• Carole (Finance) and her husband Jon celebrated daughter Zoe’s induction into the National Honor Society.
• Julie's (Sales Consultant) son Joey’s college track team won both their indoor and outdoor conference championship for the first time in the school’s history. Before the outdoor conference championships and since it was Mother’s Day weekend, he had someone draw a “Mom” tattoo on his arm. This isn’t the first time this ‘tattoo’ has been a bit of good luck though. In high school, Joey had someone draw a fake “Mom” tattoo on his arm for their pictures, and they won their conference! For this his picture is on the wall of the school – he will be up there forever with his “Mom” tattoo.
• Katrina (Administrative Assistant) and her friend Katie enjoyed some sun at Panama City Beach, FL! Her husband Josh separated from the Air Force and they celebrated with a “Thank You/ Welcome Home/Happy Birthday Party". Our thanks to Josh for his 12 years of service!
• Matt’s (Sales Consultant) son, Miles (9 years old), completed his first year in junior pool league. Over 50 youth are in the league, ranging in age from 7-17. At the end of the year league celebration party earlier this month, Miles placed 2nd in the trick shot competition. He was bested by a 16-year-old that has been in the league for nine years, but he will get them next year!! Miles was very proud of his trophy and the new case that he received for his cue.

This month I had a number of topics for this newsletter floating around in my head, but, after this weekend, only one seemed important.

On behalf of myself and the entire staff at Red Wing Software, I have a short and sincere message to all the men and women who have served, do serve, or will serve their country in the defense of freedom: Thank You.

- Ken Hilton, President

Mark, our New Business Development Manager, was talking to me the other day about a customer that had stopped using our software in favor of another company’s software. It seems this customer was in need of some new functionality, so he started looking for software that had those capabilities. He found new software, made the switch, and proceeded to set up and re-enter a lot of the data that had already been entered into the Red Wing Software product.

As you can imagine, starting over with new software is a very large task. Once he got started, he discovered he was missing much of the functionality he was taking advantage of in the Red Wing Software product previously used. So, he called Mark and wondered what it would take to move back to Red Wing Software, and mentioned the reason for the original switch. Mark explained that the functionality he was looking for was actually already available in the Red Wing Software product, and could have easily been implemented with a quick call to our staff.

This is just one example of a case when it is a good idea to talk to your current supplier when you are looking for something that is related to a product you are using and already comfortable with. This happens to be a software example, but it could apply to almost any product or service. Keep in mind you have been working with this supplier for some time, likely trust their opinion, and if what you are looking for is not available, your current supplier might be able to help you find a solution.

- Ken Hilton, President

• Stephanie (Marketing) has been helping teach a class of high school students how to build and market an app. Mark’s (Support Technician) son Caleb (second in from the left) and Stephanie’s son Luke (second in from the right) were a part of the group. The group competed against teams of seasoned app builders, at the Red Wing Ignite Cup, an app building competition, and came in a close 2nd and have been encouraged to apply for the Minnesota Cup competition.
• Roxie (Administration) and her husband enjoyed a vacation to California, visiting relatives, beaches and just taking time to smell the roses!
• Jayme (Support Technician) and friends had a relaxing vacation in Ixtapa, Mexico.
• Jada’s (Support Technician) son, Lane, attended the AMA National Champion Banquet in Ohio. He received two awards - 1st Place in the 50 Class and 3rd Place in the 85 Class for Youth Motorcycle Hillclimbing.

Tullando Farm, of Orford, New Hampshire, was featured in the story, “Why I Chose Robots: Tullando Farm” in the April 1, 2016 issue of Progressive Dairyman. Check out the story to see how this Red Wing Software customer is using technology to keep moving forward!