The Wright County
Monitor
Helping the needy Page 16 Letters to Santa Section B
145th year Number 51
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Official newspaper of Wright County
$1.00 per copy
www.clarionnewsonline.com
Here we come a carolin’
A group of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows students, amongst them was part of the school’s band, and Clarion community members made their rounds and caroled at places like The Meadows and The Clarion Wellness & Rehabilitation Center, both in Clarion, on the evening of December 9. Those in attendance were encouraged to tap their feet and sing along to “Jingle Bells” and other classic holiday tunes. (Monitor Photos by Jacob Snyder)
Santa, can you please get me this for Christmas? Evan Wahl, son of Chance and Jamie Wahl, Clarion, brought a visual to show Santa Claus exactly what he wants for Christmas. The jolly man stopped at First Citizens Bank on December 12 to talk to the children and snap photos with him. (Monitor Photo by Jacob Snyder) More photos continued on page 2.
Many hands make quick work of assembling fruit baskets
Mike Auderer, a new Edward Jones financial advisor, the best part of his new job is working to first build a relationship with the customer then providing them with the best personalized advice on making investments. He started working at the Clarion office in mid-October.
New Edward Jones employee is store director turned financial advisor
By: Jacob Snyder WrightCoMonitor@gmail.com Store director to financial advisor. After more than 30 years of working his way up the ladder at Hy-Vee to eventually a store director position, Mike Auderer decided to make a change. So, he quit his job. But instead of taking another position in a similar field, he did something kind of unusual. He started over in brand new one. He started working as a financial advisor for the Edward Jones office in Clarion in mid-October. “I think the best part of being a financial advisor is going to be helping people reach their financial goals,” Auderer said. Auderer grew up in Dubuque and graduated from Wahlert High School. During his high school days, like many other students, he got a part-time job...at Hy-Vee. That was the beginning of his more than 30-year journey with the company. Upon completing a bachelor’s degree in business at Loras College, Auderer went back to work for HyVee full-time. Over time, he worked his way up to positions from front-end manager, then to second and eventually first assistant manager. Twenty-one years passed by before he would take his first position as store director in Ottumwa in 2001. And another twelve years went by before he moved to take a position as store director in Webster City. Throughout his time in the business, he liked one part of his job in particular.
“The thing I probably enjoyed the most was the customers and the employees,” he said. “I just like being around people.” Despite liking his job, it could be quite stressful at times and with more than 30 years under his belt, he began thinking about the possibility of a career change. A neighbor, who worked in an Edward Jones office in another town, helped this process along, you could say, by mentioning an upcoming opening to be a financial advisor in the Clarion office. She told Auderer that working for the company is great because they treat you like part of a family. A couple of more talks with his neighbor, and he began thinking more and more about this new prospect. “While talking to my wife one day, I told her at the very least, I need to look into the opportunity,” he said. While researching, Auderer began to see what his neighbor was talking about. But making a decision to completely change careers is not something you take lightly. He knew completely changing fields at this point in his life was unusual, but could certainly be done. It took a little time and it allowed him to really look at the pros and cons. But after more thought and talks with his family, he quit working at Hy-Vee and began pursuing a new career, as a financial advisor. Once, hired and upon completing the preliminary steps, he had to continued on page 2
By: Jacob Snyder WrightCoMonitor@gmail.com The scene at Chappy’s on Main last Thursday morning was similar to the one the night of the Holmes Christmas Club Auction....busy. Only this time, items like cookies and cakes weren’t being auctioned off by Mike Ryerson, of Ryserson Realty, LLC, and company. Rather, people were folding letters, cutting ribbon, and otherwise preparing approximately 1,200 fruit baskets to be sent out to individuals, families and care centers around Wright County. “You always have a fun time when you’re there,” said Caroline Lund, of Clarion, who’s been helping with the event for the past three years. “And you work with people you may not get to work with any other time of the year.” Volunteers of nearly every age helped assemble baskets containing both healthy snacks like oranges and sweet treats such as Tootsie Rolls. The Holmes Christmas Club organization got its start in the 1940s in Holmes, just west of Clarion, and was created by some locals who wanted to reach out and help others. Over the years, it has grown and changed, but the Club’s mission has remained the same, to aid those who are struggling or in need not
just during the Christmas season either, but all year long. Gift baskets are one of the main ways they reach out to others. The Club put together about 1,200 on Thursday, which is about 200 more than last year. Chatter could be heard above festive jazzy Christmas music, while some stood in assembly line placing fruit in a basket and passed it on to the next person and others were cutting ribbon and folding letters. And with more than 50 people, of every different age, the job took less than a couple hours. Some, like Tanya Bierl, who works at Security Savings Bank in Clarion, took the day off to be a part of the event. There were many retired folks there as well, like Annie Avery, of Rowan. “It amazes me how that many people can work together like they did Thursday,” she said of the basket making. “And no one is just sitting around, everyone is busy doing something.” Iris Erickson, of Dows, started helping with the event around 15 years ago. She continues with it today and is happy to be part of a worthy cause, and also, like Lund, enjoys the social aspect of it.
“It’s a wonderful thing to just get together and [help with] it,” Erickson said, adding how she and the other ladies at the table chat and this year sang along with some of the tunes being played through the speaker system. Marty Brandt, Clarion, who’s helped for the past few years, commented in a similar fashion. “It’s just a good feeling to give back at Christmas time,” he said.
A spread of food was provided, including the ever-famous Ruthie Rolls, as well as sandwiches, desserts, and drinks. Distribution, which was both to individuals, families, and other places like care centers, too, began, after people took a little rest and grabbed lunch. One of the first large loads of fruit baskets, 220 plus of them, was taken to Eagle Grove.
Just as for the Holmes Christmas Club Auction, many people showed up to help put the fruit baskets together on December 18. (Top photo) Cec Peddicord, Belmond, stands near the end of the assembly line and helps put the final touches on the baskets. (Left photo) A haul with more than 220 of them was taken to Eagle Grove. It was one of the first large shipments to go out Thursday afternoon. (Left to right) Jim Larick, Clarion, and Dean Kluss, Clarion, were two of the gentlemen who helped with that process.