VOLUME #38

Transition Plan for MGroup™ Leadership:

A Message from our President & CEO

I had announced back in October that the announcement of a new MGroup™ operational leadership team would be announced by year end.

We are somewhat behind that announced schedule due to a number of unforeseens . . . Patti’s chemo therapy, the continued saga of the pandemic, and the delays in getting the final structure of the new Solenal Americas™ organization set up are amongst a few of the concerns.

Think of this delay in the announcement as similar to penalty time in a soccer match or overtime in football. Same match, same business, just the decision not quite finalized yet.

The transition is being planned and will move forward.

The candidates for the succession have been operating for over a year with more and more final decision making authority, so the role of top leadership will not be a difficult transition when we do announce and execute it.

Patti is halfway through her chemo therapy regimen and will continue as CFO until she can focus on finding a successor. Fortunately, we have a very talented accounting team in place and no glitches are reported, even with Patti’s slightly less active role.

I’ll assume the role of Chairman and serve MGroup™ from an advisory and oversight capacity. I’ll continue in the role as Executive-in-Charge of the European business and continue in the capacity of responsibility for new business ventures and will report these activities directly to the CEO. This allows the new executive team to focus on the USA business.

Innovation is and always will continue to be a vital part of MGroup’s future.

I’ll also assume the role as Chairman & CEO of Solenal Americas, LLC in the very near future and am in the interim stages of building a talented management team there, to be announced soon.

The ownership of MGroup™ remains in the closely-held MFLGH, Inc. No changes in ownership are contemplated at this time.

Business as usual for MGroup™ - if we can consider anything about this past year defined as “as usual.”

We will have an orderly transition to a new operational leadership top team.

Thanks for your continued loyalty and support.

- H. David Murray, President and CEO

Promotion Announcements

We are excited to announce that effective at the beginning of the year, Kym Hartley will be taking over the role of Manager – Project Management.

Kym not only has an extensive background in project management, but also in managing people. Most notably at Tritter Feefer (a high end furniture supplier), where she was the Director of Op’s and oversaw a team of 50+. As most of you know, she’s quickly developed a long list of successfully run projects at MGroup™.

We look forward to seeing Kym grow within the department, and to grow the department.

Congratulations, Kym!

Hannah Bell, CRM Manager

Exemplary Performance Spotlight: Project Support

The Project Support department has been making huge strides in making sure that every request is sent in is handled in a timely manner. For the past several years in the Project Support department, there was on average a 100+ quote back log and quotes weren’t being returned by their bid due dates and were often a week or two late. There was huge confusion on all of the tariff and duty implementation and how this needed to be addressed and calculated on the quotes which in turn created huge delays in quote turn around times, etc.

Christina Gwinn

Manager of Project Support

Under the leadership of Christina Gwinn, Manager of Project Support, the deparment has worked diligently to streamline quote processes and improve quote turn around times. Christina changed the mindset of the department to recognize the crucial role they play to secure jobs for the sales team. She also worked with John to create new quote templates so that all quotes could be processed more easily and would look the same across the board to the client. Holli Clendenin, Kelly Blair and Shantel Washington were each tasked with jobs within the department that worked to their strengths and helped streamline the various processes needed to complete a quote. Christina said, "Holli, Kelly, and Shantel have worked wonders to help make Project Support the successful department that it is now and all it took was a little bit of guidance and direction to showcase their immense talent in doing so. Without them and their hard work, dedication to a job well done, and always doing whatever it takes to make it happen, none of this success would be possible."

Project Support finished 2020 with a weekly completion rate of 96% which is 20% higher than where they started. Out of 52 weeks, they finished 25 weeks at 100% with the last 11 weeks of the year being consecutive 100% completion weeks. A huge accomplishment for Project Support! In 2020, they had over 6500+ requests/tasks sent to them that needed to be completed from within MGroup™ (Sales, PMs, Accounting, and Contracts) and the more than 7 different vendors that we do business with and sent out over 3300+ quotes, which generally have multiple tabs, so that number is closer to 10,000 individual quotes. That’s a lot of work for the smallest department in MGroup™.

Mattew Partin, Director of Operations, had this to say about Project Support's performance this past year:

"The Project Support team had a fantastic 2020, and made great strides from 2019 where there was a substantial amount of quoting backlog. Turnaround times and completion percentages are better than they have ever been, and this can be attributed to Christina, Holli, Kelly, and Shantel’s hard work and dedication. I can’t count the number of times I heard their praises sung, and deservedly so!"

Thank you to Christina, Holli, Kelly and Shantel for all of your hard work! Congratulations on a job well done.

Solenal At Home

Pam Rudolf at Solenal sent us our next shipment of Solenal Magna, which Dave and Patti promptly put to use in their Tower Diffuser. This is a suggested prototype unit for the D tec Air “mini” concept - which would apply a continuous fine cloud of Solenal to disinfect the air in an office, a classroom or other space.

They are using this as part of an ongoing test of the Solenal product. In addition to killing viruses and bacteria, we are finding that Solenal provides a clean, fresh scent in the interiors we are using it in. Patti and Dave also have a car unit that they are testing that removes any lingering doggy smells after Liesel’s frequent trips to the dog park. So beyond the use for making interior spaces safer for people, Solenal also helps refresh them.

Ongoing testing is being conducted on the claims we are making.

Drive-Thru Santa Gift Party

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Drive - Thru Santa Gift Party! The children, foster parents and staff at Twin Cedars were so thankful for everything you donated. They received a message from one foster parent that night saying:

Thank you for all you do for us. The girls were so excited. Rosie loves the box and her bear and table, I wish you could have seen Brittany's eyes when she saw the camera. The Christmas dinner will be very good. The gift card will be put to good use next week. Dinner tonight was enjoyed. Thanks again for everything.

We are happy to have a team that is invested in their community and giving back!

Goodbye Cati!

Cati Williams, CRM & Data Entry Associate

Cati Williams is stepping down as our CRM & Data Entry Associate in the marketing department. Her last day was Friday, January 8th. She will continue to work with us on a contract basis for the forseeable future.

Cati has been working in the marketing department since July 2018 when she was attending LaGrange College for her undergrad. She is currently working on her Masters in Social Work and hopes to work as a Social Worker when she graduates.

We appreciate all she has done for MGroup™. and wish her the best in her next endeavors!