NEWSLETTERJanuary 2016

LETTER from the CEO...

We need to give thanks for giving! According to research it makes us feel great, helps our physical well-being, and is the hallmark of every great person throughout history. We’ve had a great philanthropic tradition here for over a decade and it seems we, as a company and as individuals, get more and more generous every year. So I need to say thank you to all of you collectively because it is an honor and a privilege to know such an amazingly charitable group. And now I’m going to help my own physical well-being by giving thanks to each of you in a fun and light-hearted way.

Abby, thanks for sitting with Colleen, Danny, Jennifer and Maria at Carnivale…enough said.

Alan, thanks for having a teenager.

Aletha, thanks for coming to the Chicago office three more times than last year.

Alice, thanks for coming aboard.

Alissa, thanks for stealing Gene Simmons’ shoes.

Allison, thanks for being so loud all the time.

Ana, thanks for moving from South Park to North Park.

Anne, thanks for celebrating your PMP with Prosecco.

Arlet, thanks for being the Martha Stewart of Call One.

Art, thanks for agreeing that Eggo Waffles are great.

Ashley, thanks for coming aboard.

Beatriz, thanks for keeping your second child away from John.

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Beth, thanks for not actually being blue.

Bill, thanks for including me in Superhero T-Shirt Friday.

Blase, thanks for always making everyone around you feel better.

Bob, thanks for not having Cincinnati chili in the office.

Brian B., thanks for having your kids terrorize me at the company picnic.

Brian M., thanks for calling the Cubs – Mets series so accurately.

Carmen, thanks for smiling.

Catalina, thanks for being the loud one in the Provisioning department.

Chelsea, thanks for being gracious enough to transfer to Bob’s group.

Chris, thanks for cutting it down to three pots of coffee.

Christina, thanks for being the ultimate Abe fan.

Claudia, thanks for saying I passed the test.

Clay, thanks for proving that you can take someone out of Oklahoma.

Colleen, thanks for sitting with Abby, Danny, Jennifer and Maria at Carnivale…enough said.

Crystal, thanks for coming aboard.

Dan, thanks for coming aboard.

Danny, thanks for sitting with Colleen, Abby, Jennifer and Maria at Carnivale…enough said.

Dennis, thanks once again for being the loud one in Pricing.

Derrick, thanks for introducing Kristin to Urban Dictionary.

...LETTER from the CEO...

Diane, thanks for coming aboard.

Dinero, thanks for remembering your car was downtown.

Dom, thanks for hitting all your home runs during our season.

Ed, thanks for ordering food for lunch meetings.

Edgar, thanks for offering to get tamales from the place Luis was recommending.

Erick, thanks for proving that Marines like crème brulee.

Erik, thanks for coming aboard.

Erin, thanks for coming aboard.

Fern, once again, thanks for being in Massachusetts.

Gary, thanks for making your son miss the Cubs game.

George, thanks for being in the Chicago office more in the past 6 months than in the past 6 years.

Gerald, thanks for removing the killer clown image from the ladies room mirror.

Hillary, thanks for helping find Joey’s car.

Jackson, thanks for the hug.

Jane, thanks for making gourmet popcorn for everyone’s birthday.

Janitza, thanks for coming aboard.

Jasna, thanks for completing your travel bucket list in one year.

Jason, thanks for letting me know that running eight miles is a piece of cake.

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Jeff, thanks for coming aboard.

Jennifer B., thanks for being so reserved.

Jennifer H., Colleen, Danny, Maria and Abby at Carnivale…enough said.

Jeremy, thanks Jeremy….I mean Justin….or, I mean Jeremy.

Joanna, thanks for being so craftsy.

Joey, thanks for proving that Tea Party members can like electric cars.

John G., thanks for being gracious in defeat.

John H., thanks for saying that working at Call One is as good or better than working for yourself.

John S., thanks for dealing with the insanity in Naperville.

JonPaul, thanks for rooming with Glaenzer.

Joe, thanks for always having faith in Jay Cutler.

Justin, thanks for coming aboard.

Kate, thanks for adding 20 syllables to your last name.

Keith, thanks for having unending faith in the Bears.

Kelly, thanks for still being a Backstreet Boys fan.

Ken, thanks for proving that Call One is truly a family.

Kristin, thanks for recommending DTF for your Cha Cha team.

Larry, thanks for having the patience of a saint.

Lauren, thanks for making every day a happy birthday.

Lee, thanks for having contagious mellowness.

...LETTER from the CEO...

Lindsay, thanks for coming aboard.

Lori, thanks for Festivus.

Lou, thanks for coming aboard.

Luis, thanks for proving that a man of few words can still speak powerfully.

Lynda, thanks for having the nickname “Ma Bell”.

Lynette, thanks for giving me absolutely nothing funny to write.

Maria, thanks for sitting with Colleen, Danny, Jennifer and Abby at Carnivale…enough said.

Martha, thanks for being the “easiest”.

Mary D., thanks for telling us your middle name.

Mary W., thanks for being the raffle ticket queen.

Matt, thanks for not hurting Paul during hockey games.

Michelle C., thanks for being the “mother” of repair.

Michelle N., thanks for proving the Cubs are cursed.

Mike M., thanks for being the cause of the insanity in Naperville.

Mike Z., thanks for coming aboard.

Mimi, same as Ken.

Nancy B., thanks for not knowing where the men’s room is.

Nancy E., thanks for making sure we always have enough peanut M&Ms.

Nate, thanks for coming aboard.

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Nick, thanks for proving you can do the splits.

Olga, thanks for not wearing your Halloween contacts every day.

Paul, thanks for not hurting Matt during hockey games.

Peter, thanks for recommending your Cha Cha team name to Kristin.

Phil, thanks Phil….”all right!”

Ray, thanks for telling me about magnetic mind control.

Rick, thanks for showing up to our playoff game.

Rob, thanks for showing the folks from CDG a good time in Champaign.

Ruth, thanks for postponing your vacation to make our softball game (which we lost…thanks Rick!)

Sally, thanks for having an onsite costume shop this Halloween.

Sarah, thanks for never seeming like you had a bad day.

Sebastian, thanks for using your head on the softball field.

Slavica (Niki), thanks for coming in on a Saturday for the bathroom upgrade.

Stephanie, thanks for being the youngest grandma I know.

Steve, thanks for representing.

Steven, thanks for finding that picture of Dinero.

Sue, thanks for adding more avocado to the salsa.

Taylor, thanks, I never knew you were from England, Scotland or Australia.

Tim, thanks for the game-winning hit.

...LETTER from the CEO...

Tom C., thanks for giving me false hope about the Fighting Illini.

Tom K., thanks for coming aboard.

Trisha, thanks for changing the blonde hair to purple.

Victoria L., thanks for keeping Martha in line.

Victoria (Tori), thanks for taking the video of Gerald.

-Chris Surdenik

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT...

A time to say thank you,

I would like to personally say thank you to all of you for a very successful year at Call One. As we prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and loved ones it is a time to be proud of all of our accomplishments together and reflect on the year that was. We also can look forward to a very bright and promising future and ring in the New Year thanks to each other and the hard work and dedication that everyone has put forth to get Call One into the position we are currently in.

It was last year at the Call One holiday party that I used the word “metamorphosis” and the change that we were about to undergo in 2015. As I type this letter today on the heels of 2015 ending and 2016 knocking on the door we truly have gone through a “metamorphosis”. Call One is a completely different looking company than we were twelve months ago.

Sitting back and reflecting on all that we have accomplished together it is amazing to think of all of the strategic planning and hard work that everyone has put in to make Call One the company that it is. We have had our challenges and at times it has been tough and frustrating. We have reinvented ourselves on the fly and all of the dedication, caring, and passion that each and every one of you has shown in 2015 continues to make Call One a great place to be and work at. All of the changes that we have undergone and delivered on is a testament to everyone at this company and has shown the fortitude that we all have working together as a team and all of the great things that we can accomplish.

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As we close out 2015 and celebrate all of our accomplishments the remembering thought that I will have about it is that it was a year of growing pains that we all embraced and got through together. It is also time to welcome in 2016 and continue our mission to grow the business and to uphold our values and cultural beliefs that truly make Call One a great place to work. A sincere thank you to all of you for everything that you do and will do in the coming year. I honestly believe that working together we do great things!

Please have a safe and happy holiday season.-Alan Burkhard

BILLING

11/15/15 $5,508,612

10/15/15 $5,253,783

9/15/15 $5,883,938

8/15/15 $5,722,064

7/15/15 $5,709,231

6/15/15 $5,289,083

5/15/15 $5,415,100

4/15/15 $5,167,522

3/15/15 $5,013,552

2/15/15 $5,051,260

1/15/15 $5,079,230

As everyone probably already knows we have converted to a new billing software vendor called CDG. Without going into too much detail I can tell you that this was a much needed change on various levels. This has been an incredible challenge and I would like to emphasize the fact that everyone involved has done an excellent job getting us to this point. With that said there are still enhancements and changes which need to be made in order to get the system where it needs to be. I appreciate your continued patience as we do our best to get there as fast as possible.

BOOK CLUB

Calling all bookworms (or those who want to be)…in 2016 Call One will be rolling out a company-wide book club. Our first book is Fish!, by Stephen Lundin. We will be sending out additional information in January on how to sign up and when these meetings will take place. We look forward to seeing everyone there! In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to Kristin Syoen with any questions.

DO THE CHA CHA!

Setting Records for All-Time Best!

Teams of the Chicago Charity Challenge are proving once again that competition fuels the passion and ambition to be our best.   And BEST is the only way to describe the level of generosity  from  local businesses and their employees, as reflected in the record-breaking level of donations and volunteer hours being logged this year at some of Chicago’s most respected companies.

Employee philanthropists from 22 area companies have bested last year’s excellent results by already donating more than $9 million and over 24,000 volunteer hours. What’s even better than that? Knowing that two more months remain of this citywide giving competition, and we know that Challenger teams are looking to blow the roof off of last year’s numbers.

At this rate, the results from the 2015 Chicago Charity Challenge will far outpace contributions tallied during the Challenge’s 2014 inaugural year, when Challengers contributed more than $6.2 million and more than 22,000 volunteer hours to some of Chicago’s most deserving charities. That’s already a 17.7% percent increase in donations.

On a per-company basis, our current level of giving equates to each team donating an average of $333,800 and almost 1,000 hours of service. Wow! We are continually impressed by the generous hearts of our beloved Challenge participants.

I love statistics, but what I love more is what lies beneath them … the stories they represent, such as:• Accenture employees teaching clients of Upwardly Global how to use LinkedIn• Associated Agencies employees helping out at a Jarrett Payton Foundation fundraiser•Chicago Fire employees refereeing youth soccer games•Deloitte employees providing a face lift to Anixter Center’s facilities• Groupon employees serving on Chicago Lights’ Leadership Board•Harley-Davidson Financial Services employees working the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless booth at RiotFest• Kolcraft employees serving food at the Rush Hospital Preemie Graduate Picnic for the March of Dimes• Latham & Watkins employees chaperoning Do the Write Thing teen writing competition winners to Washington D.C. to present their views

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on youth violence to various members of Congress and the Presidential Cabinet• Mesirow Financial employees gathering and distributing school supplies to students supported through the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council•Paul Hastings employees donating furniture to the Christopher House Youth Center• Red Frog Events employees feeding the homeless weekly at St. Vincent DePaul’s Soup Kitchen• Workday Corporation employees teaching teens how to write a resume

These are just a few of the beautiful moments we see in the data we collect all year long. People giving their time, their money, their possessions, and their hearts to those that could use help. Our teams give fellow Chicagoans a chance at a better life every day. - Stacey Rago

EMPLOYEE ADVOCATE

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” -Oprah Winfrey

I think it is safe to say the end of fall is rapidly approaching, if it hasn’t already passed. Winter will soon be here which means dark morning commutes and even darker evening commutes. The streets will be filled people, including yourself, in long winter coats, scarves, hats and gloves fighting the wind and the cold. Keep your head up and your spirits high! Winter is full of love and thanksgiving! For the more cynical folks there is also turkey, stuffing, family, football, and food comas. Either way, what more could you want?

Thanksgiving is about, well, giving thanks. Thanksgiving is about family, and community, about gathering, slowing down, about coming together and irritating the hell out of one another. Take a little time to make sure you get to enjoy each of those things this holiday season. But don’t forget, we must also celebrate thanks in the work place. After all work is where you spend most of your time and whether you like it or not the people you work with are a big part of your life, albeit your work life, but still YOUR life. Take time to thank those around you! It goes a long way.

"Without gratitude, core teams fall away, culture diminishes and becomes stagnated and undesirable, innovation ceases and followers 'unfollow,'" -Thinking Bigger Business blog. –Ruth Eberts

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

LAUREN BROOKS (AKA LBoogie), Accounts Payable

What’s your favorite spot for lunch? My favorite spot for lunch right now is Slurping Turtle. Order the Pork Belly Bao and Paitan Ramen. (Boom Boom Bao.)

What are your hobbies?Singing, dancing and crate digging (That last one means searching through vinyls at records stores. Don't worry about it, it's vintage.)

What is your favorite thing about Call One?I love the fun environment and the care and support we receive from our executives and managers. (Go, Team, Go!)

Where do you live? Pilsen! (Culture City!)

What is one fact no one at Call One knows about you? I make the best potato salad in the world. (Let's film a Chopped episode at the office.)

Do you have any predictions for 2016? Robocabs and Female President (The Jetson's lifestyle is nigh.)

If you were POTUS, what’s the first thing you would do? Huge party at the White House, Call One style. (Gatsby theme on repeat.)

The parenthetical commentary above is ad-libbed by the Marketing Department and does not necessarily reflect the views of Lauren Brooks or Call One.

To nominate an employee for the Newsletter Employee Spotlight, email ksyoen@callone.com with at least three reasons why someone (or yourself) is deserving of such an honor.

FIRE SAFETY

It's time to review of our Chicago office Fire Safety Plan and Evacuation Protocol to ensure we are all on the same page and can get everyone out of the building safely.

A few housekeeping items:

• Our Floor Warden is Jason Spulak and the Assistant Floor Warden is Lauren Brooks.

• If we are told to leave the building, our assembly point is in the front of the Merchandise Mart. You would need to check-in there so we can account for your safety (only during a full building evacuation).

• Make sure to listen for instructions. Emergency personnel will tell you what staircase to use and what floor to report to.

• If evacuation is necessary, leave all personal and work belongings behind!

• It is important when you are in any building to know the following:

• The pathway to at least two alternative exits

• Where the fire/evacuation alarms are located and how to use them

Great EXPECTATIONS

Food For Thought

We have all come across situations in our personal and professional lives where things could have happened better than they actually did. Unfortunately, it tends to be a natural reaction to want to find fault or look for someone else to blame in those situations. This reaction happens far more often than it should, and it has a tendency to build walls, to force people to choose a side and to put everyone on the defensive.

The next time you find yourself in a situation where the first reaction might be to look for fault, place blame or point out what someone else should have done, I challenge you to ask everyone involved, “Did we enter this situation with the same expectation as to how this should have gone down? Did we start this project with the same expectation of what the end result should be?”

I have come to the conclusion that in most situations, all parties are wrong

or at fault to some extent, based upon the other party’s expectations, simply because they tend to be different.

Football plays do not work so well when the quarterback doesn’t throw the ball where the receiver expects it be thrown, or if the receiver doesn’t run to where the quarterback expects him to be to catch it. Yes, minor adjustments might need to be made based upon the actions of the defensive line, but beginning the execution of the play under the same expectations as to who is responsible for doing what is key. That is why there are playbooks.

So what do you do when things go wrong?

Consult the playbook as a team. Revise it or write it if need be. Then practice it. And always keep in mind GREAT expectations are the ones that are in sync. – Aletha Rich

HR REPORT

Every New Year brings changes to Human Resources, most of them impacting all of you.

Here are a few things to look out for in 2016…

• The contribution limit for employees who participate in a 401(K) program remains the same as in 2015 at $18,000.

• The catch-up contribution limit for participants age 50 or older also remains the same at $6,000. (The catch-up limit applies from the start of the year to those turning 50 at any time during the year.)

• For those who have the HSA medical plan, the contribution limit for an individual remains the same at $3,350 and increases by $100 for a family to $6,750.

• The HSA catch-up contribution for those age 55 and older remains unchanged at $1,000. (The catch-up limit applies from the start of the year to those turning 55 at any time during the year.)

• The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable minimum) remains unchanged at $118,500.

• Friendly reminder: If you are not on direct deposit or paperless printing for payroll purposes and would like to be, please see me and help us save a tree!

The Big give back

As we close out the fundraising for the Chicago Charity Challenge this year we remain on pace to surpass our previous high mark. We have a final push with some fantastic raffles going on at the Holiday Party. Bring cash because you will not want to be left out of the excitement! This has been a fun year with added excitement due to our internal competition and the ability to track volunteer hours and donations. I am always humbled and amazed by the generosity and caring displayed by everyone here at Call One. A heartfelt thank

you to all, and have a great holiday!

www.callone.com