a distinguished list of past recipients. Our industry has been through tremendous changes and challenges during my career. NEDA has consistently been there to provide insight and a critical forum for discussing issues and topics that have helped our industry continue to advance. The opportunity to work closely with NEDA has given me a deep appreciation of the power of collaboration in championing the value and contributions of authorized distribution from a local to a global level.”

NEDA is a not-for-profit trade association representing supplier authorized distributors of electronic components and their manufacturer-suppliers. Dedicated to enhancing the authorized distributor-manufacturer relationship, NEDA represents companies involved in the distribution of electronic components, computers and computer peripheral components and test, measurement and control equipment parts. 

###

Obama is the new president elect…good luck O.

Being a marketing and communication guy forever and from Chi-town…a couple of observations:

Pretty impressive night, the city looked great. Looking at the faces of the crowd…now I have an idea what people might have been thinking or seeing when they saw Jackie Robinson play in Ebbets Field the first game he played.

Get the kids back before more are killed or injured in the desert. Hopefully he gets the Olympics for the city in 2016. He is a Bears and Bulls fan (good)…and Sox fan (bad), I bet $1 he does not go to hockey games.

Advertising Age said he is the best brand of the year. His folks did a great marketing job. McCain on the other hand could have used our folks here…our marcom folks are very talented, but overcoming Bush may have even too tough…even for the MADMEN TV show.

I know all our folks are talented because we have held an awards program for 10 years for their efforts in 30 categories of marcom efforts from ad creative to PR programs to web activities. The judging of our MAC AWARDS…Marketing and Communicationsjust took place last week…I have noticed when we compete on a global stage our folks also win awards as well, but I have to laugh because those winners sometimes do not win our internal competitions. I will share those winners in a couple of weeks.

PS

McCain is a class act and will always have my respect for his service to our country. I hope I’m doing anything at 70.