APIOH Blog

At APIOH, we continuously strive to present our clientele with the most innovative and functional web based recognition systems backed by a solid support system.  Product development is always paramount to our business model, building the proper sales strategy will allow us to secure our future and developing the proper support structure will ensure ongoing customer satisfaction.  Still, we are very careful not to forget why we developed APIOH and do not wish to be motivated by the business model alone.  Our goal is to provide products to organizations that will convey the proper feelings and emotions when dealing with the sensitivity of recognition systems.

Sometimes we forget what our initial altruistic motivations once were when we get caught up in a venture or became involved in a cause.  We get bogged down by the mundane activities and lose our passion.  We become detached from the primary objective.

In “Memorial Day is approaching.  What will it mean to you?” I pose the question of whether Memorial Day will pass without producing the proper reflection and recognition of those soldiers who gave up their lives to ensure our freedom.  It should be a day when we should appreciate what they gave their lives for and a time when we ask ourselves what it is that we would risk our lives to protect and uphold.  Unfortunately, the questions that occupy our minds on the long Memorial Day weekend tend to be more like ‘should be barbeque hot dogs or hamburgers’. Certainly, in such situations, the keystone of the holiday is absent.

I also included an article entitled “Was It True What They Said About…”.  Just like we sometimes miss the message of Memorial Day, we sometimes miss the opportunity to leave a true and complete legacy of those we recognize.  We instead leave nothing for our progeny or permit others to fill the void with inaccuracies or fiction while we go off to “eat our barbeques” and neglect our responsibility to our descendants.

We should always keep what’s most important in front of us while staying anchored to our foundation.  Our predecessors risked their lives to make ours the best it can be.  We must preserve their legacies and present their stories to our children.  We have to let our children know who their benefactors were.  Let them understand what it took to develop the organizations that are a mainstay of their lives.  Let them reflect in the true and proper sense of Memorial Day.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

Abraham Lincoln

-

“Only through the darkness of ordeals can the light of personal growth be revealed.”

Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz quoting the Zohar

-

“The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.”

Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr.

-

“Take the time to smile, take in some sunlight (even a few minutes) and appreciate what you have. It’ll do wonders to your day!”

a freind

There is a famous saying, “It’s not how you look, it’s how you feel”. Billy Crystal spoofed the saying when he did his satire of Fernando Lamas. In his version, he said, “It’s not how you feel, but how you look”. When it comes to recognition systems, which is more important? Look or feel? Do we wish to elicit emotions with the mention of a name while feeling the texture of a physical plaque or do we want to present the individuals in an appealing way with information and meaning and forgo the physical?  During discussions with potential clients about APIOH - A Place In Our Hearts and our web based recognition systems, the comment about whether the goal and desire of APIOH is to replace the physical plaque boards inevitably comes up. We always respond that APIOH can replace, supplement or provide an alternative to physical systems of recognition.

APIOH provides a ‘Sense’-ible approach. APIOH presents recognition in an eye appealing manner. Visitors to an APIOH View display can read information contained in the presentation and see pictures of those being presented. However, touch is a different matter. APIOH relates to the sense of touch through its touch screen interaction, so on a macro level, an individual can connect to the overall presentation through touch. However, on an individual level, APIOH does not invoke the same sentiment that the texture of a physical plaque does. Many individuals have related that they do not want to lose the emotional value of a physical plaque and the meaning it conveys as it relates to the person being presented on that plaque. People have told me they get comfort when they visit the physical plaque of a deceased loved one. They maintain a physical connection to the departed when they lay their hand over the plaque. These individuals do not want to lose that opportunity by ‘replacing’ the physical with the virtual.  So to those organizations we suggest that they do n0t get rid of the physical plaque system.  Instead they should supplement the limitations of the physical plaques with the depth of APIOH’s virtual ones.

The goal of an APIOH system within an organization is up to the organization utilizing it. If an organization is looking to free up wall space, APIOH provides the ability to house significantly more plaques in a much smaller footprint than physical plaques – all while providing significantly more information behind each plaque. If an organization wants to supplement its plaque system by providing an additional resource for extended physical plaque information, it can. If an organization wishes to add an alternative to the physical plaque systems, APIOH can be that alternative. 

Certainly, APIOH is not everyone’s everything. But neither are physical plaques.  APIOH is not out to rid the world of physical plaques.  On the contrary, we want to add the missing elements of the physical plaques.  Let us enhance the experience and emotion elicited by physical plaques with the depth of information, photos and other content that can be provided through APIOH.

How far does a sponsorship go in recognizing a loved or honored one?  How can an individual or group be recognized throughout a community for their positive impact on that community?  APIOH direct community sponsorship offers a meaningful and wide reaching possibility.

APIOH – A Place In Our Hearts develops web based interactive products and displays for the benefit of organizations.  Our objective at APIOH is to create recognition systems that will help organizations in numerous ways.  As our motto states, ‘APIOH: A Place In Our Hearts provides systems to memorialize our departed, recognize our achievers, and show gratitude to our donors - within an organization and globally.’  However, more than ever, affordability and return are the primary concern of every organization.  That is why our products promote giving to the organization and offer revenue generation opportunities. 

APIOH products allow for internal sponsorship opportunities.  Like many capital projects instituted in a not-for-profit organization, the organization would find sponsors from among their members to underwrite the cost of the systems.  These sponsors would be presented prominently at the top of each APIOH View display within the organization and on their associated APIOH web pages.  Ongoing revenue generation would take care of annual maintenance and upgrade charges and provide additional income to the organization.

Still, the amount needed from within to underwrite could be further reduced by up to 25% with direct APIOH sponsorship.  This sponsorship would go to APIOH to directly underwrite the cost of the products to a number of organizations.  Candidates for direct APIOH sponsorship would be those who might otherwise contribute to a large charitable cause.  The sponsor would have to recognize that their contribution provides the subsidy dollars to allow APIOH to reduce the cost of the APIOH products to a number of not-for-profit organizations.  As a thank you for the sponsorship, the sponsor would be able to feature their desired honoree in a prominent spot in many of the organizations that are important to them.

 By way of example, someone who would be recognized within a community for his generosity or service to that community might choose to be an APIOH sponsor.  That individual might wish to make a contribution to benefit the community by naming a church, school or hospital.  But such a contribution would only be visible to those who visit that specific building.  It would not be seen by a large diverse audience on a regular basis.  As an alternative, sponsoring APIOH within a community presents the name, picture and recognition of the sponsored honoree in all APIOH boards throughout related community institutions and on all their associated APIOH web pages.  This means that instead of recognition in one location, the individual can be recognized globally.  Also, information would accompany the sponsorship recognition, so future generations would know more about the individual who was so generous in the past. 

It is important to note that direct APIOH sponsorship is not available for commercial sponsors and would not compromise the beliefs and objectives of the organizations where it is being presented.  

So Kellogg’s Corn Flakes will not be a direct APIOH sponsor, but the Kellogg Foundation could be based on their non-commercial charitable activities they are involved in.  A community sponsorship honoring a rabbi will likely not be presented in a church in deference to the varying beliefs of each religion.

Direct APIOH sponsorship is a wonderful way to further impact a wider community.  Call us and we can discuss whether a direct community sponsorship would work for you.

  ”The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.”

Benjamin Disraeli

  “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”

Joseph Campbell

Memorial Day (celebrated this year on May 25, 2009) has become a day synonymous with barbeques, parades, a long weekend off, the beginning of summer, the Indianapolis 500, authority to wear white clothing, the Syms bash, poppies and more. So much more that we sometimes forget what Memorial Day is really about. Memorial Day is about reflecting on those who dedicated their lives to ensuring our freedom.

Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, was first introduced after the Civil War to memorialize the Union soldiers who died in battle. It has since expanded to include all casualties in any US war or military action. Appropriately, we designate a day to appreciate the men and women who fought on our behalf. Whether one agreed with the wars being fought, these soldiers served as a duty to our country and deserve our patriotism.

We should not neglect the opportunity to enjoy a weekend with our family or appreciate Memorial Day’s juxtaposition with the beginning of summer. But at the same time, we should reflect on those who gave their lives and their future with their families on a holiday weekend to allow us freedoms in our lives and the ability to spend the holiday weekend with our families.

Share the memory of a fallen soldier with your family and have a meaningful Memorial Day.

A Tribute to Our Fallen Soldiers

Maurice-Alexis Jarre, an award winning French composer and conductor, passed away on March 28, 2009. I knew of some of Jarre’s work, but I never knew of Jarre individually, and likely would not have had it not been for a post Shane Fitzgerald, a Dublin university student, posted in Wikipedia. Fitzgerald posted a beautiful poem by Jarre. It read, “One could say my life itself has been one long soundtrack. Music was my life, music brought me to life, and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head that only I can hear.”

This was an amazing quote. But what was even more amazing was that Maurice-Alexis Jarre never really said it. Shane Fitzgerald posted it on Wikipedia to see if it would be discovered as a fake. Wikipedia pulled the posting but not before a number of newspapers, websites and blogs quoted it.

Why do I feel it necessary to publicize this hoax? Because it illustrates one of the issues we try to overcome through APIOH – A Place In Our Hearts. At APIOH, we make every effort to set up appropriate recognition in the places where they are most suitable. We endeavor to place our systems where the information we present is desired. But one of the nicest features of APIOH products is that we enable clearer recollection through articles and pictures, not just names and dates. We strive to provide remembrance with a richer recognition. And we encourage our patrons to get the information from the most accurate resources – family and close friends.

When someone is eulogized, when someone is recognized for their generosity, or when particulars of an event are shared, one hopes family and true friends are the ones to convey the narrative. However, often the stories are left to be told by the ones who step forward to tell them. What will be conveyed? What will be told of their accomplishments or experiences? If the task is left to the unassociated, it is the fodder for legend and tall tales.

People believe that we leave a clear and accurate legacy for those who pass through this existence after us. We work hard to build a reputation. But years of building can collapse in a moment if the message is to be left by the ignorant, uninformed or unaware. Information can fade away and be forgotten.  Even worse, the history can be presented by those who wish to distort or recreate it.

Inaccuracies can occur through APIOH as well. Certainly, as Fitzgerald demonstrated himself, if someone wants to perpetrate a lie, all he or she needs is individuals to listen to the hoax that will pass it on to others. It is like the kids game, ‘operator’. Tell a child a secret message. Have that message get transmitted in secret throughout a room and the final telling of the message will likely be a significant distortion of the original. The further we get from the date of an event, the more distance there is between the subject of the discussion and the one who tells it, the more likely unintended misquotes and distorted realities are to occur. The closer we are to the source, the closer we are to the truth.

 If your organization offers an APIOH product, use it to store and share your memories. Log those thoughts and events as early as you can. Don’t let time erode those memories into inaccurate and useless drivel. Leave something meaningful and true or don’t leave anything at all.