Costco Connection - February 2009

MEMBERconnection Romance in the aisles

Finding work... and love

THE SUMMER OF 1992 Kate Bilinski returned home from her sophomore year at college and told her mom, Suzanne Bilinski, she”d“lookaround”for work. After two weeks with not even an interview scheduled, Suzanne called up the Sterling, Virginia, Costco (then Price Club) and set up an interview for her daughter. Kate was hired on the spot, but cried all the way home thinking that she wouldn’t enjoy the work. About a week into the job Jim Wozniak, who was working in tires, asked her out. Feeling a little unsure about the date, Kate asked someone else to tag along. Although the job only lasted the summer, Kate”s mom says, “Four yea rs later the “guy from tires” asked her to marry him and they have now been married for 12 years and have two wonderful children, Caroline, 8, and Ryan, 4.”

l ovealive

INTHEEARLY
effortless.Butasthatrelationshipmatures,effort
mayberequiredtokeepitvital.Vallejo,California,
CostcomembersDebbieandPaulLambwanttohelp.

counselors,” says Debbie Lamb. “We’re just sharing our story of how we’re pulling off what we think is a relatively good marriage.”

HandbookforCouples a Web site,

book includes12 monthly themes—suchas “Adventure,”

“SurpriseMe,”“LightenUp,”“StopDrivingMeCrazy”—with

LIFETOUCH PHOTOGRAPHY

LIQUID LIBRARY (RF)

Checking out in two ways

Kate and Jim Wozniak—no longer employees but still happy Costco members—live in Ashburn, Virginia, and continue to make weekly visits to the warehouse where they met.

—Stephanie E. Ponder

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.

MY NAME IS Lois Seay. I met my husband, Patrick, at the Norfolk, Virginia, Costco during a lunch hour in September 1999.

He was walking toward me from the Bakery Department. I noticed him right away.

I swear there was a light about him. We made eye contact, smiled at each other and turned for another look as we passed. We passed again on the other side of the store, and he was behind me in the checkout line. He said,

“I promise I’m not stalking you.” In his case, I didn’t mind a bit. I liked it.

A brief conversation about office supplies led to where we worked. I was the human resources manager at my company, and he had been an employee there about 10 years earlier. I gave him my business card and, after checking out my purchases, I went right back to my office to check him out. I pulled his old personnel folder. He had been a good guy back then.

Two days later, he called and invited me to meet him after work for coffee or drinks.

Not knowing his marital status, I asked if he would be bringing his wife and children. He assured me that would not be the case. We met, and I was so glad to find out that he was still a good guy. Two and a half years later, he proposed marriage on Valentine’s Day, and on June 8, 2002, we were married.

Since that first meeting at Costco, we shop together and never fail to smile at each other when we near the Bakery Department. We live

very close to Costco and shop there two to three times a week. From milk to gas to chicken salad and generators, Costco offers us top quality at great prices. So thank you, Costco, for the great products and the wonderful husband I found in your Bakery Department.