Citizen Brand

Happy 100th Indy 500

Everyone loves NASCAR now. But count me as one of those racing fans that still loves Memorial Day weekend every year because of the Indianapolis 500. This Sunday marks the 100th running of the Indy 500 and it is still the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Unfortunately, the Indy racing brand did itself in many years ago when there was a split among drivers and two different organizations fought for years over who was the rightful "owners" of the Indy brand. Meanwhile, the NASCAR juggernaut was emerging and being strictly administered by one family. That perfect storm led to where we are today with NASCAR and its legion of loyalists moving around the country week after week in the racing spotlight.  Indy racing was simply overpowered.

But it has survived.  Some of the internal battles have become history and a few new faces like Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves have breathed some life back into Indy racing. And make no mistake, when Memorial Day weekend rolls around, the Indy 500 is the king of racing.

So here is a toast to 100 years of thrills and spills at the great 2.5 mile oval in the middle of Indiana. Gentlemen and Lady, start your engines!

Another musical interlude - Fleetwood Mac

I had the thrill of seeing Fleetwood Mac perform at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Friday night. They still have it. Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie gave us a great show playing the best of their music over the last four decades. Landslide was a magic moment as it always is as in this clip from Letterman in the late '90's.

Denim Day kickoff

The new and improved Lee National Denim Day website launched in the wee small hours this morning. A big thanks goes out to many of our partners at Barkley for burning the midnight oil to make our kickoff deadline.

For our clients, Lee Jeans and the Entertainment Industry Foundation , this is an important launch. This is year 14 of the program and in a troubled economy, Denim Day is the kind of grassroots program that anyone can participate in. Wear your jeans on Friday, October 2 and pay five dollars to help support specific research being done by the best researchers in the world.

We have a very special ambassador this year. It is our first Denim Day alum to do a return engagement for us. Christina Applegate helped us with Denim Day the first time in honor of her mother's fight against breast cancer. This year, Christina is doing it for herself as she battles back from her own bout with the disease. And she is representing survivors everywhere, as you will experience when you visit DenimDay.com.

Now is the perfect time to sign up your company, civic group, Scout troop, religious group, school or start your own team of family, friends and neighbors. Five dollars can make a difference.

Early Morning Rain

We have been having a lot of early morning rain lately in the heartland.  It is April after all.

So why not a little serenade about the weather from a Citizen Brand favorite, Gordon Lightfoot. And this goes out to my two boys, Brady and Blake, who are celebrating their 30th and 27th birthdays respectively. One of their gifts to me over the years has been their appreciation of Gordon Lightfoot.  I believe Bob Dylan actually wrote this song, but Lightfoot's version of it is perfect.

Happy Birthday to my boys.