Family Letter 2002

Dear Friends,

I am amazed at how fast the year has passed. It's been a wonderful year. In July, we were blessed with national coverage on the Food Network. A show called Food Finds (based on a book by Allison and Margaret Engel) featured our company. Being rather unsophisticated about the power of TV, we had no idea how fortunate we were to be chosen for the premier show. The first show aired at 10:30 pm on July 17th, 2000. To be honest, we thought "who watches TV that late at night?" Well apparently, most of America. The phone lit up like a Christmas tree. Of course, only Travis and I were at home. (The bakery line also rings up at our house.) I wish you could have seen us! About 2:00 am the phones stopped ringing and we thought, "well it's over", so the next morning we left early for a trip to the mountains. About 9:00am my daughter Mona (President of the bakery) called us saying "Please come home, it's crazy here." She had over 600 email messages and the phones were still ringing. She recruited everyone she could think of to come and help-including the two cookie tasters, 14 year old Jed and 10 year old Madison. Thank goodness they are not only accomplished at eating the cookies, but they have also been trained to take orders. They were featured on the program and truly enjoyed their "10 minutes of fame." I particularly like it when a caller would ask, "Is there really a Mrs. Hanes?" And I would answer, "Well yes, your're speaking to her." Or they would hear, "yes, I'm her husband, or "I'm her son", "I'm the daughter, grandson, or cousin or niece." This really is a family business.

The show has aired about 5 times since then. We have made so many nice new friends and truly wish to thank the Food Network and Allison and Margaret Engel and their book, Food Finds.

And now for the family news. Travis and I continue to enjoy our "semi retirement". Travis loves being on a tractor. Since all our family have homes surrounding the bakery, he mows all their yards. Travis is also the bakery's "Maintenance, Inventor and Sign Maker Man." Give him some electrician tape, a magic marker, a spray can, a rubber band and a broom handle and he can fix or make anything!

Although my children have threatened to enroll me in "Garden Anonymous" I continue to expand my vegetable and flower garden. They have also started writing "Just Say No" on all the flower catalogues I get in the mail. I'm glad I've learned to order over the Internet! My newest project is enlarging my dining room so I can seat at least 25 people around my table. I do love to cook for a crowd. Of course, I'm also taking notes for my next cookbook; Cooking for a Crowd... Be There at Six or Get In the Back of the Line.

Son Michael ((Vice President) continues his love/hate affair with golf. And despite the fact that nephew Jed is becoming more of a teacher than a student, he kindly continues to subsidize Jed's golf fees. Of course Jed's parents have to make sure he gets up for the 8:00am tee times. If you have teenagers you will know this is not an easy task. Mike generously volunteers much of his time and many talents to our church.

Grandson Jed will be 16 in September. He's been in drivers training for a year. (For once, Mona is grateful she is "short" and easily fits in the backseat of the car.) Jed recently decided that he would rather be a trumpet player than a heart surgeon when he grows up. His mother thinks that is a great idea since it probably means he'll have to continue to work as "Chief Cookie Taster" to supplement his musical income.

Granddaughter Madison is exactly the daughter I hoped Ramona would have. (I'm sure you parents know what I mean by that.) She is a "Grandmothers delight". But Madison's not a teenager yet! Although we love to tease her, Madison is actually a wonderful young lady and a very talented writer. She writes and stars in some of our holiday radio commercials.

Daughter Mona, President, also heads up our "Internet Technology Services". She wonders just how much more her poor brain can handle. She says she dreams every night of reference fields, servers, hosts, firewalls, ethernet cards, downloading, mapping and batching and virtual banks. She will continue to strive and give you the best online ordering, email confirmation and tracking capabilities possible. As she says, "I guess if I can ride in a car with a novice teenage driver, and not suffer heart failure, I can do anything!"

Before closing I guess I have to mention our new shipping and handling charges. I hesitate to bring this up, but honesty is always the best policy. My children did extensive research to come up with the new charges and make them as fair as possible. Some of you will actually be paying less, but most of you will notice a slight increase. I just ask you to remember that our cookies are fragile and handling is based on the weight and zone of a package. In short, the actual weight of a package is usually 2 to 3 times more than the weight of the cookies. Just trust me, our shipping and handling is as conservative and fair as possible.

So, my thanks to all of our new friends and old friends. And to our future friends, welcome.

And to all, my best wishes for a blessed year 2001 and 2002.

    Evva Hanes