Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Guelph, near Toronto, Canada

On Thursday I presented a forthcoming journal article entitled: "Employee Emotional Competence: Construct Conceptualization and Validation of a Customer-Based Measure" to faculty and PhD students at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada (just west of Toronto).  The following day I made the same presentation at the University of Guelph.  I also provided some words of wisdom regarding research to PhD students at WLU and graduate students at Guelph.

Dwayne with his host, Chatura Ranaweera at the Business School at Wilfrid Laurier University.  

The day before the first presentation Candy and I took a bus tour of Toronto.

Dwayne and Candy in front of the CN Tower in Toronto.

The Toronto skyline from our cruise on the Inner Harbor

Breakfast at Cora's in Waterloo:  A chocolate crepe filled with Nutella, bananas, and strawberries, topped with whip cream!

All gone!  No problem!

University of Pittsburgh Football Game, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Samantha is in the University of Pittsburgh Band for the third consecutive year.  This year she was named Assistant Drum Major.  So, we went to Pittsburgh to see her in action. And, in a pregame concert just outside of Heinz Field, Samantha was introduced by the band's director as the FIRST FEMALE Assistant Drum Major in the 104-year history of the University of Pittsburgh Marching Band.  As you can imagine, we are quite proud of her!

Enjoying her new position as Assistant Drum Major!

Oh yeah,..there was also a football game: Pittsburgh beat Akron 45-37

30th Wedding Anniversary, Perrysburg, Ohio

Candy and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on September 1.  A week earlier I asked her: "How would you like to go on the best 30th anniversary date you have ever been on?" She said "yes" and thus, with the assistance of students from the BGSU American Marketing Association, I planned a progressive dinner date.

First Stop: A glass of wine at Stella's.

Second Stop: Chinese food at Riverside Park along the Maumee River,catered by the BGSU AMA students 

Final Stop: Dessert at the top of  Riverside Park, along Front Street, with an impromptu gathering of friends.

Each person shared  a favorite wedding or anniversary memory.

Mallory Moves in at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio

Three days after we moved Samantha to Pittsburgh we moved Mallory into her dorm at Bowling Green State University to begin her freshman year.n  She is an Education Major focusing on Early Childhood.

Our car is packed with Mallory's dorm stuff.

Mallory is more or less settled in (probably the cleanest her side of the room will ever look).

In front of her dorm...note there is no "luxury" sign here!  (See the previous blog entry for Samantha's accommodations)

Samantha's Return to the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

We returned from Chicago to our home in Perrysburg at 2:00 p.m., unpacked, repacked Samantha's belongings, and at 3:00 p.m. headed for Pittsburgh to move her into her new "luxury" apartment near the University of Pittsburgh campus at 7;00 p.m. She is now a junior Development Psychology major; she is enrolled in a program at Pitt that will award her a Masters Degree in Education when she completes one more year after the Bachelor's degree.

Samantha and her "spacious" room in her four-bedroom "luxury" apartment.

The other end of her 6' x 12' room.

Look carefully...the sign says "Luxury Apartment"

American Marketing Association Summer Educators' Conference, Chicago, Illinois

Whenever the American Marketing Association Summer Educators' Conference is held close to home (such as in Chicago, Illinois), I try to attend.  As it turns out, this year the dates corresponded to the last weekend both girls would be home before heading off to college.  So, we made a family trip out of it.  The girls went shopping and to the Shedd Aquarium while I went to the conference hotel.

Dwayne, Candy, Samantha, and Mallory at Washington Park in Chicago, Illinois

Since we made plans to go to Chicago, we decided to extend our time together and spend some time in Traverse City, Michigan.  We stayed at a hotel on the East Bay.

Sunrise from our room at the ParkShore Resort near Traverse City, Michigan

While in Michigan we climbed a HUGE sand dune, played at the beach, ate lots of food, and went on a wine-tasking tour of several Old Mission Peninsula Wineries.

Samantha, Candy, and Mallory at Pangea's Pizza in Traverse City, Michigan

While on the tour of wineries, we came across these steps at Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery on Old Mission Peninsula.

Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery

Frontiers in Service Conference, San Jose, California

In July I attended the annual Frontiers in Service Conference.  This year it was held in San Jose, California and was hosted by IBM.  At the conference I made a research presentation there entitled, "The Effect of Service Recovery Strategies on Social Media Buzz and Financial Performance."  But, the highlight for me, as the 2014 recipient of the Christopher Lovelock SERVSIG Career Contributions Award (from the American Marketing Association) was to announce the 2015 recipient at the conference awards dinner.

And the 2015 Recipient is...

Kay Lemon, from Boston College

I should also mention that, in order to keep costs down (it's going to be a sabbatical filled with a lot of traveling), I stayed with my brother- and sister-in-law, John and Ann Little.  Actually, I was probably only there for about 5 hours over three days (other than when I was sleeping).  (They probably liked it that way!)

John and Ann Little at breakfast (after church) before I headed to the San Jose Airport

I did not get to see much of San Jose, and so my choices of steps to take a picture of were limited. However, I thought this step had character:

Front step at John & Ann Little's house, San Jose, California