Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Last night I attended the AIBA/LocaliQ Mixology where we announced the awards for the “Why I Love Albuquerque” writing contest (haiku, poetry, whatever). The room was full of people who: a. love our city; b. are looking at the economy as full of opportunity; c. were buzz/buzz/buzzing about how they could work together – public policy, business, community development, you name it. The owner of O’Niell’s Irish Pub (who hosted the event) dropped in for a pint and a natter. He’s been in business since 1994 and is still going strong….partly because he understands the importance of events like last night’s. People can experience his place, which is the best kind of marketing….and visiting his web site makes you want to visit the pub.

Rob O’Niell doesn’t remember when he started to live by the “No sniveling!” motto, but we’re betting he picked it up during his 14 years on an Alaskan fishing boat. We know it came in handy when he started his own business from scratch, and when he and his brothers built the flagship O’Niell’s board by board. Now it defines the O’Niell’s attitude, which you could call hard work with a smile, but we call serious fun.

As I talked to people around the room, the general mood was it’s not nearly as bad as the headlines. No sniveling here! Sure, business is slower in some industries and there are pockets of trouble in Albuquerque (like real estate sales)…but overall we’re chugging right along.

So – if you’re not lucky enough to live in the quirky burque.;-) – have your own “Why I Love…” contest – even if it’s just you and a piece of paper. It’ll get you thinking positively…which is the first step to making something happen, regardless of what the headlines say.

And for those of you wondering who won the contest, here are two of the winning entries:

Best of Show

You leave to understand

You come back because
you have to

Thin air

Sky everywhere

Red and Green food

Changing mountains

Desert people

Enchantment
- Melanie Parish

AIBA Award

Hot yet cool,
expansive yet intimate,
embracing its history
and hurtling towards the future,
open, accepting,
welcoming

HOME!
- Raine Klover

Pretty much sums up why I love living here. Now, I’ve got a full day before I can do my evening cocktail ritual of saluting the glowing mountains and the setting sun. (I’m lucky that I can see both from opposite sides of my house.) Glorious colors, ever-changing, miraculous.

Tags: perspective, Mary Schmidt, Albuquerque, AIBA, Local iQ, O’Niell’s Irish Pub