A Little Networking for the Relay

Coming up on September 9th and 10th is the Relay for Life of Central South County. But before that, on Saturday, August 13th, I will be having a book signing at the Auburn Public Library where I'll be raising funds for the Relay! At this event, like the signing I had in Charlton in June, books will be available for $15.00, and will include a handmade bookmark with one of four TIoT characters on them.

$5 from each book will be donated to the LifeSavers of Auburn Relay Team.

The Relay for Life is a series of community events that raises millions each year for the American Cancer Society. Team members will walk around a track or path, usually at the local high school or park. Each team should have a representative from their team on the track at all times. The event lasts 24 hours overnight.

Savers Bank, a Southbridge-based community bank, sponsors a team at the Relay for Life of the Greater Southbridge Area each year called LifeSavers. As an employee of Savers, I have participated the past three years. And for the past two years, my fiance Samantha and I have walked overnight, 20 miles last year, and 20 1/4 miles this year (just to beat our previous walk :). This year, the Auburn branch of Savers has decided to take part in the Auburn Relay (Relay for Life of Central South County), under the team name LifeSavers of Auburn.

Naturally, I have made the decision to take part in this event as well. So in order to raise funds for a second relay, I set up book signings to benefit the ACS through the Relay.

Marketing each book signing has been a unique experience. Sometimes I have positive response from local media, sometimes none at all. Sometimes the host goes above and beyond to advertise and tell their clients about the event, other times the host wouldn't even associate with the "host" title. But every time I've come up with a new way to advertise on my own.

With this signing, I've done the same. I have posters up at the Auburn Mall, I am designing advertisements to put up in the Auburn and my own Savers Branches, and along with the Mall posters, I have designed "Take One" Brochures talking about my book, my relationship to the relay, and my brother, who has been designing the characters and other art for my book promotions.

Finally, I was working at my second job at Zorba's, talking to one of the waitresses, who seemed very interested in my book. When I told her about my event in Auburn, her face lit up. She told me about her sister who is always looking for a good story. Turns out she works as a reporter for The Daily Auburn. The Daily Auburn is an online community news site that is part of Main Street Connect, a national community news company. After a little bit of phone tag, we finally got a hold of each other.
The result, my first Online news article!

A Visit Back To Class



STURBRIDGE- On June 1st, my sister Sarah and I visited our third grade teacher, Mrs Kackley, at Burgess Elementary School. It had been a long 14 years since either of us had stepped foot in the school, but it all looked the same (only much smaller!). It was also strange to show up in a vehicle other than that bright yellow bus. 



             We were looking for "Saturn 4", the class Mrs Kackley has been teaching since her first year at the Sturbridge school (also my third grade class). We made our way down the hall, created from Rolling blackboards and other temporary wall partitions. It wasn't where I remembered it, but I knew my teacher had told me they had been shifted around, especially with the new building being built.

              We recruited the help of a passing teacher to find the new S4 location. Right in the corner by the windows. My sister and I walked into the room of twenty children, interrupting a competitive game of Bingo. Mrs Kackley gave me and Sarah seats at the front of the class. 



     Mrs. Kackley's third grade class of 2011, with author

       Matthew DeBettencourt and his sister Sarah.



              I had been a guest reader at the West Street School in Southbridge for their Reach out and Read program the Wednesday before. So, it was my second time in a week to sit in front of a class of children about their age, and I wasn't as nervous about keeping their attention as I would've otherwise been.



              It was a lot of fun. I started out by telling them how I took The Island of Time from a bunch of spiral notebooks to a paperback and my experience working with the publisher. They followed up with lots of questions, ones I'd never been asked before, like "Did you write your whole book in cursive?" Which I didn't, but it was a convenient segue into handing out some autographed bookmarks that I had designed and written to each of them personally.(Because I wrote the messages in a very carefully written and out-of-practice cursive!
              All-in-all, I think it was one of my favorite "author" moments. It was fun to meet all of them and get to know some of them in our conversations (which my have tangented into Lego talks at a couple times--good thing the teacher was there to guide us and keep us on point!)
It was a great experience, and I look forward to my next visit! Hopefully next year!