Memories of September 11, 2001

It was so great to come into work today and see the American flag proudly draped next to our company name. We all remember what we were doing and where we were when we heard the news of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Our Home Office was located directly along the path of the west runway into O’Hare Airport and so is my home. We were all used to the constant flow of airplanes overhead so there was an eerie silence for several days following September 11.

Knowing that our lawn was visible from the air and also in a high-traffic area, we decided that we could take advantage of our location to carve out a message. Joe Slavicek, our warehouse manager and a Vietnam veteran, spray-painted a huge red, white and blue heart on our lawn with the words U.S.A. in the center. Then we gave all our employees a flag and each one planted a flag around the heart as we joined hands in prayer for the people who were lost, the families who were grieving and for God to give our country strength to recover from this tragedy. Cars and trucks passed by and honked their horns and smiled at our message.

Several days later the planes began to fly again. We will never know if passengers and staff in the airplanes flying overhead saw our message, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was the action we took, the prayer we shared and the moment that is engraved in all our hearts.

Two days later on my way into work there was a gentle rain falling that had created a rainbow. As I passed over the top of a bridge I could see the rainbow stretching across the whole Chicago skyline with an airplane right in the middle of it poised for its landing at O’Hare Airport. I felt like it was God’s way of saying, “I will be with you always,” not just to me, but to the city and to our country. That moment also will be engraved in my heart forever.

September 11 changed a lot of things, but it didn’t change the determination of our people to overcome challenges and keep the American dream alive. Today is a day to reflect on all the blessings we have and reconfirm our faith in the future and our faith in God’s guiding hand. So today, as we did in 2001, we once again are reminded to pray for the victims, the families who are still grieving and for God to give our country strength.

God Bless America!

My First Show

Today is Emily’s first day of school. Next week is Michael’s first day of kindergarten. Emotions are a mixture of excitement and trepidations. Excitement to meet new friends and be reunited with old friends…trepidations about this year’s teacher and how tough the homework will be!

Our lives are filled with firsts and as I walked into work today thinking of my grandchildren’s first days of school, it reminded me of how many firsts I have had and thousands of others at Signature HomeStyles. We can all recall the excitement and trepidation of that very first Show. We were all excited about the launch of our new business, yet nervous to stand up and talk about our company, our products and our opportunity.

My first Show was with my friend Emmie. We met in college, stood up in each other’s weddings and had both started our families. I knew most of her friends and family and they were all there at her house for my first Show. I’m not sure if that made it easier or harder to do the Show! As my eyes scanned the room, I knew I had to avoid looking at her mother-in-law but settle on eye contact with her sister! To my surprise, during my presentation they were all smiling and nodding their heads as I gave them ideas on how to organize their homes with my baskets. The Show turned out to be a great Show and I continued to see all of them at many Shows after that…even her mother-in-law who turned out to be one of my best customers!

What I learned that night is that one of the best parts of doing a Show are the connections that happen. They had a great time looking at the baskets, handing them to each other, and telling each other what they should buy to organize their home! They started teasing each other about the messy spots in each others’ homes, joking and laughing together and truly enjoying being together. It felt so good to see all of them enjoying the evening and connecting with each other and I knew that my company was the vehicle that facilitated these wonderful connections.

And they all took me into their circle as well, considering me the expert in organization, giving them advice on which basket would work best. By the time I had done a few more Shows with them, I felt like a member of the family! Every Show was an update on who just had a baby, or who was getting married. I shared in their joys, and also their challenges. The connections were far more than just a business relationship…they were personal. And as my business grew, they grew with me, helping me to build my Team in those beginning years.

Now I look back at that first Show and have to think of where it led me and so many others. So often I’m asked if I ever dreamed that the business would become what it is today. Frankly, the day of that first Show I was so nervous that I knew I had to do my best just to make sure that I would get bookings to be able to keep my business going! The day after the Show, I knew that, if I worked really hard, this could be the best thing that ever happened for my family. I was launched…I was excited…and I became unstoppable!

I will be forever grateful for my first Show…how they connected with me and how I connected with them…how their jovial embrace of my company, my products and my opportunity gave me the confidence to begin a journey of a lifetime.

What We Can All Learn from the Olympics

“I’m just like Michael Phelps!” he hollered as he jumped into the pool. A few weeks ago at a pool in the backyard of one of my friends, I watched her son swim with great enthusiasm and pride, modeling himself after the swimmer who has taken the Olympics by storm. I’ve been watching the Olympics sometimes with my grandchildren and they were working with their swimming instructor with the same enthusiasm and pride. Joseph, who is only two, even got caught up in the excitement and jumped in with great enthusiasm. But, since he can’t swim, he quickly learned his lesson as we pulled him out of the pool with a mouthful of water!

I love the Olympics! To see all the great athletes who have worked all their lives come to one place to compete is so inspiring! The cameras catch them as they prepare and deal with the stress and mental anxieties. We see their faces up close as they work to do the best performance of their lives. And then we see some of them dealing with the agony of defeat and others beaming with pride and emotion as they bend their heads to receive their medals and stand poised to hear their countries’ national anthems played in China and around the world to millions of viewers. And my pride and emotion is right there with them, cheering them on, empathizing with their defeats, and celebrating their successes. When their eyes tear up on the podium, I’m grabbing for the Kleenex!

Overcoming Challenges and Dreaming Big
And I love the stories about the athletes…stories about the challenges they’ve had to overcome…stories about their dreams and visions of success…stories about the people who have inspired them…and stories about their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families to pursue their passions and make their dreams come true. Each story touches every person in a different way and no matter what sport it is, we are all inspired by all of them.

Once in a while the cameras will catch the athletes in conversation with their coaches or fellow team members and you hear them saying things like, “We can do this,” “That was great,” “Great job!” or “I’m so proud of you.” They are interviewed and they talk about their commitment to their sports and they say things like, “You can never ever quit” or “Our goal was to get the medal as a team” or “I’ve been dreaming about this day since I was 6- years-old.”

Olympic-sized Lessons
We can learn such great lessons for success from the Olympic athletes about hard work, determination, commitment, passion and lofty goals and dreams. We see for ourselves how ordinary people can do extraordinary things. They did it by putting the word EXTRA in front of everything in their lives…extra hard work, extra determination, extra commitment, extra passion and extraordinary goals and dreams.

They won’t all go home with gold medals but they will all go home with great pride that they did their best and that they were part of a group of extraordinary athletes who competed in the Olympics. All of them have inspired a worldwide audience of future Olympians. None of us knows today who these future Olympians are…they could be jumping in pools, balancing on beams, or racing down streets all over the world. Some will not come back, some will move onto other things in their lives, but many of them will be back four years from now because they learned that you never ever give up on your dream!

Rampin’ up for Convention!

Things are really ramping up at the Signature HomeStyles Home Office with Convention just two weeks away. As I walk through Signature HomeStyles, there are boxes stacked all over, some filled with T-shirts and water bottles, others filled with Convention bags and lots of boxes of products! The first few copies of the 2008 Fall/Holiday Idea Book have arrived and WOW! You are just going to love it! What a great fall selling season you are going to have once your customers see this catalog! It’s just gorgeous!

And our excitement is building as the statistics are beginning to come in and we begin to see who the Top Achievers are, who will be in the Circle of Hearts this year, who will be on President’s Council, and who will be in Signature Club and all the other awards! We just can’t wait to greet all of you and share in the excitement!

Just like all of you, I’m lining up the hair and nail appointments and trying to figure out what to wear. All those things just add to the excitement that energizes each of us as we look forward to seeing each other again. There’s something so special about Convention that it’s really hard to describe the feelings…you simply have to experience it! Each and every year has a special magic about it…special moments that inspire us to be the best that we can be…and special memories that last a lifetime.

What a joy it is to look forward to this powerful event!

The Circle of Tiny Hands

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I was enjoying the day with Cari’s family. Emily, Michael and Joseph were excited to be able to be outside after the long cold winter. Suddenly Mike came into the kitchen and shouted, “Something’s wrong with Nicholas. They need help!”

Cari told the kids to stay in the backyard and we ran outside to the front and found her neighbor cradling her two-year-old son and his father on the phone frantically calling 911. Nicholas had gone into convulsions from a high fever and now was almost passed out. I rushed to his mother’s side and tried to comfort her as I knew that Nicholas was not turning blue so he was still breathing. I talked to him and got him to open his eyes slightly so his mother and I would both know that he was still responding.

The ambulance arrived and Nicholas and his mother climbed in. When I turned toward Cari’s house, I saw Emily, Michael and Joseph at the gate staring at the ambulance. I went to them and told them how proud I was that they listened to their mom. They all wanted to know about their neighbor and friend. I told them that Nicholas has help now and that we need to say a little prayer for him.

We formed a little circle, held hands and bowed our heads and I led them in a special prayer for Nicholas. Soon Nicholas’ father came out of the ambulance to let us know that he was going to the hospital but was going to be okay. As I returned to the backyard, Emily, Michael and Joseph were still standing there and Michael asked, “Is Nicholas going to be okay, Grammie?”

“Yes, he’s going to be okay. It’s good that we said a prayer and asked God to help, isn’t it?” I replied. Nicholas came home from the hospital late that night and was soon playing with his neighbors and friends.

What a special moment it was for me that day. Amid the frightening circumstances, I had the opportunity to teach my grandchildren where to turn when they are worried and the power of uplifting others with prayer. The circle of tiny hands touched a lot of people…the kids who bowed their heads, the people who were watching, Nicholas and his family, and it will be a special memory of mine forever.

God Bless Our Heroes

God Bless Our Heroes!

Last week was a very special week for two of our leaders, Cynthia and Kristene in North Carolina. They visited Sgt. Jon Roberts and his family in North Carolina and saw firsthand the power of the partnership between Homes for Our Troops and Signature HomeStyles. Jon was a soldier in Iraq who was hit head on by a truck and suffered massive brain damage.

Jon’s parents were missionaries in the Philippines when they received the call and were told that he would never be able to function again. That was two years ago and today Jon and his parents are in a new home built by Homes for Our Troops that is wheel chair accessible. Jon is now able to communicate with a keyboard and has just started trying to talk.

Through our commitment to Homes for Our Troops Signature HomeStyles is donating product to help organize and decorate Jon’s new home. As Cynthia and Kristene perused our catalog with Jon, he gave a ‘thumbs up’ on the items he would like to have. In a few weeks they will return to put his chosen products in place.

We are blessed to have American heroes like Jon. How do we ever thank them and their families for their sacrifices. Homes for Our Troops is making sure that they are not forgotten and we are proud to be able to join in that mission. Last month the AIP (American Institute of Philanthropy), a charity watch group, included Homes for Our Troops in their Top-Rated Veterans and Military Charities listing.

The more we grow as a company, the more we will be able to give to this worthwhile cause. I am so proud of this partnership, so proud of every representative of Signature HomeStyles who sells our Homes for Our Troops products, and proud of Cynthia and Kristene and all the other representatives who have taken their time to support these heroes. I just love the power we have when we work together to make a difference!

Please pray for Jon and his family and for all the soldiers and their families, and also for the continued success of Homes for Our Troops!

FUN day!

Today is a really special day at Signature HomeStyles. Our employees are celebrating ‘sports day’ and wearing shirts from their favorite teams. Other employees are distributing peanuts, the symbol of every baseball game we ever attended regardless of the team we cheer for. We have these special days every now and then just to reassure everyone that work should be FUN.

And today Frank Bielic from “Trading Spaces” is in our home office. What could be more FUN than that! Frank is always a bundle of FUN! We have a shirt for him too! He’ll join us in our company meeting, will be touring the office, will be on some phone calls, and will be meeting with product development to learn how we design our products and to share some of his own ideas.

Yesterday Frank visited the home of a Signature HomeStyles Hostess in Covington, Indiana. She is the Hostess who won the $1,000 shopping spree and Frank went to her home to help her spend it! And they had FUN! Frank rearranged furniture just like he does on “Trading Spaces” and arranged products from Signature HomeStyles mixed in with favorite accessories she already had. Voila! Three rooms were refreshed and she is so happy that she’s having a party in two weeks so her family, neighbors, and friends can see the transformation.

Daily we are bombarded with news of things that just aren’t fun. How powerful it is when we can make each other smile or share a story that makes people chuckle. Little pieces of joy when shared by lots of people can add up to bundles of joy! And that’s what we do when we do our Signature HomeStyles Shows. The evening of the Show is a FUN get-together for family, neighbors and friends. When our products arrive to each customer, they either help families to organize or accessorize the most important place in their lives…their homes.

Make every day a FUN day by spreading sunshine to someone else. The FUN will always come back to you!

Have a FUN day!

Here are some fun photos from Frank's visit with Senior Executive Director Carole Brown's Hostess, Michelle Fonner:

Frank takes a look around Michelle Fonner's home and offers advice.

Frank moves furniture to make the most of the room.

Frank hangs our Botanical Dreams Painting Trio above Michelle’s bed.

Frank hangs a Trunner® and Wall Wizard® inserts as new drapery.

Frank decides what to tackle next. Look at that lovely new window treatment!

Our Patina Wallpocket with the Ivory Spray of Flowers add a nice touch to this small wall.

Michelle and Frank chitchat about the finished room.

Good job Frank! What a beautiful wallscape!

Senior Executive Director Carole Brown and Frank pose for photos.

The work is done! Michelle and Frank outside the house.