Happy New Year everyone! I waited to get my final note for 2010 until the year was over. January is always a time to reflect, get through the holidays and regroup to stay on track for the new year.

We’re very lucky that even with family that were in and out of hospitals, everyone closed out the year with good spirits and health in their line of site. What is it with the holidays and some of our precious family icons needing to spend time in the hospitals? Do they know that does not count as a siesta? I want to wish my grandmother Anna, or Baba as we call her in Ukrainian, good health for 2011.  I wish to extend good health to everyone needing that extra prayer for 2011.

Each year we have Santa make a special visit to the house for our annual Christmas party. We have our close friends and family over to meet with the big guy and take some pictures. We also have the pleasure of celebrating little Deeko’s birthday. So as you can imagine December is quite a busy month, as I’m sure it is for most with little ones. The holidays were a terrific time for the Rudko’s. We even had a little extra gift that the guy upstairs provided us with this year. Yes, we’re going to have our third little one by July of 2011. We’re quite excited and closing the gap for our 4-5 goal and yes my wife knows the goal, lol. We’re truly blessed.

So we had another amazing year at AMRCON. We have so many things to be truly grateful for. It’s amazing to be in our 6th year of operation and in our new office.  We’ve extended priority on a few verticals this year and are very excited to already have strong case studies in these areas. Watch for news to come. AMRCON will also be breaking ground on an extension of our offices here at 1070 State Route 34 in Matawan. We will be building out an office primarily for our ODS Managed Services Partners but will also be used for overflow that we are expecting in the next year or so that we have planned. New products will be announced shortly as well. Our 2011 company kick off dinner is going to take place next week, so I can’t spill the beans on everything now, but keep looking out. We have some big plans coming through. Thank you to all of our valued clients, friends and family. I wish all the best for you in 2011. Dee Rudko – CEO

Busy month, end of year rounding the corner and projects getting pushed to close before the end of the year have simply left me in a time deficit. My beautiful wife Sunny and I still managed to spend some time together. We were very grateful to be invited to the The Silver Hill Hospital Gala held at Cipriani’s 42nd Street NYC, for a benefit dinner. It was attended by about 200 people to include some celebrities and many other supporters. The event was a huge success and benefited the lives of children suffering from mental and substance abuse disorders. Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan Connecticut devotes an entire segment to such adolescents. Sunny and I have been active supporters for several years.

Yes, some fun and games went into my business trip to Florida for the IT Nation Conference. I already spoke about the business end. This picture to the right is of my little guy Deeko and myself by the pool watching Santino go down the water slide at the Waldorf-Astoria in  Orlando. He looks like he’s thinking “hmm, when do I get to do that”. I think Santino went down the slide at least 10 times. I feel like I’m getting pretty old! Not getting used to those crows feet next to my eyes. Will someone please comment and tell me if those go away?

Yes, a trip to Orlando would not be complete without a visit or two to Downtown Disney. Buzz lightyear and crew are well represented here. Even little Deeko almost jumped off a bench yelling “to infinity and beyond”, I was lucky to catch him and explain he shouldn’t try that again, lol. That wasn’t the last of it. This page makes it seem like I was on vacation but I really put in about four 12 hours days, really I did! Only a few days were spent on leisure time. I got bits and pieces while Sunny ran around entertaining these guys. Not sure how she has the energy, maybe that’s why we’re such a good fit, we’re both high energy.

I’m going to cut it here and hope everyone stays calm and relaxed with the holidays coming up. Talk to you next month. Dee Rudko, CEO

 It seems like everything went into turbo mode this time of year. Not sure what it is, but I’ve hardly had time to sit at my desk. Halloween is always a little busy for the Rudko’s. Before the 31st I think we take part in at least 3 events where costumes are required. The biggest hit is our trip to Hershey PA for trick or treating. If you have children it’s a great little escape and it’s become more and more popular each year. Hershey does quite a bit around the park and they keep adding new things each year as it grows in popularity. They even have a section just for trick or treating. The guys love it.

We also had another big occasion in the family with the Christening of Douglas Thomas Hay. Congratulations to the Hay family and please let us know what you’re feeding that little guy? I think he’s as big as Deeko already.  It was nice to have the entire family together. It seems events like this are far and in between.

I am sorry we’re late this month with getting all of this out. Between traveling and all that we have going on at the office it’s been tough. Expect quite a few new announcements from AMRCON from now until the end of the year. Not to mention our new website will be completed in just a few more weeks. We’re very excited to have it completely overhauled once again. It seems I’m just never happy with technology for too long before I have to redo it all over again. This is a good thing for all friends of AMRCON. It means we’re providing a better experience for you. Thanks everyone for following us.

Some people say I’m a bit nuts for doing this but I’ve always wanted to learn how to fly! So starting in August I began training on the helicopter in the picture. Now I’ve flown small planes before so being up in the air in a small aircraft is nothing new. I will say a helicopter takes a bit more coordination and control. It’s been a lot of fun and hope to continue toward my license through the year when I have time of course. That’s usually the only part that gets in the way, my schedule. However, it’s a bit more time efficient then playing golf. It only takes a few hours of my day, so its a lot less time and you don’t need to coordinate with other people other than the instructor. So I can schedule a flying lesson much faster making it an efficient hobby. My hope is to be able to someday avoid the traffic going upstate to the house, or to CT to visit family. In the next couple of months I will test both routes to see how long it takes and learn the route. I’ve flown over CT quite a bit in the past and its pretty neat that before I could only circle my family property, this time I get to land in the yard!

We have a very happy family announcement to make this month. My little sister Motria was married to Robert E. Grasing II late this month. I think she’ll always be a little sister though. They are currently all over Europe and Facebooking their days which is pretty cool. The ceremony was absolutely perfect, as it should be for my little sister. I think both sets of parents were a part of quite an amazing union. I only had room for one picture, so here it is. I think this is the one that sums it up. Everyone is very happy for the new couple and wish them many years of happiness. Friends & Family who want to see more, please visit “Motria Grasing” FB page, where you will find 1.1M pictures.

So with September coming to a close, we have one more quarter to year end. This is always an exciting time of year, but none the less stressful as well. The holiday’s are coming though, and I always look forward to them. It seems during the year everyone is so busy with their own lives. Even my side of the Rudko family, now with 2 sons, have mini vacations, the Jersey Shore, upstate and all kinds of busy trips planned over the weekends. I generally work nonstop during the week, so no one really sees me. The holiday’s are the times that really bring the extended family together. It seems the cold usually slows everything else down just in time. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming months. Regardless of how fast and crazy this year went by, I think we’ve been really blessed. The holidays are a nice time to share that all around. This image kind of sums it up, walking along the boardwalk in Keyport on the water.

So far August has been very good to us. The picture to the left was a great  long weekend in Seaside, along with my nephew Anthony and niece Arianna, yes we did see Snooki. I just can’t believe summer is almost over. We still have a few nice weather weekends to go and that should carry into September! AMRCON had a sponsorship at the Matawan Idol night, it was a lot of fun and was amazing to see the amount of people that came out to support it. They had some great talent. We look forward to being a part of it again next year. Thanks to all the visitors that stopped by our table and remember to come and visit AMRCON the first Friday of any month from 8:30 – 10:30am for our Open House Free Breakfast Tour.

 The Rudko’s have a few more trips up our sleeves. We’ll be in Lake George this week and in Connecticut in September. My sister Motria is getting married and everyone will be there, here is a picture of Deeko already pulling his tuxedo out of the closet. Yes, he does a lot of black tie events throughout the year so he has his own tux. I guess they really due emulate their father, I just didn’t think it would be this soon! My cloning project is working perfectly. We all hope Motria & Robert have a terrific day. It will be a great time, looking to report on it next month.

 We had a great time with my BNI networking group “Sweet Success” at the Blue Claws game. I don’t think Santino will be much of an athlete. He spent much of his time more interested in the bounce house and walking around. Deeko on the other hand has quite an arm and watched most of the game, waiting for a ball to come his way. Although I’m glad that the close ones we had were just out of reach since he didn’t have a glove! They have quite a stadium if you ever have the chance to go to a game. Plenty to do, even if you can’t sit still for the game. Here’s a shot of Santino and myself over in the outfield. Yes, it was just to the left of the bounce house, it’s the only way we got him to walk around for the shot.

 I’m looking forward to spending some final days on vacation with the kids. It’s all business for me until the end of the year. Well maybe not completely, but for the most part. We have quite a few projects to finish up and I always start thinking about end of year once the 3rd quarter ends. My wife Sunny laughs because she says I managed the family on the fiscal year. I guess I do, but what other way is there? Suggestions?

July was a busy month. From 1st hair cuts to me getting on a wake-board for the first time in a few years. Gees I’m starting to feel a bit old! I hate it when old TV shows, children’s toys, or other fun things come up in conversations, and I go and mention something no one else remembers! What happened? Didn’t everyone grow up enjoying the same things I did? I guess not. I can’t believe I have people who work with me that were born in the 80’s. My wife even looks at me funny sometimes when I talk about my youth, or telling jokes about things she has no idea what I’m talking about. I guess I always was a bit ahead of myself. The worst is when I can relate to someone that has some years on me. So why the good old day reminders? I really just want to make sure all of this is normal! Can someone respond?

What will my kids talk about when they’re my age? Will it be Thomas the Tank Engine, The Wiggles, or maybe Buzz Lightyear? I wish I could only explain to them to stay where they are and grow up slowly.  For my sake and their own. I can’t believe my oldest is already 4, and the little guy is not so little anymore. I was always too ahead of myself, never in the moment. I lived my youth wanting time to go by quickly so I could start making my own decisions and get my career going. I think I started thinking that way a bit too young, at 10 or so. I’m just thinking that I hope my boys don’t follow that part of my footsteps. Any ideas on how to keep them right where they are?

We welcomed a new member of the family this month, congratulation’s to Douglas and Jenna on the birth of Douglas Thomas! I hope you guys get sleep soon, lol. It’s been so much fun to watch their oldest Nicolette and Santino grow up together. I’m still not used to being called Uncle Dee by 6 people ranging from 5 to 25 years old. I really got a jump start when I joined this family. It’s funny when Santino hangs out with my nieces and nephews and comes home calling me Uncle Dee.

So August seems it’s going to go by too fast. I hope everyone finds the time to get away and enjoy some summer before it’s gone. I think we have a few trips still planned, although scheduling them has been difficult. But I can’t complain, the year has been good to us and we’re all very thankful. More to come, be sure to comment on my questions. Come out and see us at our upcoming events. The Matawan-Aberdeen Idol Singing Contest will be August 3rd at 6PM on Main Street in Matawan, we have a few others before the end of summer so take a peek and come visit.

I usually have so much on my mind I just don’t know where to start. I know business has been very busy and balance between work and family has had its challenges. The nice thing about it is that AMRCON has been growing at a steady pace that allows for additional qualified employees to make AMRCON even better. So I’m going to try and leave the business end of the blog at that. We’re very blessed and doing very well. A Thanks to all of our loyal clients.

After all of the excitement of the past few months the family had the chance to get away for a spell to the family house upstate. Funny, while we were there we found some familiar characters in the photo to the right. Does anyone recognize these notorious gangsters? OK, so maybe not all of us are notorious gangsters but the 2 little ones are for sure! We try and do it all up there, and it was funny that the last time we had done one of these pictures we only had Santino, so we had to get an updated photo. The extended weekend was mostly spent in the Lake George area, Water Slide World, the family house on the Hudson River and some stops here and in-between. I can honestly say I only opened up my laptop twice, and I think once was just to look something up locally. Can someone tell me if learning how to relax just comes with age? I’ll tell ya it’s been getting easier, but it’s so stressful for the years you try and figure out how to unstress! Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? Regardless, I’d like to hear from anyone that can tell me if and when they noticed things just got less stressful: was it at a certain age, monetary goal success, moving, children, marriage, promotion? What was it, or maybe it hasn’t happened?

More trips to come. If any of you want to share your thoughts in the blog, please feel free. I’ve also started a mission on Twitter “DeeRudko” and you probably all know how to find me on Facebook “Dee Rudko”. A new fun little application is Foursquare. It’s an application that allows you to check into locations as you move through your day, it also links back to Twitter and Facebook. Check it out. I’ve been playing a bit of a game with a few of my friends to see who can score the most check in points. So far Cliff has us all beat, but I’m trying to catch up. Check it out and search for me. If you haven’t started in social media, you should. The business opportunities are endless. The personal aspects are fun. I found people I haven’t talk to since grade school. Funny thing is I started networking with them in business as well. Funny, some of us were fighting on the playground, now we’re passing business referrals. Who would have thought?

May really came and went. It seemed as though our move and build-out made time speed up for the most part. Looking forward to the beach months, although I will be less available this year with everything we have going on. However, I make it a priority to put work down for the weekend and we generally spend time at the pool club in Holmdel, NJ with the kids. They just love it. Really the spotlight of the month was my oldest son’s birthday. Santino turned 4 on the 29th, and those that were following our newsletter from the beginning will appreciate some of these photos, since I started the written letter just about 4 years ago. Picture to the left is my youngest Deeko, my niece Nicolette, and Santino the birthday boy. It was a great day at the bounce house. I had a few cigars and the day was a hit. I just can’t believe I have this 4 year old that reminds me so much of myself. I know I’m in for it since my mother’s wish will eventually come true. You know which one I’m talking about. It was that time when you were young and you did something to upset your mother beyond belief. She turned to you and said “you wait until you have kids, I hope their just like you”! Now does that ring a bell? I haven’t met anyone yet that’s told me the curse wore off  just in time, so I figure I’m in for it. Comment below for advice or if you know just what I’m talking about.

We’ve gained quite a few followers since then and have come a long way. We truly owe all of our success to our clients. We now have loyal ODS Managed Services clients in their 5th year of service. A client retention better than 98% and referrals that come in telling me how their colleague spoke to them about AMRCON for an hour about our quality of support. We really do want each and every client to be 110% satisfied with our service, our quality and professionalism. I know this is my personal page, but this means alot to me, making it personal! My humble thank you to all that have joined us along the way.

May brought closure to some pretty stressful matters, with that always come new ones. Yes, you heard it, I too can have stress. Although I’ll never show it, lol. At some point in my life I realized the need for balance. Without it we suffer and so will everyone around us. When someone asks me what I think the key to my success is, I’ll tell them spiritual, emotional, and physical balance. Some people call it various things, but for me that’s what it boils down to. I found it all made sense when some of the most successful, fulfilled, and happy individuals I knew followed some form of this unwritten law. Years ago I adopted it and can never go back. I thought I’d toss this in because it’s really how I hold together through anything put in my way. That’s what was on my mind for May.

June is just going to be terrific. AMRCON has so much going on from our Partner program continuing to excel, our ODS Managed Services trademarking, the new office, some great case study work coming soon and so much more. Keep tuned in – Dee Rudko, CEO

April came and went pretty quickly. Spring came for a second then a chill and some rain. I get the sense that we should be seeing the last of that. Well I can’t lie April is a month that I enjoy since the 17th was my birthday. Can you guess which one? Comment to this post and take a guess. Take a peek at a quick shot over my in-laws. My favorite father-in-law Sonny has a birthday just a few days before mine, so we usually kill two birds with one stone. Although I don’t get the chance to blow out my own candles anymore, lol. Santino is already a pro but forgets to wait for the end of the singing Happy Birthday. Smart if you ask me, to make sure he gets it first.

Here is another favorite of mine from the month. Not sure where the time goes but my 2 boys are like little men already. Although I had so much going on from the finishing up the move, the build-out and many other client projects, I was still lucky enough to find some family time on a couple of the weekends. The end of the month came to a close with a few days in Florida with Micky and I had a brief date with the beach in Siesta Key. It all came and went too fast. I’m definitely looking forward to a few traveling weekends we have in May when I’ll be spending some time with Sunny and the boys in CT with the rest of my family and grandmother. It usually makes for a nice relaxing trip.

I’m also looking forward to the Andover NJ Armed Forces Day at 131 Airport Road on May 15th at 9:00 AM, where they have an awesome model airplane show that runs most of the day. There is said to be  everything from smaller remote planes to actual model jet engines that will be flying. Check out their website for more details. AMRCON did a small sponsorship to help support the event. If you can make it let me know so we can say hello. I’ll be taking the family as well as any nieces and nephews that want to join us. It will be a great event for the kids. These planes are really amazing and will be controlled by the pros.

So I’ll be hidden away for a while after by the end of May and the next few months working on multiple projects. Stay tuned to our website to take a peek at what we have going on. We’re going to be blogging on a few of the projects, but we’re going to be releasing them slowly so our followers have a chance to read and follow them. Be sure to remember to post your guess at what birthday I celebrated, that should be fun. I’ll give you a hint, I was just nominated for NJBIZ Top 40 Business People Under the Age of 40! That should be exciting.

I had to quickly toss in this shot of Deeko opening his Easter basket. When did Easter become the new Christmas?

What a month! I’m feeling a bit wiped out from the move and I think my son Deeko has the right idea. It’s sounds good but not an option at this point. I have been working extended days in the hopes of taking advantage of some long weekends with the family this summer. Before I start fantasizing about the summer I’ll try and keep it in the now. March was a terrific month for AMRCON and the Rudko’s. As you know the move is well under way and going very well, you can read about that in the other posts. So I’ll keep it on the personal note side.

As we all gain momentum in our business year I sometimes find it difficult to break away and find some balance. My wife usually plans some weekend events with the kids but it’s sometimes still difficult to slow the mind down. So over the year I sought out some tools to help me find balance. I feel that I have the spiritual and emotional aspects under control, but after losing 30 pounds over the past year I felt I needed to get back into running. Some type of physical activity whether it be working out, running, or even walking was once a big part of my daily routine. In fact in high school I ran an average of 8-10 miles daily. I still hold a few records as well as under a 5 minute mile personal best. Thus I’ve been having issues with my knees. I guess you can’t have it all. I’m still pushing and running a few miles twice a week.

I started the process by going to the RoadRunner in Shrewsbury, NJ  to get fitted for some sneakers and custom insoles, they were great. Being an engineer I can’t begin to tell you how impressed I was with the technology they had to properly fit my feet with the right running sneaker. I highly recommend them, check it out.

My balance seems to help me stop in the evening regardless of the amount of hours I put in, which right now is about 10-12 a day. I’m energized in the morning and rarely have slow afternoons. So I think there is something to be said about maintaining balance. The weekends are great when I’m with the kids and Sunny, it seems I can be there with more concentration. Not just physically being there and mentally elsewhere. These are my guys to the right as of March. Santino will be 4 in May and Deeko just turned 1 in December. Not sure where all the time goes. I wish everyone well in April, enjoy the nice weather finally. Again, everyone is welcome to come visit our new site anytime. Be sure to follow our grand opening event that we will be posting soon.