Take a look at our newsletter this month.
Life Some families like to spend the holidays indoors, cozied up by the fire with a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate — but I’ve got to tell you, that’s just not the Saxby way. No matter the season, Cheri and I like to keep moving, challenging ourselves, and experiencing new things. Early this month, we took our 10-year- old grandson, Jacob, on a trip to Nevada to visit Las Vegas and hike through Zion National Park. We flew into Vegas just after Thanksgiving to do some Black Friday shopping, then drove to St. George, Utah, and stayed there for three days. Cheri and I like to travel and hike all winter long, flying around the country to hit the best trails where the weather is good. It’s always nice to get outside, breathe the fresh air, and clear my head, particularly when the weather is dismal back home. That commitment to spending time outdoors is a big part of the “Live Life” philosophy Cheri and I embraced when we shut down our pizzeria to focus on Lynnpro full time. For the last few years, we’ve done our best to live in the moment and seek out new challenges. Recently, I’ve taken living in the moment to the next level by restricting my time on social media and shutting my cell phone off at 5 p.m. I’ve found that has freed up a lot of my mental energy, and I’m so much happier and more relaxed than I was before. Although Cheri is going to be laid up for part of this month following a minor medical procedure, we plan to use that extra energy to go on as many adventures this December as we can, ideally with our grandkids along.
OURHOLIDAYHIKE AND A LAS VEGAS LESSON
off without a hitch. Once, hiking with Jacob in Utah, he wandered down a gully, and we had to call 911 to find him (he was fine, thankfully), and another time, I climbed over a boulder and ended up stuck on the wrong side, a mistake that cost me four hours and nearly led to hospital bills when I took a reckless leap. Scariest of all, on one hiking trip, we came face-to-face with caution tape and a body bag. At that point, I think most people would probably have given up and said, “I don’t think hiking is for us.” But not my family. As soon as we got home, Cheri and I booked two more trips to help us get over the fear. I’m happy to take my grandkids with me on trips because I think they can provide valuable lessons. In the backcountry, Jacob learned caution and self- reliance, and, in Las Vegas, he learned to never give up on his dreams.
While we were there, I explained to Jacob that the homeless people crowding the streets — who concerned him because we don’t really see large populations of the homeless in Iowa — were no different than the rest of us except they were down on their luck. I told him that what they’re going through could happen to any of us, which is why it’s so important to hold on tight to your dreams and do whatever you can to make them happen. Seeing that understanding light up in his eyes was worth as much to me as the whole trip. ourselves into the holidays. Personally, I consider Christmas a time to reflect and recharge. If you want to take a leaf out of my book, don’t worry about how other people see you. Instead, ask yourself how your year went, how you wanted it to go, and how you can do better in 2020. Then, tackle your next challenge head-on. When we got home from Vegas, it was time to plan the office Christmas party and throw
As idyllic as they can be, it must be said that not every trip we make to the backcountry goes
Now, I’m not a big fan of the Las Vegas strip, but it can provide a great learning opportunity.
“In the backcountry, Jacob learned caution and self- reliance, and, in Las Vegas, he learned to never give up on his dreams.”
–Jeff Saxby
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ROYAL RINKS
Curling Athletes Every Fan Should Know
HARVEY MAZINKE CURLING TEAM In 1973, Canada held its collective breath as the Harvey Mazinke Curling Team took their final shot in a world championship match against Sweden. The rock ultimately failed to reach the rings, crowning Sweden as world champions and snapping the 10-0 record Harvey Mazinke had built during a week of competition. But regardless of that final score, Harvey Mazinke’s impact on the sport was not diminished. The team was crowned the Canadian Men’s Curling Champions in 1973, and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame recognizes them as “ambassadors to the game.” JOYCE MCKEE CURLING TEAM Without Joyce McKee, Sylvia Fedoruk, Donna Belding, and Muriel Coben, the Canadian Ladies Curling Association Championship, now called the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, would have never become the nationally recognized organization it is today. The aforementioned women were part of the Joyce McKee rink and were the first winners of the championship in 1960. Their style, play, and knowledge propelled women’s curling into the leagues of men’s competitions, proving that women could compete at just as high of a level as their male peers. To this day, the Joyce McKee rink’s accuracy is unparalleled. If you can’t wait another two years before curling hits center stage at the Winter Olympics, check out the podcast “Curling Legends” to get your fix of curling greatness.
When a massive earthquake rocked the island nation of Haiti in 2010, a team of helicopter pilots from Florida flew in to provide humanitarian relief. Among them was Bill Gibson, and the experience he had in Haiti changed the course of his life. While he was there, Bill started working with an organization called Streethearts Haiti, which offers assistance to homeless boys and hopes to expand its operation to help girls as well. Bill was so moved by their work that when he returned home, he decided he needed to do something to further their cause — so he started the Grayton Beach Kous Kouri. “Kous kouri” means “trail run” in Haitian, and since its start, every penny raised from race fees for the 4- and 8-mile dashes has gone to Streethearts. For the last two years, our team here at Lynnpro has designed shirts for that Thanksgiving race and for a second race Bill hosts around Easter to benefit Communities of Transformation, a Florida church group that helps families who have fallen on hard times become more self- sufficient. Both races are part of what Bill calls the Run Grayt Race Series. “I believe this is my fifth race I have directed,” Bill said of the 2019 Kous Kouri. “It’s the third for the Grayton Beach Kous Kouri, and we have almost doubled participation every race. For the first race, we started off I believe with 44 total racers, last year it was about 75, and then this year we’re expecting 150. It may even grow beyond that!” THE RUN GRAYT RACE SERIES CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: ROY THIESSEN Choosing only one devoted coach to highlight is difficult, but it must be Roy Thiessen. Roy coached championship teams — or rinks, as they are called in curling — at both provincial and national levels. His expertise led him to chair the first Saskatchewan Summer Games in 1972, the World Junior Men’s Curling Championships in 1979, and the World Ladies’ Curling Championships in 1983. Budding athletes can learn all of Roy’s secrets and the fundamentals of curling in the numerous books he wrote. Every four years, as some of the world’s best Olympic athletes battle for gold medals, the world falls in love with curling. Curling originated in 16th-century Scotland and is most popular in Canada, where many Scots immigrated. Now, 480 years after the first recorded instance of curling occurred on a frozen pond in Scotland, many devotees have left their mark on the sport’s history. These are just a few of the greats.
Bill said the Easter race is even larger, and he credits a lot of that community excitement to the race shirts Lynnpro prints each year. “It’s a lasting memory of the trials and tribulations, or the joys, or sometimes both, of your experience,” he said.
“Everyone likes the race shirt. A lot of times the race shirt will make or break whether someone signs up for the race. And it will definitely make or break whether they come back!” Our team is so proud that our designs have helped further such great causes, and we look forward to years of collaboration to come! To learn more about Bill’s races, visit the Run Grayt Race Series Facebook page at Facebook.com/RunGrayt.
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EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: MEET MIRANDA EARL!
Miranda’s parents, Jeff and Cheri Saxby, own Lynnpro, so, in a way, she has been part of the company from the very beginning. But it wasn’t until a year ago that she took on a full-time job in our printing department. “I’m a screen printer,” Miranda explains. “I come in and set up my screens on my press, then do whatever job is up next. I’m basically at the press all day.” Before starting at Lynnpro, Miranda worked for her parents’ other business, Angelo’s pizzeria. There, she cooked and delivered pizzas and helped out with answering the phones. Transitioning from that job to the more specialized work she does at Lynnpro came with a big learning curve.
“It is like a family. We’re very close, and it’s very fast-paced. Everybody does their job, and everything goes smoothly because we all rely on one another,” she says. When Miranda isn’t in the office, you can probably find her behind the wheel, shuttling her 10-year-old son, Jacob, between boxing, taekwondo, soccer, and football practices. If
she gets a rare minute to herself, she likes to relax with a good book. From all of us on the Lynnpro team, thank you, Miranda, for all you do!
“Everything here is new for me,” Miranda says, adding, “Everything is different every time, and I keep learning things.”
Luckily, her knowledgeable, supportive coworkers have been there to help her out along the way.
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Potato Latkes
INGREDIENTS
• •
2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed 1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarters
• • • •
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp black pepper
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2 large eggs
Safflower or vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
1. Using either a food processor with a coarse grating disc or the coarse side of a box grater, grate potatoes and onion. (If using a food processor, halve or quarter potatoes.) Once grated, wrap in a clean dish towel or cheesecloth to wring out as much moisture as possible. 2. Transfer to a mixing bowl and mix in eggs, flour, salt, baking powder, and pepper. 3. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan containing 1/4-inch of oil over medium-high heat. Use a heaping tablespoon to drop batter into the hot pan, working in batches. Use a spatula or spoon to form them into discs. Fry about 5 minutes per side, until deeply browned. 4. Transfer to a paper towel-lined wire rack to drain, and serve alongside applesauce and sour cream.
HOLIDAYS FLURRY FROZEN PENGUIN
WREATH SNOWFLAKE WINTER SLEIGH
COOKIES ORNAMENTS REINDEER STOCKINGS
Inspired by The New York Times
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inside this issue
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Our Holiday Hike
Get to Know Some of Curling’s Best Athletes Been There, Ran That, Got the T-shirt
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Employee Spotlight: Meet Miranda Earl!
Potato Latkes
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The History Behind Christmas Lights
The first string of twinkling lights illuminating your neighbor’s house is always a telltale sign of the upcoming seasonal festivities. Christmas lights are a holiday staple, but have you ever wondered where this beloved tradition started? The tradition of hanging lights on the tree originally started with candles. Because this posed an immense fire hazard, Edward Hibberd Johnson, a close friend of Thomas Edison and vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, vowed to find a better way to decorate Christmas trees with light. In December 1882, three years after Edison’s invention of the lightbulb in November 1879, Johnson hand- wired 80 red, white, and blue lightbulbs together and wound them around a Christmas tree in his parlor window. A passing reporter saw the spectacle and declared in the Detroit Post and Tribune, “One can hardly imagine anything prettier.” Johnson continued this tradition, increasing the number of lights each year and eventually putting them up outside. But because electricity was still a new concept, many years passed before the fad took off for regular Americans. In 1923, President
Calvin Coolidge began the tradition of lighting the National Christmas Tree, which spurred the idea of selling stringed lights commercially. By the 1930s, families everywhere were buying boxes of bulbs by the dozen. Today, an estimated 150 million Christmas lights are sold in America each year, decorating 80 million homes and consuming 6% of the nation’s electricity every December. Whether you’ll be putting up your own lights or appreciating the most impressive light displays in your neighborhood or town, let the glow fill you with joy this season. Just don’t leave them up until February!
WHY DO WE HANG CHRISTMAS LIGHTS? LIGHTUP THENIGHT
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