Welcome to the digital format of Focal Pointe News and Notes. We hope that you enjoy receiving the newsletter in this format.
Message from John:
Focal Pointe Team,
Every time I sat down to write a “Message from John” last year, my optimism was always tempered by the uncertainty caused by COVID. I often turned to my “go-to” source of inspiration to find the positives of the year to write about, which of course, is you, the team we’ve built, and the progress we’re making.
As I sit down tonight, I’m pleased to share with you the kind of news that provides energy from the outside. Something to get us excited beyond the satisfaction of a job well done.
Last week, our Springfield Branch finalized contracts with Johnny Morris’ Big Cedar Lodge resort group. We will be caring for the Long Creek campgrounds and Big Cedar’s shooting academy in Ridgedale, MO, south of Branson. Johnny Morris is the founder of Bass Pro Shops and is building a resort empire in Southwest Missouri to go with his “modest” retail operation. We believe these two properties are just the tip of the iceberg and could result in tremendous opportunities for our Springfield/Branson branch.
Closer to “World Headquarters,” the Wash U branch is adding a flagship account to their portfolio – Barnes-Jewish Hospital. This almost doubles the size of our Medical Campus contract for Wash U and provides us an opportunity to showcase our services to the broader BJC network. This is a big deal and I want to congratulate the Wash U team for building a track record of outstanding service, which lead to the opportunity and strong support from Wash U. I also want to congratulate Adam Benes and Adam Colstock for their work on the sale. I was told that they, along with John Combs, did a very good job representing our company during the interview process.
Finally, our Install Department is off to an outstanding start! We have the first five months of our annual budget sold and scheduled with more in the works. That’s a complete turnaround from last year, where the beginning of the year started-off slow only to be further setback from the pandemic.
As we start the second month of 2021, we are not without our challenges. We still have much to do with our Landcare Sales, and our snow season has been less than snowy. However, we have reason to believe that 2021 offers much hope…and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Cardinals fan and we signed Nolan Arenado to play third base!
Sincerely,
John
Teammate in Transition
It’s part of the Focal Pointe culture to invest in the growth of our teammates. It’s important to the success of our business that we identify, encourage, and capitalize on the unique gifts and talents of each team member. That is one reason for our training programs to support growth at virtually every level of our organization. We have recently seen a terrific example of this kind of opportunity. We are excited for Sandra Gonzalez as she transitions into an Account Manager role from her Talent and Team Development position. We know that she will continue to strengthen our culture and help reinforce Focal Pointe values.
Sandra joined our team in July of 2018 and has helped make significant improvements to our orientation and on-boarding process, as well as taking our recruiting and referral programs to the next level. She is a strong advocate of our value of putting people first. After achieving these improvements Sandra decided that she wanted to grow with Focal Pointe and learn more about the technical side of the business because she enjoys the challenge of learning new things.
Service is a common thread to both of her roles at Focal Pointe. Sandra says “Instead of working with internal clients which were the employees, now I work with external clients.” Great communication is required for both, and we believe Sandra’s proven people skills will ensure success in her new endeavors. She is also very grateful to all her coworkers who are helping her learn the new role.
When Sandra applied for the position of Account Manager her first challenge was to find and train a replacement for herself. Johanna Ramirez joined Focal Pointe in November of last year. Sandra says, “Johanna is a great addition to the team. She is always eager to help where she is needed.” Johanna is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She was attracted to Focal Pointe by our culture of putting people first.
Operational Excellence:
- Complimenting our snow crew, Jonna Parker, Executive Director of Morningside of Godfrey Senior Living said, “Please relay the message to your crews that they are doing a phenomenal job and we appreciate them!!”
- John Trevino, Supervisor of Landscape, and Lee Eubank, Assistant Director Of Facilities at Principia College were happy with the work we recently completed. In a note to Craig, Mr. Tevino writes, “… every time I stopped by I noticed how far along the project came. It went faster than expected. The second time I came around we had ice on the steps and your crew blocked off the area and informed me of the slip hazards. Toward the end of the project, your crew used water to confirm the proper drainage we are seeking which was further confirmed with yesterday’s rain. Please let your crew know that Lee and I went over to check out the completed work and we are very happy with the results. It was a pleasure working with Sylvester on this project.
Birthdays
Brian Bobikiewicz – 2/20
Nestor Diaz Torres – 2/26
Eduardo Chicas – 2/27
Anniversaries
Jose Lagunes Flores – 02/01/2007 (14 Years)
Douglas Ettling – 02/01/2012 (9 Years)
John Combs – 02/03/2014 (7 Years)
Jose Luis Leon Ruiz – 02/23/2017 (4 Years)
Jose Fernando Barrientos Balderas – 02/27/2017 (4 Years)
Brent Krohn – 02/02/2018 (3 Years)
Gloria Santos Lazaro – 02/16/2018 (3 Years)
Hector Mercado – 02/05/2019 (2 Years)
Jose Martinez Flores – 02/12/2019 (2 Years)
New Employee Corner
 | Name: Ana Laura Ordonez Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Caseyville Hire Date: 1-11-2021 |
 | Name: Jose Martinez Position: Install Professional Branch: Caseyville Hire Date: 1-11-2021 |
 | Name: Adolfo Berriozabal Jr. Position: Install Professional Branch: Caseyville Hire Date: 1-13-2021 |
 | Name: Eduardo Serrano Position: Install Professional Branch: Caseyville Hire Date: 01-13-2021 |
 | Name: Felipe Cordova Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Wash U Hire Date: 1-13-2021 |
 | Name: Rodolfo Castro Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Wash U Hire Date: 1-13-2021 |
 | Name: Gerardo Romero Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Hazelwood Hire Date: 1-15-2021 |
 | Name: Jose Escobar Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Caseyville Hire Date: 1-15-2021 |
 | Name: Leonardo Zeceña Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Wash U Hire Date: 1-15-2021 |
 | Name: Alvaro Hernandez Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Hazelwood Hire Date: 1-25-2021 |
 | Name: Luis Vasquez Position: Install Professional Branch: Caseyville Hire Date: 1-25-2021 |
 | Name: Lazaro Hernandez Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Caseyville Hire Date: 2-1-2021 |
 | Name: Mauro Salamanca Position: Landcare Professional Branch: Caseyville Hire Date: 2-1-2021 |