Charlotte Bobcats Mascot Rufus Lynx Visits Lowe's Mooresville CSC

I was returning from lunch one afternoon and who do I see out front our corporate office, none other than Rufus Lynx, the Charlotte's Bobcat's mascot. Just like I can't drive by our local Chick Fil-A without honking at the cow mascot that constantly prowls on a grass patch of ground, I had to go check things out. It turns out Rufus was visiting to help promote the local United Way campaign, which is a big deal at Lowe's. Since I had already turned in my pledge card, I figured it was okay to ask to have my picture made with Rufus. (After living in NC for almost three years, I've learned you don't get your picture taken, you get it made. You gotta love the South, I do.) Having a quick picture made with Rufus turned into a 30 minute ordeal as I soon learned that I had put my self in the middle of a video being made of Rufus and local Lowe's executives. Since I never got the call to be an extra when the movie "Leatherheads" was being filmed in nearby Statesville, I figured this was my big chance. It was a lot of fun, but I did miss out on 30 minutes of work that afternoon, but it was for charity. Thanks for understanding, boss!

Lowe's College Recruiting Team Goes to NACE in New Orleans.

The Lowe's College Recruiters and their Manager again attended the Annual NACE Conference in May, 2008. This photo is titled, "Where's Pete?" because we were missing Senior Recruiter Pete Medrano. He must have been refilling his beverage when this picture was taken. It was a great conference, reconnecting with old colleagues and making new friends. Don't believe it when they say that the Big Easy is back, but at least it is on it's way.

It was hot and humid, but that's no surprise for a swamp in late May. Next year, NACE returns to Las Vegas.

Lowe's College Team Sponsors Charlotte SIFE Event

Lowe's College Recruiting Team recently sponsored the Regional SIFE Competition in Charlotte, NC. Now it's on to Chicago for the big national event in May. Hope to see you in the windy city, stop by our booth

5th Grade DC Field Trip...Memories to Last a Lifetime

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to help chaperon the Lake Shore Elementary (NC) School's 5th grade Field Trip to Washington DC. Most important, I wouldn't trust any other parent to fully keep an eye on my daughter in the nation's capital. Having just moved to NC from the DC region 2 years ago, it wasn't like we were dying to go back. We did have some fun and actually did visit some sites that we hadn't visited when we were Virginia residents for 8 years including Arlington National Cemetery, National Archives (made me go watch National Treasures again) and Mount Vernon and Monticello. You would think with this many 5th graders on and off buses and in a hotel for three days, we would have behavior problems with the kids. Hat's off to the Lake Shore kids, they were well behaved, now some of the parents, that was a different story.

The PIT in Mooresville: New Kart Track Offers Fans the Ride of a Lifetime!

The PIT Indoor Kart Racing opened its doors to fans who want to experience the adrenaline rush of indoor kart racing. The 100,000 square foot facility located on Route 150 in Mooresville, NC is the largest indoor track in the country. Unlike theme park go-karts, the karts at Pit Indoor Kart Racing sit just an inch off the track and can reach speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. Each rider receives a copy of his or her lap times, which is measured down to a thousandth of a second with a computerized timing system.

In addition to the 70,000 foot kart track, The Pit also offers an arcade, a laser tag arena (coming soon), and billiards. For racing packages and pricing, visit The Pit online at http://www.meetatthepit.com/.

Our Men's Ministry Group from The Cove Church (http://covechurch.org/) visited The PIT last Saturady and it was a blast. Our team finished 12 out of 15 teams in the final 60 lap race, but that was only because we had seat belt problems when we had our pit stops. I'll post some YouTube links so you can a feel for the action. You gotta experience The Pit to fully appreciate it, for men and boys of all ages, some restrictions apply. Ths author is pictured, with 4/5 of his team behind the safety of his helmet, required of all racers, red race suits optional, but available to all who want to look cool.

Lowe's Companies and SIFE become Partners.

We have become a corporate partner with SIFE. So you ask, what is SIFE? SIFE is a nonprofit organization that gives students the tools to learn the free enterprise system in a real working situation. SIFE challenges students on more than 800 college campuses nationwide to take what they're learning in the classroom and use their knowledge to better their communities. Guided by faculty advisors who are named Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellows in honor of the late Wal-Mart founder, SIFE Teams establish a variety of community outreach programs that teach free enterprise. For example, they teach concepts such as budgeting, accounting and supply and demand. They help budding entrepreneurs get their plans off the ground and mentor at-risk students, inspiring them to reach for their dreams. A member of my team is driving the relationship and we expect great things to come from this relationship over the next few years. Stay tuned for more news as we approach the Charlotte Regionals coming up in April.

What not to do on a long flight!! Don't do unto others, what they do unto you.

This won't come as a revelation to most, but today I was on a US Air flight from Charlotte to Denver and it really hit me what the airline industry does to flyers everyday in this country. (See attached photo to emphasize my point) Airline seats are small enough to start with, so who came up with the idea to allow airline seats to recline. If you really need to sleep it's one thing, but come on, who can really sleep on an airplane to start with. Most people get into one of these seats and as soon as they get the okay they pop the button and lay their seat down. Have you ever really noticed what this does to the average flyer. You go from having about 18 inches of useable space to less than a foot of space in which to navigate during the flight. You can't really open up a laptop, you can't eat or drink, but still people obliviously lay those seats down not even thinking of those wiery travelers behind them. Next time, I ask you to think twice. This photo was taken without a flash upon a US Air flight, so no FAA regulations were violated and no flight attendants were injured during this photo shoot.

Where are things going in 2008?

In 2008, I guess it is almost any one's guess. With oil over $100 a barrel and a Presidential election in November, it could be a wild ride this year. At Lowe's, we are optimistic from a recruiting standpoint. We have consolidated all of our recruiting functions under one central recruiting umbrella. This includes corporate, field, distribution and my baby, college recruiting. We are looking to collaborate further in the way we support our internal business partners and concentrate our our core competencies. For more information on what we are doing, visit us at www.lowes.com/careers or email me at markclark@lowes.com. Happy New Year!!