Snead Ag of Snead, Alabama

We recently saw the folks from http://www.sneadag.com/ and once again it was nothing but a pleasure. Snead Ag is an authorized John Deere dealer for North Alabama, North Georgia, and Central and East Tennessee. They also offer service, parts, rentals, and used equipment.

For those not familiar, Snead Ag is located about fifty miles northeast of Birmingham, AL in Snead, AL. It's obvious from the name that the folks at Snead Ag are there to do their job well and considering Snead, AL has a population of 843 we're willing to bet that word gets around town if you mess up!

Snead Ag has four additional facilities in Alabama and two in north Georgia. We met and spoke with Eric Keals of their Jasper, GA facility at a town function. This was not a scheduled meeting and we felt rather pushy but we didn't want to miss our chance for some insight. The conversation was fairly simple but we got the information we needed. It went something like this: “We told our friend to contact you about a piece of John Deere farm equipment. You probably don't have one here in Jasper but we told them to call anyway.” We continued to list details of what our friend was looking for. Eric's answer was confident and reassuring, “Yes, do have them contact us. If we don't have it, we will find it.”  There was certainty in Eric's voice.  He knew precisely what our friend was looking for and understood their needs. We have no doubt that Snead Ag lives up to their slogan: Earning Your Business Every Day.

Power Solutions Unlimited

We met Scott Fowler of Power Solutions Unlimited, Inc.  at a local fair recently.  There was quite a crowd and though Scott was very busy providing information to potential customers he took the time to talk to us.

Power Solutions Unlimited, Inc. is located in Jasper, Georgia and is an authorized Generac dealer.  They provide peace of mind with a full line of reliable Generac products which are backed by world-class service and support.  We're impressed that they will take the time to find the right solution for your needs.

In addition to generators, Power Solutions Unlimited, Inc. also has Generac power washers for your job.   Whether you're washing the driveway or prepping for a painting job PSU, Inc. has the compact, affordable design you need for both your commercial and residential application.

Visit the Power Solutions Unlimited, Inc.  web site or give Scott a call at 706-253-7737 to learn how PSU can help you with your electricity needs.  

Not Afraid To Have Adversity As a Teacher

We are impressed by Americans throughout the nation and would like to share a story about a friend of ours that refuses to be defeated by adversity in her life.

Our friend, Joann, was forced into retirement after having health problems that left her disabled. In a personal way, my meeting Joann at a neighborhood get-together has always stuck me as odd.

I hadn't lived in my neighborhood very long when I met Joann.  I asked her where she was employed and she responded with the name of the hospital where both of my parents had had their heart surgeries. Her answer took my breath away and I was hit hard by a wave of remembrances. That period of time in my life was nothing other than crazy and was a learning experience for myself and my toddlers. I will never forget telling the children to be especially careful or they would get run over by the hospital staff because the nurses and technicians had the important work of saving lives and come to find out Joann had been one of those people. Though the conversation was a rush of emotion for me, to Joann it was all in a days work!

Things suddenly changed for Joann when she needed to retire.  Stupid health problems. Joann took control, followed doctor's orders and worked to become as healthy as possible. Time passed and she then had to take the advice she had given to others just a few years ago; she looked for positive ways she could influence her situation. Rather than have idle hands, Joann decided to make jewelry. During a visit last week she showed me some of the jewelry she had created.  It is beautiful!  Her hand crafted jewelry is unique and it is certainly above and beyond anything you find in the retail stores.

Now, Joann puts her capable hands to work for a fun purpose and I am proud to invite you to visit Joann's new online shop. We are all sure that you'll be pleased to have the opportunity to see the beautiful pieces of jewelry she has created and we are especially honored to know a great American that has allowed adversity to be a teacher but not the boss.

http://www.georgiannahardwarecorporation.com/

A House Divided Among Itself

We're still in the official shutdown and reporters are providing plenty for me to read. Tonight, my thoughts are with the private sector as I am once again completely impressed by how unselfish Americans are.

We heard about our government failing the families of fallen soldiers. The Fisher House generously agreed to offer the families a appropriate time. The Fisher House will also cover flights, hotels and other incidentals for family members.

The Laura and John Arnold Foundation donated ten million dollars to so that more than 7,000 children can return to their Head Start classrooms.

While the two foundations mentioned above are taking notable and noble action to help America through this difficult time, it is easy to forget the numbers of people that commit to assisting others on a smaller scale. Believe it that every bit of effort and every penny makes a difference.  Each of us is helping build a better America.  The private sector is showing improvement by building more products and improving our infrastructure nation wide.  Keep on, folks!  You're making the world a better place and your neighbors are noticing.  

Don't forget, a house divided among itself, cannot stand.

Georgianna Hardware Corporation (our fun blog)

Health Care Update 3

At Midnight we knew that our government is shut down and most of the problems have come from the argument over the Affordable Care Act. More Americans oppose Obamacare than oppose the Affordable Care Act but the sad part is the Affordable Care Act and Obamacare are one in the same.  It only confirms my thoughts that American citizens are confused and really do not have interest in the nonsense that is going on in Washington.

You can read the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act through this link and the good news is it is not sixteen thousand pages like I had been told, but only 906 pages.

I had turned to the news and reports to find answers to my questions and then I turned to the young people that would be living the results of the Affordable Care Act.  Right out of the gate I was met with questions about the cost.  I explained the cost that had been calculated for the average twenty-six year old.  The questions flew at me, "What's considered average?, Is drug or alcohol consumption considered?, How am I to plan for my future without having specifics? How am I to pay fees when I haven't been able to find a job?"

From here the conversation went somewhat as follows:

     Well, you are supposed to sign up and keep in mind that each state is different and your results will be specific to your situation.

     "What am I exchanging and what are they talking about when they say subsidies?"

     Check the healthcare.gov web site and you can learn more about it.

     "What are my options and what is the Marketplace?"

     I told you that it will be specific to your situation.  Did you know the government is officially shut down?

     "Yep, thousands of people are going to be out of a job but why was the national budget and Obamacare
     on the same bill?"

What a frustrating time for citizens of all ages.  It seems that the only people that have gained anything are reporters and even they have said that they will be reporting on a lot of national parks.  So far, I've seen a lot of zoo reports but Capitol Hill will be quiet until the morning.