The Power of SHE on the Race Course

Cheers to Teamwork and Building Friendships


I know, since my last editor's note a couple of months ago detailing the winning adventures of my sailboat crew, also known as the Chippewa Chix Racing Team, you've been sitting on the edge of your seats, wanting to know:


How is my favorite all-women, all the time, sailing team doing this season?


We are kickin' a-- and takin' names, my friends. Kickin' a--.


(If I do say so myself, ahem.)


Currently, if YachtScoring (a sailboat racing results site) is up-to-date, we sit in second place (in our class) for the season.


If ever there was a vagabond crew of sailors and would-be sailors who should not be ruling the school on the Great Lakes, it is ours. But there we are, just killing it on the race course.


And why should any of you care?


Because our sailing season has been all about the power of SHE and building a team out of a group of individuals.


We range in age from 30-something to 70-something (the aged will remain nameless), and we have a wide range of sailing experience from newbie to national champion. We have spent the past few summers building a team.


And that teamwork has led to friendships based on support and trust and knowing we have one another's backs both on and off the water.


No matter if you are man, woman or something in between, find your people. It isn't always easy, as an adult, to make new friends or to blend old friends with new.


It definitely takes work. It takes effort. But it is so worth it.


It takes showing up, week after week, at the dock, even when the wind is winding harder than you ever thought you would feel comfortable sailing in, and you step foot on the deck of the sailboat and you tell yourself, "I've got this. They've got this. We've got each other's backs."


You put on your lifejacket and you cheer as the bow of the boat breaks through the biggest waves and you hear yourself cheer with delight and you realize the only thing drowning out the sound of your cheer is the cheer of everyone sitting next to you on the rail of the sailboat, laughing and having too much fun.


Synchronized cheers of delight and fun. That's true teamwork.


And if you can knock the socks off of a few all-boyz sailboat crews while you're at it, so be it.


Champagne (or Hamm's beers!) cheers to us. To building friendships. And to teamwork.


Teamwork, indeed.


Peace and Fair Winds,

Patti Samar

Editor/Publisher/Chief Creative Officer

www.BlueWaterWoman.com

www.TheWriteCompany.net

 

The Four Ps of Marketing


(This is the first in a series of marketing tips for your business.)


Back in the dark ages, when I was in college, marketing professors taught students about the "Four Ps" of marketing: Product, Pricing, Promotion, and Placement.


Though the marketing tools have changed significantly over the years, the basic premise of the four Ps still stands:


Product: Figure out what you are really selling. Are you really selling kitchen cabinets, or are you selling the heart of a home?


Pricing: You must set a price that convinces consumers that they are receiving quality, affordability and perhaps something more.


Promotion: How are you going to promote your product or service? A big budget helps, but even compact budgets can be effective if used in strategically planned ways. Two key words here: Consistency and repetition.


Placement: Like real estate, this is all about location, location, location. Placement might involve the physical location of your business, or the placement of your product in a retail store. Or, can your business, product or service be found on the internet? Is your advertising and marketing placement working for you?


If you need help strategizing the Four Ps for your business, reach out and let's talk.


If you are ready to "outsource" your marketing needs, contact us today...we can help! Reach out to Patti Samar at 810-300-2176 or pattisamar@gmail.com.


NEXT MONTH: What is marketing? Think you know? Let's see if your definition and ours match up.

Read the

Summer Issue

of Positively Port Huron!


I'm so pleased to share with you the Summer 2025 Issue of Positively Port Huron magazine, a publication of the City of Port Huron.


Patti Samar, Chief Creative Officer of The Write Company, a Port Huron-based advertising agency, was again hired by the city to produce the twice-yearly publication.


“This issue of the city magazine features a lot of cool stories about some pretty neat projects taking place in the city,” said Samar. “Our city council, city manager and their department heads all work super hard to ensure that the city is a place that is business-friendly, but also people friendly, as well.”


Check out Positively Port Huron online, or look for a printed copy at local businesses throughout the city.


Do You Need Help Telling Your Business or Organization's Story?

If so, call The Write Company! We can:

  • Help create a list of story ideas;
  • Provide a visually pleasing publication design that helps brand your business or organization;
  • Put together the words that shares your story in a heartwarming way that will touch people's hearts;
  • Shoot photos and create images that visually bring your stories to life;
  • Create your publication as a printed book or a digital flipbook document;
  • And so much more!

Contact Patti Samar today at pjsamar@aol.com.

Read the

July/August Issue

of ThumbCoast Senior!


I'm so pleased to share with you the July/August 2025 issue of ThumbCoast Senior magazine.


This issue features:


Sailing Pow Wow.  The Smith family of Port Huron has sailed 91 year old Pow Wow since 1957;


Sherman Woods Centennial. This iconic and historic neighborhood in Port Huron celebrates 100 years; and


Elder Abuse. Seniors and those who care about seniors need to watch for warning signs of a variety of forms of elder abuse.

Read the

Summer Issue

of Blue Water Woman!


I'm so pleased to share with you the Summer 2025 issue of Blue Water Woman magazine.

This issue features:


Jeanette Roberts, D.V.M., a veterinarian who specializes in in-home euthanasia for our furry family members;


Pastor Julia DiFiore of the United Church of Christ in St. Clair; and


Keshia Evans, who works in the Planning Department for the City of Port Huron and serves as a volunteer for many youth organizations in the community.

Read the

May/June Issue

of ThumbCoast Senior!


I'm so pleased to share with you the May/June 2025 issue of ThumbCoast Senior magazine.


This issue features:

Andrew Kercher, a local historian who generously shared with us the inside of his closet and his infamous historic wardrobe;


Lake Huron Woods Expansion, a story outlining the 90 new senior living accommodations in Fort Gratiot; and


Don't Be a Mean Girl, a personal essay.

Read the

Spring Issue

of Blue Water Woman!


I'm so pleased to share with you the Spring 2025 issue of Blue Water Woman magazine.

This issue features the 2025 Blue Water Woman of the Year Award Recipients:


Thelma Castillo, former CEO of the Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce;


Kathryn Baker of Blue Water Developmental Housing and Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home;


Mary Williams, chair of the Port Huron Southside Neighborhood Improvement Authority;


Valorie Hudgens of The Arc of St. Clair County;


Shannon Schwabe of the Small Business Development Center; and


Georgette Assi, community volunteer and owner of Port Huron Lanes.

Celebrating 25 Years of The Write Company: An Advertising Agency


So...Happy Quarter Century to my business...


When I started my advertising agency, The Write Company, back in 2000, it never in a million years occurred to me that 25 years later, I'd still be banging away on a computer, helping businesses in the Blue Water Area (and beyond!) with their marketing and advertising needs.


(Check out our PORTFOLIO!)


Most especially, I never dreamed I'd eventually publish two successful regional magazines (Blue Water Woman and ThumbCoast Senior), as well.


But thanks to the many really awesome (and a few super difficult! Ha!) clients and advertisers out there, here I am, banging away on the keyboard, clicking away on my mouse, gettin' it done for all of you.


I put together a little mini publication/portfolio with some of my favorite projects from the past 25 years. Because technology has changed so much, there are not too many projects from the early years because, well, "Pagemaker" files just do not open up in the Adobe Creative Suite these days. ;)


What is it that I do for my clients? Oh, soooo many things. All the marketing and creativey and designy and writey things. I help you figure out where to best spend your advertising dollars and I create the ads that help get you the attention you are looking for.


I get to photograph your staff and your events. Heck, I even get to plan a LOT of really super cool corporate events that range in size from serving 25 to 2,500 and beyond. I've imagined and dreamed up large community events like a New Year's Eve anchor drop from the top of the McMorran Tower and small, intimate parties. I'm your go-to corporate event planner.


I've also managed many aspects of other community events. I've helped wrangle statewide media coverage for a snack competition (who doesn't love snacks???) and I've helped write and design compelling, heartstring-tugging fundraising materials for numerous nonprofits.


I've also had the honor of presenting awards to 70 of the best women in our community through the auspices of my own magazine's annual awards program.


And in ways both big and small, it has all, always, felt like such an honor and a privilege. I have never taken your business for granted. Not ever. Not once.


So happy quarter century to The Write Company/Blue Water Publishing, LLC. It's been an honor and a privilege to serve as your outsourced marketing department.


I look forward to continuing to work with so many of you (except those pesky pain in the behind clients...not them). ;)


Sincerely,

Patti Samar

Chief Creative Officer

Blue Water Publishing, LLC


VIEW OUR PORTFOLIO

An Open and Inclusive Company


Blue Water Publishing, LLC, including our advertising agency, The Write Company, and our two regional magazines, Blue Water Woman and ThumbCoast Senior, are all proudly open and inclusive LGBTQIA+ friendly businesses that promote diversity, equity and inclusion of all kinds, ranging from race to gender identity.


We are also proudly a member of the Port Huron Branch of the NAACP.

 511 La Salle Blvd.

Port Huron, MI 48060

Phone 810.300.2176

www.TheWriteCompany.net

www.BlueWaterWoman.com

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