National Joe Day

These days it seems like there is a national day for everything; national buffet day, national punctuation day, and national melon day, just to name a few. Luckily, whoever is in charge of creating these days didn’t leave Mosquito Joe out!  This Sunday marks National Joe Day, and while it isn’t an official national holiday, it is widely celebrated each year on March 27th.

The exact origin of National Joe Day is a little fuzzy, but its roots are said to be Scottish.  “Joe” originally meant sweetheart or valentine, but has transformed over generations to its modern day use for the everyman or regular guy.  You’ve probably heard it used as Average Joe, Joe-schmo, or Regular Joe.  And who doesn’t like celebrating an underdog?

The typical way to celebrate National Joe Day is to call yourself and everyone else Joe or Josephina for the day.  If Joe is too boring, you can always spice it up a little bit by naming yourself after a famous Joe character like G.I. Joe or Joe Cool.  You can always take some inspiration from our Corporate staff’s nicknames that include Cup of Joe, Joe Money, and Joe Mama.  National Joe Day celebrations aren’t set in stone, so embrace your inner regular Joe and use these ideas to celebrate the day with us!

How to Celebrate National Joe Day

  1. Be Joe for a Day – As previously mentioned, most people celebrate by changing their name to Joe for a day.  You can even wear a name tag to help and encourage your friends, family, and co-workers to do the same!
  2. Buy a Cup of Joe – Since “joe” can also mean coffee, today is the perfect day to treat yourself and others to a brew.  Make sure you tell them the name for the order is Joe (it’s pretty hard to spell that wrong!)  If you’d like to go the extra mile, you can offer to pay for the next person in line.  Then you’ll be a generous Joe for the rest of the day!Joe Cool
  3. Become Joe Cool – If your day-to-day environment allows, you can dress up like Charles Schulz’s iconic character Joe Cool from the Peanuts comic strips.  Snoopy’s alter-ego was a hip college student known to wear sunglasses, a “Joe Cool” sweater, and refer to himself in the third person all day.  While it might be annoying to those around you, this could be a fun way to celebrate.
  4. Give a G.I. Joe Some Love – G.I. Joe became a popular term during World War II to refer to the regular soldier (Government Issued Joe).  Although there are national holidays dedicated to our soldiers, it’s never too often to recognize their service.  Whether you simply thank active service members and veterans for their sacrifices or you volunteer with a military organization, National Joe Day is a great opportunity to give a little nod to our men and women in uniform.

Of course, the best way to honor National Joe Day is to give your local Mosquito Joe a call, so we can help you enjoy your backyard all summer long.  We are looking forward to warm weather, sunshine, and getting those MoJo vans back out in your neighborhood, if they aren’t already there.  Let us know on Facebook how you celebrated the day.  Happy National Joe Day from Mosquito Joe!

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First Day of Spring for Mosquito Joe

This Sunday is the first day of spring, and we are more than a little excited. Now that daylight savings has occurred, we have more time in the day to enjoy beautiful weather! This year, we have locally owned Mosquito Joe locations in 26 states ready to make outside fun again for communities. The start of spring means breaking out patio furniture, brushing off kiddie pools, and enjoying warmer temperatures, which are all things to look forward to, but we wanted to provide a few tips to help you welcome the season without welcoming the mosquitoes. These tips can also help you make the most of your Mosquito Joe barrier treatment. Anything to get more out of your mosquito control, right?

Tips and Tricks for the First Day of Spring

  • More backyard time means more kids’ toys. Make sure you’re checking any toys in your yard that can collect standing water. This is where mosquitoes breed, so you don’t want to create places for them to lay eggs!
  • Keep your grass mowed and vegetation trimmed. I know you’ve been out of practice from the winter, but mosquitoes rest in cool shady places like grass.  Keeping it short will not only help your yard,  but it keeps there from being problem areas your technician will have to address.
  • As you’re checking off to-dos on that spring cleaning list, make sure gutter cleaning is one of them. That’s a common problem for our customers. Gutters collect rainwater, and mosquitoes will breed there!
  • Call your local Mosquito Joe, of course! Most of our local Joes are in full swing scheduling for this season, and some have already started spraying. Give them a call to make sure your yard is protected this year.

And to celebrate the first day of spring, we thought we’d provide you with one of our favorite recipes for when the weather is right for grilling, sitting outside, enjoying happy hour on your patio! From the Blond Cook, we bring you the Cranberry Margarita! Happy Spring!

For the margaritas:

1 cup teqCranberry Margarita for the First Day of Springuila
1-1/2 cups cranberry juice cocktail blend
½ cup triple sec
¼ cup lime juice
Lime wedges and cranberries for garnish (optional)

For rimming the glasses:

2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions:

Pour tequila, cranberry juice cocktail blend, triple sec and lime juice into a pitcher. Stir well to combine. Prepare the salt mixture by placing the kosher salt, sugar and nutmeg together in a small bowl. Stir well until well combined, then pour onto a small plate. Rub lime wedge around the edge of each glass. Dip in the salt mixture on the plate to coat. Serve margaritas over ice and garnish with cranberries and lime wedge, if desired. Enjoy your first day of spring!

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Meet a Joe – Chris Phillips and Nancy Abercrombie

**Occasionally we like to provide a blog post that will help you get to know Joe. From our technicians to our corporate staff to our hardworking franchisees – we think our company is full of people you ought to know!**

Meet Chris Phillips and Nancy Abercrombie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Phillips and Nancy Abercrombie, co-owners of Mosquito Joe of the First Coast in Jacksonville, Florida.  After a 23-year career in banking, Chris dove head first into the franchising world by acquiring an American Leak Detection franchise, where he was owner for 18 years.  Chris’ retirement was cut short by Mosquito Joe after the brand’s concept and growth potential convinced him to return to franchising.

Nancy is no stranger to the business world either.  Director of Business Development at Avondale Travel, a career with American Express, and Director of Human Resources for the Duval County Supervisor of Elections are just some of the highlights on her resume.  She is a member of the local businessmen’s club and is very active in the local business community.

The husband and wife team decided to purchase a Mosquito Joe franchise after discovering the opportunity in a Wall Street Journal article.  Chris said, “It sounded like a great opportunity, and after looking further into it, I liked the idea of a seasonal business where you get to have a few months off.”  He added that although there are other pest control companies in his area, none specialize in mosquito control like Mosquito Joe does, creating a real need for his services.

When you call Mosquito Joe of the First Coast, you’re likely to be greeted by Heidi, the Office Manager.  Heidi is originally from Oshkosh, WI, but moved to Florida to become the Office Manager of Mosquito Joe.  The technicians, Curtis and Kely, provide excellent mosquito control services to their customers to help make outside fun again for everyone.

Mosquito Joe of the First Coast launched in the spring of 2015 and provides mosquito control services to Clay County, Nassau County, St. Johns County, and the greater Jacksonville area. If you’re interested in mosquito elimination services in the Jacksonville area to rid your yard of pesky mosquitoes, ticks and fleas, visit Mosquito Joe of the First Coast’s website or call their office at 904-236-4110 for more information or a free quote.

And if you live in the area, be sure to check them out next week, March 17, on First Coast Living (WTLV Channel 12) where Chris and Nancy will be talking about their business in mosquito control.  The segment will air at 11am and 2pm local time.

 
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