PUBLISHER Ginnie Roeglin
EDITOR David W. Fuller 425-313-8510 dfuller@costco.com
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MAGAZINES BOOKS
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ASSISTANT EDITORS
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The Costco Connection is published by Costco Wholesale. All
editorial material, including editorial comments, opinion and statements of fact appearing in this publication, represents the views of
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Connection is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but
the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed. The publication of any advertisements is not to be construed as an endorsement of the product or service offered unless it is specifically stated
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WA 98027. Copyright © 2009 Costco Wholesale.
FRONTend
from the publisher’s desk
Ginnie Roeglin
IT’S BACK-TO-SCHOOL time! You’ll find several helpful
articles in the “Back to School” section starting on page
33. We’ve all heard tragic stories of bullying in recent
years. What once was mostly limited to school buses, hallways and playgrounds now has no boundaries in cyberspace. On page 33, you can read about what to do if your
child becomes a victim of bullying.
You don’t have to break the bank on back-to-school
shopping. We offer several money-saving tips in our
smart-shopping article on page 37, and several of our
home-schooling members offer tips on page 39.
Youngsters can learn the basics of Spanish with the new
Kids Love Spanish DVD series, described on page 43, plus you’ll find all of the
educational supplies you need, including backpacks, calculators, writing supplies,
books and DVDs for students of every age, in your warehouse and on Costco.com.
A healthy family dinner is important, but finding time to fix dinner on a busy
weeknight can be a challenge. A little planning and organization go a long way
toward reducing your workload and your stress. On page 49, you’ll find recipes for a
delicious, family-friendly dinner that you can have on the table in about 30 minutes
after you get home, with just five minutes of prep the night before. Your kids might
even enjoy helping, and you’ll enjoy that extra time together.
As the population continues to age, many people are finding that they have hearing loss. Fortunately, there have been great advances in hearing aids in recent years,
as Pat Volchok explains on page 62. Our Kirkland Signature™ hearing aids are guaranteed to meet or beat the quality standards of leading national brands at a savings
of thousands of dollars. Stop by our Hearing Center for a free test. We have licensed,
experienced and highly trained hearing aid dispensers in 280 of our locations.
See you in the “Back to School” section in the warehouse! C
Ginnie Roeglin is Senior Vice
President, E-Commerce and
Publishing, and Publisher of
The Costco Connection.
from the editor’s desk
David W. Fuller
“AND WHAT PROFITETH a man, if he win all the
world, and lose himself?”
This sentiment from the Bible (Luke 9: 25, Wycliffe
New Testament) cannot help but come to mind when
one reads this month’s cover story about the remarkable
Broetje family of Prescott, Washington.
Other, less eloquent, sentiments come to mind,
as well:
Walk the talk.
Do unto others.
Give back to the community.
We live in a time and a nation in which more and more businesses seem to be
acting along these lines. Charity has been a constant in America from its inception.
Organizations such as the Red Cross, the United Way and many, many local charitable
groups can trace their origins back more than a century.
A more recent development has been the combination of business and charity.
This initially was a matter of some businesses and businesspeople realizing a need to
donate a token and then an increasingly larger portion of their profits to those in need.
Today, it is a well-accepted and nearly universal practice for large businesses to set
aside 1 or 2 percent of their profits for those in need or for their communities. Vast
numbers of small businesses follow the same practice and often contribute even larger
percentages. Additionally, in businesses large and small, managers and employees have
been moving beyond financial donations to active participation in charitable work.
The Broetjes represent an even more recent development: the incorporation of
charity into the very mission of the company.
The Broetje’s story will likely encourage many of us to think about our own stories. C
AUGUST 2009 The Costco Connection 5
David W. Fuller is Assistant
Vice President, Publishing, and
Editor of The Costco Connection.