Choice Mindsets

02 Oct In the Red

Kecia Flaute:
“It’s so weird seeing everyone in red. I don’t recognize anyone in a color other than green.”

Don’t we look odd? Ok, so we always look a little odd. What we mean is: don’t we look different NOT in green?

Last Friday, the Choice One gang headed into the Loveland office’s backyard to take in a Cincinnati Reds game, complete with tailgating and non-green clothing. It does exist! (Although it’s clearly less awesome.) We took the afternoon off to celebrate a recent award that named us the Best Civil Engineering Firm to Work For in the Nation. We’re pretty proud of this one, and we hope the enjoyment we experience in our work spills over into your worlds. And if it doesn’t spill over, let us know what we can do better—we can always send another smiling green shirt your way. Or literally spill something.

Those of you who follow baseball will be shocked to know that the Reds lost handily that night. Thankfully the disappointing play on the field was lifted by a shared helmet full of super-cheesy nachos and the requisite Choice One wagering that leads to the lucky winner having to buy food for the rest of us. That’s a reminder, Nick Selhorst: you still owe us doughnuts out of your $23 jackpot.

18 Sep Elementary

Brittany Clinehens:
“It’s like sending him off to his first day of school. I’m just so proud!”

It’s official! Brittany is back from maternity leave.

Oh, and we cut the ribbon on our new Indiana office, with Vice President Ryan Lefeld at the helm.

With the opening of the Portland office on Tuesday, Mr. Vice President is going to have a few new opportunities. Obviously, when he leaves his home in St. Henry, Ohio, he’ll need to remember to drive west to Portland and not east to Sidney. He’ll also get to delight in making Brian Schmidt “jealously hungry” each time he visits the Arby’s literally 50 steps from the office door. And of course we’ll assume that he will immediately convert from a devout Browns fan (like Mitch) to an Indianapolis Colts fan. You finally have the chance to root for a winner, Ryan. 

Really, though, Brittany couldn’t be more right–we’re all proud of Ryan’s willingness to lead us green shirts into eastern Indiana. Good luck, Ryan. Don’t forget to double-knot your shoelaces so you don’t trip on the walk to Arby’s, and no matter how tempting, don’t eat any paste.

04 Sep Under the Table

21 Aug Lasting Impressions

Camille Puthoff:
“Boss: ‘Who brought donuts?’ Me: ‘Not Jeff Kunk.’”

Clearly, we here at Choice One (or rather Jeff Kunk’s lack of donuts here at Choice One) made a lasting impact on last year’s summer helper Camille. While working for the Midmark Corporation in Versailles this summer, she had the above conversation with her boss. Most amusingly, her boss has no idea who Jeff Kunk is—only that he’s never bought donuts. Seriously, Jeff Kunk, who DOESN’T know at this point?!

Lasting impacts are made frequently at Choice One. Brittany left a lasting impact on Kaye’s head when she smashed it against the wall with a heavy box. Caray and Ryan Francis have both made some temporary “impacts” (as in ruts) while getting vehicles stuck in various muddy locales. And we’d be remiss not to point out the impact Tony endured when he gave himself a concussion playing sand volleyball.

Of course we can’t forget to mention the recent impact our clients and friends made for a local young man and his family through the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association–an impact that is a direct result of everyone’s generosity at the 2015 Charity Cup. Click here to read the amazing, heartwarming thank you letter.

Camille, we’re pleased as punch to know you still think of our impact on you even as you continue your education as an electrical/mechanical engineer. If you want to come over to the dark (i.e. “green”) side and consider civil engineering as a career choice, we’ll show you all the benefits over a cup of coffee. And donuts (not purchased by Jeff Kunk).

07 Aug Emergen-C.O.E.C

Jeff Puthoff:
“Casey wants a siren for her car for her last second submittal deliveries. We will add green LED lights like ODOT trucks have.”

At Choice One, we don’t miss deadlines. And if that means driving a set of site plans to Grove City with 10 minutes to spare, so be it. You didn’t speed, right, Casey? Riiiiiight?

It’s not just project deadlines we’ve met every single time. We’ve managed to achieve other noteworthy goals over the years, often purely for the challenge. For instance, Jeff Puthoff has never stepped foot into a Super Wal-Mart (or a non-Super Wal-Mart, for that matter). And how could we let ANYONE forget: Jeff Kunk has never bought doughnuts. (More fun on that topic next time—look forward to it!)

Casey will probably have to make emergency submittal runs in the future to make sure the proposal/site plan/application/pizza arrives on time—sometimes it’s the nature of the civil engineering business. And as much as Casey would like to meet every deadline with a siren-clad, tricked out, purple and green station wagon a la Ghostbusters, her good old Chevy Cobalt will just have to do.

24 Jul Let Me Take a Selfie

Nick Selhorst:
“Reed, why did you take a selfie on the job site?”

Reed Hemelgarn:
“I’m six feet tall. I was showing you the height of the culvert!”

We’ve covered that we prefer function to fashion. So despite the amusing self-portrait, Loveland-based co-op Reed is just being resourceful, not selfie-ish. We’ll blame Nick Selhorst for not giving him a tape measure; if you send an engineer to investigate a jobsite and he doesn’t have a tape measure, he’ll literally use his head!

In a pinch, Choice One folks are rather creative. If you’ll recall, Caray transformed an inexpensive coffee box into a lush, stylish, easy-to-replace briefcase. And our survey crews have been known to use a hardhat to cover an instrument in the rain, build a staircase out of stakes to get over a fence, and use a cell phone screen to reflect light into a manhole. (Was the cell phone then dropped into said manhole? We won’t say.)

Of course, we should admit our mistake here and learn to better equip those visiting a jobsite with the right tools. Nevertheless, Nick, next time you send Reed out without a tape measure, have him measure the width AND depth of a nice, muddy creek, will you?