The Gift is in the Giving

Do you remember when you were a kid and how hard it was to share? I sure do. When I was a little boy, whenever I would resist sharing with my friends, my mom would always say “Bryan, The Gift is in the Giving”. Eventually I would hand over the toy or whatever it was I was being asked to share but honestly I had no idea what she meant by this for the longest time. How could I possibly get anything by giving something?

It wasn’t until I was about seven years old that those words started to sink in. One day my mom drove me over to the local Five and Dime. She had given me a whole dollar to spend by myself and I had my eyes on the sacr

ed lollipop jar behind the counter for quite some time, they were one of my most favorite treats as a kid. At ten cents a piece, I was able to stretch that dollar into a white paper bag full of ten assorted lollipops. Boy, did I feel like I won the lottery!

As soon as I arrived home my first thought was to show all my friends. I went up the street on my mini BMX bike white-knuckling the bag of treasures. What I didn’t anticipate was that I would be asked to share them. But hey, I had 10 lollipops! I could afford to share a few. I started handing them out, 1 lollipop... 2 lollipops... 3…4…5… Soon I handed number 10 out to my last friend. Reaching back in, I suddenly and painfully realized that I had given away every single lollipop and there were none left for me. Not even one.

I will admit, my first thoughts were not altruistic. My eyes started to tear up. I felt angry, cheated and even a little stupid. Everyone was enjoying my favorite treat but me! However, as I started to look around and listen… everyone was so... happy. Smiling, licking and crunching away. In a weird way this started to make me happy too and I actualized a very mature thought at that very moment for a 7 year old. I didn’t need a lollipop, I only wanted one. When they were done licking and crunching I actually got to pick the games of the day for once. They even let me go first in kickball! In fact, it was actually one of the funnest days I can remember at that age.

I got home, just as dusk started to set in. My mom noticed I no longer had my white bag of yummy goodness.

“Where are your lollipops Bryan? Did you eat all of them already?” She asked concerned.

“I gave them to my friends.” I replied with a smile.

“All of them?? Why did you do that?”

“The gift is in the giving Mom.”

Needless to say she was speechless for a moment. This was probably the first time I reiterated one of her lessons back to her. A smile grew on her face and she grabbed her jacket and keys.

“Come on let’s go,” she said taking me by the hand.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I’m very proud of you, Bryan. We are going to get some more lollipops.”

I swear I saw her wipe a tear from her eye. I don’t really like to brag but I have to say I received two king sized lollipops on that trip and they cost a whole dollar apiece. I joyfully ate them by myself in my room later that night.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because this lesson has stuck with me all my life and now is engrained into the culture of TANDEMKROSS. As we have grown, almost from day one, we have purposely lifted up others and given back. From supporting passionate junior competition shooters and senior competition shooters to sponsoring numerous rimfire competition shoots and donating to youth shooting seminars. Today I want to share with you that we are giving back on a much larger level.

We proudly announce that TANDEMKROSS will be the Platinum Sponsor for the 2016 NSSF Rimfire Challenge season. (Official NSSF Announcement here) This is unprecedented for a company of our size but we gladly accept the responsibility both financially and logistically. We view this as our responsibility to give back to all the customers who have believed in us and participated in the sport. It is also our way to support the NSSF who has been so kind and gentle to us as we grow up in a world of well known established brands and good old boy clubs. The gift is in the giving, right?

Thank you customers for trusting and believing in the [TK] brand and making this possible. Every time you purchase through us you are helping to grow the sport, helping a competition shooter with their dream and helping small American companies, like ours, grow and prosper.

Best Wishes,

Bryan Haaker

Business Development Director

T A N D E M K R O S S

"Making good guns great!"