Nora Schwartz: “Messages come in many forms, including mint-flavored.”

In Choice One’s Sidney office, there is a highly sophisticated communication system operating behind the scenes—and by that, we mean Nora Schwartz and Jeff Puthoff leaving peppermints on each other’s desks. This cutting‑edge, sugar‑powered system works like this: when one stops by the other’s workstation and misses them, they leave a mint as a tiny calling card that says, “I was here; come see me when you’re available.” Since neither has a dedicated waiting room, the mint stands in as their own tiny queue-management system.

While this communication method may be delicious, it does bring into question what would happen if our stock of mints ever ran out. Widespread panic? Mass confusion? Jeff going through sugar withdrawal?

Jokes aside, it’s funny how this tiny peppermint ritual ends up reflecting something real about how we work at Choice One. Responsiveness doesn’t always look like a rapid email or perfectly timed call—sometimes it’s just a mint on a keyboard saying, “Hey, I stopped by.” Candy just happens to be a very tasty form of follow‑up that won’t get buried in a swarm of notifications.