Third Annual Holiday Blog

Wow, another year is past us. Where does the time go? As I start my third annual holiday blog, I try to think back to January and the beginning of this amazing year of my life. What are the highlights you are wondering? Let’s see if I can do a top five:

5. I got a new job within Polaris with the BIG division. Very cool so far!
4. Year of the theatre- I went to Chicago to see Mary Poppins, saw it again in Minneapolis and went to New York to see Wicked
3. I was blessed with a third nephew, Myles Robert

2. I went ATV’ing in the Sahara Desert in Tunisia
1. And let’s see, what could this one be…… OH YEAH, I lived in France for 4 months!!!

That’s right, I started off the year by taking an assignment through work to live in France for 4 months. I don’t even know how to explain this experience in my life. I learned so much about myself. I stepped outside of my comfort zone living on my own in a foreign country where I did not speak the language and had some amazing trips while I was there. I travelled to Italy (many areas), Tunisia, Sweden, Paris, and did some skiing in the Alps. As the snow starts to fly here I begin to miss my time in France. I don’t miss the wild boars or the hike from the farm everyday…. Those of you who have followed my blog know what I mean. I truly enjoyed my time in France, especially when my friends and family came over to visit. Check back in the blog to get caught up on my total experience in France.

After I returned I took a new job within Polaris. My three years in international were amazing and I was sad to leave, but very excited about my new role and team. I have gotten to do some cool trips already including a video shoot and a ride in the desert with one of our partners. I love the job and its challenges and am very excited about what I am learning and contributing to the team.


What else happened this year? Does seem as you get older that the years just kind of blur together? I swear I was just celebrating New Years with friends last year, and now we are preparing for another one.

As most of you know I have been coaching the Wayzata Girl's Swim team for five years now. This year was an amazing season. We finished tenth in state last year, and this year were hoping for top ten again, maybe even as high as sixth or seventh. After an amazing night of swimming, we finished fourth! It ties my best finish with this team at the state meet and this year was very special for our team as we accomplished this with a wide array of talent. We don't have one Super-star, we have a lot of great swimmers, and when they work together, amazing things happen.

So what is on the forefront for 2010? I have a list of home projects, trips, work stuff, play stuff... As most of you know, my plate is never very empty. I will also proudly finish my MBA in February. It has taken 3 years, but am very excited to be done soon.

As the 2009 year comes to a close, I think about what an amazing year it was. I was Gold Elite for the first time with Northwest and got upgraded a few times to First Class (love it!). I learned how to drive, shop, order food, get gas and more while living in Europe. All were quite challenging at first, but a fun process to learn. I was challenged and worked longer hours than I ever have before, and actually like it.

All in all, it was a good year in my life. I hope each of you had challenges, rewards and experiences that enriched your life in 2009. And most of all, I wish you the best for 2010. May it be a year of growth, love and health for you and your families.

Happy Holidays to all.

Love,

Beth

Riding in the Desert

Last weekend I got a bonus trip to Arizona. Found out on Tuesday that I would fly out on Thursday for the event. We had done an incentive trip to some of our dealers and sales team to do a ride with our marketing partner- NASCAR and Off-Road Racer Robby Gordon.

View from my hotel room

We landed on Thursday and drove from Vegas to Parker AZ. We drove over the Hoover Dam at night, which was really neat to see. Would lvoe to see it during the day. Friday we rode 70 miles in the desert scouting the route. Then Saturday went another 85 miles with the dealers on the ride. It was a great couple days and got me some great riding experience. Check out some shots of what we did.....

Our lunch stop in the middle of the desert...

Our line-up for the ride

Robby's Ride. 550 hp! Talk about a sweet ride. Check out the video of it in action below.

I am off for Arizona again this Sunday for 3 days. I will be working on another video and get home just in tiem to head home for Christmas Eve. Hope everyoine has a safe holiday. The thrid annual holiday blog is in progress...... check back soon.

New Yoooouuurrrrkkkk

So I said to myself, you need a vacation, why not grab a girlfriend and have a ladies weekend in NYC? So I did. After getting back from California I worked for 3 days then took off for a four day weekend in New York. We did a ton of stuff. Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Ellis Island, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Station, Bryant Park, New York City Library, China Town..... and more! Pictures are below to show you how much.

Times Square

The Rockefeller Tree and Rink

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Carnegie Deli and the World's Largest Club Sandwich- we shared this one!

Central Park

The Waiting Room at Ellis Island

My ancestors could have sat in these very seats.

An Amazing Site to Visit.

Almost as Big as Mine :)

I had an awesome trip. We saw the musical Wicked again and I remember how much I loved it. Could not have asked for a better weekend. The only downer was the rain on Saturday, which meant umbrellas, and thousands of people...... I did not enjoy umbrellas to the face so we called it an early night. But I will be back again for sure.

California Kid

I spent Thanksgiving with my family in Napa, CA. I now remember why I don't have children... they tire me out!!!! I swear I never had that much energy. But it was great to spend time with Sara, Dom and my little guys. We watched cartoons, went to the park, walks, read a ton of books and just played. Here are some pics from the trip.

He knows when the flash is coming.....

And here is a video of Henry going down the slide by himself! And of course I had to get down some way....

Worlds worst blogger....

To my loyal fans- I apologize for my lack of blogs lately. I have so much to share. I went to California for Thanksgiving, then a weekend trip to New York, and now found out today that I am heading to Arizona for this weekend for work. I have a lot to get caught up on. Hope it can happen soon as I have so many pictures to share. Check back next week for some updates.

Let it snow.....

State Finals Recap- 4th Place!!

The Wayzata Girls Swimming and Diving team finished an impressive
fourth at the 2009 Minnesota State High School Championships Saturday
night at University Aquatic Center. The Trojans, who were seeded
seventh entering the meet, scored 157 points and improved on a 10th
place finish from 2008.

Wayzata was led by a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle relay and a
third-place showing the 400 freestyle relay. Wayzata received 11 point-
scoring performances and had seven championship finalists. Juniors
Heather Arseth and Sarah Deis led the way for Wayzata, each reaching
two individual championship finals. Arseth finished fourth in the 50
free and fifth in the 100 free while Deis took fifth in the 200 free
and sixth in the 500 free.

Stillwater won the title with 265 points, followed by Edina (205) and
Minnetonka (192). Finishing behind Wayzata was Eden Prairie (133),
Woodbury (130) and Maple Grove (126). The fourth-place finish is the
best for the Trojans since 2006 when they also placed fourth.

The turning point for the Trojans came in the 200 freestyle relay. The
Trojans ‘ team of Arseth (24.03), Jacqueline Stenroos (24.62), Katie
Kemmitt (24.20) and Sarah Deis (23.35) dropped 1.61 seconds off their
prelim time to take State runner-up honors in 1:36.20, shattering the
school record in the process. The story of the relay was the anchor
leg by Deis. Less than 10 minutes after finishing sixth in the 500
freestyle, Deis stepped up with a blistering 23.35 to close the relay
and touch out Maple Grove (1:36.42) at the wall. Deis’ split was the
second-best of the entire event, topped only by the anchor split of
Stillwater’s Hannah Bowen, who won the 50 freestyle earlier in the
meet. Stillwater claimed the title in 1:34.94. Wayzata’s time was also
an automatic High School All-America mark.

Wayzata’s relay confidence continued into the championship’s finale,
the 400 freestyle relay. The Trojans’ team of Arseth, Emma Paulson,
Stenroos and Deis finished third and broke the school record with a
time of 3:30.36. The Trojans’ trimmed 1.29 seconds from their prelims
effort and earned automatic High School All-America honors. Arseth led
off the relay in a sizzling 52.41, followed by strong splits from
Paulson (52.89) and Stenroos (53.68) before Deis brought it back with
an amazing 51.38. Stillwater finished first in 3:27.64, followed by
Minnetonka in 3:29.64. Wayzata held off Maple Grove at the end
(3:30.50).

Deis began an amazing finals session, claiming fifth place in 1:53.22.
She shattered the oldest standing school record in the Wayzata books
in the preliminaries, clocking a 1:52.83 to break the record set in
1990 by Cathy Beach. Deis improved from a seventh-place finish in 2008.
Deis also placed sixth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:06.40.
She trimmed .06 seconds off her prelim time from Friday evening.
Junior Megan Vezzosi just missed the consolation final, placing 18th
in the prelims with a time of 5:14.63.

Arseth scored Wayzata’s best individual finish of the state
championships by finishing fourth in the 50 freestyle with an All-
America consideration time of 23.95. She improved .10 seconds from her
prelim time to pick up 15 important team points. Arseth also moved up
from a 15th place performance as a sophomore.

Wayzata’s top scoring event came in the 100 freestyle with Arseth and
Paulson, a freshman, reaching the championship final. Arseth nearly
matched her 50 free showing by placing fifth in a career-best 52.41.
Paulson also clocked a career-best 52.73 to finish seventh. The
Trojans picked up 26 team points.

Paulson picked up huge team points for Wayzata by winning the
consolation final of the 100 backstroke to finish ninth in 59.13. She
improved .42 seconds from her prelim time and was the second-best
freshman performer in the event.

Senior Stacy Caprio placed 15th in the 100 butterfly with a time of
59.79. Junior Kelly Caprio narrowly missed the consolation final in
the prelims by .02 seconds, finishing 17th in 1:00.07.

Freshman Ashley Patras-Lancey placed 15th in 2:12.52 to lead the
Trojans in the 200 individual medley. In the prelims, Stenroos placed
25th with a time of 2:16.24.

To open the finals session, the 200 medley relay team of Paulson,
Stenroos, Stacy Caprio and Kemmitt placed 12th in 1:51.97.

In the 100 breaststroke, junior Alex Alviani wrapped up an amazing
junior year that saw her drop more than eight seconds off her time in
the 100 breaststroke by finishing 25th in the prelims with a time of
1:11.68.

State Prelim Update

So tonight was state prelims. AI finally made it to the pool about 30 minutes before the meet started. Long story, but we had a HUGE meeting at work today with our VP, and it went late, but went super well!! We were totally pumped as a team (at work). So i left the office at 4:30pm and the meet started at 6pm, at the U. I made it door to door in 45 minutes!!!

Anyway, meet started ok for us, 200 medley relay moved up to 10th place from 16th place seed time. In the 200 our girl got a lifetime best and is sitting 4th. IM'er got 14th and 50 freestyler is sitting in 5th.

Our flyer got 14th, 2 100 freestylers in the top 8!! Then 6th in the 500, 4th in the 200 free relay, 11th in the backstroke and 2nd in the 400 freestyle relay. In the last relay, we broke our school record by a full 2 seconds!!

Overall, a great night. We have a wake up swim tomorrow, then prepare for the banquet and off to California Sunday. Cannot wait.

Thank for checking in.

Wayzata Dominates Section 5AA Championship; Qualifies 11 For State Meet

The Wayzata Girls Swimming and Diving team used great depth to
dominate the 2009 Section 5AA Championships Saturday at the Minnetonka
Aquatics Center. Wayzata won eight event titles and tallied 645 points
while Mounds View was a distant second with 386 points and Armstrong
was third with 282.

Wayzata set itself up for the Section Final by qualifying all four of
their swimmers in each event at the preliminaries on Thursday.
The Trojans qualified at least one swimmer for the State AA
Championships in all 12 events and will send 11 competitors to the
meet held next week at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Junior Heather Arseth set the tone for the Trojans, claiming titles in
the 50 and 100 freestyles and contributing to Trojan wins in the 200
and 400 freestyle relays. She shared the 5AA Section Swimmer of the
Year honors with Armstrong’s Emily Blasko.

Freshman Emma Paulson (100 backstroke), senior Stacy Caprio (100
butterfly) and freshman Ashley Patras-Lancey (200 individual medley)
also won section titles for the Trojans. They also swept the three
relays.

The Trojans started on the right foot, taking the title in the 200
medley relay with a time of 1:52.49. Freshman Emma Paulson, junior
Alex Alviani, Stacy Caprio and junior Katie Kemmitt combined to take
the title with Armstrong taking second in 1:53.46.

In the 200 freestyle, junior Sarah Deis punched a ticket for the State
Meet, taking second place in 1:55.99, behind Blasko’s time of 1:53.40.
Junior Megan Vezzosi just missed the state qualifying time of 1:57.63,
touching the wall in third place with a time of 1:58.07. Junior
Christa Sauer placed fourth in 1:59.54 and freshman Kirsten Olson
placed fifth in 2:03.63.

In the 200 individual medley, Patras-Lancey dropped almost four
seconds off her prelim time to take the championship with a time of
2:13.27. Teammate Jacqueline Stenroos also earned an invitation to the
State Meet, taking second in 2:14.35. Junior Keely Hunt also picked up
valuable team points for the Trojans, finishing fifth in 2:17.47 while
senior Jessica Eastman placed sixth in 2:20.70.

Arseth picked up her first section title in the 50 freestyle, touching
the wall first in 24.22. She broke the section record on Thursday
night with a time of 23.97. Also competing in the championship final
was Kelly Caprio, who finished fourth in 25.23, junior Laura Peterson
who took fifth in 25.57 and senior Sarah Rocca who placed sixth in
25.69.

The Trojans posted their most dominant performance of the night in the
100 butterfly, finishing 1-2-3-4. Stacy Caprio surged past her
sister, Kelly, in the final 15 yards to take the section title in
59.86. Kelly also punched a ticket to the state meet, finishing second
in 59.92. Peterson placed third in 1:00.84 while Stenroos was fourth
in 1:00.97.

Arseth was back on the blocks for the 100 freestyle where she
dominated the field with a winning time of 52.85. Armstrong’s Brooke
Evensen was second in 53.34 but Paulson also claimed a spot at the
state meet, posting a qualifying time of 53.37 to finish third. Rocca
placed fifth in 55.38 and Kemmitt was sixth in 56.03. Arseth shattered
the section record in the prelims with a time of 52.30.

Blasko cruised to a win in the 500 free in 5:04.66 but Deis posted a
strong time of 5:10.81 to finish second while Vezzosi also qualified
for the state meet with a time of 5:14.14. Sauer dropped an amazing
nine seconds from her prelim time to finish sixth in 5:30.46 while
Patras-Lancey was seventh in 5:23.88.

Wayzata crushed the field in the 200 freestyle relay as Arseth, Kelly
Caprio, Kemmitt and Deis turned in a section record time of 1:38.27 to
finish first, easily ahead of the second place effort of Mounds View
(1:42.51).

Paulson broke her own section record in the 100 backstroke, touching
the wall first with a time of 58.20. Irondale’s Breanna Loeschke was
second in 59.04 while junior Tara Williams placed third in 1:02.73.
Sophomore Ellen Stowe finished fourth in 1:03.76 and senior Briana
Daniels was sixth in 1:04.32.

It was an exciting finish in the 100 breaststroke as Wayzata’s Alviani
went to the wire with Mounds View’s Kara McClement. McClement was able
to touch out Alviani at the wall with a time of 1:10.65 but Alviani
earned a state berth with the runner-up finish in 1:10.75. Hunt placed
third in 1:12.45 and junior Alese Halverson was fourth in 1:13.88.
Freshman Abby Larson was seventh in 1:15.59.

The Trojans finished the meet with another section record en route to
taking the title in the 400 freestyle relay. Arseth, Paulson, Kemmitt
and Deis clocked a record mark of 3:34.58 to easily beat the second
place effort of Armstrong (3:39.40).

On a side not, Elizabeth was named Head Coach of the Year and I shared the Assistant Coach of the Year honors.

Overall, an awesome meet by our team.

My Little Myles

I went to visit Myles, Steve and Gretchen this weekend. Myles is almost 7 weeks old now. He started day care this week and is doing really well. The other kids love him. Steve and Gretchen are doing well, although could use some more sleep.

Terri came with me and we finally got play with three band members on Rock Band. Steve satrted on guitar, me on drums and Terri was not shy on the vocals. To say the least, we cried laughing for a few songs. Myles slept through all of it, even my two songs at vocals. He must have a good ear for quality singing :)

Enjoy some more pics of my visit.

True Team State Meet

Saturday night after I got home from my 10 day journey in the desert, we had the True Team State Meet at the U of MN. We had finished third the past two years and with our teams depth this season we thought we could really compete for top three again. Everyone knew Stillwater would win, but we really wanted to battle with Edina and try to sneak past them as they creamed us in our duel meet this season.
We rested the girls for a couple days to let them get ready. We got them all fired up and they came out ready to fight. We broke a school record in a relay, had one girl drop time every time she swam, a few girls got lifetime bests, others dropped time who haven't dropped time in a long while. Overall, we kicked some tail. Our depth pushed us past Edina and we finished in second place as a team. We got to go on the pool deck and get our names read aloud and medals placed around our necks. I have never heard such giddy girls on the bus ride home. Terri and Sara, I apologize I called you on the bus, it must have sounded horrible!! The singing, dancing..... I don't remember being that crazy..... who knows, I am sure others remember differently:) I am sure I was worse at some point.
But it was great to swim so well as a team and see the girls so happy. We hope it gives them confidence going into their taper in the next couple weeks.
Less than 5 weeks to go!! I am excited to see how we finish, but more excited to get my hour of sleep back!!
Later all.

Season Update

The 2009 swim season is almost half way over. Where does the time go? We have had some great events and some very exciting meets. We are 4-1 in dual meets and 2-0 in invitational. We had the most exciting meet I have ever seen against Minnetonka. We went in to their brand new pool as the underdog. It was a classic battle of two strong teams. We led early, but then trailed anywhere form 1-10 points throughout the meet. We fought our way through the meet and going into the last relay, it was tied, 86-86. To prep you for the end of this story, we had been to an invitational just 5 days prior at this same pool. During the last relay it came down to Minnetonka and us, and we lost. But one thing we had on our side, we had our top sprinter on this relay, and she had not swum it the weekend before. We informed our girls of this fact, “we win the relay, we win the meet, simple as that.” The nerves and adrenaline in the building was insane. I have never felt so excited/nervous/helpless as a coach. You want so badly for the girls to swim well, to race and to feel a sense of accomplishment. The relay started and the place was on fire. Parents in the stands were stomping their feet, all girls were lined around the pool jumping up and down and screaming. It was hard to hear your own thoughts. Long story short, we did it. We kicked it in and won by over a full second and a half. It was our second best time ever in Wayzata history and if we have been at our home pool we would have shattered our pool record by 4 seconds!
We had another tough battle one week later and were handed our first conference loss. It was Edina. I don’t know what to say about Edina. They have insane talent and just dominated us in the stroke events. We fought hard, but were missing some of the fight we had seen the week prior. We talked about it the next day as a team and came to the conclusion that we need to be mentally tougher as team if we want to be a top team in the state.

Today we had the Maple Grove invitational. It was a two part meet. The morning session was Junior Varsity which we dominated. It was an impressive showing by our young ladies. It really shows how much depth we have when out 5th fastest 400 free relay can still break 4 minutes. The afternoon session went well as we beat Maple Grove and Eden Prairie to win the varsity title as well.
Next up is our final conference meet and then into the True Team meets. I hope to report good news in the coming weeks.

Meet Myles Robert Shimanski

One September 8th, 2009, my brother Steve and his wife Gretchen welcomed Myles Robert after a long 37 hours of labor. Although quite exhausted, all were doing great!

I got to meet Myles when he was on his 4th day of life. He is an amazing little man. He is so adorable and sweet. It was hard to give him back when I had to leave.

I stopped back over two days later on my way home from Madison. I got to feed him and he opened his eyes for a little while to chat. Then back to sleeping, which I think his parents would like to do more of right about now.

Congratulations Steve and Gretchen and look for more updates as I plan to go back in the next couple weeks.

Crandon Pics

The Rhinelander HODAG!!
Robby getting ready to race.

A sweet looking ride

I made the worlds largest banner!!!

We sure did love it!

Wild Weekend in Wisconsin

So I just got home from 5 days in Crandon, WI. I was there for my first big task in my new job. We sponsored Robby Gordon for the weekend in the TORC Truck race and also the NASCAR race in Atlanta. He flew between both places in his private jets. Pretty crazy.
We had a good crew that helped us get Polaris banners all over the raceway.
We had some awesome units on display and also got to hang with Robby's crew. He has his own chef who made us all of our meals. We helped clean the truck and get it ready to race. I had to work most of the time, but did get to go to the Monster VIP lounge and watch some of the races.
My favorite part of the weekend may have been the two laps I got to do in one of the trucks. I was a passenger with one of the racers for a few hot laps. We got some good air and got a little muddy as well. It was so much fun. No idea how fast we got going, but I was holding on for dear life. I was smiling the entire way.
I will post some pics as I get them on my computer later this week.

Job Update

So i am in week two of the new job. Let's say that my days have never gone to fast in my life!! I have been learning as fast as I can and still helping out in the int'l world a little.

Some good news is that I had my going away lunch last week with my old team. As some of you may know, we were supposed to go to South Africa this year for our summer sales meeting but we changed plans to stay with the US group. Well as it turns out, next year they are going to South Africa..... and so am I!! My going away gift was one round trip ticket to the meeting with them next summer. I am so excited, and was very honored that they would make that commitment to bring me with. It will be a great time for me to see all of my old friends and colleagues again.

So in all, I am loving the new job, my new team and the new challenges. I start swimming on Monday so that is my next challenge to tackle.

Check back soon. Peace out.

The New Bedroom.... Finally

As some of you may know, I tackled the job of redoing my bedroom as soon as I got home from France. I repainted, bought new furniture, and changed the pictures.

My favorite part of my new room are the 6 pictures I took of the mountains in France. I turned them to Black and White and I could stare at them all day.

It is a nice new place to come home to at the end of each day.

Elizabeth and Ryan's Big Day

June 27, 2009- The wedding of the century took place today!! OK, maybe not the century. But Elizabeth and Ryan tied the knot today.

It was a great day. The weather cooperated and the clouds parted right before the ceremony took place. It was a gorgeous day and all of us were thrilled to be a part of it.

Famous in France

Before I left France I was interviewed by the manager of the Polaris Club in France. It is their riders club, and currently has close to 12,000 members. This article showed up in their second quarter magazine that goes to all members and dealers. Who knew I would leave my mark in France???? You can click on the image to see a larger version.

Here is the English translation:
1. Can you to present yourself (name, first name, acts. ...), to describe us the role that you hold with Polaris Inc and we to explain your mission in Europe?
My name is Beth Shimanski. I am in my third year with Polaris. I am the International Marketing Specialist. My job is to help create a strong brand for Polaris around the world with our subsidiaries and distributors. We currently have 8 subsidiaries and 43 distributors. I work with each of them to help them market Polaris in their countries by providing tools that are created from the different product groups in the US. We work to make Polaris a quality brand around the world. I also work to help them work better together and learn form each other.
My assignment in Europe was to better understand what it is like to work in a subsidiary. I also am learning how Polaris France works with the press, dealers, customers and more. I have been able to attend the dealer meeting, the SIMA exhibition, and the Monaco Quad Masters event. My job is to help all of the international team better communicate and share ideas so we can build a more consistent Polaris brand around the world.
Part of my assignment is also to bring back best practices from France and Europe to the US and help the US groups better understand what we need internationally to build the Polaris brand. I hope to open the lines of communication more and help Polaris grow even more around the world.


2. You were athlete of high level in swimming, what drove you to the quad and with Polaris Inc?
I competed for 13 years in competitive swimming including four years at the University of Minnesota. I am still involved in swimming today. I coach a local high school team with ages ranging from 12-18 years.
I have always had an interest in marketing from my studies and when I interviewed with Polaris, the culture really attracted me. Polaris is a very passionate company. The people love riding and love the products we produce. I had road quads since I was young and the opportunity to work for Polaris was a perfect fit for me.


3. The method of usage of the quad in Europe is it different in comparison with the one practiced to the US?
I find that the riders in France have a very strong passion for riding and really use their products how they were meant to be used. I have found the riders are very passionate about the Polaris brand and are very proud to ride. Many times I will see a group of riders or hear of an event that brings together many different riders. My first week on the job I attended the first Polaris Camp. It was muddy, raining, and cold, but the Polaris riders were having a great time. I see these types of events happening more in France and Europe.
One major difference is the on-road use. Last weekend I was driving in Annecy and saw two quads on the other side of the road. This is one major difference in how we use the products in the different countries.


4. What you it most surprised on our practice method?
I am surprised by how often people ride. In the US a group may plan to go for a day ride on a weekend once in a month. It is a special event if they load up their units and drive to a trail to ride. I have found that people in France ride as often as they can. They get friends together and go riding very often. It seems to be a very social event. I think the Club helps with keeping people riding together.
The use with the agriculture is similar, but I think the farmers in France use their quads for more than just riding around the land. I attended the SIMA show in Paris and saw so many options for the quads with farming that I have not seen in the US. Mowers, sprayers, etc.


5. What did you learn personally about your time in France?
I have a new appreciation for the French culture, lifestyle and riding. When you only visit a place for a short time, you really don't see the true culture of a company or a country. I have found a passionate team of employees, dealers and customers at Polaris France. I have also seen many wonderful places and people in France and Tunisia. I truly appreciate the beauty of nature and history and saw both of that many times while in France.
In the US we joke with the Polaris France team about their long lunches, casual work environment and relaxed lifestyle. I will walk away from this project with a new respect for the work ethic and commitment that the Polaris France team shows. They go above what is expected to help out each other, dealers, customers, press or other Polaris distributors or subsidiaries. Their commitment to the Polaris brand is apparent in all they do. They take great pride in working for this company and I hope to take back that same pride. I have learned a lot working with Manu, Thierry and Rene along with the rest of the team. Their level of commitment to Polaris and the Polaris network is something I hope to bring back with me and hopefully bring to the US and around the world.