Category Archives: Thank-yous

Day 37: Lindsay, Lagunitas Brewing Co.

Posted on February 8, 2015 | Leave a comment


lagunitas_IPAday-timeI enjoy a wide variety of beers – one of my favorite breweries is Lagunitas. Not only because of the deliciousness of their beverages, but also because of their dedication to helping nonprofits by donating product for fundraising events. They’ve helped out Street Sense, one of my favorite nonprofits, for the past two years and I wanted to let them know how much it means to me as a Board member of Street Sense.

Year of Letters

Lindsay,

I hope 2015 is off to a good start for you.

Year of Letters-3I wanted to send you a note to say THANK YOU to you and everyone at Lagunitas for helping Street Sense the past two years with beer donations to our annual gala. You make it so straightforward to receive donations. I can’t tell you how much it means to a small nonprofit like Street Sense. We appreciate it very much.

Cheers,
Reed

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Day 36: Brian, Paper Source

Posted on February 6, 2015 | 1 comment

This is what I bought at Paper Source!

I’m embarrassed to say that this isn’t everything that I bought at Paper Source!

I visited Paper Source in Georgetown for the first time. I can’t believe I have never been there. Amazing store full of wonderful paper, craft and gift products. I found so many terrific items there…I was like a kid in a candy shop! I’ll definitely be back. Brian, the assistant manager, was extremely knowledgable and helpful – we need more professionals in retail like him!

Brian Paper Source

Brian,

Thank you so much for taking time to help me yesterday. You were extremely generous with your time and you are a hell of a salesman too – you convinced me to buy things I didn’t even know I needed until I met you. Let’s do the letter writing workshop!

I tried to heat emboss this script on the front of the card.

I tried to heat emboss this script on the front of the card. I didn’t get enough of the VersaMark on the card so that the embossing powder would adhere.

Thanks again,
Reed Sandridge

P.S. This was my first heat embossing – I didn’t get enough of the VersaMark on the card.

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Day 33: Chef Janny, Bistro Blanc

Posted on February 2, 2015 | Leave a comment

Wow…what a crazy end to the Super Bowl last night – I still can’t believe it.

Photo: Newsweek.com

Photo: Newsweek.com

Photo: Jen Rynda

Photo: Jen Rynda

Today’s handwritten letter recipient and Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady have something in common. They’re all about texture. When questioned about Deflategate, Brady said that it was all about the texture of the footballs.

Chef Janny Kim of Bistro Blanc in Glenelg, MD agrees, “I’m all about texture.” He was referring to food though, not footballs. The 28-year-old self-taught chef is delighting customers at this Howard County hidden gem. I was with a group of friends at the Chef’s Table that featured a 10 course mouth-watering menu.

Pillows of RIce: fermented sesame leaf, roasted peanut curry, toasted peanut and micro shiso

Pillows of Rice: fermented sesame leaf, roasted peanut curry, toasted peanut and micro shiso

The aerated celery soup, the grouper, suckling pig, the 29 day dry-aged ribeye and spicy dark chocolate ganache were my favorites, but they were all very good. I’ve never written a chef to tell them that I enjoyed there food – but why not?

I even found a postage stamp that featured Edna Lewis – famed James Beard awarded chef known for her southern style culinary creations.

BistroBlanc-2

Chef Janny,

Suckling Pig with nuoc mam pickled vegetables and leek emulsion

Suckling Pig with nuoc mam pickled vegetables and leek emulsion

I had the distinct pleasure of dining at your Chef’s Table Saturday evening. I live in downtown Washington, DC and have dined in wonderful restaurants here as well as in New York, Chicago, Lima, Sao Paulo, Paris, Madrid, Florence, London, etc. The food that you created for us was worthy of the coveted Michelin stars. Your intense flavors, complimenting textures and stunning presentation are a clear result of your passion and commitment to culinary excellence.

Thank you, it was outstanding!
Reed Sandridge

BistroBlanc

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Day 30: Rebecca

Posted on January 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

Photo: tickledred.wordpress.com

Photo: tickledred.wordpress.com

Everyone knows a handful of people who are extraordinarily talented, people who create a sense of energy when you are around them. Rebecca exemplifies this. She is one of the most talented professionals working in media anywhere and I am fortunate enough to know her through my Year of Giving project.

I met up with her this afternoon over a cup of hot tea at Port City Java – a relaxing coffee house steps away from DC’s iconic Eastern Market. Time slipped by, mostly because I was dominating the conversation. In my defense she asks questions and listens for a living!

Check out the extra soft handmade lotka stationery.

Rebecca-2

Rebecca,

It was such a pleasure to spend time with you today. So many exciting events in your life since we’ve seen each other last!

Rebecca-3I’d say we had a wonderful conversation – but I did most of the talking. In hindsight it reminds me of a quote by Jean de La Bruyère, ‘The great gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out of others.” I could learn a lot from how you listen.

I appreciate your helping to brainstorm on how Street Sense transitions to where it wants to be. Also, your comments on the story of entrepreneurism that develops in the vendors were sagacious and worthy of exploring much further.

You also inspired me to make time for pursuing the food stories we discussed – and you’re right, video is the way to go. It’s a project that is important to me for many reasons and I believe it will resonate with others.

Thank you for sharing your time today with me – it means a lot and I enjoyed it very much.

Stay in touch,
Reed

Rebecca

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Day 24: Tom

Posted on January 25, 2015 | Leave a comment

Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves. ~ Steve Jobs

I tried to stealthily snap this photo of Chris hard at work.

I tried to stealthily snap this photo of Chris hard at work.

Customer experience has probably never been as important as it is now. With online marketplaces commoditizing the vast majority of products and services, it’s the customer’s experience – whether face to face or online – that dictates whether they will publicly praise or shame you.

I had some items to ship on Friday and headed to FedEx. They were awkwardly shaped, so I needed to get them boxed up. I’m terrible at these kind of tasks, thankfully Chris, the FedEx team member that helped me, was awesome. It was refreshing to see a young person take his job, and more importantly his responsibility, seriously. I decided to drop his boss a note.

It’s funny – I called back hours later to get the name of the manager and Chris answered – he’d been there all day at that point and still sounded as polite and professional as he did at 9am. I didn’t tell him I was writing this letter to his boss…I just asked for the manager’s name.

Day 24 Tom-2

Tom,

Just a note to tell you how impressed I was with a member of your team. I stopped in on Friday with two large items that needed boxed up and shipped and a young man named Day 24 TomChris did a fantastic job – from making sure that I got the right kind of boxes to guiding me through my shipment options. He took care of everything. His badge said that he was a trainee – I’m sure he’ll be moving up in no time. Please let him know that his professionalism and attention to customer service made an impression on me.

Keep up the good work,
Reed Sandridge

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