BONNIE TRUMBULL PROTOCOL

Emily Post, where art thou?

America appears to be in the era of the slob. Many commentators have commented on the decline of etiquette and manners in this great country, where once Emily Post’s book “Etiquette” reigned on the bookshelf of almost every home. Thunderbolts of despair are being hurled by many critics:

“Is America resorting to social primitivism?” opined one columnist.

Veteran travelers decry the decrease in civility on airlines.

A writer in USA Today pleaded, “Let’s bring back good manners.”

In the South, that bastion of genteel civility, there were reports of men not giving up their seats at a bar to women; which in one case resulted in a $3 million lawsuit.

Put the words “decline of etiquette in America” in an Internet search engine and you get nearly half a million results. What’s a country to do?

Thank God for Bonnie Trumbull.

The petite Lake Oswego woman is pretty much the epitome of sweetness and light, but with her new business Bonnie Trumbull Protocol she is showing iron determination to restore good manners, civility and etiquette to the high place they deserve. Today, Oregon. Tomorrow, the nation.

“I’ve been lucky my entire life,” Trumbull said. “I’ve grown up with so many good people that I have a heritage of good manners being around me. I grew up with gracious behavior and correct conduct. But, I’ve seen a change in courtesy in our country, and I’m not a Negative Nelly. I’m a positive person to the core. But, we are losing a lot of common courtesies.

“I want to restore grace and etiquette to our nation. I’m on a mission. I want to try to reach as many people as possible.”

Trumbull is so serious about her mission that she gave up a thriving career as an interior designer to start her new business. She did it because the thing she prized most about being an interior designer was her personal relationships with her clients. Out of that grew her serious concern about doing the right thing in social situations.

Her mission took shape last year when she put her career on hold and went to the Protocol School of Washington, D.C.

“I did a lot of reasoning about this, and I thought I would go to the best,” Trumbull said. “The students there, my gosh! They were the best. What I gained there totally surpassed my expectations. I wrapped up my design projects and started working on my new business. I started doing instructing in March.”

Trumbull has an innate ability that goes beyond the deepest knowledge of etiquette. She can walk into a room, turn on her smile and make everyone feel good. While her personality can open doors Trumbull’s skill is what matters in the end, and she is finding that more and more people want what she is offering. In just a few months she has lined up an impressive list of clients, including the Greek system at Oregon State University, the San Diego State University Student Alumni Association, and this summer she will be offering a dining tutorial at the University of California, Berkeley. The Trumbull treatment is also being extended to businesses in the hospitality industry and the investments arena.

Trumbull believes that etiquette is on the verge of a big comeback in America. An expert on the history of etiquette, Trumbull notes that for most of the 20th century etiquette ranked high on the list of the most prized qualities in America. Then came the time of the free-wheeling 1960s and 1970s, and etiquette and good manners went into the doldrums.

But now, Trumbull says that etiquette is making a comeback largely because it makes so much good business sense. People are always looking for the edge, whether it comes to attaining a job or selling a product, and etiquette can provide it. Reams of examples could illustrate this, but Trumbull can boil it down to one scenario: the lunch that concludes an interview process and is often the final and vital factor in making a hiring decision.

“What if you use someone else’s bread plate? What if you use the wrong fork?” she said. “An employer will wonder what else you don’t know.”

That is enough to scare people straight when it comes to learning good manners. But, Trumbull by no means wants people to live in fear of folding a napkin the wrong way. She says having manners can be easy if you start out with the right idea.

“Etiquette is living with respect for others and thinking of others before yourself,” Trumbull said. “It’s being aware of other people. If you have that, you have good manners.”

For more information about Bonnie Trumbull Protocol, call 503-290-6444.

https://lakeoswegoreview.com/2015/06/04/want-grace-call-bonnie-trumbull/