Sconda

Scott Honda's 2nd Annual Pen Amnesty Day

Dog's chew on them, children write on walls with them and adults horde them.  You've used them at local restaurants, doctor's office's and even other car dealerships.  They are Scott Honda pens and they are all over the Delaware Valley, but once a year when we run a little low on our own supply we need to have Pen Amnesty Day.

"Basically it means I submitted our pen order too late and we're about to run out," admits Marketing Manager, Douglas P. Scott. "But I know employees collect these pens, either by accident or on purpose and this special day was created to allow those folks to bring them back without apology."

Within 10 minutes of the company-wide voice mail announcing Pen Amnesty Day, 473 pens had already been handed back in with a smile.

"Here you go Doug," said Internet Sales Consultant, Kim Meissner, with a sheepish grin as she handed over a rainbow collection of pen colors in two large rubber band wads.  "These are my favorites, but I didn't even realize I had so many."

It appears to be the endless color combinations and the Bic quality that makes these pens such a fan favorite.  Whenever the boxes of the new pens arrive employees can't wait to see what colors will be inside.

Some wives have been known to be hand Ziploc baggies to their husbands, filled to brim with our pens saying things like "Get these darn pens out of my house."

"I am part of the problem," Doug admits.  "I give them away to anyone I meet.  I leave them at restaurants, at Home Depot, at the movie theater, literally any time I sign a check or see a stash of pens, I leave one of ours.  I see it as guerrilla marketing.  Getting Scott Honda's name anywhere I can."

One employee is even getting a custom color combination done for his wedding at his wife's request, that's how popular they've become.

"I have pondered creating a Sconda Pen of the Month Club," Doug revealed to Sconda Blog.  "I have even thought about letting people win the ability to pick the colors."

Stay tuned to hear more about the potential for the Sconda Pen of the Month Club.

Sconda Hoodies Across America - Utah

There's one more player and one less state in Sconda Hoodies Across America (SHAA).  Introducing Max "The Ice Man" Kelly, the newest contestant in the hooded cotton craze that's sweeping America.  Max grabbed Utah, the largest state to fall in SHAA.

While snowboarding in Park City, Utah at the appropriately named Park City Mountain Resort Max and his brother, Wade Kelly took a little time from doing their best Shaun White impersonations to take this snowy picture and some great video proof as well.

Max's brother and mother, Sue Kelly both work at Scott Honda, but with dedication like this we may have to find a nice corner office for Max in the near future.

Some fast facts about the 45th state in the union and more importantly the 10th state in Sconda Hoodies Across America; Utah is home to the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the Great Salt Lake.  Up to 72% of the population belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Utah had the fastest growing population in 2008 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Liam Wins 2010's First Artist of the Month

Our first budding artist for 2010 is Liam, with his beautiful boat named "Rain Bow".  This boat really caught our eye for multiple reasons.  The first being the really neat vertical stripes on the sails and the horizontal stripes on the hull.  He managed to make four colors look like more with his consistent color patterns.

The other aspect we loved was the way he colored SCOTT by outlining the interior with read, yellow, then green and coloring the rest in with blue.  It just really stood out amongst the over 30 sailboats that were colored during the Holiday vacation when the dealership was filled with kids.

Way to go Liam and congratulations for being the Sconda Artist of the Month for January!

While you and your kids are in for sales or service, make sure they grab one of the free coloring books and crayon 4-packs at the receptionist desk or in the Scott Kids Spot.  It will help them pass the time and they could win the much sought after Sconda Artist of the Month Award.

Sconda Hoodies Across America - NY

The Empire State falls to our leader in Sconda Hoodies Across America, Ken Barker who came back from a four states to one deficit to take the lead over Zach "ZZ" Zimmerman.  Barker took the lead in style too, posing for numerous pictures at the famous Coney Island.

"I had never been to Coney Island before, but my Pilot's navigation system took me right to the boardwalk...love that thing!" Barker told Sconda Blog.  "I can see why Coney Island has such a special place in the hearts of New Yorkers.  It must be great growing up there or being able to take the subway to the beach."

Photo 1: Barker stands in the shadow of the famous "Wonder Wheel", which according to the highly paid research staff at Wikipiedia was built in 1918 and opened in 1920, this steel framed Ferris wheel has both stationary cars and rocking cars that slide along a track. It holds 144 riders, stands 150 feet tall, and weighs over 2,000 tons. At night the Wonder Wheel's steel frame is outlined and illuminated by neon tubes.

Photo 2: Our leader in SHAA stood beneath the "Eiffel Tower of Brooklyn" as it has been affectionately referred, but officially known as the Parachute Jump, was built in 1939 for the World's fair and moved to Coney Island in 1941.  Standing 262 feet tall and weighing 170 tons this ride stopped "pulling it's ripcord" in 1968 and in 1980 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo 3: Working up an appiteit on his busy day of sight seeing, Baker parked outside Nathan's Famous for a hot dog.  According to their website "Nathan’s Famous was founded by a Polish immigrant, Nathan Handwerker, and his is truly an authentic 'only in America story.' He started his business in 1916 with a small hot dog stand in Coney Island, New York using a recipe developed by his wife, Ida.

Photo 4: For his final photo Barker stood beside the New York Aquarium, which is proud to hold the title of the America's Oldest Continually Operating Aquarium, now in it's 113th year.

We can only guess where Ken "Hoodie" Barker will end up next...but if you follow him on Twitter you may get some hints.

Sconda Hoodies Across America - NJ

"Only you can prevent forest fires" and only Ken Barker can prevent the rest of the world from claiming  New Jersey in Sconda Hoodies Across America, and that's just what he did.  In one of the most memorable photos of the contest Ken palled up with a famous bear in Cape May for this portrait.

While most folks refer to this fire fighting Black Bear as "Smokey the Bear", his official name is just Smokey Bear.  This is a misconception the United States Forest Service has been battling and losing ever since songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins wrote the hit "Smokey the Bear".  According to Wikipedia the duo said they added "the" to Smokey's name to "keep the song's rhythm".

Smokey Bear, the public educator, was born in 1944, but it wasn't until a real bear cub got caught up a tree and rescued during a New Mexico forest fire in 1950 that the now classic character really became an American icon.

Thanks to Ken we all know a little more about our furry friend Smokey and we know Ken is a sucker for the beach in winter...who can blame him, no crowds and no sunburn.  This state tied him with Zach Zimmerman at four states a piece, but Ken was in a New York state of mind after this pit stop.

Sconda Hoodies Across America - Mass

ZZ strikes again.  The New England Bandit bags another state, as Massachusetts gets put in Zach Zimmerman's "Basket o' States".  Bringing his tally to four, Zach has started off Sconda Hoodies Across America with a bang.  This time our version of Carmen Scon-diego landed in Beantown.

"This photo was taken in Boston with the famous Citgo sign in the background, the one next to Fenway Park." Zach told Sconda Blog.  "I apologize for it being blurry...that would be Brian Doucet's fault, he took the photo."  (Que sound of bus being driven by Zach, running over Brian)

While it took a little Photoshop magic to make up for Doucet's photography woes in order to bring the Citgo sign to life, the effort was there and the hoodie was on.  The question is, can ZZ capture all of New England?  Only the Ocean State, the Constitution State, and the Green Mountain State remain.  I do however know of several Sconda hoodies making their way northward, back to college as we speak.

Want to get in the game click this link for info on getting your Sconda Hoodie.

Hooked on Fishing, 14 Years & Counting

It all began in 1995 when General Sales Manager, Dave Greaves thought it would be a lot of fun for Scott Honda to sponsor a dealership-wide fishing trip.  That was all sales manager and weekend angler Joe Collins needed to hear to start the first of what is now become a 14 year fishing tradition.

"Fishing is something I love and it's a great way to bring together folks from all different departments," Collins says.  "It's also a great trip for a little father and son bonding!"

This years trip to Point Pleasant, New Jersey was initially postponed due to Hurricane Bill, but the weather last Sunday was perfect and we have the pictures to prove it.

"The water was great, the sun was out and the fish we biting" says fellow Sales Manager, Marius "Little Buddy" Krawiec. "It was a nice getaway after those wild cash for clunkers days."

During their 7 hour tour on the Voyager, the 23 Sconda fisherman caught over 100 fish, most of them Flounder and Sea bass.

Scott Honda's trips have been up and down the Jersey Coast, like Cape May, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Brielle, and  Fortesque to name a few.  And the fish of the day has varied just as much.  They've caught Flounder, Sea bass, Tog, Croakers, Bluefish and Weakfish as well.

But the winner of the annual biggest fish pool this year went to Franco Alvisi who caught a healthy Sea bass weighing in at over 3 pounds.