Lynn Johnson who works in our Auction office has a very talented grandaughter Kitt Plunkett. Kitt represented Itawamba County this past week and weekend in the Outstanding Teen Pageant in Vicksburg. We are very proud of Kitt and her accomplishments and we know her MiMi is too! – Luke
Balance, peace and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them. – Thomas Kinkade
pride
/prīd/
noun
A feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated.
A couple of weeks ago I went to the Fayette office to do an audit and I was so impressed. I could tell that Christie and Susan try their best to make sure that all our values from our Vision and Values statements are met, and it definitely shows. But I also noticed that they had something that makes them extra special. Pride….they take such pride in their office, their work, their customers, and everything they do. These ladies and the pride they take in their work should inspire us all.
The only lifelong, reliable motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you’ve just done something as well as you can do it.-Lloyd Dobens
Keep up the great work Christie and Susan!
Have a great Tuesday! LaTessa
Our summer outing to Six Flags was a huge success!! Everyone had a blast and the weather was perfect. A HUGE thank you to Luke for giving us the opportunity to go!!
Have a great day! Meredith
I would like to say “Good Luck” to Robb LeBlanc and the gang at Choice Pawn on their grand opening today, but I know you all have put in the time and the effort it takes to be successful. Great job on putting together and mentoring a great team. I look forward to watching your hard work pay off.
-Will
Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Diligence is the mother of good luck.
-Benjamin Franklin
Inspiration is one thing and you can’t control it, but hard work is what keeps the ship moving. Good luck means, work hard. Keep up the good work.
-Kevin Eubanks
Saturday marked the end to a very successful month for Montgomery Enterprises.
First, Money Matters finished last week with impressive numbers compared to budget. Overall, our revenues were well ahead of budget. Way to go!
Secondly, Approved Auto was successful in hitting monthly goals and actually sold a car on Saturday to put them at their sales goal for the month. Thanks for making it happen Approved Team!
Also, Zack and the guys at the shop did a great job this past weekend with the auction. The auction had a sales goal for the day and we ended up beating it by 15%. We were extremely pleased with the results of their hard work.
Finally, Saturday marked the first day Choice Pawn was open in the new building. Although we are still in transition from the old building we are on course to be ready for our grand opening this coming Friday. We expect to have a huge day Friday!
Let’s make June even more successful!!! — Luke
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser like focus.” Bruce Lee
The Choice Pawn team has been hard at work in preparation for the Grand Re-opening of the Fulton location for Friday June 6. The soft opening will be tomorrow in order to take advantage of the auction crowd this weekend.
At Choice Pawn we have formed an absolutely dynamic team that we expect to do great things. The Choice Pawn experience will be like no other in the industry.
Good luck to the crew at Choice Pawn as they begin operations in the new location! — Luke
“Unity is strength. . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” Mattie Stepanek
Sit with children as they play and you will hear a joyful sound: the sound of laughter. Children can be counted on to make fun even out of unpleasant work. What do they know that we have forgotten? They know how to laugh. They know how to add a dimension of playfulness to boring chores. Make a mental survey of people that you find uplifting and fun to be around. What is the common denominator? They know how to laugh and how to have fun. Can laughing and having fun on the job make a difference in the way we do our jobs? Absolutely !
Dr. David Abramis at Cal State Long Beach has studied fun at work for years. He’s discovered that people who have fun on the job are more creative, more productive, better decision-makers, and get along better with co-workers. They also have fewer absentee, late, and sick days than people who aren’t having fun.
Did you know that …
1. The average pre-schooler laughs or smiles 400 times a day? Or that the number drops to only 15 times a day by the time people reach age 35?
2. People smile only 35 percent as much as they think they do?
3. Laughter releases endorphins, a chemical 10 times more powerful than the pain-relieving drug morphine, into the body with the same exhilarating effect as doing strenuous exercise?
4. Every time you have a good hearty laugh,you burn up 3 1/2 calories?
5. Laughing increases oxygen intake, thereby replenishing and invigorating cells? It also increases the pain threshold, boosts immunity, and relieves stress.
Six Reasons that fun can improve work quality and mental health:
1. Fun breaks up boredom and fatigue
2. Fun fulfills human social needs
3. Fun increases creativity and willingness to help
4. Fun fulfills the need for mastery and control
5. Fun improves communication
6. Fun breaks up conflict and tension
In a little over a week, we will be attending our company outing at Six Flags over Georgia. What a great way for everyone to come together, get to know each other a little better, and have lots of fun as a group!
The human race has only one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. The moment it arises, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.” — Mark Twain
Have a great Thursday everyone! -LaTessa
Cayla Lee, the daughter of Candy who works in our Accounting department, graduated from Mooreville High School this past weekend. She is a very beautiful and talented young lady who has a very bright future ahead of her. Candy, I know you are so proud of her!! Congratulations Cayla!!!!!!!!!!
Rachel
The Meaning of Memorial Day
Just as I was getting ready to go get in the pool and get the grill ready for tonight, I paused for a moment to work on my blog for tomorrow. The kids are playing in the neighborhood and the air is thick with the smell of grilling. I wondered how many of those on the lake, at the beach and in the pools understand the sacrifice those have made for us to enjoy the freedoms we have. I found this article from a military widow and wanted to share it with all of you. God bless our Troops and their families. – – Tommy Sims
The Meaning of Memorial Day: A Military Widow Reflects on Life, Loss and Moving Forward
For so many people, Memorial Day is about the start of summer, family cookouts and trips to the beach. And while all those things celebrate the freedoms we all enjoy as Americans, for the families of our fallen troops Memorial Day is deeply personal.
It’s a day when I remember my husband, Army Brigadier General Tom Carroll, who died in Alaska in November 1992 alongside 7 other soldiers during what should have been a routine flight. I remember his dashing good looks, his insightful personality, his love for classic cars and most especially — his smile.
I also remember on Memorial Day the journey through grief that I and thousands of other military families have made. My steps forward since 1992 are intrinsically linked to the death of my husband in service to our great nation. The feelings I carry on Memorial Day are a mixture of pride in his service, joy in remembering him and sorrow over his death — all bundled inside one person.
The months and early years after Tom’s death were hard for me — and for the other families whose loved ones died on that cold mountain. Our lives were blanketed in sorrow and we had to find our way outside the military community and establish what our “new normal” would be.
Our lives had headed down a path none of us had chosen. Yet, here we were living it. When we gathered for the first anniversary of that 1992 crash, we found solace and strength in each other — finding true understanding and peer support.
I undertook two years of research into the support services available for bereaved military families and designed the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) to fill gaps in care.
TAPS provides comfort and care to all those grieving the death of a loved one in military service to America. We offer peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, grief seminars and retreats for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, case work assistance, connections to community-based care, online and in-person support groups and a 24/7 resource and information helpline for all who have been affected by a death in the Armed Forces.
Who would have known back then that because of our work in peacetime that TAPS would stand ready to comfort the families of those who died at the Pentagon on 9/11? And that we would embrace the families of thousands of Americans who paid the ultimate price in Iraq and Afghanistan? TAPS has assisted more than 50,000 people affected by military deaths in combat, training accidents and by suicide.
This may be our last Memorial Day with U.S. combat troops stationed in Afghanistan. And while our nation is moving toward closing the chapter on the Global War on Terror, the reality is that our military families will live with the impact of loss for a lifetime.
It takes on average, 5-7 years for a family to reach a “new normal” after suffering a traumatic loss. Hundreds of children and teens attend our TAPS Good Grief Camp year after year, for help in coping with the loss that they live with every day.
More than 2,400 people will gather this weekend near Washington, DC to participate over Memorial Day weekend in the TAPS National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp. Together, we will remember the love and celebrate the lives of our fallen troops.
For the youngest in the TAPS family, this is special weekend filled with memories of love and pride for a parent or sibling they lost. One of the children who “grew up” attending camp wrote to me recently saying:
I grew up in TAPS. After losing my dad I was able to find other kids who knew how I felt. We learned stuff on how to grieve and I don’t feel that isolated and alone anymore. Now that I am 18 and headed off to college, I want to be there and support those younger kids who are just like I was at 5-years old. I want to give them the same life changing experience I had at TAPS, that chance to wear the red tee shirt, and backpack, and just feel normal for a few days.
Children like Weston, who lost his dad in 2002 during preparation for deployment, show the need for long-term TAPS support services for the families of our fallen military. The needs of these families will go far beyond the end of hostilities. More than 500 school-aged children like Weston will be part of the TAPS Good Grief Camp this weekend. These children are the living legacy of the brave men and women who died while serving our country.
While deaths in war zones are often public and attract attention, our service members lose their lives in peacetime too. They leave behind parents, spouses, siblings, children and a host of people who are deeply affected.
It is my hope, that our nation does not forget our military families who have paid the ultimate price in service to country, when the Afghanistan war draws to a close. We won’t forget them and we stand ready to help — whether a death occurs on the drill field, on foreign soil or here at home.
When I walk into the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day for the official national observances alongside Weston and hundreds of others who have lost a loved one serving our country — I will remember Tom, and so many others who have given so much to this country. We have our freedoms and dreams today — because of their sacrifices. And I will renew my commitment to honor our fallen military troops every day, by continuing the TAPS mission to care for their families.
Won’t you join us?
Bonnie Carroll is a military widow and the founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). Get more information about TAPS at www.taps.org.
I hope you each enjoy your three day weekend. Have a fun and safe Memorial Day. – Louis
A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. – Joseph Campbell
The legacy of heroes is the mrmory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. – Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield)
The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children. – William Harvard
