MySpace, YourSpace...OurSpace!!

Ok folks, here's something new: We are on MySpace!!! Check it out HERE!!!

Dr Pepper intermission trailer

This is kind of wierd at the beginning, but at the end you will see what it has to do with Dr Pepper. A great nostalgic video! (sorry for the distracting info on the screen...)

A Slew of Services!

As some of you might already have noticed, a few new services have been added to the blog courtesy of our membership to www.bravenet.com, which is a webhosting and webtool site. Now that I have the blog taken care of, I am going to working on making the same services available on the Museum's main website, www.drpeppermuseum.com. Here is a quick overview of the services you see on the right hand toolbar:

First is the guestbook, which is meant to serve as an electronic version of the paper one that is available for guests to sign as you walk into the Museum. The problem with the paper one is there is basically no room to write a personal note or to leave feedback, so it really is just a ledger of names. However, with the electronic guestbook, you can leave the Museum staff details about your visit and more specific info on yourself! We love to hear from visitors and Dr Pepper lovers in general, so go ahead and drop us a note!

The second one you see is a FAQ service, which many of you will find helpful since it answers the most common questions we get on a daily basis, such as "Is there prune juice in Dr Pepper?" and "Does Coke own Dr Pepper?" Still have a question? Would you like to see it on the FAQ? Just email us at
dp-info@drpeppermuseum.com.

The third, and my personal favorite, is the e-card service. From our bank of nostalgic logos and photos we chosen some fun and colorful popular images to be in our e-card selection. The image is provided, and you fill in the rest! Add effects and background colors as well. These are perfect for the Dr Pepper lover in your life, and best of all, it's FREE!! So go ahead and start wishing everyone the appropriate occasion with a DP e-card, and if there is an image you would love to see, just email us at dp-info@drpeppermuseum.com and we will try to put it in the next round. They will change periodically, so be watchin!!

A feature that has been on the blog for a mere week is the hit counter, and in that short amount of time almost 400 of you have visited our blog! That is amazing, and we are so grateful for the support. It boggles my mind to think how many people have visited in the entire time the blog has been up, which is about two months. Keep supporting us and we will make it a priority to have new and fresh things on a weekly basis!!

Interested in starting a website? Do you have a blog? Go to www.bravenet.com for all of the services you see offered here and more!

Design Charette

What is a charette? I sure don't know, but it is basically a fancy word for meeting, which is what I have been calling it. On Friday, August 18 the staff of the Dr Pepper Museum met with the creative team from Museum Scapes, which is a Dallas-based design firm, to discuss ideas for the Foots Clements Free Enterprise exhibit that will be taking the place of the Beverage World Hall of Fame on the 3rd floor. Museum Scapes was chosen from among several firms, and we have been working with them on ways to make the 3rd floor a more exciting place, while still teaching about the free enterprise system. The meeting was a success, and many amazing ideas were formulated. It was also a great experience for the design team because they had never seen the space before, so it was really their chance to get a feel for what they had to work with. They were all very recpetive to both the professional ideas about the exhibits, and the personal ideas about how Foots would want the free enterprise system taught. This is just one of the many exciting exhibits that will be going up in the near future, so be on the lookout for new stuff at the DPM!! For now, check out the charette pics below for a sneak peak into the think tank that was the 18th...

The front of the room with all of the great concept drawings, and of course, Foots watching over the happenings.

 

The design team from Museum Scapes discussing the space they have to work with after taking a tour of the museum.

Architect BJ Greaves and founding president Wilton Lanning involved in a serious discussion about the exhibit.

 

The old chute in the room the charette was held in the Insurer's of Texas building across the street from the museum. It used to be the Southwestern Drug Company !!

 

Me and Carrie acting goofy as the charette was coming to an end. Our fragile minds couldn't handle all of the amazing ideas!!

 

Retro 1960's Dr Pepper Commercial

Enjoy a great YouTube find!!

A Giving Opportunity!!

As a non-profit organization, we are always in need of items to help us run the museum! Therefore, I am providing all of you out there who are desperate to help us out a sampling of the things we would love to accept as donations. This is a great way to give to the museum in a smaller way if you are not able to make a larger donation. We appreciate everything!

The first thing that we would like is for some generous person to fund the implementation of a cell phone tour for the Museum. The finds would go towards the monthly hosting fees, which are about $300 per month. If you are a member of a business, we would be happy to provide advertising space within the tour and on the signage and leaflets in exchange for your support. The cell phone tour would be through a company called Guide by Cell, and we do get the first three months of hosting for free. Having a cell phone tour would really give us an edge regarding choices our visitors have when they come to the Museum because we would be the only museum in Waco to offer four choices: self-guided tour, audio wands, podcasts, and a cell phone tour. We are asking for $5,000 to get us started, and this amount will include our hosting costs and any money spent on promotion. Remember, this is also a chance for advertising your business!! For interested parties, email the Museum at dp-info@drpeppermuseum.com Thanks!!

For other giving opportunities, check out our WishList provided by Froogle under the Links or in the Museum's complete profile.

White House Press Corps Day!

Based on our exposure during the CBS Early Show, the Dr Pepper Museum was invited to Crawford, TX to pass out Dr Pepper floats to the members of the White House Press Corps that were in town with the President on his vacation. Jennie Sheppard, David Sims, and myself (Mary Beth) volunteered to go to the Western White House. I had never been there before, so we stopped at the little coffee shop to have lunch, and were immediately surrounded by people in the press corps. The atmosphere was great because there we so many people, and it was interesting to see how the little town of Crawford has grown throughout Bush's presidency.

After lunch we went to Crawford Middle School and set up our booth. There were a lot of people, and the best part was seeing the podium set up where they do press conferences. We had a little competition for our floats, but the crowd was pretty good. Our first sighting was Tony Snow, who is President Bush's White House Press Secretary. He was very nice and took pictures with us and signed autographs. Next we spotted the White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, who was having a lot of fun playing with the Jack Russell Terrier that one of the press people had brought. Things really started to pick up when Karl Rove arrived, who is the White House Deputy Chief of Staff. He came over and got a float after talking to many people, and then wanted to have his picture taken with us. He was so excited about the cups with the logos and kept yelling "10-2-4" to Tony Snow, who was taking our picture with my camera! They were all so nice, and we had a blast mingling, serving Dr Pepper, and getting to witness the day in the life of a traveling journalist.

As we were packing up Tony Snow started his press conference from the podium in the Crawford High gymnasium, so we ended the day with a reality check about current events, and all in all had a very warm reception. Even the Secret Service guys were great! So scroll down to check out the pictures of our exciting day!

Me, David, and Jennie at the Official Podium!!! We are SO the next presidents.....

 

Me, David, Tony Snow, and Jennie at the Dr Pepper booth.

 

Me, David, Jennie, Karl Rove, and Joshua Bolten drinking Dr Pepper!

 

Me serving a Dr Pepper float to a very nice member of the Press Corps!

 

Tony Snow during his press conference.

 

Pepper Poses #2

Here at the Dr Pepper Museum we love all brands of soft drinks, which is why Diet A&W Root Beer is featured in our second installment of Pepper Poses!

This is Molly Blazkowski of Maple Grove Minnesota drinking a Diet A&W in Iron River, Wisconsin. It was submitted by her father Bob Blazkowski.

Dr Pepper Museum on the CBS Early Show!!

Well, we did it!! Jennie Sheppard was successfully interviewed on the CBS Early Show and the Dr Pepper Museum and Dr Pepper in general was proudly displayed for the nation. Check out these pics from yesterday morning!

The early morning crowd. This was at about 5:15 am!

The CBS Great American Vacation Winnebago.

The crowd with the suspension bridge and the Alico building in the background.

One of my favorite shots. The is the crowd on the suspension bridge with the shadows of the ground crowd in the foreground. The shadow was caused by the lights used for filming.

Josh, David, and Sunny waiting for their close-up! Ok, not really, but waiting for SOMETHING to happen.

Jennie with the mic on her shirt and the Sugar Cane Dr Pepper in her hand for Dave Price. He is about to interview her!

Me (Mary Beth, on the left) and Carrie at about 6:00 am waiting to pass 0ut Dr Peppers.

The crowd once the sun came up.

Dr Pepper Museum on the CBS Early Show!!

Set your alarm clocks, because on Friday, July 21, 2006 the Dr Pepper Museum will be featured on the CBS Early Show! Weatherman and feature reporter Dave Price will be in Waco Friday morning as a stop on the Early Show's Great American Vacation segment, which highlights great American cities and gives out vacations to deserving residents in each of the towns along the way. The staff of the Dr Pepper Museum will be at the Waco suspension bridge bright and early wearing bright teal and brown staff shirts, so make sure to keep an eye out for us! Jennie Sheppard will be interviewed, the delivery truck will be there, and many choruses of "I'm a Pepper" will be sung, so don't miss it!