We've got all kinds of new stuff for August!

1. In case you weren't informed or didn't hear, Damon's in Hunt Vally has officially gone out of business (found out with the doors closed/locked in July). So, we will be moving our General Meetings to a new spot, and the new spot is Hightopps Backstage Grille , which is located at 2306 York Road, Lutherville, MD 21093. It's right off of exit 16A on I-83. We will continue to have our networking session between 6:00pm – 7:00pm, then our Monthly Spotlight Interview between 6:45pm – 7:00pm, and lastly we'll then have our monthly seminars between 7:00pm – 8:00pm.

2. I've reached out to Randy White, from Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center, to come chat with us. Randy is 'one of us', not only as a DJ but also as a huge music fan! Many of us purchase equipment from him, and he always makes sure we're taken care of. Randy is going to come in to talk about the upcoming 2010 DJ Times Expo in Atlantic City (Aug 16-19th), and may even have some FREE passes to raffle of with our 50/50. He's also going to come and briefly talk to us about the wireless 700 Mhz topic and things that we all need to know and be aware of. Lastly, he's going to come and talk about his services at Washington Music Center and what he can do to help us with equipment needs, etc.

3. Since we had a venue snafu last month and had to shuffle some program plans around, we're going to have two of our own, Mark & Jordan, come in again and present brand new games to us all. They are both going to come in a shed some light on some new and extemely helpful games that we may be able to use to spice up our gigs. These are always extremely helpful not only as a possible upsell, but also as something in your back pocket to use as an interactive tool to "wow" your client. This is going to be fun; you don't want to miss this one!!!

See you there!

Web 2.0...ever heard of it?  Well to sum it up quickly, things like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. (a.k.a. Social Media) are some examples of what is driving what's known today as Web 2.0 (the second generation of the Internet).
 
Have you ever stopped and thought about how/if these forms of communication can help your business?  Have you ever felt that maybe traditional print advertising, etc. isn't working as well for you?  Well you might be right!
 
Jordan Rich, from Escapist Entertainment, is going to come in and talk about some of these and how prospective clients are levering these technologies and communication channels to gather information, communicate with businesses, and learn about what a company has to offer!

Attend this seminar and discover why selling to the bride is different than selling to anyone else.  Learn cost-effective ways of reaching the bride and turning her into a valuable customer.  We guarantee that you will walk away with dozens of innovative ideas and strategies that you can put to use immediately.  These are fresh ideas ... not the tired ones used by your competition!

• Where are the most effective places to advertise?  This list is different than it was even a year ago.
• What are the seven myths of selling to brides, and how do they impact your marketing?
• Why are brides ignoring the traditional wedding planning timelines?  What does this mean to you?
• How should I integrate Facebook, Twitter and You Tube into my marketing program?

SMILE!  It's formal time!

Some of you may know him, some of you may not, but for April we're going to be bringing in Scott Furman from the Tuxedo House (www.tuxedohouse.com) to introduce himself and let you all know what his company can offer in regards to all types of formal wear, etc.  A lot of us have used him in the past, and continue to use him, to purchase tuxedo's and other formal wear, and he is a great guy to work with!

Also on the agenda, Jose Castro is going to address the membership and let us all know, as President, where he envisions BADJA heading and where he plans on taking the organization.  Jose has been with BADJA for a very long time, and this is a great opportunity to understand where he sees BADJA in the near future!

Lastly, we're going to bring in a professional photographer to take the 2010 BADJA group photo, as well as give you all the opportunity to get head-shots, as well as personal photos FOR FREE!  This is the opportunity for you all to wear your formal wear (tuxedo or suits) and receive photos that you can use for various promotional material. 

AGAIN PLEASE BRING / WEAR YOUR FORMAL ATTIRE TO THE MEETING.  The last thing we want is to have a group photo and have someone stand out because they didn't follow directions.

We won't be doing another group photo this year, so you better come!  See you there!