JOEL & LAURIE MOORE

Every couple featured in ‘Til Promo Do Us Part is spectacular. We saved the fireworks special for the month of July celebrating the 25th wedding anniversary of the couple who makes it all happen. 

What do competition and games have in common? Both need eligible players!

Two students attending the University of Massachusetts, living in the same dorm for two years—and only six floors apart—you’d think their paths would have crossed. It wasn’t until their senior year living off campus that Laurie met Joel…albeit not in storybook style—at first anyway.

Joel had a crush on a girl who was studying education. They lived on the same floor and were good friends, but nothing more. Laurie, who was also studying education, was friends with this girl, as well. She will hereafter be referred to as Mutual Friend.

One evening, Mutual Friend invited Laurie to go out with her and a group of friends. One of those friends was Joel. Mutual Friend expressed that she was aware Joel liked her but she wasn’t interested in him. Laurie couldn’t help but ask, “What’s not to like?”

“He’s a great guy, but there isn’t any chemistry. He’s just not my type,” she answered. 

Her friend’s disinterest in Joel was a head scratcher for Laurie. She thought he was cute and a lot of fun. Mutual Friend again assured her she had no interest. A few weeks later, Joel asked Laurie on a date. Like the opponent determined to score the next touchdown when their rival puts more points on the board, Mutual Friend got jealous. It seems she had feelings for him after all.

Granted, Mutual Friend had a slight advantage since Joel had had a crush on her from the start. Just like in sports, Mutual Friend sneaks up from behind and scores another date with Joel. Of course, Laurie’s feelings were hurt; but having just come off of a long term relationship, she was happy to walk away from both of them—leaving relations between all three a little mucky.

Joel confesses, “The first impression Mutual Friend had for me was correct—no chemistry, no love connection. After a couple of weeks, it was evident we were just meant to be friends."

Having had a crush on a guy all through high school, Laurie understood the feelings Joel was having and his need to know if there was anything there. Joel and Laurie had just met and they had no history. 

When it was apparent Mutual Friend was not meant for him, he sought Laurie out again, but this time around Laurie wasn’t too keen on taking him as a recruit. It took some work on Joel’s part to convince Laurie to give him a second chance. But when Joel presented front and center seats to see Jerry Seinfeld, that was the winning ticket. Laurie, a fan, gladly accepted. 

Three years of dating later, and unbeknownst to her, Joel took a trip to Laurie’s parents’ house to pick up her prom dress and ask for their blessing as he was planning to propose. Laurie’s prom wasn’t the fairytale she had dreamt of, and she had once shared her disappointment about it with Joel. 

While she was wishing and hoping a certain boy would ask her to prom, she turned down an offer from a guy she later wished she had taken. Ultimately, she was left with a dress and no date. Weeks before the prom she asked someone, but it wasn’t the date or evening she had envisioned. 

On an evening when Joel should have been at work, there was a knock on their apartment door. There stood Joel in a tuxedo holding a box that contained Laurie’s fluffy, white 80’s style prom dress. Joel insisted she slip into the gown. Laurie thought he was going to take her to a restaurant and—understandably so—she didn’t want to be seen in that dress. 

The harder Joel tried to persuade Laurie to step into the dress, the more she balked. “I cannot be seen in this,” she said. “I was not feeling this whole plan. I had no idea what we were doing, and I was not about to be caught dead wearing that dress in public. So I pulled out a cute little black dress and figured I’d wear that, and Joel says, ‘No. Just put on your prom dress and please don’t be difficult.’”

Laurie admits to being difficult from start to finish. Finally, he convinced her to step into her old prom dress and into the limousine he had waiting out front. The limo driver escorted them to his parents’ house overlooking the bay. The vaulted ceiling was filled with silver stars, and there was a table set for two. With the scene set, Joel proposed. 

Now it all made sense: the dress, the tuxedo, the music, the decorations, and the limousine. The marriage proposal would turn Laurie’s bad memories into treasured ones. The point to all of Joel’s creative and hard-working efforts: recreate her prom and give her the fairytale ending she’d hoped for. 

But her response post-proposal was not, by any means, the norm. 

Joel expected Laurie to answer “yes.” Instead, she asked him a question, “Does this mean you’re going to quit smoking?” 

A baffled Joel, down on one knee, posed a second question. “Are you serious?”

“I always said I will never marry a smoker. If you’re going to marry me, you need to quit smoking.” Laurie reminded him.

Needless to say, after dodging Hurricane Bertha on July 13th, 1996, which—thank goodness—was downgraded to a tropical storm only hours before their wedding, Laurie and Joel married.

As far as the cigarettes, Joel still hadn’t laid them down. It wasn’t until Halle, their first born came into the world, that he retired his tobacco sticks. 

Three more daughters followed, the last two a set of polar opposite identical twins who arrived three months early and very sick. They spent almost five months in the NICU. As a result of that, their family has become very involved with the March of Dimes, and have spent the last sixteen years raising awareness for premature births and birth defects, and helping to ensure all moms and babies have healthy pregnancies. That has been a big part of them giving back.

Laurie is a natural when it comes to organizing and scheduling. Working with the March of Dimes further proved her exceptional skills. She serves as team captain for their family and has organized countless walks and fundraisers over the years.

All of this combined led Joel to persuade Laurie—like stepping into that prom dress so he could propose in his uniquely planned fashion—to assist with PromoCorner. 

In 1999, Joel—along with industry veteran Dick Reuter—started PromoCorner, and they needed help. Laurie taught for seven years but became a stay-at-home mom after their girls were born. So during naps and in the evenings, Laurie helped them. 

“Out of the goodness of my heart,” she says, “I would do data entry and whatever else they needed done. It was not a paid gig. It was just me being a supportive wife. That lasted a couple of years. I eventually went back to working in education as a part-time reading support teacher, and later went on to get my real estate license."

“About six years ago, Joel started bugging me to come back to work at PromoCorner. They needed someone, and he thought I would be the perfect fit. I was hesitant because I knew going back would be a full-time gig, and I was content working part-time since my girls were still in school and needed attention,” Laurie adds.

In 2015 Laurie rejoined PromoCorner. “As a former educator,” Joel says, “I knew she would enjoy this type of work. Since returning she has transitioned from running the calendar of scheduled email campaigns to coordinating all of the articles, content, and live shows and events we now do on PromoCorner.”

As for what Joel does, “I like to be focused on whatever project I’m doing on the computer. Interviews and things of that sort take me out of my normal every day routine. Having Laurie as the face of PromoCorner this past year has helped build relationships. Last year we started hosting virtual tradeshows online, and she has taken on organizing those as well.” 

Giving credit where credit is due, Joel assures, “I could never have done any of this without her.”

Laurie chimes in. “We make a good team at work and at home. Joel is all the things I’m not. And God bless him. We have four daughters, two female dogs, and a female cat. He is surrounded by women. Thankfully, he is pretty laid back and just goes with the flow most of the time. If he gets rattled, something really bad is going on.”

PromoCorner offers marketing services for both suppliers and distributors, provides daily updated offers and flyers that are client-safe and customizable, and fresh, daily content to the industry which can be found in the PromoJournal section of their website. They feature new and innovative product blogs, podcasts and videos from industry thought leaders to help you not only get your creative wheels in motion but grow sales as well. 

Oh, but wait. In the event you’re wondering what happened to Mutual Friend, she married the guy who lived in the apartment across from Joel. The “Once-Joel Rivals” let bygones be bygones and wound up remaining friends. 

To this day, Laurie and Joel remain close friends with Mutual Friend and her family. They even share a tradition of spending every Fourth of July together. 

“We have all remained friends, and our kids are friends. If you have an open heart and an open mind, life sometimes has a funny way of working itself out,” Laurie adds.

So there is your peek inside the lives of Joel and Laurie Moore, a happy duo who both use their creativity and brilliance to power PromoCorner.