MEMBERconnection
Tanks for the
memories
JUS T BECAUSE TANKS of various kinds—water, gas, oil—are often,
by necessity, erected in high-visibility areas, there’s no law that says
they have to be eyesores. In fact, many communities require that
they be camouflaged. That’s where Costco members Rod and Donna
Hennig come in. Their Renton, Washington, company, MuralDesign.
com, turns those ugly blobs into works of art. Since starting in 1986,
they’ve adorned more than 60 tanks, the largest being a 10-million-
gallon giant in Anchorage that is 30 feet high and 660 feet around.
In addition to earning a living at it, the Hennigs get satisfaction
knowing that, as Rod Hennig says, “People driving by a 100-foot-
plus water tower can see our work for years to come.”—Steve Fisher
A vision for success
AFTER LOSING TWO PAIRS of $400 eyeglasses in six months,
and observing that his mother-in-law was also losing her
glasses everywhere she went, Costco member Peter Jones was
struck by inspiration.
Jones, a business
consultant in Newton,
Massachusetts, believed
that people who found
a pair of glasses would
probably return them if
only they could figure
out whose they were.
For the next year he
worked on developing
a way to do just that,
and Eyeglass Rescue Eyeglass Rescue uses a patented regis-
(www.eyeglass rescue.tr ation system to retrieve lost glasses.
com) was born.
In 2004, Eyeglass Rescue received its first patent. In
addition to attaching the heat-shrink tags, the user registers
contact information online or by phone. Currently, the program
boasts more than 25,000 subscribers and has reunited more
than 4,000 pairs of glasses with their owners.
As for the finders, if altruism isn’t enough, they are
rewarded with a thank-you package of merchandise.—SF
A woman with a purpose
Top: A new mural in progress in Gwinnett
County, Georgia; bottom: A water tank graces
the fairgrounds in Lynden, Washington.
RODNEY HENNIG
Adam@Home by Brian Basset
THE IDEA OF DIASPORA—
a movement of a people from
their homeland—has always
intrigued Celeste Bateman.
As a former supervisor of
cultural affairs for the city of
Newark, New Jersey, and executive director of the Newark Arts
Council, she also loved bringing
quality performances to audiences and helping performers
with their careers.
SPECIAL TO THE CONNECTION. ADAM IS © B Y BRIAN BASSE T, UNIVERSAL PRESS S YNDICATE
In the spring of 2005
Bateman combined her experience with her interests to form
Nia Network ( w ww.nianetwork.
com), a select roster of 23
artists, musicia ns, dancers,
historians, wri ters and
motivational s peakers.
Nia is the Swahili
word for purp ose,
and the longt ime
Union, New J ersey,
Costco memb er
purposely chose artists she had
worked with in the past whose
artistic work pertains to the
African diaspora.
Through Nia Network’s
parent company, Celeste
Bateman & Associates, clients
are booked for up to 120 performances annually at colleges,
universities, performing arts
centers, corporations, festivals,
churches, fairs and schools both
nationally and internationally.
“They promote what is
good and positive about African,
Caribbean and African-American
c ulture, history and heritage,”
B ateman says. “Most of
m y clients are also teach-
e rs who just happen to
be performers as well;
t he commonality
between all of them is
t hat they are artists.”
—Shana McNally
STAFFORD WOODS
We want to hear from you
IF YOU HAVE a note, photo or story to share (it should
be about Costco or Costco members in some way),
you can send it to “The Member Connection,”
The Costco Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA
98124-1088, or e-mail to connection@costco.com with
“The Member Connection” in the subject line.
Submissions cannot be acknowledged or returned.
