A Letter from the CEO

This is a letter written by David Seigel, CEO of Westgate Resorts, to his employees.  I normally don't post something like this in its entirety, but this is good.  It's a rather long read, but it sums up what just ONE business owner is dealing with.  And you know there are likely plenty more out there.

Subject: Message from David Siegel

Date:Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:58:05 -0400 (EDT)

From: [David Siegel]

To: [All employees]

 

To All My Valued Employees,As most of you know our company, Westgate Resorts, has continued to succeed in spite of a very dismal economy. There is no question that the economy has changed for the worse and we have not seen any improvement over the past four years. In spite of all of the challenges we have faced, the good news is this: The economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration. Of course, as your employer, I can't tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn't interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose. In fact, I encourage you to vote for whomever you think will serve your interests the best.

 

I started this company over 42 years ago. At that time, I lived in a very modest home. I converted my garage into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you. We didn't eat in fancy restaurants or take expensive vacations because every dollar I made went back into this company. I drove an old used car, and often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business — hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. Meanwhile, many of my friends got regular jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a nice income, and they spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into this business —-with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford to buy whatever I wanted. Even to this day, every dime I earn goes back into this company. Over the past four years I have had to stop building my dream house, cut back on all of my expenses, and take my kids out of private schools simply to keep this company strong and to keep you employed.

 

Just think about this – most of you arrive at work in the morning and leave that afternoon and the rest of your time is yours to do as you please. But not me- there is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have that freedom. I eat, live, and breathe this company every minute of the day, every day of the week. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. I know many of you work hard and do a great job, but I'm the one who has to sign every check, pay every expense, and make sure that this company continues to succeed. Unfortunately, what most people see is the nice house and the lavish lifestyle. What the press certainly does not want you to see, is the true story of the hard work and sacrifices I've made.

 

Now, the economy is falling apart and people like me who made all the right decisions and invested in themselves are being forced to bail out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed 42 years of my life for. Yes, business ownership has its benefits, but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the costs of running a business have gotten out of control, and let me tell you why: We are being taxed to death and the government thinks we don't pay enough. We pay state taxes, federal taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes, payroll taxes, workers compensation taxes and unemployment taxes. I even have to hire an entire department to manage all these taxes. The question I have is this: Who is really stimulating the economy? Is it the Government that wants to take money from those who have earned it and give it to those who have not, or is it people like me who built a company out of his garage and directly employs over 7000 people and hosts over 3 million people per year with a great vacation?

 

Obviously, our present government believes that taking my money is the right economic stimulus for this country. The fact is, if I deducted 50 percent of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? Who wants to get rewarded only 50 percent of their hard work? Well, that's what happens to me.

 

Here is what most people don't understand and the press and our Government has chosen to ignore — to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Instead of raising my taxes and depositing that money into the Washington black-hole, let me spend it on growing the company, hire more employees, and generate substantial economic growth. My employees will enjoy the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But that is not what our current Government wants you to believe. They want you to believe that it somehow makes sense to take more from those who create wealth and give it to those who do not, and somehow our economy will improve. They don't want you to know that the "1%", as they like to label us, pay more than 31% of all the taxes in this country. Thomas Jefferson, the author of our great Constitution, once said, "democracy" will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

 

Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate business, not kill it. However, the power brokers in Washington believe redistributing wealth is the essential driver of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change they want.

 

So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.

 

So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn't? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of protecting and saving your job. While the media wants to tell you to believe the "1 percenters" are bad, I'm telling you they are not. They create most of the jobs. If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the "1%"; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country.

 

You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

 

Signed, your boss,

David Siegel

 

Any questions? 

I Remember

Food Pantry Football

The Bears play the Packers one week from tomorrow.  My friend Wendy and I have found a way to make this rivalry benefit many.  As you know, I am a Bears fan.  Wendy is a Packers fan (along with most others I know around these parts - it's a rough life I tell ya).  Soooo, Bears fans - for each point we score, please donate one item to your local food pantry.  Packers fans - for each point the Pack scores, please do the same.  Our food pantries are suffering these days, and with the price of food rising as a result of the drought I fear it will not get better soon, so you don't have to limit your donation to one item per point.  If I'm not mistaken, both Wendy and I donated an item for total points scored last season.

Please join in - it really DOES make the game a little more fun, especially if it's a high scoring game!

Thanks!  And  GO BEARS!!!

EXCLUSIVE: WTMJ Blew It.

I've often criticized WTMJ for some of their personnel decisions.  Yes, I know, they make their decisions for their own reasons, but keeping listeners happy doesn't seem to be taken into account.  I believe the most egregious lapse in judgment on the part of the station was letting James T. Harris go to Tucson.  In a way, I guess I understand their thinking...after all, the station is a pretty bland, vanilla type station, and James T. was a VERY outspoken voice.  His personality is a little larger than life and though that may have frightened the powers that be, many of us LOVED the refreshing difference.  His style of conservatism was a breath of fresh air in a sea of rather staid voices.

James got an opportunity at 104.1 The Truth...weekdays from 10-12 (12-2 central time).  He ROCKED it. So much so, that as you read this, they are announcing that our friend, James T. Harris, is starting his gig at DRIVE TIME!!!  He will be on 3-6 p.m. (5-8 central time) weekdays.  I want to be the first to say

CONGRATULATIONS

FROM

WISCONSIN

I'm am tickled pink for him. Milwaukee's loss is most definitely Tucson's gain.  Make us proud.......nevermind.  You already have.  :)

 

Field of Honor

I had the privilege, and I use that word quite literally, of attending the Field of Honor event at Miller Park on Saturday.  A record breaking crowd attended...no really...Guiness was on hand and confirmed that we set the world record for a feature length movie premier. The previous record was 27, 022 people.  Over 28,400 were in attendance on Saturday. That was just icing on the cake.

Friends, I'm not sure I have words to describe this event.  When I read about it or try to tell people about it, I can't help but get choked up.  MANY tears were shed.  We were there to see the world premier of the movie Honor Flight and more importantly, to honor our World War II veterans.  The movie is a documentary about how the Stars & Stripes Honor Flight came to be.  In this process, two WWII veterans became key players.  Their stories, along with a few others, are highlighted in this film.  And what stories they have to tell.

Every Day is a Bonus.  This phrase was coined by PFC Joe Demler a/k/a the Human Skeleton, pictured above, who was captured by enemy forces during the Battle of the Bulge.  I won't be so presumptuous as to tell his story, but suffice it to say that he was in attendance at Miller Park for the event to honor his service.  I thank you sir.

And then there was Harvey Kurz.  A loveable, prolific flirt who nonetheless is madly in love with his wife, this brave man fought at Iwo Jima.  And yet he does not think of himself as a hero.  In his words, the ones who didn't come back are heroes.  Word to Harvey - YOU are a hero.

There were several others profiled in the film.  You can't help but fall in love with these men.  In their eyes, their country called them up, they did their duty, and then returned home to resume their lives.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Their humility is astounding.  They really do NOT understand our gratitude for guaranteeing every one of us...you, me, our parents, our children, our grandchildren, and on and on and on - the freedoms that we take for granted in this beautiful country.  It was their sacrifice that allowed us to live in freedom.  They truly are the greatest generation.

My friends - I've never experienced anything like the atmosphere that enveloped Miller Park on Saturday.  When the Color Guard came out, there were 28,000+ in the stadium and yet you could have heard a pin drop.  It was an atmosphere of complete and total awe and respect.

I suppose I could go on and on about the experience, but unless you were there, you really won't get it.  I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of those who made this event possible.  I urge all of you to see the move Honor Flight...not only will you not be disappointed, I dare say you won't be the same after.  I seriously doubt there was a dry eye in the stadium...before, during or after the movie.

And most of all, a heartfelt thank you to the WWII vets, and those who have served and continue to serve this great country.  There are no words to express my gratitude to you.  You are ALL heroes.

Fast Food Farce

I didn’t think I was going to post on this issue, but I simply had to vent. I won’t be including links in this post because this is merely an opinion piece. This whole Chick-fil-A business has, in my opinion, gotten out of hand.

Racine has Southeastern Wisconsin’s only Chick-fil-A restaurant which is located in Regency Mall. I normally don’t patronize the establishment because 1) I don’t do malls, and 2) if I’m having fast food for lunch it usually involves a drive-thru. On August 1, however, I got my butt in gear and went to the mall to participate in the Chick-fil-A appreciation event. I stood in line for 45 minutes for a yummy chicken sandwich and waffle fries.

Now, many would have you believe that this was an anti-gay movement. Others would have you believe that it was a stand against same sex marriage. While that may be true for some, it had nothing whatsoever to do with why I and many of those I spoke to were there. For me, and for those around me, this was about supporting the First Amendment protection of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Sure there were some ignorant bigots amongst the hundreds and hundreds of people standing in line. Overall, it was a very friendly bunch of people who were supporting one man’s first amendment rights.

Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A, said in an interview that he believes in the biblical definition of marriage. He most certainly has the right to believe what he wants, and to express those beliefs. If you don’t like it, don’t patronize the restaurants. Easy, right? Well, not so much. In a knee jerk reaction to Mr. Cathy expressing his views (which were well known for quite some time), politicians across the country decided to spout off and state that they would do what they could to (illegally) ban franchises from opening up in their city/district/ward.

Think about that friends. A person in authority deciding that because he/she doesn’t agree with someone else’s beliefs, they will “punish” the offender. That’s quite frightening and doesn’t sound like the United States of America I know and love. Not only that, these are privately owned franchises. Is it okay to make one individual suffer because of the words of another?

I understand that various LGBT groups are staging a “counter protest” today – they’re calling it a kiss-in. To those participating I say this…if it’s as peaceful and courteous as the appreciation day was, more power to you.

Colorado Movie Theater Massacre - First thoughts

By now I'm sure you've all heard about the Colorado Movie Theater Massacre which so far left 12 dead and 50 injured.  I realize that everything we're seeing and hearing on the news are preliminary reports, and that much more information will be shared as the investigation continues.  These are just a few initial thoughts that popped into my head while driving to work.

First of all, this was not the usual massacre (if ANY massacre can be labeled "usual") in that the alleged shooter did not blow himself away or commit suicide by cop.  This guy was captured, is in custody, and reportedly talking to the authorities.  Could it be that we'll actually be able to bring the person responsible for this unfathomable crime to justice?  Hear the reasoning behind it?  One can only hope.

Secondly, in this day and age, how in the world did someone get into a movie theater with the following:

• A gas mask
• A bullet proof vest
• At least two cannisters of tear gas (or some sort of gas)
• Two handguns
• One rifle

Seriously?  Fortunately, since they were expecting large crowds for this movie premier, they had police around to handle any crowd control issues that may arise.  I believe this is the reason the gunman was captured.  But HOW was he able to get into the theater armed to the teeth?  I imagine answers will be forthcoming.

I heard a report that one of the injured was a 3 month old baby.  This is wrong on SO many levels!  What the HELL kind of parents/guardians would bring an infant to a midnight premier?  a) it's a very LOUD action movie - infants should not be exposed to that level of noise; and b) it's FREAKIN' MIDNIGHT!!!  Were these parents actually that selfish that they brought their child to the movie because they couldn't find a babysitter?  I hope child protective services takes a look at this.

Friends, my heart is heavy.  The world is a very scary place.  Usually we go to the movies to escape the outside world with its many atrocities.  The fact is, there is nowhere we can go and be truly safe.  We hear of shootings in restaurants, places of employment, schools, malls, and now this. 

These are sad, sad times.  Sigh.