Sixty-four days

Yup, we have just 64 days until Christmas which means we are all entering that crazy busy time of year! Add to that three more shows/conferences in the next 15 days, coordinating on our largest issue of the year – the 2016 State of the Industry – and lest we forget, preparation for the January Buyers’ Guide, and I would say it is a safe bet that I may be just slightly insane. But wait, there’s more! Just for fun, let’s mix in the rebirth of a brand. Yes, I think that aught to do it, insanity ensured! At least you know that whatever your insanely busy schedule looks like winding down 2015, you are not alone. As I like to say, our job is to make your job easier! And with the upcoming changes, we want to make sure we are meeting our goal. So though you are crazy busy, I would like to ask a favor of you. Please take a moment to visit https://coffeetalk.com/WHY and give us your guidance.

Congratulations

Congratulations to A Heart for Guatemala, winner of this year’s Making a Difference issue award. Our readers voted with views and clicks and though it was really close, our prize of $1,000 goes to Literacy for All. You can read all about the project in our digital issue at http://coffeetalk.uberflip.com/i/534966/50 where you will see what Bethany Davidson-Widby and her team is working on:

•    Expansion of the Women’s Education and Empowerment Program to two additional program sites
•    Purchase of book sets for preschool—teenage reading groups
•    Creation of a library for the Women’s Education and Empowerment Program
•    Creating of libraries in elementary—high schools in coffee-growing communities
•    Launching of a Men’s Literacy Project

It’s that time…

And finally, be on the watch for your email to verify your company’s free listing in our 2016 Buyers’ Guide. Big changes are coming including a focus on simplicity making this resource more user-friendly. Instead of more than 100 different categories, we have narrowed them down to 20 mega-categories organized into three directories: Resources for Retailers, Resources for Roasters, and General Resources and only those companies that take a moment to update their information will be included. If you’d like to make sure your company is there, don’t wait! Just visit https://coffeetalk.com/submit-listing/

Thank you, off to get ready for show travel!