Risk & Associates - September 2021

Risk & Associates - September 2021

COUNTYCIVIL.COM

SEPTEMBER 2021

Labor Day, With a Dash of Style OUR ANNUAL COOKOUT/BREAKFAST AT COUNTY CIVIL

I ’ll be straight with you — I don’t like being called “boss.” It has a weird connotation that I’d somehow be more valuable than anyone else at the company. Although I am the company owner and I make the biggest decisions, any key decision would simply be impossible without high-quality team members who make County Civil the highly effective civil processing service it is today. If you can’t tell, I’m incredibly proud of my company staff. I’ve mentioned before how important they are — they’re more than just staff: They’re family. Even when you have to train or correct a family member, people understand it’s with good intent and there are never any hard feelings. As people learn, grow, and thrive in specialized roles, they become even better teammates. Throughout the years, it’s felt like an ongoing win-win situation.

we do these types of things a few times a year, including to celebrate Administrative Professionals Day.

I can’t identify just one thing my staff does that makes them so exceptional. The friendship, the laughs, the camaraderie, the dedication, and the reliability we enjoy with one another are wonderful; it’s something money can’t buy. If someone got sick or dropped out of work for any reason, I always have volunteers who want to pick up the work. I see people’s 110% every day.

Do I have bragging rights? Heck, yeah!

Anyway, I know Labor Day is historically in honor of the labor movement, and there’s a great, almost American ancestral premise to it. But how do you find people who, on a daily basis, do things they don’t have to? Ultimately, how do you put a value on a good employee? You can’t. The best you can do is value them while they’re with you — so, from our team to yours, we wish you a very happy Labor Day, and we hope you’ll find a way to celebrate no matter how far away your employees may be! -Rick Risk

So, Labor Day becomes one of the best excuses to celebrate that win‑win situation.

Every year, we like to “ham it up” and have a cookout or breakfast with everybody. It becomes my special day to show them just how much I really care and appreciate their hard work. And if I’m honest,

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REMEMBER THE ‘MCDONALD’S HOT COFFEE’ LAWSUIT?

Back in 1992, an elderly woman named Stella Liebeck sued McDonald’s in what became known as the infamous “hot coffee lawsuit.” The public relations team at McDonald’s has made sure the case is remembered as frivolous, but, like the third-degree burns Stella Liebeck suffered from a cup of McDonald’s coffee, her lawsuit was dead serious. The facts were simple: Mrs. Liebeck used the drive-thru with her grandson, who was at the wheel. Once the car stopped moving, she placed the cup of coffee she’d just ordered between her legs and tried to add some creamer. The cup tipped over, dumping the contents into her lap, causing third-degree burns over 16% of her body. She required hospitalization for eight days. Whirlpool debridement of the burns and skin grafts followed. She was at least partially disabled for more than two years, and that’s to say nothing of her pain and suffering.

For all of this damage, Mrs. Liebeck asked McDonald’s for $20,000 — arguably not even enough to pay her hospital bills.

had no intention of changing their behavior. Unsurprisingly, at the end of the trial, McDonald’s was hit with a $2.9 million penalty.

When McDonald’s refused to pay more than $800, the case went to court, and it came out that they’d known for at least 10 years about the dangers their hot coffee represented, with over 700 recorded burns and several lawsuits. But in 1992, their policy was to store coffee at 180–190 degrees F, which is almost the boiling point! Furthermore, McDonald’s higher-ups testified on the stand that no matter what happened, they

Although the penalty was later reduced, McDonald’s still dragged Mrs. Liebeck’s name through the mud in the press, with their version of the story being the one that stuck in the public consciousness. But it wouldn’t change the fact that they had to pay her around $700,000 at the end of the day — or that their coffee is now being served at a reasonable temperature YOUR FAMILY WILL THANK YOU! 5 Tricks to Make Packed Lunch Tastier and Easier soggy or wilted?” The easy answer is to prepare crunchy salads! From broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and celery to radishes and even daikon, there are plenty of ways to prepare a salad that will never wilt and you can make days in advance. NO. 4: THE RICE BOWL You might be used to packing rice and proteins in your lunches, but have you ever considered changing your rice to a nutty red quinoa, or adding kimchi and other easy Korean side dishes to make a to-go bibimbap? There are many ways to make a rice bowl exciting and different every week! NO. 5: PANCAKE/WAFFLE SANDWICHES Have extra pancake or waffle batter? You won’t have to worry about running out of bread for sandwiches — just use your pancakes or waffles! They make great ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches that are filling and delicious any time of the day.

Whether you’re looking forward to back-to-school season, third quarter, or trying to eat a little healthier before the holiday season, you probably want to figure out how to make your packed lunches more exciting. Here are five great ideas to do just that! NO. 1: EDIBLE STRAWS Edible straws are sweeping the nation in smoothie chains and theme parks like SeaWorld, but you don’t have to travel or spend $6 on a smoothie when you can make delicious smoothies at home — edible straw included. Your kids will love these mildly sweet, crunchy edible straws, too, which go wonderfully with any iced tea, lemonade, or smoothie! NO. 2: PASTA SALAD There’s nothing easier to make in bulk than a pasta salad, and your children will love it. You can make it as simple or as complex as you’d like! Try using fun shapes, like bow-tie pasta, and couple them with plenty of your favorite mix-ins, from chopped crunchy broccoli to fried onions. NO. 3: CRUNCHY SALADS Speaking of broccoli, you might be wondering, “How can I possibly include more packed salads in my lunches without them getting

We hope these ideas will help make your family’s mornings a lot easier and faster!

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THE NIGHT THAT CHANGED FOOTBALL FOREVER Every year, 40 million Americans (and even entire offices) play fantasy football, “drafting” players from across the NFL for their virtual teams and competing for money and bragging rights. Maybe you have a virtual team in the locker room as you’re reading this! But where did the concept of fantasy football start? CBS Sports began offering online fantasy football leagues in 1997, and today it’s even easier to play. The sport is built right into the NFL website (Fantasy.NFL.com), and you can join a free league or start a league of your own with a click! Whether you’re a former player or

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the gridiron trend began in a New York City hotel room in 1962 — a night that changed football forever. There, a group of friends led by Oakland Raiders part-owner Bill Winkenbach created the first fantasy football league. They dubbed it the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League — or GOPPPL for short. Apart from the point values assigned to different accomplishments on the field, their original model wasn’t very far off from the fantasy football of today. “The league members would ‘draft’ actual National Football League (NFL) and American Football League … players to their fantasy franchises, and on the basis of the actual performance of those players in games, the members would accrue points and compete against each other,” the encyclopedia reports. Early fantasy football leagues were complicated undertakings. In the days before the internet, members had to agree to reference the box scores in a particular newspaper’s sports pages and “draft” their teams in the same room on long phone calls, or even via snail mail.

a superfan who wants to play coach for a day, fantasy is a great way to stake a personal claim in the sport and connect with friends while you do it. Check out the article “How to Play Fantasy Football: A Beginner’s Guide” on NFL.com to learn

the basics. It’s updated annually, so make sure you hunt down the 2021 version! When you start, don’t forget to salute

Winkenbach, the official “Father of Fantasy Sports.”

ABUNDANT APPLES COOKOUT CRUNCHY FALL GOLDEN

GRANDPARENTS HARVEST

LABOR MAPLE SPORTS WINDY

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2383 Tamarack St., Lake Odessa, MI 48849 616-374-7170 | COUNTYCIVIL.COM R isk & A ssociates

Rick Risk is Founder and President of Risk & Associates, a legal support service provider in Michigan, and has assisted hundreds of attorneys, municipalities, courts, Sheriff Offices, businesses, and others with their strategic process needs.

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 2

Labor Day, With a Dash of Style

How McDonald’s Spun the ‘Hot Coffee Lawsuit’ How to Make Your Family’s Packed Lunches Exciting

3 4

The Night That Changed Football Forever

Nothing to See Here: Mystery Spot Tourism

Nothing to See Here A HISTORY OF THE MYSTERY SPOT

The most famous mystery spot is in Santa Cruz, California, but it has cousins in Oregon, West Virginia, and Michigan. Each one is inexplicable — drawing thousands of people every year to come and spend their tourist dollars. And for many, the whole thing is just one big hoax, designed to take in suckers and generate cash. Although Santa Cruz has the most visitors, it was “inspired” by the Oregon Vortex, which was a spot that had odd occurrences “documented” back to the early frontier days. From a mining office sliding off its foundation to the high presence of optical illusions, the Vortex was the home to some odd events. Naturally, the thing to do was build a structure there and start taking people’s money! It’s not a coincidence that these locations began to pop up at the same time as the average American got access to automobiles — “roadside attractions” of all kinds have been the rage since people began to tour America by car, and it’s pretty clear that, real or not, these mystery spots fall into that category. That’s why many of them have updated over the years to suit changing tastes — such as the Michigan St. Ignace Mystery Spot’s addition of zip lines and other attractions.

And unlike many other roadside attractions, mystery spots continue to draw attention. Something in the American psyche loves

the idea of the paranormal; Google “Europe mystery spots” and you’re likely to discover lists of unique vacation destinations. Perhaps they recapture the “paradise is just over the hill” mystery that in part drove colonization of the American West.

Or perhaps it’s all a bunch of hooey. The best way to decide, of course, is to visit one of these mystery spots for yourself!

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