Written by Lisa Duncan

I wasn’t looking for a new job.  I had a job, one I was comfortable in and I liked what I was doing.  I had been doing my job for 10+ years and the thought of starting over with a new company and in a new role was frightening,  I was happy to just stay where I was.

I was busy going about my daily job duties one day when I got a meeting invite from a peer outside of my organization, the meeting title was “talk”, strange I thought to myself, what could she want?  I accepted the invite and didn’t give it a second thought until the day the meeting was to happen.  I visited her office and we started with the niceties and some casual banter.  Then she got to the point – you need to check out a company; Apex Performance Solutions.  She didn’t come out and say it but I knew she wanted me to check their job listings.  I went home that night and started looking into who this company was and what they had to offer.  I checked out the employee videos posted there, immediately I could feel the passion, the excitement and the commitment that not only the president of the company had but the employees.  I could tell these people were excited about their work and about this company and they were out to make a difference!  The attitude they have of giving people the chance they need to get their career started off spoke to me, it’s an attitude I feel more companies should adopt.  I could tell this was a company that cared about its people and wanted to have a culture where their employees could thrive.  Apex also wanted to make a difference in the community with their non-profit org Tech Is Good; this is awesome I thought!

I went about applying and interviewing for an available role.  Thinking to myself if I don’t get this, no big deal, I’m glad to have the job that I do.  In the back of my mind however I was extremely hopeful; I wanted to work for this company! It wasn’t long after my interview that I got a call from Diane offering me the role.  Nobody knows this but I did a dance while I was talking to her on the phone, I was thrilled!  I was more than excited to be working for what I felt would be and is a great company.  The day before my start date I went to pick up my laptop thinking I would just get the computer and a power cord and scrounge for whatever else I needed.  Instead, and much to my surprise, I was presented with a laptop bag which contained everything I needed to do my job! To say I was impressed is an understatement.  From the very beginning this company was setting me up for success and this wasn’t the last of the help I have received from them.

My experience onboarding with Apex was seamless. I had what I needed when I needed it.  I’ve also never seen the president of a company be so involved and constantly in touch with what is happening within the organization.  Kurt wants to make sure his employees are happy and you can feel that from him.  He will always ask, “how are things?” “do you need anything?” “can I do anything for you?”  and the best part is that he means it. I’ve been presented with opportunities to grow, learn and stretch myself.  I know I have a great support team in Kurt and Diane as well as my direct team and all the others who make this company a success.  Apex is great at being resourceful, if someone on your immediate team doesn’t know how to resolve an issue there is likely someone within the org who does and even if they aren’t on your team they will make time to meet with you and teach you what you need to know.

My team in particular has to work a lot of hours and really late during month/quarter closes.  How great is it that when we were prepping they asked us what snacks we wanted brought in? What? You are going to supply us with all the carbs and sugar we need to get through this? Yes! And trust me those snacks were appreciated! As we were working really late one night the team was joking about needing team shirts.  One of the team members sketched out a logo on the white board; I took a picture of it and asked if we could get team shirts.  The immediate answer was, Yes!  I feel like Apex does the little things for their employees and they know it’s those little things that make a difference.  Working for Apex has been nothing but a positive experience for me. I’m so excited to be part of this company.  People ask me if I like my job, “Like my job? I love my job!” I know that it’s not just the job but Apex itself that makes me passionate about what I do and committed to seeing the company succeed.

Traveling has always been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. Once I began traveling the world in college, I established a goal to visit as many countries as possible throughout my lifetime. Through this goal, I discovered World Heritage Sites.

UNESCO, an agency of the United Nations, provides a list of cultural and natural sites around the world. The purpose of these sites is to encourage protection and preservation of natural and culture heritage around the world. These sites are identified by UNESCO based on a list of 10 criteria and are protected under the treaty, “Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.” There are 936 World Heritage sites identified to date and are spread all throughout the world. I have made it my own personal travel goal to visit as many of these sites as possible. I find myself planning vacations around them, usually to the dismay of the travel companions, and I can’t wait to visit as many as I can!

I have been able to visit several of these sites, however I recently visited my first one in Mexico. Sian Ka’an, located on the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula and right outside of the city of Tulum, is a biosphere that contains tropical forests, marshes, and a large marine section intersected by a barrier reef.

This particular area was designated a World Heritage Site based on its superlative natural phenomena and exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance as well as for containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.

I found this area to be absolutely stunning! Large pale blue lagoons, jungles to hike through, Mayan ruins to explore and cenotes to dive into. Cenotes are characteristic of the Yucatan Peninsula and are natural sinkholes created by the collapse of limestone. Definitely one of the cooler attributes of the area, it allowed us to swim in a deep cave environment which I had never done before!

I began my tour of Sian Ka’an by stopping by the visitor’s center. There they supplied brochures and activities that you can do around the area. I could not believe it when I read the prices on the brochures for kayaking and boat tours! They wanted $90/person to rent a kayak and $110/person to take a boat tour! It was laughable, and so I left, but the visitor’s center at least had a nice view of the preservation area.

I instead found a trail that led into the jungle and took me to a lonely looking cabana that overlooked a large lagoon. I could not believe how peaceful the area was and not a person in site. I drank my Corona that I had gotten from the visitor’s center and continued on.

There are tons of Mayan ruins in the area that can be explored, but with the heat, I only took a few pictures and moved onto the next thing on my list: cenote swimming.

My favorite cenote that I visited had a depth of around 150 feet and a single ladder to climb up from once you had jumped in. Inside were a couple rope swings to hold on to, as there was no shallow area to stand. Once inside, I was able to swim around to the edges of the cavernous void and admire the sparrows flying in and out of cave walls. Fish were swimming all around my legs and light peered in through the porous ceiling. It was absolutely gorgeous and I have never experienced anything quite like it!

My time in Sian Ka’an was short-lived but well worth it. Another World Heritage Site checked off my list and I can’t wait to explore more! I always encourage others to look into these sites when traveling, and sometimes they’re even in your own backyard. A list of all the sites can be found at the link below. Happy travels!

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

[Show as slideshow]

Everyone has something simple that completely eludes them, despite knowing what they should do, mine is playing E_flat. I have been playing guitar for 45 years and yet I still avoid songs that are written in E_flat. I have spent many hours of my life transposing songs to a different key so I didn’t have to play E_flat.

Why is quite simple, when I taught myself to play guitar I couldn’t get the hang of playing barre chords. I was too impatient to get on and play a complete song and those barre chords always broke the rhythm and didn’t sound right. For those people who don’t play guitar, barre chords are where the guitarist has to hold down their forefinger across all the strings. It’s a frustrating and often painful experience for new guitarists. I even consoled myself by wondering if anyone thought guitarists where making a rude sign with that ‘finger’ when the camera zoomed in on their left hand….

Now years later I wonder if I would have been a better guitarist if only… I’d taken the time to get that skill mastered early on.  But then I might have got frustrated and given up altogether, which I didn’t and I would have missed out on all the experiences I’ve had and friends I’ve made through playing guitar.

So I didn’t play E_flat , I did get to play in the resident band of the Cambridge University Union Cellars Folk Club. I did play at Colchester folk club on the same stage that Simon & Garfunkel had played on a couple of weeks earlier.

And a couple of years ago I had one of those moments when it all made sense. My daughter asked me to play Your Song for the first dance at her wedding.

I rarely play the same song exactly the same way or often not in the same key or on the same guitar. But that was one song I practiced. I had to play it on my son’s guitar as I was flying back to the UK for the wedding. I also had to practice it remotely with one of my daughter’s friends who was going to accompany me. We had just a couple of run-throughs to get it right and I kept changing one of the breaks between the verses. That doesn’t matter when you are playing solo, but it does matter when you are playing with someone else who also really wanted my daughter to have a great song for her first dance…

I don’t really remember all the details of that day it was pretty emotional. I do remember singing the line “this song is for you” and seeing my daughter in her beautiful white dress looking up at her new husband.

I don’t play Your Song very often now at home, because when I get it right it’s one of those hairs on the back of my neck moments.  If I’d let those early challenges demotivate me I wouldn’t have that precious memory, I’m glad there is no E_flat in Your Song.

[Show as slideshow]

I think I first met the leprechaun sometime in 1985.  I was working at a local sub shop and was in the middle of preparing the place for a busy Saturday lunch rush.  While slicing up a piece of pressed and flaked ham, I heard the unmistakable whoosh of air as one of the side doors opened.  It was only 9:00 am, we weren’t scheduled to open for another hour and I was there by myself.  I was sure I’d locked that door after letting myself in.  I turned around in a panic, thinking I would find myself face to face with an armed robber.  Instead, what I saw was a shabby little man wearing a stocking cap with wild hair sticking out everywhere, a greasy, stained jacket, pants three sizes too big held onto his skinny frame with a piece of packing twine, and mismatched shoes that had not been out of a dumpster for very long.  As our eyes met, he flashed a smile with teeth that were as brilliant as he was shabby, and his bright blue eyes twinkled with genuine friendliness.

“Can I help you?” I asked, still a bit on edge.  My first impression was that I was talking to a 5 foot 2 inch half-man/half-primate.  That impression was further confirmed as he extended a completely thumb-less right hand.  The fingernails, on his remaining fingers, were dirty, and the severely creased and calloused skin resembled a monkey’s paw.  Repulsed, but afraid of being rude, I shook what was left of his hand then quickly pulled away.

“Hello there my kind friend,” he said in a flawless Irish accent.  “My name is Tommy Flannigan and I’m the last living leprechaun.  If you’d be so kind as to let me wash your windows for a mere two dollars, I’d be obliged to grant you one wish.” I smiled despite myself as I considered his offer.  My first thought was that there were a lot of windows in this place; two entire walls-full from ceiling to floor, and two bucks to clean them all was a really good deal.  “Inside and out?” I asked, hoping for the big score.  “Hmmm,” he said, pondering the request, “This is quite a big place here, but I’ll make you a bargain:  Spare me a bite to eat and a spot of coffee and I’ll not only do the job but I will grant you a second wish.”  “Deal,” I blurted out.  Sure, I’d let the little nut cake clean all the windows for two bucks, a sandwich, and a cup of coffee.  That would free up about an hour of cleaning time for me.  The leprechaun disappeared outside for a minute or two and came back with a grimy bucket, a squeegee, and a rag and began his task.  Convinced he was harmless, I returned to my duties of preparing the sub shop for the day’s business.

About 30 minutes passed and a couple of employees sleepily wandered in to start their shifts.  “Who’s the vagrant?” they asked.  “That’s Tommy,” I replied.  “He’s our own personal window-washing leprechaun.”  They chuckled and went about their chores.  Shortly before 10:00 am, the leprechaun let me know he was done and I went out to inspect his efforts.  I had never seen the windows so clean.  Without the reflections of the overhead fluorescent lights I would have sworn I was looking through clear air.  True to our bargain, I fixed the leprechaun a sandwich from leftover bread and cold cuts, poured a cup of coffee, and let him eat at a corner table far from where any paying customers would sit.  A short time later, Tommy approached me and asked if there was anything else he could do.  I told him that I didn’t think so and paid him the two dollars I owed him out of my own pocket.  He took the money, quickly put it away in a leather pouch he kept around his neck, and proceeded to stand there and look up at me.  I nervously looked away and back again.  “Is there something wrong?” I asked.  “You’ve been true to your word,” Tommy replied, “And now it is time for me to live up to mine.  I owe you two wishes and I can’t leave until I know you’ve made them.” I don’t know about you, but I’d never been called upon to make spontaneous wishes by a window-washing leprechaun.  So I stood there sheepishly for a minute, aware that the other employees were watching me too.  “You’re serious?” I asked.  “As the Irish day is long,” he replied.  So I scrunched up my face, closed my eyes, and actually made a couple of small wishes, mainly just to break the uncomfortable silence and get him to leave.  Apparently satisfied with my efforts, Tommy the leprechaun reached into his pocket and pulled out two small stones. “These stones represent your wishes,” he said.  “Don’t lose them and touch them often.  Maybe our paths will cross again one day.”  He smiled and left as I stood there grinning and holding my magic stones.

As it turned out our paths did cross often.  He came back to the sub shop over the next few months and would always seem to show up just as I was thinking of him.  It was always the same thing; wash the windows and I’ll grant you a wish.  As I got to know him a little more, I found that his unexpected visits really brightened my day.  He never had a harsh thing to say and he always whistled a happy tune as he went about his work.  I did notice, however, that he appeared to endure periodic health problems, sometimes coming in with sunken cheeks, a bad cough, and even less meat on his already thin frame.  But his blue eyes were always bright and he went about his job with apparent pride and joy.  I accumulated quite a pile of lucky stones.  About a year or so after our first meeting, I left the sub shop to take a job at a gourmet deli and, sadly, it appeared that the days of the leprechaun were gone.

1991 – Five Years Later.  Wings ‘N’ Things had been open for about four years and I was having a rough time.  It was the middle of winter, business was slow, and the bills just kept coming.  One cold January afternoon, I was dejectedly wiping crumbs off a back table when I heard the door whoosh open and cold air spilled in.  I turned around, grateful for a customer, and came face to face with Tommy the leprechaun.  He looked at me with a sense of recognition but I knew he couldn’t place me.  “How’s it going Tommy?” I asked. “I know you, sir,” he said, inspecting me with sparkling blue eyes, “But I don’t know from where.”  I reminded him of the sub shop and it all came back to him.  We exchanged pleasantries and I fixed him some coffee.  Things were apparently looking up for the leprechaun as he was driving a beat-up, white, 1970’s Monte Carlo.  His clothes were old but they were clean and his personal hygiene was the best I’d ever smelled it.  We sat and talked for a while and I learned he was concentrating his entrepreneurial efforts in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area.  It was warmer there, he explained, and the work was more consistent.

Finally, I said, “Tommy, I really could use a window-washing.”  The windows still had Christmas decorations painted on them and I always dreaded scraping them off when it was so cold outside.  “Oh, I gave up the window-washing a couple of years ago,” he replied.  “Not enough money in it.  I make balloon animals and do magic tricks for kids outside of shopping malls now.”  “Oh,” I replied, a bit despondently, “Well, wait here a minute, I want to show you something.”  I walked back to my office and dug out a small box that I had almost forgotten about.  I came back to the table, sat across from Tommy, and opened it.  Inside were all of the stones he had given me from the time I worked at the sub shop.  “I don’t really know why I kept these.” I said. “I guess in starting a business from scratch I needed any luck I could find.”  “Aye and I’m sure you did,” he agreed.  “Tell you what,” he continued.  “For old times’ sake, I’ll do your windows for five dollars but I’ll need to use your bucket, your soap, and your rags.”  I thought that was a bit steep compared to the old days, but what the heck.  I filled up a bucket with warm soapy water, gave him a couple of clean towels, and let him go to work.  The leprechaun began whistling his same happy tune and did his job with pride and joy.  I immediately felt my spirits rise and a sense of hopefulness began to replace my previously melancholy mood.

Figuring he would be a while, I went into the kitchen to do some lunch dishes.  About 20 minutes later, I went out to check on his progress, but Tommy was gone.  The bucket was standing by the front door, most of the soapy water was gone, and the rags sat soaked on the bottom.  The windows were spotless, as I knew they would be, and I realized, with some shame, that I hadn’t had the opportunity to pay him…or to say goodbye.

My lousy mood quickly returned as I shuffled aimlessly around the empty dining room until I came to the table where we last sat together.  The box was still there, but all of the magic stones were gone.  In their place was a really ugly red balloon contorted into the shape of a dog, a 1902 ten dollar gold piece, and a note which read:

True to his prediction, the restaurant became busy again a short time later and it continued to grow.  I never saw Tommy again after that cold day in January, but the luck of the last living leprechaun lives on.

Ask me about my lucky gold coin and I’ll show it to you.

Kurt

Seven months, 215 days, or over 5,000 hours ago, I had the opportunity to launch the Boise practice of Apex Performance Solutions.  As I look back I think; “Wow – what an adventure”.   From the first contact with Dannea at the Chamber of Commerce to meeting a Star Wars character (more about that later…), it has been quite the ride.

Starting a practice from the ground up is daunting.  I usually approach challenges in a methodical manner – often answering who, what, when, where and how to develop an approach.    How to make the Apex name and brand more well-known with decision makers?  What connections to make with business and community organizations?   Who are the companies that make good clients?

Allow me to reminisce for a few moments about some of my favorite experiences.

Roaming the Boise foothills at 6 AM on a warm August morning; it doesn’t get much better than that.   As part of the introduction of Apex to Idaho, I spent the morning with my son being recorded for my Apex introduction video.   Exploring the trails and of course watching out for snakes is a great way to wake up.

Oh, the first client meeting!  Through the good fortune of a friend at one of the big tech companies in Boise, I got a meeting with a few of that company’s IT managers.  Telling the story of Apex – our history, what we do and how we add value was a great way to meet some new friends and hopefully establish a future client.

The most recent event where I presented Apex to the Idaho community was at the Business and Technology Expo.  Because this is a premier event for creating business to business relationships, I was excited to showcase Apex and introduce Apex’s owner, Kurt Frohlich, to the community.   Sharing knowledge is also one of the tenets for the Expo and I was given a speaking slot to do so.  Sharing change management best practices with others was intriguing, if not a bit nerve-wracking.  Participants raised good questions and it was nice to meet other business people who struggle with similar challenges.

So now how does Star Wars fit into all this?   At the second day of the Expo, a Star Wars Imperial Storm Trooper was seen roaming the Expo floor.   Naturally, having grown up with Star Wars, a chance to get a photo with a Trooper was a must do for yours truly.

Looking forward to next year’s Expo – - maybe I’ll meet Chuck Norris!?  One can hope.

Brian Russell - Business Development Manager, Idaho

[Show as slideshow]

12►

Written by:  Kurt Frohlich

Ten years is a long time, but went by in just a blink.  Every November finds me reminiscing because of the Thanksgiving Day holiday that’s coming quickly, and the fact that this is the month in which Apex was founded.

I’m sitting at our dining room table and scanning my surroundings, taking stock of where we’ve been and what’s taken place over the last ten years.

From a technology standpoint:

• The TV is bigger and flat;
• A DVR records our favorite shows for viewing when we want to and replaces the VHS player that used to be there;
• An iPod charges in the spot where a cassette player/CD/radio “boom box” used to be;
• I’m typing this on a laptop that I carry with me everywhere and replaces the old PC tower from 10 years ago;
• My cell phone has almost as much computing power as my laptop, and has become both a blessing and a curse in our 24X7 connected world;
• Photos that decorate our walls were uploaded for digital printing where they used to be printed from film

But perhaps the most striking changes are personal, given how our family has changed in ten years.  In 2001, I was in my mid-thirties and had more dark hair than gray, and now the opposite is true.  Our oldest daughter, Amanda, was just eight years old then and now she’s a freshman at Oregon State, blazing her own trail as a young adult.  Our youngest, Amber, is now fourteen; old photos from ten years ago showing blond ringlets and a gap-toothed smile.  Today, she’s a high school freshman, a stand-out volleyball player, and almost as tall as I am (she shot past her mom a year ago).  My wife, Dawn, has matured gracefully and looks 10 years younger than she really is.  She’s our rock and the reason our girls have turned out as well as they have.   She also keeps me on an even keel.

Professionally, Apex enjoys continued success through the hard work and dedication of its employees and leadership team.  Since 2001, Apex has employed 97 people who all left their marks and propelled us to where we are today. We’re also fortunate for long-standing client relationships that are the “bread and butter” of our existence – and we’ve done great things together over the last ten years.

Some other notable milestones for Apex include incremental improvements to our brand and marketing focus.  We’re now on our third website, and check out how our logo has changed over the years:

Ten years; a milestone and a blink.  Many thanks again to our employees, our clients, and most importantly, to my family for the support required to make and keep a company successful for a decade. I can only imagine how fast the next ten years will go by, and look forward to accomplishing even greater things during that time.

All the best, and a ten year anniversary toast to you!

Kurt Frohlich – President

By now I hope you realize how much I love my job as Miss Rodeo Nevada. You might be wondering though, is it really a job? Isn’t it all just fun and games? To some, I’m sure it seems like it! Constantly traveling to new place and meeting new people is fun but it is so much more than that. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to read my past blog about the duties of a rodeo queen as we travel. Our duties are very reminiscent of a job and in fact, many of these skills gained as a rodeo queen translate into real world career competencies.

Take for example public speaking. Public speaking is more feared than death and I don’t find that hard to believe. Speaking in front of a group of people, regardless of the topic, can be intimidating!  However, as a rodeo queen public speaking is something we do often so being comfortable in front of an audience is critical. Especially when we are dealing with animal welfare issues, it’s vital that we can articulate our points clearly and confidently. This is not a skill gained over night but instead comes with years of practice. During rodeo queen contests, queens are required to give a prepared speech (usually 2-5 minutes in length) on a rodeo topic. We also answer a variety of questions that can vary in topic from local, state, or national current events, social issues, politics, rodeo facts, rodeo statistics, rodeo cowboys, rodeo rules, equine knowledge…. well you get the idea. Being able to give a memorized speech is equally as important as being able to answer impromptu questions. This competency comes into play in everyday business. Whether having a casual conversation with a potential client, to making a pitch to upper level leadership, public speaking is something we all come across. I’ve often said that I was able to be successful in my internship because of the public speaking skills I learned as a rodeo queen.  And it doesn’t end there!

Even the horsemanship skills I’ve gained this year translate into job experience. As a state rodeo queen it’s not always practical or feasible to travel with your own horse to rodeos. So many of us borrow horses we’ve never ridden before. This means you could be on a very experienced horse (otherwise known as a baby-sitter) or you could be on a very inexperienced horse! The latter is much more challenging but every horse has a personality much like a human. This means they have their own quirks and ticks. In essence, you never know what is going to happen. Not only has riding all of these different horses made me a better horsewoman, it’s made me better equipped to handle tough situations in the work place. Being able to go with the flow and take anything that comes my way has made me a better employee. It gives me the confidence to know that there is nothing I can’t handle.

My next big adventure as Miss Rodeo Nevada is to compete against the 28 other state rodeo queens for the national title of Miss Rodeo America. The competition takes place in December in Las Vegas, NV in conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). If you are a rodeo fan and you’ve never been to the NFR, I highly recommend adding it to your bucket list. During this year’s pageant I will be judged on a variety of different things that include my appearance, my personality, my horsemanship ability, my public speaking skills in both an impromptu and a prepared setting, and my rodeo knowledge. It can be a stressful undertaking but I feel confident that the skills I’ve developed this year will help make the experience a good one! I love challenging myself to become a better person and I know I’m a better person today because of my rodeo queen journey. I hope you all find something that challenges you in a similar manner than continues to push you towards becoming a better version of you. Because at the end of the day, who couldn’t use some improvement? Certainly not me!

Ann Clemmitt - Project Manager

[Show as slideshow]

‘Twas the day of the cook-off, and all through Apex,

Our mouths were watering, for ribs from the fest!

The laptops were shut down, the printers were quiet.

We could wait until next week, to start our new diet!

The sun was quite hot, and the smokers were flamin’,

But thanks to Great Basin, the shade we were claimin’!

Our peeps were all there, packed in nice and snug;

Jason, Toni, Nicole, Hilary, Mishka and Doug.

The ribs, they were juicy, the beef was fork tender,

The sauce was so spicy, our taste buds surrendered!

I swilled diet coke, Amy nibbled on greens,

Anne gnawed on grilled corn; Kelly scooped up baked beans.

We ate and we drank, and we toasted our boss,

And when we were done, we passed ‘round dental floss!

Our fingers were greasy, our bellies were full,

Conversation was flowing; with hardly a lull.

Then Kurt, with a satisfied nod of his head,

Looked ‘round and saw that we’d all been well fed.

And though we’d had fun, and enjoyed this great perk,

We knew it was time, to head back to our work.

Now David!  Now Cyndy!  Now, Shelly and Van!

On Orland! On Karin! On, Seth and Diane!

And we’re all off to Vassar or MSLI!

Every Apex lady and every Apex guy!

For me, an employee, so new to this gig,

I thought to myself, that this must be rigged.

From baseball to barbeques, to luncheons from Dee’s ,

There is nowhere, than Apex, that I’d rather be,

And to those of you Apexers, who could not be there,

Get pumped for the 24^th annual cook-off next year!

So thanks to the Frohlich’s! From employees, old and new,

You’re the best, Kurt and Dawn, our ‘ribs off’ to you!

Alane Schnelker - Office Manager

[Show as slideshow]

12345►

Imagine my surprise when a few short weeks into my time with Apex I get asked to participate in the Microsoft Licensing /Boys and Girls Club benefit Golf tournament at Red Hawk.  As the date approached I prepared with a couple trips to the practice range to hone my skills.  Don’t be fooled by my use of the word skills though.  At best I am a hack golfer who picked up the game in college and just loves the opportunity to get out on the links with friends.

Well, I woke up to a beautiful day for golf on Friday the 19^th and headed for Red Hawk.  After checking in a donning my free Nike golf shoes, quite the spiffy black pair I headed for the practice range to warm up.  I soon realized it was going to be a long day as large tufts of sod left the tee with my first practice swings but hey it’s a golf day, I’m going to have fun.   As 8 AM rolled around we headed out to the course and started our round.  First shot, pressure on, I go a little left but am happy with my distance.  Off to the lady’s tee for Bea, Cyndy and Shelly to send off their first drive.  Let’s just say in the scramble format we were playing (best ball used for each shot) I picked up my ball and went to the point of a much better drive by one of the ladies for our second shot.  As the day went on fun was had and laughs were plentiful.  I got a hold of a few nice shots and dropped a few in the many water hazards.  On the Apex sponsored hole we took a break for pictures and spent a little time goofing off for the camera.  After enjoying a fantastic lunch we wrapped up our day and all agreed to get together for another round of fun soon.  How did we do?  Our score wasn’t the best or the worst if you have to know.  As for a score on fun, friendship and a beautiful day off golf I’d say we did pretty good…maybe even First place!  Thanks Kurt and Apex for a wonderful day! Enjoy the photos.

Cheers,

Van Fortier – IT Project Manager

[Show as slideshow]