Choice Mindsets

Meet Jacqui, one of our newest engineers and passionate guardian of lacrosse sticks. Despite not being our first Jacqueline (naturally, we can never have just one of any name), Jacqui is our first experienced lacrosse player.

Turns out casual lacrosse instruction is a great socially-distanced sports activity, and Jacqui was happy to share her lacrosse equipment and expertise with us for a beginner’s lesson. When Kaye casually asked if anything was broken during the lesson (we’re good at falling down, if you recall), we learned that Jacqui fiercely defends her cherished sticks. We understand, Jacqui. We get to listen to other sports enthusiasts defend things, like the Cleveland fans defending the Browns, Wes Goubeaux defending the Chicago Cubs, and Kyle Siegrist defending his undying passion for all professional sports.

While we’re sure “attackers” Troy Niese and Michael Kunzi are probably not serious, we appreciate your protective nature, Jacqui. You’ll need the practice. There’s no doubt it won’t be long before you need to defend your position in the Chipotle vs. Hothead debate, guard your red and pink Starburst considering your desk’s proximity to Nick Selhorst, and protect your hands from Christmas card signing cramps during the holiday season. Welcome aboard!

For many, August/September equals back to school. So back in the day, what did Choice Oners look forward to about a new school year?

Luke Hemmelgarn’s favorite memory? Playing euchre on the bus. That’s a life skill, there. Wes Wolters remembers that in fourth grade, “the school finally got belts and flags for flag football. You had to eat your lunch quick and sprint out to the field at recess to get one of the cool belts.” Because fourth grade life happens at recess. And Casey Reichert? “New school supplies—who doesn’t love the smell of fresh pencils in August?!” Apparently Matt Hoying and Jake Bertke: “What was fun about going back to school?”

It’s no surprise with our hungry crowd that many school memories included lunchtime. Many of us who attended Marion Local Schools in Mercer County (such as Mitch Thobe, Kristi Moorman, Ryan Bruns, and Casey Reichert) all agreed that the best school cafeteria lunch was  “chicken noodle soup and cinnamon rolls.” Apparently this soup and roll combo was a thing back in the day at Marion Local. The rest of us all would have bet the farm that the companywide consensus on “best school lunch” would have been rectangle pizza…

Whether they’re excited or not, here’s to a successful year for all the kids out there. May they not fall and skin their knees on the walk to school like Holly Fannon, may the Salisbury steak not be as rubbery as it was for most (except for Dane Sommer who claims it was amazing), and may they love their new backpack (and fresh late-80s perm) as much as Brittany Clinehens did.

If you don’t recognize the two relics in the photo volunteering their time to provide field work for a new playground in Russia, Ohio, that’s Ryan Francis on the left and Wes Goubeaux on the right. Both have been with the company for about 20 years, making them knowledgeable, experienced, and, of course, ripe for picking on about their grey hairs.

Ok, so Ryan and Wes aren’t really that old, it’s more about the fact that they don’t operate in the field as often as they used to. With a larger sum of capable field surveyors on our team these days, Wes and Ryan spend most of the time in the [climate-controlled] office as they lay out property lines, perform research, schedule field crews, and create right-of-way plans and plats. And while that work is quite important, some may suggest it makes them a little rusty when it’s time to swing a sledgehammer, work in the sun all day, or navigate rough terrain on foot to get the perfect topographic shot.

Ryan and Wes, we certainly appreciate your willingness to volunteer your time to a great local cause. The students of Russia Local Schools will certainly have an accurately laid-out playground thanks to you. We just hope you don’t dry up and fossilize in the hot sun from being so out of practice in the field.

We forget to water this lovely plant from time to time, and it droops sadly when it gets dry. Kecia, who claims skills as a positive plant talking specialist, volunteered to encourage the plant with a few helpful words—that it was a “strong, healthy plant” and it could rise above this latest [unintentional] drought. Lo and behold, the next morning we were delighted to find that the leaves were a little more lifted and the green a little brighter (you know, more Choice One green and less dead plant green).

There are a few other office fixtures we plan to ask Kecia to encourage. When the printer is slow and not doing what we expect (which is never user error), Kecia could remind it that it’s a good printer and that we provide a roof over its head and it better work now please. Sometimes the coffeemaker overflows (especially since Tony did the plumbing), so Kecia could tell the coffeemaker how much we need it and that we promise to give it a much deserved break… someday. And when our network server is working at full capacity and starts to make a whining noise, Kecia could tell it that we appreciate it’s hard work. (However, when Ryan Francis whines, we suggest Kecia offer a different kind of “encouragement.”)

Since Kecia’s positivity can rub off on the likes of plants and printers, it certainly rubs off on the rest of us at Choice One. So when folks like Not Nick need a smile or positive word first thing in the morning (especially if the coffeepot isn’t working), we can count on Kecia to provide a bright smile and cheerful greeting to perk us right up. Now if we could just use that smile to somehow remind us to water that plant…