The 2008 Sunrider Corporate Office Holiday Party

The 2008 Sunrider corporate “Winter Holiday Celebration” was the best ever, thanks to the generous donations of many loyal Sunrider IBOs in the field and an exciting entertainment program showcasing the talent and creativity of our own Sunrider staff.

You’ve heard the phrase “Sunrider is Simply the Best™,” but did you know that this term also applied to our corporate office holiday parties? Like many others, I have worked in other companies before Sunrider and I have personally confirmed that very few have ever experienced anything like a Sunrider bash. A “traditional” company holiday party consists of a variance of the following main elements: music, food, and a few door prizes.

Here is the scenario for a “generic company holiday party”: Everyone shows up and hangs out with the same small group of people that they always see around the “office water cooler.” Music is playing but few are dancing. People eat a little, drink a whole lot more, and at the end they go home and hopefully remember what even happened the night before.

Enter Sunrider: Everybody is “dressed to the nines” looking and feeling like movie stars, they arrive at a hotel lobby around 6pm. The friendly Sunrider Human Resources staff takes the names of all attending employees and places them in a barrel for raffles to be awarded throughout the evening. This year, loyal Sunrider IBOs in the field donated over $17,000.00 as a thank you for the professional and courteous service they always receive from the Sunrider corporate staff. This year Sunrider raffled off prizes like $250, $500, flat-screen TVs, camcorders, laptop computers, entertainments centers, and a grand prize of $1,000.00 before the night was over!

Now let’s talk about the Sunrider entertainment. Sure, we always have a DJ on hand to play dance music, but the real fun begins when the Sunrider employees line up on stage to present their department performances. The Chens even give time off during several work weeks for employees to prepare for this part of the show. There is also an unspoken rivalry between the departments, as each department tries to outperform the others. The competition is so fierce that even my wife and I, who work in different Sunrider departments, don’t even discuss with each other the details of our own performances! Can you imagine what “buttoned-down” legal and accounting employees will do when you turn them loose on a dance floor? This year we had humorous renditions of Riverdance, Phantom of the Opera, Let’s Make a Deal, Latin dance routines, and a lively dance rendition of the movie Madagascar’s “I like to move it!”

Many employees were also recognized for 5, 10, 15 and 20 years of loyal service. Three employees celebrated 20 years of employment including the Sales Department’s very own Rick Ricardo! Congrats Rick! This type of loyalty simply does not exist anymore in Corporate America, but it still does in Sunrider. The reason why loyalty still exists in the Sunrider corporate office as well as in the field is because of Drs Chen’s continuing legacy of providing VALUE to the quality of the lives of millions of people around the world. To be more specific, Dr. Chen’s unique Philosophy of Regeneration™, a multimillion dollar investment in exclusive manufacturing and R&D, and a compensation plan that pays business leaders as partners instead of as common salespersons.

To thank the Chens for providing this amazing “health and wealth opportunity” for millions of people around the world, the corporate staff collected $500 to give the Chens a first-class, all-expenses-paid trip to their local Costco supermarket! Yes, after making month-long international business trips around the world, the Chens like to settle back into a normal way of life and frequent their beloved local Costco supermarket (this is a hint for anyone interested in sending a gift to the Chens that they will actually enjoy).

Thanks again to all of the loyal Sunriders in the field who contributed to the best ever Sunrider Winter Holiday Celebration. I also want to provide their names below in special thanks for their generosity and loyalty to Sunrider:

John Teng
Sales Manager – North America


GIFT CONTRIBUTORS

PLATINUM Level ~ $2000
Don & Paulette Caster

SILVER Level ~ $1000
Mack & Janet Atkinson
Sharon Farnsworth Ekins
Paul Harrington & Rita Costanzi
Bob & Kay Goshen
Bob Henrie
Dick Richards

BRONZE Level ~ $500
Choy Keng Chan
David & Kay Heap
Glenda Feilen
Ky Tran
Lois & J.W. Emerson
Paul & Cheryl Jensen
Samson & Jarling Huang
The Sugai Family

All Other Contributors
Arleen Armantage
Asya Lukach
Barbara & Matthew Moore
Carolyn Sheets
Carrie Goelitz
Denny & Fred Guenzler
Donna & James Ehrlich
Elaine & Jeff Smith
Eneyda Hawkins
Gina Endicott
Gloria & Robert Englund
Jaqueline & William Mellyn
Jalaine & John Hamann
Joan & Gil Benjamin
Karen Spencer & Jeffrey Dees
Kim Chau Phan
Kyung & Whan Park
Lititia Coleman
Margaret Howell
Margie & John Mettenet
May Yee
Martha Garcia & Victor Menses
Marv & Geneva Peterson
Mary & Arthur Russell
May & Lamar Mortensen
Mersedes Ramos & Juan Flores
Michelle Thibodeaux & Terrence Young
Miriam Handler
Nancy Donahue
Natalie Johnson
Nhuhao Le
Peter Harrington
Randy & Marsha Turner
Ray Glend
Robin & Myron Frame
Sharon Samuelsen
Sharyn Wynters
Shirley Just
Sue & Steve Yee
Sunae Hyun
Therese Cheney
Wei Ming He

Sunrider’s Halloween Celebration

Sunrider’s annual Halloween Celebration was ghoulishly festive, with the much-anticipated costume contest being particularly entertaining. This year there was a record number of contestants, who ranged from comical to completely creepy, parading in front of a captive and appreciative audience.

This cavalcade of creative costumes made the judges’ task of selecting four winners quite a challenge! All contest participants received a free movie ticket, and the winners each received a check for $50! Congratulations to the winners, and special thanks to all the contestants for making everyone howl with laughter (and fright)!

Sunrider Holiday Party

Over the past 25 years, Sunrider's corporate employee Holiday Party has evolved into a “can’t-miss” party. John and I had a wonderful time at the party. We enjoyed a gourmet meal (I had filet mignon), fun employee performances, dancing, and saw 60 employees win exceptional raffle prizes such as cameras, iPods, cash prizes, gift certificates, HDTVs, and a $1,000 grand prize. Employees also received generous year-end bonus checks. Even if you didn’t win a raffle prize, you still earned a bonus check!

My parents not only treat their Distributors like family, they also cultivate a teamwork atmosphere in the corporate office. One of the ways they do this is with the employee performances. When my mom first asked the employees to perform, most grumbled about how she just wanted to embarrass them. Now, it’s a full-fledged competition with bragging rights. Departments will spend several hours rehearsing for their performances. The Information Systems department usually gives the performance to beat. This year, though, several departments were contenders for most entertaining performance. Next year, we’ll hopefully have better lighting so I can You Tube the performances.
My parents appreciate the hard work and talent of loyal employees. Throughout the party, they recognize loyal employees and our 12 “Employees of the Month.” Many employees have worked at Sunrider 5, 10, and 15 years. Several of them reached the 20-year mark this year and Sunrider is paying for their trip to Hawaii!

The employees also gave my parents a special gift: dinner at their favorite restaurant, Matsuhisa, and 2 front row seats to Wicked! Thanks to the employees, my parents will get to enjoy a long

overdue dream date.

Our “Employee of the Year” is Joe Chiang. He manages the programming for the website so many of you may not know him. Before the China convention, he worked around the clock to finish many last-minute projects. We had a few programmers move away, so he was also strapped for manpower. But, he told Mrs. Chen and me that he was the manager for the projects so he was responsible for completing them. He never complained or made excuses and he got the job done! We’re all very fortunate to have a great team-player like Joe working on our website.

One of the highlights of the party is the raffle prizes. This year, Distributors donated over $20,000 in raffle prizes for Sunrider’s corporate office employees. I used to think that winning cameras, iPods, $1,000 etc. was common practice. However, after going to a few parties at other companies, I realize that each prize given away at a Sunrider party is usually a “grand” prize elsewhere. So on behalf of the corporate office, I thank all who donated! We greatly appreciate your support and generosity!

My family and I will be in Hawaii over the holidays. My father, Dr. Chen, will be holding a meeting in Honolulu on December 27th. If you’ll be in town, please join us!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Wendy

SR Party Sponsors

Platinum Sponsor - $2,000: Antonio Marquette

Gold Sponsors - $1,000 & above: Janet & Mack Atkinson, Nhuhao Le, David & Kay Heap, Ky Tran, Dick Richards, Robert Henrie

Silver Sponsors - $500 & above: Ari Moon, Bob & Kay Goshen, Don & Paulette Caster, Kyung & Whan Park, Paul Harrington & Rita Costanzi, Samson & Jarling Huang

Bronze Sponsors - $200 & above: Choy Keng Chan, Kim Chau Phan, Angella Pinkhasov, Mersedes Ramos & Juan Flores, Michelle Thibodeaux & Terrence Young, Jin Hee Ha, Joan & Gil Benjamin, Martha Garcia & Victor Menses, May & Lamar Mortensen, Michael Pham, Nancy Donahue, Pauline Ton Vo, Sue & Steve Yee, Jalaine & John Hamann

Sponsors - Helene & George Barfuss, Phil & Julie Herring, Sharyn Wynters, Asya Lukach, Barbara & Matthew Moore, Carolyn Sheets, Carrie Goelitz, Debbie & Patrick Bubela, Elaine & Jeff Smith, Karen Spencer & Jeffrey Dees, Kay & Bill Hughes, Kyung Pun Oh, Lois & J.W. Emerson, Margie & John Mettnet, Paul & Cheryl Jensen, Robin & Myron Frame, Selina & Sai Yeung, Sunae Hyun, Eneyda Hawkins, Inja Whang, Marv & Geneva Peterson, Jeanne & Fred Guenzler, Catherine Bunn, Juanita Figueroa, Judi Padgett-Creed & Robert Creed, Lynn Arthur, Randy & Marsha Turner, Sharon Farnsworth Ekins, Sharon Samuelsen, Sunhee Lim, Therese Cheney, Jaqueline Mellyn, Janet Diane Palmer, Shirley Just, Kathie & Fred Christiansen, Betty Rowe, Bob & Gloria Englund, Diane Royall, Natalie Johnson, Donna Ehrlich, Doris Jackson, Lorene & Leonard Haertling, Katharine Kennedy