The event is scheduled for Thursday, May 23, from 6-8 p.m. at The Scranton Club, 404 N. Washington Ave., Scranton, PA; and we’d encourage anyone interested in marketing, advertising or creative design to attend. Tickets are $8.

BlackOut’s Jessica Siegfried is the Director and Past President of AAF Northeast Pennsylvania. You can register for the May 23 event on their website.

Jessica Siegfried has been an active member of the NEPA creative arena for well over a decade. A graduate of Marywood University, and a two term President of the American Advertising Federation, Northeast PA, Jess takes great pride in helping our local community flourish. Jess brings with her an incredibly rich artistic background, and a wealth of design experience.

Unofficially we are thrilled to have Jess as part of the crew. Her experience, enthusiasm and love of big dogs – http://www.pittiechicks.com/ – brings a tremendous energy to the table. Glad to have you JS!

January

- Jack Reager celebrates another year of life by working an 18 hour day. Estimated age in CEO years: 289

- Phil creates a killer new logo for Johnson College’s athletic program. It is dynamic and looks great on a jersey. Jury still out on whether an actual jungle cat will be at the games.

February

- Blackout Design, working in cooperation with 25/8 Productions and United Neighborhood Center, releases PSA that stands up to bullying and celebrates diversity.

March

- Eric celebrates 35^th birthday in complete denial he has been in his 30s for over 5 years. Police are eventually called.

April

- After a few short weeks of hunting and pecking for the right look, Triple Toe Turkey Calls goes live.

- Working with our pals over at the GVTA, Blackout helps the Annual Business Plan Competition celebrate its 10th Anniversary in style with a new site and logo.

May

- Another year, another amazing First Friday Art Auction. But this time, with a new Executive Director (Jeff Boris) and new website (courtesy of Blackout Design).

- To celebrate our 9th anniversary, Blackout Design expands north with a new conference room and bike storage for Eric.

June

- Working closely with Gigi, Powell Studios website gets a much needed re-boot.

- Jack goes on a much needed vacation to the Outer Banks. Eric moves on up to the East Side. Nate enjoys a stay-cation with the family. Phil prepares for the impending Mayan apocalypse by buying a new car.

September

After months of planning and redesign, the Highlights Foundation begins working with a brand new site.

Blackout helps the Greater Scranton Jaycees update their site for the 2012 season. Everyone is back on the ‘nice’ list for this year’s Santa Parade.

October

The Banshee closes its doors for good. Happy Hour re-routed to the Backyard Ale House.

Anne Bonczek and the Blackout team unleash Tomcat Truck Washing onto the internet. Phil creates yet another outstanding logo. Breaker-breaker.

November

Deb Miliron treks all the way from Harrisburg for help with Hunter’s Sharing the Harvest site. We’re more than happy to lend a hand.

Being the stand up guy he is, Nate builds his own stand-up desk to improve posture. The move is widely hailed by everyone, except by those who wonder why he has to stand in the corner at work.

December

Phil defends Blackout HQ against the Mayan Apocalypse. Celebrates victory by turning 35 years old. Police are eventually called.

Dr. John Norcross of Scranton University releases his book “Changeology” which ties directly into the site created by Nate and Blackout crew months earlier.

When first approached, the goal put in place was straightforward: create a user friendly database that each of the 14 participating higher education centers could pool and cull information concerning biolife resources, initiatives and research. To that end, Geoff Speicher and Hydro4GE used their product Pario to start us off with a smooth, customized database. This allows the user to easily navigate the considerable amount of information currently referenced between the institutions (1,000 faculty members, 630 pieces of equipment, 78 facilities, 394 presentations and 502 publications). The end result was a clean, concise site that provides a gateway for regional schools and private enterprise to share research and resources with the bio-tech industry.

Take the time to take a look.

It would appear that Rogue Brewery in Oregon also sees the error in such early releases.  While many have been brewing their winter warmers and holiday spice beers (currently making their ways to distributors) Rogue was growing, harvesting and roasting their very own pumpkins at their Micro Hopyard in Independence, OR.  Documented on Facebook and the Rogue Farms blog over 5000 lbs. of pumpkins were harvested in late September and immediately driven 77 miles from Independence to the brewery in Newport.  From there they were cut, roasted and pitched directly in the brew kettle.  The final product, a highly anticipated brew for us here at BlackOut Design, GYO Chatoe Rogue First Growth Pumpkin Patch Ale.

Now, believe it or not, Rogue will ship their ales straight to you directly from Oregon.  After a short delay in shipping thanks to hurricane Sandy we now have our supply of Pumpkin Patch Ale to finish out the season.  We also received a 2 bottles of Chatoe Rogue Wet Hop Ale.  Another GYO made with six different varieties of GYO Certified hops grown on the Rogue Micro Hopyard.  In a similar fashion to the pumpkins they are harvest, immediately driven 77 miles from the farm to the brewery and pitched directly into the brew kettle.

What is GYO?  GYO means Grow Your Own.  Not only were the pumpkins grown by Rogue, the hops and barley were grown on the very same farm.  The end product is a first year release pumpkin ale brewed with ginger, vanilla bean, cinnamon and nutmeg with no chemicals, additives, or preservatives.  Makes one wonder where all the pumpkins come from for those brewed in the late summer.

Visit their site to learn more about some of their upcoming workshops and featured faculty – www.highlightsfoundation.org