The Fountain Hills Times will be celebrating 45 years in late June of delivering the news to the community. We have been your one stop shop for print media and now we are here for our digital audience.
A few weeks back we launched a new service: video for your social media platform. Now you have the chance to reach out to more potential customers with this service.
In addition to your video being viewed from your social media platform, it will also be posted on The Times’ Facebook and Instagram pages. This is a new service I have wanted to launch for a little over a year but have had my hands full with other projects. I wanted to find the right fit for the new feature.
We have great introductory prices for the video. If you have a sale or a specific product you would like to market please call one of the sales reps here and see how you can get a video along with your print ad to promote it. This is just another option in addition to print to reach the complete market of Fountain Hills.
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A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to go see a friend of mine who was placed into hospice care at the time. This person is somebody I got to know over the years, and I am thankful I did. This person was up for an award at the Chamber Gala for the Customer Service of the Year. He was not able to attend the Gala but his wife was there in honor of him. This was Doug Poll.
I met Doug through my wife, Gina, who got to know his wife Lisa Poll really well. Doug sold mattresses in town and was really good at it. It earned him the title “The Sleep Doctor.”
Over the past few years I handled the advertising for Brooklyn Bedding in the paper. I would stop by every other week to see what Doug would like to do, but we would always sit for 45 minutes just chatting about things around the world and here in town. Doug had a big heart for the people in Fountain Hills, and he displayed that recently.
I was in talking to Doug when he asked if I saw the couple on social media who placed a story about the struggle they were going through and recently moved into Park Place. Doug said he jumped on that right away and donated a mattress as well as all the bedding they needed to get a good night’s sleep. This is a story I wanted to get out because that was who Doug was.
The one memory I will always have was something that made you feel welcome when you come through a door. It was July and Doug decided to take June through August off from advertising. I didn’t stop in during the month of June but sometime in July I wanted to go by and see Doug just to catch up. As I opened that door he slammed his cup down and said really loudly, “Where the heck have you been?” He said it with anger but it made me feel missed and welcomed, and that means a lot to anyone.
Lisa Poll texted me early morning a few weeks ago to let me know Doug decided to go into hospice care. She wanted me to know before posting it on Facebook. I was very sad but honored she would do that. I went to see Doug a few days before he passed, and as I walked into the room his face lit up with a big smile and he said “Hey buddy!” We chatted a little about my future and some other things but it would be the last sit down between us. I will miss our talks, Doug, but I want to say thank you for all your advice and just being a friend.
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A very sad and unexpected thing happened this weekend. I didn’t think on a Monday I would be adding this to my column, but my wife and I lost our sweet little girl, Penny, this past Saturday night.
Penny was a laid back dog. She would sleep through most of the day and night, but when she was awake she was very sweet. Penny always got nervous around other dogs but after a while she would warm up to them and become a great friend.
I will miss seeing her below me while I was eating, staring and waiting for that one piece of food to drop. Her bark in the morning and the prance she had when she stepped up on her walk. Penny loved the smell and taste of popcorn which was, in my opinion, her favorite.
Saturday evening was much unexpected, and my heart was broken while I held her in my hands. On Sunday I was doing some cleaning and Gina asked me to pick up photos of Penny. I opened them up and cried as it hit me that I would never see her again.
I am sorry, Penny, but you’re now with Daisy, Roscoe and Buddy, and they will take good care of you. You were a very sweet girl who will be missed.
