How does J.W. Allen help employees stay happy, motivated, cool, and full of energy in the heat of a Louisiana summer? In very special ways indeed!

As you probably know the first day of summer this year was officially June 20th. Well, although the summer solstice begins in June, Mother Nature’s heat is usually felt much sooner here in New Orleans, often in early May. You may not be aware that like other parts of the country Louisiana officially has four seasons too, but unlike those areas our seasons are called Crawfish, Crab, Shrimp and Oyster.

In an effort to keep spirits high and employees cool, we started our summer fun on a Friday night in May with our “Employee Appreciation Crawfish Boil.” J.W. Allen’s own David Simoneaux, our CPA and “master boiler”, has boiling crawfish down to a science, providing all the crawfish you can eat served along with corn, potatoes, broccoli, garlic, onions and mushrooms. Sure to please the pickiest taste buds, hot dogs, chili and nachos are also served for the kids and anyone desiring eats other than crawdads. A waterslide was provided for the young and young at heart, ensuring everyone kept cool and enjoyed the time spent together. Whenever we gather like this, employees and their families are invited to let their hair down, put their feet up and enjoy an evening with the extended J.W. Allen family.

These “family gatherings”, if you will, provide the opportunity to say “Thank You” to not only our employees but also to their families for the sacrifices made throughout the year. After all, without the support of their families, the efforts and sacrifices of our employees would not be possible.

Chocolate is the treat of choice for the Ladies of J.W. Allen but don’t be fooled, the men enjoy it every bit as much. Everyone has a stressful day from time to time and with fourteen women in our office at least once every couple of weeks someone will say, “I need Chocolate!” On these recurring (LOL) occasions, we head out to pick up anything chocolate. You name it, chocolate cookies, candy, donuts, cake, etc., if it’s chocolate, we’ll eat it!

You can tell when the days are getting really hot because when the ice cream truck comes playing its’ corny little tunes, someone will run out and stop the truck as everyone else decides what kind of treat they would like. Anyone who wonders how aggressive we can be has never seen our crew making a mad dash to the ice cream truck.

When the heat rises above 90 degrees with 100% humidity we move from ice cream to snowballs; another New Orleans favorite. These treats come in any flavor imaginable, any size, are a great value and sure to cool you off. New Orleans snow balls are not to be confused with snow cones. When New Orleans makes a snow ball the ice is very soft and full of juice. In the true spirit of New Orleans, as if a regular snow ball is not fattening enough, you can always fill it with ice cream!

When it gets so hot that we don’t even want to get out of the office and into our hot vehicles to pick up lunch, we order pizza with and cut up fresh fruit, watermelon, pineapple, grapes, strawberries, etc. This is always a special treat on a hot summer day.

As if that’s not enough, J.W. Allen provides all the bottled water, sodas, apple juice, coffee and tea you want to drink not only during the hot summers but year round as well.

Our staff recognizes what a special and unique place J.W. Allen is to work and offers a special “Thank You” to our C.E.O. Billy App for all the little things he does for us such as allowing us the freedom to purchase treats for the entire office, making our days a little nicer.

Cathy Alvarez
Office Manager