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Publisher’s Note A Letter to the Publisher
Publisher’s Note

Hello, My Name Is Charles and I Am a Shopper! Dear Charles,
Thank you! Thank you!

could lie and say I spent all of Thanksgiving Day watching football, resting in preparation for a spectacular feast
prepared by our future in-law Bob. But, with apologies to the chef, I was really preparing for my annual assault Just want to take this opportunity to let you know
Ion the stores. To me, Thanksgiving’s main purpose is to provide the time to go over the sales circulars and plot that South Florida Hospital News has worked well for
us – in many ways (including providing valuable infor-
my strategy for Black Friday! mation about potential healthcare clients, healthcare
What can I say – I was raised by the world’s greatest, most dedicated shopper – Shirley, my mom. She never met organizations, events, and general contractors) – but
a sale she didn’t like, a store she didn’t frequent, and could justify the purchase of just about anything. So each most recently it has been highly beneficial for us in a
Friday after Thanksgiving, Mom, my sisters and I would venture into downtown Brooklyn and later Kings Plaza very unexpected way.
(the only mall Brooklyn had to offer) and attack the sales. To us, that was a bonding experience. (In retrospect, it Periodically you have graciously published guest arti-
seems humorous and charming – but when the credit card bills rolled in … yikes.) cles that have been written by one of our principals,
So not wanting to break with tradition, my boys and I have done the same thing. (It’s a dirty job, but someone’s Charles A. Michelson, AIA, LEED AP. The one that he
got to do it.) Unfortunately, this year Josh was in Atlanta, so it was left to Drew and I. And thanks to CompUSA authored for the June 2007 issue “Hurricane
(Carol insists they should make me an honorary employee), we were able to start our odyssey on Thanksgiving Preparedness: Strengthening Existing Healthcare
night. We weren’t first in line, so we decided to spread out to get the best deals. Luckily, we were able to corral Buildings” described Hardening/Recladding of the
some new recruits – Drew’s future sister and brother-in-law. They were rookies, but were eager to learn so we took Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, FL for hur-
them along. Armed with sales circulars, sales vouchers and lots of chutzpah, we fanned out, even trading vouch- ricane protection. We’ve included the reprint of this
ers with another savvy shopper to make sure Drew got the laptop on his list and I got the camera (Carol only article in our Healthcare Statement of Qualifications
shrugged when she saw the box) that I so “desperately” needed. But Thursday night was just a warm-up. packages for prospective clients, and it has always been
So bright (or should I say dark) and early Friday morning at precisely 4:30 a.m., Drew and I well received.
ventured forth to my other two “alma maters” – Best Buy and Circuit City. Carol couldn’t even However, the most significant use of this reprint
roll her eyes too much (she was sound asleep, buried under the dog and cat) because we were occurred recently when we included it in our submittal
TV shopping for friends and family. And I’m happy to say we were quite successful, scoring to Palm Beach County in response to their RFP for the
the correct sizes, types and prices to make everyone satisfied and happy. It was only vicarious $16M renovation and improvement of their “Four
shopping, I know, but as long as it involves the thrill of the hunt … satisfaction guaranteed. Points Office Building” in West Palm Beach. Twelve
The irony is that when I finally got home Friday afternoon for a little R & R, my TV decid- architectural firms submitted; three firms were short-
listed of which we were one. We were informed that
ed to go on the fritz – but that’s another publisher’s note (or should I say trip to the store.) our hardening expertise (as demonstrated in our arti-
But enough about me! Here’s to you our faithful readers, advertisers, friends and fami- cle) was impressive. Best of all after our presentation to
ly. You’ve let us know what we’re doing right, what we need to improve, and in many the selection committee last week we were awarded the
instances, you’ve become true friends and colleagues. Thanks for all you do – whether project!
you work in a hospital, medical office, or affiliated healthcare field – you make us Thank you for providing us with a great source of
possible. information and a very helpful tool to secure more busi-
Happy Holidays to all and to all a Healthy and Happy New Year! ness for our firm both Healthcare related and “other”!

Charles Felix, Publisher Toni Farber, Director of Business Development
Saltz Michelson Architects
Reach me at Charles@southfloridahospitalnews.com. (954) 266-2704
www.saltzmichelson.com

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2 December 2007 hospitalnews.org South Florida Hospital News