agcvmemberblog

BP GULF OIL SPILL

2010-06-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

Right on the heels of the Chinese drywall fiasco and the Toyotas all over the country acting like Herbie, the little Volkswagen that has a mind of its own, comes the biggest bonanza of them all and that, of course, is the Gulf oil spill. BP has put up $20 billion to reimburse businesses and individuals which have been adversely affected by the Gulf oil disaster. The way Obama has structured the payout is at the rate of $5 billion per year over the next four years. That simply means that some people making claims today may very well have to wait four more years to get paid.

This one unnatural disaster could very well result in thousands of lawsuits and an unbelievable opportunity for legal videographers to capture the damage that has been created since mid-April. It is reported that the leak could continue all the way into December. We have already received calls from our Gulf Coast videographers and the lawyers are now in full swing.

Believe me, we are not happy about those who have been adversely affected by this ongoing tragedy but, hopefully, our Gulf Coast videographers will be able to assist those damaged to receive justice from those who have created this massive oil spill. I am certain there will be hundreds of depositions and on-site videos shot to back up their claims. Every Gulf Coast videographer should be on the phone calling their attorney clients offering their expert legal video services. You need to plant the seeds or there will be no harvest.

HAD ENOUGH "CHANGE?"

2010-05-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

Helloooooooooooo. I hope you are out there and I hope that you have had enough of the Obamamania. I really admire the "tea party" people who are willing to take time to get off their rears and go out in public and make a statement. I believe we are seeing the results of their grass root efforts already in the elections this year and I sincerely hope that the movement grows to the point that we throw out the bums that are continuing to spend our children's and grand children's money as this country is now headed for bankruptcy if the spending programs already passed by this insane congress and president are not repealed.

This week another 450,000+ people filed for unemployment benefits. It is hard to believe that eight million people in the U.S.A cannot find work. The truth is that they just won't take the jobs that are available because they make more money drawing unemployment than they can earn at the lower paying jobs that are available. Aren't you blessed to be in business for yourself?

By the way, I look forward for your own comments on my blog so you can go ahead and let me have it! In case you cannot figure it out, I am a died in the wool fiscal and social conservative and if you did not realize that, you had better brush up on what's going on in Washington because you probably voted for Obama and are partly responsible for what is going on that is destroying the greatest nation is the history of the planet! In case you are wondering, I was just as upset with "W" as he completely abandoned the fiscal part of being a consertive.

I go back to the statement that "There are three types of people alive today, those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those that don't know it happened." Americans better wake up or what has made this country great will be gone forever!!

Yah Right!

2010-02-26T11:44:00.000-08:00

This health care reform debate is really getting on my nerves. It is said that "People who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are bound to repeat them." This is certainly true when it comes to those in Washington as we see the liberals are bound and determined to gobble up more of our freedoms by expanding the government services into the field of health care. It's not bad enough that they have Social Security going broke and Medicare is running out of money, now they want to take over the best health care the world has ever known and mess it up as well by allocating another 1 trillion dollars of borrowed money to fund it!

One "Government Program" (that we hear almost nothing about) is the Department of Energy which the Carter Administration said was "necessary to lessen our dependence on foreign oil!" This agency was established 33 years ago, in 1977, when the U.S. consumption of foreign oil was at 30%. Now, it is 2010, 33 years later and the budget for this "Necessary" department of our ever expanding government is costing us $24.2 billion a year, they have 16,000 federal employees and also hire approximately 100,000 contract employees and what have they accomplished? Today our consumption of foreign oil has more than doubled to 70% of our oil consumption which is now coming from foreign imports.

In this health care reform program, they want to take $500,000,000.00 of money that most of us have contributed over our lifetime to Medicare (it is taken right out of our gross pay each week) and give it to people that have yet to contribute the first dime to the fund, and that's not the end of it. Big brother has already taken over the auto industry, the banking system and now the liberals want to do the same thing with health care. My suggestion is that America wakes up or the America that we all have known and enjoyed is gone forever!

Helloooooo, Anybody home?

Where are you?

2010-02-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some very important facts that every tax paying American needs to be aware of. The United States is now $14.3 trillion in debt and the last $1.9 trillion increase in the national debt is just the last spending that the Democratic administration has added (the third increase in the first year of Obama's term as President of the United States.) Less that 10 years ago, $1.9 trillion financed the entire federal government for an entire year.

It took 200 years to build the federal debt to a total of $1.9 trillion. In 1981, then President Ronald Reagan described $1 trillion as "a stack of thousand dollar bills 67 miles high." In seconds, 1.9 trillion adds up to about 60,000 years. In hours, 1.9 trillion would take us back almost 220 million years ago when dinosaurs were just beginning to dominate the Earth. This last $1.9 trillion adds to the debt of every man, woman and child in the U.S. $6,000.00. This simply adds up to you, your children, your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren a debt of $45,157.89 dollars each which must be repaid!

Added to the above, the Congressional Budget Office shows that the U.S. could run out of money by running up an additional $1.4 trillion before the end of the current fiscal year. Just the interest on this debt is going to be $6 trillion over the next decade.

I would hate to think that this generation of Americans has become so self-centered and selfish that they live only for today with little or no concern about how their narcissistic behavior will affect future generations of Americans.

It is mandatory that we remove those from government that have such disregard for the welfare of generations of Americans that are yet to come!

Here are the facts!

2009-11-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

I just received the following information in a e-mail from a very good friend of mine, a retired Marine! It is on the subject of the history of gun control and I find the information very interesting with facts that should wake up America.

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control and between 1929 and 1953 about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control and from 1915 to 1917 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1938 Germany established gun control and from 1939 to 1945 a total of 13 million Jews and others, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935 and from 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964 and from then to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Unganda established gun control in 1970 and in the next nine years 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themsleves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Cambodia established gun control in 1956 and from 1975 to 1977 one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

The total of defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th century because of gun control: 56 million!

You won't see this data on the U.S. evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information. Guns in the hands of honest law abiding citizens save lives and property.

Take note my fellow Americans, before it is too late. With guns we are "citizens." Without them we are "subjects."

In Switzerland they issue every household a gun! The government trains every adult they issue a rifle to with it's proper use! SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!

IT'S A NO BRAINER! I'm a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment!

WE BETTER WAKE UP!

2009-11-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

I am simply going to quote so I am going to report, you decide. Here are 5 quotes from Thomas Jefferson .

"Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day."

"Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, it must be that of every free state."

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

"I predict a future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

"Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."

The following quotes are from George Washington (1732 - 1799)

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is a force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."

The United States of America is one of the few countries in history where law can actually be deemed illegal by the people of the country. That benefit is fundamental to the Constitution, and the foundation of our liberties as citizens of the United States of America. It is time to remember that the United States is an odd country, and that there has always been such a thing as "illegal law" here. Keep in mind, there is one common activity that the President, the House and Senate members, the Supreme Court Judges, and all other elected officials do when they take office, and that is to swear or affirm to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

The reason this is a big deal is because the Constitution was written as a document allowing elected and appointed officials to control the government of the U.S., but only under certain conditions. There is a reason why the Constitution begins with "We the people.... do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America."

The Constitution sets the standards under which government laws and activities may be conducted, and if they are not conducted that way, they are illegal! It doesn't matter what office a man or woman holds, President, or Judge, or Representative or Senator, all come under the power of those constitutional rules.

Friends we are simply seeing the minority taking away the liberties of the majority and our freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to bear arms, and the taking of money from the rich and distributing it to the poor is illegal law and it is happening right under our noses. May God save our country!

A fire storm!

2009-08-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, has Obama ever hit a sore spot with the vast majority of U.S. citizens with his latest proposal for national health care. Keep in mind I'm speaking for myself when I state that I believe the Obama administration is the most dangerous administration that I have seen in my 77 years as a citizen of the United States.

I have never seen such a division of the US citizenship as I'm now seeing at Townhall meetings being held across our country. I've also never seen our public officials attacking their own constituents with such slanderous terms and an obvious failure to be willing to listen to what the voters have to say in regard to this subject.

At this point it seems the Democrats have no intention of listening to the will of the people who have put them in office. Not only our current living Americans going to have to pay back the trillions that have been recklessly spent by the Obama administration, but our children and grandchildren are definitely going to be saddled with a debt that will totally change the America that you and I have grown up to love.

It is my earnest prayer that our elected officials will listen to the desires of people they were elected to represent. I can understand the dissatisfaction of the Americans. When we send our brave troops to fight a war in Vietnam that had no direct bearing on the security of our nation. I can even understand why many of our citizens turned against George Bush when he decided to eliminate Saddam Hussein. What I don't hear is those who are criticizing the Bush administration for going to war in the Middle East giving praise to the administration that eliminated any further attack by radical Islamic's on our homeland soil.

I have to admit that I'm not smart enough to have all the answers, but I do have enough common sense to realize that our nation is heading in a direction that was never foreseen by our founding fathers. I love our freedom, and I still believe that we have the greatest nation on the face of the earth but also have to realize that we are quickly sliding down that slippery slope to socialism, which not only is going to affect us with the loss of our freedom but our generations to follow are going to end up serving the government instead of the government serving them.

I too was disappointed in the performance of the Republicans when they had control of Congress and the White House, but in retrospect, it looks like they were the far better of the two evils that we now find in our political parties.

Hey, God help our nation!

Are you hurting?

2009-05-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

I have been watching the administration as they attempt to resolve the nation's financial woes and I can not make any sense out of what I see. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent which we are told will end up costing trillions to pay back, which by the way, will have to be done as a big percentage of the money is borrowed from foreign investors. The Fed cannot just print more money as that would turn the world into a tailspin financially and devalue the dollar beyond repair. Has the "stimulus" money helped you in anyway? I don't believe so!

There has been so much flip/flopping by this administration (Obama) already that it makes your head spin. I do not believe that they can spend hundreds of billions of dollars of the tax payers money and expect to solve the problems any more than you can spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on video equipment that you will never use in your practice and believe that somehow it will all wash out in the end. I believe that there has never been a better time for America to look at itself and face the fact that Washington is not the answer to the problem. They are actually the problem. You might say that I am just anti-democratic party but that is not the case. I am anti- big government and anti-socialism and that is what is happening to our great country right before our eyes.

Both parties are guilty as sin when it comes to spending our tax dollars just to get more people to vote for their parties candidates. We could all personally be heading into serious problems in the very near future if each of us does not watch out. Now is the time to stop spending and let the equipment that we already have pay us back for our investment.

I know, it is tempting to get the very latest video equipment because we want to be "State-of-the-art" and be able to show off our very latest toys, but I believe that the equipment that we already have can do the job, as it has in the past, especially when the video formats are changing every hour on the hour. I believe that we should set back and let this thing sort itself out while we invest our funds in marketing our selves rather than putting ourselves in deeper financial debt purchasing equipment that will not make us one more dollar than the equipment that we already own.

One other thought, maybe the time could not be better than right now to do an inventory of our equipment that we are no longer using and offer it for sale on Ebay. I know that I have several thousands of dollars worth of very good equipment that I do not need any more and you will be seeing it offered for sale very soon. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

2009-01-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

Well, the new president is now in office (they had to swear him in twice just to make sure it was going to stick) so it will be interesting to see just where he leads us during the next four years. It is not going to be easy for the good old U.S.A. to get out of the financial mess the country is now in and I just hope he doesn't make it worse. It will be a whole lot worse if he gives away all the money that he promised to dole out during his campaign for the office. I will continue to pray for him and our nation and I am sure that God will hear and answer our prayers as long as we as a nation honor Him.

It was interesting that he had Pastor Rick Warren give the invocation at his inauguration. I am presently reading his best selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life". I just received an email quoting Pastor Rick and here is his suggestion as to what we should be doing during our lives here on good old planet earth: "During happy moments, PRAISE GOD; during difficult moments, SEEK GOD: during quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD; during painful moments, TRUST GOD; and every moment, THANK GOD!"

I certainly thank our awesome God for his many blessings to Jan and I and one of those blessings are the wonderful people that he has brought together in the American Guild of Court Videographers! We are continuing to grow faster than ever as we have enrolled better than one new member a day during the month of January.

I sincerely hope that you are capitalizing on the tremendous increase of legal proceedings that are going on in our courts across the nation today. If not, get out there and whip up the lawyers as they have found out that any attorney that goes into court today without good video evidence is the one that comes out the loser every time. The X and Y generation will not be impressed with an attorney that still uses the procedures that have long gone by the way. See ya!

Another Year gone by!

2008-12-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

It is December 31st and we are now concluding a year which has been a difficult year for the Marquette's. As we close out the year, we are still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan with no immediate end in sight. It is draining our nation's resources, resources that could very well be used at home in our fight to get our economy back where it should be. A fight that we seem to be losing at this time.

We will have a new president in just 20 days and he will be facing a most difficult task in his attempt to turn around our failing economy and put our country back where the rest of the world will respect us for the good that we have historically done for nations around the world. With our nation trillions in debt, I will not live to see the day when all this is paid back to those who have extended us credit. I am convinced that the U.S.A. has ventured into dangerous economic waters which has taken us away from the free enterprise system that has served our nation so well for two centuries. Being a "go for it" type of guy, I feel frustrated that we as individuals can really do nothing but set back and see how this all comes out.

In spite of this difficult past year, I am looking forward to 2009 with great anticipation for my family, for our businesses and for our nation. We are still a "Nation under God" and I have faith that as long as we honor Him, He will provide for us in one way or another. May God give you rich blessings this New Year!

Our New President

2008-12-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

Well, it is all over but the shouting and that is certain to follow. The election was certainly president setting in that we finally have an African American President elect who will be taking office in January, 2009. To be honest, he was not my pick as I am a conservative republican, both fiscally and socially and it appeared during the campaign that Obama is neither. Much to my surprise, he has changed his position on many subjects now that he is the President-elect.

I do not believe that he has changed his liberal social positions which really concerns me when it comes to decisions on abortion and gay marriage that are bound to come up during the Suprime Court hearings in the near future sessions. Obviously, he is going to appoint very liberal judges when there are vacancies on the Federal and Supreme Courts. My concern is that we will see a contuning of the Courts establishing new laws rather than protecting Americans under the Constitution as it was written. I pray that I am wrong in my concerns.

I believe it still comes down to the old story that the candidate that promisses the most gets the most votes even if they really know that they cannot fulfill their promisses if and when they are elected. The candidate that talked about "change" has already proven to me that we are still going to have more of the same by looking at the nominees for key government positions that are right out of the Clinton regime.

I am still going to support Obama and will pray that Obama will seek God's guidance as he directs our nation and the rest of the free world and that he will exercise restraint when it comes to the very difficult decisions that will affect millions of Americans.

God bless you and may God bless America!

NEW PRESIDENT

2008-10-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

In just one week we will be selecting a new president, one that is going to be responsible for turning around a nation in financial distress and one that is definiately heading in the wrong direction. The difference between the two candidates has never been wider in U.S. history than the difference between Senator Barack Obama and his running mate, Senator Joe Biden, and Senator John McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin!

In my opinion, the Democrates have selected the least experienced and least qualified candidate for the President of the United States that I have seen in my entire lifetime. Obama has a very poor record of performance as a Illinios state Senator voting "present" over 130 times showing that he will not take a stand for what he believes is right. He even voted to not assist new borns from boched abortions and perferred to allow these children to die. His voting record in the U.S. Senate has shown him to be the "most liberal" Senator in the entire U.S. Senate. His past record of friends has thrown up a red flag to me as to his true character and should be considered alarming to those who think this man is qualified to lead the free world.

We need a fighter such as John McCain if we hope to regain the respect of the world. I could go on and on about the qualifications of Senator McCain but you all know about his service in the U.S. Navy, his 5 years in a prison camp and his many years as a Senator.

I am only one, but I am one, and I am doing what I can to see to it that we stop heading our nation head long into socialism. It is my prayer that we return to the basics that our founding fathers had established for what has become the greatest nation on the planet.

I am hoping that you will join me in putting a real fighter into the White House, Senator John McCain!

Looking forward to Denver

2008-10-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the Kansas City seminar has come and gone and we had a great time and certainly enjoyed the famous BBQ at Jack Stacks down in the Plaza. I left K.C at 12:00 pm on Thursday and was home in bed at 12:01 am Friday morning after driving straight through. What a great joy to meet our new members and expecially the Carson family from Tulsa. I want to wish all of the attendees much success as they pursue their new legal video career.

Now, we are looking forward to a great Denver seminar next week. It follows the largest regional video expo in the country where over 150 manufacturers and suppliers will have their goods on display. Of course, I will be there with my little AGCV booth. The expo is October 8th and 9th of this month and we follow it at the same hotel with our four day CCVS seminar the 10th through the 13th. We still have room for you!

I received some distrubing information this week regarding the legal profession and I am sure that very few people realize just what the litigation costs are in this country to the average U.S. citizen. We are paying $625.00 per person for the court rooms, the judges and their staffs because we have become the most litigious country in the world. These costs do not include the lawyers fees and other costs that the litigants have to pay on their own. This report came from Richard Ward, chief executive officer of Lloyd's of London. England is fast approaching the same situation where businesses are relocating out of England (and out of the United States) to countries where they are not facing the posibilities of class-action law suits which are crippling the companies that are doing business in our two nations.

I hope that Congress will wake up to the fact that we, as a nation, are loosing many manufactur-ing firms that are locating in other countries because of our serious tort problems. Unfortunately, Congress has brought up tort reform 13 times and the Democratic canditate for Vice President has voted against the tort reforms all 13 times. This should come as no suprise as the Democrates have received some $107 million so far in 2008 from the class-action lawyers. I have nothing against lawyers making honest money but when it comes to class-action litigation, there have been a string of high-profile attorneys that are now serving time because of being convicted of crimes regarding their illegal actions.

We Report, You Decide

2008-09-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail that I found extremely interesting and I am going to pass it on. This is the most interesting thing I've read in a long time. The sad thing about it, you can see it coming. I have always heard about this democracy countdown. It is interesting to see it in print. The e-mail was intitled "How Long Do We Have?" Here it is:

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Atherian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilations from the begining of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence: 1. from bondage to spiritual faith; 2. from spiritual faith to great courage; 3. from courage to liberty; 4. from liberty to abundance; 5. from abundance to complacency; 6. from complacency to apathy; 7. from apathy to dependence; 8. from dependence back into bondage."

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election: Number of states won by Democrats: 19; Republicans: 29. Square miles of land won by Democrates: 580,000, Republicans: 2,427,000. Population of counties won by Democrates: 127 million, Republicans 143 million. Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by Democats: 13.2, Republicans: 2.1. These are simply the facts!

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Republicans won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Democrat territory mostly encompasses those citizens living in government owned tenements and living on various forms of government welfare." Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complancency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

The conclusion, if congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called "illegals" and they vote, then we can say goodby to the USA in fewer than five years.

I hope that this message will help you realize just how much is at stake in this election and that you will realize that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

"WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!"

Wrapping up August

2008-09-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a strange summer here in Wyoming as we have had the warmest that we have seen since moving here. Now, it has been the coolest we have seen for this last week at this time of year. I watched the Gustav storm rage through New Orleans and on up the state and realized how fortunate I am to live in the great state of Wyoming.

Right now, the Republican convention is on and I watched a new storm, Gov. Sarah Palin, come on as strong as Gustav did. I do believe we are seeing a rising star on the Republican front and I will go on the record stating that she will be the first female to become president of the good old USA. No other governor in the history of this nation, that I am aware of, has ever carried an approval rating of over 80%. She receives that because she promised and she delivered. In case you didn't know it, I am a social and fiscal pro-gun, pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, anti-illegal immigrant conservative Republican that feels that the Democrats desire to become all things to all people is leading us to more government interferrence and more control of our lives. To be honest, I lost all interest in the election until McCain picked Sarah to be his running mate.

I am told that I should not let my personal feelings get into the publications of the Guild, particularly politics and religion, but this is my personal blog and I am going to put my honest feelings into it and hope that you will respond if you feel differently. Let me know your feelings and I will be happy to debate! Have a good week!

The Olympics

2008-08-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, Am I ever proud to be an American! Our participants did America proud, won more medals than any other nation and set world records in the process. One thing that was very noticable throughout the Olympics was the amount of concentration on the part of those contending. Of course, we just saw the end result of what has been years of preparation, sacrifice and dedication to a cause! The results were outstanding, expecially on the part of Michael Phelps. As a child, his father abandoned the family, he had attention deficit disorder (ADD) and was pick on by his classmates because of his appearance. He was able to put all that aside and go after his goals regardless of his background of an unhappy childhood. Not only did we see terific individual effort but his greatness also depended on two of his Golds came as a result of "TEAM" effort. And houw about little Shaun (s) Johnson? She stuck in there to the end and finally came out with her Gold! There is a lesson here for all of us and that is to "keep on keeping on" regardless of our circumstances. It makes me stand back and take a look at what maybe I could have been if I had had the same degree of determination that we saw demonstrated at the Olympics. I close by saying "Three Cheers" to those who paid the price and received the award of world wide recognition! May you go and do likewise!

Back in business!

2008-08-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, it is like I have a new life when I got my computer back and its finally running the way it was designed to run. If you sent an important e-mail to me when my computer was down, please send it again because I probably did not receive it. I now have two ways that you can e-mail me so you can send it to either gmarquette@agcv.com or to marquette@bresnan.net. I will respond during the same day I receive it except when I am teaching a seminar. If the seminar is here in Casper, I will respond the same evening but if I am on the road, I will respond when I get back.

I am looking forward to the Kansas City seminar in September and the Denver seminar in October. The Denver seminar follows the Rocky Mountian VidExpo at the same hotel. This expo is the largest regional video convention in the country so it could be very well worth your time visit and get caught up on all the latest equipment from the major manfaucturers of hardware and software. It is held by the Denver airport at the Crown Plaza Hotel on October 8th and 9th. We hope if you are in the area, you will stop by my booth and let us meet and greet you.

Problems Continue

2008-07-29T12:24:00.001-07:00

Well, another week and another problem with computers. I received my computer back but it has a mind of its own and when it feels like it, it just shuts down and quits. So back to the shop and I have brougnt out one of my old computers and have now hooked it up to the internet so I can at least send and receive emails. If you sent one to me this weekend, I did not receive it so please resend. We are looking forward to our August seminar and then on to Kansas City in September and Denver in October. The Denver seminar immediately follows the Rocky Mountain VidExpo which is held at the same hotel on October 8th and 9th. It is a great opportunity to get caught up with all the newest hardward, software and assessories and attend the CCVS certification at the same time. Two for the price of one!

We would love to see any non-certified member to take advantage of this opportunity to become certified as we will be offering special prices for the seminar. Check with Michelle for the details.

Remember, any CCVS home study non-certified member must complete their certification by year's end or the cost and requirements will be very different. You can still complete the home study for the CCVS until December, 31st. After that, you will have to attend the live seminar to receive your CCVS. The CCVS home study program has been eliminated for all new members already.

Let us hear from you if you have any questions.

It was GREAT!

2008-07-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

We just wrapped up our July Casper seminar and had the best qualified class of videographers that I believe we have ever had. Professional producers, directors and network videographers and they came from coast to coast! We also had the second highest final exam grade that we have ever received so I think most, if not all, left very happy with their "Casper experience."

I keep kidding people by stating that we have two seasons here in Casper, Winter and Fourth of July and we did have some very hot weather but no rain while the folks were here.

The biggest problem that we had is that both of our main computers were down and were being repaired at the computer store so we could not receive or send any emails for the entire week so I need to appologize to those that tried to communicate with us and did not receive our usual prompt reply. As you can see, my computer is now up and running but Michelle's is still not back.

I want to encourage any member that is not yet certified, that they attend the Denver seminar in October. The two days preceeding out four day seminar, the Rocky Mountain VidExpo is held at the same hotel, October 8th and 9th. All the major manufacturers of hardware, software and accessories will have displays and there are many breakout sessions during the two days. You will receive the same discounted room rates that we offer and we have special prices for attending the CCVS seminar so check with us and then make your reservations.

See ya!

Good news and bad news

2008-07-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Let me start with the good news. Our Board of Advisor member, Wayne Cole, whose home is in Goleta, California, was saved from the terrible fires that swept through the Goleta area. The evaculation orders came within just one block of his home but they only received a snowstorm of ash and smoke which made breathing difficult. Congratulations Wayne!

Now for the bad news. I just received a call from our Board of Advisor member, Gil Garratt that he has retired from the video business. That is really bad news for the attorneys that he has been serving because he is recognized as "Mister Legal Videography" in his area in Orange county, California. He may have retired from being full time in the legal video business but I am not going to allow him to retire from the Board. He is far too valuable for all of us for me to allow that to happen! If you are in his area in California, you might want to contact Gil and offer your services so he can refer his video business to you that is sure to continue to come in. We wish Gil much success in his retirement! I hope that he finds time to head his motor home this way as we would love to see him again!

4th of July

2008-07-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth for you and your loved ones. This is the time that we should take time to thank God for our great nation. I have traveled around the world and there is not another nation on the planent that compares to the good old USA! It is comprised of the most generous people on the earth and, in spite of what some politicians would have you to believe, we have made the world a better place to live.

I found a source for the Samsung DVD VR 357s for just $129.99. These are factory refurbished and come with a 90 day warranty. They can be acquired at 1-800-229-2901 or by going to www.heartlandamerica.com. You should sign up for their free catalog of goodies.

Relax and enjoy the Fourth!

Just back from Las Vegas

2008-06-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

Got in this morning at 1:30 am and I am realing feeling the strain of the trip where I left Vegas at 12:00 pm (temp 104) and arrived here in Casper this morning. Had a great group of 18 in Vegas and the highest average final score since I have been teaching the course. They averaged just 97% with the highest grade of 98.5 (just missed three questions out of 200!) That was achieved by Bev Black of Vegas! (She has been a court reporter for 40 years. She and her son Toby are starting the video business in Vegas and they are using the new VideoMaster-Pro 1020 model.

I am happy to report that my wife, Jan, has started to show some improvement in the movement of her legs and I want to thank all of you that have been holding her up with your prayers. For those of you that are not aware, she had a third stroke on our January trip to Florida. I hope you all have a great weekend and I will post again next week. Love to hear from you! Gayle

2008-06-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready for the Las Vegas CCVS seminar next week and it looks like we will have a full house. I noticed the temp was 115 yesterday so I am going to travel light. I will post again after I reurn at the end of next week with a full report. We have attendees from all over the nation which is usually the case when we hold a Las Vegas seminar. Also, let me remind you that starting July 1st, all applicants for the CCVS certification will be required to attend a live seminar as the home study approach has been eliminated for this certification. Please check our web site for the schedule of our future seminars as we will be in Kansas City, Denver as well as Casper.

Welcome!

2008-06-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new AGCV member's blog where you can voice an opinion, ask questions and contact me rearding the subject of legal videography. My foremost goal is to assist the willing in finding a new and beneficial career in the field of legal videography. To this end, I will attempt to find the answers to any questions that you may have in regard to this subject. I am also extremely interested in assisting the membership in marketing their services to the legal profession.

I firmly state, "It is not what or who you know, it's WHO KNOWS what you know!" If the word is not getting out, all the knowledge in the world is not going to do you a nickle's worth of good. I have often said that a day gone by wothout marketing your services or products is a day of lost potential income. Most business people hate selling (which is a complete mystery to me). If a business person is not interested in marketing, they should close up shop and find a job working for someone else. This is certainly true in the churches today as many are dying on the vine because of a complete void in marketing. I am forever searching for new and better ways to "get the word out"(and so should every business person) as that is the basis for success, regardless what the profession or the product is that you are providing.

If I can be of help, please blog me back and we will get the ball rolling by your "moving in the right direction."

For more information about the American Guild of Court Videographers, please go to http://www.agcv.com/. To find a qualified legal videographer, go to www.legalvideographers.com.