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

University of Roehampton Business School, London, England

The last stop on my England university tour was in London at the University of Roehampton.  My visit was arranged by Sabine (Mueller) Benoit, a colleague I have known for several years.

Sabine treated me to Thai food while in London.

At the hotel I stayed at, The Alma in Wandsworth Town, I found some amenities I do not recall ever seeing at any other hotel I have visited.  They included a "Love Kit" and a "Hangover Kit."  A bit pricey, though...

The "Love Kit" and the "Hangover Kit" at The Alma in  Wandsworth Town, England

I had a couple of extra days before I returned to the U.S., so I took the train up to Cambridge and attended a Marketing Research Camp at the University of Cambridge.  I went "punting" in the canals around the university, and one of the more interesting sites was the Mathematical Bridge. Although it appears to be an arch, it is composed entirely of straight timbers built to an unusually sophisticated engineering design, hence the name.

Mathematical Bridge at Queen's College at the University of Cambridge

While in London I also met up with a BGSU Alum, John Bernard, that I had in class a few years earlier.  He married another BGSU student, and they now live in London.  John works as a  Senior Strategic Planner at AKQA. He has been involved in doing work for Nike, Eurostar, and GSK.  As John explained to me, much of what we discussed in class about customer-centric experiences and outstanding service is applicable to this work.  When in class, John created a couple of commercials about my class.  Click here to see one and click here to see the other.

BGSU Falcon John Bernard and Dwayne in Hampstead Heath.

Newcastle University Business School, Newcastle, England

The second stop on my "Publishing Scholarly Research" tour was the Business School of the University of Newcastle.  I spent two days with PhD Students from Newcastle and surrounding universities. My colleague, Christof Backhaus, took me on a brief tour of the city afterwards, including a walk along the river to see the Millennium Bridge.  (The bridge, by the way, pivots about 45 degrees to allow ships to go under it!  Click here to see how it works...very cool.)

The Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian/cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in Newcastle.

I take all of the pictures with my (relatively cheap) Canon PowerShot Camera.  Occasionally I forget to take it with me, and thus I am forced to use my phone's camera, as in the picture below.  But, it is not nearly as good.

Dwayne and Christof Backhaus (outside of my hotel, just nest to the Newcastle Business School)

Loughborough University School of Business and Economics, Loughborough, England

I arrived for my "England tour" on May 26. Starting on May 27 I spent two and a half days conducting my "Publishing Scholarly Research" seminar at Loughborough University School of Business and Economics in Loughborough, England.

Dwayne at the School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, England

This visit was initiated during a conversation about a year earlier at the Frontiers in Service Conference (in Miami, Florida) with my colleague Thorsten Gruber (tallest guy in the back row in the picture below).

"Publishing Scholarly Research" Seminar Attendees in Loughborough

The next day, after the seminar was completed, Thorsten Gruber took me to Nottingham to visit (where "The Dark Knight Returns" was filmed...the setting for Wayne Manor).  This was a really cool castle (see below).

Dwayne at (D)Wayne Manor (Wollaton Hall in Nottingham)

While were walking on the grounds at "D-Wayne Manor," I captured another picture of steps...

Steps outside of Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, England