COVID-19 Memo to Employees

April 30,2020

Good morning everyone. We have been living our lives, both at work and at home, in the most unusual circumstances over the last six weeks. While none of us can predict the future, we can find comfort in knowing exactly what we are committed to accomplishing every day.

We will do everything in our power to stay healthy.
We will protect those of us in our community that are the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
We will follow the CDC guidelines to provide a safe working environment.
We will continue to pull together to give our customers the stellar experience they should expect from us.
We will bring our businesses out of this crisis stronger and even better than before this crisis.
We will be grateful for the opportunity to build warm, inviting, safe and well-built places in which we live, work and play.
We will remain patient and committed to the difficult, and often trying, measures of physical distancing, continuous cleaning, temperature monitoring and mask wearing.

BIG IDEAS are defined by the times in which they are imagined. Today, the list above are Big Ideas that are made possible by each one of us. We must continue to believe in the power of our team working together to accomplish these goals. We are guided by our core values.

Practice Relentless Improvement**Inspire Commitment**Embrace Accountability**Do the Right Thing

Throughout our lives, we have been introduced to other BIG IDEAS. I would like each of us today to think about one BIG IDEA that captures your imagination. If you would like to share it with everyone, you can respond to this email with “Reply All”.

One BIG IDEA that captures my imagination is space exploration. When I was a little girl, I remember all the Apollo space flights. My family and I would watch Walter Cronkite on the national news announcing each amazing new fact about the latest space mission. Long after the Apollo missions were discontinued, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched in April of 1990. I hope you enjoy the following article.

Hubble Marks 30 Years in Space With Tapestry of Blazing Starbirth

NASA is celebrating the Hubble Space Telescope’s 30 years of unlocking the beauty and mystery of space by unveiling a stunning new portrait of a firestorm of starbirth in a neighboring galaxy.
In this Hubble portrait, the giant red nebula (NGC 2014) and its smaller blue neighbor (NGC 2020) are part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located 163,000 light-years away. The image is nicknamed the “Cosmic Reef,” because it resembles an undersea world.

A colorful image resembling a cosmic version of an undersea world teeming with stars is being released to commemorate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 30 years of viewing the wonders of space. In the Hubble portrait, the giant red nebula (NGC 2014) and its smaller blue neighbor (NGC 2020) are part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located 163,000 light-years away. The image is nicknamed the “Cosmic Reef,” because NGC 2014 resembles part of a coral reef floating in a vast sea of stars. Some of the stars in NGC 2014 are monsters. The nebula’s sparkling centerpiece is a grouping of bright, hefty stars, each 10 to 20 times more massive than our Sun. The seemingly isolated blue nebula at lower left (NGC 2020) has been created by a solitary mammoth star 200,000 times brighter than our Sun.

Thirty years ago, on April 24, 1990, Hubble was carried aloft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the space shuttle Discovery, along with a five-astronaut crew. Deployed into Earth orbit a day later, the telescope opened a new eye onto the cosmos that has been transformative for our civilization.
Hubble is revolutionizing modern astronomy, not only for scientists, but also by taking the public on a wondrous journey of exploration and discovery. Hubble’s never-ending, breathtaking celestial snapshots provide a visual shorthand for Hubble’s top scientific achievements. Unlike any space telescope before it, Hubble made astronomy relevant, engaging and accessible for people of all ages. The space telescope’s iconic imagery has redefined our view of the universe and our place in time and space.
“Hubble has given us stunning insights about the universe, from nearby planets to the farthest galaxies we have seen so far,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “It was revolutionary to launch such a large telescope 30 years ago, and this astronomy powerhouse is still delivering revolutionary science today. Its spectacular images have captured the imagination for decades, and will continue to inspire humanity for years to come.”
Unencumbered by Earth’s blurring atmosphere, the space observatory unveils the universe in unprecedented crystal-clear sharpness across a broad range of wavelengths, from ultraviolet to near-infrared light.

Thank you for your commitment to each other and to the Rosa Mosaic Vision, Mission and Core Values.

I wish each of you a safe, healthy and enjoyable day!

April 20, 2020

Good afternoon everyone. When I was much younger, my grandmother (Nonna) would visit us from Italy. She would stay for a few weeks before going back home to our grandfather. She didn’t speak any English so it was hard for her to watch television since she couldn’t understand what was being said. One evening, The Sound of Music” was on one of the channels. It was an easy story line to translate and the music, well, music is universally understood! She loved the movie so much that we bought the DVD for her. She watched The Sound of Music many, many, many times during her stays with us. It has become one of my favorite movies because my Nonna was so happy watching this movie.

This movie was about the strength of the human spirit, the potential greatness of each individual, and the power of a group of people resolved to prevail against wicked things. Today, we learned that one of our employees tested positive for COVID-19. This person is at home with mild symptoms and will remain at home in self-quarantine for 14 days. We have identified the people working near this person and we are enforcing the policies required by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) during this situation.

While it seems clear that this case was contracted outside our campus, we must reinvigorate our current policy of physical distancing, disinfecting our work areas and staying home if we are sick. I have attached our most updated COVID-19 policy for your review. It can be difficult to keep ourselves on heightened alert since today we embark on the sixth week of carrying out the CDC mandated protocols. However, this is the time for us to renew our resolve in fighting this virus every moment of every day. Let us continue to battle the spread of this virus to give our medical research community the time to develop a meaningful response to this pestilence. Let us remain committed to inspiring each other to win this fight. Let us join together to send our sincerest hope for a rapid recovery to our teammate. Let us embrace our accountability over our own safety and health. Most of all, let us remember the power in positive thinking.

https://youtu.be/ikpj24WMOLw

I wish each of you a wonderful evening!


April 10, 2020

Good afternoon everyone. We are grateful that we can continue our essential work (construction and manufacturing) by distancing ourselves while we work, by disinfecting many times per day the surfaces we touch, and by staying home when we are sick. Our COVID-19 Task Force is monitoring every day for any changes issued by the Center for Disease Control, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Louisville Metro Health Department.

We have posted signs with the required notices and protocol on our doors. We have provided spray bottles with disinfectant to our team members on job sites and to designated employees in our plants and offices responsible for disinfecting our work areas throughout each day. We continually emphasize the importance of distancing. The preservation of the safety and health of each one of us is paramount. If you or someone you love is concerned about our response to the COVID-19 crisis, please call or text one of the members on our COVID-19 Task Force. We want to hear from you. The list below is each member’s mobile telephone number. Each COVID-19 Task Force member has the authority to deal with your concern as quickly as possible and in the most practical way. Your call or text will remain confidential between you and the COVID-19 Task Force member.

Dennis Burch at 502-797-5022
Ryan Frey at 502-298-2746
Dennis Arnold at 502-419-7905
Marty Ernst III at 502-338-9274
Maria Shore at 502-533-4164
Anna Tatman at 502-767-1340

We are very fortunate that we are all committed to keeping each other safe and healthy. We inspire commitment in the way we care for each other. Remember, your safety and health is our number one priority. With this goal achieved, we can continue to serve our customers that are counting on us to build the spaces where they live, work, and play. We can continue to build our future by doing the right thing today. I am very proud of the way we have come together at this time of crisis. You heard the call and you responded. Thank you!

I think for most everyone, this is always a special time of year. We celebrate the arrival of Spring. It is a time for us to come out of our homes and reunite with the life around us. We look forward to planting our gardens, reading a book in the sun, taking a long walk in our neighborhood, attending an outdoor festival, firing up our patio grills and enjoying the longer days. It is also the time when our spirits are hopeful, excited, and grateful for the change. Many of us celebrate this time of year with symbols of devotion, revelation, deliverance, self-reflection, purification, resurrection, joy and spiritual rejuvenation. This year will be different in that those celebrations will be done in ways that will seem strange or different or that might seem less fulfilling for us. In fact, this year provides us with a poignant reminder of the resilience of our human spirit and the glorious strength of hope and love!

We each have a Goodness. It is our excellence of quality. It is our distinctive skills. It is our strength. It is our essence. It is our passion. It is the best part of us. I encourage each of you to draw your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers close to you by spending a few minutes thinking about each of them. While you are thinking of them, let your thoughts send each of them a “thank you” for their goodness. Then, take a moment to think about your own goodness and how your goodness inspires others!

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change. –Buddha

Happy weekend!

March 31, 2020

Good afternoon everyone! Today is the last day of March, 2020. It seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating the New Year as the Roaring 20’s! Well, I think we can all agree that this year is certainly roaring but maybe not in the way we had imagined just three months ago. We are guided by our local, state and federal leaders to continue our vigilance in keeping each other out of harm’s way by staying a minimum of 6’-0” apart from each other and practicing good disinfecting techniques to keep all the surfaces we touch from being dangerous to ourselves and others. We are working and living under conditions that seem draconian in comparison to our lives just a few weeks ago. It is at times like these that we might recognize our many blessings.

One of our greatest blessings is that we are still working to elevate the experiences of our customers in the places where they live, work and play. I think about the couple that is absolutely thrilled with the new countertops they wanted for so long, the school principal that is excited for the kids to see the terrazzo floors in the cafeteria, the nurse who smiles when he sees the new tile on the breakroom backsplash, and the maintenance man that is happy he has new precast terrazzo steps, rather than rubber steps, to take care of in his building. We touch so many lives in such positive ways!

On the news front, Governor Beshear issued another executive order yesterday telling Kentuckians that they cannot travel outside the state unless it is for one of three exceptions to this order. Every Kentuckian is permitted to travel if they do so to care for a loved one, to obey a court order or if they must travel out of the state to work. Our good news is that we can continue to travel and work on our out-of-state job sites.

There is so much information to digest at this time particularly with regard to the massive pieces of legislation that have been passed by Congress in the last few days. We are working through the programs that are intended to help individuals and businesses navigate these unchartered waters. You can remain confident that our goal is to get through this crisis leaving no one behind. We intend to do whatever is necessary to create a bright future for everyone on our team and to set a successful course for our businesses.

In our own world, we can make a difference now. Let’s each do one thing tomorrow to positively affect the work of someone on our team. Let’s each do one thing to let our customers know that we are here for them. Let’s each do one thing that brings us a moment of delight! I look forward to hearing your stories.

Please note that we are using Microsoft Teams to communicate with everyone virtually for meetings and chats. If you are not using Microsoft Teams and need help to engage this application, please let me know.

Ego says, “Once everything falls into place, I will have peace.” Spirit says, “Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place”.

Have a wonderful evening!

March 27, 2020

Good afternoon everyone. The federal government has passed a piece of legislation that is meant to provide some assistance over the next few weeks to our citizens and our businesses. The impact of this legislation cannot be fully understood until it is signed into law by President Trump. Other than this, our COVID-19 Task Force does not have any additional information to provide you after our meeting today.

Let’s remain positive in the knowledge that our work is vital to our community and that we can take care of each other. Over this weekend, let’s do the right thing by helping each other with messages of positive thinking, by getting some rest from the onslaught of news about the virus, by caring for those around us and by providing comfort to those alone.

This is a worrisome time in our world but Franklin D. Roosevelt stated it best, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

Thank you for being part of the Rosa Mosaic Group and for supporting each other.

I wish a safe, healthy and restful weekend to each of you.


March 25, 2020

Good afternoon everyone. Let’s take a moment to celebrate that the sun is out, the trees are blooming, the daffodils are plentiful and Spring has sprung! This is a much better climate for us to face the COVID-19 virus.

Late yesterday evening, Governor Beshear issued another Executive Order in an effort to keep us safe and to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. He has ordered all businesses that are not Life Sustaining to cease operations by 8:00 pm tomorrow night. Gratefully, we have been designated as Life Sustaining businesses. There are several categories of Life Sustaining businesses in this order. The two that include our businesses are:

1. Businesses providing construction or maintenance of residential, commercial, or governmental structures.
2. Manufacturing companies, distributors and supply chain companies producing and supplying critical products and services in and for industries such as construction

The governor’s order included some additional requirements which we have previously included in our own COVID-19 policy statement. Social distancing and good hygiene is required. Businesses like ours that are permitted to remain open must follow, to the fullest extent practicable, social distancing and hygiene guidance from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Failure to do so is a violation of this Order, and could subject us to closure or additional penalties as authorized by law. Social distancing and hygiene guidance includes:

1. Ensuring physical separation of employees and customers by at least six feet when possible;

2. Ensuring employees practice appropriate hygiene measures, including regular, thorough handwashing or access to hand sanitizer;

3. Regularly cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces;

4. Permitting employees to work from home when feasible; and

5. Requiring any sick employees to stay home.

Our COVID-19 Task Force met today and determined that if we diligently adhere to these requirements, we can continue our work to attain stellar customer satisfaction with our manufacturing, fabrication and installation operations.

Thank you for remaining calm and for doing your part to keep each other safe.

God Bless you and your families.


March 23, 2020

Rosa Mosaic Group, COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidance and Policies



As the impact from the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues around the world, we appreciate the efforts everyone is making to remain calm and to support each other through this situation. We would like to share information, guidance and policies that we can all use to protect each other so we can go about our work in our plants, job sites, and offices with health safety measures as our guiding principles.

Symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The symptoms initially are like those present with influenza or a bad cold. The CDC believes at this time that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure. You can find answers to many general questions related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/coronoavirus.

Transmission

According to the CDC, the virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet); or, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses do not survive long on objects.

Take Everyday Precautions as Identified by the CDC

  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place.
  • If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
  • To the extent possible, avoid touching high-touch surfaces in public places such as elevator buttons, door handles, handrails, and other similar surfaces. Use a tissue or your sleeve to cover your hand or finger if you must touch something.
  • Avoid social physical contact such as shaking hands, hugging or patting hands.
  • Wash your hands after touching surfaces in public places.
  • Avoid touching your face, nose, eyes, or any other part of your face.
  • Clean and disinfect your work area. Practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, for example: tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks, telephone and cell phones.
  • Avoid crowds, especially in poorly ventilated spaces. Your risk of exposure to respiratory viruses like COVID-19 may increase in crowded, closed-in settings with little air circulation if there are people in the crowd who are sick.
  • Avoid all non-essential travel including plane trips, and especially avoid embarking on cruise ships.

    • If You are Sick

    If you have a fever, cough or difficulty breathing, please stay home. You should seek medical advice early and stay away from others. You should not return to work until you no longer show any signs of fever, without the use of a fever reducing medicine, for 72 hours, any other symptoms have improved and at least seven days have passed since you first had symptoms. Please contact your immediate supervisor with notification of your absence.

    Please alert your immediate supervisor if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or had close contact with an individual who has a confirmed positive test result for COVID-19. You must self-quarantine away from work until you have been symptom-free for 14 days from the date of contact.
    These practices will protect others from possible contact with the virus and alleviate potential concerns in our workplaces.

    Access to Our Plants, Offices and Job Sites After Certain Travel

    Employees who have been to a Level 3 country listed on the CDC watch/alert list, which currently includes China, Hong Kong, Iran, South Korea, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City are not allowed in our plants, offices or jobsites for 14 days from the date they departed from any of these locations. Additionally, if an employee has had close contact with an individual that has recently returned from one of these locations, they are not allowed in our plants, offices or jobsites until the traveler has been symptom-free for 14 days from the date they travelled.

    Financial Transactions

    There are individuals who are using this situation to target the financial dealing of companies and individuals. We must not take any financial instructions at this time via email or text that are outside our established processes. Please do not act upon or accept any requests for financial transactions unless the communication comes directly from someone in our companies with appropriate authority and that person has communicated with you in person.
    Coronavirus Task Force
    Our companies have a task force in place to focus on protecting our people, sharing information, reducing the potential for the spread of the virus, and supporting the continuity of our operations. If you have any questions, concerns or immediate needs, please contact one of the members on our Task Force which are Dennis Burch, Ryan Frey, Marty Ernst 3, Maria Shore or Anna Tatman.

    Plant Protocol

    Gloves: Any employee operating equipment with a touch pad must use gloves. The gloves should be removed and disposed of in the provided trash bins upon exiting the plant or job site for any reason.
    Clean: All door handles, equipment handles, tools, touch pads, light switches, sink faucets, commode handles, and other high-touch surfaces will be cleaned with disinfectant at the end of the first and/or second shift.
    Disinfect: All door handles, equipment handles, tools, touch pads, light switches, sink faucets, commode handles, and other high-touch surfaces will be sprayed with disinfectant spray at least one time per shift.
    Distance: Employees should maintain a minimum 6’-0” distance from each other as much as possible.
    Wash: Employees should wash their hands often but at a minimum upon arrival to the plant, at the end of break time, at the end of lunch time and after every bathroom visit.
    Job Site Protocol
    Gloves: Any employee operating equipment must use gloves. The gloves should be removed and disposed of in the provided trash bins upon leaving the job site for any reason.
    Disinfect: All equipment handles, tools, job box latches and other high-touch surfaces will be cleaned with disinfectant or sprayed with disinfectant spray at the end of every day.
    Distance: Employees should maintain a minimum 6’-0” distance from each other and other contractors’ employees as much as possible.
    Wash: Employees should their wash hands often but at a minimum upon arrival to the job site, at the end of break time, at the end of lunch time and after every bathroom visit.
    Office Protocol
    Clean: Employees should wipe down their personal workspace daily with disinfectant.
    Disinfect: All door handles, office equipment, office tools, touch screens, keypads, light switches, sink faucets, commode handles, and other high-touch surfaces will be wiped down with disinfectant and/or sprayed with disinfectant spray at least one time per day.
    Distance: Employees should maintain a minimum 6’-0” distance from each other as much as possible.
    Wash: Employees should their wash hands often but at a minimum upon arrival to the office, after movement between offices or buildings, at the end of lunch time and after every bathroom visit.

    In Conclusion

    We will continue to closely monitor the CDC guidelines and other governmental proclamations so that we can update you on our policies and guidelines to reflect the recommended protocols since they are likely to change as the situation continues to evolve.
    If you are particularly concerned about how this situation is affecting you, please work with your direct supervisor or contact a member of our COVID-19 Task Force to assist you. We are all in this together and we will take care of each other. Thank you for doing your part to ensure that our workspaces promote a healthy and safe environment for all people.

    Sincerely,
    Anna Tatman

    Chief Executive Officer
    Rosa Mosaic Group

    For more information, please contact Dennis Arnold at 502-419-7905 or at darnold@bellastonedesigns.com.