Is your heart beating just a little faster knowing that there’s less than a week until Valentine’s Day? Don’t despair- the Chernoff Newman gift guide has you covered once again. Check out our latest Pinterest boards for some creative, romantic and fun ideas to inspire you this Valentine’s Day.

You can find us online at http://gifts.chernoffnewman.com/. And don’t be afraid to share the link with those who might be buying for you.

Then came digital technology – where cameras like the RED meant you could shoot as many takes as you needed because film was irrelevant. More than that – it didn’t look like video. It looked good. Really good.  This is when the account folks stopped sweating… and started crying tears of joy.

Who else cried tears of joy recently? Jonathan Friedman. He’s the consumer who shot the Doritos Burying Cat spot using a local actor and a local dog and I’m guessing his own Video D-SLR camera. To be honest, he’s actually a graphic designer – so he must have some sensibilities for advertising. But he’s now $1 million richer thanks to his ad winning the highest score from the USA Today newspaper panel. You know what else? He also won our Chernoff Newman poll. (Sorry Jonathan – we weren’t awarding any cash prizes).

So what does this mean exactly?

1) Production quality has overcome some of the limitations of expensive equipment. I say some because I’d like to see any one of you try to pull off our second place winner Audi Vampire Party in their own backyard.

2) People love to see dogs on screen. This year we had a number of dog-related spots to enjoy. And apparently the cat people are up in arms over the Doritos spot. So, I should probably say that people love to see their pets alive on screen.

3) A celebrity endorsement is not always the way to people’s hearts. Sorry Elton. And Jerry Seinfeld. And Nikki Six. And even Clint Eastwood (which, by the way, Ronald Regan’s son called – he wants his campaign speech back).

If you voted, thanks for playing. If you didn’t and want to see the results, hit up our Facebook wall. I look forward to what Super Bowl XLVII will bring.

The South Carolina Recycling Council unveiled its new brand today and we are proud to say we were a part of this important initiative. During our Brand Discovery sessions, we realized that to facilitate behavioral change – in terms of recycling at the end-user level – the brand needed a much friendlier, consumer-centric essence. As we sat together, it was discussed that even small changes at both the consumer and business level would make radical differences in terms of environmental protection and the economy. The new brand would need to clearly articulate the importance of recycling to our own futures, the future of our Earth and the positive business changes that result. We’re happy to announce the culmination of our efforts as RecyclonomicsSC: Small changes. Big returns.

It’s that time again my friends! Many of you have seen Palmetto Health Heart Hospital’s 28 Heart Days website but with this being a leap year, you now have 29 days to love your heart! Given the extra day, Palmetto Health decided to freshen things up at 29heartdays.com.

We’ve done away with the flash and made it easier for you to love your heart, no matter where you are. That’s right, 29HeartDays.com is taking full advantage of those CSS3 additions along with being completely responsive. So go ahead, pull the website up on your desktop*, fancy smart phone and even your tablet because we have you covered – and be sure to check back every day for new video content.

*Folks using modern browsers get the best experience

“Life is a shattered glass… we’re the ones who help put it back together.” That’s how Bedrija Jazic from the Office of Refugee Resettlement at Lutheran Family Services spoke about her job. As the first speaker on stage, she really set the tone for the day by asking us all to figure out ways that we can help our own community. Something as simple as volunteering your time to show a newly relocated refugee how to shop at a grocery store is one way to start. Want to hear more?

Watch out Bill Cosby! Dr Stuart Hamilton is in the house. His quick wit, wry smile and colorfully loud tie caught my attention right away. As the founder and CEO of the Eau Claire Cooperative Health Center, he has changed lives here by providing healthcare to those that have no where else to go. But it was the very end of the talk I loved the best. He requested that we – the audience – take his baton of good will and keep on running. He’d be a great one to follow, that’s for sure.

Dr John Zubizarreta is about to blow! He’s tired of the trash talk in regards to education in our state. I couldn’t agree more. Sometimes our politics and media coverage get in the way of seeing the good strides we’re making in educational pursuits. His nomination as “U.S. Professor of the Year” for undergraduate baccalaureate colleges from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is proof of this statement. His work at Columbia College is one that we should all be proud of. And if that’s not enough for you, check out SC Minds @ Work. It’s something Chernoff Newman worked on to showcase the positive strides we’ve made as a state in education improvement.

I had never heard of Christine Johnson before. This kind of makes me wonder if I’ve been living under a rock. But maybe not – maybe her moving here from Utah where she served two terms in the House of Representatives was not covered by mainstream media. She came to Columbia last fall to lead the reins at SC Equality. And her quiet insistence to say yes to what moves you provoked a resounding roar from the room. If you want to hear more about how she is leading a charge for Equal Means Everyone, then visit scequality.org.

Dr Julius Fridriksson got a standing ovation. It was obvious he didn’t know what to do with it. Even though he’s a rock star at the University of South Carolina for his Aphasia Laboratory, it’s clear that he’s uncomfortable with the praise he receives for his findings. Stroke can be debilitating in many ways and aphasia is one symptom that causes speech impairment. Dr. Fridriksson has found a way for people with aphasia to speak aloud by mimicking others. And it does it with the use of an iPod, a set of ear buds and a prerecorded video message. Not kidding. He showed us a man who has suffered from aphasia for years repeat what someone else was saying by following their mouth and listening to their words. It brought tears to my eyes (again!). This really hits home. I suffer from severe migraines. Luckily, it’s something that only happens every once in a while. But two times in my life I have gotten a migraine so severe that during its onset I lost the ability to say what I was thinking. THIS. WAS. DEVASTATING. Not to mention scary as all get out. The first time it happened I was in middle school. My Mom freaked – she’s a nurse, so she knew it was bad – and took me to a neurologist who told me I was having symptoms that are akin to mini strokes. So – I know that I’m not a stroke victim, but I also know a little about what this man’s research means to a population of people who suffer from aphasia. He is indeed a rock star. And I hope he keeps on discovering ways to improve the lives of stroke victims. And… did I mention this is happening right here in Columbia??? More info on his research.

You can’t be in the world of advertising today without knowing about CreateAthon. There are 73 agencies across the US, Canada and Puerto Rico that participate in this 24-hour creative marathon for local non-profits that have little or no marketing money. It’s also made its way into Universities across America through CreateAthon on Campus. Teresa Coles from Riggs Partners spoke to us about how CreateAthon came to be, how it’s grown and how it has impacted more than 1,100 non-profit organizations, delivering 2,500 projects that are valued at more than $11 million. MILLION. Yes, you read that right. And it all started right here in Columbia, SC back in 1998. Being in the ad business myself, I understand how you pour your heart and soul into a new project – especially one that benefits people who are really in need. If you are working for a non-profit and need some marketing help, find out more about CreateAthon and what it can do for your cause.

I tweeted that Jay Bender was killing it when he spoke last Monday. I wasn’t joking. This guy made me want to go back to school – and I hated my media law class back in the day. He was last on the docket and he spoke with vim and vigor on free speech. I was truly inspired. It made me think that I am just far enough removed from college to have forgotten what kind of spirit a great teacher can incite. It doesn’t hurt that he is funny as hell. Just take one look at his University of South Carolina page and you’ll see what I mean. Note: Read the last paragraph and the caption to his motorcycle picture. Jay Bender woke up my mind and made me remember that there needs to be a continual and constant fight for what’s right. And I truly thank him for that.

So there are your leaders, Columbia. Take note – and the baton. I’ll be back later in the week with a host of entertainers you need to see.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was both a dreamer and a leader. What’s more, his ability to captivate an audience is envied by the best entertainers out there. TEDxCAE was held on MLK day, which seems fitting to me. As I continue to share what I learned on Monday, I wanted to break down the day into three segments: dreamers, leaders and entertainers. It’s not that one speaker can’t be two of the above… or even all three. But I like to keep blog posts short(ish) – and this seemed to be a great way to organize my thoughts.

Pretty Woman started and ended with the quote: “What’s your dream? Everybody has a dream. What’s your dream?” The people who spoke at TEDx aren’t only dreamers – they have taken a passion and turned it into reality. And now we can learn from them! Here’s who I categorized as the dreamers for the day and why.

Cheri Brown Thompson made me cry. When I was just moving to Columbia, she was beginning to form The Healing Species – an education program that teaches compassion to the children in our community who may have never heard that word, much less experienced it. By paring rescued abused dogs with abused children, she is forging the way to a more caring, less violent and better educated city. If you love dogs (and people!) – find out more at healingspecies.org.

I had the fortunate experience of learning about Hidden Wounds from a friend. He is a former Marine and once he heard about this awesome organization he had to tell everyone he knew about it. But here’s what I didn’t know: how it began. Anna Bigham is the founder of this non-profit organization that provides interim and emergency counseling services to ensure the psychological health and well-being of combat veterans and their families. How did she dream up this idea? She lived through her brother’s suicide. She spoke about what it was like to see her fun loving baby brother leave for his tour of duty and return alive just to lose his identity and eventually his life. The unseen trauma that our troops endure when they come home from war is real. If you know someone who is hurting and who needs help, there’s now a place to turn. Check out HiddenWounds.org for all the information. You can literally save a person’s life.

Does anyone reading this play Words With Friends? I figured. My nemesis on this game is Philippe Herndon. He is a point master. He shows no mercy. And his game commentary makes me laugh even when I’m 200 points behind. But Philippe is more than a WWF geek like me – he is an innovator. His dream lives in Caroline Guitar Company, where he creates handmade guitar pedals that have recently caught the eye of Guitar World, who gave the Wave Cannon – his first pedal – the Platinum Award for Excellence. Allow me to say that 10 years ago, I didn’t even know that there was a magazine called Guitar World. My husband Tye (who plays guitar) changed that for me. Guitar World is big, people. If it’s a day late to our mail box, the pacing starts. And when it does arrive, it’s read cover to cover. So Philippe is the real deal. But what inspired me about his presentation and performance at TEDx were his words about not being apologetic for where we live. Not only does he take pride in creating products that are Made in the USA, he goes even further to wear a badge of honor for being Made in Columbia, SC. In my mind, every single one of us should take this passion and live it. Oh, and for more info on his company, you can check out CarolineGuitar.com.

Certified SC Grown is dear to my heart. With the SC Department of Agriculture at our side, we launched this brand a few years back to help the farmers of our state sell more of their product, while bringing healthier and better tasting food to our consumers table. You have no idea what pride I have when I see a Certified SC Grown logo posted to a farm, sitting in a grocery store cart or tacked to a water bottle. So when Eric McClam from City Roots Farm brought his water bottle out and placed it on the table during his presentation on Monday, I was beaming. More than that, I was excited to hear from the founder of City Roots Farm because it is a topic of conversation at my kitchen table quite often. My kids go to school at A.C. Moore Elementary. The same school that Eric went to (he even gave them a shout out during his presentation!). My son went to the farm on a field trip last year and he still talks about it constantly. Eric mentioned in his presentation that if we can teach kids about the positive effects of eating locally, then they’ll take it from there. HE’S RIGHT. His dream of creating an urban sustainable farm is being realized and I urge each and every one of you to check it out. You can find them online at and visit in person at 1005 Airport Boulevard near Owens Field and the YMCA sports complex.

Speaking of dreamers… what would you think of someone who dreamed up the idea of creating a crow vending machine? I know, it sounds off the wall. But I was so moved my the possibilities of this (stick through it to the end – you’ll see what I mean) that I wanted to share this Big TED video that we watched during the day.

And I’m not trying to bait you like the vending machine… but I hope you’ll be back for a few more posts covering my day at TEDxCAE.

So – my first glimpse of Columbia wasn’t what was going on in the city. I was too naive to care about that. All I knew was that the people I met were really nice. Yes, a few asked me who my Mom and Dad were (I found this peculiar – what did that matter?). Yes, people asked me if I went to Carolina and when I said yes, they said Go Cocks! (which really confused me because I’m a Tar Heel). And yes, when Ralph Gregory offered me a job I told him I had to think about it overnight (which meant call my Dad with a squeal that I was going to be gainfully employed). So the next morning I said yes to a city that I knew nothing about. A city that some of my friends questioned due to political issues, education issues and just plain old branding issues, really.

Fast forward to Monday, as I sat in TEDx Columbia, where speaker Christine Johnson from SC Equality talked about saying yes to the things that move you and it was like waking up: Columbia, South Carolina is alive, people (some might even say Famously Hot). There are so many good things to say about our city. And to all my friends who doubted my path to this town – I now say: I didn’t pick Columbia. It picked me.

Stay tuned over the next few days as I share what each presenter’s story meant to me. I’m sure all of us at the event had many takeaways, I just hope I can express the excitement I gained from every person there.

Rose Stancil and her son with Matt and Ted after dinner. Her sweet potato pound cake with caramel sauce was the winner inthe baked good category.

Best-selling cookbook authors and southern food lovers, Matt Lee and Ted Lee, joined the winners and their guests in the kitchen to swap tips and whip up the top recipes with locally-sourced, Certified SC Grown ingredients of course.  The event was the finale to the six-week long statewide recipe contest searching for the best holiday offerings with a local twist. Matt and Ted selected the top 25 recipes and then narrowed the list further to pick the five, overall grand-prize recipes:

Matt and Ted Lee in the SC Department of Agriculture's exhibition kitchen.

South Carolina’s Best Appetizer:  Dawn Dausman’s Rosebank Farms Heirloom Pumpkin Bisque

South Carolina’s Best Baked Good: Rose Stancil’s Sweet Potato Pound Cake with Caramel Sauce

South Carolina’s Best Dessert:  Ines Gillier’s Pecan and Honey Tart

South Carolina’s Best Entree:  Beaumont Riley’s Apple and Prune Pork

Dawn Dausman's (right) recipe for a Rosebank Farms Heirloom Pumpkin Bisque was named SC's Best Appetizer.

South Carolina’s Best Side Dish:  Elizabeth Benfield’s Vegetarian SC Grown Collard Greens

Get in the kitchen and test drive these best-of South Carolina recipes… It’s a great way to support local agriculture and be Certified SC!

Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority launches their new site today at ridecarta.com. Chernoff Newman designed and developed the site, as well as worked with CARTA to bring Google Transit into the online experience – a first for the state of South Carolina. The new site also features more information on bus routes, as well as Facebook and Twitter feeds for real-time information on bus service. Next time you’re in the Charleston area, get on board CARTA.