Secretary’s Day has always been one of my favorite special days. I always like those special days that involve gifts. I’m the type of person who enjoys giving just as much as receiving.

I began my clerical career working for Baton Rouge Marine Contractors at their branch office in St. James near Capline Terminal. This was in the mid-seventies when things were really booming on the river. We handled the arrival of foreign ships coming up the river to discharge oil at Capline. This included everything from ordering the NOBRA river pilots to ordering their supplies to providing medical attention once the ship arrived at port.

There were a few ships where I would get invited to lunch. The best were a Chinese ship and another favorite was an Italian ship. On Italian and Chinese ships the captain had his own personal chef. If the captain transferred to another ship the chef followed. The meal was a complete feast. The Italians always had lots of fresh baked bread and a bottle of wine for every two people at the dinner table. Everything is cooked with alcohol….even the cake had bourbon in it. I would get back from these 3 hour lunches too drunk to drive home. I would have to get one of the guys to make coffee before I could leave at 5:00.

Besides the fifths of Johnny Walker Red Label that all captains thought was an American favorite, I got gifts of jade necklaces and bracelets from the Chinese captains. It wasn’t a bad job. I drove on the River Road to St. James in my 67 Mustang without air conditioning or power steering. I had an after-market 8-track player installed under the dash. Now I can’t image living without power windows.

I semi-retired from there when I thought I wanted to be a housewife. It wasn’t long before I went to work part-time for my brother-in-law Ricky Peltier in the junk yard. The job turned into full time I think on the first day. Ricky had a very fast paced business and still operates in the same manner. In those days before “circle dial” we had a Baton Rouge line and a local line. Ricky had the Baton Rouge line installed at my house. That way on the days I was sick I could still answer the phone. One thing about Ricky is he gave great gifts. Of course I had to remind him it was Secretary’s Day. I got a diamond ring, gold bracelets, and even patio furniture from Graugnard’s one year.

In 1990, I opened my own business. I have said before that I have had more secretaries then Murphy Brown. On that TV show she always had a new temp and she could never remember their name.

I have had a number of people employed throughout the years. The majority have been local girls. I am always ready to give someone the opportunity to earn a living. Some have been honest; some have been not so honest. I think some have had multiple personalities because they sure became a different person from the one I interviewed.

One was keeping everything I returned to QVC. I discovered this by an email about a cute little red coffee pot she found at Big Lots. How can people do this and think it won’t be discovered?

Another past employee had to schedule time off to testify at the serial killer’s trial. It was a legitimate excuse. She’s quoted in the book “I’ve Been Watching You,” about Derek Todd Lee.

As time goes by I find I have had to amend my office policies and procedures. Now shirts have to cover the belly and no visible body piercing, other that earrings.

We still celebrate Secretary’s Week in my office. I have some token of my appreciation on their desk every day of that week. It may something as simple as an umbrella (I never get mine back), to an item of clothes, to lottery scratch- offs to jewelry. It’s my way of saying I appreciate my office staff. I know I cannot do it alone.

I figured out long ago I can’t blame myself if an employee doesn’t work out. Everyone looks good on paper and who’s going to list a “bad” reference? In an interview anyone can turn into Eddie Haskell. Remember “Leave It To Beaver”? “Thank you Mrs. Cleaver. You look lovely today Mrs. Cleaver.” Even if you know their family, the family might not know them.

To my current staff, I salute you. To my past and future staff, remember, don’t burn your bridges. It’s a small town and you may have to cross them again.

Use "Ladder" to Climb Above Interest-rate Worries

If you depend on bonds for some of your income, what should you do if interest rates are down when your investments mature? Should you just “park” your money somewhere and wait for rates to rise again?

There may be a better solution. Consider building a “bond ladder” - a collection of short-term, medium-term and long-term bonds.

Once you have established a bond ladder, you are prepared for both rising and falling interest rates. When rates are rising, you can use the proceeds from your maturing bonds to invest in new ones at the higher levels. When market rates are falling, you’ll continue to benefit from the higher rates offered by your longer-term bonds even if you are purchasing bonds that have a lower rate with the money coming due.

See your financial advisor for help in putting together a bond ladder. It can be a great way to fight interest-rate worries.

In the word of sports, the major league baseball season has begun and my beloved Braves are off to a great start. Keeping my fingers crossed. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to a truly special man named Eddie Robinson. Coach Rob, as most that played for him at Grambling called him, leaves a legacy behind that has been unmatched and may never be duplicated. He leaves this world at 88 after a long battle with different illnesses. Coach Rob sent 200 players to the NFL during his tenure, including Superbowl MVP Doug Williams from the world champion Redskins. Thanks Coach Rob for touching so many lives along the way.

Baseball and softball playoffs will have been completed by the time this issue comes out. Good luck to the ACHS Bulldogs in the playoffs. Spring is a time to clean, right? Maybe for some. I also like to take this opportunity to rest a bit for the start of football season. Only three months away from LSU opening at Mississippi State on a Thursday night. Not a misprint, Thursday night in Starksville Mississippi, how exciting is that? Looking forward to attending the spring games in late May for ACHS and DHS to see the 2007 version for both teams. Welcome to Coach Ricky Bolotte at ACHS, fresh off his 33 years in the public school system. He will bring his experience to the Bulldog staff and head coach Dwayne Thommasie. The DHS Tigers will miss him, but Coach Gary Adkins returns with a great senior class led by Champlain Babin and Roy Sam. Troy LeBoeuf can be reached at troyleboeuf@hotmail.com for comments or stories of interest.

Making Sense of PPC

Pay-per-click (PPC) is one of the best ways to increase the number of visitors to your website, while keeping the cost of advertising down. Because you only pay for what you use, none of your valuable advertising dollars are wasted.

Keyword searches on major engines are the most common way for people to explore the internet and find sites that meet their needs. Pay-Per-Click allows a business to pay to keep their website at the top of search results, by outbidding competitors on specific keywords. A business decides how much it is willing to spend each time a search engine sends them a visitor, then the search engine and their partner engines organize search results with the highest paying businesses listed first.

Pay-Per-Click advertising does have limitations, however. New higher bids by competitors can lower your ranking, forcing you to increase your bid to maintain your position while other businesses do the same. Monitoring your ranking becomes an important part of using Pay-Per-Click and requires time.

The Pay-Per-Click campaign process has four steps, and begins by determining how much each visitor to your site is worth. Using a basic formula which divides monthly net profit by the number of visitors during a month, you can figure out approximately how much each visitor is worth. From there, it is up to you to decide which keywords are worth investing in, and how much to invest in each.

After determining a visitor’s worth, you must select key words that will lead visitors to your site. Well chosen keywords and phrases are essential to your online success, and PPC encourages the use of as many as you can afford.

Finally, you must monitor your Pay-Per-Click campaign regularly. Rankings can change daily, and competition for top placement often results in bidding wars. If the price of a keyword gets too high, you should find more moderately priced keywords and phrases rather than lose money.

Pay-Per-Click campaigns are an excellent way to bring large numbers of highly-targeted visitors to your site. By giving you the power to spend your advertising budget deliberately, and allowing you to modify and refine your campaign regularly, Pay-Per-Click can be a smart way to grow your business.

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New Study Shows Curves Workout can burn more than 500 calories in 30 minutes

Curves International Inc., the world’s largest franchisor of fitness clubs, announced that Baylor University has concluded a study on the intensity of the Curves workout. Initial studies confirmed that the Curves program is effective at helping women lose weight, increase bone density, gain muscle strength and aerobic capacity, and raise metabolism.

This latest study focused on the intensity of the workout and the number of calories burned by study participants. Results correlated directly to the fitness level of the participants and the intensity at which they exercised. All participants were tested to accurately assess their fitness levels before beginning the study.

Fitness level is crucial data that correlates directly to the maximum number of calories a person is capable of burning in a given period of time. The least fit women in the Baylor study burned between 164 and 238 calories in 30 minutes. The fittest test subjects burned as many as 522 calories in 30 minutes. As you progress and become more fit, your capacity for burning calories increases.

Exercise intensity was measured by heart rate, oxygen uptake, strength demands, and calories burned. The Curves program elicits a mean exercise intensity that meets the recommendation of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association for improving aerobic fitness, as well as eliciting the appropriate resistance as recommended by the ACSM and the National Strength and Conditioning Association for these women.

The Curves workout is unique in that the intensity can adjust automatically to the fitness level of the person doing it. Not only does this help women stick with the program, but it helps them avoid injury while still permitting them to make substantial gains in weight control, fitness, and overall heath.

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