Lunch with ActiveRain Friends!

Not too long ago, during the Keller-Williams Mega Camp here in Austin, my friend Ryan Shaughnessy of the St. Louis area had contacted me to see if we could get together for lunch.  I also had a chance to meet Marie Westerman of Georgia for about an hour.  Marie mentioned that I was one of two people that she really wanted to meet from ActiveRain, which of course is extremely flattering, and we enjoyed our (brief) time together.  Later, I realized that I spent much of my time with her giving a critique of recent movies I had seen.  Maybe next time I will be a better conversationalist. 

Ryan is a longtime fan of our show on BlogTalkRadio (Social Media Edge), which makes me feel like we must be doing something right over there.  :) Ryan brought his business partner Michelle Silies along for the meal, and I enjoyed getting a chance to meet her as well.  Ryan and Michelle are both brokers and attorneys, with a focus on selling townhomes, lofts, and condos in historic St. Louis neighborhoods.

After setting up our lunch at Chuy's, I put out an open invitation via my blog, and we were joined by Steve Rosebaum, Craig Bushon, and Garreth Wilcock.  Steve and I have been working on a couple of outside projects together, and he and Craig have a new show on ESPN radio Sunday mornings.  Garreth, who is a local agent here in Austin, won some big points with me later by referring to me as one of his "blogging heroes".  This guy knows how to effectively network!

As usual, I was too busy talking to remember to take many pictures, but I did get a couple of candid shots of Ryan and Garreth on my iPhone before we left, as you can see.

Chuy's cuisine was awesome, as always.  In fact, it is fast becoming my restaurant of choice when I have out-of-town visitors or clients.  Tucson's Kent Simpson and I enjoyed lunch there a few months ago, too. 

If you have plans to be in the Austin area at any point, let me know and we can get lunch or coffee while you're here.  It'll be my treat!