The Gift of MobilityRedmond associates travel to Costa Rica

Make a DifferenceGetting involved in Redmond’s humanitarian projects

Jay BosshardtOne of Redmond’s first employees

™

April 2012

A magazine for associates and partners of Redmond, Inc.Redmond Incorporated475 West 910 SouthHeber City, UT 84032

“A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and

compassion are the things which renew humanity.”

~ Buddha

Jay Bosshardt was thirteen years old when he got his first job at Redmond. “My brother and I were in charge of watching the warehouse,” he says. “When a customer came, we would call home so my mom could run out to the salt yard to get my dad.”

The year was 1960, and Jay’s father, Lamar, and uncle, Milo, were working hard to create the company that would become Redmond, Inc. Jay worked with the company for years before enrolling at Brigham Young University, recognizing that Redmond could use some accounting help.

“I didn’t necessarily like accounting, but the company needed some help there,” Jay says. “Somebody had to do it, I guess, so I got the degree and headed back home.”

After taking a break from Redmond to teach elementary school for two years, Jay and his father agreed that the company had untapped potential. In 1980, Lamar convinced Jay to return to the family business and help strengthen the company’s culture.

“My education, and some books I was reading, convinced me that this family-owned business had the potential to become much more,” Jay says. “It wasn’t about becoming bigger financially, it was about being able to make the world around us better.” In 1986, Jay’s appetite for change and growth led the company to work with BYU’s MBA program. A few years later, Jay introduced the family to Rhett Roberts, then a recent MBA graduate, who would become the company’s CEO and principle owner.

“We had a common philosophy about how to run a business and how to make it great,” Jay says, “but Rhett had the skills we needed to make that vision a reality. After a while, the family agreed that we would be better off—and the world would be better off—if we sold the business.”

With customary humility, Jay hesitates to acknowledge his role in Redmond’s continuing success. Now semi-retired, he leads personal finance training sessions for the company and has played a major role

in expanding Redmond’s involvement in humanitarian projects around the world.

“I’ve always gotten fulfillment out of helping others,” Jay says. “We’re looking for humanitarian projects for Redmond to get involved with, both locally and internationally, that will be an opportunity for associates and people in other countries to have meaningful interactions with each other.”

Jay devotes much of his time to finding opportunities like these. In six months he’s been to Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, and the Philippines, sharing his resources and talents in new ways. “I didn’t dislike my work in accounting,” Jay says, “but I love the way I spend my time now.”

Jay BosshardtPromoting change at home and abroad

On a Saturday morning in late February,

Ricardo Solis carries his mother, Cristina,

to a friend’s car. Together, they drive to the

outskirts of San Jose, Costa Rica, where

Cristina will receive a wheelchair.

The pair arrive at a senior care center in

Belén, where a handful of Redmond asso-

ciates and local Rotary Club members greet

them. Ricardo watches, beaming, while vo-

lunteers place his mother in her new chair,

ending years of being carried from place to

place.

“My mother got sick since I was seven years

old,” Ricardo says, embarrassed by English

that is better than he seems to realize.

“When my father noticed she was sick, he

said, ‘I’m gonna let’s go,’ and he left our fa-

mily. It’s been very, very hard for us.”

The oldest of three sons, Ricardo started

caring for his family at an age when most

American children spend their days con-

quering training wheels. Fourteen years

later, he speaks of his mother the way we

speak of our children.

“Every day I have prayed to God that I can

give her a life she didn’t have before,” he

says. “But we are poor. I am a little asha-

med because I won’t pay for the wheelchair,

and I am so grateful to you.”

In the parking lot, a young family climbs

from the cab of an Isuzu work truck. Se-

bastien is seven years old, unable to use

his legs, and happy. He clings to his father,

whose eyes are moist with gratitude even

before volunteers approach. Sebastien’s

mother, not much taller than five feet, isn’t

able to carry her growing son anymore, and

she seems reluctant to accept charity.

The chair arrives. Sebastien begins to clap,

and his mother begins to cry.

The morning is full of scenes like these.

Marcos, a teen with Down syndrome, cros-

ses the parking lot slowly, on legs deter-

mined to disobey. He overflows with joy—

when he laughs, the entire room laughs

with him. Moments later, as he moves the

chair for the first time, we all cry with his

mother, who can only repeat, “Mi amor!”

through grateful tears.

Working with The Wheelchair Foundation

and Rotary Club members, Redmond as-

sociates distributed more than fifty wheel-

chairs in Belén that day, which proved to

be the highlight of a memorable ten days

in Costa Rica. In the months leading up to

the trip, associates raised money and made

personal donations to buy the wheelchairs,

and Redmond provided the opportunity to

experience another culture in a meaningful

way.

“Of course, we could have used the money

we spent on travel to donate more wheel-

chairs,” says Rhett Roberts, Redmond’s

CEO, “but we would have lost a lot of value

in the process. You can change a person’s

life by writing a check for a wheelchair, but

you change your own life by sharing their

joy in person.”

In Belén, most of the wheelchairs have been

claimed when Ricardo and Cristina make

their way back to the car. Their friend, and

chauffeur for the day, has been watching

from a distance, and he approaches with

tears in his eyes. He doesn’t speak English,

so Ricardo interprets for him.

“I don’t understand why you spend your

money in this way,” he says, pausing to let

Ricardo talk, and to find his voice. “But plea-

se, don’t stop. Keep doing what you do. You

are making a difference. Not only for Costa

Rica, for the world.”

Redmond associates travel to Costa Rica

The Gift ofMobility

2 ELEVATE MAGAZINE ELEVATE MAGAZINE 3

Make aDifferenceGetting involved in Redmond’s humanitarian projects With local sponsorships and paid time off for community service, Redmond has always pro-vided opportunities for us to make a difference in our world. As technology shrinks the world around us, Redmond’s influence can expand like never before, making humanitarian trips like the Costa Rican wheelchair distributions possi-ble. Knowing that trips like these change our li-ves as much as the lives of the people we serve, Redmond plans to provide more opportunities for its associates in the future.

Who can participate?

Humanitarian trips are offered to all full-time associates and their spouse or partner. When more people want to attend than room allows, drawings are held to be sure we have a diverse group of people for each trip.

What can you expect?

Redmond associates interested in humanita-rian trips will need to contribute and raise funds. Investing in the experience adds more meaning to the trip and changes the way we view the opportunity, which is actually more important than the financial contribution we make. (Some associates have established company savings accounts so money is available when oppor-tunities come up. Scott Murdock can help you establish an account.) You’ll also need to budget vacation time to use for any trips.

Have an idea of your own?

If you know of a humanitarian program that you think is a good fit for Redmond, pass the information along! Share your idea with Jay Bosshardt in the south office, or Jason Nielsen up north.

Sebastian, age 7

Ricardo and Cristina Katya and Marco