Halloween with the McClains

Nicole's costume was five feet wide.

Can you guess who this is? We can! It's no other than Nexus 21's Nicole McClain! Everyone who knows Nicole knows that Halloween plans have been years in the making and it takes hours of preparation for Halloween night at the McClain household.

Nicole and her Mom, the Mad Scientist

"I've been doing this since I was a kid. The only way I can explain it is that our family feels about Halloween how most people feel about Christmas - it's huge. We even take a vacation day from work. We have boxes and boxes of Halloween costumes, strobe lights, and an awesome sound system to play music. I remember being a kid and watching a ghost swing down from the top window across the yard on a pulley. At the same time, a friend of the family was crawling out of a real coffin my parents had in the front yard. One year, my parents even had people walk through the house to scare them. Every year we seem to 'out do' the previous year."

Even the dogs love Halloween, pumpkin guts and costumes.

It seems like a lot of time and money for the two hour trick-or-treating window. What's the point? "To carry on the tradition that has been in my family for years. We carve pumpkins, cook food, and most importantly, scare kids! This year we scared a group of girls who walked up acting all tough and yelling they weren't afraid. When I jumped out in front of them, two girls toppled over each other falling on the ground and spilled their candy everywhere. We do have a heart for the really little kids though - we take our masks off to show them it's all just fun and games."

"The major problem this year was the time change - or should I say, the lack thereof? It was light through the first half of trick-or-treating which was disappointing. Halloween should be moved one hour later to compensate for the time change. Other than that, the hardest part is the cleanup but everybody pitches in."

Roll In the Team Efforts

Nexus 21 Gets Creative with New Business Development Manager, Nicole McClain

Nexus 21 has made an exciting decision to roll in (or should we say fly??) new talent by hiring Nicole McClain as the Business Development Manager and IT Marketing Manager. Nicole is dedicated to managing Nexus 21’s marketing campaign, website design and development, and sales east of the Mississippi. Prior to joining Nexus 21, Nicole was a Project Manager for a Cleveland Web development company and expanded her knowledge of the Internet, Web development, and Web-based applications. She also served as the lead role for managing the research and implementation of Hacker Safe and PCI Compliance Standards ensuring the company, employees, and clients maintained the highest internet information security standards.

Nicole is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College having earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in marketing and management as well as a certificate in human resources. "I'm looking forward to creating some hott new ideas for the company that really revamp the marketing campaign and showcase how talented our TV lift truly is," Nicole said. "Nexus 21 will have a complete redesign and rebuild of the web site as well as all new collateral materials." But the action doesn't stop there. Nexus 21 will feature a completely new tradeshow booth in the upcoming months that Nicole promises will be jazzy and fun. "I think our clients and reps will be impressed when they see the new booth at the shows. We're boxing up the old banners and traditional tradeshow display. I can't give you all the details just yet, but the booth will not only show the value and quality of the TV lift, but showcase the lift in a 'natural setting.'"

Where does all this spark and colorful energy come from? Surrounded by creativity at a young age and involved in the fundamentals of art throughout her education, Nicole has more than just creative and flowing ideas up her sleeve. "There's something to be said about how colors can make a person feel. They have a reflection on each of us and I love the intense feeling that is created from a talented piece of artwork. It's like wearing your favorite shirt - it just makes you feel good." She has won several awards recognizing her talents including but not limited to the Ohio Governor’s Art Exhibition Award, the Wall of Fame Artist Exhibition Award, and the War Against Drugs Art Exhibition Award.

But it's not all primary colors and kaleidoscopes with Nicole. She served on the board for the National Association of Business Communicators Cleveland Chapter and received the President’s Award of Educational Excellence. She was also awarded the Ohio Award of Merit, the State Board of Education Recognition of Honors, the Ohio Skill Gap Initiative Award, and the Ohio Business Roundtable Award. Nicole also teaches computer classes to senior citizens, served as a chair and member of the PTA in her community, and is a volunteer for Special Olympics.

When the work day is finally over, she enjoys her family, hunting, rock climbing, studying karate, working out at the gym, and working on her, "ESC" campaign to get a Starbucks on Every Single Corner across the country.

For tv lift sales information, a free 30-day trial, or to find out Nicole's favorite coffee, contact Nicole at 866.500.LIFT (5438) or visit Nexus 21.