Dean Akey's (akey65) Blog

Did you know that Illinois has more units of government than any other state (i.e., city, county, township, etc.). Over six thousand. One contributing reason may be the township governments, which are generally six miles square.  Did you know that Illinois has the highest gas tax in the Nation? D...

Who is the real Roland Burris?  If you look at his headstone he is a trailblazer who has selflessly served the people of Illinois for years.  I thought ex Gov Blago picked a Teflon clad guy in Burris.  If you look back upon his career it appears scandal free.  As we watched Roland get hammered fr...

Woody Allen once said "There are things worse than death, Have you ever tried spending an evening with an Insurance Salesman". I have to admit that I agree with Woody. That's why I opened my own insurance agency. When I think the stereotype of insurance people the first thing that comes to mind i...

The one thing in life that remains constant is change. Do you embrace change? In todays markets our clients look to us for the latest and greatest in terms of service which is delivered on their terms. Today, our clients look to us to deliver service with much higher expectations than in years pa...

Lets face it, everyone has their Achilles heel.  What I mean by that is everyone has something that they absolutely dread.   For me it's the dentist.  For others it may be talking to insurance agents, accountants, Realtors or lenders.  There are countless things that people dread.  My question is...

Welcome back to the Bull Pen. If you don't remember me, my name is Dean Akey and I will be your guide for another fun filled edition.  Are you ready?  OK then, let's get started... It was February 6th and I fired up my trusty scoot "Betty" to ride in a funeral for Ed Ufland.  Ed was the past Pres...

Ok, its Friday the 13th and getting close to the weekend...  I have always been a superstitious person and think that this unlucky day has caught up to me.  I had the White Castle sliders for dinner last night and whamo.... They say a pic is worth a thousand words... Try this on instead... Have a...

I would like to Welcome David Carr to Active Rain.  David is a genius when it comes to Social Networking.  For those of you in the Columbus Georgia area David is a guy you should absolutely get to know...I am.  I am the Founder of several SBLOGs.  I'm of the opinion that I coined this term.  What...

America Needs Heroes.... Not Zero's Maybe its just me but I doubt it.  Lets face it times are tough for folks everywhere.  I was so very disappointed in Michael Phelps and the pictures that surfaced recently.  This guy truly had the world by the tail and was reportedly worth $100,000,000 in the e...

Do you tweet?  Are you on Facebook? How about Ziggs?  There are multiple channels available for you to connect with other folks.  The newest wave now is linking all of the pieces together and reaching out to your audience.  If you have something to say, you should constantly look for avenues to r...