We recently celebrated the winding down of 2008, a year full of twists and turns, by holding our annual company Christmas party. Typically a company Christmas party shouldn’t be particularly newsworthy, but with the current state of affairs, it appears that many company Christmas parties fell by the wayside this year.
We seriously contemplated cancelling ours, too. However, after taking a good hard look, the pros far outweighed the cons.
I thought I’d share my Pros and Cons list…
Cons:
1) Cost
Pros:
1) Best way to get all my employees together to THANK them.
2) Best way to celebrate those employees who, when voted by their peers, were honored as being the most outstanding of the year.
3) Best way to show my employees there is hope for a better year.
4) Best way to remind my employees of our successes.
5) Best way for me personally to show my employees and their families how much I appreciate everything they do for our company, for me, for each other and for our community.
As you can see, the pros cinched it! I’m not negating the cost. A Christmas party, with food, drink, awards, bonuses, and gifts for employees and their children is a real expense, that’s a fact. However, the benefit in employee morale is priceless.
With help from a new friend, Keith Allen of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Irvine, and my business partners, (including my wife, Julie), we didn’t just have a company Christmas party, we had an event! The location, the rooms, the food, the entertainment, the decorations, the service, was all better than we imagined and we stayed within our tight budget. The time spent with each of my employees and the closeness we shared together was a gift I will forever treasure. For a few hours we simply had fun. We forgot about the news, the economy and what will happen tomorrow.
One of the highlights of the night for me was the cooperation of my team. We “paid it forward” this year. Light House Ministries is looking for ways to help struggling families. The employees of OC Mazda, on the night of THEIR Christmas party, pledged $4,000.00 to assist Light House Ministries with their endeavors. Julie and I are going to match it. I am proud to report that the employees of OC Mazda will be able to help families who are struggling with huge burdens.
We have a blessed history of donating to our community; in fact, OC Mazda is very close to the half million dollar mark in donations raised throughout our community.
Seeing the enthusiasm my employees showed at THEIR Christmas party, for total strangers, was the number one reason I will continue the tradition of holding the OC Mazda Annual Company Christmas Party.
For OC Mazda, sharing our success, be it large or small, is the very least we can do. Our hope is to always do more by putting the needs of others before our own. This is the very same policy we live by in the way we conduct our daily business and it has served us well.
In closing, I’d like to wish you and yours good health, success, and joy in the upcoming New Year.
Here’s to looking forward to 2009…may it be filled with moments to live for and may it end with an abundance of company Christmas parties!
John Patterson
We seriously contemplated cancelling ours, too. However, after taking a good hard look, the pros far outweighed the cons.
I thought I’d share my Pros and Cons list…
Cons:
1) Cost
Pros:
1) Best way to get all my employees together to THANK them.
2) Best way to celebrate those employees who, when voted by their peers, were honored as being the most outstanding of the year.
3) Best way to show my employees there is hope for a better year.
4) Best way to remind my employees of our successes.
5) Best way for me personally to show my employees and their families how much I appreciate everything they do for our company, for me, for each other and for our community.
As you can see, the pros cinched it! I’m not negating the cost. A Christmas party, with food, drink, awards, bonuses, and gifts for employees and their children is a real expense, that’s a fact. However, the benefit in employee morale is priceless.
With help from a new friend, Keith Allen of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Irvine, and my business partners, (including my wife, Julie), we didn’t just have a company Christmas party, we had an event! The location, the rooms, the food, the entertainment, the decorations, the service, was all better than we imagined and we stayed within our tight budget. The time spent with each of my employees and the closeness we shared together was a gift I will forever treasure. For a few hours we simply had fun. We forgot about the news, the economy and what will happen tomorrow.
One of the highlights of the night for me was the cooperation of my team. We “paid it forward” this year. Light House Ministries is looking for ways to help struggling families. The employees of OC Mazda, on the night of THEIR Christmas party, pledged $4,000.00 to assist Light House Ministries with their endeavors. Julie and I are going to match it. I am proud to report that the employees of OC Mazda will be able to help families who are struggling with huge burdens.
We have a blessed history of donating to our community; in fact, OC Mazda is very close to the half million dollar mark in donations raised throughout our community.
Seeing the enthusiasm my employees showed at THEIR Christmas party, for total strangers, was the number one reason I will continue the tradition of holding the OC Mazda Annual Company Christmas Party.
For OC Mazda, sharing our success, be it large or small, is the very least we can do. Our hope is to always do more by putting the needs of others before our own. This is the very same policy we live by in the way we conduct our daily business and it has served us well.
In closing, I’d like to wish you and yours good health, success, and joy in the upcoming New Year.
Here’s to looking forward to 2009…may it be filled with moments to live for and may it end with an abundance of company Christmas parties!
John Patterson
