BUILDING BRIDGES
Supporting businesses by lending good money to good businesses.
November 2009 - Vol 2, Issue 11 |
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| Greetings! |
 Fall is definitely in the air and in keeping with the season, we have found some beautiful camera shots of changing foliage around the country to share with you in this November issue of Building Bridges. In addition to our dedication to the financial success of our clients and readers, Mazon is also concerned with the health of our readers - because healthy people contribute to the financial health of your business - and we will be including more healthy living tidbits in upcoming newsletters. November brings with it the opportunity to be thankful for our blessings of friends, family, health and prosperity during the upcoming Thanksgiving Holidays. Please remember in your Thanksgiving prayers those who are enduring hardship at this time (loss of health, loss of a loved one, loss of income). Happy November and Happy Thanksgiving to all! Lisa
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| Entrepreneur of the Month: Norm Miller |
 If you owned or managed an automobile repair shop or used car dealership in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as early as the spring of 1950, chances are you did business with John Searcy, a young man who sold and delivered car batteries from the back of his red Studebaker pickup truck. Mr. Searcy based his small business on high principles of offering the best quality product, providing impeccable service and treating his customers with respect. He named his company Interstate Battery System. Meanwhile, Norm Miller was growing up in Galveston, Texas and spent a lot of time helping out in his father's Gulf service station and garage. Since a child, he had always been known for his unending supply of creative energy and his willingness to dream up and try new ideas. After completing college, Norm married and the couple moved to Memphis, Tennessee to work alongside his brothers at his father's new Interstate Batteries distributorship. In the early 1960's, Norm and his wife moved to Dallas, Texas where he started work as a traveling salesman for Interstate Batteries' national office. John Searcy saw potential in Norm and mentored him up through the ranks. When John Searcy decided to retire in 1978 to spend more time with his family and enjoy the fruits of his labor, he left the leadership of Interstate Battery System of America, Inc. (IBSA) in the very capable hands of his president and CEO (and friend), Norm Miller. Under Norm's leadership, IBSA'S family of dealers has expanded to more than 200,000 across North America. By 1987, IBSA had distributorships in every one of the 50 states and in Canada. (Today you can even find distributors in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Panama.) In 1982, Norm Miller co-founded IBSA's first venture, the Great American Race (aka, Great Race), an annual premier vintage car event held for over 20 years, which took owners and their vintage vehicles on a 4,000-mile, 14-day, cross-country race. This event opened the door to numerous other marketing opportunities for IBSA such as producing national TV commercials in order to be seen in prime-time and getting into the fishing world by sponsoring champion fishermen Guido and Dion Hibdon. In 1990, Norm's brother, Tommy Miller, became IBSA's president and CEO, while Norm remained Chairman of the Board. This same year, the company's presence took off in a new area: NASCAR - now America's fastest-growing professional sport. 1990 also marked another milestone for IBSA by surpassing Sears to become the #1 automotive replacement battery brand sold in North America. In 1992 IBSA became sponsors of the NASCAR Winston Cup team led by Washington Redskins Coach, Joe Gibbs. In 1997, Interstate Batteries 500 was IBSA's first race sponsorship and NASCAR's first appearance at famed Texas Motor Speedway. In 2000 the team won the coveted Winston Cup Championship. Today, IBSA remains a $1 billion privately held company that markets automotive batteries manufactured by Johnson Controls, selling mainly to car dealerships and repair shops. It also manages marine/RV, motorcycle, lawn and garden, and other lines of batteries in the starting, lighting and ignition markets. IBSA's PowerCare division supports the major industrial markets of critical and motive powers, services which include engineering, installation, testing, UPS, telecommunications and switchgear applications. They also supply safety equipment and help clients evaluate and meet UPC, OSHA, COT and EPA regulations. IBSA's Interstate All Battery Centers offer batteries for cell phones, cordless phones, watches, tools, laptops, cameras, camcorders, toys, remotes and more. IBSA's philosophy, "To treat others as we want to be treated; treating all our business associates with respect, fairness, and integrity; caring for and listening to them; professionally serving them; always being a model of working hard and striving toward excellence," has helped to grow IBSA to a nationwide distributorship base of nearly 300. Consumers can purchase products at more than 200,000 dealer locations and 156 All Battery Center stores. IBSA has over 1,415 employees nationwide, and annual sales in excess of $1.5 billion. About 80 percent of the company's distributorships are owned by independent distributors; the other 20 percent are owned by the company. IBSA is a Christian company and proudly maintains evangelical Christian values within its spiritual core, and conducts business in a way pleasing to God, which is expressed in their Mission Statement. In May 2004, after serving as one of two IBSA executive vice presidents and a 14-year IBSA veteran, Carlos Sepulveda became IBSA's new president and CEO.  Norm Miller, known for his strong Christian business principles, often speaks to interested organizations around the country. He is also a board member for Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas Seminary Foundation, and the Overseas Council. He and his wife, Anne, have two children (Tracey and Scott) and five grandchildren. John Searcy passed away on June 2, 2007, leaving behind the legacy of not only an outstanding battery company, but more importantly, a history of compassion and honesty. John built a wonderful foundation for Interstate Batteries. He did his best to do the right thing in the business world and throughout his life. (Published with permission of Interstate Battery System of America, http://corporate.interstatebatteries.com)
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| Numbers in the News |
 On June 27, 2009, two Florida brothers, Ralph and Robert Brown, embarked on a daring 76-day, 8,300-mile trans-Atlantic voyage. The event, "I am Second - Wounded Hero Voyage," was the brothers second voyage in their Dreamboats Intruder 21' Flats Boat (powered by Interstate Batteries), and broke three world records during the trip: The smallest powerboat to cross the Atlantic, longest ocean voyage in a flats boat and the first flats boat to cross the Atlantic. This voyage keeps a 29-year-old solemn promise Ralph, a former United States Marine, made to honor fallen heroes from the ill-fated Eagle Claw mission to rescue the U.S. Embassy hostages in Iran in 1980. Money raised went to Wounded Heroes from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. (The Brown brothers' first world record voyage in the same boat was an Atlantic trip from North Carolina to Bermuda and back to New York City in 2007.) (Read more about this event at http://www.crosstheatlantic.com)
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| Veterans Day, November 11, 2009 |
 On November 11, 1918 at 11:00 a.m. the world celebrated the end of World War I (1917-1918), and was known as the "war to end all wars". On November 11, 1919, the day was set aside to remember the sacrifices made by over 4,734,991 American men and women to ensure a lasting peace. The day was officially named Armistice Day in 1926 and became a national holiday in 1938. World War II (1939-1945) began in Europe the following year; the United States joined the battle two years later (1941), enlisting services of over 16,112,566 United States military men and women. In 1953, townspeople in Emporia, Kansas called the holiday Veterans Day in gratitude to the veterans in their town. In 1954, realizing that World War I was not "the war to end all wars," Congress passed a bill introduced by a Kansas congressman renaming the holiday to Veterans Day, in honor of all those, living and dead, who served honorably with all branches of the U.S. armed services. Mazon Associates joins the rest of the nation on Veterans Day, November 11th in remembering the sacrifices of America's 25+ million veterans and saying, "Thank you for your service to our country."
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| Will Mazon provide me with a credit rating for my customers? |
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Yes. We will provide credit ratings for specific customers when requested for the purpose of determining credit-worthiness of a potential new customer. Please send your requests before you begin working for a customer and Mazon will let you know their pay history.
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| Ben Franklin's Case for the Turkey |
 In a letter to his daughter, Sarah Bache, Ben Franklin shares his disappointment that the Bald Eagle, and not the turkey, was chosen as the centerpiece for the Great Seal: " For my own part I wish the Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree near the river, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the Fishing Hawk . . . For the truth the Turkey is in comparison with a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on." (Source: The Franklin Institute)
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| Flu Prevention |
 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), seasonal flu normally starts in December and peaks in January or later, but some outbreaks can happen as early as October. Vaccination against seasonal flu is the best defense available. The flu viruses in the flu shot are killed (inactivated), so you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. Some minor side effects of the vaccination might last up to 2 days after vaccination (which people might mistake for the actual flu) are: low-grade fever, body aches and soreness/swelling where the shot was given. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that provide protection against flu virus infection to develop in the body, which means you can still catch the flu from someone within this two-week period until your body builds up a resistance to the virus. The ability of a flu vaccine to protect a person depends on the age and health status of the person getting the vaccine, and the similarity or "match" between the virus(es) in the vaccine and those in circulation. People who should get the seasonal vaccine each year are children ages 6 months to 19 years; pregnant women; people over 50 years of age; people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions; people who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities; health care workers; and people in contact with other people who are at high risk of contacting the flu virus. People who should not be vaccinated are those who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs, who have had a severe reaction to a previous flu vaccination, children less than 6 months of age, and those who currently have a moderate-to-severe illness with a fever (they should wait until they recover to get vaccinated). In a recent article published by world-renowned physician, Dr. Vinay Goyal, pertaining to the current swine flu virus, people can help prevent swine flu (and also seasonal flu) by: Frequent and thorough hand-washing; taking the "hands-off-the-face" approach (unless eating, bathing, etc.); gargling twice daily with warm salt water or antiseptic mouthwash; clean nostrils at least once daily with cotton dipped in warm salt water; eating foods rich in the Vitamin_C or taking Vitamin_C tablets containing zinc to boost immunity; drinking as much warm (not hot) liquids to wash out proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where viruses cannot survive.
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| Good Vibrations |
 Have you ever stopped to think about how amazing radios are? These days we tend to take technological innovations for granted, but imagine showing someone from the middle ages a radio and explaining that you were able to receive a message from hundreds of miles away - through the air. No doubt they would think that the radio was a magical device, which in fact it is! Each of us operates our own personal "radio station" 24 hours a day and we are constantly broadcasting messages out into the world around us. The messages we are broadcasting are the thoughts we think and, just like radio waves, our thoughts radiate out into the world and are picked up by people who are tuned into the frequency of the messages we are transmitting. When you are thinking negative thoughts, you are sending out low-frequency vibrations and these negative thoughts are picked up by people around you who are tuned into this negative frequency. This is where the old saying, "Misery loves company" comes from. What this means is that if you continually think negative thoughts, you actually attract negative people and negative events into your life. These people and events generate more negativity and life seems to go from bad to worse. Thankfully, this works with positive thoughts as well. When you think positive, life-affirming thoughts, you begin to transmit high-frequency vibrations to the world around you. When you do this on a consistent basis, you begin to attract positive people and events into your life. It all begins with the thoughts you think and the vibrations you broadcast to the world around you. (Reprinted with permission from Dr. Anthony Fernando, www.anthonyfernando.com)
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| Suspicious IRS e-Mails |
 The Internal Revenue Service has issued several recent consumer warnings on the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scammers trying to gain access to consumers' financial information in order to steal their identity and assets. When identity theft takes place over the internet, it is called "phishing." Phishing is a scam where internet fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims' identity. Current scams include phony e-mails which claim to come from the IRS and which lure the victims into the scam by telling them that they are due a tax refund. The good news is that you can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized. If you receive a suspicious e-mail that claims to come from the IRS, you can relay that e-mail to a new IRS mailbox -- for instructions for sending the bogus e-mail and ensure that it retains critical elements found in the original email, click on the following IRS link: http://tinyurl.com/4zgbxb. The IRS can use the information, URLs and links in the suspicious e-mails you send to trace the hosting website and alert authorities to help shut down the fraudulent sites. Unfortunately, due to the expected volume, the IRS will not be able to acknowledge receipt or respond to you. For more information on recent schemes, visit http://tinyurl.com/mncxc. (Source: http://www.irs.gov)
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| Product Recalls |
The following recent recalls were issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. More details can be found at www.cpsc.gov. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at 800-638-2772. Folding Directors Chairs (Imp: LG Sourcing, North Wilkesboro, NC); DeVilbiss Air Power Company Pressure Washers and Air Compressors (Mfg: DeVilbiss Air Power Co., Jackson, TN); Rechargeable batteries sold with portable DVD/CD/MP33 players (Imp: Coby Electronics, Lake Success, NY); Handy Switch, Wireless Light Switches (Dist: Idea Village Products, Wayne (formerly Fairfield), NJ); Classic Buggies off road vehicles (Mfg: Bad Boy Enterprises, Natchez, MS); Single Meter Sockets (Mfg: Milbank Manufacturing, Kansas City, MO).
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| Food Recalls/Alerts |
 The Texas Department of State Health Services is warning consumers not to eat certain imported dried plums and products containing imported dried plums because they have elevated levels of lead. Most of the products typically are sold as salted or candied treats in Asian and Hispanic markets but also are available in other retail outlets. (Source: www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls).
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| November 2009 Holidays, Observances, Celebrations and Events |
Nov. 1: Daylight Saving Time Ends; Nov. 3: Sandwich Day; Nov. 10: Marine Corps Birthday; Nov. 11: Veterans Day, Remembrance Day; Nov. 15: America Recycles Day; Nov. 18: Mickey Mouse's Birthday; Nov. 19: US Marine Corps Day; Nov. 20: Children's Day; Nov. 22: John F. Kennedy's Assassination, National Stop the Violence Day; Nov. 26: Thanksgiving Day. November is also Aviation Month, Good Nutrition Month and National American Indian Heritage Month.
Notice: Mazon offices will be closed on Wednesday, Nov. 11th in observance of Veterans Day. We will resume normal business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12th. We will also be closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 26th and 27th in observance of Thanksgiving Day and will reopen on Monday, Nov. 30th. You may still submit invoices during our closed hours via fax, e-mail or drop-slot to be processed on the next business day.
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| Thanksgiving Parades |
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The tradition of Thanksgiving parades goes back to the early 20th century, when people began to associate Thanksgiving with the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In order to attract customers, stores like Macy's sponsored elaborate parades like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Source: www.howstuffworks.com)
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| Thoughtful Thoughts |
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
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| Pardon Me!!! |
 Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation has gifted a live Thanksgiving turkey to the White House along with two butchered turkeys. It's not known exactly when United States presidents began pardoning the White House Thanksgiving turkey, but the tradition is thought to be connected to Abraham Lincoln sparing a turkey named "Jack" from becoming the main dish in a holiday meal. Today, the Annual Turkey Ceremony takes place in advance of Thanksgiving, and the public has the opportunity to name the spared turkey, who lives out its remaining days at the Kidwell Farm, a petting zoo in Virginia. (Source: www.howstuffworks.com)
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| Holiday Travel |
 If you plan on traveling this holiday season, here's a reminder to be sure to properly tag all of your luggage. Loss of baggage during air travel is anything but infrequent. The International Herald Tribune reports that in 2007, "42 million bags went missing, 25 percent more than in 2006." Most of those bags were delivered to their owners within 48 hours, but 3 percent of them, "one bag for every 2,000 travelers, were never found." Lost baggage cost airlines $3.8 billion in 2007. Among the causes are "congestion due to growing passenger numbers, tight aircraft turnaround times" baggage mishandling, and tagging errors. (Source: Awake, May 2009)
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| Thanksgiving Weather Forecast |
 In the pre-Thanksgiving rush, we have received an early weather report from our in-house weather reporters.
Turkeys will thaw in the morning, then warm in the oven to an afternoon high near 190F. The kitchen will turn hot and humid, and if you bother the cook, be ready for a severe squall or cold shoulder.
During the late afternoon and evening, the cold front of a knife will slice through the turkey, causing an accumulation of one to two inches on plates. Mashed potatoes will drift across one side while cranberry sauce creates slippery spots on the other. Please pass the gravy.
A weight watch and indigestion warning will have been issued for the entire area, with increased stuffiness around the beltway. During the evening, the turkey will diminish and taper off to leftovers, dropping to a low of 34F in the refrigerator.
Looking ahead to Friday and Saturday, high pressure to eat sandwiches will be established. Flurries of leftovers can be expected both days with a 50 percent chance of scattered soup late in the day. We expect a warming trend where soup develops. By early next week, eating pressure will be low as the only wish left will be the bone.
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Earn 10% Monthly Referral Fees! |
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No Expiration Date!
  Most of Mazon's clients have come to us through referrals of current and former clients. We rely heavily on word-of-mouth marketing to bring in new clients. Our monthly referral payment to you is 10% of our monthly factoring fee (determined at the time of client sign-up) and continues for as long as the business remains with Mazon Associates.
Potential clients include start-up businesses, high-growth businesses, undercapitalized businesses with historical operating losses, businesses with tax liens, turnaround situations. Other potential clients could be businesses who have been turned down for a bank loan and/or do not currently meet a bank's credit criteria; have delivered a service or product to other businesses and have invoices that can be independently verified; expresses cash flow problems and have a cash flow need; and/or companies expecting rapid growth. The potential client can be located in any of the 50 contiguous United States.
Prospects are usually businesses that are manufacturers, distributors and service companies. Traditionally, Mazon has had businesses in the following areas: advertising; apparel, courier/delivery services, environmental service companies; manufacturing; printing; start-up and early stage/growth companies; staffing companies; telecommunications; and transportation.
We do not accept businesses which have a majority of consumer receivables such as retail businesses, progress billings, third party pay medical receivables and certain construction-related businesses.
For more information on our referral program, please contact Lisa Mazon
by telephone 972-554-6967 ext. 238 or 1-800-442-2740, or by email lisa@mazon.com.
(You are not required to be a Mazon client to refer a business and receive a referral fee!) | |
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 If you liked this issue of Building Bridges, please forward it to a friend. We invite you to share your newsletter thoughts with us. If you would like to submit an idea, article or joke for consideration in a future issue of Building Bridges, or just want to tell us how we are doing, please email our creator and editor, Linda Burson, at MazonNewsletter@Mazon.com.
Building Bridges carries no paid advertising. All articles, images and links are for our readers' knowledge and enjoyment only.
Mazon Associates, Inc.
600 W. Airport Fwy., Irving, TX 75062
P.O. Box 166858, Irving, TX 75016
Telephone: 972-554-6967 Toll Free: 800-442-2740
Fax: 972-554-0951
Business Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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