New management team begins at Blacker's Tuesday

Collin Cook

Tuesday will mark the beginning of a new era for Blacker’s Complete Home Furnishings in Idaho Falls and Blackfoot, as it will be the first day of business for the new executive management team of Connie Wood and Collin Cook.

Longtime Blacker’s employees, Wood and Cook have taken the reins from founder and owner Stan Cook, who has gone to Uruguay to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His departure was marked by a retirement celebration and sale that lasted nearly three months.

With more than 20 years' experience each, the two have learned the business from the ground up in every facet, from sales and delivery to buying and merchandising.

“Our goal throughout the retirement sale, and over the next couple of months, besides honoring Stan’s decision to retire, has been to eliminate old inventory and free up warehouse space,” Collin Cook said.

Connie Wood

“This will enable us to continue offering the name brands we’re known for, and to also focus on bringing new looks and innovative new products to the floor.”

Serving eastern Idaho and western Wyoming, Blacker's started more than 37 years ago in Blackfoot when Stan Cook purchased Walker Appliances. He expanded the lineup to include furniture, mattresses and home accessories.

AmeriTitle promotes Hajek to assistant vice president, area manager

Richard Hajek Jr.

AmeriTitle has promoted Richard Hajek Jr. to assistant vice president and area manager of its east Idaho operations. Hajek will maintain his position as general manager of AmeriTitle’s Idaho Falls, Rigby, and Rexburg branches and will now oversee operations in the Pocatello and Ketchum-Sun Valley branches.

Hajek has 12 years of industry experience, beginning his title and escrow career with AmeriTitle in Salem, Ore., in 2002. In 2007, he moved to Idaho Falls to assume the general manager position. He serves on the board of the East-Central Idaho Development Co. and previously served on the Idaho Falls Country Club Board of Directors. He is a member of many local organizations, including the Exchange Club of East Idaho, the East Idaho Home Builders Association, the Upper Valley Association of Realtors, the Greater Idaho Falls Association of Realtors, and local chambers of commerce.

Hajek grew up in Medford, Ore., and lived in the Salem/Portland area for 5 years before moving to Idaho Falls. When not working, his hobbies include playing percussion, golfing, biking, traveling, and most outdoor activities. On a personal note, Rich was the drummer in my band Happyville from mid-2011 to late 2013, and  I can say I have never met a nicer person who had to look at my backside as long as he did.

Ditch the Flowers – Employee Recognition Deserves More Time and Thought

Once upon at time, before I quit my job and started my own business, I was just an average employee like the 90 percent of the world. I went to work, put in a hard day’s effort, came home to spend time with family and started the routine all over again the next day.

My last career transition took me from a Fortune 500 company to a small office of three. When it comes to employee recognition, ’ll never forget one day in particular at my last job. As I was pounding away at my computer, feverishly updating an employee handbook for a client, a flower delivery came to the office. The arrangement was simple yet elegant, with flowers that screamed springtime but not high price.

I worked with two men, so instantly I knew the flowers were likely not for them. My name was carefully printed on the card. A little surprised and perplexed, I took the flowers back to my desk. I wondered if my husband had called in a delivery to surprise me, but that didn’t seem to add up. So I opened the envelope and read the card. The card read “Happy Administrative Professionals Day! We appreciate all you do!” It was signed by both of my bosses.

While that seems like a very kind gesture, it sent a mixed message to me. At the time I received these flowers I was not a receptionist, administrative assistant or general office support person. In fact, I was managing and directing the entire human resources division of this company, overseeing HR management for over 50 clients and a few hundred employees.

As an employee I recognized the gesture was meant to make me feel appreciated, but in fact it almost did the opposite. It made me feel that my bosses viewed me as basic administrative support.

I can tell you that never happened again in our office. My bosses found other ways to recognize me and encourage me -- probably by trial and error, but at least based on some knowledge of what motivated me personally and professionally.

This is why it is so important to carefully craft how you do your employee recognition within a company. What you may feel are thoughtful efforts could actually be perceived by your employees as something completely different. The occasional company-paid lunch, company party or office potluck are great ways to break the monotony of the work day, but they should never be the only efforts you do to recognize your employees. Trust me when I say there are thousands of ways to recognize your employees and show them you appreciate, all of them cost efficient and effective.

How do you do to show your employees you care and how do you do it? For starters, put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Think about what would mean most to you as an employee if you were being recognized by your company. What could the company do to recognize you as an employee to make you feel valued? Maybe offer an extra paid time off day? Lunch time massages? Many massage clinics will offer free chair massages at your business just to help increase their business.

Think above and beyond bonus checks and potlucks and try to envision what would mean most to them. Remember as children, after working hard on a project or chore, getting recognition from your parents or teachers and how much it meant to you? Positive recognition and reinforcement is just as effective for adults as it is for children.

I am not suggesting that you have a smiley face sticker board for employees or a treasure chest. Everyone wants to feel like their work has a higher purpose.

From support jobs all the way up the ladder to management, finding ways to recognize and appreciate the employees for the work they do jobs makes a difference.

Taking extra time up just to change up the day-to-day can also make a difference when it comes to employee recognition. Encourage feedback for a specific idea or change from employees, and then
make a point of not only implementing the change but communicate to all employees the reason for the change and that it came from an employee's suggestion.

Making the workplace “fun” is also a way to recognize employees. Locally, one of our major employers in southeast Idaho held one of its annual conferences in Orlando, Fla., and rented out Disney World for the entire company. I know the rest of the world may not be able to manage such a fun effort, but think outside the box on this one. Maybe an afternoon of team-building through the summer, with outdoor activities like golf, zip lining or scavenger hunts around the office (if you have a large enough one) or town.

While there is no magical answer to how you should recognize your employees, your efforts should
reflect your company culture and employee base. Taking time to carefully craft your employee recognition efforts can have greater rewards than just boosted employee morale. You can have a dedicated, engaged and loyal workforce that makes a difference with your company for many years to come.

DocuTech expands product management team

      Judy Lysaght                 Anthony Williamson

DocuTech Corp. of Idaho Falls has added Anthony Williamson to its product management team and expanded the duties of Judy Lysaght.

As a consumer lending product manager, Williamson is responsible for product development to ensure DocuTech’s consumer lending products remain competitive and profitable. Lysaght has expanded her role within DocuTech and now serves as a mortgage lending product manager. She will promote its flagship software, ConformX, and be responsible for the direction of DocuTech’s mortgage lending products and services.

With more than 25 years in the banking industry, Williamson previously served as product manager of deposit and treasury management products for Infosys Ltd. and as product manager of business banking deposits for Wells Fargo. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science in economics and holds an MBA from Portland State University.

Prior to her new assignment, Lysaght served as senior implementation project manager for DocuTech. She has also held management and consulting positions with Fairfax, Va.-based Headstrong Business Services and holds a Project Management Professional license from the Project Management Institute. She graduated from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Fla. with a Bachelor of Science in marketing and holds an MBA from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.

Idaho Falls' sesquicentennial is next year

Matt Taylor's toll bridge at Black Rock Canyon, which opened in 1865, near where the Marriott Residence Inn now is now.

I'm sure there are people who know next year is Idaho Falls' sesquicentennial year, but I wonder how many? I haven't heard much talk about it and, as someone who finds it much too easy to fall a step or two behind on things, I think the planning should start now if it hasn't already.

I was in the Post Register newsroom in 1985 when there was a "Centennial Plus 20" celebration. I thought it was kind of lame, but apparently not much had been done in 1965 and there were people, including my friend Joe Marker, who thought something, even 20 years late, was better than nothing.

For those of you who need an refresher course, here's a brief history of Idaho Falls' origins. They begin in the heart of downtown, at a place that used to be called Black Rock Canyon.

Matt Taylor

James Madison "Matt" Taylor was a teamster from the Midwest who'd begun taking supplies from Salt Lake City to Montana after gold was discovered there in 1862. Taylor would buy tea in Denver, take it to Salt Lake and barter it for eggs, butter and salt pork. This was good business, because there were lot of LDS converts from England and one pound of tea got him 34 pounds of butter.

Although the Eagle Rock Ferry was operating nine miles to the north, Taylor liked to camp at Black Rock Canyon because the swift current of the Snake River there kept mosquitoes to a minimum. It didn't take long for it to dawn on him that it might be a good spot for a toll bridge. In 1864, he and two partners, W.F. Bartlett and Edgar M. Morgan, formed the Oneida Road, Bridge and Ferry Co., the first corporation in this part of Idaho. In the fall, Taylor traveled 700 miles to Lewiston, the territorial capital, where he received a charter from the Legislature to operate the ferry and build his bridge. Under the terms of the 20-year agreement, the state would receive 1 percent of the tolls for the school fund.

Construction went on all winter and the bridge opened in May. Taylor's first advertisement for the bridge ran Aug. 12, 1865, in the Daily Telegraph of Great Salt Lake City.

Once the bridge was open and a trading outpost built, Taylor's wife, LeGrande Anderson Taylor, came west to join him. According to "Bonneville County in the Making," Barzilla W. Clark's history, she was appalled by the primitive conditions, particularly the smell of the hides. Nevertheless, her brother Robert Anderson arrived at the end of October 1865, buying Morgan's stake in the Oneida company and bringing valuable eastern banking connections with him.

The telegraph came in 1866, as did a post office and the first irrigation project. The railroad came in 1879, and I think that really set the table for everything that followed.

Did you know that the first Protestant church between Ogden and Butte, Mont., was in Eagle Rock? It was largely the work of Rebecca Mitchell, a widow in her 40s with a teen-aged daughter. In 1882 she was on her way from Chicago to Bellevue to do Baptist missionary work. Money had begun to run short when the train stopped in Eagle Rock. Surveying the town and noticing no schools or churches but plenty of saloons, she decided this might be where the Lord was calling her to straighten things out. By Sunday she had conducted her first Sunday School class and on Monday, with the same 18 children, she organized a day school using a closed-down saloon on Eagle Rock Street as the classroom.

Before long she had lined up a lot on the corner of Eastern Avenue and Ash Street, and with help from the Baptist Mission Society and private gifts First Baptist Church opened its doors in August 1885. Eagle Rock became Idaho Falls in 1891, reportedly to make it less frontierish and more appealing to people in the Midwest seeking new opportunities.

Bill Holden and Idaho Falls Mayor Tom Sutton, during the push to bring the Atomic Energy Commission headquarters to Idaho Falls.

In the 20th century, I don't think there was anyone more important or influential than William S. Holden, the lawyer who masterminded the campaign to bring the Atomic Energy Commission here in 1949 and the Palisades Dam to Swan Valley in 1957. He was "Mr. Republican," and on the walls at his family spread on Palisades Creek there are there pictures of him with Ronald Reagan as well as an impressive collection of memorabilia from Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. Holden ran for the U.S. Senate nomination in 1956, but because there was another moderate seeking the nomination they split the primary vote and lost to the McCarthyite incumbent, Herman Welker, who was defeated that fall by Frank Church.

From all the history I've read, I believe that nothing really changes much. The business of Idaho Falls has always been business. Matt Taylor set up here because he had a head for it. The first safety vault of what later became Anderson Brothers Bank was a keg of nails, where he hid surplus gold dust, gold certificates, greenbacks from the store, and depositors' money.

I hope we can get something together to celebrate 150 years here. As much as we like to think we're moving forward, the past matters.

Idaho Falls Regional Airport terminal remodeling finished

The remodeled terminal at Idaho Falls Regional Airport. That's former airport manager Jim Thorsen in the foreground. Although a frequent flier, Thorsen was at the airport Tuesday for a meeting of the Airport Citizen's Advisory Committee.

I'm not sure how many of you have been through the Idaho Falls Regional Airport lately, but the $2.7 million terminal remodeling and expansion project is finished. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for June 10. The work at the northwest end of the terminal involved 47,570 square feet. Most importantly, the TSA baggage screening operations have been taken out of the lobby and integrated into the baggage check-in process (this means no more handing your bags to TSA then hauling them across the lobby.)

Rotary honors Broadway Ford owner for community giving

Broadway Ford owner Mont Crnkovich and Idaho Falls Rotary Club President Jackie Flowers with the F-150 pickup Crnkovich is donating as a grand prize to this year's Great Snake River Greenbelt Duck Race.

Mont Crnkovich, owner of Broadway Ford in Idaho Falls, was award the Rotary Club's Paul Harris Award for the support he has given the Great Snake River Greenbelt Duck Race over the years.

For the seventh straight year, Broadway Ford has donated a new pickup truck as the grand prize for the Duck Race, which will be held this year on Aug. 9. The F-150 pickup, done in "Duck Decor," has an estimated worth of $50,000, pushing Broadway Ford's donations to more than $250,000. All money from the Duck Race goes toward improvements to the Idaho Falls Greenbelt.

Presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow is the Rotary Foundation’s way of showing its appreciation for a significant contribution to the community. Besides the Duck Race, Crnkovich has distinguished himself has by giving to local high school, 4H and Idaho Falls Police Department programs and events.

The award is named after Rotary International’s founder, Paul Harris, who organized the first Rotary Club in 1905 to provide a venue for friendship and fellowship of professional and business men and women.

To date, Idaho Falls Rotary Club donations and matching funds have resulted in more than $4 million in greenbelt improvements since 1986.

More information about the race can be found at www.ifrotary.org.