Category: Dust Cover Chutzpah Award Winner/2012 By: Jerry Pritikin

Every so often I go to Howard Brown's Brown Elephant Resale Store. It has a large assortment of used furniture, appliances, art, and clothing, and at the back of the shop, shelves laden with books. Many of the books are in excellent condition, and most hard covers sell for 1 or 2 bucks. Once in awhile I buy a book for a friend or for my brother, if I think they will enjoy the contents. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a book for my brother, because the title caught my eye. He is in the mirror business. His company is now celebrating its 40^th anniversary and, like most companies has had to fight to stay in business over the last 5 years. He may get something useful out of the book. The title is, The Mirror Test: Is Your Business Really Breathing, by Jeffrey W. Hayzlett with Jim Eber. It was published in 2010 and once had a retail price of $24.95.

When I read the back of the book jacket and the inside covers, it reminded me of when I was a kid, and had to do book reports for my grammar school classes. I was never much of a book person so those areas were all I usually read to complete the assignments. Now, at 75, I resorted to my childhood habits. Just reading the dust jacket information made me realize that Hayzlett is eligible for my Chutzpah Award. His bio states: JEFFREY W. HAYZLETT is the chief marketing officer for Kodak. He has twenty-five-years of international marketing and management experience and has received numerous global awards and honors, including being named BtoB magazine's Marketer of the year.

About forty years ago, when I became a freelance photographer, Kodak was known as the Yellow God. Its competitors lagged far behind the company. It seems that the author of this book, in telling other businesses how to stay in business by using his award winning skills, forgot to tell his own company how to do it. Kodak recently stopped manufacturing Kodachrome film at the end of 2011. In January of this year it filed for bankruptcy and in February it stopped selling cameras after 112 years in the business.

Now that's Chutzpah!

Jerry Pritikn's First Chutzpah Award Goes to Cubs Owners!

Today's Trib Headlines 11/12/10
Jerry Pritikin aka The Bleacher Preacher
Real Baseball Fans are an Endangered Species T-shirt designed by Pritikin over 10 years ago.

(Chicago,Il.) I think I heard it before... I am mad as hell, and I am not going to take it anymore! Ironically, I do not consider myself a ba$eball fan anymore either, because I have been priced out of the "Friendly Confines" of Chicago's Wrigley Field , at the face value of a Bleacher Ticket. My Dad, who was my BASEBALL RABBI, and taught me "Baseball 101" and Cubs History way back in 1945, that also included stories of his adventures when the Cubs played at the Old West-Side ballpark dating back to 1906-08. There he picked up beer and soda bottles to get free entry into the games. He had stories of Cubs teams and players ever since that time, and even during the Great Depression he said the average person, working or not working could still afford a day at the old ballpark.

When the Tribune Company bought the team in 1981, they had a catchy slogan... "Building a New Tradition". However, they forgot to tell us fans... that it came at the expense of many of the fine traditions... that earned Wrigley Field the moniker, "The Friendly Confines". Each year since the Tribune Company, and the Ricketts Family cartel that now own the team... has constanly raised tickets, food and beer prices so much... the average fan taking his family to a game, would have to file for bankruptcy... to do so!

I gave Players, Owners, Scribes and Fans Awards during my 25 years that I roamed inside and outside the ballpark. After seeing today's headlines in both the Trib, and Sun-Times... I almost want to come out of retirement... just to give one more Award... however I decided to make my First WWW Chutzpah Award, via my blog and it's an imaginary one... since I have not learned to master the Photo-shop tools, needed to make one... and if I waited until someone helped me... it might be too late. I am attaching the following "Letters to the Editor"... that I sent to both the Trib and Sun-Times, as the messenger to my response of Today's Headlines:

Editor:
If there are needs for improvements at Wrigley Field, it should not come from the City's entertainment tax, and the fans should not pay for building improvements, either. I recommend that funding be based on the Cubs payroll. There should be a 10% Added Value tax on all games played at Wrigley, with 5% paid by the Cubs, and 5% paid by the players for all home games. The same Added Value Tax formula should be put on any other Entertainment venue, based on what Bands are paid, or other events that take place within the "Friendly Confines". If the Cubs new owners don't like that... let them move.

Jerry Pritikin aka The Fan Formally Know as the "Bleacher Preacher"

P.S. Look forward to my next Chutzpah Award... and also take the time to leave your comment on this, or any other of my postings on this site... PLEASE!