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News : December 2000
l to r - Derek Graham, Jim Graham, Cory Graham, Brad Whitford
and Lynn Graham
Music and Musings from Jim ...
One of my all time favorite bands is “Aerosmith”, not only
because I enjoy their music but also because I’m related to one of the guys in
the band. Brad Whitford, the rhythm guitarist, is my second cousin.
Aerosmith formed in 1970-71 and all the members lived together in a small
apartment in Boston. They struggled and worked very hard and within a couple of
years had success with songs like “Dream On”, “Walk This Way”, and “Sweet
Emotion.”
With the sudden fame came problems with money, drugs and alcohol and after
seven albums together, the band broke up. In 1979 Brad and lead guitarist Joe
Perry left the band to pursue solo careers. The remaining members of Aerosmith
did an album with different guitarists that didn’t sell many copies. Brad’s
band “Whitford-St. Holmes” and Joes’ band “The Joe Perry Project” also
put out albums, which met with little success.
In 1984 the original band re-formed, realizing how much they needed
each other to
get back in the limelight. None of them could have expected the amazing success
that was to come. In the late 80’s and all through the 90’s, Aerosmith had a
string of hit songs like “Janie’s Got a Gun”, “Livin’ on the Edge”,
and most recently “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from the soundtrack of the
movie “Armageddon” starring Bruce Willis and Liv Tyler (daughter of lead
singer Steven Tyler). The Band has won multiple Grammy Awards, MTV Music Awards,
People’s Choice Awards and has an exhibit in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
All the members are now clean and sober not to mention, multimillionaires.
Whenever they play in the Albany area, Brad is nice enough to give my family
and I tickets and backstage passes to the show. I have met all of the band
members and I have to say, they are some of the nicest people that I have ever
met. They worked very hard for everything they’ve achieved and they deserve
all the fame and fortune given them. They wrote a book called “Walk This Way”
about their journey and even have a ride at the Walt Disney Theme Park in
Florida called “Rockin Roller Coaster” that plays Aerosmith music all the
time.
I’m sure they’re going to continue to produce good music in the future,
and I look forward to their next CD that is due out soon.
By Jim Graham— Shop Supervisor
Tips & Tricks from Leonard
There is nothing Wrong with a Shortcut.
Have you ever wanted to open an extra program while you were working on your
computer? Answering a coworker’s question can be as easy as one keystroke. I
regularly use the Calculator for some quick math while writing a CNC program in
Word or Download a program to a machine tool while designing in AutoCad. The
shortcut keystroke is one of my favorite Windows features.
Windows allows you to assign one keystroke to start any program. Right click
on your favorite program’s icon and left click on properties. Click on the properties
tab. Click in the shortcut key’s edit box and pick a letter to assign
to your program. Windows will automatically enter Ctrl + Alt +. For some
instructions on this feature right click in the edit box and click on the “What’s
This?” box. To finish press the Apply button.
To execute the program just hold down Ctrl + Alt + the assigned letter. At
first this may seem strange but trust me you will find it faster then climbing
the Start Ladder over and over.
By Leonard Fronhofer V– CNC Engineer
Life Is So Simple
Contributed by Marge Randles, CFP of Randles Advisory
Services, LLC.
Fronhofer Tool offers its employee’s the newest in retirement plans: A
SIMPLE IRA Plan. It’s a “win-win” situation for both the company and the
employee.
The employee has the opportunity to contribute to his or her own
self-directed retirement accounts. They have complete control in how the funds
are invested, from the very risky to the most conservative. The contributions
are invested on a monthly basis so the benefits of “dollar-cost averaging”
are built into the plan. No income tax is paid on the contributions or the
income earned on the investment until it is withdrawn. If they leave the
company, they have 100% ownership of the account and have the option of rolling
the account over to a traditional IRA or their new employer’s plan, if
applicable. An individual can contribute up to $6000 per year into their
account.
The company also comes out ahead with a SIMPLE IRA plan. The cost to administering the plan is very low, since the
trustee of the plan handles all reporting requirements. The plan is renewed
annually. Every November and December the employer will inform all eligible
employees if the company will be offering a SIMPLE IRA plan and what percentage
of gross salary the employer will match. This percentage can vary from 1% to 3%
each year; it is the employer’s choice. This fringe benefit might be the extra
that a small business needs to attract and retain those employees that make the
company grow.
SIMPLE Plans are a qualified retirement plan, according to Internal Revenue,
with specific requirements that have to be met and should be set up by a
professional.
Marge Randles has been overseeing the accounting for Fronhofer Tool for
almost 20 years. We appreciate her years of service and for setting us up with
the SIMPLE IRA plan in 1997 which has almost 100% participation by the eligible
employees.
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Fronhofer
Tool Company, Inc.
P.O.
Box 84
4197
County Route 48
Cossayuna,
NY 12823
(518)692-2496
(518)692-2450
fax
fronhofertool@albany.twcbc.com