Regena's First Blog Post

Well, I guess it is my turn for a blog posting.  My name is Regena Odle and I have been with Raine Inc. since September 7th of 1999.  Wow!   It seems like just yesterday that I walked through the front door to start on this adventure.  If you have ever called into our office, I am sure that you have probably had me on the other end of line at one time or another.  We are a pretty small office so I answer the phone quite a bit. 

I guess I should start off by telling you all a little about myself.  My husband Brent and I have been happily married for eleven years.  We were married in Las Vegas in February 2000. (I will tell you about that in another post because I was also in Las Vegas to work at my first ASD Show that year.) Together we have three sons.  My son Joshua is 24 and the father of our grandson Skyler who is 4.  I have two stepsons – Brock is 20 and Chase is 18.  We are now empty nesters but Skyler stays with us every other weekend so that keeps us busy.  We are also “parents” to our little diva dog Pixie Ann who is absolutely spoiled rotten.   I am an avid reader and I also enjoy scrapbooking in my spare time.   My husband and I both enjoy NASCAR racing, football (Go Colts!), baseball (Go Cubbies!) and our favorite vacation spot is Las Vegas.    

I come from a sales background but mostly in the communications industry.  I worked for a little over ten years in the cable television and satellite television industries.  It has been a big change from selling a Saturday night boxing match or wrestling event to selling nylon products.   I knew very little about this industry before I started at Raine Inc. so it has been and still is a learning experience for me.    I have worked in customer service in some capacity since my first job when I was a teenager.  We won’t go into how long ago that was though.   My job title at Raine Inc. is Sales Associate but really I am a “Jack of all trades”.   Other than sitting down in front of a sewing machine (I couldn’t sew a straight line to save my life) – I have done just about every other task here at Raine Inc. at one time or another.  That is one of the many reasons that I love my job so much – every day is a new adventure. 

So, now you know a little bit more about me.  My next post will be about my first ASD Show and a funny little story to go along with it. 

Visit our website at http://www.raineinc.com/

Our Mission Statement

“Raine is a skilled manufacturer of excellent selling and exceptional quality nylon pouches, cases and field gear that provide superior performance when absolutely needed based on innovative designs, outstanding customer service and dedicated employees.”

Comment: A mission statement outlines clearly what a company is. Raine is committed to produce excellent selling products that will provide real value to the end user. The only way that value can be achieved is through exceptional quality/innovative designs produced by skilled manufacturing techniques and excellent employees. Raine uses primarily nylon and produces primarily field gear. Finally, everyone who works at Raine knows that we must make our customers successful throughout the product cycle which means we must ship on time, ship correctly, have effective packaging and an outstanding product. In all, we operate everyday in accordance to Raine’s Mission.

John Raine

http://www.raineinc.com/

Raine attends the Fort Irwin Military Clothing Store Grand Opening

I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the new Military Clothing Store grand opening a Fort Irwin California. Fort Irwin is the location of the National Training Center for desert warfare. Tens of thousands of troops train there every year and buy a lot of Raine field gear in both the Military Clothing Store and in the Dustbowl Retail store. The new Irwin Military Clothing Store reflects the Army Air Force Exchange Service’s new retailing model. It has a very professional, finished feel. Upper management from AAFES was in attendance.

The picture is of Debby Robinson of Military Sales and Service and me at the Raine table. Debby is our sales representative for Fort Irwin. Notice the great deals. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of opportunity to purchase Raine product at great prices.

It was a fun day all and all, even with a temperature of 107 degrees.

John Raine
President

Ron's Wheeler-Dealer Promotion

Ronblog 3

Ron’s  “Wheeler-Dealer” Promo

One of the functions of my job is to come up with ideas to promote the sale of Raine Inc. items to our customers.  This could involve trade show giveaways, promotional literature, advertising, and sales events.  Over the years, I came up with several  ideas that seemed to work.

One of our most successful promotions in the mid-90’s, was the “Wheeler-Dealer” promo.  We had a supply of spinner racks that weren’t being utilized in any kind of regular program.  If a dealer called and asked for merchandising display help, we would offer him the rack at a low cost.  The rack stood about five feet tall and took up a couple of square feet of floor space.  It had five rotors with thirty two arms on which to display product.  It wasn’t real sturdy, but we only charged $35 for it so they couldn’t expect much.  There was a pinch-clip that mounted in the top of the center post that held a surfboard-shaped sign with our name and logo.

John and I were talking one day about how to get AAFES stores to take a wider selection of product, and I had the idea to fill the rack with product and tell the store managers if they ordered the product we would throw in the rack at no charge.  John thought it was a good idea.  The managers thought it was a great idea.  Each of the managers I spoke to about it, placed the order.  Some stores even requested a second rack with different items!  It worked great.  As it turns out, the idea (in a somewhat re-configured application) may be making a comeback.  We are working on a new program we hope to have in place soon.  If it works out, I’ll fill in the details in another installment.

Those were the good old days of selling to AAFES.  Now a vendor can’t get a new item in with a crowbar because some of the vendors took too many liberties with the system and over-loaded AAFES with inventory.  We didn’t do that.  We have always been careful to make sure we did not abuse our good relationship.  We are proud of our record as a vendor and hope to keep them as a customer for years to come.   That’s the thing about Raine inc.; we treat every customer as we would like to be treated.  We know the customer is our employer and we can be fired if we don’t perform.  If you’re a new visitor to Raine, and can use our products in your inventory mix, give us a call and experience what it’s like to be treated as someone special.

Best Regards,

Ron

Ron's Personal History

I’ve lived in Anderson, IN most of my life.  I did spend ten years (’82-’92) in Houston, TX.  I graduated from Anderson High School and attended Ball State University.  While there, I injured my knee badly enough to have to drop out of school and I never returned.  My wife, at that time (I’m on my third), was injured in a car wreck, so with mounting bills, I had to go to work.  The bad knee kept me out of the military, which was okay at the time, 1969.  They classified me 4F-(physically unfit for service), which meant they would take women and children, but not me.  The letter stated I could be fined $10,000 and face ten years in prison if I tried to enlist.  The reason given to me was that the military did not want to deal with future knee problems.   If I could go back, I would trade two or three years in the service to not have the leg problems I have now.   The funny thing about this is that I was probably the most athletic person in our family.  Most of my family served and even my son and daughter enlisted.

I worked in finance and banking for nine years, then, after my wife and I both found other people we liked better, I moved into the sales world and have been there ever since.  I sold cars, insurance, home improvements and mortgage financing prior to coming on board with Raine Inc.  While in Houston, I was a partner in a roofing and siding company that is still going strong there today.  My son came to Texas to live with me and went in the army after high school.  My second wife decided I was no longer a fun guy after I quit drinking, so she split.  At about that same time, I started seeing the lovely lady I’m married to today, my wife, Judy.   After we married, Judy received word that one of her daughters was going to have a baby.  This would be the first grandchild for either of us.  She decided that she had to move back to Anderson to be close to her daughter and grandchild.  She knew how I loved Texas and realized that, to move away from my business interest, would be a big financial change for us, so she said she would understand if I decided not to go back with her.  The thing she didn’t realize was how important she truly was in my life.  I needed to be with her as much as I needed air to breathe.  So we moved back to Anderson to be with our families and to whatever uncertain future awaited us.   My father had passed away and my mother needed some help so it made sense to return home.

 In Nov. of ’94, I answered an ad for a sales position at Raine Inc.  A lady from a screening agency called me and asked if I thought I could sell military products.  She couldn’t explain clearly what the position entailed so I told her if they were good products with fair prices, I was sure I could sell them.  Apparently, that sold her on me and she arranged the interview with John Raine.   I did well enough in the interview process that   John gave me the position and, for better or worse, I have been here ever since.  I guess that since I couldn’t serve the military directly, this was a way for me to contribute.

That’s the short version of my life, to date.  In future blogs, I’ll write more about my experiences here, so stay tuned.  I don’t know how interesting it will be for everyone, but it’s been a hell of a ride and I have the scars to prove it.

Best Regards,

Ron James

Introducing Ron James

Hello all, and welcome to the Raine Inc. blog.

I will start by introducing myself.  My name is Ron James and I started to work here in Nov. of ’94.  From time to time, I will be writing about my varied experiences working for Raine and other events in my life.  I am 63 years of age, and what hair hasn’t left for parts unknown has turned gray.  To get this out of the way, I’m a short, chubby guy.  I have taken my share of abuse about this over the years, and have learned to roll with those punches.

 I am married to a very warm and special woman, Judy, and those of you who have met her already know this. We have been married for 19 years.  She is the love of my life and I am lucky to have her in it.   We are a blended family.  We have five children and ten grandchildren between us.  Together, we enjoy camping in our 5^th wheel camper, traveling and watching our grandchildren play sports.  We have a 19 year old granddaughter finishing high school and enrolling next year at Butler University on a basketball scholarship.  We have spent the last 6 or 7 summers following her as she played AAU ball.  She had other offers from bigger schools and more high profile programs, but chose Butler for the quality of education she will receive and to play closer to home so the family could see more games.  She is thoughtful like that.  She was also ranked 8^th in her graduating class of more than 300 students, so she is smart as well.

If you saw my facebook profile and checked out the entry for interests, it says that if it doesn’t involve Harley Davidson motorcycles or basketball, I have a short attention span.  In the warmer months, there is nothing better than blasting down the highway on my Ultra.  As soon as those pipes roar to life, any stress or problems instantly melt away.  In the cold months, when the bike is stored, I can watch my granddaughter on the basketball court.  One season gets me through to the next.  Since her school career ended, there have been a few all-star games to attend, but the AAU stuff ended last year for her.  I miss that.  We formed some special friendships through the years and I hated to see that end.  We all made promises to stay in touch, but you know how that goes; sometimes it just doesn’t work out.  I hope it does in this case.  I want to know how the other girls do in their college careers.

Well that’s me, Ron James, in a nutshell.  I will be posting more as time goes on.  I don’t promise it will be fascinating or hilarious, but hopefully it will help you know who I am and who we are here at Raine.

Thanks and stay tuned.

Ron

Bicycling to the Expo

Raine is currently preparing for the Army Air Force Exchange Service MCSS (Military Clothing Sales Store) Expo in Minneapolis MN next week, June 7-9. Raine has been supplying AAFES our nylon gear for nearly 25 years now. This Expo allows us a chance to see old friends who manage various MCSS stores throughout the world and thank them for the business.

I am traveling to the show this year a little differently. Instead of flying, I will be driving and bicycling my way to Minneapolis – actually driving and stopping off to ride. I try to ride 40-80 miles a week. Indiana is an ideal place to ride bike. I am a big fan of riding “rail to trail” paths where old rail tracks are paved over to create great bicycling paths. This concept is growing across the country at a high rate. The Midwest is loaded with these trails.

I plan on leaving Indianapolis and traveling ½ way to Caledonia IL and ride the 20 mile Long Prairie trail the first day. The next couple of days in Minneapolis, I will try several of their multitudes of trails. I look forward to their Dakota Trail that weaves throughout various lake areas. Coming back, I plan on riding various trails in Madison Wisconsin.

A couple hundred miles during a workweek - not bad. Have a healthy week.

John Raine