We’re so excited for Sales & Marketing Manager, Katie Godfrey, and the arrival of her first child! Besides running a department overseeing Rowing and Kestrel Weather sales here, Katie is an accomplished coxswain and National Team Dragon Boat drummer. Basically, she doesn’t just sell the stuff, she lives the stuff. We’re sure baby Godfrey will enter the world happy, tiny and screaming…just like a good coxswain-in-training!

Always the team player, Katie has allowed her docu-obsessed Marketing & PR girl to track her ever-growing baby bump. Armed with a white board, purple dry erase pen and a camera, I’ve recorded the Katie Bump Watch. Don’t be fooled- despite the cute preggo exterior, she’s still kickin’ butt- traveling, budgeting, managing and leading the NK Sales & Marketing Department.

Week 16 as it stands on the white board.

There it grows!

Here at NK, we’re no stranger to the awesome wonder and allure of the Great Outdoors. Our 3 product lines are built exactly for those customers who share the same passion; Waterproof sports performance electronics for Rowing, Kestrel Pocket Weather Meters, and the ClearNav cockpit navigation system for glider pilots.

As any outdoor enthusiast knows, there are endless benefits to spending quality time with nature. Whether it’s a leisurely trail walk along a kaleidoscope of turning fall trees, a rigorous winding hike to soak in a breathtaking view,  a kayak ride on a glittering morning river, or an exhilarating finish after a tough rock climb…you come away with a little more than when you started.

Recently, I found out about a local organization that provides opportunities for inner city youth to experience first-hand the benefits of participating in outdoor activities. Urban Blazers is a non-profit organization that takes under-served city kids on outdoor adventures such as hiking, rock climbing, snowboarding, biking, rafting, camping and more. They team up with Philadelphia schools, homeless shelters, and other youth networks to work with more than 500 kids. The group’s official motto, “Growing and Learning Through Nature”, best describes their belief and commitment to cultivating confidence, self-esteem and personal development in youth participants.

Urban Blazers is holding a fundraiser next month at Ladder 15 in Philadelphia to raise money and awareness for their youth programs.  Kestrel Weather Meters will be included in the silent auction along with tons of other coveted items. The Kestrel girls will be in attendance to support a great organization. If you’d like to attend, donate, or learn more about this program, please go to www.urbanblazers.org.

Hope to see you there!

We’ve heard that some companies have internal code names like “Chicago” while developing new products.  Then, their highly-priced Madison Avenue PR agencies put their heads together and come up with catchy product names like … “7”.  Wow.  It’s tough for NK to compete with PR genius like that.  So, we’re coming to you, our customers, to help us find great names for our new products.  First, you need the sneak preview on what’s coming.

Early 2010 we’ll be bringing you a replacement for the venerable Cox-Vox.  But, no more big can when all you need is VOICE.  We’ve designed our new miniature audio amplifier to be small, light and wearable (and, of course, waterproof and totally tough!) Designed to strap on to your arm, waist or leg, it will offer the ultimate in hands-free convenience and mobility. The mini-amplifier will be compatible with NK speaker harnesses and new-style microphones and will offer hours of performance from its advanced lithium-ion power cells. It will be the perfect partner for any NK SpeedCoach system in coxed boats as well as the ideal tool for dragon-boat drummers and steersmen.  We expect this great little system to find its way outside of the rowing world as well into other outdoor activities where an easy to set up portable waterproof amplification system and speakers are needed.

Spring 2010, NK is turning its expertise in waterproof amplification to bringing you a megaphone you can really count on.  Not only will it be truly waterproof and drop-tested tough, it will save you hundreds of dollars in batteries because it will use the exact same rechargeable battery pack as the new NK CoxBox.  Each battery pack will provide hours of crystal-clear voice amplification, and you can use the charging station to equip yourself with long-lasting backup batteries ready to go.

So, we could call these products the NK Mini Amplifier and NK Megaphone, but we think you might be able to help us do better. Tell us what YOU think we should name them. And, if you submit the name we choose for either product, we’ll send you that product for FREE when we release it.

Leave your name ideas in the comments section below and vote on other submitted names with the . Tag your idea with AMP (for mini amplifier) or MEG (for megaphone). See our example below and start submitting!

(Only Submit Names in the comments below. Any further comments will be deleted)

It may not look much different. But starting today, we will be using new blogging software to bring you our latest news and happenings around NK. Updating our blog to now use WordPress we hope to bring you more frequent updates and better features that will give you a better insite into Nielsen Kellerman.

To get started:

• For Rowers in Philly area: Check out our upcoming NK Demo Day
• For everyone: Check out our Facebook Photos, catch our real-time Tweets in the footer below the blog, and stay tuned

You can access our previous blog and its contents HERE and its Complete Archives