The Costco Connection

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

IN READING the responses from members who replied via email to our question, “Tell us about your favorite teacher,” I was struck by a clear theme that emerged. To a person, each former student described a unique personal connection with their favorite teacher.

Everybody recalled a way that they as students had been made to feel special and respected. The remarkable teachers were described as enthusiastic, passionate and knowledgeable about the subjects they taught. These strong impressions were still vivid—and important— years and even decades later.

Florentin Tise, one of our readers, wrote about Monsieur Moss, his French teacher. “Three words describe Monsieur Moss: passion, kindness, honesty,” he wrote. “A passion for the subject he taught; kindness in dealing with every student;

and honesty on good days and bad.” Tise, now a teacher himself in suburban Chicago,
says he aspires to be “at least as passionate, kind and honest as Monsieur Moss was.”
Nancy Mueller wrote, “Mr. George Hanneman was that special teacher for me, and
for so many other students at Cumberland School in White;sh Bay, Wisconsin.” In the
;fth grade in ;;;;, she was in his very ;rst class. She says, “To this day, he can tell you
whose balloon ;ew to the farthest state for our experiment, who had which nickname
and what each of us is doing today. He sends us holiday cards every year. We all felt so
loved in Mr. Hanneman’s class. We were so lucky to have ‘that new teacher.’ ”
To experts who study e;ective teachers, none of this comes as a surprise. “There are
really two ways to improve a school signi;cantly,” writes Todd Whitaker in What Great
Teachers Do Di;erently (;;;;, Eye on Education; not available at Costco). “Get better
teachers. Improve the teachers in the school. It is never about programs; it is always
about people.”
See other responses on memorable teachers from members, starting on page ;; in
this issue. And as school starts this year, best wishes to all the teachers out there who play
such key (and often underappreciated) roles in our lives. May you make an important
di;erence in a young person’s life. C

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

WHEN I FOUND out from my Costco Connection editors that the
August edition would have a back-to-school focus, my ;rst thought
was “Back to school? In August?”
Then I remembered, because I have two sisters who are teachers,
the surprise I always feel at how quickly their summer passes by and
that it’s already time for them to prepare their classrooms for the
start of school. I don’t tell them often enough how proud I am of both
of them for their career choice and for the di;erence they have made
to so many kids in their ;;-plus years of teaching. Anytime we are
out and about, they always run into former students who are happy
to see them and let them know how much they appreciate the posi-
tive impact that my sisters have had on their lives.

In this issue’s cover story, starting on page ;;, you’ll read letters from Costco members about the inspirational teachers who left lasting in;uences on them as students. For one, it meant discovering a passion for a particular topic that ended up guiding a career choice. For another, it was a lifeline of support to a student growing up in a chaotic home situation. Knowing my sisters, I’m sure they will ;nd this month’s edition interesting on all levels.

Regarding practical back-to-school matters, whether it’s new school clothes, lunch items or school supplies for a new backpack, make sure Costco is ;rst on your list of places to visit. Throughout this issue, you’ll get sneak peeks at some of the items that are hitting our warehouses and Costco.com just in time for the start of school. And you’ll ;nd several stories with helpful information for a successful school year.

And speaking of backpacks, since ;;;;, through our Backpack Program, Costco has donated ;,;;;,;;; backpacks to children in need across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Puerto Rico, Australia, Spain and the UK. In ;;;; alone, ;;;,;;; backpacks, as well as a variety of school supplies, will be distributed in order to help make starting school a little easier and a little more fun for these children.

Wishing you and your student the best for the school year! C

FRONTEND

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 the respective authors and does not necessarily carry the endorsement of Costco Wholesale or its officers. Information in The Costco 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 in the ad that there is such approval or endorsement. Products advertised may not be available at all locations at the time of publication. Publishing offices are located at 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027. Copyright © 2017 Costco Wholesale.

PUBLISHER Sandy Torrey storrey@costco.com

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Tim Talevich 425-313-6759 ttalevich@costco.com

EDITOR, U.S.

T. Foster Jones 425-313-6748 tod.jones@costco.com

EDITOR, CANADA

Stephanie E. Ponder 425-427-7134 sponder@costco.com

EDITOR, UK

Will Fifield 425-313-6988 wfifield@costco.com

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Lorelle Gilpin, Canada lorelle.gilpin@costco.com

Sue Knowles, UK sknowles@costco.co.uk

Heather Seoyoung Lee, Korea hsylee@costcokr.com

Yuko Nakagawa, Japan connection@costco.co.jp

Abelardo Navarrete, Mexico anavarrete@costco.com.mx

Nora Wang, Taiwan norawang@costco.com.tw

ONLINE EDITOR David Wight david.wight@costco.com

REPORTERS

Steve Fisher steve.fisher@costco.com

Christina Guerrero cguerrero2@costco.com

Hana Medina hanamedina@costco.com

COPY EDITOR Miriam Bulmer

CONTRIBUTORS

Rhonda Abrams, Laura Bode, Elke Govertsen, Peter Greenberg, Mary Lee Griffin, Shelley Harris, Joan Rattner Heilman, Nancy Henderson, Jeremy S. Hyman, Lynn F.

Jacobs, April Maguire, Erik J. Martin, Jonathan Melendez, Leslie Pepper, Lisa Rabasca Roepe, Marc Saltzman, Stephen Sheinbaum, Gary Strauss, Don M. Winn