Element Monthly- July Edition

the ELEMENT ding in Mortgage Len

2 0 2 2 Q U A R T E R LY E D I T I O N

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: GET THE BEST

from each worker on your team

SLEEPING PROBLEMS AFFLICT MANY

Get yer hot dogs!

HEALTH in the NEWS

How to help a person with a seizure

Get the best

from each worker on your team

As a manager, it’s your job to bring out the best in your employees. To do that, follow these guidelines from Newsweek: • Get out of your office.

Meet employees where they work. Walk around and chat about what they’re up to, how things are going, what they need, and so forth. Don’t make it a formal conversation; just talk person to person.

• Listen to your employees.

Don’t do all the talking yourself.

Ask questions—what problems are they having, what they need to do their jobs better, what new ideas they have for the organization, and so

on. Then shut up and listen to what they say. When they feel that someone’s paying attention, they’ll put more thought into their work and be more committed to your organization’s mission.

• Support employee development.

Encourage employees to learn new skills that will help them do their jobs better— and that will position them for advancement. Coach them, point them toward seminars and coursework, pay for memberships in professional associations, and generally let them know that you want to see them grow.

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• Stretch your employees.

Give assignments that challenge employees to stretch their skills. Don’t expect perfection, but be clear about your expectations.

Most employees who want to succeed will do their best to learn and carry out the assignment to the best of their abilities, making them ready for the next assignment.

• Learn their ambitions.

Find out what each employee wants to accomplish in his or her career. This shows you care about them as people, and helps you assign tasks they’ll be eager to take on.

Element HOME I am fortunate enough to have been granted a front row seat in witnessing the amazing feats that Element Home Loans has accomplished over the last eleven years. None of which would have been possible without the hard work and commitment of our treasured associates, referral partners, and great customers. I’m proud to relay our biggest accomplishment to date, making the dreams of homeownership a reality with over 8 Billion funded and over 35,000 families.

At Element, we believe in the importance of family. We fully realize that buying a home is the singularly most emotional and greatest financial purchase that a family will ever make. To that extent, we place an incredible amount of emphasis on never missing a closing date. This all leads back to our strong belief in the importance of keeping our promises.

We celebrate our associates, referral partners and customers with gatherings and consistent communication. We promote and embrace the concept of “lender for life” and want our customers and partners to think of Element Home Loans anytime they, or a family or friend of theirs, has a housing finance need. Element embraces technology that not only helps our valued customers but allows Element loan officers to keep our customers informed on the latest real estate finance trends.

We look forward to continuing this fantastic journey with you.

Larry W. Sutton, Jr. Element Home Loans Division President

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Sleeping problems afflict many A good night’s sleep can be hard to find these days, according to a survey by Gallup and mattress retailer Casper.

Only about one-third of some 3,000 Americans in the survey said they’re getting regular high-quality sleep, with a third of all survey respondents reporting that their sleep the previous night was fair to poor.

Stress is a major factor, according to 96%. The American Psychological Association attributes that to worries about inflation, global uncertainty, and the war in Ukraine.

There’s good news: Thirty minutes of daily exercise can improve your chances of getting a good night’s sleep by 30%. 75% of “excellent” sleepers credit a regular bedtime routine with helping them get the rest they need.

Struggles and Strengths A man found a cocoon resting on a branch. He sat and watched for hours as the butterfly inside struggled to push its body through the small hole at the top.

Suddenly the butterfly stopped making any progress. It seemed to be stuck.

The man decided to help the butterfly. He used a knife to snip off the cocoon. The butterfly emerged with a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man sat waiting for the wings to enlarge and support the butterfly. But that didn’t happen. The butterfly was unable to fly, and it crawled around with its tiny wings and swollen body until it fell to the ground and died.

The man didn’t understand that the butterfly’s struggle to get free of the cocoon was nature’s way of forcing fluid from its body into its wings to prepare it for flying once it was out of the cocoon.

Moral: Our struggles in life develop our strengths.

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Recipe:

Red, White and Blueberry Mini Trifles

This is one of those recipes that looks impressive, but actually doesn’t take all that much effort to create. To keep things easy, use store-bought angel food cake and instant pudding. If you love to bake or really want to show-off, you could certainly make your own cake, pudding, or even whipped cream. But truly, there is no need.

Ingredients

2 3.5 oz pkg instant vanilla pudding 4 cups milk 12 oz angel food cake, cut into cubes 8 oz whipped cream 1 pkg blueberries 1 pkg raspberries 1 pkg strawberries sliced thinly 1 pkg blackberries 9 oz mini plastic cups

Directions

Make pudding according to package instructions.

Add a thin layer of pudding in each cup. Add a layer of angel food cake cubes.

Add a thin layer of whipped cream. Add a layer of strawberries and blueberries. Repeat pudding, angel food, and whipped cream layers.

Top each cup with raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.

For best results, store in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours and wait to top each cup with berries until right before serving.

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Health in the News How to help a person with a seizure

any gum, food, or retainers that could fall into their throat and block their airway.

Seizures are caused by a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain, resulting in convulsions, muscle spasms, and sometimes loss of consciousness. They’re scary for both the person having the seizure and others nearby. The Medical News Today website shares these tips for helping someone suffering a seizure:

• Call 911 if this is the person’s first seizure, if it lasts longer than 3–5 minutes, or if the person doesn’t regain consciousness after the seizure is over. Also, if the person injures themself during the seizure, has multiple seizures, or is showing trouble breathing.

• Help the person lie down on the floor on their left side. Place a pillow or a piece of soft clothing under their head and neck.

• Loosen collars, neckties, scarves, or anything else around their neck that might constrict their breathing.

• Remove any loose objects from within reach of their arms and legs.

• Keep other people away. Don’t let bystanders crowd the victim during the seizure.

• Talk to the person with a calm, reassuring tone throughout the seizure, letting them know someone is near and they’re OK. • Time the seizure. Most seizures are brief, but they can seem longer when they’re happening. Count or use your phone or a clock to keep track of how long the seizure lasts so you can report it accurately later.

• Pay attention to any physical symptoms that happen during the seizure, such as vomiting. Be ready to report what the person was doing when the seizure struck.

How to choose the right doctor A primary care physician is your first line of defense in maintaining good health. Finding one you like and trust may take a little effort, though. Here’s some advice from the Healthline website: • Check your network. Staying within your health plan’s network can save you money. Look through your plan’s documents to locate primary care doctors in your community.

• Talk to family members and friends. Ask who they go to, and whether they like and trust them. You can also look to other health care workers you know—your pharmacist, physical therapist, eye doctor, and the like.

• Consider the location. Is it easy for you to visit the doctor’s office? Ask about public transportation, parking, access, and other physical issues. If your doctor’s office is inconvenient to get to, you won’t go as often as you should.

• Check availability. How busy is the doctor? Will you be able to get an appointment when you need one?

Is telemedicine an option? You should be able to see a doctor quickly when you need to.

• Keep their airway clear. Don’t force anything into the person’s mouth to help them breathe. Take out 6 | elementhl.com

Ancient pterosaurs could control their feather color Flying dinosaurs may have been able to adjust the color of their feathers using melanin pigments, according to a study published in the journal Nature. The evidence comes from the head crest of a pterosaur some 155 million years old, a fossil unearthed in Brazil. These flying dinosaur relatives lived as long as 230 million years ago, and this particular species sported a large head crest which, scientists have discovered, was surrounded by a ring of fuzzy feathers—some short and wiry like hair, and others fluffy and branched.

The discovery ended one debate over whether pterosaurs had feathers, but studying the fossilized feathers with powerful electron microscopes, the team found ancient granules of melanin, which affects the color of the skin. In modern birds, these

melanosomes are linked to feather color, suggesting that pterosaurs could control the coloring of their feathers.

Get yer hot dogs! The (sort of) true origin of a treat Americans love hot dogs. Every year we eat about 7 billion of them between Memorial Day and Labor Day alone. And the typical American eats about 60 a year.

Where do hot dogs come from (aside from ballpark vendors, of course)? Their origins are shrouded in mystery.

Some sources say they date back to the 1st century, when the Roman emperor Nero’s cook first experimented with stuffing the intestines of pigs with spiced meats. The word “frankfurter” comes from Frankfurt, Germany, where pork sausages in buns are said to have been served in the 15th century; “wiener” is from Vienna (Wien), home to pork sausages originally called “wienerwurst” (Vienna sausage) in the 1800s.

In the United States, a German immigrant named Charles Feltman is credited with selling sausages in rolls around the year 1870, in Coney Island, N.Y. Another German, Antonoine Feuchtwanger, is said to have sold sausages in St. Louis around the same time, offering a split bun to hold them at the suggestion of his wife.

And the term “hot dog” itself?

That’s similarly shrouded in mystery.

According to one popular tale, a newspaper cartoonist in 1900 drew a picture of a frankfurter with legs, a tail, and a head, but unable to spell “Dachshund,” dubbed it a “hot dog.” The story is disputed, however.

What’s beyond doubt is that hot dogs are the meal of choice for lots of hungry people around the world— whatever condiments they want to load them up with.

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Click for our Easter video

Click for the July birthdays!

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TESTIMONIALS

Here’s what you had to say this month...

“

-Very easy process. Best was closing came to us - couldn’t have been simpler.

-The Brad Roche Group made our home purchase a very easy experience! Very informative and great communication throughout the process!

-Brad Roche is an excellent mortgage lender. He is efficient in communication and explaining the process. He is always there to answer any questions along the way.

His service is prompt and on point. I highly recommend Brad and his team for residential home financing and re-financing.

- Everyone was so great! The requests were timely and everything was on point. We moved along quickly, all questions were immediately answered and the team worked extra hard to get everything ready in time. They were amazing to work with!

-The home buying process is normally stressful but our experience was not that at all.

Everything was explained to is and made convenient for a family with a busy schedule.

- Excellent team, true professionals who provide top-notch levels of service to the client through the entire home buying experience.

Brad and Angela are highly recommended!

”

Thank you for your continued trust.

Anyone you know we may be able to help?

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