It was a big weekend in the Evans household. On Saturday night, my husband Tyler, his entire family and I headed out to a nice dinner to celebrate his 30th birthday. A big birthday was a great reason to celebrate. We had all already gathered in the city for a very special reason; my sister-in-law, Andria, and Tyler’s older brother, Ryan, were about to welcome their very first child into the world. We didn’t realize that the Evans family’s very first grandchild would come sooner than planned!

As we all left one another around 12 a.m. on Saturday night, we had no idea another celebration was on its way! We all received a text message four hours later letting us know that Andria had gone into labor!

After catching a few Z’s and nursing a hangover from Tyler’s 30th birthday party (which continued long after parting ways with the family at 12 a.m.), we headed to the Prentice Center at Northwestern Hospital and proceeded to wait…and wait…and wait.

Finally, on Sunday evening, Andria delivered Abigail Leona Evans…all 9 pounds and 4 ounces of her! She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I can’t take my eyes off her.

Poor Tyler was overshadowed this birthday, but for good reason. He received his first niece, exactly 30 years younger than he. What better present could you ask for? Congrats to Ryan and Andria! I can’t wait to get the “Best Auntie” award…deal with it, Anne.

Allison Evans
Director of Business Development

It seems like every company is coming out with a recession promotion for consumers to save money. But I just received one from what is arguably one of my favorite companies. Moosejaw Mountaineering, Inc., one of the Midwest’s leading outdoor adventure retailers, is offering Free Chinese Food with any purchase on Moosejaw.com.

Here’s how this works:

Make a purchase at a Moosejaw shop or online at Moosejaw.com

Take 25% of the total and order up some Chinese food

Email your Moosejaw order number (found on your receipt near the barcode) and a photo of your Chinese food receipt to magicrat@moosejaw.com

We will reply with a Moosejaw e-Gift Certificate to cover your food, up to 25% of the original order total

So, if you place a $300 order you can order $75 of Chinese food and we’ll send you a $75 e-Gift Certificate. If you place an order for $300 and order $40 of Chinese food, we’ll only send you a $40 e-Gift Certificate.

I wish Moosejaw would have had this promotion back when I was visiting with the polar bears. I would be having myself some Beef and Broccoli right about now.

David Zapata

RA Sushi, the stylishly edgy sushi restaurant and bar, recently held its second annual RA Reality event. RA Reality is a contest which features a slew of Chicagoland’s top reality stars, picked to create a new sushi roll and partner with non-profit organizations, to find out who can make the best roll and raise money for a good cause.

The 2009 lineup of reality stars included participants from Road Rules, Sheer Genius, The Bachelorette, Survivor and Project Runway.

Each reality star was challenged to create and name an original sushi roll which were prepared by RA Sushi’s expert sushi chef. The rolls were sampled and judged by a panel of local media personalities, as well as the crowd in attendance. Each roll was be judged on name, ingredients,
presentation and most importantly, taste!

And this year’s winner is:

Cara Zavaleta!

Cara is a regular on MTV and has been featured on Road Rules and Challenges. She teamed up with The Carbon Fund, whose mission is to “Reduce what you can. Offset what you can’t,” and hopes to win the judges votes with her Midori Ni Ikiyou Roll, which means “Live Green” Roll in Japanese.

Cara’s Midori Ni Ikiyou Roll will then be featured on its own menu and be available throughout the month of February at all three Chicagoland RA Sushi locations (Chicago, Glenview and Lombard) with a portion of the proceeds benefiting The Carbon Fund.

Cara Video Blogged about RA Reality. Check out her thoughts below:




Former CBS News Correspondent David Henderson posted an article on his blog regarding a major embarrassment caused by a Twitter message. It all started when a Vice President at a large Atlanta agency was visiting one of the agency’s largest clients in Memphis.

Upon landing in Memphis, he posted this message on the popular social media site Twitter:

“True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, ‘I would die if I had to live here.’”

Obviously, the culprit forgot that Twitter is followed by business people around the globe including his client. Executives at the client took issue and responded.

Here is a link to the entire blog. The irony was that this PR Executive had flown to Memphis to coach his client on using online social media.

David Zapata

With winter causing brutal temperatures and snow (don’t blame me, I can’t help my name), it’s easy to get in a rut. Personally, I would like to post up on the couch with Thai food and watch movies until Spring. However, that would lead me to a life of tight clothing! So, to beat the winter blues and prep for inevitable summer months, I have, along with other Zapwater co-workers (shout outs to Delaney and Sarah), embarked on a new work out journey. Known as Hot Yoga, or basically 90 minutes of pure torture that you willingly pay for, I spend an hour and a half of my time sweating in Amazon (105F) temperatures. I have to admit the initial blast of hot air is more than welcomed when we step in the studio.

Grueling through 26 poses isn’t as bad as you would think. It is actually the only undisturbed time I have in the day. No cell phone, e-mails, nagging, complaining, or any other crisis comes my way. It’s the perfect way to dream of summer and beat the winter blues!

Holly Winter
Senior Publicist

Did you give of your time during yesterday’s Day of Service honoring Dr. King’s legacy?

I spent my morning at a Board of Directors retreat for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Cook County. For more than 20 years CASA of Cook County has been helping the abused and neglected children involved in the Juvenile Court and foster care system of Cook County. CASA of Cook County provides caring volunteer advocates to make a life-long difference for children.

Giving back continues to be important to Zapwater, especially during these interesting times. All employees get an extra week vacation if they use it volunteering. In addition, Zapwater continues to offer pro-bono services to several non-profits. The USO of Illinois continues to be our “charter” pro-bono client. We’re also currently working with Starlight Foundation, an organization that helps terminally ill children and their families.

On February 6th, Starlight will hold it’s 18th Annual Dream Date Auction.

As one of Chicago’s most highly anticipated fundraisers, Dream Date attracts a capacity crowd of over 550 young professionals, trendsetters and generous hearts. Several of Zapwater’s clients have offered up items and we’re compiling a “Zapwater Package” to be auctioned off at the event.

The “Zapwater Package” is just another way Zapwater and its clients are giving back.

What interesting financial times we are currently living through. When I graduated from college in 1997, jobs were abundant and the market was on an upswing. For those of us that are under the age of 40, it has been relatively easy to find employment over the last twenty years and as a result we have demanded more from our employers. If we weren’t happy, there was certainly another employer out there willing to give us what we wanted, right? Better hours, better pay, more vacation, gym memberships, etc.

Not only has employment been easy, but credit has been even easier. Apply for a credit card and get a free t-shirt – why not?? I applied for and was given several credit cards in college and I didn’t even have an income…an interesting concept that I have been repaying for fifteen years. Why wait until you can afford to buy something when you can charge it and enjoy it now?

I worry about my generation as we have never really known the feeling of ‘need.’ We have confused the meanings of ‘need’ and ‘want’ and been using them as interchangeable verbs. The feeling of need is what drives appreciation for what we earn and are given in life. I am certainly not saying that we don’t work hard, because we do. Within my inner circle of friends and family are some of the hardest working people I know. What I will say is that we have never known what it feels like to not have what we want when we want it.

As I am blasted every day with the evening news reports and newspaper and magazine articles that fill us with fear and despair, I hope that each one of us is grateful for the opportunities we have and the freedom and abundance we live with every day. These economic downturns are cyclical and we will rebound; hopefully with more knowledge and stronger fundamentals in both our policy and as a population. It may not happen as quickly as we have become accustomed to or demand, but it will happen. We are in the midst of a reality check…we just need to pay attention.

Mayra Camara
CFO

It’s hard to believe that I started Zapwater Communications four years ago. As we enter our fifth year, I am reflecting on how far we’ve come. Back in the early days, I was operating out of my condo. It is also amazing how much the world has changed in four short years. Back then, clients weren’t thinking about social media strategies and I wasn’t blogging or tweeting.

I’ve never been more excited about Zapwater, our team and our clients. Four years ago, I wanted to build an agency with boutique quality services and big agency reach. But the most important thing for me was to have fun doing it. Four years later, I’m having the time of my life.

Thanks to everyone who has supported Zapwater. It’s going to be a great year.

David Zapata

Where is the Island? How did John Locke die? Claire…are you okay? These are just some of the burning questions the Zapwater office has been speculating about since the final episode of one of our favorite shows on TV, LOST!



The best and often time worst thing about this show is the hours of theorizing that follows each episode. In the excitement of next Wednesday’s Season 5 premiere we have come up with our predictions for the Oceanic Six, our loveable castaways and the island.

The black smoke monster will come back for the season and may possibly be explained
Sayeed will cut his fingernails
We will see a connection between John Locke and the Dharma Initiative, as well as realize that John Locke has the power of time travel (seriously! I have proof-ish of this!)
Sawyer and Juliette get together and she becomes pregnant with Sawyer’s child
The character of Sawyer’s daughter is introduced as a cast member
The island is in a time warp (always has been but when it moved it moved through time…like Daniel Farraday’s lab rat) and in order to get back to the island the Oceanic Six will have to use Penny & Desmond for help
Jin is most definitely alive
Ben will return to the island
Richard Alpert (the creepy guy who doesn’t age) will have a larger role this season and we will learn his story and how he got to the island?

Lost will certainly dominate the conversations around the Zapwater water cooler next Thursday.

Annie Neyman
Group Director, Hospitality

While the start of a New Year often triggers a natural desire for change, this January, the mandate for such change is stronger than ever. Most apparent inside the Beltway, where Washington is making its final preparations to welcome the arrival of a new administration; Barack Obama’s message of change in 2009 has become tangible, providing hope for many around the world.

However, despite all of the positive publicity surrounding our 44th president, there is one final question that has left Americans wondering: What kind of dog will be lucky enough to make it to the White House?

First reported by ABC News earlier this week, Obama has narrowed down his search to two breeds: the Portuguese Water Hound and the Labradoodle. Despite their funny names, both types of pups are perfect for allergy-conscience pet owners, like the Obamas. The announcement has news outlets all over the country scrambling to track down owners of each breed to weigh in on the debate about which dog is better.

Zapwater client and Animal Planet star Jamie Damato visited Fox Good Day Chicago this week to discuss the two breeds.

Like so many White House pets before him, the First Dog will have the important responsibility of being mascot and ambassador for the United States. Let’s compare:

Labradoodle
A crossbred between the Labrador retriever and poodle, this type of dog is known for its positive temperament and compatibility with families and children. Very intelligent and trainable, this hybrid could be the perfect fit for the new First Family.

Portuguese Water Hound
Nicknamed by breeders the “portie”, this purebred is a non-shedding dog, sure to keep the Oval Office free of fur. A well-recognized water dog, porties are known for their excellent swimming ability and naturally-webbed feet. Certainly, this type of dog would feel right at home playing in the near-by Potomac.

Either way, given the publicity this lucky pooch is sure to receive; can America come to love a dog that is more purebred than mutt? As Barack so eloquently put it: Yes We Can.

Sarah Marseille
Publicist