July's Theme is Be Informed

by Amy Matsumoto, KPFF, SMPS Seattle President

Nowadays, being informed is only a search engine click away. Accessing information is quick and easy.  When is the next SMPS breakfast? Where is a good restaurant near me? What’s the weather supposed to be like today? What day does the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale start? 

Being informed is, pretty much, how we get through the day, make decisions, and go
through life. There are many depths to being informed – a quick answer to who the Sounders play next to who am I going to vote for?

What’s the importance of being informed? 

I recently drove from Las Vegas to Sonoma. For any of you that may have driven this route before - there is a high chance you’ll drive through a few mountain passes. We thought nothing of it, even when we saw signs that said some of the mountain passes were closed. I kept driving. I wasn’t too concerned, this was my vacation. Why worry?  

By the way, our route also involved driving through Death Valley. Death Valley tends to be hot. I was dressed appropriately for 100F. The floor elevation at Death Valley is -279 feet. Back to the mountain passes. I kept commenting on how we went from -279 feet to 7,900 feet. Wow! Only then, in our climate controlled car, did we notice something… is that snow? Is it snowing? Oh boy, we are suddenly in a blizzard. How did that happen? My thoughts immediately went to the rescue crews finding our car in a ditch, covered in snow with two tourists inside dressed for hot weather. Locals would be shaking their heads. Didn’t they see the signs saying the mountain passes were closed? I went into major panic mode. I’m from Seattle, we all know Seattleites are scared to drive at the first sign of any snowflake. Why didn’t I research this out?  How could I have not known the weather forecast?  Why am I dressed in shorts and a tank top? Information would have been helpful at this point. I was berating myself for NOT being informed and not being prepared! 

Obviously, the story ends well. No cars in ditches. We turned around, headed back to the nearest town. Found a restaurant and had a bottle of wine. All ended well. Fortunately, my friend is quite “informed” about what calms me down! Needless to say, we then did a little research, talked to some locals, discussed routes and became informed on any possible treacherous conditions we may encounter on the next leg of our journey. Lesson learned, always be informed.

Here’s how to Be Informed through SMPS! Don’t be stuck in a snowstorm on a mountain pass dressed for 100F!

Did you know…

• SMPS Seattle emails the Weekly Press every Thursday… it has SO much information in it.  Take the time to scroll through. You’ll become informed on upcoming events, new members, social media, job opportunities, industry news & events, blog posts, and much more!
  
  
• SMPS Seattle offers scholarships throughout the year.  Want to attend the Build Business, the national SMPS conference, or SMPS Pacific Regional Conference? Apply for a scholarship! Know of a high school senior or college student interested in marketing? SMPS Seattle also offers an undergraduate scholarship. 
  
  
• SMPS Seattle’s website includes a job bank. Do you know someone looking for a job? Check it out! http://smpsseattle.org/classifieds.php
  
  
• SMPS National offers free publications to SMPS members – including the Marketer and Research and white papers: http://www.smps.org/Foundation/Research-and-White-Papers/
  
  
• SMPS Seattle July events will sell out FAST!  Don’t miss out - be sure to sign up now.
  
  

Happy July!

Be Informed, Stay Informed
Amy