April showers bring May flowers, but lately it’s been the opposite here in the Midwest. May has been filled with rain!  But enough about the weather, here is what’s new and hot this week.

1. Donna was in North Carolina this week for the Pinnacle Worldwide (PWW) conference.  PWW is a network of more than 50 privately-owned PR firms around the globe, for which Donna serves as President.  The group shares best practices and collaborates on various projects.
2. Here at TVG we love Panera lunch meetings. This week Panera Bread Co., or St. Louis Bread Co. as it’s known around here, has been making national news for opening a non-profit location in Clayton, Missouri.  The St. Louis Bread Company Cares Café asks patrons to “pay what they can” for their food.  The concept is not new in the restaurant world, but it is the first national chain to take on the initiative.
3. You probably have already heard the buzz about Google’s homepage today, but I can’t resist sharing.  Today the logo is in honor of Pac-Man’s 30^th anniversary, but boy, Google has outdone itself yet again.  Check out Google.com and select “Insert Coin” right next to the normal search button. Just watch out for Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde!
4. One last reminder for St. Louis to check out the Ag Innovation Showcase next week at the Danforth Plant Science Center.  If you are interested in attending, use the discount code AG20AT and receive 30% off of the registration price. You can register here.
5. As an industry we are constantly looking for ways to monitor the fast paced conversation on social media.  This week try a new search engine, Kurrently, searches Twitter and Facebook simultaneously.  Facebook can be a difficult site to search and this tool is a great real-time solution, while also capturing the Twitter conversation. Thank you to Jay Baer for sharing!

What is on your Friday 5 this week?