MEDiAHEAD - Happy Thanksgiving!

Michele StillwellBy Michele Stillwell, Director of Marketing and Accounting at MEDiAHEAD

I absolutely love Fall as it is my favorite season. What about you? The fresh fall air, the smell of a fireplace burning, the leaves changing, caramel apples, smores, going to the pumpkin patch and getting apple cider and apples.

Fall reminds me of when I was little.

Every fall, my family and I would take a trip to Wisconsin and go get apples, cider and cheese. We would then head to the nearest park and sit at a picnic table and eat cheese, crackers, apples and sausage and drink apple cider. Occasionally we would get a caramel apple! It would be such a treat for us.

We would then drive through Wisconsin and look at all the beautiful trees and all the colors. I remember this like it was yesterday.

Today, the tradition for me is to go to Branson every fall with the ladies.

MEDiAHEAD - Happy Thanksgiving!We head down right around the time the Fall Festival hits Silver Dollar City and stay for about four days. It’s a group of girls and moms, and we would always say we didn’t need to buy anything but… We always come home with a car full of great crafts, pictures, and things we probably didn’t need but had a great time finding and buying. We’ve done this for more than 20 years!

I’m elated when fall comes and I can go outside and look at my trees and see the colors. Squirrels are busy burying their nuts for the winter. We have a few maple trees and from what I’ve heard, the amount of sugar in the leaves is what turns their leaves so incredibly vibrant.

Going on walks in the fall is so refreshing, breathing in all the fresh air and enjoying being outside. This also reminds me of when I was little.

Spending time with grandparents.

We would go to my grandma and grandpas house for Thanksgiving in Sioux City, Iowa every year. After our Thanksgiving feast, my grandpa would always take us kids for a walk. They lived on top of a mountain (I thought it was a mountain, it really was just a huge hill.) We would always stop and look at the honeysuckle plant growing on the side of his garage. We would walk on a path down the hill from their back yard then go down and around the hill, head to the park, play for a while then we would have to walk back up the “mountain”.

I remember how refreshing that was. Every year, I looked forward to that walk with my grandpa.

Michele and Family for Thanksgiving

I’m looking forward to a lovely Thanksgiving with my family this fall and hope you and yours are too. Maybe you already have thanksgiving traditions, or might be time to start new ones together.

From our entire team at MEDiAHEAD, please stay safe and have a Happy Thanksgiving this beautiful fall.

Michele StillwellBy Michele Stillwell, Director of Marketing and Accounting at MEDiAHEAD

Quite a year, right?

The Corona Virus has affected our lives in every capacity. It has taken a toll on all of us that is for sure. 2020 will be a year that will be very hard to forget!

We’ve sheltered in place, socially distanced, covered our faces and washed our hands repeatedly since the beginning of the year. I don’t need to remind you of all the other things we have had to do or could not do for any extended period of time.

I know that 2020 will not be a year that we remember with fondness and reverence, but we believe that it is now more important than ever to send good wishes to friends, family and business acquaintances.

Seasons Greetings CardSending holiday cards shows that you’re thinking of others during this time of year. And there’s a good chance they haven’t seen your smiling face for a while, so what a great opportunity to brighten their day! This is the best time to send a holiday card… any time after Thanksgiving is what we have heard. Sending an annual greeting card can help market your business as well!

Benefits of Sending Holiday Cards

  • It generates goodwill. It’s a contact point that’s non-salesy
  • It is a way to reinforce your brand, by including your logo
  • A great way to win back clients – a simple reminder that you’re still around
  • A perfect way to offer gratitude for their business in 2020
  • Usually, a holiday card will get opened!

Now is the time to send holiday cards and MEDiAHEAD can help. Let us do the work for you. You can create your card, or we can help you. After that, just send us your mailing list and we can do all the rest for you.

MEDiAHEAD - Happy HolidaysIf you have several locations and want different cards for each location, we would be happy to accommodate.

If you have several signatures you would like inside the card, we can assist with that as well.

We want to make this holiday as easy as possible on you and your business. Let’s get some good holiday wishes out to our friends, family, co-workers and other business acquaintances. Spread some cheer this holiday season!

Give us a call at 816-931-7900 or email us at help@mymediahead.com

Kat McDanielBy Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

Veteran’s Day is November 11th. As we remember and support our veterans, I wanted to do more than a quick thank you. I wanted to share a personal story about my grandfather.

The last horse charge of American cavalry was in World War II. My grandfather, Albert E. Hallett, was in the final cavalry charge, breaking up a Japanese attack in the Philippines that bought time for the cavalrymen and other American troops.

The jungles of the Philippines are thick and fighting in them was treacherous. My grandfather was fluent in Japanese after his officer training, and he often slipped behind enemy lines for scouting and harassment. The Army didn’t have all-terrain vehicles at the time. With horses, you could cross streams, climb mountains — go anywhere. Some cavalry units even carried machine guns on horseback.

Veterans Day 2020 and the Final Calvary Charge in World War II

The final charge came in April 1942 as part of the months-long effort to defend the Philippines from the Japanese invasion.

The Americans on the Philippines weren’t ready for the fight, and U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur had to lean hard on his elite troops to protect the rest of the force as they withdrew to one defensive line after another. And cavalry was uniquely suited for that mission since it could ride out, disrupt an attack, and then quickly ride back to where the rest of the defenders had fortified themselves.

And so MacArthur called up the 26th Cavalry (Philippine Scouts), a unit that had American officers and Filipino enlisted men on horses. And all of them were well-equipped and good at their jobs. But, like the rest of the American forces there, they faced a daunting enemy. The Japanese invaders were nearly all veterans from fighting in Korea or Manchuria, but few of the American defenders had seen combat. And the Japanese forces were better armed.

Veterans Day 2020 and the Final Calvary Charge in World War II

The cavalry scouts were exhausted from days of acting as the eyes and ears of the Army, but a new amphibious operation on December 22 had put Japanese forces on the road to Manila. The defenders there crumbled in the following days and completely collapsed on January 16, 1942. If the 26th couldn’t intercept them and slow the tide, Manila would be gone within hours.

The American and Filipino men scouted ahead on horseback and managed to reach the village of Morong ahead of Japanese forces. The village sat on the Batalan River, and if the cavalrymen could prevent a crossing, they could buy precious hours. But as they were scouting the village, the Japanese vanguard suddenly appeared on the bridges. The commander had no time, no space for some well-thought-out and clever defense from cover. It was a “now-or-never” situation, and the 26th had a reputation for getting the job done.

Charge!

The men and horses surged forward, pistols blazing, at a vanguard of Japanese infantry backed up by tanks. But the American cavalry charge was so fierce that the Japanese ranks broke, and they dodged back across the river to form back up. It was so chaotic that even the tanks were forced to stop.

“Bent nearly prone across the horses’ necks, we flung ourselves at the Japanese advance, pistols firing full into their startled faces, a few returned our fire but most fled in confusion. To them we must have seemed a vision from another century, wild-eyed horses pounding headlong; cheering, whooping men firing from the saddles.”

The cavalrymen held the line, dismounting after the first charge but preventing the Japanese crossing.

After that charge, the story turned grim.

The cavalry men took heavy losses that day before falling back to the rest of the American force after reinforcements arrived. They were isolated on the Bataan Peninsula. As the American forces began to starve, they butchered the horses and ate the meat. But even that wouldn’t be enough.

On April 9, 1942, the U.S. forces on the Bataan Peninsula surrendered to the Japanese. My grandfather, who was MIA for 18 months, escaped the death march by hiding in the jungle until General MacArthur returned. At least 600 Americans and 5,000 Filipinos were killed in the death march that followed.

Veterans Day 2020 and the Final Calvary Charge in World War II

My grandfather never talked about the war or the atrocities that he had witnessed. He was tough and hard to love, but we found a common path through our mutual love of horses. He went on to become an Assistant Attorney General, a judge and later was one of the Appellant Court Judges in Illinois. He peacefully grew orchids, made grandfather clocks and frames for my grandmother’s paintings.

In 1971 he walked out into the back yard one night and tragically hung himself. At that time, we really didn’t understand PTSD, and after such a successful life we were all beyond shocked. I wish I had known him longer – he had an amazing story to tell.

Albert E. Hallett Albert E. Hallett Albert E. Hallett

To all of the veterans… thank you for your service. And thank you to the families that support the men and women that protect our country and our freedoms!