Appreciating the Uniqueness of Dallas via Social Media
ORCHARD At The OFFICE, the largest office fruit delivery service in Texas, offers these accounts as “online guides”: windows to the stately, colorful world of Dallas.
@kevinhannphoto. This is a fairly obvious, and popular, choice. Kevin Hann is a professional, so his images of downtown (with emphasis on light and motion) are a great visual ambassador to the city.
@stagethyme. A local man with an eye for urban art in Dallas with an account that blends the objective and subjective. He’ll nearly always complement his posts with folk lyrics or stanzas of classic poetry.
@dallaspublicartfund. A focus on the sculptures throughout Dallas we may at times take for granted.
@patientguitar. While somewhat varied, this account often focuses on the outer layers – and inner workings – of DFW.
@d_magazine. Of course, it’s only fair to mention this one! If this account were merely for promotion we’d have left it off the list. There’s a real aesthetic at play, so whether the pictures are for an upcoming event, the latest trendy bistro, or the newest publication, it’s a great addition to any feed.
@downtown_dallas. Run in an office on the top floor of the iconic Bank of America building. While it sometimes gets lost in the weeds of trying to be an influencer account, the fact that it shares a lot of “best of” content from average citizens utilizing the #mydtd take makes this a worthwhile follow.
@lovesdfw. Professional photographer Ben Zavala has the ability to find drama in the play of light on our skyline. Annual calendars of his work are available.
@djjoec. Another photographer with professional chops, Joe Cartia often – but not exclusively – uses the Bank of America Building as a point of focus or reference, bringing a sense of continuity to visions of downtown Dallas.
@visit_dallas. It stands to reason that the official Instagram account for our city’s tourism board would be loaded with fantastic images of our fine land!
@orchardattheoffice. We focus, not just on images of the fresh fruit we supply to Dallas offices, but capturing a sense of our city and what makes it great. As always, we keep it fun!
The fall of 1984 saw a rare instance of an employee migration out of the D/FW Metroplex. In June, the inimitable H. Ross Perot had sold his brainchild, Electronic Data Systems, to the megalithic General Motors for an at-the-time astounding sum of $2.6 billion. As my own father was an executive with EDS, our family pulled up stakes and left Plano to head for Detroit, Michigan – a place I could only identify on a map as “the state with all the lakes around it”. We arrived on October 15, the day after the Detroit Tigers defeated the San Diego Padres to win the 1984 World Series, and some citizens “celebrated” with a riot in which cars were burned and one person was killed. This was not, I sensed, going to be anything like the atmosphere in which I’d been raised.
As it happens, we found ourselves in the affluent suburb of Birmingham, which has recently been compared in a rather snotty article to Frisco though to my mind it has always been much more akin to Highland Park. I’ve also learned to have a great deal of sympathy for the civil discord that plagued Detroit in the latter half of the 20th century, and eventually found charm in a city with over three centuries of history.
However, as a twelve-year-old, all of it seemed bleak and depressing. I missed Dallas desperately. I missed the weather, the expansive sky, playing football on front lawns with my peers…and the skyline. Detroit’s architecture, which I have since come to appreciate, was more Gothic and ornate where it was not starkly industrial. When I thought of the city of Dallas as typified by the skyline, the words “new”, “modern”, and “vibrant” came to mind. While even Plano seemed full of the “Dazed and Confused” field party atmosphere, Dallas held the allure of being polished and glamorous. In a word, I was homesick, and as such romanticized the Dallas I’d left behind which I hardly even knew.
The allure of the downtown Dallas skyline, as captivating now as ever.
One consolation I had was the August 1984 edition of D Magazine which my parents had purchased before our departure. Here was a tangible reminder of my hometown, and I practically memorized that particular issue. I tended to eschew images that struck me as society pages, as I lacked the symmetry or commitment to orthodontia to fit that into that scene. But for some reason, I loved the “Taste of the Town” and “Toast of the Town” sections. Poring through this issue I could connect to a community, the community from which I was separated and would, I vowed with fierce determination, return the instant I graduated high school. I would get back to Dallas, to master the Metroplex and all its suburbs and neighborhoods. I’d know the best place to get donuts near the M streets, the best live performance venues in Deep Ellum, jog around White Rock Lake. I wanted to make Dallas my home.
I hadn’t thought about any of this until a couple of weeks ago, when I held in my hand a ticket to the 2016 Best of Big D Party which took place Wednesday at The Bomb Factory. In our lives, we experience the feeling of having come full circle many times, and for this to happen, there must be identification of a familiar landmark. The fine folks at D Magazine not only provided such a landmark, they in fact were the landmark.
Instagram fun in Deep Ellum on the way to the event.
During my tenure with ORCHARD At The OFFICE, I’ve learned all the nooks and crannies of the Metroplex, as much out of necessity as anything. As we’ve grown to be the largest office fruit delivery service in the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex, I’ve been the bearer of fresh fruit to virtually every downtown office tower, chatted with clients in the hidden ridges of Irving I was hitherto unaware of, accompanied new tenants into brand new buildings in Plano and Frisco, worked warehouses in Grand Prairie, and brought baskets to banks in Bedford. The fortunate upshot of all this has been the sense of belonging to this community. One learns the addresses of buildings like an Uber driver and their occupants like a commercial realtor. Faces are placed with names, and personalities match the persons.
And so it was that I entered The Bomb Factory not merely as a representative of ORCHARD At The OFFICE honoring a favored client, but as a member of the community, there to bring in some small measure a sense of celebratory spirit.
The crowded ground floor of The Bomb Factory.
I’m not sure how many attended the event but it was pretty close to 1,000 or more. The crowd was more or less what one acquainted with Dallas would expect: while primarily white, 20s and seemingly somewhat well-to-do, there was certainly a healthy mix of all races, ages, and even income levels. As we are home to so many corporate headquarters, people of every nationality have found the Metroplex to be ideally suited to work and raise a family. In the main area, the inquisitive patrons meandered about, sampling servings from mixologists and delectable delights from some of the restaurants that had been awarded the Best of Big D for the year. From what I tasted, the praise was well-earned.
(A particular highlight for me was sampling a bit of ahi poke from TJ’s Seafood Market & Grill, served with a large dried banana chip with macadamia nuts, cucumber, and a wasabi-based sauce I could have drank a pint of. Forcing myself to have just one of those bites was a true test of will!)
A representative from a local bar serves up the fun.
As befitting the term “party”, the ceremony was kept to a minimum. The Dallas Police Department was honored, an important point for the community after the night of July 7 in which a lone gunman killed five officers and injured nine others. If there was any other fanfare I must admit I missed it, as for all the excitement the party was on a Wednesday, and even the 9pm end time proved too much for a man who works a sixty-hour-per-week minimum – a habit I learned from watching EDS employees.
Overall, while the event may not have benefited ORCHARD At The OFFICE beyond this blog, for me it was a lovely night out, something I look forward to attending in the future with my amazing wife. And, to complete the Dallas-ness of it all, I was able to watch the sunset from the Omni Dallas hotel. It was great to relax as the light faded on this modern, vibrant town I love, a town which still feels new to me.
A misty Thursday morning provided a healthy contrast to the burst of color we brought to the Hyatt Regency Dallas.
Despite low-hanging clouds, our spirits were high on Thursday, March 10, 2016, as we pulled into the loading dock of the Hyatt Regency Dallas. The Jeep was laden with a delectable display of fresh fruit. It was the morning of the Dallas Business Journal’s “Healthiest Employers in North Texas 2016”, an annual event for those invested in corporate wellness. Companies can mingle and display their wares before a luncheon awarding the businesses that have gone to the greatest lengths to champion the cause of office fitness.
As we got to our display table, Chief Banana, Kevin Long, worked with Michelle to arrange our assortment of edible delights as I surveyed the scene.
Michelle, Kevin, and Chris give the thumbs up to happy, healthy office fruit delivery in Dallas!
SETTING THE TABLE
Prior to founding ORCHARD At The OFFICE, Kevin was a creative director with a background in graphic design. While Michelle works for us in the day, her career is that of hair and makeup artist of the highest caliber. As they arranged wooden bowls piled high with our finest offerings, their eyes were sharply attuned to the slightest artistic detail. I reviewed our marketing materials and started the process of networking with future friends and partners in healthy living. Knowing that we would be debuting our organic options at this event, I wanted to make sure that I had my own talking points in order.
FRUIT SELLS ITSELF
As the Marketing Wiseapple, I sometimes feel I have the easiest job in the organization. One needn’t work overly hard to sell fresh fruit at people. Indeed, it sells itself. “Would you like a banana?” “Yes, please!” Office fruit delivery is a great idea that works. However, not just anyone can do it. It takes expertise to seek out top quality produce, deliver it in a timely manner in attractive and eco-friendly packaging, and provide top-notch customer service.
Winners are announced over lunch for the Dallas Business Journal’s 2016 Healthiest Employers in North Texas.
AND THE WINNERS ARE…
The actual lunch was a lovely, if somewhat muted affair. As one by one the top 40 employers were counted down, recipients came forward to receive a trophy of engraved crystal. ORCHARD At The OFFICE found itself applauding quite a bit as nearly half the award recipients currently subscribe to our office fruit delivery service! Winners represented a healthy cross-section of Dallas industries, from hospitals and healthcare to commercial real estate. (I won’t spoil the surprise by listing the winners here, but you can read the Dallas Business Journal article here.)
Michelle and Linda, one of our most enthusiastic customers, take a moment to chat.
What gives us the opportunity to provide our service to so many of these organizations? To me, the keyword is personalization. As a service provider, we want to be as unobtrusive as possible, like an efficient waiter at your favorite restaurant. However, we pride ourselves in making sure that there’s a personal connection with our friends. People like knowing that if you send an e-mail to getfruit@orchardattheoffice.com, it will be read promptly. For us, “customer care” is neither a slogan nor a platitude; it is a commitment and a promise.
UNTIL NEXT YEAR
As the event drew to a close, we took the opportunity to express our gratitude to those in attendance and those who made such a nice event possible. We’d like to do so here again by congratulating the awardees and thanking the Dallas Business Journal for hosting. We look forward to seeing you all at next year’s event, and in the meantime, we encourage all of you to LIVE WELL!
Chris Buchanan smiles with Sean Jett of the Dallas Running Club
A Fruitful Partnership
Since 2010, ORCHARD At The OFFICE has been delivering fresh fruit to businesses throughout North Texas. Our mission is to assist in the health and happiness of our community, one bite at a time. There’s always been a special affinity for runners in our organization. Because Marketing Wiseapple Chris Buchanan’s wife, Chauncey, is a certified personal trainer who has completed several marathons and ultra-marathons, and Chief Banana Kevin Long’s wife, Amy, races regularly and has completed several marathons herself, we jumped at the opportunity to provide bananas.
Sean and ORCHARD At The OFFICE Chief Banana Kevin Long load up healthy goodness for dedicated runners.
Year-Round Racing
The Dallas Running Club is the largest all-volunteer running club in America. The DRC hosts eight races a year and sponsors the “DRC Half” – an annual 5K and half marathon. Runners come from all over to compete in these races, and after all those miles, they need lots of replenishment. So, that’s where ORCHARD At The OFFICE comes in. For instance, the February “Love the Loop” 5K/15K required 320 pounds of potassium for over 900 runners!
DRC Volunteers set out bananas for hungry runners at the February 2016 “Love the Loop 5K/15K” at White Rock Lake.
On Your Mark! Get Set! GO!
You can check out the upcoming race schedule for the DRC here. Register for races individually or become a club member for additional benefits! So, whether you’re starting your fitness journey or a veteran runner looking to PR, there’s a race for your schedule…and ORCHARD At The OFFICE will see you at the finish!
