VanMeveren's online newsletter for December 2017
Foundations 9 7 0
Justice for Victims
October marked the 15th anniversary of VanMeveren Law Group. As the old saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun! Of course, mixed in with the fun is a lot of hard work and determination in the name of our clients. As you may know, I didn’t start my career on the side of the victim. After nearly 10 years of working for insurance companies as a defense attorney, I came to the realization that it did not sit well with me to attack people who were injured due to the negligence of the people I was defending. I saw a system that worked against those who were injured. And, to add insult to injury, the victims of negligent acts were often victimized again by insurance companies that would do anything to avoid paying the victim. While I found success as a defense attorney, it didn’t feel right. My sole purpose in establishing VanMeveren Law Group was to ensure that my injured clients were not victimized or taken advantage of by insurance companies, their adjusters, or their attorneys. Since opening our doors 15 years ago, I’ve worked hard to instill this purpose in each of our attorneys and legal assistants. I owe our attorneys and legal assistants a huge debt of gratitude. They have helped our clients over the years and worked together with a true spirit of cooperation, sympathy, and understanding. Today, our desire to level the playing field for our clients has never been stronger. And to better serve our clients, we’ve added awesome new attorneys and legal assistants to our team — people you
will get to know over the next few months as a special feature in the newsletter. This month, for instance, you’ll meet Katie Wooding, my loyal legal assistant who manages the front office. She brings a kind, calm, and friendly demeanor to the office and to every aspect of helping clients. Not only has she made my life easier, but she also has had a profound impact on many of our clients. Be sure to read her profile inside. My role within the firm has certainly shifted over the years. I’m not always on the front lines of every case, but I’m available, and every person in our firm can lean on me. You can rest assured our standards will never waver as we work as hard as ever to obtain the best possible outcome for every client. This isn’t to say we sue every negligent individual and ask for a million-dollar settlement. Rather, the team meets as part of a “mastermind” group. We gather every week to discuss the best plan for each and every client. Why take this approach? As the great writer Napoleon Hill stated, “The human mind is a form of energy, a part of it being spiritual in nature. When the minds of two people are coordinated in a spirit of harmony, the spiritual units of energy of each mind form an affinity, which constitutes the ‘psychic’ phase of the Master Mind.” I’m proud to say that our mastermind has the combined legal experience of over 100 years. This experience allows us to guide our clients through the murkiest waters of personal injury and insurance law.
–Bryan VanMeveren
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Santa Tracking Goes High-Tech
It’s almost Christmas, and if you have small kids, you know what that means: prepping for the arrival of a jolly man in a red suit and his confusingly named reindeer. Some of us may remember spending Christmas Eve curled on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa as radio reports tracked Santa’s trip around the globe. But these days, kiddos have gotten a little more high-tech in their search for up-to-date, GPS-driven Kringle updates. First, there’s the Google Santa Tracker (santatracker.google.com), a full-fledged holiday hub for your browser powered by Google Maps, including, of course, an up-to-the-minute GPS tracker for the big man. The application arrived in 2004, and it’s been updated every year since. During the countdown to Christmas, there’s a colorfully animated advent calendar of sorts, where buildings around Santa’s village “thaw out” and reveal a host of fun games and activities. There’s even a section titled “Santa Tracker for Educators,” which includes kid-friendly coding games, information on international holiday traditions, and a translation
app to “learn the Santa lingo from around the world.”
also features videos, so you and your little ones can see clips of Santa flying around major landmarks and world cities. Just don’t stay up too late watching them. You don’t want Santa to skip over your house!
When the eve of the big day finally comes, Google promises a showcase of Santa’s “dashboard, the technology that powers his sleigh during his around-the-world journey.” Featuring “the latest and greatest … in sleigh engineering,” the app displays a Google Maps window that tracks each of Santa’s stops, gives status updates from Old Saint Nick, and tells kids how far he is from their city. It’s a colorful, fun adventure for the whole family. Of course, Google’s not the only kid on the Santa- tracking block. There’s also NORAD Tracks Santa, operated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the same organization that tracks nuclear missiles for the government. Similar to Google, noradsanta.org includes a variety of fun games and activities leading up to Christmas. But unlike Google, NORAD has a dedicated Santa-tracking app for your
phone, where you can see a 3-D view of Santa’s location during his trip. The app
Testimonial:
“Bryan has represented my wife and me for two injury accident claims. His expertise,
professionalism, and legal counsel is second to none. In both situations, we were very satisfied with the results and outcome of our claims, and we felt we were represented in the most professional manner possible. My wife and I strongly recommend Bryan VanMeveren.” –Personal injury client
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The Face of the Front Desk Katie Wooding is often the first person in the office every morning. She gets things ready to go. She’s also one of the first people you talk to when you call us or visit the office. In many ways, she is the face of the firm. Katie helps keep us organized and on the ball. Just about every day, she filters through client files and makes sure everything is accurate and up-to-date. It’s client care at its finest.
Before Katie joined the team in 2014, her perspective on personal injury was very different. “I had no idea what was in my own insurance policy or what to do if I was in an accident.” And since day one, it’s been a learning experience for Katie, but she has learned a lot. Her favorite aspect of the job? Helping people. Working at a law firm, we’re in a unique position. People often come to us after they’ve been in an accident or injured. Their life isn’t what it was. We get to help them correct that, at least some of the way. That’s what makes it all worth it for Katie. Out of the office, Katie tries to get outdoors as much as possible. In any season, she and her husband can find an excuse to go outside and take in nature. They also have a cat and a dog, and Katie says the dog makes a wonderful hiking companion, but the cat not so much. When she isn’t enjoying the great outdoors around Fort Collins, Katie spends time with family, relaxing and catching up with college basketball.
With Peanut Sauce
Recipe courtesy of PaeloLeap.com.
Ingredients
Peanut sauce: •
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk ¾ cup unsweetened peanut butter
• • • • •
1 medium spaghetti squash
• • • • • •
Olive oil
¼ cup coconut sugar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons white vinegar
Salt
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup chopped parsley 2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons red curry paste
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Halve squash and scoop out seeds. 2. Drizzle inside of squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place squash on baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes. 3. Let cool. Using a fork, scrape out spaghetti squash strands. 4. Place sauce ingredients in
and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. 5. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, parsley, and ¼ of the peanut sauce and combine. 6. Add spaghetti squash and crushed peanuts. Stir to combine until heated through, about 2 minutes. Once served, drizzle with more peanut sauce.
saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
Inside
GET OUT IN FORT COLLINS ThisWinter CandyCaneScavengerHunt Dec. 23 through Jan. 7 Old Town Library 201 Peterson St Fort Collins, CO 80524 Ring out the old year in downtown Fort Collins! Bring the whole family and celebrate the year gone and the year to come with food, music, art, street performances, and more. Between 5:30 and 10 p.m., seven downtown venues will play host to over 30 separate performances. At 9:30 p.m., the
Need to keep the kids entertained during their winter break? Take them to the library! Be on the lookout for 12 candy canes. You’ll find them hidden away at the Old Town Library, Council Tree Library, and Harmony Library. Find them all and win a prize. It’s a great way to get out of the house, explore our local libraries, and just get active. Visit any of the three libraries for more information and for a game sheet. FirstNight FortCollins 2018 Sunday, Dec. 31 Downtown Fort Collins 19 Old Town Square Fort Collins, CO 80524
fireworks begin. The event is free and open to the public. For more, see downtownfortcollins.com/ events/first-night-fort-collins. PolarBearRunandPlunge Saturday, Jan. 20
reservoir and through the foothills above Fort Collins, then warm up with a hot chocolate or Horsetooth Hot Sauce bloody mary. Bring friends and family and make a day of it. For complete details and to register, visit frontrangefreeze.com/polarbear.
Horsetooth Reservoir 4200 County Rd 38 E Fort Collins, CO 80526
There’s nothing quite like a brisk run on a crisp winter morning. On Jan. 20, set out on a 5K, a 1-mile, or a polar plunge — or do a run and plunge! Run around the
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