Loyalty Pawn's Three Balls Chronicle Volume 5 Issue 1

THREE BALLS CHRONICLE

VOLUME 5 / ISSUE 1

January

2022

Happy New Year’s Loyalty Family!

IN THIS ISSUE

Letter from the President

Letter from the General Manager

Loyalty Pawn Family

Store Manager Updates

Golden 1 Center Events

Upcoming Sales

Upcoming Birthdays and Anniversaries and New Hires

Top Performers in December

Loyalty Pawn’s Core Goals, Values and Visions

Employee Services Corner

We hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and New Year with their friends and family! Wow, this past year went by so fast and there were ups and downs with the COVID-19 Pandemic, but we want to thank you again to everyone for all your hard work that everyone puts in everyday, you guys are doing an amazing job even with everything that has gone on in the past year. Don’t forget to check out the monthly newsletters electronically, on the Issuu app so that you can share your hard work to your friends and family! There are many new events and Kings games so make sure to check that out so you can request games or other events for you and your families. The Kings are doing great this year and we haven’t gotten many requests for games, so be sure to take part in this great opportunity. Keep doing an amazing job Team Loyalty.

Letter from the President

Happy New Year Loyalty Pawn Family,

First of all, I wish everyone had an amazing holiday season. I know there is a lot of stress during the holidays and this pandemic is not helping with that at all, between sickness at home and within our pawn family, let alone the short teams we have and it being a remarkably busy month. YOU ALL DID IT! Thank You. We did not have our largest revenue in Loyalty Pawn history, but we did have the second largest revenue month and that is terrific. We were less than $19,000 off from an all-time high which happened in February 2020. We did however hit our annual revenue budget numbers and we were less then 1% off from an annual revenue all time high as well which happened in 2019. With all the difficulty and uncertainty that 2021 brought us this year we absolutely crushed it on the revenue side of the business. Again, Way to Go TEAM!

The revenue numbers are terrific but 2021 also brought us some difficult circumstances that lead to our expenses also being on the high side. I will be watching those numbers closer this year. Keeping expenses in order and with our loan balance growing, pawn service charges growing, steady rise in consistently hitting sales budgets and gold and silver staying within the range it is now, 2022 will be by far our best year yet.

There may be good news on the horizon as I just heard on the news. That with the rapid number of cases of the Omicron strand that will give many people that refuse the vaccine, the virus and will create natural immunity and that we should be extremely close to herd immunity and that should allow all factions of employment, business, and government to reopen to normal levels. Believe what you want to when it comes to the news, I am very skeptical from whatever news source I listen to, but this made good sense to me. Fingers crossed!! Looking forward to a great 2022!!

Gratefully,

Stan Lukowicz, III

Letter from the General Manager

Season Greetings, Everyone!

2022 is right around the corner, and it looks like we have been able to survive another challenging year. I like to reflect on how far we have come and what challenges we have met. Unlike any other time in the pawn world, the waves in business have been very distinct. Given all the hurdles we have had to overcome (some we’re still overcoming), 2021 was a good year. In fairness, I think it would be fair to compare business with 2019. It was challenging to identify goals for the year 2020 accurately. So many unknowns in 2020. I also think it’s fair to say that moving forward, and we should be able to goal set 2022 from 2021 business as 2021 rebounded from the 2020 slide.

Through thick and thin, a year in review is warranted. Some successes were celebrated throughout the year. Florin had hit some milestones in loan growth and sales. We are happy to hear that they were able to take time to celebrate throughout the year to participate in bowling, top-golf, and an occasional dinner. Both Roseville and El Camino had their celebrations, including bowling and a nice night out to dinner. With the merging of West Sac and Broadway, the opportunity for Broadway’s growth has never been better! Also, both Florin and El Camino hit over one million in sales for the year. Compared to 2019, not one store reached $750,000 in sales. In 2020, this will be the same. It is clear to say this year was a new record in sales for Loyalty Pawn! Not to mention the physical items are returning everywhere!

Speaking of sales, the first-place salesperson of December was Dominic T selling $46,095.50. 2nd place goes to Jason Wagner, selling $25,782.24, and 3rd place goes to Tony M, selling $25,034.14. This December there was a significant improvement compared to previous years. Having an increased selection of inventory helped, but the stellar salesmanship was in full effect. Thank you, everyone, for your continued support and hard work.

So, the two main questions are what’s next? Where do we go from here? This year, the company will be focusing on team and location growth. It is no secret that we are looking for additional team members to join Loyalty Pawn. Also, with the moving of West Sacramento, we are eager to find another key location to help support our goals. In the next couple of weeks, we will be examining our data to see what our next six months will look like as we continue our growth trend. It does not appear that business, sales, and loans are slowing down. 2022 will be the year to get back on track, and I’m looking forward to it!

Sincerely,

Wayne Silliman General Manager

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”Thomas Edison.

Loyalty Pawn Family

Happy New Year Loyalty Family!

Another year down and boy I can say it has been a challenging one. I always like to reflect on what some of my accomplishments have been throughout the year, what I have learned and how I have grown as a person. It has sure been a busy year for Loyalty Pawn, a big congratulations to both Florin and El Camino for breaking into the million dollars in sales mark an excellent job for both stores. Having said that it is time to refocus on what our new goals are to be, I am excited to hear from all of you and please let me know what we can do to help with those goals. This month we are going to get to know one of our newest team members from the El Camino location Tyrah Walls.

1. Who is your hero and why? My mom would have to be my hero. Truthfully, she is an inspiration and as strong as she is mentally and able to find beauty in a lot, she is truthfully like no other. So Thankful for that woman.

2. What is your favorite family vacation? My favorite family vacation would have to be when we went out six flags for the first time when I was 14 and my pops and I sat in the front seats of the Medusa rollercoaster. I was mad at him for having me do it but afterwards I did it again like 5 times and it kickstarted my love for them.

3. What did you want to be when you were small? I wanted to be a doctor or some sort of medical worker but when I became a caregiver, dealing with the loss of people you love took quite a toll on me.

4. What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play? I am not much of a fan of watching sports unless it is with company, but I love to play volleyball. Its such a competitive sport but also requires a lot of teamwork which I feel makes everyone stronger.

5. What would you sing at karaoke night? Anything by Ella Mai. Fan girl for sure

6. Have you ever had a nickname? What is it? Simply put, I was called “T” even though my name is only is 5 letters.

7. Would you rather win the lottery or work at the perfect job? And why? I would have to choose the perfect job because I can get lucky again and hit the right numbers for a lottery, but I do not know many people who are genuinely happy in the field they are in and I figure if I must go to work majority of my life, why not have it be enjoyable

8. Who would you want to be stranded with on a deserted island? My sister MIGHT be the only person who has a fighting chance

9. If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to and why? If I were able to, I would go back to 2015 and spend a little more time with my grandma. The world just is not the same without her here

10. How would your friends describe you? I am fairly sure they would describe me as the “fun mom". I like to make sure they are taken care of and happy as well as the one to tell them as it is when they need to hear it.

11. What is the worst gift you have ever received? Truthfully, I can't complain, but I would have to say a random towel set.

12. What are some of your hobbies? I’m a simple soul. I enjoy listening to my music and reading a good book. Maybe even doing a few sudoku puzzles or drawing.

13. If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have? I’d have to be able to teleport, I can’t stand how people drive sometimes and that’s so much more efficient.

14. What would you do if you won the lottery? I would put majority of It up and away. give a good amount to those that have looked over me in my lifetime and live like I never had it…after I take a 2-year vacation

15. What is the tallest building you have been to the top of? The space needle in Seattle

16. What is your favorite holiday and why? Christmas takes #1 because it’s such a heartfelt holiday and it brings family together while also bringing out and creating beautiful memories.

17. What is your favorite sports team? I don’t have one

18. What is one of your favorite movies? Lilo and Stitch is my favorite movie mainly because it reminds me so much of me and my little sisters’ relationship.

19. What three items would you take with you on a deserted island? I’ll need a weighted blanket, pillow, and some matches. I can’t handle the cold

20. What was your favorite subject in school? Major math geek over here!

21. What is the most unusual things you’ve ever eaten? I once tried a chocolate cricket.

22. Do you collect anything? I used to try and collect quarters from different states, but I lost the book for it and gave up. Nothing now other than the tears of people who dislike me…kidding

23. What three things do you think of the most each day? 1) Why do people act the way they do? 2) What am I going to eat later? 3)Am I even hungry?

24. On a scale from 1-10 how funny would you say you are? The teacher sent me to recess in middle schoolI told her no. Because I do not play. I am hilarious. Solid 10.

25. Where do you see yourself in 6 months? The mirror. Seriously though, I hope to be advancing in my job and improving in life in general. I just go with the flow.

Shop Talk Manager Updates

El Camino

Team Loyalty,

Three, Two, One Happy New Year to everyone hope everyone and their families celebrated a festive and safe New Year!!! As Henry Ford would say "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." And we did big congratulations to my team El Camino even the new hire Andrew Fischer. He is doing very well as an SLA and picking up the pawn industry rapidly. But so excited to see reach our goal of a milliondollar sales mark. Also with first year of Loyalty Luxury being open it was a success. As a thank you and recognition of hard work team Elco will be going out to dinner as a team. With the new year to come we want to set a new goal for the year. 1.5M for the end of 2022 with Valentines around the corner and proper marketing we can do it. We have the inventory we just need to put on our sales hat back on. On other note we are still short in staff and, but we are pulling through let's keep up the great work and help each other. Remember please stay safe and healthy.

Tony Mora

Florin Mall

Loyalty Pawn Families,

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a great New Year and a wonderful Christmas. Wow, I can’t believe 2021 is over. What a crazy year this have been, 2021 was like a roller coaster. It’s great to say that we made it another year and can’t wait to see what 2022 have in store for us. Team Florin is still holding strong on our loan balance of $1.6million. I do have great news, Team Florin ended with $118k in sales last month in December and closing the year off in sales with a grand total of $1.1 million in sales for the whole entire year. I am so proud to say that this was a 1-year goal that we have set for Team Florin since the beginning of January. What I believed help us achieve this goal was all the layaways that the team locked in. We had a total of $306.5k in layaway pickup for last year. So, continue to push those layaways they work. I am extremely proud of my team for the hard work and pushing sales so that we can get closer to reaching this amazing goal. Last month we celebrated the team great accomplishment with dinner. Florin Will have to set a goal for 2022 to break our 2021 sales goal. Mike just completed his 2 years with us here at Loyalty and AH is also coming up to her 2 years this month. We are excited to see them grow with us. I also wanted to say congratulation to Team Roseville for hitting over $100k in sales last month also. Great Job!

ALRIGHT 2022 WE ARE READY FOR YOU.

“ Nothing is impossible. The word itself says I’M POSSIBLE”

Mark Xiong

Roseville

Hello Team Loyalty,

I hope everyone is looking forward to having a great 2022! It’s crazy to think that 2021 is over and we are staring a New Year. I don’t know what it is, but time seems to fly by when you are working at the pawn shop. I just want to say how proud I am of all of you and your dedication you have given to your teams this past year. I know how hard you have all worked and Loyalty Pawn is a better company because of all of you, Thank you! Let’s all keep up the great work and let’s set our goals for 2022 and crush them out of the park!

Justin Martinez

Broadway

Hello Team,

Broadway has been working diligently on transferring the entirety of West Sacramento’s loan portfolio one loan at a time. Some days it seems it is an impossible task to get done, nevertheless our talented team of Tito, Kirby, Josh & Paul have been making the impossible possible. On top of that our very own Kirby killed it in sales for the whole quarter again grabbing the number 3 spot in the company. Thank you to all the stores who have stepped up and grabbed some of our inventory surplus. Big John paid a visit to the store recently and it was great to see him in such high spirits. We are all wishing John a speedy recovery for the new year.

Jason Wagner

Golden 1 Center Upcoming Events

We have some exciting news!! The Golden 1 Center is finally opening back up to have events. Below is the list of events that are posted as of right now and we will be adding events to this list each month as they get posted! Same thing as usual if you would like to request tickets send you ticket request forms to lauren.l@loyaltypawn.com so that I can get your requests in and if you need a request form email lauren.l@loyaltypawn.com and I can send you a copy! With the Golden 1 Center opening back up there is a limited number of tickets available, so for every event you are only allowed to request and receive 4 tickets per event!

January Sales Flyer

Monthly Birthstone Guide

This will help educate you about some of the more popular semi and precious stones we come across and it will also help you close some more sales. The idea is to educate you on each month’s birthstone as you can arrange your cases properly and make suggest ions to our clients that may be browsing or even looking for a gift. Let’s think outside the box when utilizing this information.

JANUARY – Garnet

MARCH – Aquamarine

FEBRUARY Amethyst

MAY – Emerald

JULY – Ruby & Tourmaline

Anniversaries, Birthdays and New Hires

January Anniversaries

Justin Martinez 8 years

Ah Xiong 2 years

Juanita Guiterrez 1 year

January Birthdays

Tyrah Walls January 31st

December New Hires

We would like to welcome our recent new hires to our Loyalty Pawn family. Andrew Fisher to the El Camino team, welcome Andrew!!

TOP PERFORMERS IN DECEMBER

Loyalty Pawn’s Goals, Values, and Visions

“The Leader in Local Lending”

Company Wide Goals

• To Offer Immediate Relief with a Short-Term Loan.

• To Develop, Recruit and Inspire an Elite Work Force, Driven by Loyal Business Practices.

• To Provide the Highest Standard of Quality, Commitment and Value to Every Customer in Our Loyalty Pawn Family!

Core Values

• Loyalty

• Dedication

• Creativity

Company Vision

• Loyal People Committed to Everyday Satisfaction

Loyalty Pawn Employee Services Corner

JANUS- Roman God

What’s happening in January 2022? This month was named after the Roman god Janus, who fittingly represented new beginnings. January was named for the Roman god Janus, known as the protector of gates and doorways who symbolize beginnings and endings. Janus is depicted with two faces, one looking into the past, the other with the ability to see into the future. What a fitting symbol for this first day of the year; this month is our door into the new year.

Janus am I; oldest of potentates; Forward I look, and backward, and below I count, as god of avenues and gates, The years that through my portals come and go.

–Henry

Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (1807–82)

January 1 is New Year’s Day. While you’re still recuperating from the prior night’s parties, read about some other new year’s traditions you might not know about and celebrate with some Hoppin’ John for good luck.

January 5 brings Twelfth Night, an English folk custom that marked the end of Christmas merrymaking, and in ancient Celtic tradition, the end of the 12-day winter solstice celebration. On Twelfth Night, it was customary for the assembled company to toast each other from the wassail bowl.

January 17 is Benjamin Franklin’s birthday. He was not only a world-renowned statesman, inventor, and scientist, but was also fascinated by agriculture.

January 17 is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day (observed). This holiday is held on the third Monday in January and honors the principles of this civil rights leader and Nobel Prize Winner dedicated to nonviolence.

Just for Fun January Days

January is National Clean Up Your Computer Month and National Hot Tea Month! Here are some more fun things to celebrate in January:

• January 1: Z Day (On this day, those whose last name begins with “Z” get to go first instead of last.)

• January 3: National Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day

• January 6: National Bean Day

• January 8: Elvis Presley’s Birthday

• January 10: National Houseplant Appreciation Day

• January 14: National Dress Up Your Pet Day

• January 20: National Penguin Day

• January 22: National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day

• January 29: National Puzzle Day

January Astronomy

The Full Wolf Moon

January’s Moon is called the Wolf Moon. The Saxon word for the month was Wulf-monath or “wolf month.”

This year, the full Moon reaches peak illumination at 6:51 P.M. EST on Monday, January 17. It can be seen rising from the horizon around sunset that evening.

The Quadrantid Meteor Shower

The Quadrantid meteors appear in the early January sky, producing up to 25 meteors per hour at their peak. They’ll be at their best on the night of Monday, January 3, into Tuesday, January 4. For the best chance at spotting them, venture out between midnight and dawn (if you can stand the cold).

We got you covered!

Loyalty Pawn’s group health benefits program is about to begin its annual open enrollment for the 2022 plan year.

Starting January 1st all eligible employees can add, drop, or enroll for the first time in our awesome group health plans that include Medical, Dental, Vision coverage and enjoy the benefits from Loyalty Pawn’s HRA Debit Card for qualifying medical plans. Let me know if you need technical assistance with the Ease, our online enrollment system. This electronic enrollment system is YOUR ticket to new enrollment and/or make plan changes to your current benefits.

Open enrollment ends Jan 15th and the new plan year coverage starts February 1st. If you miss this open enrollment window for group health, you will not be able to enroll or make changes until the next open enrollment

and that is over a year away! If you do not plan to make any changes and are super satisfied with your current health plans, you do not need to do anything. Your plan will roll over with only one slight change…. there is a slight premium rate increase.

Medical premiums did go up overall for the 2022 plan year. You will see a slight hike in your weekly pre-tax payroll premium deductions starting the first week of February. If you have questions or need help with your open enrollment starting December 15th send an email to: employeeservices@loyaltypawn.com Here’s your continued good health, fame and fortune!

401K-Loyalty Pawn Retirement $avings Program

Are you saving for retirement? Why not start today?

If you have completed 12 months of service with Loyalty Pawn, you’re eligible to participate and start putting away those pretax (or post tax Roth) dollars into your very own 401k account. To enroll, send me an email and I’ll help you get started. Also, for your “loyalty” “dedication” and “perseverance”, Loyalty Pawn contribute 3% of your gross wages into your 401k account an employer contribution weekly this is whether you defer pre/post tax dollars or not. Just another way of saying, “Thank YOU! We appreciate YOU”

Contact Employee Services at employeeservices@loyaltypawn.com Start saving for retirement’s tomorrow, today!

COVID | OMICRON Variant Update

Omicron is fast spreading (highly, highly transmissible than other COVID 19 variants, but perhaps less severe, early reports Suggest. Researchers in South Africa, where the variant originated, health officials say it may cause less serious Covid cases than other forms of the virus, but it is unclear whether at this time if whether or not that will change.

The United States reported more than 2 million coronavirus cases in one week, breaking yet another record as the omicron variant surges across the country. The 2.49 million COVID-19 cases within the past week outpaced the previous record of 1.7 million cases from Jan. 3-9, 2021, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data.

From the World Health Organization

Preliminary evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron such as people who have previously had COVID-19 could become reinfected more easily with Omicron, as compared to other variants of concern, but information is limited. More information on this will become available in the coming days and weeks.

Effectiveness of vaccines: WHO is working with technical partners to understand the potential impact of this variant on our existing countermeasures, including vaccines. Vaccines remain critical to reducing severe disease and death, including against the dominant circulating variant, Delta. Current vaccines remain effective against severe disease and death.

Effectiveness of current tests: The widely used PCR tests continue to detect infection, including infection with Omicron, as has seen with other variants as well. Studies are ongoing to determine whether there is any impact on other types of tests, including rapid antigen detection tests.

Effectiveness of current treatments: Corticosteroids and IL6 Receptor Blockers will still be effective for managing patients with severe COVID-19. Other treatments will be assessed to see if they are still as effective given the changes to parts of the virus in the Omicron variant. Mask Up! Socially Distance! Get Vaccinated to reduce symptom severity! Get tested often!

Remember, if you need HR, Payroll, Benefits, or Family support, Loyalty Pawn’s Employee Services is only a phone call, text message, or email away, on demand, anytime! 916-752-2255 employeeservices@loyaltypawn.com

Loyalty Pawn

Corporate Office: 1708 Broadway

Sacramento, Ca 95818