This isn’t conservatism: It’s a going-out-of-business sale for the Baby Boom generation

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May 192012
 

Esquire Magazine recently published a story that is one of the best assessments of what today’s young people face in today’s economy that has been written.  Stephen Marche takes a no-holds-barred approach and speaks with honesty that many of those over 40 years of age may not like, but really need to read.

In The War Against Youth, Marche writes:  “The recession didn’t gut the prospects of American young people. The Baby Boomers took care of that.

Twenty-five years ago young Americans had a chance.

In 1984, American breadwinners who were sixty-five and over made ten times as much as those under thirty-five. The year Obama took office, older Americans made almost forty-seven times as much as the younger generation.

This bleeding up of the national wealth is no accounting glitch, no anomalous negative bounce from the recent unemployment and mortgage crises, but rather the predictable outcome of thirty years of economic and social policy that has been rigged to serve the comfort and largesse of the old at the expense of the young.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, human potential has been consistently growing, generating greater material wealth, more education, wider opportunities — a vast and glorious liberation of human potential. In all that time, everyone, even followers of the most corrupt or most evil of ideologies, believed they were working for a better tomorrow. Not now. The angel of progress has suddenly vanished from the scene. Or rather, the angel of progress has been sent away.”

This is a must-read for young people, Baby Boomers and those who are concerned about their children and grandchildren’s future.  The entire article in Esquire by Marche can be read here.

The days of dismissing Klout as irrelevant may be over

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May 192012
 

In its early days, many social media pros were quick to dismiss Klout – the social media influence score – as terribly flawed and irrelevant.  Many of those so-called experts sited all of the reasons that Klout meant little or nothing because of its inconsistencies and ever changing calculation for what “influence” entailed.  According to Wired magazine, those days may be coming to an end … quickly.

“Last spring Sam Fiorella was recruited for a VP position at a large Toronto marketing agency. With 15 years of experience consulting for major brands like AOL, Ford, and Kraft, Fiorella felt confident in his qualifications. But midway through the interview, he was caught off guard when his interviewer asked him for his Klout score. Fiorella hesitated awkwardly before confessing that he had no idea what a Klout score was.

Partly intrigued, partly scared, Fiorella spent the next six months working feverishly to boost his Klout score, eventually hitting 72. As his score rose, so did the number of job offers and speaking invitations he received. “Fifteen years of accomplishments weren’t as important as that score,” he says.

But even if you have no idea what your Klout score is, there’s a chance that it’s already affecting your life …”

Read the entire story “What Your Klout Score Really Means” by Seth Stevesnon here.

Rick Laney

New National Geographic Channel show “The Great American Manhunt” shoots episode at Wilderness resort

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Apr 232012
 

Is it possible to identify living individuals simply through clues on and inside their bodies? For forensic detectives and scientists, it’s the ultimate test of their skills. Each week on The Great American Manhunt, the new eight part one-hour series premiering Thursday nights at 9:00 pm (ET/PT) on the National Geographic Channel, those skills are challenged as never before. In each episode, a charismatic team of experts employs the very latest techniques and technology in forensic science – as well as a bit of intuition and some old fashioned clue busting abilities – to unravel the complex mystery put before them.

A portion of one of the new episodes was shot at Wilderness at the Smokies resort, where I had the pleasure of working with both the talented production crew and the brilliant forensic scientists who the show is based on.  We shot for an entire day at the resort, but I won’t give too much away here.  Just watch for it!

Rick Laney

Rick Laney and the National Geographic crew

The Great American Manhunt throws down the gauntlet to forensic anthropologist Dr. Natalie Shirley, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Dan Shapiro and veteran police officer Bill Erfurth. Together, they are tasked with identifying a mystery target with an exceptional life and accomplishments. With no access to national databases, the team is limited to using every forensic test available to interrogate the anatomy, the minds and the clothes to positively ID their target and work out their exceptional achievement. The mystery targets come in all shapes and sizes but they all have something in common – an occupation or event that has left a unique imprint on their body.

Rick Laney working with National Geographic crew

“This series is like a real-life CSI episode, with a great twist,” said Kathleen Cromley, the executive producer for National Geographic Channel. “In this instance, all of the clues lead to a living, breathing person – and the journey along the way is great fun.”

David McNab, Creative Director, Wide-Eyed Entertainment said: “We have been blown away by the brilliance of our sleuths in piecing together the clues and hunting the targets down. The team tests everything from blood to psychology – from MRI scans to the pollen on the target’s clothes. The science is jaw dropping and the investigation takes the team on a thrilling chase across the country.”

Watch the trailer for “The Great American Manhunt” on National Geographic Channel below, and check local listings for times the show will air in your town.

 

The Washington Times writes about Father Francis Browne’s Titanic photography exhibit

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Apr 232012
 

(from The Washington Times by Martha Boltz)  In 1985 when explorer-scientist Robert Ballard was discovering the remains of Titanic deep on the ocean floor, Father Edward E. O’Donnell was making a remarkable discovery in Dublin, Ireland. Going through a trunk of papers of Fr. Frank Browne, S.J., who had died in 1960, he discovered around 40,000 negatives.

Father Browne

Fr. Browne was an avid photographer, and the accompanying album was filled with neatly captioned photographs from his brief time on the Titanic. It was apparently the only set of photographs taken on board the ill-fated ocean liner on that one segment of her maiden voyage.

The priest’s life started out inauspiciously. Francis Patrick Mary Browne was born in 1880 in Cork, Ireland, the youngest of eight children of James Browne and Brigid Hegarity Browne.

Browne later lost both of his parents when he was young boy and had been raised by a devoted uncle Robert Browne, Bishop of Cloyne, the person who bought him his first camera. While he was a theology student in Dublin, Browne received a ticket from his Uncle Robert, sending him on the first leg only of the maiden voyage.

A photograph taken on Titanic by Father Browne

The excited young man boarded in Southampton for his short voyage on this wonderful ship, assigned to Room A37 on the Promenade Deck. While eating in the First Class dining room, he began to talk to a wealthy couple from America.

The three apparently had an enjoyable  conversation that night, even to the extent that they offered to pay the rest of his fare to New York, to complete the journey. The grateful young man explained that his superior in Dublin would never permit this, and he must get off the ship when it docked in Cobb (Queenstown.)

Read the entire Washington Post story here.  Browne’s photo albums and scrapbooks were on display in the United States for the first time ever this month at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Missouri and Tennessee.

CNN tours Titanic Museum exhibit with Rick Laney and Chris Welch

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Apr 232012
 

Chris Welch, reporter for CNN, and Rick Laney, spokesman for Titanic Museum, give viewers a tour of the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge and a taste of what took place as the exhibit during the April 14/15 weekend commemorating the 100th Anniversary of RMS Titanic’s maiden voyage, including visits by descendants of many of the luxury liner’s passengers and crew members..

Rick Laney, Chris Welch, CNN

Rick Laney and the CNN crew (Chris Welch far right)

While many living descendants of Titanic are most commonly found among the great-grandchildren of the ship’s passengers and crew, grandchildren are becoming a rare breed. Rarer still is a living child of the descendants, but Branson will host one of the few remaining children of the ship’s original passengers and crew when Pearl Leemhuis takes her seat at the museum’s ceremonies. Pearl’s mother, Bertha Lehmann was a 17-year-old passenger leaving Switzerland to join her family in Iowa.

Among the descendants attending the tribute in Pigeon Forge will be the grandson of Charles Lightoller, the most senior Titanic crew member to survive the disaster. Timothy Lightoller and his wife are making the trip from their native Scotland to be a part of the tribute.

One of the ship’s most famous passengers, Margaret Brown—known to many as “the unsinkable Molly Brown”—will be represented in Pigeon Forge by her granddaughter, Helen Benziger. Descendants of Isidor and Ida Straus will also be present to pay respects to their ancestors who perished aboard the ship. Isidor Straus was the co-owner with his brother of Macy’s Department Store in New York.

The tribute ceremonies will include performances by choirs, musicians and children as well as a parade of flags, poetry readings, and the lighting of an eternal flame in remembrance of the people aboard Titanic.

Video courtesy of CNN.

Next expansion at Wilderness at the Smokies: The Southeast’s only near-vertical looping waterslide

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Apr 192012
 

Sevierville, Tenn. – A trap door … a 39-foot vertical freefall drop … speeds up to 40 mph … an adrenaline rush like no other – this is what guests at the Southeast’s largest indoor/outdoor water park resort will have the opportunity to experience as Wilderness at the Smokies announces its next and most recent massive expansion project.  Wilderness at the Smokies will soon be home to the “Wild Vortex,” a 66-foot tall “Aqua Loop™,” the Southeast’s only near-vertical, translucent, looping waterslide.

Riders of the Wild Vortex will enter the capsule at the top of the slide, standing vertically over a trap-door.  After a dramatic countdown, the trap door releases and the rider accelerates into a 39-foot vertical freefall drop generating maximum g-force (2.5 Gs in less than two seconds) before reaching the inclined loop.

Read all of the details about the new Wilderness at the Smokies “Wild Vortex” by clicking on the picture below.

Wilderness at the Smokies resort opens multi-million dollar “Adventure Forest” indoor fun-park

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Mar 162012
 

Adventure Forest at Wilderness at the Smokies resort

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Following an exceptionally strong 2011 season at Wilderness at the Smokies resort, the Southeast’s largest indoor and outdoor waterpark announced last year that it was about to get bigger – considerably bigger – with the addition of the new Adventure Forest family entertainment park.  Adventure Forest opened Friday, March 16, 2012.

Last November, Wilderness at the Smokies resort started construction of its new “Adventure Forest” indoor park, doubling the number of indoor facilities the resort provides for its guests.  Currently, the Wild WaterDome indoor waterpark provides acres of indoor water attractions for visitors, and the addition of the new Adventure Forest family entertainment center will completely expand the total amount of “under-roof” year-round fun at Wilderness at the Smokies.

“Unlike our other attractions at Wilderness at the Smokies, the new Adventure Forest is a ‘dry’ park,” said Steve Cruz, General Manager of Wilderness at the Smokies.  “It features a three-story ropes course, a multi-level enclosed laser tag arena, mini-bowling, black-light mini-golf, more than 100 arcade games, a ‘Laser Maze,’ a 25-foot tall spring ride, a 23-foot climbing wall, special birthday party rooms, another restaurant and lounge, plus other attractions and activities that do not involve water – all of it indoors and open year-round.”

“There is absolutely nothing like Adventure Forest anywhere in this region.  If it were a stand-alone attraction, it would be an amazing addition to the local tourism market – but when combined with the already outrageous offerings of Wilderness at the Smokies resort, it is going to be a premier Smoky Mountains destination.”

Unlike the other attractions at Wilderness at the Smokies, Cruz said the new Adventure Forest would be open to the general public until it reaches capacity.  Currently, all of the amenities at Wilderness at the Smokies are only open to resort guests.

Since opening in 2008, the $100 million Wilderness at the Smokies resort has consistently added attractions, rooms and other amenities for its guests.  Just six months after opening the Wild WaterDome waterpark, the resort added the $1.5 million, five-story Runaway Canyon waterslide.

In 2009, the resort opened its second multi-million dollar outdoor waterpark, Lake Wilderness – featuring the Cataloochee Creek Adventure River, the Wilderness Rapids Wave Pool, an 18-hole miniature golf course, a poolside restaurant and plush cabanas.  In spite of its long list of major expansions and additions, the new Adventure Forest indoor park is by far the most significant investment the resort has made in the Sevierville area since its grand opening.  With its latest addition, Wilderness at the Smokies resort becomes the second largest tourism investor in Sevier County (second only to Dollywood).

Wilderness at the Smokies resort also sells one- and two-bedroom condominiums ranging from 850 to 1,200 square feet priced from the mid-$300,000s to the mid-$500,000s.  When condominiums went on sale at Wilderness at the Smokies resort in 2007, buyers snatched up $41 million worth of the units in just one day – in only six hours, to be exact.

In the past, the City of Sevierville has estimated in press releases that Wilderness at the Smokies generates about $3 million in sales taxes and more than $500,000 in bedroom taxes every year for the local economy.

Wilderness at the Smokies employs approximately 350 year-round employees and adds around 200 additional workers during the busy summer tourism season.  The addition of the new Adventure Forest indoor park is expected to initially increase overall employment numbers at the resort by about 10 percent (approximately 50 new jobs).

Cruz said, “Wilderness at the Smokies resort is the only local attraction where you get everything a family is looking for in one place.  If you consider that when you book your room at Wilderness at the Smokies, you get access to all of our water attractions and offerings, we are by far the best value out there for families watching their vacation budgets.”

In June 2011, Southern Living Magazine listed Wilderness at number two on its list of the nation’s “Ten Best Pools” and just two months later, Wilderness at the Smokies resort was named one of the “Top Three Waterparks” in the nation by Aquatics International Magazine (the worldwide authority on waterparks).

Now that Adventure Forest is open, Wilderness at the Smokies already has plans for its next major expansion – expected to be announced sometime in coming weeks.  The next expansion is expected to completely change the “skyline” of the resort, with something taller (and more fun) than anything else currently on the property.

Wilderness at the Smokies, located minutes from Interstate 40 and situated in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is one of the area’s only year-round vacation destinations.  With a 36-hole championship golf course, two outdoor waterparks, an indoor waterpark with a wave pool and the Southeast’s only Surf Rider, hot tubs, and countless waterslides and attractions, Wilderness at the Smokies has something for all age groups.  It is adjacent to a 200,000 square-foot conference, convention and event center known for hosting the areas largest conferences, athletic events and trade shows.

The resort is owned by Patrick Helland, Pete Helland, Jr., Tim Lucke and Tom Lucke (who also own Wilderness at the Dells Waterpark resort in Wisconsin).  Steve Cruz is the General Manager of Wilderness at the Smokies and Rick Laney is spokesperson for the resort.  For more information about Wilderness at the Smokies, call toll-free 877-325-9453 or visit www.WildernessAtTheSmokies.com.

WATE (ABC) “6 Around Town” works with Rick Laney to produce hour-long special about Wilderness at the Smokies expansion

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Mar 162012
 

Knoxville, Tenn. — East Tennessee residents caught an early glimpse of the new “Adventure Forest” at Wilderness at the Smokies resort last weekend courtesy of WATE Television (ABC) in Knoxville. The station’s “6 Around Town” Show, hosted by Tearsa Smith, Kristin Farley and Josh Ault, gave viewers a behind the scenes glimpse of all the fun the new indoor park offers.  Watch the entire one-hour broadcast by clicking the photo below.

Rick Laney and Tearsa Smith discuss Wilderness at the Smokies on "6 Around Town".

Video property of WATE Television.  Produced by Linda Nguyen.

Sporting events finding success in the Wilderness – and having huge impact on local economy

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Feb 212012
 

2012 K2 Wilderness at the Smokies Volleyball Tournament

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Organizers of large sporting events are regularly asked by attendees – “What else is there to do around here?”  One destination offers an answer to this question unlike others in the Southeast.  Wilderness at the Smokies resort in Sevierville, Tenn. features everything an event organizer, athlete or spectator would want in an event, without even stepping outside – making it one of the Southeast’s only year-round destinations for sporting events.

Within a day’s drive for 75 percent of the Eastern U.S. population, Wilderness at the Smokies has 200,000 square feet of space available for hosting major national youth sporting events including:

  • gymnastics competitions
  • cheerleading competitions
  • basketball tournaments
  • karate and wrestling tournaments
  • volleyball tournaments
  • BMX and skateboarding events

The most recent (and one of the largest) was the K2 Volleyball Wilderness at the Smokies Tournament, which took place over two weekends last month.  This year’s tournament included more than 3,500 athletes and 15,000 total attendees.

“This event has been so successful, we have grown it each year and plan to expand once again in 2013,” said Erin Caylor, a coach for K2 Volleyball Club. “We were completely at capacity for this year’s event and had a lengthy list of teams from around the country on a waiting list.”

“Wilderness at the Smokies resort was wonderful to work with, and they truly were a partner in helping us host a top-notch tournament,” added Caylor.

To assist with the setup for sporting events, Wilderness at the Smokies has its own sports court flooring and can provide up to 21 volleyball courts and nets or, if the sport is basketball, five full-size basketball courts.

The traditional January and February “slow season” for Smoky Mountain tourism received a big assist in the form of the volleyball tournament in 2012. For two consecutive weekends, the nation’s best volleyball clubs competed in the tournament, bringing more than 18,000 people to Sevierville and generating an estimated economic impact in excess of one million dollars. The event has proven to be such a success that tournament organizers are considering adding a third weekend in January 2013 to accommodate the waiting list of teams hoping to participate.

Wilderness at the Smokies Event Center

Wilderness at the Smokies contributed $5 million to the Sevierville economy in 2011 in taxes alone.

Attached to the Sevierville Events Center, Wilderness at the Smokies offers moew than 700 mountain modern guest rooms and multi-room suites in addition to condominiums and a Wyndham Vacation Resort on the Wilderness property.

With restaurants, gift shops, convenience stores, game rooms, mini-golf, lounges, a deli, two outdoor waterparks and a huge indoor waterpark, it isn’t necessary to leave the resort paradise.  While staying at Wilderness at the Smokies resort, guests can swim, surf and splash in the waves in 84-degree weather all year because of the massive indoor waterpark.  Also, Wilderness has countless meeting rooms where teams and athletes can meet with coaches to prepare, go over strategy and review results before, during and after competitions.

A brand new indoor park, Adventure Forest, opens in March 2012, doubling the resort’s indoor offerings.

The president of NetLynx, Doug Janeska, who organized the Smoky Mountain Gymnastics Vacation Classic at Wilderness, said, “My company has organized over 40 major competitive events across the country over the past 25 years.  One of the biggest events we’ve ever had was the Smoky Mountain Vacation Gymnastics Classic at Wilderness at the Smokies resort.” The resort played host to nearly 7,000 people during this four-day event.

Wilderness at the Smokies, located minutes from Interstate 40 and situated in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is establishing a new standard for athletic competitions, conferences, conventions and meetings in East Tennessee.  With six restaurants, two 18-hole golf courses, two outdoor waterparks, two indoor parks with a wave pool and surf rider, hot tubs, and countless waterslides and attractions, Wilderness at the Smokies has something for all age groups.  For more information about Wilderness at the Smokies, visit www.WildernessAtTheSmokies.com.

Yes, I brought the Twitter “smackdown” to the Social Media Club Knoxville

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Feb 132012
 

Rick Laney (left) and Shane Rhyne of Ackermann PR during the Social Media "Smackdown".

No, it wasn’t a literal smackdown Tuesday night at Calhoun’s, but the verbal back-and-forth was plenty to feast on according to the Knoxville News Sentinel‘s “Trending” column.

The Social Media Club Knoxville hosted its first “social media smackdown,” an event that promised to air out the differences among four of the most popular social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.

I was asked to represent Twitter.

The News Sentinel says:

“Laney started off by telling the crowd why Twitter is better than Facebook. “It’s faster … and concise,” he said. And with tweets 140 characters or less, it’s less content to “wade through,” he argues.

And that’s true. I think of Twitter, and often use it in this way, as a more developed RSS feed. I visit the site, where I’m following people whose feeds I find interesting, and I’m met with a stream of useful links, funny banter and interactions with followers.

I can send someone a private message, or a DM, and that’s great, too. I do find the 140-character limit in messages slightly more challenging, but it’s a good challenge. How often are we more verbose than necessary?”

Read the entire Trending Column in the Knoxville News Sentinel here.

(L to R) Katie Granju, Nicole Denton, Rick Laney and Shane Rhyne.

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