Every year, we have the traditional Thanksgiving feast. We’ll munch on great food, talk a lot and probably sneak a beer or two. (Just don’t give any beer to Hollywood or the underage interns.) And while it’s cliché, it’s also the time to remember what we’re thankful for. Yup, we’re thankful for our awesome clients. And yes, we’re thankful for the many business partners in the area. We’re thankful for each other. Yada, yada, yada.

But we can also be thankful for these great thinkbank escapades over the past year:

1. The parking lot party (Yeah, we had a party. Why? Because we could.)

2. Ladies of Pavone events (From dinners to a book club, Amy plays hostess.)

3. Forced Fun (This is where chip and putt golf and the scavenger hunt come into play.)

4. Valentine’s goodie bags (Some were funny, others were cute.)

5.  Zombie games (Nice try for those who tried to fool the agency, but I’m not opening your email if it has a Z in the title.)

6. Jeanius contest (We donated over 100 pairs of jeans to make insulation for houses affected by Katrina.)

7. Weight loss challenge (Over 60 pounds lost. I shudder to think how much weight came back on after the challenge was over!)

8. Punking (Office pranks-a-plenty. For example, Paul read Josh’s internship diary to the agency. You really had to be there to know how funny this moment in time was.)

9. Hanging out after work (From the fantasy football draft to hanging out at a local watering hole, there was plenty of time for people to hang out even if it’s not work-related.)

10. Paul dressed up as a hangover and Al was the timesheet monster (OK, it could have been any day at the thinkbank, but this just so happened to be Halloween. Why didn’t we get pictures of this?!)

11. Amy’s birthday cupcakes (Who doesn’t love a treat from the PA Bakery?)

12. The thinkbank kickball team beating a rival agency to win the first ever Central PA Marketing Agency Kickball Cup (We’re working on a different name if there’s a second year.)

13. How to f@#k up a presentation (Paul’s enlightening discussion on what not to do in a presentation. Points #14 and 15 – Show up late and then address the client by the wrong name.)

Wanted: Several smart, enthusiastic, and creative people willing to work in the fast-paced, sometimes manic, environment known as the thinkbank. Must love – or at least tolerate – a stubborn bulldog.

Yes, we’re hiring. Yes, the last time I checked, our national economy was still in a recession. And yes, the fact that Pavone is hiring and growing amid an economic downturn is thrilling for me, if not a bit perplexing for others.

But I’m not puzzled by it in the least. I know the reason we’re able to carry on relatively unscathed while other marketing and advertising agencies trim the payroll and ride out the storm in hibernation is because of our strong client base. For that reason – and a little bit of luck, I’ll admit – we’ve been able to hang the “Help Wanted” sign in our front door and add several new members to the thinkbank team in 2009, including our new PR director, Kim Lehman.

Kim is a powerhouse when it comes to public relations, with a laundry list of big brand national experience. While she was in Los Angeles and New York (which included a stop at Weber Shandwick), she managed the national launch of Vanilla Coke and helped to rename M&M’s Milk Chocolate brand. More recently, Kim worked on public relations and branding campaigns for Sheetz, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and Trident Splash. She’s also had a hand in national campaigns for Vans, Harley Davidson and the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

In short, Kim’s consumer and food experience fits in perfectly with Pavone’s own focus on retail marketing, and her impact is already being felt. She’ll help to make a strong PR department even stronger and a smart thinkbank even smarter. And, with the help the rest of the team (new faces and old), she’ll help us make what’s looking like a good 2010 even better.

By the way, Kim has met many of you, but not everyone. If you’d like to meet Kim to chat about public relations (even if you don’t currently use public relations), or just have a few questions about PR and how it might work for you, feel free to contact me and I’ll set something up. Or, if you’d like, you can contact her directly at klehman@pavone.net.

Well, the tallies are in and we have a winner for the much anticipated 4th Annual Pavone Scavenger Hunt. This year’s contest came down to the wire…literally. A single wire binder clip ended up edging out this year’s runner up team. When asked to produce an item that best represents our beloved Director of First Impressions the winning team found the largest binder clip possible commemorating our lady bulldog’s brush with well, let’s say…a fatal impasse. As we are reminded daily here at the think bank, this is not so uncommon for Bulldogs.

In 2009’s version of the hunt, Pavonites found themselves scouring the SOMA district of Harrisburg gathering items and performing tasks that tie to internal Pavone themes. For instance, the teams were asked to find a perfect stranger to tag along on the hunt, create a mask out of something “upcycled” or throw a newspaper airplane at least 10 feet.

Judges saw all of the usual tactics this year (begging, bribery, strong-arming, gaslighting) and trust me, with 50+ marketers and PR experts in your ear as items are evaluated, reality can start to warp a little. This is my fourth year planning and executing the hunt and it seems with each year the teams hone their persuasion skills to an even finer point. That’s great if you’re one of our clients – when you’re a judge, not so much.

Today is the 77th Annual Thinkbank Scavenger Hunt, an hour-long team competition designed to test everyone’s ability to think, cheat and improvise in search of an elusive big-ticket item or photo op. Back in 1932, we ran around Harrisburg with the police chasing us Keystone Cops-style with the Benny Hill music playing. It was a hoot, or so I’m told. Today, we still run around, but the police pretty much leave us alone.

Having been on both the playing and organizing/judging sides of the festivities, I can honestly say that it’s much easier to play than it is to judge. (By far.) People get pretty pissed when you tell them you can’t give them credit for the photo of the team flipping off our crosstown rivals because not all the fingers were visible. Hey, I don’t make the rules, people. Actually, that year I did.

Stay tuned for an update on Monday.

Lately on Friday mornings — about once a month — a sizable chunk of the thinkbank has been meeting for what we call our “101 Series.” Each week a different department presents an overview of what they do and answers any questions people might have. Last Friday, it was Account Service’s turn and they were kind enough to send an email beforehand inquiring about breakfast preferences. Below is a wordle displaying the various responses.

We got coffee, bagels, and a big platter of bacon from a restaurant down the street. Someone (hopefully only one person) clearly has a taste for reptiles, and, unfortunately, the mimosas were nowhere to be found.