As 2008 winds down, its a great time to reflect on all the good this year has brought us. Sure, economically times are tough, but I have still have a lot to be thankful for.

This year, Governor Granholm signed film incentive package that brought Hollywood to Michigan. Having many grads working in the film industry, Specs Howard School has been making strides to become deeply involved in the creation of the infrastructure needed to support it. I had the distinct pleasure of visiting our grads that run The
Skeleton Factory who released their 9th feature film last month.  Todd and Tommy Brunswick, along with Mike and Susan Kudreiko just wrapped their second feature starring Daniel Baldwin.  It's called "Born of Earth" and follows "Little Red Devil" which was released earlier this year.  You can see the trailer on MySpace and clicking on Skeleton Factory.  Todd & Tommy have been making features for many  years because they've figured out not only how to make 'em, but the much harder part....how to make money doing it! It was also great to know that most of the folks working for them are also grads.

In other news, we want to send our sincere congrats to Specs Howard Hall of Fame inductee, Alex Tear, on his promotion to Operations Manager of Clear Channel's 5 station group in Pittsburgh PA.  His boss, John Rohm said, "Alex has distinguished himself throughout his career as a programmer who is solidly grounded in the fundamentals and also adapts to new philosophies.  His vision, leadership and strong grasp of new technologies make him uniquely suited to his new position".  We couldn't agree more!

We also want congratulate grad Paul LaVigne on being named to Hewlett-Packard’s Business Advisory Council.  He is one of only a dozen owners of digital companies selected nationwide to participate in this council.  He owns Digital Services Inc. in Grand Rapids.

I'd like to send my best wishes to all the grads that will be starting their new positions in (or around) the new year:

- For all of you sports fans, Dan Watkins (RTV 6-06) is the new assistant producer for Jay Towers and Bill McAllister Mornings on 97.1 FM The Ticket.

- Jen Crawford [Donnelly] starts the new year with a new position at NCR 90.5 FM in Gaylord, MI. Jen will be in charge of imaging/production and assisting the PD with music.

- Brad Weimer’s (RTV-01-02) career has led him through ESPN, Fox Sports, and now Comcast. Brad is a producer in the new HD studio of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area in San Francisco.

- Melissa Noack (RTV-14-07) is a copywriter at CHUM Group Ltd, writing for stations such as 89X, 93.9 FM, and AM 800.

I’d like to take this chance to wish all members of the Specs Howard family a happy holiday season. I’d like to thank several of you that have contact me via MySpace, Facebook, and email to update me on what’s going on in their lives. Have a safe and happy holiday and a great new year! See you in 2009!