Day: February 16, 2016

Our family has been part of Guilford since the beginning with the signing of the Covenant in 1639. In addition, we have had this growing business in the same community since 1871.  Guilford means a lot to each of us.  It is where we grew up, learned, played, worked and has made us into who we are today.  This is a strong knit community.

It was instilled in my siblings and me from a young age by our parents and grandparents the importance of helping others, giving back, and being grateful for what we have.  We were always involved in some way, whether it was delivering meals with my grandmother for Meals on Wheels or supporting my aunt in the Special Olympics, the list is long.  

As soon as I moved back to Guilford in 2014 I knew I wanted to find something in the community to be involved with.  After the request from Gene Bishop to be his guest for a Guilford Rotary meeting, I found the group to be something I would be interested in.  The basis of Rotary International is service.  Rotary holds a few large fundraising events during the year.  The funds raised go directly back into community organizations and a couple national/international Rotary Projects.  

Guilford Rotary is made up of members in the community that volunteer their time.  The members are all people who are part of the community through their occupation and live here.  The weekly meetings bring together all these people; Realtors, Bankers, Reverends, Librarians, Teachers, Chiropractors, the list goes on and on.  All these different people come together for a common purpose, service to our wonderful community.  

I was just inducted as a member of the Guilford Rotary on February 3rd.  In becoming a member I am excited to meet more people from Guilford.  The people and organizations are part of what make this town wonderful.  By connecting with people at the events and meetings it helps us as a business for feedback and knowing what our customers want.  As businesses and people in town, we rely a lot on each other for support and to add value.  This is just part of how we support our local community.

As a full time working mom of two, I often find myself questioning “What am I going to make for dinner tonight?”… at 5pm!   No matter how many times I have told myself, “I am going to plan out our meals this week,” I rarely follow through.  It’s not for the lack of trying or caring… It’s just one of those things that sometimes gets pushed to the back burner as there are so many things to do and keep track of.

Just like many other moms out there… we just wish that there was more time in the day.  More time in the day to get work done, to spend with the kids, to clean and do laundry, maybe run errands, not to mention maybe  5 or 10 minutes to ourselves to relax?   A girl can dream, right?

So what am I going to do about it? How can I plan better? How can I make it so that I am not still trying to figure out what’s in my refrigerator or freezer when I get home with the kids at 6pm? Oh, and don’t forget that time needed for homework!!!  I know that I am not the ONLY Mom out there that thinks like this, am I???

This year, we, as family members in the business, are going to be blogging for the Bishop’s Blog on our website.   Each week we will each take a turn to start, holding each other accountable for writing about something that will hopefully catch the attention of our customers and readers.  You may not be able to relate to all of us, but hopefully at least one of us does!

Keith and Jonathan Bishop are Co-CEO’s and Cousins.  They are 5th generation Bishop’s.  They have been around for a while and will most likely write on more topics that relate to the Farm, the history, the change in times… or something completely different.  Then there is the 6th Generation.   That is where my sister Carrie and I come in.  We are both Full time working moms, I have two elementary aged children, and Carrie has a toddler.  We both volunteer our time with different organizations in town and on the Shoreline and are trying to juggle many balls in the air, as so many women our age do.  With that said, you will most likely get very different topics from us and we will most likely hit a different demographic for readers.

So why do I mention this? This blog is to hold us accountable!  This means that I have no excuse not to plan what I am going to write about or hopefully make for dinner.  I want to share these ideas with all of you, so that you too might find some tips and good ideas on how to make your life a little easier (maybe?)!  We can do this together!

I will be posting easy meal ideas, ideas for kids lunches, new products in our market that you will want to give a try, events here or in and around the shoreline, and that’s just the short list.  I will try my best to keep you engaged and wanting more!  I encourage your feedback and questions.  You can always leave your comments in the comments field below, or email me directly at [email protected].

I look forward to connecting with you!