The nicest, most dedicated group of retailers I have ever met are those who sell educational resources. They take a lot of care in the selection process of new titles. They care about the impact on kids. Every single person I meet really wants to make a difference. It’s exhilarating. Over the next two months, I’ll feature the places I visit and the people I meet.
My first stop, after spending a comfortable night in Dunmore, PA, was at Hoban’s Parent Teacher Store, also in Dunmore. Denise and Betty-Ann met with me, but Nikki Hoban (the mascot), insisted that she be featured on the net. Nikki comes to work regularly every day, helps take care of the shop and greets shoppers. Hoban’s Educational Store is impressive. Teachers and parents come long distances to stock up at Hoban’s.
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Outside of Hoban’s [left] on a snowy January morning. The store’s mascot, Nikki [right] was not camera shy at all.
My second stop took me to Educational and Fun in Reading, PA. What a great, bright store. I met with buyers, Karen Smith and Jeni Touhsaent.
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Karen [left] and Jeni [right] while showing me around their beautiful store.
If you are like me, I bet you played Monopoly, and all those years pronounced “Reading” wrong. Remember “Reading Railroad”? Well, it’s pronounced “Redding”. I’m just letting you know in case you visit Pennsylvania, or want to seem like a more enlightened Monopoly player!
Next, I went to meet with Mirella Romualdi in her new store, The Teacher’s Lounge, located in downtown Reading. The store is tastefully decorated in solid primary colors; it creates an inviting and very warm atmosphere. Mirella has a background in “Early Childhood Education” and has also taught diversity workshops for the military.
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The Teacher’s Lounge [left] as seen from the street and Mirella [right] behind the counter.
With three back to back meetings, my day was full. I couldn’t wait to get to my next hotel stop just outside of Philadelphia, and kick back a bit. Well, kick back and do some work on my laptop. Busy, busy, busy!