As some of you may know, Kendall Howard is part of a larger group called Innovative Holdings Group (IHG). We have two other entities, Lemon Water Salon and Spa and Zaggie Macs E-Cigs, and even though we are completely diverse in our product lines, we are united in our morals and company goals.  See IHG isn’t just a place to come and work …we’re a family! We live, eat, and breathe together. Well, not literally…just during the workday. But there’s definitely a support system here unlike any other place most of us have worked at before! And what’s even better is we see you, the customer, as our extended family! No, not the crazy uncle that everyone rolls their eyes at…but more of the great aunt who makes the best apple pie! We’re that kind of family. We all live and die together in our successes and failures, and this philosophy is the key to creating such an amazing family!

Now because of our diverse businesses, getting the entire IHG family together to celebrate all of our successes is sometimes a challenge. But leave it to the IHG Owner and President to take care of that! Every year, Randy Herried puts together an annual holiday party for all of us to enjoy hours of fun and entertainment. This is just one of the ways he takes the time to show his appreciation for everyone’s hard work and their loyalty in making the IHG dream a reality. Like every other year, this year’s party was a blast! Check out some of these great snap shots from that evening!

Our annual holiday party is probably a little different than the standard corporate party. It’s not just social hours and speech. In fact, every year the entire evening’s agenda is kept a secret from the employees! All we’re told is when and where to show up!

This year’s party consisted of:

• fantastic food and cocktails including appetizers, dinner, desserts, and even a late night buffet,
• hilarious short videos staring each departments’ team members,
• tons of kudos to all the employees as we toasted our 2014 successes,
• bonus checks for every IHG employee,
• a gut bursting comedian/magician show,
• a photo booth to capture all the memories
• a DJ for all of us to bust a move to,
• and to top it off, our annual Texas Hold’em Tournament!

To add a little extra fun to the Texas Hold’em Tournament, each executive manager had a $100.00 bill pinned to their name tag. If you took them out of the game, then that $100.00 bill was yours! On top of that, everyone at the last table received a cash payout, and the winner received a beautiful “bragging” trophy (and believe me, they brag!) This year’s Texas Hold’em’s winner was the Kendall Howard VP of Sales, Mr. Josh Wickander!

The annual holiday party also gives Randy and the rest of the executive management team a chance to recognize each employee and award one employee from each company the honor of Employee of the Year! This year’s winners were:

• Kendall Howard: Tony L. (Production Coordinator)
• Lemon Water Salon (White Bear Location): Jenni K. (Guest Relations Coordinator)
• Lemon Water Salon (Eden Prairie Location): Colleen H. (Massage Therapist/Esthetician)
• Zaggie Macs: Just opened in 2014, so we will look forward to recognizing their Employee of the Year next year!

Congratulations to every member of the IHG family for all their hard work in 2014. We thank Randy, our prestigious owner, for such an awesome evening and we can’t wait until next year!