Matt Lefeld: “I just want to note that I had nothing to do with this!”

A likely story, Matt Lefeld. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? Sounds like a Ryan Francis excuse.

Administrative professional Abbey Swick, on the left, may be fairly new to Choice One, but it doesn’t take long to want to keep another Matt—pesky president Matt Hoying—out of her hair by rigging the door to his office shut with a length of rope. What Abbey didn’t account for, though, was Matt Hoying’s craftiness: he climbed out of his office window to spoil Abbey’s prank. That Matt Lefeld just “happened” to be in the vicinity? A likely story, indeed.

Whether Matt Lefeld was accidentally caught in the crossfire or lent Abbey his knowledge on knots, one thing is for sure: when there is a Choice One Matt in the vicinity, there will be smiles (indeed, surveyor Matt West even draws smiles from random canine helpers)! Smiling or not, don’t stop aggravating those Matts for us, Abbey. Thanks for tying… er, trying!

Barry Tiffany, Sugarcreek Township: “Looks like we dodged having Kyle on our team.”

We’re not sure if this is the EXACT moment Barry [far right, above] spoke the quote, but based on Choice One designer Kyle Siegrist’s antics, we would guess it might be close to the exact moment. We’ll go easy on Kyle, though, since last week Choice One held its annual Sidney Charity Cup (with a Price is Right theme), and Kyle willingly demonstrated how to “Come on down!” while throwing a tennis ball.

No matter the bucketball play by Kyle or anyone else, the night was a success: our generous clients and friends donated a total of $7,500 to benefit two organizations: the Logan County United Way (for Tornado Relief) and the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association. With their funds, the MVDSA will once again be able to hold their summer picnic at Young’s Jersey Dairy, treating member families to games, tours, and ice cream. We couldn’t have been more excited had we won both Showcase Showdowns!

Throughout the Charity Cup night, PLINKO chips were tossed, participants asked the audience for help, [toy] cars were given away, and CTL Engineering emerged as the 2024 Bucketball Champion. But the real winners of the night were all those who came and supported the MVDSA and Logan County with such generous donations. THANK YOU to our friends and clients—and don’t forget to spay and neuter your pets!

Watch the video of all the action here!

Congrats to the 2024 Charity Cup Winners CTL Engineering!
(l-r) Choice One’s Mike Francis, Kevin Reichert, Ollie Alldritt, and Terry Muhlenkamp

Casey Reichert: “Picked up the baby. Honestly, it weighs as much as my toddler.”

It’s Sidney Charity Cup time again, and that means the traveling trophy has come home safely for its annual polishing in prep for the March 27^th event. If you’ve never won or at least beheld this trophy or its Loveland sibling, you may not know that it’s HEAVY. Like, 18-month-old Collette Reichert heavy.

We’ve featured Colette’s brother Urban in a Mindset before—remember when he won the NCAA pool last March and brought us cinnamon rolls? Indeed, there have been quite a few other Choice One kids’ smiles featured in Mindsets over the years: “new hire” surveyor Owen Kuck, future engineers Justin and Jake Puthoff, scanning helpers Carly and Danielle Barhorst, that adorable trio of kiddos named after local communities, the dad-supporting Goubeaux kids, and filing assistant Ryann Bornhorst (albeit sleeping and not smiling…). Just looking back on all these memories makes us smile, too!

The toddler-sized trophy and the event it represents next week are about smiles, too! During the Sidney Charity Cup, we’re excited to make a difference in the lives of lots of area kids and families by supporting the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association and Ronald McDonald House Charities. The excitement generated through funds raised by our clients and friends at this event is sure to be priceless. So buckle up and help us drive a few smiles for great causes next week!

Michael Seeger: “’Ceeeeee’ if you can guess where my ship is…”

This past weekend we enjoyed another annual Choice One Game Night. While there was no crowning of the Most Fun Spouse, project manager Michael Seeger was trying to be the Most Helpful Spouse by giving his wife Andrea some hints around what coordinates to guess next during our intense Battleship tournament.

Like Michael helping Andrea, we try to be a helpful bunch. For instance, the Battleship tournament champs—Shae Swick (administrative professional Abbey’s husband), surveyor Eric Kuck, and traffic engineer Mike Goettemoeller—trusted in helpfulness to win out. According to Mike G., the winning strategy was to “…rely on my teammates. Since Eric is a surveyor, he has a good understanding of boundaries and mapping things. Shae is a software engineer, so he is a very strategic thinker.” Smart!

Don’t sell yourself short, Mike G., we’re pretty sure your traffic safety skills helped your Battleship team in a roundabout way. And Michael Ceeeee-ger, don’t sweat your loss despite your helpful, hint-ful efforts. We know when it really matters, you’re clear about helping our clients and projects succeed (and blatantly obvious about helping coworkers stay grounded)!

Kristi Moorman: “Steve was using a jacket to ‘guide’ the bird. Specifically Daniel’s jacket… not his own.”

While days out on our survey crews sometimes get a little adventurous, most days in our Sidney and Loveland offices are pretty routine— wear green, design public and private infrastructure, discuss lunch, chat about sports, celebrate roundabouts, and so on. But this past Tuesday, a BIRD got into the Loveland office and excitement followed!

While we’ve had the occasional mouse in the office, this bird was a new experience. Not wanting any bird germs on his own coat, designer Steve Goessling grabbed Daniel Foos’s jacket to toss in the air to guide the bird out of the office. After much flailing and waving, the bird was successfully shooed out the front door. (All the while, project manager Troy Niese never missed a beat while on the phone determining a project schedule with a client…)

Despite working mostly with passive objects like concrete and plastic, we as engineers still have to expect the unexpected—sometimes that 80-year-old water main is wooden or brick! So whether it’s dealing with an old clay storm tile or an unexpected bird invasion, our adaptability is often put to the test. At least with an old pipe, it doesn’t land on a monitor to rest!

Inquiring Mindsets: “What is your all-time favorite Choice Mindset?”

We’ve written over 300 Choice Mindsets since October 7, 2011—which one is your favorite?