Good afternoon, it is raining in Oklahoma this morning, but things are beautiful on the publishing front.  Last week I was in Nashville for the Gospel Music Association and the Dove Awards.  It was an amazing time and I had the opportunity to talk with the leaders in both publishing and music as we discussed the future of both industries.  The overall theme seems to be that people are looking for a different way to do business and stay profitable in this new economic environment.  I found myself sitting with many of these music label and publishing company leaders thinking, “Wow, thank you Lord that isn’t us!”  Tate Publishing is continuing to experience fantastic growth, we are offering more services, products, and better distribution than anyone else, and our authors are more successful.  While this is a huge blessing, it is also not luck or an accident.  We have decided to offer the best products and services to the marketplace and work harder than anyone else.  Period!

We are all very excited at Tate Publishing to welcome our newest author to the Tate Publishing family.  Joe Washington is one of the greatest football players in the history of the sport.  He is in the College Football Hall of Fame as an Oklahoma Sooner, he played on two super bowl teams with the Washington Redskins as well as in two pro-bowls and was the leading rusher and receiver in the NFL in 1979.   Perhaps his most significant performance was on Monday Night Football in the 1979 season.  Many claim this to be the best Monday night football performance of all time.  On September  18 while playing for the Indianapolis Colts, Joe Washington’s team played against the Patriots.  Joe was involved in scoring the teams final three touchdowns  to eventually lead the Colts to a fourth quarter victory.  Late in the game Joe returned the final kick-off 96 yards for the winning touchdown, putting the Colts up 34-27 over the patriots.  Joe Washington, rushed, received, passed and returned a kick-off all for touchdowns in this memorable night.