Today, March 2, is Employee Appreciation Day; a day to commemorate employee contribution! In honor of today, we are treating all of our employees to donuts. In addition, I’d like to thank our staff members for their hard work and commitment during the first few months of this year.  We are in the midst of our busy season and we’ve seen many employees step up to take on extra responsiblities during this time. I appreciate the extra effort and attention to detail because it makes our brand come alive for our customers and the recipients of our awards!

Here are a number photos of our amazing employees below, these pictures tell a story all their own. Enjoy!

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“Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free – and worth a fortune.”

Sam Walton (1918–1992)
American businessperson and founder of Wal-Mart

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As you know we recently celebrated WOW Day together as a company. At that event we revealed our new Grand Value Champion and five individual Value Champions. We also honored a handful other employees for various accomplishments.

Angel Zook, Grand Value Champion

Every person who recieved an award that day was showered with gifts and praise. One of the ways we keep WOW Day “alive” throughout the year is through our Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a hallway that connects our office area to the production area. On the wall are the pictures of our reigning Value Champions and other award winners. Most of our employees walk through this corridoor many times each day; allowing the images to speak to the people traveling throughout the building.

Emily Garzon, Kick Ass Attitude Award

A few days ago we unveiled our new Hall of Fame for 2012! We re-lived our WOW Day experience by re-recognizing the winning employees and enjoying a relaxed lunch together.

Never Fear, Always Here Award Winners

A quick follow-up event, like the Wall of Fame Unvieling,  is a great way to reinforce the power of a recognition event. It reminds those who attended, of the event itself. This is one easy way to enhance an existing recognition program in a turnkey fashion.

At the start of the year we close up shop for the day to reflect on the years accomplishments and look forward to the next 12 months.  We also honor the people who make our brand come alive. The planning for this day starts months before the event. We pull out all the stops and have the best food, music, content, and gifts possible. The entire day is a celebration of our corporate culture and our future.

We call this special event WOW Day.  At this years’  WOW Day we recognized 37 employees; each one made a huge impact on our success during 2011. Our employees nominate one another throughout the year identifying those who embody a corporate value.

It’s my supreme honor to introduce this year’s Value Champions and other award winners to you.

Angel Zook, Grand Value Champion, embodies all five corporate values: integrity, quality, commitment, passion, and respect.

Tessa Trumble, Integrity Value Champion, does what she says she will do demonstrating integrity.

Mike “Zito” Vitali, Quality Value Champion, has the unyeilding persistence to improve and personifies quality like no other.

Sasha Cohen, Commitment Value Champion, is dedicated to the ongoing viability of the company in a way that no one else does!

David Saatzer, Passion Value Champion, has the burning desire to achieve in all he does.

Ann Kirch is our Respect Value Champion because she treats others the way she would like to be treated.

In addition to our Value Champions, we also recognized many other employees for their contributions during 2011.

• Step Up: TeriKay Thein
• Expect Excellence: Sharon Lezer
• Kick Ass: Emily Garzon
• Above & Beyond: Corey Wilson
• Rising Stars: Troy Scarborough and Brent Larson
• Rookie of the Year: Ian Hanson and Holly Eiden
• Never Fear, Always Here Award: Mike Irvine, Cherly Dixon, Kay Larsen, Vantha Khou, Holly Eiden, Chris Doering, Josh Fredrickson, Cathy Klien, David Saatzer, David Schaeppi, John Stefani, Joey Stupak, Therikay Thein, Tom Warkel, Ann Kirch, Paula Doll, Corey Wilson, Jennifer Contreras