Cindy Bauer is the Marketing Manager at Red Wing Software. In the past several years, Cindy’s four wonderful children have grown up, moved out, graduated college, and several have gotten married. I caught up with Cindy to ask her about the transition and how it has been for all four children to leave home and move on with their bright futures.

• The last couple of years have been a whirlwind with all the changes in your household! Please tell us about your kids and what they’ve done since leaving home.

  We have two girls and two boys. Our daughter Jordan is the oldest and she and her husband, Mike, had a baby boy, Patrick, in September. Josh and Andrew are our middle children and are identical twins. Josh is in pilot training in the Air Force and will be marrying Kaitlin in December. Andrew is a financial analyst and just got married to Megan last month in Texas. Our baby of the family, Elizabeth, just graduated from college in December and is transitioning from student to full time career mode.

• What are some tips on how to stay sane with all the planning that goes into multiple graduations, weddings, etc.?

  My husband, Dave, and I have been married for almost thirty years and have been so lucky to have four children that certainly kept us busy and on our toes. Between years spent in hockey arenas, baseball fields, and other activities, it seemed like we were always running to the car for some event. We also owned our own business and there never seemed to be enough hours in the day and sleep was minimal! To keep everything and everyone organized, I was, and still am a planner. When the kids were in school, we had a big, white board calendar on the wall and it was rare that there weren’t three or four events scheduled on each day. I am also a huge fan of sticky notes! Now with lists for wedding invitations and budget items, etc., I have advanced to spreadsheets and reminder notes on my iphone…although I still always have a pad of sticky notes nearby.

• What are some of the things you enjoy and look forward to now?

  When Elizabeth left for college and there truly was an empty nest it was really hard to get used to life not on a roller coaster. But over time, you really do find other activities that take up your time. Dave and I are fortunate that three of our four kids live within an hour of us, so we get to see them regularly. Some of my favorite things to do are going to workout classes, reading, golfing, watching sports, and volunteering. Of course since our grandbaby, Patrick, was born, all of our worlds revolve around him and watching him grow. I think probably the best thing of all is we have four children that have met wonderful people that joined our family and now they are all our best friends and we really enjoy spending time with them.

My name is Ron Delaney and I work in Technical Support. In March, I celebrated my seven year anniversary at Red Wing Software. It is my second time working for the company. I worked here from 1981-1985, when Red Wing Software was just starting. I then spent over 20 years working for two other companies in Red Wing. The computers and software have changed drastically over the years, but the one thing that has not changed is Red Wing Software’s dedication to providing excellent customer service. Currently, I support users in TurningPoint and Red Wing Payroll, and I am starting to assist users with CenterPoint Payroll.

I work from home two days a week and recently updated my home office to have a treadmill desk. I am slowly working on being able to walk, talk and use a mouse at the same time. When I am on the phone, I stop walking so I can concentrate on talking and using the mouse. It is a learning process and I hope with time, I will be able to accomplish all three tasks at the same time.

Outside of work, I enjoy golfing, which can be quite relaxing if you can ignore all of the bad shots and other things that can occur on the golf course. I have been golfing over 25 years and have learned that it is a sport that teaches honor and integrity. There are no referees on the course to tell you if you need a penalty - it is something that you have to acknowledge and force yourself to play the game properly. I have been involved in a men’s team league for the past 13 years and I have golfed with a group of friends every Tuesday (weather permitting) for 15 years.

Ron and two different views of his home office.

My name is Mike Zielski. I am the Quality Assurance Manager here at Red Wing Software. Red Wing Software has been my home away from home for the past 12 years. I am responsible for delivering quality software releases to our customers.

My daily commute to Red Wing Software involves a 30 mile trek from River Falls, WI, where I am originally from, and continue to live with my wife Kathryn and 8-year-old daughter Kadence.

When I am not stressing over a product release, I love to travel and cheer on my Wisconsin Badger sports teams. Some of our most recent trips have been to New York City, Washington D.C., Mexico and Pasadena, California for the past three Rose Bowl football games.

My last trip to the Rose Bowl was a hectic one, but as a big Badger fan, it was worth it!

My summarized itinerary…

December 31st:

• Took a flight at 5:00 p.m. (CST) from Minneapolis to Las Vegas.
• Rented a car and drove from Las Vegas to a hotel in East Los Angeles (about a 3.5 hour drive). I arrived about 11:30 p.m. (PST).

January 1st:

• Drove to the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California and parked my car at 5:30 a.m. (PST).
• Walked about two miles up to the Rose Bowl Parade and claimed my spot for the 8:00 a.m. Rose Parade.
• Watched the parade until 10:00 a.m. and walked back down to the Rose Bowl Stadium.
• Watched the football game.
• Left the game about 6:00 p.m. and drove down to San Diego (about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive) to stay overnight at my brother-in-law’s apartment.

January 2nd:

• Caught a flight back home from San Diego at 9:30 a.m. (PST) with a layover in Denver.

…whew…

Our next big adventure is a trip to Disney World in Florida in March. Wish us luck!

By Larry Warrington

I don’t have much direct contact with our customers at Red Wing Software, but I like to think that what I do has a big impact on your experience with us. My official title is Manager of Information Systems. That’s a fancy way of saying it’s my job to make sure everyone here has the hardware, software and information resources to do their job as effectively and efficiently as possible. I try to ensure your experience with Red Wing Software feels personable, like you are working with a small company, but also give the impression we are also efficient and professional like a big company.

When I am not at work, I like to spend time outside, preferably on a bike. My son and I ride and race bikes as often as we can and I am involved in hosting several bike races every year here in town. We travel around the state in the summer to ride in as many bike races as possible. For me, biking is not only a fun way to get exercise, it also a great way to unwind after a day at work. It’s also a good excuse to get out into the woods or find some winding country road. The city of Red Wing has some of the best biking available in the upper Midwest and I try to take full advantage of it.

I have been directly or indirectly part of Red Wing Software since I was 10. My father, Lyle, was one of the original founders of Red Wing Business Systems, which is one of several companies that have joined forces over the years to become Red Wing Software. Being involved in the early years at a small company can be much more than a full time job, it’s a part of your entire life. I remember once, on a family trip to my grandma’s house, stopping off at a customer’s house so my dad could help with a problem that couldn’t be solved over the phone. While the support department doesn’t offer house calls anymore, I like to think we still go above and beyond to help our customers, when needed. I spent some of my youth after school putting product manuals together or duplicating diskettes or any other odd job that needed to be done.

When I left home for college, I never thought of coming back and making a career at Red Wing Software, but life takes some funny paths at times. Later, when the opportunity to come to work at Red Wing Software in the support department was presented, I took it. Red Wing Software has “grown up” since the days of the Radio Shack TRS-80 computers and hand-collated, 3-ring manuals that I remember as a kid, but it’s still a company that feels like family.

By Stephanie Elsen

Many of you may know Cori; she is one of our support technicians as well as the voice on many of our How2 Videos. What you may not know is her husband Ryan also works at Red Wing Software. Ryan is our Graphic Designer. Whether it’s a brochure, advertising, or our website, Ryan has a hand in designing or producing it.

This past November, they welcomed a brand new baby boy; Liam. Unfortunately, he was born with a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (basically a hole in his diaphragm). Thankfully, after surgery and sometime in the hospital, Liam has made a complete recovery. After a bumpy start, Cori and Ryan are now home with Liam, adjusting to being first time parents. We are all so thankful Liam is doing great and wish them the best!