News In This Issue:

Employee Appreciation

What’s New

St. Patrick’s Day

Daylight Saving Time

Intl. Women’s Day

Friday the 13th

Today is National Employee Appreciation Day! It is observed annually on thefirst Friday in March and was created for all companies as the day when bosses can thank their employees for their hard work and effort throughout the year. Really good people are hard to find & boosting staff is more efficient than spending money on constant training of new people.

Great Ways To Show Your

Employees Some Appreciation

• Be Flexible

• A Thank You Note

• Team Effort Celebration

• Get Caught Giving Compliments

• Create a Culture of Encouragement• Give Employees Real Choice & Real Voice

Employees are one of a company’s greatest assets. Recognition and appreciation are known as one of the key motivational factors in the workplace. An employer may show their gratitude for an employee’s efforts and contributions to the goals of the company in a variety of ways. Employers who express employee appreciation tend to increase employee job satisfaction as well.

While employees’ personalities differ, most are goal-driven people. Earning an award, a thank you, or special recognition motivates them to reach even higher goals to the benefit of any business or organization.

Several of our Tri-cities Stores were entered into the car giveaway for increasing

their sales by at least 5%: 425, 445, 471, 3411, 3416, 6009, 6012, 6017, 6019, &

6079. Congratulations to you all & job well done!

•

•

•

•

•

•

Although the holiday originally started as a Christian feast day celebrating the life of St. Patrick and the spreading of Christianity to Ireland, today, it is a day of revelry and a celebration of all things Irish. Look for local St. Patrick’s Day parades, 5k runs, and other festivities to celebrate— just don’t forget to wear green!

St. Patrick’s Day is officially observed on March 17 each year, though celebrations may not be limited to this date. The significance of March 17 is that it’s said to be the date of St. Patrick’s death in the late 5th century (circa A.D. 493). Saint Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He is credited with successfully spreading Christianity throughout Ireland—hence the Christian celebration of his life and name. However, it is not likely that he really drove all the snakes out of Ireland, like lore says, since snakes weren’t native to Ireland to begin with. In any case, St. Patrick’s impact was significant enough to warrant our modern-day celebrations!

Note: The symbol of St. Patrick is a three-leaf shamrock, not a four-leaf clover. However, long before the shamrock became associated with St. Patrick’s Day, the four-leaf clover was regarded by ancient Celts as a charm against evil spirits. In the early 1900s, O. H. Benson, an Iowa school superintendent, came up with the idea of using a clover as the emblem for a newly founded agricultural club for children in his area. In 1911, the four-leaf clover was chosen as the emblem for the national club program, later named 4-H.

To remember which way to set their clocks, folks often use the

expression, “Spring forward, fall back.” Daylight Saving Time

begins on Sunday, March 8,

2020 at 2:00 A.M. On Saturday night, set your clocks forward

one hour (i.e., losing one hour) to “spring ahead.”

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN!!!

E.T. Daylight Saving Time

2020 will begin at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 8and ends at 2:00 AM on

Sunday, November 1

Many people think we change our clocks to give farmers an extra hour of sunlight, but the purpose of DST was to help make better use of the natural sunlight & reduce electricity usage in buildings. DST actually saves0.5% in total electricity per day. This adds up to 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours which is the amount of electricity used in more than 100,000 households for an entire year!

• The “Saving” in DST is not plural, but many people still call it “Daylight Savings Time.”

• Germany was the 1st country to enact DST.• American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,

Hawaii, & Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) do not observe DST.

• It’s used in over 70 countries around the world though dates & times vary.

• 27% of Americans admit the time change has made them early or late.

• Data shows violent crime is down 10-13% during DST than standard times.

• In the U.S., lawmakers chose 2AM for the time change because it was the least disruptive time of day. It’s late enough to not greatly affect bars & restaurants, but it’s before early shift workers & churchgoers begin their day.

An equal world is an enabled world.

#IWD2020 #EachforEqual

So put your arms out front andSTRIKE THE #EachforEqual POSE

to motivate others and to make International Women's Day YOUR day. Do what you can to truly make a positive

difference for women everywhere.

International Women's

Day is a global day

celebrating the social,

economic, cultural and

political achievements

of women - while also

marking a call to action

for accelerating gender

equality.

The first International

Women's Day occurred

in 1911, supported by

over one million people.

Today, IWD belongs to

all groups collectively

everywhere. IWD is not

country, group, or

organization specific.

Gloria Steinem, world-

renowned feminist,

journalist, and

activist once

explained “The story of

women's struggle for

equality belongs to no

single feminist nor to

any one organization

but to the collective

efforts of all who care

about human rights.”

Purple is the internationally recognized color to symbolize

women while the combination of the colors green, purple, and

white is meant to represent women's equality, according to

the IWD website. Purple, or the combination of those colors,

may be displayed to celebrate International Women's Day.

Join in! There are several ways to celebrate the women around you:1. Spend the day with your mom showing her how much you appreciate her.

2. Celebrate the women you admire.3. Gather personal hygiene products and create little gift packs to donate to

the local women’s shelter.4. Learn about women who have made a difference in our history.

5. Celebrate women in film & music.6. Do something kind for a woman you love.

7. Join a march.8. Promote gender diversity in the workplace.

9. Read these compelling books by women:We should all be feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls by Leymah Gbowee.Color blind or color brave? By Mellody Hobson.

The dangerous ways ads see women by Jean Kilbourne.The price of shame by Monica Lewinsky.

10. #BeBoldForChange

Recent years have seen a huge increase in the number of

businesses around the world celebrating IWD. There is growing

recognition that women’s rights affect us all, and that we need to

strive for more female representation at all levels of business.

Gender diversity in the workplace produces real benefits. Several

studies have shown that a gender-diverse workplace is good for

financial returns, employee engagement, innovation, and reducing

turnover. Gender diversity can also help businesses resonate with

a wider customer base.

“Friday the 13th is still better than Monday

the whatever.”

Famous Friday the 13th Superstitions:• If you cut your hair, someone in your family will die.• If a funeral procession passes you, you’ll be the next to die. • Do not start a trip or you’ll encounter misfortune. • If you break a mirror, you’ll have 7 years of bad luck.• A child born this day will be unlucky for life. • Ships that set sail on this day will have bad luck. • If you walk under a ladder or a black cat crosses you,

you’ll have bad luck.

The world has been affected by the “unlucky” number 13. Western cultures have historically associated the number 12 with completeness (12 days of Christmas, 12 months, 12 zodiac signs, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 Apostles, etc.) which 13 is just beyond. 13 is SO disliked that many cities don’t have a 13th street or avenue, 80% of high-rise buildings avoid having a 13th floor, some hospitals avoid labeling rooms with the number 13, airplanes won’t have a 13th aisle, many airports will not have a

gate 13, & in Florence, the house between 12 & 13 is “12 ½ “. In ancient Rome, witches gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil. If you have 13 letters in your name, you’re said to have the devil’s luck (e.g. Charles Manson / Jeffrey Dahmer). ...I guess we better start counting…

7. Musical legends died.Tupac died on the 13th, a few days after being shot several times in Las

Vegas as he left a Mike Tyson boxing match. His death is the source of controversy among fans, some of whom maintain he’s still alive. In one of

his songs, Tupac raps about his own funeral.

8. Unforeseen natural disasters occurs.A cyclone killed 500,000 people in Bangladesh in November 1970, one of

the most catastrophic natural events the world had ever seen. 9. Markets collapsed

October 1989 - The stock exchange suffered a serious crash, the 2nd most damaging in market history at the time. The recession blew these stats away, but at the time, brokers were in a state of shock, as the Dow Jones

Industrial Average was down 190.58 points.10. Technology failed.

In 1989, a deadly virus crashed IBM computers in Britain, terrifying people and deleting lots of data that couldn’t be redeemed. This was

before backup systems, and adversely affected businesses.11. Tourist cruise ships sank.

Just 8 years ago in 2012, the cruise ship Costa Concordia partially sank on Friday the 13th. Over 30 people died.

12. Money is lost.

Apparently, $900 million is lost every Friday the 13th because people are scared to work and travel on this date.

13. It’s not looking good.

And a little preview for a Friday the 13th in 2029: Asteroid 99942 Apophis is forecasted to pass earth at a closer distance than any of our satellites.

Not sure of the ramifications but it does not sound promising.

Bonus Fact: 13 is Taylor Swift's lucky number. "I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro" the singer reports.

1. Crusaders Were CapturedOctober 1307 - Thousands of Crusades warriors were imprisoned.

Members of the Knights Templar were accused of heresy & blasphemy. Many later died from torture, carried out by officers

of the French King Philip IV.2. Notorious People Were born

July 1821 – Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest was born. He also fought in the Civil War & eventually distanced

himself from the KKK later in his life.3. Backwards laws were passed.

May 1925 - Tennessee declared it unlawful to teach the study of evolution. School kids were only allowed to be taught the biblical

story of the creation of man.4. Twisted minds were born.

Alfred Hitchcock was born on Friday the 13th. Yes, that’s right, the film director with a seriously twisted mind (he managed to come

up with “Strangers on a Train” and “Psycho”) was born on this fateful day.

5. War took a turn for the worse.The Nazis dropped a bomb on Buckingham Palace in September

1940 as part of the Blitz during WWII. The Royal family was apparently taking tea at the time.

6. Planes crashedOctober 1972 - A plane crashed in the Andes. 12 people died

instantly & more were killed in an avalanche later. Those who survived did so by resorting to cannibalism. The Andes crash was

later turned into the film “Alive.”

Scary Friday the 13th Events In History: