MEMBERconnection

Tanks for the memories

JUS T BECAUSE TANKS of various kinds—water, gas, oil—are often, by necessity, erected in high-visibility areas, there’s no law that says they have to be eyesores. In fact, many communities require that they be camouflaged. That’s where Costco members Rod and Donna Hennig come in. Their Renton, Washington, company, MuralDesign. com, turns those ugly blobs into works of art. Since starting in 1986, they’ve adorned more than 60 tanks, the largest being a 10-million- gallon giant in Anchorage that is 30 feet high and 660 feet around. In addition to earning a living at it, the Hennigs get satisfaction knowing that, as Rod Hennig says, “People driving by a 100-foot- plus water tower can see our work for years to come.”—Steve Fisher

A vision for success

AFTER LOSING TWO PAIRS of $400 eyeglasses in six months, and observing that his mother-in-law was also losing her glasses everywhere she went, Costco member Peter Jones was struck by inspiration.

Jones, a business consultant in Newton,

Massachusetts, believed that people who found a pair of glasses would probably return them if only they could figure out whose they were.

For the next year he worked on developing a way to do just that, and Eyeglass Rescue Eyeglass Rescue uses a patented regis- (www.eyeglass rescue.tr ation system to retrieve lost glasses. com) was born.

In 2004, Eyeglass Rescue received its first patent. In addition to attaching the heat-shrink tags, the user registers contact information online or by phone. Currently, the program boasts more than 25,000 subscribers and has reunited more than 4,000 pairs of glasses with their owners.

As for the finders, if altruism isn’t enough, they are rewarded with a thank-you package of merchandise.—SF

A woman with a purpose

Top: A new mural in progress in Gwinnett County, Georgia; bottom: A water tank graces the fairgrounds in Lynden, Washington.

RODNEY HENNIG

Adam@Home by Brian Basset

THE IDEA OF DIASPORA— a movement of a people from their homeland—has always intrigued Celeste Bateman.

As a former supervisor of cultural affairs for the city of Newark, New Jersey, and executive director of the Newark Arts Council, she also loved bringing quality performances to audiences and helping performers with their careers.

SPECIAL TO THE CONNECTION. ADAM IS © B Y BRIAN BASSE T, UNIVERSAL PRESS S YNDICATE

In the spring of 2005 Bateman combined her experience with her interests to form Nia Network ( w ww.nianetwork. com), a select roster of 23 artists, musicia ns, dancers, historians, wri ters and motivational s peakers.

Nia is the Swahili word for purp ose, and the longt ime

Union, New J ersey,

Costco memb er

purposely chose artists she had worked with in the past whose artistic work pertains to the African diaspora.

Through Nia Network’s parent company, Celeste Bateman & Associates, clients are booked for up to 120 performances annually at colleges, universities, performing arts centers, corporations, festivals, churches, fairs and schools both nationally and internationally.

“They promote what is
good and positive about African,
Caribbean and African-American
c ulture, history and heritage,”
B ateman says. “Most of
m y clients are also teach-
e rs who just happen to
be performers as well;
t he commonality
between all of them is
t hat they are artists.”
—Shana McNally

STAFFORD WOODS

We want to hear from you

IF YOU HAVE a note, photo or story to share (it should be about Costco or Costco members in some way), you can send it to “The Member Connection,” The Costco Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088, or e-mail to connection@costco.com with “The Member Connection” in the subject line. Submissions cannot be acknowledged or returned.