Jeff Puthoff: “There is only one Christmas song outside the traditional carols that matters: Elvis’s ‘Blue Christmas.’”

If you’ve seen our holiday card this year, you know it’s not your average piece of folded paper. It’s got flaps, elves, and a giant gift (containing a QR code) riding in a green truck. Because what’s more 2025 than holiday cheer scanned directly into your smartphone?

Scan that little square and you’d uncover our very own Choice One Christmas song, which is part of the festive Choice One Christmas playlist at this link. Sure, we could’ve gone with the classics—“Jingle Bells,” “Silent Night”—but let’s be real: the only song that truly matters (at least to Jeff) is Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas.” Forget the gifts, the lights, the cookies—Elvis is sad.

So, while you’re humming along and wondering if a green truck full of elves is street legal, know that we’re grateful for another year of laughs, projects, and plenty of green-shirted ridiculousness. Here’s to a playlist—and a mindset—that keeps the holidays bright all year long. After all, the only thing blue this Christmas should be the suede shoes! Merry Christmas from Choice One!

Merry Christmas from Choice One!

Inquiring Mindsets: “What are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?”

We asked Choice Oners about some favorite Thanksgiving traditions. The result? Pure Thanksgiving science!

Traditions:
Football + Naps: Apparently, Thanksgiving is just a warm-up for the Super Bowl of sleeping. If you’re not horizontal by 3 PM, you’re doing it wrong.
Macy’s Parade: Casey Reichert enjoys “too much” coffee while watching. Casey, can there really be “too much” coffee?
Uncommon: Parker Barhorst and his family share sardines in mustard sauce right out of the can. Parker, is this a cry for help? Blink twice if the sardines are holding you hostage.

Favorite Foods:
Pie, Pie, and More Pie: Mitch Thobe kept it simple—just “Pie.” Respect.
Grandma’s Stuffing with Raisins: Matt Lefeld, are you sure? Raisins? In stuffing?
Bread and Butter: Dane Sommer is living on the edge.
Sardines Again: Seriously, Parker, we’re worried.

Thankful For (Beyond Family):
America’s Team: Brian Barhorst is thankful for football, even if it’s the Dallas Cowboys.
GPS in Tractors: Justin Puthoff is living in the future while the rest of us are still trying to find the gravy boat.
Choice One Engineering: Chuck Kluener and Max Scherch win the heartwarming award for reminding us we’re all lucky to work together—even if one of us loves sardines.

In summary, Thanksgiving at Choice One is 40% football, 40% food, 10% naps, and 10% wondering why Parker eats sardines. And overall, we’re 100% grateful—because when it comes to gratitude, we’re truly stuffed. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Dillon with D.R. Horton: “Kyle, I have a tip for your caddy work tonight: Don’t quit your day job.”

The D.R. Horton Orange Team (l-r): Dillon Houk, Brad Anderson, Choice One’s Kyle Siegrist, and Missy Smith.

 Last week, Choice One hosted its annual Loveland Charity Cup, and this year’s theme was Mini-Golf Masters. Choice One employees stepped into the role of caddies, and it’s clear that Kyle was doling out advice with the confidence of a seasoned pro but the application more on par with us “beginners” in the golf simulator a few weeks back.

Forget windmills—this course was all about precision shots that could make a surveyor sweat. Contestants faced tricky angles, hazards, and the awkwardness of using a traffic cone as a putter. The champions? Forest Park, proving that mini-golf glory doesn’t require PGA credentials—just nerves of steel and maybe a lucky bounce off a 2×4.

Yet the real hole-in-one wasn’t on the course—it was in the generosity of our clients and friends. Together, we raised over $21,000 for Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank and the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati. That’s the kind of scorecard we actually care about.

Kyle, keep the caddy gig for laughs, but maybe stick with designing subdivisions for the job security. Thanks to everyone who came out, laughed hard, and gave big. See you next year, where the theme may be new, but Kyle’s advice will still be…questionable.

Troy Niese: “The pond is getting winterized. It’s like a bunch of dads inspecting a DIY project.”

For years, our office fascinations have evolved. First, it was doughnuts (thanks, Jeff Kunk). Then roundabouts (don’t worry, we still love them, right Dane?). And now? The pond at Loveland—our newest source of entertainment and speculation.

After determining its depth earlier this year, the pond has become a seasonal spectacle. Today’s event? Winterization. And, apparently, nothing draws a crowd quite like a pond getting prepped for cold weather. Just look at these green-clad onlookers, gathered at the windows like a team of home-improvement experts. Many of them are dads, so the commentary was top-notch: “Looks good from here,” “Did you check the filter?” and “Yep, that’s how I’d do it.”

From doughnuts to drainage, we’ve proven that Choice One can find excitement in anything. What’s next for our pond obsession? Ice fishing? A curling league? Stay tuned—because if history tells us anything, this body of water isn’t just a pond anymore. It’s a lifestyle.

Nora Schwartz: “The simulator keeps saying: ‘Go back and adjust your difficulty settings’… but it was already set to beginner.”

This week, the entire Choice One crew headed to Caddy’s, a golf-themed bar and restaurant, for our quarterly offsite meeting and a Monday afternoon “par-tee” for our United Way Campaign celebration. We ate lunch, talked business, and then bravely stepped into the world of virtual golf. And by “bravely,” we mean “with wildly misplaced confidence.”The golfing results? Let’s just say the simulator had some thoughts. Nora’s experience summed it up best: despite being set to beginner mode, the simulator still suggested she might be in over her head. Unfortunately, there’s nothing below beginner—unless you count “spectator.”

To be fair, our past golf experiences haven’t exactly prepared us for greatness. We’ve putted around the office and once developed an indoor golf game that used a sledgehammer in place of a club. So when faced with a simulator that expected actual technique, we were… unprepared.

 

Tyler, pictured here mid-swing, was one of a few who actually knew what he was doing. The simulator didn’t question his settings. Nora, meanwhile, expertly avoided any photographic evidence of her performance. A wise move: when the simulator suggests you might be worse than a beginner, it’s best to leave no trace.

Matt Hoying: “Kari didn’t like Spaceballs.”

Gasps were heard. Jaws dropped. Somewhere, Mel Brooks felt a disturbance in the Schwartz.

After returning from our Lexington company trip last week, Graphic Designer Kari casually mentioned she didn’t love Spaceballs, the 1987 sci-fi parody that’s long been a staple of Choice One company trip bus rides. For those unfamiliar, Spaceballs is a spoof of Star Wars—complete with characters like Dark Helmet, Yogurt, and a villain named Pizza the Hutt. It’s absurd, quotable, and deeply beloved by many of us.

And yet… Kari didn’t love it.

Despite this cinematic betrayal, we managed to carry on with our Lexington trip. We visited horse farms, held a Fowling tournament (which is somehow not bowling or football but both?), toured Keeneland, scavenged through a winery, tasted bourbon like professionals (read: not professionals), and sang our hearts out at karaoke (that’s Kari on the right in the photo, belting “Redneck Woman”).

In the end, while Kari may not appreciate the comedic genius of Director Mel Brooks or the timeless charm of a half-man, half-dog named Barf, we still love her. Even if she’s more The Proposal than Pizza the Hutt.