Pat Schwind Presents: Strategic Edge Thursday, 03/12/2009

My Good Friends Bill & Barb Blewster (45 years), & Dr. Paul & Sybil Eppinger (50 yrs). Our topic is Marriage Survival 101: Lessons from the Front Lines of Marriage Longevity

Minutes of 02/26/2009

1. Attended 02/26/2009 : Mark Sorhdal, Olga Strickland, Rich Woods, Les Landon, Keith Cyrnek, Russ & Margot Wittenberg, John Kizis, Ed Stroup, Frank Rickey, Peter Brosnan, Staffan Berg, Steve Avilla, Vickie Allison, Gerald LeClair, Roy Miller, Mike Ross, Dr. Darin Henry, Mary Lou Benigno, Powell Gammill, Gene & Charlotte Reed, Howard Crowe, Blair Gadsby, Sean Larkin, Donna Hancock, Dennis Guttenkauf, Mike Shoen, Anita Leafty, John Eichenauer, Pat Schwind, & our speaker Economist, Dr. Stephen Happel.

2. I met Dr. Happel, 29 years ago, when he was one of my MBA professors at ASU. Biz school is often a series of boring, but incredibly tough classes, e.g. accounting, finance & statistics. Steve taught an "econ class", that you really 'looked forward to', because he made otherwise 'dry' material interesting, even funny at times. We stayed in touch & became friends. On 2/26, he gave an Economic Update & Critique of the FED. A # of folks came up to me later, to say it was one of the best presentations they ever saw, on any topic; some said it was the best S/E meeting ever.

   But because this flyer is only one page, there's no room to convey the fantastic job Dr. Happel did. Steve describes himself as a 'Kennedy Democrat', who'd like to make the world a better place. He's a hard core "Milton Friedman Monetarist", Free-Trader type. He believes free markets raise living standards world wide, but agrees with Adam Smith, that any economy, especially a complicated one like ours, needs the proper institutions & regulatory framework to function.

   Like Friedman, he feels the "fundamental responsibility of any gov't is SOUND MONEY, (i.e. sensible monetary policy, with inflation ~ 1% a year). He presented some convincing statistics to show that a great deal of the blame for our current dismal economy, is simply mismanagement of our money supply by the FED, for much of it's history. We're flat out of room here, but we'll have Steve back late this year; stay tuned.

3. Our next meeting is this Thursday, 03/12/2009

   Please arrive before 7:30 AM at “JIM’s CONEY ISLAND CAFE”, 1750 No. Scottsdale Rd., Tempe, at the southwest corner of Scottsdale & Cavalier, Click Here for a map, 1 block south of McKellips, ~ 1 mile north of the 202 Freeway.

   Our speaker will be My Good Friends Bill & Barb Blewster (45 years), & Dr. Paul & Sybil Eppinger (50 yrs). Our topic is Marriage Survival 101: Lessons from the Front Lines of Marriage Longevity

   Bring Guests!

4. Future Speakers
   • 3/12- Marriage Survival 101: Lessons from the front lines of marriage longevity, with my good friends Bill & Barb Blewster (45 years) & Dr. Paul & Cybil Eppinger (50 yrs).
   • 3/26- How’s that WAR on DRUGS: Phoenix NORML & Tom Dean, Former Litigator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
   • 4/9- John Chester Stuart: One Man's Struggle Against an Unjust System.
   • 4/23- Project Justice: Do we Really 'Lock Up' Innocent People in America?
   • 5/7- Kenpo Instructors Ted Goldberg & Jack Wimbish: Self Defense for Women. We'll have a real live 'Hands On' demonstration, in the parking lot, (on thick carpet). Pat Schwind plays 'Snidley Whiplash'.
   • 5/21- DEBATE: Do Gay Folks Choose to be Gay or are they Just Born That Way? Speakers so far: Sharon Slater of 'Family Watch International', Bill Gemmill, & local Attorneys Marc Victor & David (not Brad, sorry) Braun.
   • 6/4- Dr. Tamara Divic of WHEAT, (World Hunger, Education, Advocacy & Training Organization): "Can we Eradicate World Hunger"?
   • 6/18- Atheist Monti Gaither: How Religion has Messed Up the World, Forever!
   • TBD'd- Former Olympic Wrestler & Current Mixed Martial Arts Fighter, Mike Van Arsdale.

5. Help! I must apologize for the fact that my last e-mail, of 2 weeks ago, only got to a small # of my friends & fans, due to a snafu on the part of my web-site hoster. My web-meister, Mike Ross, said "stuff happens....any company can have a problem occasionally". I understand; I'm a salesman; stuff in the Mortgage Biz 'goes sideways' all the time. But when that happens, anyone else in the deal, especially the client, can simply pick up the phone & call me. That's why a lot of people use me, because I'm accessible & 'jump on problems' PDQ.

   Well, you can't do that when your host company "only does e-mail", & their response is pitiful. I often need to call somebody personally, to get things poppin'; especially if a problem is effectively 'jackin' with my rice bowl'. So I need some help: I need specific suggestions re: web hosting firms, preferably some local outfit I can drive over to, & 'see in person', 'eyeball to eyeball'. I'd consider doing biz with an 'out of town' operation, but only if I can CALL THEM, & get real people on the line, not just some 'voice mail - daisy chain from hell'. Serious! I need help, so please call me with specific info. Thanks!

Sincerely, Pat Schwind, MBA