Dear fellow unicyclists:
As 2002 draws to a close, we want to say thank you to each of you, our
friends and fellow riders. Your suggestions, support and encouragement
enables us to do what we love doing. We’re still amazed that our little
enterprise has come this far, and we’re so very grateful that it has. I
loved working for IBM, but the many jobs I had there just doesn’t
compare to the thrill of nurturing and navigating this small business.
We’re fortunate also that our boys have taken to the sport. Casey and
Zach both won a gold medal at Unicon 11 in North Bend this summer.
Sawyer would have won silver if his dad had completed his entry form
correctly. They help us answer your calls, pack boxes, label tapes, and
their favorite part of course is testing new equipment. When we’ve
needed help, we’ve turned to family. My dad came out of retirement
(IBM, of course) to help with our bookkeeping. My sister Kathy, also
retired, keeps our files in audit-ready shape.
But our staff isn’t all family. You know Roger Davies in the UK. He
isn’t family, but we consider him so. John & Jacquie Foss continue to
contribute an enormous amount of time each year in support of
unicycling, and they quietly help us in ways that don’t foster
recognition. But their imprint is there, on our Web site. Steve
Dressler, founder and president of the Unicycling Society of Hong Kong,
joined us as a consultant this year. He personally inspected our
shipment of 1,000 Schwinn unicycles before they left the factory. M.E.
“Moe” Mosher, who personally takes responsibility for the appearance of
every unicycle we import and ship to customers, turned 79 this year. A
veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, he has a work ethic that is
unsurpassed. We introduce him to visitors as The Hardest Working Man in
America. But his bride of 60 years doesn’t want him on a unicycle, and
he doesn’t answer the phone.
Stateside, you’ve heard some new voices on the phone:
Jordan Tucker (May), unicyclist, shop services, welder, expert unicycle
mechanic
Robbie Ridgeway (July), unicyclist, parts shipping and receiving,
customer service rep.
Russell Fralick (September), expert trials rider (unicycling and
bicycling), expert unicycle and bicycle mechanic
(Contrary to some opinions posted on the unicycling newsgroup, we do
service, maintain and repair unicycles. Where do these strange rumors
come from? Do we even need to say that we align frames every day?
Wheel truing services by the best in the business, John Kovachi!)
We’ve said all along, we’re working for you. Some 2002 highlights worth
noting:
-
Reintroduced Schwinn brand 20-, 24-inch unicycles and parts -
Introduced Yuni brand 20-, 24-, 26-, 28- and 29-inch unicycles
in chrome and black
-
Introduced lower-cost Kris Holm-designed trials and mountain
unicycles and saddles
-
Introduced Sun brand 12-, 16-, 20-, 24-, 26-, 28-inch unicycles -
Lowered overall pricing on Miyata unicycles and parts -
Forged partnerships with manufacturing specialists to introduce
more custom frames, Ultimate Wheels, mini-giraffes, precision parts
-
Expanded our dealer network to include more than 200 bike
stores in the USA and Canada
-
Added more than 200 new items to our online catalog -
Introduced our first color catalog (available online soon as a
pdf file)
-
Raised average inventory level to 1,500 unicycles
We can’t be all things to all unicyclists, but that remains our goal.
We are unicyclists who want great unicycles, and that will always drive
us. Unicycling is an individual sport, but unicyclists are a
closely-knit community. You are the community we choose to serve.
Thank you for giving us this opportunity.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
John & Amy Drummond
www.Unicycle.com <http://www.unicycle.com/>
1-800-Unicycle