Hello everyone. It’s newsletter time again! I hope everyone is having a good month. I am though I am really getting weary of the heat. Seems hotter or more humid than normal. Maybe I’m more sensitive to it this year because we were all cooped up last year and I didn’t notice as much. I’m looking forward to a cool down in September or October.
Busy, Busy, Busy. It’s been a busy month with all the new business and opportunities. We have a lot of work on the books, and we are scrambling around making sure we have enough qualified, vaccinated employees to get the work done. I think we have made the point with the need for vaccinations in our 3rd quarter virtual company meeting so I am going to skip discussing COVID here, but please see the recording of the broadcast if you would like to hear it again or missed it on August 6th. Watch the 3rd Quarter Lone Star Communications Company Meeting again. The presenters are visible on the recording. I am still not sure why they were not visible on the live broadcast.
One of the things we discussed during the company meeting was our progress as a company. We have a lot of work on the books and we will see growth this year, at least as long as it does not slow down because of the pandemic and the recent rise of the delta variant. The rise has shut down a couple of projects, but others are unaffected. We are working to keep as many projects going as possible. Our profit sharing will need to move to October unfortunately. We will definitely update everyone as we get closer to a distribution.
30th anniversary party. Arkansas is having its Lone Star 30th year celebration party September 18th. If you can make it to Arkansas for their party, please do. It is going to be a fun time with a lot to do for everybody. Grand Prairie is having the Grand Celebration party on October 23rd, 1pm to 5pm and everyone is invited to that as well. Anyone that is coming from out of town will receive one night paid hotel accommodation to encourage you to come and bring your family. Some employees have already decided it will be a short vacation for them and have extended their stay with our reduced negotiated rate and staying additional nights. There’s a lot to do in DFW and I encourage you to make the most out of the weekend. If you have not reserved a room and want one, please email Dakota (dakota.stowe@lonestarcom.com) in the Grand Prairie office as soon as possible to reserve one. This is going to be an outside meeting so bring a coat just in case. You never know about October; it could be 90 degrees or 50… Our hotel is a pet friendly hotel, but you will have a $50.00 non-refundable deposit if you bring your pet.
Survey. Our 3rd quarter Emplify Employee Engagement survey is coming this month. I know, I know, we just took one, right? Yes, we did, we took an extra survey this year with the survey for the Best Places to Work, so yes, we just did one. I realize you really don’t want to take another one, right? I don’t either to be honest, but these surveys provide critical information that help make us better, so I ask that you take the survey as soon as you can. Per the last survey it was suggested that you wanted to have more time to do the surveys. So, we changed the days of the week to respond to the survey by extending over the weekend and added a day. It will start at 9am on Wednesday September 22nd and run through the end of the day on Wednesday the 29th. Please do it as soon as you can and give good, honest answers, please. Also, please give us advice on how to do things better or different and be specific. You may find it helpful to run some of your ideas past your supervisor during your next 1:1 so they can tell you if something is already in the works on that topic. Remember, we use these surveys to make Lone Star better and for Lone Star to improve processes and policies for you. This is where the newsletter came back into playalong with the weekly update from the COO’s and COO ride-alongs among other changes. Your input makes a huge difference. Thank you in advance for taking the survey, it will give us internal goals for improvement.
Company Theme. This year our company mantra is the “Year of the Employee”. We are emphasizing the Employee at Lone Star, but while doing so we are not deemphasizing the Customer. We all recognize the customer is everything. Without customers we have no business. Without customers we have no income. Without customers we have no need to exist. But at the same time, this is true regarding our employees as well. Without great employees we cannot provide the level of service we have promised and our customers have come to expect. Without great employees we cannot provide the innovation of products that our customers need to improve their processes and provide great service to their customers. Without great employees we don’t have the knowledge to create a more efficient workflows, quality fire alarm systems, or reliable life safety systems in educational facilities. Without great employees we cannot make our communities safer. So, this year, our 30th anniversary year, is the Year of the Employee. This was originally written for the May newsletter, but I think is appropriate to reemphasize just how important our employees are to Lone Star and how proud I am of the tenure of this company. Lone Star Communications has 9 employees with over 25 years with the company, 35 over 20 years, 63 over 15 years, 84 over 10 years and 127 employees with more than 5 years with Lone Star Communications. We need this experience because that is what leads to innovation, quality, consistency, and so forth. This group is the legacy of Lone Star that passes Lone Star traditions, practices and culture to the newer employees. Without tenure we are just another company. Thank you to those that have been here for so many years.
That’s all for now. Let me know if you have any questions about anything going on in Lone Star Communications. Ray
-By Ray Bailey, President
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