I recently celebrated two milestones, my sixth year of being employed at Bookmans and two years of handling Community Relations for our Phoenix and Mesa locations. It seems like only yesterday I was working behind a hotel front desk when one of our guests told me he was the contractor for a new bookstore opening up around the corner. Imagine my excitement when I found out who it was. I had been shopping at the Mesa and Flagstaff locations for about five years at that point. The next day he brought in a business card for the store's manager and said they were hiring. I sent off my resume and received a call back to schedule an interview. Based on previous experiences, I had dressed up but felt over-dressed when I was greeted by a gentlemen wearing a Ramones t-shirt and beanie cap.

Last weekend we had buying and selling events at the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. It would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our staff. Everyone did a fantastic job. We noticed a few that deserve special recognition for outstanding work.

For the third weekend in May, we would like to recognize Kara Graham and Nick DeVries.

My favorite quote of all time is by Albert Einstein. “Imagination is everything, it is the preview of life's coming attractions.” If you take a moment to find out what a Bookmans employee is up to in their free time, you'll realize that we are surrounded by endless amounts of creativity. Personally, I enjoy sewing, paper arts and drawing in my free time. However, at Bookmans we have some incredibly talented people!

I've worked at Bookmans for six years now and fancy myself an "expert" in many fields of knowledge. We don't have computers to look up inventory, which essentially forces Bookmans employees to "just know." It's very Tao. As employees we occasionally get big heads about our amassed knowledge. Then we get a request/book look that just knocks us off our knowledge mountain and reminds us that we do not "know" everything. One such event happened to me last weekend.

A few months ago, we commissioned a new look for BookMan, our cleft-chinned, muscled, purple n' orange-clad mascot, beloved by book-hungry kids and adults alike. The original costume had seen many a community event and in-store appearance, resulting in BookMan looking a little too loved.

It's May once again and I've been thinking about my mom and moms in general. As a single woman with no children, the concept of "motherhood" is a difficult one to grasp. My mom was a "stay at home" mom in the late '70s. She ran a day care out of our house and, when my sister and I were old enough, she was an assistant at our grammar school. She was always there.

Elaine has worked for Bookmans for three years now. After doing a couple years in the Book Department at Ina, she’s now the Visual Merchandising Coordinator at the Grant store. For those not in the know, the VM is in charge of creating and maintaining the constantly rotating displays that help make trips to Bookmans fun and surprising.