In honor of Benjamin Franklins 300th birthday, American Spirit editor Jamie Roberts baked a cake for us at Hammock to enjoy. We were so eager to celebrate, in fact, that several of us couldnt wait for this photo to be taken before digging in. Which we guess is in keeping with his aphorism, Eat to live, and not live to eat.
Meet Megan Goodchild, one of Hammock Publishings newest employees.
Megan was born in Evanston, Ill., and grew up in Des Plaines, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, where, she says, We often thought the planes were going to land on our house instead of at OHare!. She moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn., about 20 miles south of Nashville after graduating high school in 1997; her family still lives in the Chicagoland area.
Megan received a B.S. in journalism and Spanish from MTSU in 2003, with an English minor. I currently am working on my masters in mass communications at MTSU, which should be complete by 2008, if it doesnt kill me first, she notes. She worked her way through undergrad as a Lead Certified Pharmacy Technician at CVS in The Boro. After graduating, she took a job as a Spanish interpreter for the Rutherford County Health Department and also as a pharmacy tech with Middle Tennessee Medical Center (both in Mboro). In May 2004, she was hired as the Marketing Coordinator for MTMC, where she wrote various articles, news releases, and dabbled in graphic design.
Megan lives in Murfreesboro with her boyfriend, Ian (in our first house!), and their three cats (BK, Finnegan and Evil Twin).
Tell us about your hometown and your family.
Evanston is so vibrant I think it is to Chicago what West End is to Nashville (Except, I guess, that its its own city). But when I was born the school system was not so great, so my parents moved us to Des Plaines, which is about 10 minutes from Chicago. As ghetto as it is, technically its a suburb so our schools had books, teachers and heat.
I love my mom and sisters to death. Were all pretty close. I was 12 when my youngest sister, Emily, was born. My mom went to work at night, so after school I came home to care for Emily and Katie, who is four years my junior. I continued to do this through high school.
What attracted you to Hammock Publishing?
Several things, including the fact that I was going to be surrounded by Mac-users. (For quality of life reasons, I won’t take a job where I cannot work on a Mac.)
When I learned that the position combined writing with the Web, I was instantly intrigued. I am addicted to technology, and am starting to believe that some day the Internet is going to either save or destroy the world.
There were a few omens, too, that led me to believe Hammock was where I was supposed to be. For instance, about a week before I interviewed for the job, I was sitting in my office at the hospital and had an epiphany that to maximize communication among my colleagues, we could use IM. I ran down the hall in excitement to the other offices, but they just looked at me like I was nuts and said it would never work. Ha!
Tell us a bit about your job here.
I am a writer for NFIB.com, but from what I hear Ill probably be tapped to write a little for other clients, too. Since Ive only been here a few weeks, Im still figuring out my day-to-day job. But its great to be in such a creative atmosphere.
You have a significant commute from Murfreesboro to Hammock. What do you do to keep from having road rage?
Lots of cussing just kidding! I load up my iPod with good music and give myself about an hour and a half to get here. Usually I make it with plenty of time to spare, except for Wednesday, when it took me over two hours because of a wreck.
What are your hobbies?
I love playing video games, and Ian (my boyfriend) and I play NTN trivia with friends every Tuesday night at a bar in Murfreesboro. Also, I try really hard to be a good photographer, but in the winter I usually just end up doing photo shoots of my cat. Ian would say my worst hobby is collecting Macs (I have four at home), but I dont see anything wrong with that!
Favorite sports team?
The Cubs, of course.
Favorite author?
Kurt Vonnegut always cracks me up, but Denis McQuail (a mass communications theorist) really helped me through this past semester of grad school.
Favorite musician?
My favorite band of all time is Barenaked Ladies. They have mastered the art of self-deprecation, and I would totally be a groupie if I had the time and money.
Favorite kind(s) of music?
Usually indie or alternative, though I guess there is no true alternative genre anymore. I also like to listen to some Spanish-language alt/rock bands.
Favorite magazines?
I subscribe to Mother Jones, Newsweek, Macworld and Layers Magazine. Whether I have time to read them all is another story.
Favorite TV show and movies?
Kill your television! The revolution wont be televised! (But I do love CSI: Las Vegas.)
Favorite foods and restaurant in Nashville?
Lately anything with spinach and feta cheese finds its way onto my plate. I love Boscos, but I really need to start exploring more of Nashvilles cuisine. Anyone want to join me?
Chocolate, vanilla or _____?
I cant live without peppermint. Seriously, I think its part of my DNA now.
Morning person or nightbird?
I would say on the weekends Im more of a nightbird than during the week, but I really could go to bed at 9 p.m. and sleep past noon every day.
What three people do you most admire and why?
1. My cousin Sarah, whos the same age as I am and is one of my best friends. A few years ago she battled a rare head/neck cancer, and is one of the most grounded and earthy people I know.
2. Steve Jobs, though I guess its more intrigue than admiration. Hes a great combination of genius and insanity. (And I cant live without Apple products.)
3. People who grow up speaking only one language but are able to achieve fluency in several more.
What new skill would you most like to acquire?
How to build a fully functional Web site from scratch. Or Ninja powers.
What are your guilty pleasure songs?
Billy Joels Only the Good Die Young
Chicagos Hard to Say Im Sorry
And, even though its so uncool, I love Alanis Morissette. Her non-commercial songs really are poetic.
Lost or 24:
Lost, although I didnt get to watch any of last season because I had class at night.
Meet Barbara Greenfield, one of Hammock Publishing’s newest employees.
Barbara was born and raised in Memphis except during her 2nd-5th grade years when her family moved to a suburb of Chicago. She loved the Windy City so much she decided to attend Northwestern for college where she majored in Art History. After college she moved to New York and worked for Sotheby’s for a year in their Fine Arts Department. She then relocated to London for eight months to work in Sotheby’s new office catering to works under $100,000 threshold.
Barbara returned to the States to attend business school at Vanderbilt in the Spring 2002. She entered the publishing world the summer after her first year of grad school in Little Rock, Ark., working for the Oxford American, and continued to consult for the magazine over the next year. Upon graduation she took a job at a Franklin, TN, health care company. “But,” she says, “I soon realized that I missed publishing, which is why I am so happy to be at Hammock!”
Tell us about your hometown and your family.
I am a Memphis girl. My mom still lives there with my stepfather Keith and her beloved pug Gracie. I was born in Memphis one week before Elvis died. My mom claims it was one of the hottest summers in Memphis history.
My mom is a part-time flight attendant for Northwest Airlink. My brother Peter lives in Nashville and works for Colliers. My sister Elizabeth recently moved to Birmingham and is getting married on May 13th at Camp McDowell in Alabama. Elizabeth is in Nashville a few days each month because she is in graduate school at Vanderbilt to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and will graduate in August.
What attracted you to Hammock Publishing?
Two publishing folks I respect raved about Hammock and then once I did some work for you over the summer I was blown away. I quickly realized how much I missed publishing and that I was confident Hammock was the right fit for me.
Tell us a bit about your job here.
My role is to market NFIB and My Business to ad agencies, marketers and other audiences who are trying to reach to small business owners. I will also help coordinate efforts to up-sell current advertisers and establish new corporate sponsorships while also supporting the Elliot ad sales team.
You’ve lived in NYC and London, two of the world’s greatest cities. What, if anything, would you do to Nashville to improve it?
I absolutely love Nashville, but I would love it if there were more places within walking distance of work/home. One of my favorite things about living in a big city was the ability to walk everywhere. I hate feeling so trapped by the requirement to get in my car to get anywhere.
What are your hobbies?
Cooking and baking. I often make more than I eat so I will definitely bring in treats. I bought my first road bike last fall and my goal is to finish one Olympic distance triathlon this year.
Favorite sports team?
ummm. well, I saw LeBron James on Oprah last week so I am now crazy about him.
Favorite author?
David Sedaris makes me laugh so hard so I love him for that. I look forward to seeing him in Nashville in April.
Favorite musician?
Dolly Parton. I saw her at the Station Inn a few months ago and now have a HUGE crush on her.
Favorite kind(s) of music?
Hip hop
Favorite magazines?
Real Simple, Gourmet and the New Yorker
Favorite TV show and movies?
I am a Netflix fanatic so I do not tend to watch much TV although I do catch up via Netflix. My recent favorites include Six Feet Under, Family Guy, Entourage and Lost. When I was younger I wanted to grow up to be Gene Siskel or Roget Ebert so narrowing down a movie list is a challenge but here are some new and old good ones: Walk the Line, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, LOTR, Home for the Holidays, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, Million Dollar Baby, Almost Famous, The Big Chill, ET, Hoosiers, Out of Africa, The Right Stuff and You Can Count on Me.
Favorite foods and restaurant in Nashville?
Margot, Parco Cafe at the Farmer’s Market, Pizza Perfect on 21st, Browns Diner and Copper Kettle
Chocolate, vanilla or _____?
Dark chocolate
Morning person or nightbird?
Morning
What three people do you most admire and why?
My mom, sister and brother because they always forgive me.
What new skill would you most like to acquire?
I took Latin in high school and college so I wish I spoke a modern language I could actually use.
What are your guilty pleasure songs?
“I think we’re alone now” by Tiffany; “Love is a battlefield” Pat Benatar; “Let’s hear it for the boy” Deniece Williams; “Heaven is a place on earth” Belinda Carlisle
Lost or 24?
Lost, although I have only see the first season, anxiously awaiting the second second season on dvd.
On Dec. 26, 2004, a fire in the sanctuary of my church, First Presbyterian of Gallatin, came within minutes of destroying the venerable structure.
It seemed then, and seems now, that grace kept if from ruin. At the time, some believed we’d patch it up and be back in within 90 to 120 days, despite the loss of our organ, and significant damage to much of the building. Fortunately, the congregation decided to look ahead and not just repair the damage but renovate the sanctuary to last another century plus.
On Dec. 24, we held our first services back in the sanctuary. The pews were in, although most lacked cushions. Carpet has yet to be installed on the aisles, the sound system isn’t working, the single stained glass window that was destroyed is several months away from completion, and a new organ takes at least 2 years to build. But the santurary is usable, with a new coffered ceiling, a lovely shade of yellow on the walls , far better acoustics and a spirit of community that can be lost in a church unchallenged. In the meantime, we have bought a building nearby on the square and use it for youth programs and a Saturday night service that is proving popular.
It was a great present for all of us, after a year of holding services next door at the United Methodist Church’s fellowship hall, but as our pastor says, the church is the people, not the building. This past year has proved it.
BtoB Magazine has just published its “Who’s Who in Business Publishing: Our inaugural list of 100 major players in business media.” We are proud to say that Hammock Publishing’s founder and president, Rex Hammock, is one of those players. We’re even prouder that he’s considered “edgy.” It would probably come as a surprise to him, though, to know that he’s also something of an edger.
From Hammock editor Bill Hudgins:
Serendipity: finding something unexpected and useful while searching for something else. One of my favorite words, it sounds like it belongs in an Ogden Nash poem. Im especially fond of it now, as a chance story assignment for a client has given me a new lease on life.
Back in summer 2005, I wrote a newsletter article for one of our clients, StoneCrest Medical Center, about a new procedure that uses a CT scanner to measure the amount of calcium in your hearts arteries basically, how much, if any, hardening of the arteries you have. This in turn can indicate how likely you are to have potentially nasty clogs in your pipes.
Cool, I thought. Im over 50, have regular checkups, and I try to exercise and eat right, but my family has some heart disease history. Can’t hurt to get one. I live near another TriStar Hospital that offers the test and took it there. Took 10 minutes less time than registering and I didn’t have to skip breakfast or even put on a hospital gown.
The results were not what I expected. Instead of clean plumbing, the test ranked me in the low end of moderate hardening in a couple of spots. My doctor recommended a cardiac stress test to find out precisely what was happening in there.
Aside from having to postpone breakfast and that all-important first cup of java for several hours, the test was not bad. All my Stairmastering made the 12 minutes on a treadmill pretty easy. The cardiologist was encouraging but said the many photos they took of my ticker before and after would tell the tale. Just in case it came out bad, afterwards I indulged in a fair number of foods that might soon be off-limits.
This story has a happy ending. The stress test was negative, which is positive news. I still have to do what I can to keep the hardening at bay. But I can quit worrying about this and go back to a more immediate threat to my health: my daily commute on I-65.
I can only hope that the article that I wrote for our client’s newsletter will help someone else.
One of our clients is the American Watercraft Association , for whom we publish Ride Personal Watercraft Magazine. There’s a section in the magazine that is a joint project between AWA and Shawn Alladio, a world-renowned water safety and rescue trainer. In the days following Hurricane Katrina, Alladio and several colleagues went to New Orleans to assist in rescue efforts; their experience was chronicled by The New Yorker Magazine.
On Tuesday, Sept. 20, Team Hammock brought home gold from the 12th Annual Nashville Adult Literacy Council Corporate Spelling Bee, which is a fundraiser for the Nashville Adult Literacy Council. Our team was composed of writer Lena Basha, designer Carrie Wakeford and editorial director Bill Hudgins.
The emcee “Bee Master” was author Ann Patchett, whose work includes Bel Canto. She was witty and enthusiastic and made a great emcee.
There were eight teams in the competition, each with its own table. We had only 45 seconds after getting the word, a definition and a sentence to spell it. We were allowed to confer on each word, although only the captain (Lena for us) could actually spell the word. It was not like the televised National Bee where each contestant stands in the glare of the spotlights, thank goodness.
They narrowed the 8 teams down to 4 after about 45 minutes. We were in the remaining four. They tried to make us move up from our table to another one, after the losing teams left the stage, but Lena wisely refused, knowing we had a lucky table. We are taking her to Tunica very soon.
Two more teams went out fairly quickly – before we quite realized it, the event was down to us and a team from a large local law firm. We went back and forth, then Bill forced Lena to misspell stratagem (he thought it was stratEgem).
Under the rules, the other team had to spell that word correctly, then spell a final word to win. For some odd reason, the judge spelled stratagem out loud, so they had to go to the next word, which was the name of a disease you get from bird droppings – psittacosis.
They misspelled it, so suddenly we were back in the game and got it right. The final word was “raconteur,” which we spelled correctly, and the crowd went wild. John Lavey, our managing director and a longtime member of the literacy council board, did some impressive Heisman poses with the trophy for the cameras and said he was going to Disney World, with the trophy. This was the fourth or fifth team fielded by Hammock and the highest placing by far. Our highest previous finish was fourth.
The event raised $13,000 for NALC.
Hammock Production Manager and Red Sox true-believer Patrick Burns takes a break from attending PhotoShop World in his native Boston to root the Sox on to a 6-3 victory over the Angels. Since no party in Beantown is complete without T, he thoughtfully brought his Hammock shirt along for the occasion.
Digging through a folder of old family photos and letters today, our editorial director Bill Hudgins came up with this WWII gas rationing coupon that belonged to his mother. Let’s hope it is not an omen of things to come.