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We had so much fun raising money and riding for the United Way of Cleveland last year, we thought we’d do it again! Come join our team and start training for RideUNITED Cleveland. It’s a fully supported ride designed for every cyclist with several route options ranging from a 12-mile ride all the way up to the 100-mile century. Some of us will be going 40 miles one way, while others will be taking the 80 mile round trip. It’s very scenic and very gratifying knowing that we are helping so many families in need.

To get involved, just go to the RideUNITED Cleveland site to join our team or get more info. If you would like to make a donation and sponsor our team, please click here. If you have any other questions, cycling or otherwise, you can get a hold of me.

We are in the process of completing a logo and branding project to help generate awareness for some new programs being launched by the Cleveland Epilepsy Association. The project includes naming, logo development, t-shirt design, web banner design, and brochure design.

This logo and branding work is being done to promote a 5K & 1 Mile Run/Walk and a charity fundraising team. The race, called eRACE, is a family oriented event being held on Sunday, June 23, 2013 in Berea, Ohio for the benefit of the Cleveland Epilepsy Association. Additionally, any runners who want to put their miles towards a worthy cause are encouraged to join the e-RACER Charity Fundraising Team and help erase the stigma related to epilepsy.

About the Cleveland Epilepsy Association

The Epilepsy Association is a not-for-profit organization located in Cleveland, Ohio that assists children, adults and families who are struggling to deal with the difficult challenges epilepsy presents. For more than 40 years, they have been offering a range of services in an 11 county area of Northeastern Ohio.

For information on the eRACE 5K & 1 Mile Run/Walk or the e-RACER Charity Fundraising Team, visit the e-RACER Facebook Page or contact the Epilepsy Association by calling 216-579-1330 or visiting their website www.epilepsyinfo.org.

For more information on Melamed Riley logo and branding and other capabilities, visit our portfolio.

Melamed Riley is ready for the holiday season! Lights, wreaths, poinsettias, ornaments and popular holiday movies like A Christmas Story and Elf are playing continually throughout December in our lobby! Everyone here has something festive on display in their work area, as well. Check it out.

1. Static cling snowflakes were placed on our back windows and office doors.
2. I loved my C-9 lights so much back at my place I brought a strand to work.
3. Beautiful ornaments in a bowl accent The Rec.
4. Cute Christmas cards are everywhere already!
5. Green foil trees in our lobby area.
6. Lisa’s tiny LED Santa sits atop her work space.
7. Darla’s blinky wreath and scented bear look very nice in her office.
8. “Merry” and “Christmas” on two of Rachel’s monitors. Love it!
9. We have poinsettias throughout our agency.
10. A Christmas Story is playing in our lobby along with other classics.
11. Kathleen’s ornament and light display is awesome!
12. Our lit-up ornament tree can be found in our copier area.

After taking an “iPhone vs. Any Other Cell Phone” poll here at Melamed Riley, the ratio of MR peeps owning the Apple was exactly 2:1. Other notable ratios of this magnitude are Coke vs. Any Other Pop, McDonald’s vs. Any Other Fast Food and Nike vs. Any Other Shoe. Okay, I’m guesstimating here, so don’t go bonkers over my numbers. I’m a Dr. Pepper fan, love Taco Bell, and sport K-Swiss running shoes. I am also on the Android side of cellular devices. No iPhone for me. I love them. I think it’s an awesome device and everybody here raves about them. And the phones are, of course, super-compatible with our Macs. In fact, someday I hope to own one! So why did I just purchase a too-big-to-be-a-phone yet too-small-to-be-a-tablet Galaxy S, you ask (and I have been asked)? Loyalty. Period. I’m a dedicated T-mobile customer and plan on being one until one of us is gone. It all starts with customer service. Looking back, I think it all actually started with a shopping mall kiosk dude who I couldn’t avoid while I was at Great Northern Mall Christmas shopping. Just like that, I had my first cell phone. No web, no unlimited anything. It didn’t even flip. Or slide. Or twist. And it wasn’t Catherine Zeta-Jones either that lured me in and it’s not Carly Foulkes who is keeping me there. It’s the pleasant and oh-so-helpful voice on the other end of the conversation and the extremely helpful T-mobile employees working in one of the three stores in my area. I haven’t had a bad experience with any one of them in all of my 11 years. Just kind and well-educated people making me feel comfortable about my service. We all love that warm and fuzzy feeling, right? Now don’t get me wrong. I’m sure there are many other companies with outstanding service and tech support but finding them may be an exercise in futility. Funny thing is, now as I research facts and figures for this blog, I hear T-mobile may be carrying the iPhone by 2013 and are already making their network capable of supporting Apple products. Do I see an iPhone 7 in my near future? Hell yeah!

Need a break from the norm? Gotta get the creative juices flowing? Maybe a quick pick-me-up? Only one place comes to mind. Big Fun! A toy slash collectible shop that has some of the coolest gimmicks and gifts and gadgets you can find. From vintage 80’s Star Wars figures to classic Atari games, there’s something for everyone in this place. Candy, comic books, joke novelties, buttons, bumper stickers, ugly stuffed animals, collectible tin lunch boxes … the list goes on and on. So if you’re in the Coventry area or around the Lakewood/Cleveland border, stop in and get your fun on!

This just cracks me up!

Nicole Melville and myself (team name: Corn Stars) have entered our second season of cornhole madness! The Playhouse Square District Cornhole Tournament puts on a fantastic fundraising event for its nearby peeps and has 54 teams this season. Last year we took second place so we will be gunning for the gold this time around. We lost our first game of the season last week so we will be fighting for our lives in the losers bracket. Gotta love double elims!

Every year, we have an annual summer get-together and holiday bash. Sprinkled in between are anniversaries, birthdays, special announcements and various other “excuses” for a soirée! Our creative team usually whips up an incredible invite for our peeps, so I wanted to share a few of my favorites:

For our fifth year as an independent agency, an “independence” theme was the answer for this invitation. Liberty never felt so good.

I was seriously wowed when this appeared on my desk! I had to literally dig through the sand to reveal the where’s and when’s for our summer outing at Wendy Park.

More heads on bodies! A little bit of photoshopping and vintage effects yielded this sweet poster that was hung or placed in each employee’s office.

Another one of my favs was this personally “embroidered” shirt which I say scores a 10 in the wow factor category! This masterpiece was an invite to The Corner Alley for a night of bowling and holiday cheer.

This is our latest … Pick up some 3-D glasses and check this out! This too receives tens across the creative boards.

It’s a go! Recess Creative will be coming over to the Melamed Riley rec room for a little agency vs. agency competition, table tennis style. Here’s what Chris Jungjohann had to say upon receiving the invitation: “Yesterday morning I heard the elevator operator open the door outside of our office and thought I heard someone. Then the sounds went away. So I opened the front door and saw the challenge poster and right then and there we accepted! Heads will roll, I tell ya! Heads will roll!” So it’s set, minus the actual date. We’ll keep you posted on when it’s going down, scores and overall tournament highlights.

And a huuuuuge advantage at that! Public tennis courts within walking/pedaling distance?!? We discovered these fantastic courts last week and had a great lunch hour playing on them. I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing this all summer and, as you know, we’re always up for a challenge!

It’s time to get up and rolling with us this year in a couple of challenging charity events and a super sweet non-fundraising ride! For 2012, we’ll be participating in the United Way of Greater Cleveland RideUNITED event Sunday, June 24th, The American Diabetes Tour de Cure event the following week, Saturday, June 30th and the Sweet Corn Challenge July 29th.
You bike a little? You bike a lot? It doesn’t matter, all of the events have water/food stops and offer lower-mileage family rides if you’re not up to the taking on the “sorta hilly” 62- or 100-mile routes.

If you need more info, want to join or just talk bikes with me, here’s my e-mail: Darin Hintz

Rick Riley and John Butler at the start of the 2011 American Diabetes Tour de Cure.

Nicole Melville and I taking a break at the 2010 Tour de Cure.