Sunday, January 10, 2016

Christmas Newsletter 2015

 Greetings to all our family and friends. We are happily getting into the holiday spirit, even though our warm Minnesota weather, so far, feels more like Southern California in December!

Here’s an update on our family, especially for those of you that are not on social media or for those of you that are not on social media regularly. And, for those of you that are… here’s a recap...

Cathryn turned 20 this year and is in her third year of college, attending the University of Minnesota, majoring in Retail Merchandising. She is sharing a house near campus with five other girls that also attend the U of M. She loves her new place and is enjoying football games and cheering on her team, the Minnesota Gophers! She continues to do well in her classes. She was extremely excited to share with us that she was nominated by her professors, and awarded the Rising Stars Scholarship by the National Retail Federation. She will represent the University of Minnesota Design College, and attend the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City in January.

Alex is 24 and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in December 2014! He earned a Bachelor’s degree of Journalism in Advertising and Public Relations with concentrations in English and Political Science. Alex accepted a job this spring in Lincoln, NE at a law firm as a Government Relations Manager for an Insurance Regulatory Lobbyist. This is work he finds extremely rewarding. We, of course, are proud of the passion he has for his line of work, his work ethic and independence.

Nik is 26 and living with us. He is very independent and we enjoy having him as our roommate! We love seeing how his mind likes to keep things organized. You should see his closet! Nik loves to visit craft breweries with us and doing tastings. If you follow him on Facebook, you know he’s a big social media guy, checking in on Foursquare everywhere he goes!



And now for our bonus daughters, Vanessa continues to study nursing. She recently earned her EMT certification and is working as an EMT in the emergency room of a local hospital. In her first week on the job she helped assist in delivering a baby! Dasha continues to attend the University of Kiev, in Ukraine. Ever the overachiever, she also attends a school in her home town of Vinnytsya to earn extra credits towards her degree. We love our Skype sessions with her.

Chris enjoys keeping busy and running our home. She continues to work part-time, as a personal chef, for private families near the Lake Minnetonka area. Her days are also kept busy caring for her mom, Olga, who has her own apartment a couple miles from our home. Her mother’s health is a concern and Olga’s name is currently on a waiting list for an assisted living unit, in her senior development. We are hopeful she will be in the care of nursing help soon. Getting around with her bad knees is a problem for her. On a brighter note, for fun, Chris also enjoys co-chairing our Gourmet dinner club.

As for me, it’s been a another busy year with lots of business travel. I celebrated my 31st year of working at Quad Graphics. On my spare time, I spent a lot of time kayaking. Culminating in my circumnavigation of Lake Minnetonka, which was 75 miles of paddling over 5 days in July. It was so cool to see the diversity that this body of water ecompases.  Chris and I celebrated 33 years of marriage in September. I can’t believe how the time has passed. We feel extremely blessed to have each other and our family.

Another year is on it’s way out and December is alway a great time to reflect and count our blessings. We pray that you and your family have a wonderful holiday season and a blessed New Year!

Jeff, Christina, Nik, Alex, Cathryn, Lola (our puggers) and Cookie (our kitty kat).

 



Friday, January 08, 2016

Reflections on the retirement of a friend

At times of reflection like this, I can’t help but think back fondly to the early days of our careers at Quad. I realize now what an absolute blessing and honor it was to be a part of a growing, dynamic and transformative company that was headed by a true genius. Harry and the culture that he fostered have made me the man I am today. 


Sure there are days that I wish things could be like that again, but I also feel sure that in todays business climate Harry would be doing much of the same things that Joel is doing. Honestly, Had he still be around and seeing the way the landscape was changing I’m not so sure he wouldn’t have sold to RRD back in 2010 and rode off into the sunset. So, the fact that Joel took the lead in initiating chapter two was a blessing for all of us. Chapter two was not easy nor will Chapter three but in the end I like to Quote Tom Hanks in A League of There Own as he told a sobbing Gina Davis “Of course it’s hard, it’s supposed to be hard. If it was easy anyone could do it!” So, I lean into the hard every day and do my best to live the values, mentor the folks around me and try to create opportunities for those that are just starting out at Quad.