Choice Mindsets

Choice Mindsets

Aaron Plas: “Look! No hands!”

A Choice One surveyor poses with hands up by open doors.

Many know Aaron as one of our Survey Coordinators, but he’s also Choice One’s unofficial Office Wizard. When something around the office breaks, sticks, rattles, or just doesn’t seem quite right, Aaron is usually on the case before anyone can say “abracadabra.”

Just this week, Megan Bornhorst witnessed Aaron holding the front door open with only the power of his mind. His triumphant announcement above did little to quiet the rumors. Some witnesses claim a doorstop was involved, but the evidence remains inconclusive.

Then again, Choice One has a history of unexplained phenomena. For example, we’ve uncovered a magic carpet hidden in our logo and have the uncanny ability to transform almost anything into a roundabout. Maybe Aaron’s wizardry isn’t so far-fetched after all. Thanks, Aaron, for using your powers for good.

Kari Meyer: “Do you notice something different about this picture?”

Headshot of Choice One Engineering employee featuring a squirrel.

While out refreshing her headshot, Casey Reichert found a Choice One fan in the wild. Literally. As you can see, this fan took the form of a very excitable squirrel who chose that exact moment to photobomb the camera at full speed.

Choice Oners seem to be particularly prone to attracting fuzzy friends. Like the time a dog joined our survey crew for the day, or when a bird was so eager to check out our new office it flew straight into the window. Maybe animals are drawn to us because they are great judges of character. Or maybe our aspiring boy-band star, Kyle Siegrist, has been out there singing to them Snow White style. Hard to say.

Thankfully, Kari took over 200 squirrel-free photo options for Casey to choose from. What can we say? We really mean it when we say the details matter at Choice One.

Closeup of squirrel

Max Keeley: “Typically we get a number for our table, but this week we gained ‘Regulars’ status.”

Custom Choice One table number.

This week Loveland’s Choice One crew leveled up at their local BBQ joint. After months of consistent repeat visits, the restaurant gave them their own custom table number featuring their names, our services, and a splash of Choice One’s green for good measure.

Enthusiasm for local cuisine is almost as much of a staple of Choice One as our love of roundabouts. In years past, we’ve created brackets to rank our favorite eateries and even reserved tables at Skyline to see who can eat the most coneys in under an hour. What can we say? Friendly competition pairs pretty well with food.

The best part? All of this happened organically. No coupons or rewards program required. Just coworkers who enjoy spending time together and eating an impressive amount of brisket.

Nora Schwartz: “If the stormwater team started a band, what would we call ourselves?”

Choice One Engineering's stormwater team posing as a band.

Like most great ideas at Choice One, Nora’s band-building idea didn’t take long to gain traction. Like our Ryan Lefeld Waiting Room and candy-based messaging system, what started as a passing thought quickly turned into something much bigger. The result? We would like to officially introduce The Runoffs.

The group wasted no time pulling together their debut lineup. The setlist features “It’s Raining Men,” “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Rain Rain Go Away,” “Purple Rain,” and “How High is the Water.” A cohesive theme? Maybe. A little heavy on precipitation? Definitely. But the vision is there.

At Choice One, hidden talents aren’t unheard of. Even in the realm of music, Michael Kunzi brings real band experience, and Kyle Siegrist has fully committed to his role as a boy band frontman before. Will The Runoffs ever take the stage? Hard to say. The setlist may need a little workshopping, but if a debut show ever does happen, we already know one thing: the flow won’t miss a beat.

Brian Goubeaux: “Have you noticed our front desk is kind of like a roundabout?”

Choice One engineers and surveyors recreate a roundabout at the Sidney front desk.

Despite only being in our Sidney office on Campbell Road for five months, it already feels like home. Maybe it is the green and purple walls, or the Choice One logo on the carpet by the front door. Or maybe it is because our front desk is kind of like a roundabout.

It started with a simple observation. Designer Brian Goubeaux mentioned to Megan Bornhorst that something about the office’s layout felt… familiar. Once he said it, everything clicked. The flow. The movement. Jeff Kunk’s urge to yield even when he’s carrying an overly full cup of coffee.

At Choice One, our enthusiasm for roundabouts is no secret. We’ve accidentally created one while signing cards, and some team members (cough, cough, Dane Sommer) have even described them as poetic. Apparently, once you start seeing things as roundabouts, you don’t really stop. If only the desk were a true roundabout, we might even avoid a few traffic jams.

Brittany Clinehens: “Was that another bird?”

Choice One Engineering in‑house recruiter hangs a bird‑safety window sign to prevent birds from flying into office windows.

If April had a theme at Choice One this year, it would be birds. After our Loveland office befriended a flock of geese earlier this month, birds have officially started trying to join the team in Sidney.

Choice One’s in-house recruiter, Brittany Clinehens, saw that interest firsthand last week when a bird flew full speed into her office window, seemingly trying to drop off an application. Minutes later, a second followed. Always thoughtful, Brittany hung the pictured warning sign to deter future “fly-in” interviews.

While we admire their excitement about joining Choice One’s team, birds aren’t quite the candidates we’re looking for. We encourage human students and job seekers alike to skip the window and apply the traditional way for our Tom Coverstone Scholarship or any of our open positions.

While full-time carrier pigeons would be cool, for now, Choice One remains a no-fly zone.