Updated May, 2006

Travels in Florida

If your springtime travels led you to south Florida, chances are you were greeted with the sweet aroma of citrus blossoms. Almost all gone now, the fragrance is truly one of the benefits of living in south Florida. No matter where you travel the scents greet the unexpected recipient like a chance encounter with an old and dear friend. The sweet fragrance lingers momentarily and then, inexplicably departs to meet the next lucky recipient. If one travels down a few select roads in south Florida you can find acre upon acre of snowy white trees in full regalia. Here, the traveler can enjoy one of life's singular pleasures without even leaving their car. The other striking aspect of the Florida environ at this time of the year is the divergence of landscapes. On the one hand, new growth and young tender leaves spring from the citrus trees like a fountain of youth, racing forth to shade and support the nascent citrus crop. On the other hand, one finds all around the groves, and everywhere else for that matter, the dry, brown, withering foliage of Florida's 'natural' landscape. This striking contrast does more than puzzle the visitor it also informs the Florida native that very soon our dry season will end. That's right Florida has a dry season and it begins in October and, blessedly, concludes in May. This year's season has seemed particularly harsh because we've gone without rain for over 40 days now. The upside of this dryness has been high, sunny skies coupled with low humidity. Rest assured though, any day now the rains will come and turn our browns into emerald greens and our normal resplendence will return.

How did we do?

Florida's growing season dictates what Langdon Barber Groves can do and when. Since we can't ship fruit now, (no fruit available now-darn it!) all we're left with is the reconciliation of what we as a company accomplished this shipping season and compare it to what we had hoped to accomplish. In the plus column LBG served up yet another strong year. When we reviewed the questionnaires we have received, well over a 60% response rate, we noted that all categories of the inquiry fell between the 'very good' to 'excellent' ratings. More precisely whether you look at fruit quality, delivery, selling materials, or the congeniality of the LBG staff our customers gave us an average of 4.48 out of a possible 5. That's another strong showing and one that continues a consecutive string of over 4 plus ratings in the last 10 years.

Summer is for fine tuning

Now does this mean we are perfect, of course not. In any human activity perfection is the mythical Mt. Olympus, up there in the heavens but not attainable in any realistic sense. So what went wrong and what items does LBG need to address over the summer months. (See, just like you, we're not allowed to take the summers off, even though it's mighty tempting.) The first thing we'll address is the speed at which LBG reconciles packs and ships our Doorstep Direct products. Given that last fall was the first time we offered the online ordering option, we performed remarkably, but the process can and will become more efficient. Or alternately we could clone 3 more Lisa's, our overworked, but exceptional bookkeeper. Since human cloning is verboten, I guess we will have to invent a better system. Secondly, we still have too many truck drivers that fail to meet their appointed rounds. Some of this can't be fixed, but I still think our on time delivery rating can be improved. I thought I had a way to address this issue but then Lisa reminded me that public flogging of truck drivers is illegal in most parts of these United States. No, seriously I have got some effective ideas to improve our already stellar on time record and none of them represent an affront to local or federal authorities. For example, we will be expanding the number of trucking companies we use in 2006. This should result in better drivers and better customer service for you and us.

Still need to raise money?

If you still need to raise money then consider our delicious flavored coffees from our sister company, Sunshine Coffee Company. The way this works is that every member in your group receives a kit and retails these products for a couple of weeks. After your campaign, LBG buys back any unsold kits, so your group has no loss whatsoever. Each coffee kit contains 2- Colombian Supremo, 2-French Vanilla, 2-Breakfast Blend, and our newest addition, 2-Hot Chocolates. All coffees are shipped in re-sealable, silver 12oz foil pouches that retail for $10.00, and cost $5.50, delivered. The Hot Chocolate comes in a red foil, re-sealable 16oz pouch that retails for $12.00 and costs $6.00, delivered. (Remember LBG buys back all unsold coffee and hot chocolate for a nominal $10.00 restocking fee per kit.) But if an "in-hand" sale (as described above) isn't your cup of tea, LBG can also offer your group a "pre-sale" approach with a much wider selection of products to choose from. (i.e. Kahlua, Double Chocolate, Hazelnut cream) Printed order forms are free and the prices will remain the same. So you choose the easiest way for your group to earn a 45% profit with no risk.

What to do next?

If you haven't filled out one of those pesky questionnaires do so now while your recollections are somewhat fresh. We need your bold feedback. LBG needs to get you to make a sales reservation sooner. Strategic, comprehensive planning begins with assessment of demand. It's the first variable in our fall planning equation, without you, we can't plan. Some 300 groups have already signed up for fall 2006, so if you know you're going to conduct a campaign give Ivette, Keri, Lisa, or Ray a call at 800-766-7633 with your dates. We'll be pleased to hear from you.

Lastly, we would be remiss if we didn't take the time to sincerely thank those that we humbly serve. It's been almost forty years now that LBG has served the need of the fundraising customer. (I guess technically 2006 will be our 39th season.) In all that time we've strived to remain focused on serving you efficiently, professionally and with great tasting product. I think by and large we've accomplished this objective. Let's hope the next 40 years are just as successful.