NEWSROOM

On Friday, Mar. 13, 34 employees of Co-Line lined up to sport a new look as a united show of support for three co-workers battling cancer, Reggie Kaldenberg, Brad Braafhart, and Brad Musgrove. Earlier this month, Reggie began losing her hair, and Co-Line’s maintenance team coordinated this amazing show of support to shave their heads with her. What started off as five heads turned into 34 willing Co-Liners!

Reggie was present at the early morning haircut session and lent a helping hand, personally shaving the hair of multiple coworkers, including the beard of Eric Brand and the beard of her husband Todd who hadn’t shaved his beard in over five years! Participating employees took turns sitting in makeshift barber chairs, donned garbage bag “capes,” and emerged when finished with bald heads and/or clean-shaven faces while their 190 co-workers cheered them on. Team Co-Line has donated money, vacation hours, Co-Line coins, and many words of encouragement to the team members during this time. $1,047 was raised! 

Co-Line’s newest facility began to take shape mid-January during one of the snowiest days of the month. The 120’x200’ building is being built by Pro-Line. At the end of January, crews brought in a crane to hoist up the overhead trusses that were actually pre-built on the ground before hoisting 24 feet in the air.

The 2019 Co-Line Christmas Party was full of joy, laughter, and good food. The wonderful meal was served by Julie Roose and her team at Country Catering.  After lunch, there was fun and frivolity with lots of games and big prizes (and some pies in the face) and an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest. After a vote by his peers, Bryce Romick was found to be the ugliest of them all in his elf dress and tights. He was rewarded $50 to Bass Pro for his attire and bravery.  It was announced that the years of service bonus of $111,000 was paid out. The afternoon ended with a hearty Merry Christmas speech from Eric Brand and some special holiday cheer in a can for anyone who wanted it. It was a Merry Christmas indeed. Cheers to a new year, and a big thank you to all for choosing joy at Co-Line!

Check out the photo gallery from the party below.

Co-Liners teamed up for their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive on Nov. 22. This year in one day only, the team brought in 862 pounds of food. Dale, Tana, Eric, and Faye Brand, matched the employees’ generous food donations with a dollar per pound netting a check for $862 to the East Jasper Christian Food Pantry. A friendly competition is held each year between the two buildings on the Co-Line campus to see who brings in the most weight in food. This year, for the second year in a row, bragging rights went to the north building. All those employees who donated enjoyed a free pizza lunch provided by Co-Line.  “Our employees continue to exceed our expectations each year sharing food generously with those that otherwise might not have enough during this holiday season,” said Faye. “This year, nearly 200 pounds more was brought in over last year’s numbers. We are excited to see if we can top 1,000 pounds in one day next year!”

When Rail Brand and his sister Lisa put their heads together, you never know what creativity will happen! Earlier this spring, Co-Liner LeAnn Hjelmeland put a few designs to paper for some signs Lisa could give to some of her favorite nurses and people she met at Mayo during the weeks of her cancer treatments. Fast forward a few short months, and Rail was having the nesters nest up hundreds more of these signs as they had space on the laser sheet. As pallets of these signs were being cut, no one at Co-Line really knew what the plan was. On July 3, Lisa lost her fight against cancer surrounded by family at the Comfort House in Pella. Rail and Lisa’s husband, Ron Jansen, quickly moved forward with the plan to hand out a steel “choose joy” sign to all who attended Lisa’s visitation and funeral. Always a party planner herself, Lisa would have approved of a party favor at her celebration of life!P

However, the hundreds of signs that had been laser cut, were not painted and some weren’t even bent yet. On the eve of a long four-day holiday weekend, Co-Liners teamed together and made the impossible possible. The press brake guys got right on the signs that needed bent the afternoon of July 3. Teal, one of the colors representing the type of cancer Lisa had, was the chosen color. However, teal is not one of Co-Line’s colors in stock. Tony Van Wyk made a call to Diamond Vogel Paint Rep, Dan Popma, and Dan had the paint mixed and delivered before end of day, another feat that seemed impossible! And to top it off, Diamond Vogel donated the special paint to the cause.  Tony, Josh Nikkel, and Joel Struik stayed after hours on Wednesday to get the painting done on over 1,000 Choose Joy signs. Cory Brand also needed to cut and print hundreds of vinyl stickers to apply to one of the sign designs. 

On Saturday morning, another amazing feat happened, Rail, Tana, Eric, Faye, Carter, Abigail, Cory, Heidi, Braxton, Breckyn, Brooks, and Briar Brand teamed up and packaged and applied a vinyl sticker to 100’s of the signs! A true assembly line, indeed! The jury is still out, but Rail and his numerous “breaks” giving the grandkids golf cart rides might have been our production constraint that morning. The signs were then hauled to Pella Third Reformed Church awaiting the chance to spread joy to everyone who knew Lisa.  

Over 1,000 signs have been handed out and there are still more! If any Co-Liner would like one or would like to give one to someone that has impacted their life in honor of one amazing woman, our sister, aunt, daughter, friend, mom, and wife, Lisa Jansen, please stop at the office and pick one up. Several unique stories have been told since these signs hit the streets of Pella and surrounding communities. One was even spotted attached to a hitch of a pickup in Pella recently!

Thank you to all who helped make the steel choose joy signs a reality. The Brand family appreciates your prayers, words of encouragement and sympathy, random act of kindness, memorial gifts, and most of all understanding as we figure out our new normal without our amazing Lisa!