2007 Client Fishing Trip a Huge Success!

If you consider lots of big fish, fabulous shore lunches, great weather and loads of fun essential to having a successful fishing trip, the 2007 annual client fishing trip to Bolton Lake was huge!  Ten of us flew from Denver to Winnipeg on June 27th and then to Bolton Lake the next morning.  Upon arriving we were fed a big breakfast at the lodge, then we headed to the boats and by 9:30am we were already catching fish; lots of them.  On the first day I caught three large Northern Pike ("Gators" according to our guide, Tom), including a 41" trophy (pictured right, with Tom).  We not only caught a lot of fish, but thanks to Fred Pasternack, we also enjoyed a lot of laughs.

It seems Fred is a big eater and it didn't take him long to figure out who his best friends were at Bolton Lake; the guides who did all the cooking for the shore lunches (that's Fred in the red bandana with Tom, Troy, Churchill, Winston and John).  These guys are so good at cooking Walleye that we even discussed bringing them to Denver to open a restaurant called "Fred's Shore Lunch" featuring Winston's fried potatoes, Troy's baked Mexican Walleye, Tom's parmesan garlic stir fried Walleye and Churchill's shore-fried onion rings; trust me, this is good stuff!

One group caught two trophy fish; my 41" Northern Pike and Kip Rogers' s 23" Brook Trout, caught on a fly-out to God's River (yeah, I know they're all God's rivers).  Larry Thiel and his son, Skip, undoubtedly caught the most fish, averaging about 75 per day.  The youngest member of our group was 12 year old Alex Moller from Albequerque who, along with his dad, Ralph, probably caught the most Walleye.

We have reserved 16 spots at Bolton Lake for next year and we already have 12 of those spots reserved.  We will leave Denver on July 19th and return on the 24th.  If you are interested in fishing, and eating and laughing, with us next year, you need to call Katherine at 303-756-8900 to get your name on the list.

Christmas in New York 2007

Our first client "Christmas in New York" trip was a smashing success!  The weather was perfect, the restaurants were outstanding and the two shows were - well there are not enough superlatives to adequately describe them!

When we landed in New York on Friday, December 1st, the weather was grim; raining and dark.  By the time we finished dinner at Nougatine at Jean George's the moon was out and it was in the 50s.  We had a wonderful private (limo) van take us to Radio City Music Hall where the Rockettes were amazing, as usual, but the "Nativity" presentation was truly an emotional experience.  With live animals, including three camels bringing in the three kings, and equally amazing music, it was something none of us will likely ever forget.  The walk back to the hotel took us right past Rockefeller Center, where we all posed for pictures in front of the nation's largest Christmas tree.

Saturday was a day for sightseeing and shopping, including Central Park, Bloomingdales, Sak's Fifth Avenue and a genuine NY pastrami on rye sandwich at Junior's Deli.  Saturday evening featured another wonderful dinner at Vice Versa, and then on to The Lion King.  After the show, we had a stroll in Times Square, and then a pleasant walk back to our hotel.

Sunday began with brunch at Schiller's in lower Manhattan and then on to Wall Street and Ground Zero; a somber experience to say the least.  The weekend was capped off with a ride on the ferry over to Staten Island and back.  The view of the Statue of Liberty was wonderful, as was the view of Manhattan from out in the harbor, and the weather was so beautiful we were able to stand outside on the ferry most of the way.

While everyone was totally thrilled with the entire weekend, perhaps Helen Schnabel summed it up best when she said, "The only thing wrong with this weekend is that it has to end!"

Oh well, there's always next year!


2007 Annual Client Dinner 

On October 4^th, 115 of our clients and friends gathered at the World Vision Denver Distribution Center for our Annual Client Appreciation Dinner.  We chose to hold the event at the World Vision facility this year because we wanted to introduce our clients to an organization I believe is one of the finest and most effective charitable agencies in the world.  World Vision not only provided the venue for this special event, they also provided two remarkable speakers to share their experiences in bringing emergency relief to the poorest of the poor .

Rich Moseanko, one of World Vision’s top disaster relief team leaders, traveled over 10,000 miles from East Timor (north of Australia) to give us an idea of the hardships and struggle for survival millions of families face every day.  Ward Brehm, a Minnesota businessman, spoke of his incredible African journey with the people of West Pokot, Kenya.  I remember thinking during Ward’s moving message that I could not remember ever having been in a room with over 100 people that was so deathly quiet before.  I just finished reading Ward’s book, White Man Walking, and it is a profound book.

The guest of honor at this year’s dinner was Joe May, the 87 year old former B-17 tail gunner who was shot down over Germany in WW II.  Joe, whose remarkable story of survival was featured in the Fred of the Month column in the previous two newsletters, shared some additional details of his remarkable last flight and the heroism of some of his fellow crew members that led to the entire crew eventually making it home to their families.

We finished the evening with several drawings for gift certificates for dinners and tickets to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  Based on comments from our clients, both following the dinner, as well as in calls, e-mails and letters received since that evening, everyone was deeply moved by the presentations from World Vision and many people indicated they would prefer a venue like the World Vision facility over a country club for future dinners.

By all accounts, the evening was a huge success.  Everyone enjoyed a wonderful meal, great conversation, a lot of laughs and two profound presentations that will not soon be forgotten.  To say the least, everyone went home that evening with a renewed sense of gratitude for the good fortune we all have just to live in this wonderful country.  Some will no doubt follow up with World Vision and in their own way try to make a difference in this world.

At the conclusion of the evening I took a few minutes to share our gratitude for the trust and confidence our clients have shown in our firm for so many years now.  As I have often said, this is a relationship business and we truly value the relationship we enjoy with each and every one of you.  For those who could not be with us at this year’s dinner, please know that our commitment to make your retirement years financially secure has never been stronger.  On behalf of the entire staff here at Hallmark, “Thank You” for allowing us the privilege of serving you and for allowing us to become your friends!

First Annual Canadian Fishing Trip

On Saturday, July 22nd, eight fishermen gathered in Winnipeg, Canada to begin the inaugural Hallmark Consulting Group client fishing trip to Bolton Lake Lodge in Northern Manitoba.The group was led by Hallmark's president, Don Hartmann, who had fished at Bolton Lake on two previous occasions. Over the next four days, each of the Hallmark guests managed to catch the biggest fish of their lifetime, topped off by Clint Wood (SE Denver), who had never caught a fish before, landing a 42.5 inch Northern Pike. Anything over 41 inches qualifies as a Trophy fish in Northern Manitoba, which resulted in Clint qualifying as a Master Angler. We have already scheduled the dates for the 2007 trip: June 27th through JJuly 2nd and have reserved 2 cabins at Bolton Lake - enough for 12 fishermen. In the meantime, we will all be sustained with wonderful memories of great fishing, awesome shore lunches, lots of laughter and some incredible pictures of Canadian wildlife.

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