MEETING MINUTES
Friday, July 22, 2011
Volume 18; Issue 26

Member Spotlight
This week's spotlight is Ryan Bohlander.  Please keep this member top of mind this week for referrals. 

What Makes a Good Employee (Trait/Characteristics)?

• Ryan Bohlander - Dependable

• Janice Jaicks - Likes what they do, excited about the business

• Terry Schnelle - Dedicated

• Nick Carr - Courteous and patient

• Chris Curran - I will settle for mediocre

• Dave Crissman - Resourceful, can make decisions

• Sandro - Honesty

• Brad - Dedicated

• Jeff Sutherlin - Decision maker, ownership mentality

• Don Ellis - Get it right the first time

• Joe Zingale - Proper personality (Cancerous people bring down entity)

• Herb Stokes - An employee that can be a step ahead of me (I'm scatter-brained)

• Jim Bache - Reliability

• Phyllis Prater - Honesty is huge, creditable and loyal

• Erin LaGrassa - Reliability and integrity

• Jake Ulrich - A duplicate of me!  Someone that follows instructions

• Joe Burr - Attention to detail

Closing thought from Sandra Menasci, "Don't make it a paycheck.  Make it an incentive."

Special Meeting - A Visit to Polestar Distribution
Thank you to Erin LaGrassa and the gang at Polestar Distribution for hosting today's meeting.

In 2003, Erin LaGrassa lived in California when she got "that call".  Paul had met a skater from the 70's that designed a truck (axle that holds the wheels to the board).  He was about to go bankrupt.  Paul took over his inventory and started selling out of his mom's garage.  He was doing well and needed help charging customers, etc.  Erin stepped in to do this.  Her dad soon became an investor in the company.  The office was still in California at this time.  It was fun, all their friends were working for them. 

They started to expand.  They created a new entity, Polestar, that focused on wheels.  They needed to reduce overhead so in 2005 Paul moved to Arizona.  He lived at Erin's parent's house for the first 8-months.  This is when they began producing their own wheel.  They make a high-end, expensive product for the Pro rider segment.   They also work with the private label segment using others artwork. 

In 2006 the industry started crashing.  Everyone wanted cheap quality.  They held in and moved into their new warehouse.  They continued to expand their lines.  They got into long-boarding.  These are completely assembled in China.  Very high quality.  This industry is huge with a bigger demographic. 

They currently have 5 different revenue streams and acts as manufacturer, distributor, and wholesaler.

Now they are trying to build their team, bringing the right people on board.  Jason runs warehouse.  Ryan is doing all of our social media.  They are hiring another person today to assist Jason.  They are on an upward slope and trying to work their smartest.  They are the model company in this industry.  They continue to evolve and incorporate new technologies. 

Jason went over each line and explained the role each played in their business.