What would you do if someone knocked on your door and handed you a giant check for US$100,000? Scream? Cry? Jump up and down? For one lucky employee, all she could do was stare in disbelief.
“I was just stunned,” says Andrea O’Shea, a senior publishing specialist from Legal Editorial Operations in the US Law Firms business. Andrea and her family were recently surprised at their home outside of St. Paul, Minn., with balloons, flowers and $100,000 from the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes team.
Andrea’s husband, Doug, entered the sweepstakes multiple times online, yet they never thought they’d actually win anything. But the timing of their surprise couldn’t have been better.
“My husband has been out of work for the last two years, and unemployment checks have run out, so I’ve been the sole breadwinner,” she says. “Having something so fantastic happen when you’re at your wits’ end … I can’t even explain the pressure it relieved. It’s been such a blessing.” 
Andrea, Doug and their two children, Mark (10) and Brenn (13), are already making plans for how to use some of their winnings, which include paying off bills, investing, contributing to college savings accounts and paying for a family vacation. However, the money itself hasn’t been the most rewarding part of the experience.
“The outpouring of support has been amazing” says Andrea. “We’ve received nothing but good wishes. The money is almost like a bonus – the main blessing is having the people you know and love so happy for you.”
You can watch a video of Andrea and her family receiving their giant check here. And as for the future of that giant check? The O’Sheas are planning on having it framed.
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When Greg Groenjes, a manager in Manufacturing, Distribution & Engineering in Eagan, Minn., went out to see a 
movie with his wife one chilly evening in February, he anticipated that the only action scenes playing out would be on the screen. But by the night’s end, Greg was a real-life crime fighting hero.
After viewing a movie at a theatre in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., Greg and his wife came across a hammer-wielding man who was destroying car windshields in the theatre’s parking lot. Greg confronted the man and tried to get him to stop, and was shortly thereafter joined by two other movie theatre patrons.
Greg and the two other men surrounded the culprit until a police officer arrived at the scene. But instead of cooperating with the police officer, the assailant threw his hammer at him and began to charge.
The officer was able to tackle the man to the ground, but the assailant began grabbing at the officer’s equipment belt and face. The officer, now unable to subdue and handcuff the assailant on his own, called out for help. At his call Greg and the two other patrons rushed to the officer’s assistance.
“I knew the cop was in trouble so I just went for it and grabbed the assailant’s legs’” says Greg. “After the three of us had him pinned the officer was able to handcuff him and put him in the squad car.”
Greg and the other men who assisted were awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the city of Inver Grove Heights for their heroism and quick thinking. In the end, Greg admits that trying to stop the man wasn’t a hard decision.
“I didn’t even stop to think whether I should or shouldn’t help, it was instinctive,” says Greg. “Although this could have escalated to a much more dangerous situation, putting myself at risk, stopping the man and helping the officer was the right thing to do.”
Posted by Anne Lawver in:
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Thomson Reuters recently announced a significant partnership with a St. Paul-based nonprofit, Books For Africa and their Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative. An editorial article titled “Books project adds power to the rule of law” in the Pioneer Press in St. Paul discusses the unique partnership.
Sharon Sayles Belton, vice president, Community Relations and Government Affairs, Thomson Reuters, Legal was quoted in the article saying, “the goal of the project is to combine the strengths of both organizations “to help the legal system perform better world-wide.”
You can learn more about Books For Africa’s Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative online.
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From collecting food items to raising funds to benefit local food banks, offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Alexandria, Va.; Los Angeles; Dallas; Philadelphia; Rochester, N.Y.; Chicago; San Francisco; Albuquerque, N.M.; Pyrmont, Australia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Toronto; and London mobilized with a common mission to support local hunger relief organizations.
Check out what several of our global colleagues did to recognize the day:
-By paying for every cup of coffee or tea that was otherwise free, employees from Bangalore, India, raised money for Akshaya Patra, an organization that provides lunches to 1.2 billion school children in India. Their donation will ensure that over 70 children will eat a midday meal for an entire year.
-Employees from Manila (in the photo above) prepared a dinner of spaghetti and ham sandwiches to feed 100 children who receive care from the Education Research and Development Assistance (ERDA) Foundation, a nonprofit that provides assistance to children of poor families in the Philippines.
-At our Legal headquarters in Eagan, Minn., more than 480 employees helped pack meals through the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children. Over the course of one work day, 17,820 dehydrated meal pouches – MannaPacks, in the parlance of Feed My Starving Children – were prepared and packaged to be shipped to Haiti for earthquake survivors who are currently battling with a cholera outbreak. The pouches will provide 106,920 meals for children afflicted by hunger, equivalent to feeding 292 children one meal a day for a year.
You can watch a video of our Feed My Starving Children event here.
By embracing the mission of World Food Day, Thomson Reuters employees have made an impact in the lives of hungry people all over the world.
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Tammie Follett, on the left in the center of the photo above, recently returned from spending two and half weeks in Africa leading a group of 10 people for Books For Africa and Africa Classroom Connection, highlighting the important work these organizations do in building and stocking classrooms with books. Follett is a senior account manager and business development specialist at Thomson Reuters, Legal.
Her trip also provided the opportunity to deliver a shipment of legal textbooks donated by Thomson Reuters to the University of Malawi-Chancellor College.
“The visit to the University of Malawi-Chancellor College was very rewarding,” said Follett. “I presented a personal-embossed copy of Black’s Law Dictionary to the dean, and he expressed to me that he and the law students greatly value the donation of books, especially because they needed them on topical issues such as torts and contracts.”
The law books Follett presented are not the only shipment Thomson Reuters has donated. On Oct. 13, employees packed more than 10,000 leisure reading books and textbooks collected from previous Books For Africa drives at Thomson Reuters to be shipped to Zambia.
Thomson Reuters’ commitment to Books For Africa does not end once the books have reached Africa. The company has funded Books for Africa programs and events since 2007, and this month will host the first Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative advisory board meeting.
The Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative advisory board is part of Books For Africa, and gives the organization recommendations on obtaining law books.
“Being in the presence of law students trying to make a future for themselves, their families and their country was an inspiring experience,” said Follett. “They are on a journey to change and economically stabilize their country, and I am proud that our efforts here at Thomson Reuters will be a part of that.”
In this video, shot by one of the members of Tammie’s group, you can see and learn how students and professors at Chancellor College School of Law make use of the books and why donations to Books for Africa can make such a difference.
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My colleague Kevin Hunt and I recently visited a hog farm in Isanti, Minn.
Not for pleasure, mind you, but for work. We were on a mission to uncover the new resting place for some of the food waste from the cafeterias at the headquarters of Thomson Reuters, Legal in Eagan, Minn.
In early June, our cafeteria staff began separating scraps from food preparation from the other waste generated from both campus cafeterias.
Fifty tons of food scraps that were once shipped to a nearby landfill each year are now placed in special containers affectionately referred to as “pig buckets.”
The buckets are among many picked up each morning around the Minneapolis-St. Paul area by a farm co-operative, Second Harvest Farms, and used to feed hundreds of Minnesota pigs.
Curt Johnson, owner of the 80-acre farm and the 700 hogs we visited, graciously shared the experience with us, his newest account.
Watch the video of our experience and the story of how the project works:
Johnson’s five-farm co-op collects more than 150,000 tons of food waste annually – food waste that once landed in landfills. That’s just one co-op in Minnesota. Johnson told us this type of food recycling operation is common across the United States and even around the world, including at hog farms in China.
For Thomson Reuters, and many large companies, recycling of any kind isn’t a “nice to do,” but rather a “need to do.”
It’s one way for us to be mindful of the environment and to be a responsible corporate partner.
And it helps that recycling has evolved over the years – it’s not just paper and soda cans anymore. The business of recycling has evolved into a sophisticated operation that enables the unthinkable to become a reality. For example, entire houses can be made of 100 percent recycled materials – the same goes for shoes and clothing.
So the idea that our carrot peels or the trimmings from chicken are used to feed hogs isn’t hard to wrap your head (or snout) around after all.
Learn more about Thomson Reuters, Legal’s corporate responsibility efforts online.
*A special shout-out to Kim A. for lending me her red boots for the trip to the farm!
Posted by Nicole Hansen in:
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Image by John Rubbo
Thomson Reuters employees and dignitaries took the latest step to restoring 10 acres of their Eagan, Minn. campus into native prairie grass and wild flowers.
Peter Warwick, president and CEO of Thomson Reuters, Legal, joined by Eagan, Minn. mayor Mike Maguire, representatives from the National Audubon Society, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Thomson Reuters, Legal, employees and their children, cast the first seeds yesterday for what will become the first 10 acres of native prairie restoration on the company’s 292 acre headquarters.
Employee volunteers and the building facilities team have been working to restore the land for more than a year and expect to see full growth of native prairie in the a few years.
Warwick reinforced the company’s stance on environmental stewardship.
“We believe as a corporation around the world that we have to be a good guardian of the environment in which we operate,” said Warwick. “Nothing sums up better our commitment to the future and being environmentally responsible than the prairie project you see here.”
The Audubon Society of Minnesota served as consulting partner on the project. Glenn Olson, senior vice president of the National Audubon Society, attended the seeding and said, “The work that Thomson Reuters is doing is going to impact what other corporations can do as a model of good stewardship in their communities.”
In addition to physical beauty, native prairies filter phosphorous and nitrogen from the soil and offer an ideal nesting ground for migratory birds.
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Members of the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center were on the the Eagan, Minn. campus of Thomson Reuters, Legal, yesterday to demonstrate the wonders of wild birds of prey as part of Green Week activities. The raptor center specializes in the medical care, rehabilitation, conservation, and study of eagles, hawks, owls, and falcons.
But birds of prey aren’t the only feathered friends on the Eagan campus these days.
Two dozen wooden bird houses, four wood duck houses and three chimney swift towers (like the one above) were constructed by employee volunteers as part of the company’s Green Team efforts. The Eagan campus now has more than 40 birdhouses available for these migrating birds.
Watch Legal Current for more information about other Green Team efforts at the Legal headquarters this week including restoring a 10-acre prairie and planting a community garden.
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On May 21, bicycle enthusiasts around the U.S. celebrated National Bike to Work Day. With increasing attention being paid to this not-so-new method of commuting, we thought we’d get some insight from some of our employees who regularly bike to work.
Richard Baum, director, IP Marketing, is an avid outdoorsman and has been commuting to work by bicycle for the last five years. Baum said his 19 mile round-trip commute not only saves money in car repairs and gas, but it also has serious benefits for his health.
“I notice a big difference in my conditioning when I ride to work. For example, my cholesterol typically goes down at least 10 percent when I’m regularly biking,” says Baum.
Baum occasionally runs across interesting things on the commute. “Once I came across a large snapping turtle that was crossing the road to get to a pond. I stopped to take a picture of it before getting on my way.” Baum recalled. “I wouldn’t have been able to see that if I were in my car.”
Sarah Ditzler, an office manager at our 1 North Dearborn Chicago office, is the team lead for a city-sponsored “Bike to Work Week,” June 12-18.
Thomson Reuters Professional employees in Chicago can participate and compete for the highest percentage of employees who biked to work in their category and division.
Each participating employee will track their bike trips and the team leader will submit the total to the Active Transit group. The team with the most miles wins!
“We have 11 employees signed up so far,” Ditzler said. “Everyone seems really engaged and ready to take on the challenge.”
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(Back: Matt Magnuson, Jim Simonet, John Bauman. Front: Randy McGlocklin)
In the entire state of Minnesota, there is only one youth sled hockey team, which enables individuals with disabilities to play hockey using specialized equipment.
Thomson Reuters, Legal, Employees Matt Magnuson, a production coordinator; and Randy McGlocklin, a lead software engineer, volunteer as coaches for the team and recently received noteworthy support from two colleagues. (more…)
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The U.S. Constitution is one of the most powerful and impactful documents in existence. It literally touches every American’s life, and has since its creation in 1787. Recently, I had the opportunity to view the document first-hand as part of a new exhibit, “We the People: The First Official Printing of the U.S. Constitution,” sponsored [...]
Earlier this week, we released our 2011 Annual Report in an interactive format available online at thomsonreuters.com. Along with information on the company’s financial performance as well as business unit overviews, this year’s annual report contains a variety of dynamic content including interviews with our new business leaders as well as stories of how we [...]
We’ve got a great episode for you this month, kicking off with our “Chaos in the Courts” segment that, believe it or not, is yet another story about the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Since our March podcast, another person has fallen victim to the establishment’s trademark bypass burger.
Then in our “On the Blawgs” [...]
