I present to you a post by our interns, Jessica Seagraves and Heather Green, who you can meet here. They are absolutely talented and wanted to share a recent SSG experience with you. Hope you enjoy!

A couple weeks ago, we traveled to Macon, Ga., with Lauren Locher to spend the day with Mutual of Omaha’s Aha Moment Tour, a client we have been working on since the first day of our summer internship.  We were excited to see first-hand the story we have been learning so much about.  Plus, we got to spend the 3-hour car ride getting to know each other better and swapping stories!

We quickly found the site upon spotting the large, 34-foot silver Airstream trailer that is the Aha Moment Tour “mobile television studio.” We were able to meet all of the team members and experience the early morning frenzy of setting up a new tour stop.  While tour producer Jessica Henry was running around preparing for the first guests to arrive, we helped another crewmember, Natalie Webb, set up the registration area.  It was only 11 a.m. and already, it felt like it was 100 degrees outside—fans were a must.

The crew driver, Gary, told us that the truck they drive to pull the trailer has over a million miles under its belt. Holy cow! It’s literally a legend.

We also got the chance to meet and get to know six guests who came to record their “aha” moments, and personally hear their stories. It was interesting to see some guests prepared with a story to share and others racking their brains for the right words to say. Before we left we were lucky enough to tour the trailer and sit in on a guest recording her very own “aha” moment.

We later grabbed lunch at none other than Chick-fil-A, a See.Spark.Go hot spot, but our final stop on the trip was Lane Peach Orchard where they pack and distribute the most delicious peaches we had ever tasted. We could not leave without indulging in their homemade peach ice cream. What can we say? We are weak! So, with full tummies, we headed back to Athens. Of course, all that talk of ‘what will we do when we grow up’, accompanied by lots of laughter and some philosophical discussions made one of us (Heather) a little sleepy on the way home.

All in all, we were so excited to meet an SSG client face-to-face and we can’t wait to see what other adventures the summer holds for us here at See.Spark.Go!

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You can follow Jessica Seagraves and Heather Green on Twitter for more updates on their internship at SSG. Be on the lookout for future posts by these girls!

Today marks the day of the first Aha Moment Tour stop of the season in Waco, Texas. We are so excited to hear the incredible ‘aha moments’ the team will surely capture over the course of the summer. They will be traveling to 25 cities across the nation, ending in Salt Lake City, Utah, in September. The tour has hardly started and the crew has already visited The Church Under the Bridge, eaten at a few delicious local restaurants and met the people who truly make the city of Waco a unique place to live and visit.

This is the third year that Mutual of Omaha’s Aha Moment Tour has hit the road across the country in search of real stories from real people. We will be updating you along the way, but be sure to check out the tour site here and follow the crew on Twitter. Oh, … And make sure to stop in to tell your aha moment if the tour comes to a city near you!

This is a special guest post by our friend and colleague, Jessica Henry.

As the Tour Producer of Mutual of Omaha’s Aha Moment Tour, Jessica has been working out of our Athens office as she prepares for the nationwide tour to capture and share America’s aha moments this summer. She has also helped us spread the word about Matchstic’s incredible new space and lives to blog about it. Check out this story in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, too.

I love telling Matchstic’s story. For years, the East Atlanta branding company operated out of a blue house that contributed to their company culture just as much as the team within. There were things about the culture of a home that seeped into the way Matchstic went about their business. Things like having a full kitchen and dining room.

The Matchstic team, who regularly has meetings over a home-cooked breakfast, is slowly becoming known for their trademark process which includes “Brands ‘N Eggs.” As Matchstic moved into a new office space recently in a very open, industrial building, they brought with them the very team member who made them who they are today: the kitchen.

Not just any kitchen (or a makeshift break room for that matter). The industrial kitchen has been fleshed out to host a mega office party, like the Brands ‘N Eggs Open House Matchstic had Friday, April 8. More than half of our See.Spark.Go team spent the morning enjoying a conglomerate of breakfast foods, some Octane coffee, and the company of more than 50 local business leaders.

A kitchen in the entrance of a brand identity house seems a bit odd, but it’s totally them. Matchstic has built a company culture and reputation around the meal table (literally and figuratively). In helping brands establish their identities, I love how these guys and gals have stayed true to their own.

How is your company culture defined? Is there a structural or relational component that you couldn’t live without?

Come on in! (Photo courtesy of Matchstic)

It’s already May believe it or not. Where did April go? I’m always amazed at how quickly time passes and I’m equally amazed that we are back on the road for the 2010 Aha Moment Tour (note: I’m not personally on the road)! Our friends at Skadaddle Media have put together a whole new crew (read their blog), a freshly updated, custom 34′ Airstream trailer designed as a mobile television studio and selected 25 brand NEW cities to visit across the U.S. for this year’s tour. What is the Aha Moment Tour you ask? It’s part of Mutual of Omaha’s search for real people with real stories to feature in their next national TV commercial spots.

The ‘aha crew’ has already visited Fresno, Calif., and will be LIVE in Tucson, Ariz., tomorrow and Saturday. Read more in today’s Arizona Daily Star news brief.

I’m also including a link to view the top moments from the ’09 tour that are currently on air. You may have even seen one during Celebrity Apprentice, Dancing with the Stars, LOST and/or lots of other shows in the aha-lineup. Enjoy!