Grants Pass, OR

The Active Rain Welcome Basket - Welcome to the Neighborhood! Whether you know it or not, you have landed here by divine appointment. We know how unsettling it is to move into a new neighborhood (we have all been there, and done that). So we want to invite you to your first House Warming Party. Your new Active Rain neighbors have filled your Welcome Basket with all sorts of goodies for you to enjoy.

As with any new move, you may experience some difficulty finding your way around. That's okay, we have all gotten lost a time or two. In your basket, you will find some great navigational tools, so you can always find your way back home. We also know how hungry you might be, since your fridge and cupboards are still bare. Not to worry, there is plenty of meat and potatoes in the basket as well. Eat as much as you would like, but be sure to save room for dessert! There's plenty of that too!

There may be times when you feel alone in your new community. That's understandable. It is tough to leave the familiarity of your old neighborhood and have to make new friends. Be patient. Lasting friendships are built over time. Take comfort in knowing that we are right next door and you're welcome to come over anytime and chat if you feel the need. We'll be here. The light is always on and something good is always brewing. Can't wait to get to know you! Welcome to the neighborhood!

How Grants Pass, Oregon - Got It's Name. Grants Pass is a quaint Oregon town nestled between two mountain ranges (Cascades & Siskiyous) in the Pacific Northwest, approximately 55 miles north of the California border. In the 1860's, Grants Pass was called "Louse Creek." The locals had petitioned the U.S. Post Office to establish a local post office (at that time, residents had to travel 17 miles to pick-up their mail). They didn't think the name "Louse Creek" would draw people to the area, so they decided to name it "Grant" in honor of General Ulysses S. Grant. However, they were told to choose a new name, as there was already a town named Grant, Oregon.

As originally told by George Parker, an early local historian, one day while a road crew was eating their lunch after a hard morning of carving the road over the pass of Merlin Hill, (now known as Northwest Vine and Highland Avenue connecting with Monument Drive), the topic of the town's name came up. One guy suggested they call the pass "Grants Pass." Another said that would probably be a good name for the old Louse Creek Station's new post office. So, that's how Grants Pass, Oregon got its name.

The first photo (It's The Climate) was taken in the 1920's and the second photo is Grants Pass, Oregon today. "It's The Climate" sign still hangs across Sixth Street downtown.

The Grants Pass, Oregon Caveman - A Bit of History. Yes it's true, the City of Grants Pass, Oregon has a giant Caveman guarding the Chamber of Commerce building at the north end of town. There's no missing the 17-ft tall Caveman (almost 20-ft with pedestal) clutching a club and dressed only in animal skins.

The statue was erected in 1971 by the Grants Pass Caveman Club. The group was formed by local business people in 1922 to boost awareness about the town of Grants Pass and the nearby Oregon Caves. It is said that the local business people wore shaggy animal skins to welcome such visiting dignitaries as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

Sadly, on July 4, 2004, two vandals lit the caveman on fire, severely damaging his fiberglass body. After much debate over repairing the Neanderthal, a local business owner paid $2500. to have John Stripling, of Summer Breeze Kayaks, repair the damages.

Today, the Caveman proudly stands at the north end of town in front of the Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce, and is considered the current day mascot for Grants Pass High School.

NAME TAGS: WHERE, WHEN & HOW

Do you wear a name tag? If you don't, I highly recommend that you start.

Unless you are ashamed of what you do, why would you not want to make it easy for people to identify who you are and what you do?

When people meet, normally each is concentrating on what they are going to say to make their introduction professionally, and a very high probability exists that neither heard what the other person said!

Not wanting to ask someone to repeat what they said, we now continue the conversation without the key element of the dialog; addressing the other party by name.

A high percentage of people today have hearing difficulty, due to age and life experience, and a high percentage of people don't annunciate clearly, and maybe we come from different parts of the country. Put those together and you can see the benefit of wearing a name tag.

Of course, we in sales all know enough to ask again if we didn't catch the name, write down names and make certain to use the other person's name in conversation, but what about the other party? Are we assuming that if they caught our name, that they heard it, or remembered it? Bad assumption!

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone that keeps calling you by name and you can't remember theirs? Uncomfortable, right?

So, even the playing field and make your name tag visible.

Where do we place the name tag. Is it important? YES, extremely important!

Always wear a name tag on your right side, preferably on the lapel. Never on the left!

Why? Because the majority of people are naturally drawn to looking up and to their left. Wearing the name tag on your right side increases recognition by 300%. If you've always worn it on the left, break the habit now. It will pay off.

Make people you meet comfortable with you by proper placement of your name tag. Also, since winter is upon us, and if you're wearing a topcoat, wear a name tag on the outside as well as on your inside garment.

Wear your name tag often and everywhere. Those of us who make our living on commission need all the exposure we can get.

Late For Work Again!

For all of you employers and employees out there who have an absenteeism problem, I offer a simple solution.

You already know how agonizing it is, whichever side you are on - as an employee, you hate to go through the grilling procedure just because you've messed up again.

As an employer, you don't want to come down too hard and possibly lose a good employee, so what can you do?

Put the following list out to all of your personnel. Then, all the employee needs to do is call in and give the number of the excuse that fits the occasion and both parties will understand without the normal punching-and-ducking that goes with it. No more searching for plausible excuses, or stumbling over obvious lies, and getting tongue-tied because of trying to make the reason sound better, you end up talking too much and blowing the whole thing!

1. Overslept
2. Spouse Forgot to Wake Me
3. Food Poisoning
4. Babysitter didn't Show up
5. Bad Head Cold
6. Flu
7. Forgot to Iron My Clothes
8. Forgot the Schedule
9. Power went Out
10. Furnace Quit
11. Water Pipe Broke
12. Flat Tire
13. Spouse's Car Wouldn't Start; had to Take Him/Her to Work
14. Accident, Tied up in Traffic
15. Sick Relative
16. Funeral for Relative
17. Second Funeral for Same Relative
18. Best Friend's Wedding
19. Best Friend's Divorce
20. Family Reunion
21. Unknown Sickness
22. Hung Over
23. Aliens Took me to Their Ship for Study, but it was just "Catch and Release"
24. Had to Help Landlord Prevent an Eviction (by Paying my Rent)
25. Helping a Customer with a Problem
26. Company from Out-of-town
27. Kidnapped, but Escaped - Don't Pay the Ransom!
28. School Called - Child Sick - No Sitter
29. Just Not Feeling Up to it Today
30. My Production is Good, So Just Don't Bug Me
31. I Don't Really Care
32. Horoscope Said I Won't Make Any Money Today
33. Forgot to Reset My Clocks
34. I Thought We Changed the Schedule
35. Called In for Tax Audit
36. Parole Officer Called for Surprise Meeting
37. Breathalyzer In My Car Reached Out, Grabbed My Keys, and Handcuffed Me
38. Had a Fender Bender
39. Sprained My Ankle
40. Hurt My Back at Work Yesterday
41. Customer Called Me at Home and I Stopped to See Him
42. Giant Frog On the Road, and Swerving to Miss It I Hit a Deer
43. Spilled Coffee on My Clothes While Driving and Had to Return Home to Change
44. Forgot My Customer Information at Home and Had to Go Back for It
45. I Was On a Job Interview
46. Doctors Appointment I Forgot About
47. Popped Off a Crown and Had to Stop at Dentist
48. Reaction to Flu Shot
49. Had to Take Drug Test for New Employer
50. Dog Ate My Keys and I Had to Take Him to the Vet's Office

Adapt the list to your own company and you may just get your point across in a friendly and non-confrontational manner. I've done this before and work attendance improved dramatically because employees got to see their tardiness in a different light. Follow this up with some nice comments about how the company depends on everyone doing their share and people will appreciate your dilemma.

In a previous job where my salesperson's names were on a large scoreboard, each time someone was late during a given month, I would erase one letter of their name. If the name was gone by the end of the month, so were they. Jones and Smith were obviously my most punctual people, and Schwartzkopf was really a slacker!