Luke Judge

Cynthia Passmore, CEO of Enesco Group Inc. surprised a group of employees last week with the revelation that shes having a personal relationship with a consultant she hired to help turn around the struggling knick-knack company.

Ms. Passmore delivered the news at a hastily called meeting with middle managers on Thursday, according to an employee who was there. After revealing that she is going through a divorce and apologizing for being distracted at work, Ms. Passmore disclosed that she has become involved with someone who makes her happy, according to the employee who was there.

After revealing that she is going through a divorce and apologizing for being distracted at work, Ms. Passmore disclosed that she has become involved with someone who makes her happy, according to the employee. She then identified that person as Andy Rolfe of Keystone Consulting Group LLC. Mr. Rolfe and Keystone were hired last June to help the Itasca-based company cut costs.

Looking back over the previous news related to this company we find that:

In January 2005 the Itasca-based distributor of Precious Moments figurines and other collectibles, finally filled the chief financial officer position vacant since August with Paula Manley, CFO at Oak Brook-based Follett Higher Education Group, a supplier to college bookstores.  She assumed the CFO position at Enesco on January 24.

One of her first tasks was to help the company transition to a new computerized inventory system. Enesco blamed problems with the previous system for shipping delays and losses in 2004.

In June of 2005 the Itasca-based manufacturer of giftware Enesco Group, Inc. said after markets closed that it was eliminating 12 percent of its payroll including the position of its chief operating officer. The company expected the move to save $2 million annually and anticipates recording a charge of $340,000 in the second quarter.

The majority of the salary expenses in the Chicago area were eliminated in operations and information technology, the company said. The 12 percent reduction in salary costs included the elimination of open positions.

In July 2005 the company announced that its chief financial officer, Paula Manley, was resigning for health-related reasons.  Ms. Manleys resignation came less than three weeks after the Itasca-based giftware and home dcor company announced a massive downsizing, including the elimination of the chief operating officer position.

Enesco hired Chicago-based Keystone Consulting Group LLC last June to help it cut costs.  Ms. Passmore told a group of middle managers on Feb. 2, 2006 that shes in a relationship with Keystone founder Andy Rolfe, according to an employee in attendance.

A company spokeswoman last week told Crain Chicago Business that the relationship began after Enesco hired Keystone and that the board evaluated the situation and decided it was a non-issue. Enesco continues to retain Keystone.

My question is:  If this is a non-issue, then why did the company amend their code of conduct?  In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it updated the code in connection with managements periodic review to reflect developments in employment laws, including such areas as equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, sexual harassment and other workplace harassment issues.

Bentley Colleges Mr. Hoffman, says “the change in the section on conflicts of interest ‘seems like a retroactive, doctored attempt to avoid this conflict of interest that the CEO and consultant have.’

I agree wholeheartedly.  Corporate employees of Enesco Group. Inc. surely are wondering why the rules are changed to accommodate the CEO.  Corporate leadership has now lost their credibilitiy.  This action sends a negative message to staff and customers alike that the organization’s ethics are questionable. 

While Ms. Passmore, CEO is distracted at work, who is minding the store?  With this distraction, what is the current level of productivity for Enesco Group?

I teach leadership topics all across the country and the foundation of corporate leadership is their credibility.    People first listen to the words, then they watch the actions.  They listen to the talk then they watch the walk. 

A judgment of ‘credible’ is handed down when words and deeds are consonant.  If people don’t see consistency, they rightly conclude that the leader is at best not really serious, or at the least is an outright hypocrite. 

That’s my 2 cents.  What do you think?

Angel Collectables chief operating officer, oak brook

Whether it’s burnt toast in bed from your kids or a beautiful spring bouquet from your spouse, Mother’s Day gifts are important and the weak economy won’t have a big impact, local retailers say.

Florists, restaurants, department stores and gift shops are hopeful that the National Retail Federation’s numbers are right — that spending for the May 9 holiday will increase this year, rather than suffer the 11 percent drop it predicted last year.

Susan Hauglund, co-owner of Coble’s Flowers, 514 Plaza Court in Sand Springs, said clear crystal vases with mixed flowers are popular. Women age 50 to 60 like bright, vivid flowers, while older mothers and grandmothers typically enjoy pastel flowers, she said — and tulips are popular with everyone.

Hauglund also said dish gardens — a ceramic dish filled with small plants, with accents like butterflies, bees and ladybugs — are popular with older generations.

The gift might be smaller — a $30 arrangement instead of one costing $100 — but mothers will always be remembered, she said.

Norma Coble, founder and co-owner of the shop with her daughter, said each year she thinks the economy will punch a hole in sales, and each year she is proven wrong.

“We’re so thankful for that,” Coble said.

Hallmark’s website says it has created nearly 1,600 versions of greeting cards for Mother’s Day, and many of them can be found at J’s Hallmark Crown store at 4107 S. Yale Ave., at Tulsa Promenade.

Manager

Angel Collectables ceramic dish, crystal vases, ladybugs, older mothers, yale ave

Q: I bought an oak buffet from a neighbor who moved out of state. The label in the back of one of the drawers pictures two Windsor chairs and says, “Windsor Chair Shop, The Owen Sound Chair Co., Ltd., Owen Sound.” The bottom corner of the label is torn off. Any idea where this company was?

A: There’s a town in Ontario, Canada, called Owen Sound. Your label was missing “Ont.,” the abbreviation for Ontario. The Owen Sound Chair Co. was in business from 1912 until about 1937. It manufactured dining-room sets, living-room suites, office furniture and Windsor chairs.

Q: A friend of mine in Turkey shipped me an antique ceramic heating stove because he’s sure it’s American. Sure enough, the plaque on the back says, “Rathbone, Sard & Co., Albany, Chicago & Detroit, Pat.: May 26, 1891.” I don’t know how the stove ended up in Turkey, but ceramic stoves are quite common there. Can you give me any information about the maker?

A: George Sard started working for Rathbone & Co., an Albany, N.Y., stove manufacturer, in 1860. He was just 17. Eight years later he was offered a partnership in the company, which was renamed Rathbone, Sard & Co. in 1873. It went out of business in 1930. The patent date on your stove refers to a U.S. Design Patent issued May 26, 1891, for the design of the outside of your stove. So your stove was made in the 1890s or the early 1900s.

Q: While cleaning out our basement, we came across a large porcelain figurine my grandmother gave us years ago. I know she bought it in Europe during her travels, but I would like you to identify the mark. It’s a crown with the words “Turn Wien,” “Ernst Wahlis” and “Made in Austria.”

A: Ernst Wahlis owned retail stores that sold Bohemian porcelain in London and Vienna (“Wien” in German) in the late 1800s. In 1894 he purchased the Alfred Stellmacher porcelain factory in Turn, Bohemia (now Trnovany, Czech Republic). The factory manufactured porcelain and marked it with Wahlis’s name. The mark you describe was used from about 1897 to 1906. The factory closed in 1934.

Care Tip For your health and the well-being of your collection, do not smoke. Nicotine stains fabrics, pictures and wood.Recent Prices Prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions nationwide and may vary in different locations.

• Masonic sash, red velvet, beaded woven star design, fringed, three metal rings hold sash together, 38 inches, $48.

• Blue Ridge teapot, snub nose, rose bouquet, pink roses on white ground, 2 cups, $95.

• Disney calendar for National Life & Accident Insurance Co., “The Shield Keeps the Wolf from the door,” 3 Little Pigs & Big Bad Wolf, 1939, 16 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches, $495.

• Blown glass fly catcher, bamboo-engraved glass, witch’s ball stopper, 3-footed, circa 1875, 13 inches, $660.

>> Contact Terry Kovel at Kovels (Hartford Courant), King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, N.Y. 10019, or at kovels.com.

Angel Collectables drawers, windsor chair