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	CALGARY
	WINTER EDITION

RECENT EVENTS

Fall was a busy time for the Calgary Division as we continue to grow and build customer relationships and our team, but throughout all the hustle and bustle we still found time to have a little fun.

Halloween

The ghosts and goblins were out and about with annual activities such as best costume, guess the candy amount, and a pumpkin carving contest.
		Pumpkins were judged by Alanna Deis and Gary Yamada. Will Mallinson was awarded a set of hockey tickets for best carving. Unfortunately we still haven’t drained his passion for the Canucks...GO FLAMES!!

25 years and still smiling

We celebrated Gulzar Sandhu’s 25 years of service this quarter. Specialty deserts were brought in over the lunch break for all to enjoy. Sandhu has seen GWC grow over the years and takes great pride in his role as Operations Lead hand. Reflecting he can still remember his first day “here’s a pair of gloves, now go out back and roll those drums”...at least we gave him gloves :)... And to this day he still enjoys coming to GWC and working with the people.

Sales Display Room

With a little hard work and some organization the Calgary sales show room gets a fresh start.

November Records

The Calgary team was excited to break not daily production records but budget forecasts as well. Pizza lunch was had by all to celebrate their milestones. Focus on Safety was also strong with no incidents in November as well as an improvement in customer service key performance indicators.

Did You Know?

Poinsettias; a native Mexican plant, poinsettias were named after Joel R. Poinsett, U.S. ambassador to Mexico who brought the plant to America in 1828. Poinsettias were likely used by Mexican Franciscans in their 17th century Christmas celebrations. One legend has it that a young Mexican boy, on his way to visit the village Nativity scene, realized he had no gift for the Christ child. He gathered pretty green branches from along the road and brought them to the church. Though the other children mocked him, when the leaves were laid at the manger, a beautiful star-shaped flower appeared on each branch. The bright red petals, often mistaken for flowers, are actually the upper leaves of the plant.

    The Candy cane

It was not long after Europeans began using Christmas trees that special decorations were used to adorn them. Food items, such as candies and cookies, were used predominately and straight white candy sticks were one of the confections used as ornamentation. Legend has it that during the 17th century, craftsmen created the white sticks of candy in the shape of shepherds' crooks at the suggestion of the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.

The candy treats were given to children to keep them quiet during ceremonies at the living crèche, or Nativity scene, and the custom of passing out the candy crooks at such ceremonies soon spread throughout Europe.

According to the National Confectioner's Association, in 1847 German immigrant August Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. More than 50 years later, Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia supposedly made candy canes as treats for family, friends and local shopkeepers. McCormack's brother-in-law, Catholic priest Gregory Keller, invented a machine in the 1950s that automated the production of candy canes, thus eliminating the usual laborious process of creating the treats and the popularity of the candy cane grew.

More recent explanations of the candy cane's symbolism hold that the color white. Represents Christ's purity, the red the blood he shed, and the presence of three red stripes the Holy Trinity. While factual evidence for these notions does not exist, they have become increasingly common and at times are even represented as fact. Regardless, the candy cane remains a favorite holiday treat and decoration.

Recipes

Christmas Ornaments

24 Ritz crackers
1/2 cup (1/2 of 250-g tub) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese Spread
1/3 cup sliced green onions (about 1 large)
2/3 cup small tomato pieces

SPREAD each cracker with 1 tsp. cream cheese spread.

DECORATE with onions and tomatoes as desired to resemble Christmas ornaments.
 

Holiday Cheese Truffles

2 pkg. (250 g each) PHILADELPHIA Brick Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg.  (200 g) KRAFT Double Cheddar Shredded Cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
Dash  cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/4 cup chopped green onions
CHRISTIE SOCIABLES Original Crackers

BEAT cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, garlic powder and cayenne pepper with electric mixer until well blended. Divide in half. Add roasted red peppers to half of the cream cheese mixture and green onions to the other half; mix each half until well blended. Cover.

REFRIGERATE 2 to 3 hours to allow the flavours to blend.

SHAPE cheese mixtures into 1-inch balls. Roll in one of these options: finely chopped nuts, Kraft Double Cheddar Shreds, paprika, sesame seed or chopped fresh parsley. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.