The Simpson Strong-Tie 12 Days of Ornaments 

At the Simpson Strong-Tie branch in McKinney, Texas, Inside Sales Supervisor Rebecca Heckel shares a longstanding tradition of an Ornament Decorating contest that takes place every year. This year was no exception.  

We’re not sure how far back the McKinney Branch Ornament Decorating contest goes — definitely as far back as 2008. We have pictures from ’08 that document the ingenuity and creativity of our Simpson Strong-Tie employees. The year 2021 upheld the tradition. 

The parts were provided by our branch and a table was set up out back for anyone interested in participating in this contest. Parts included the light tie straplight mudsill anchor in ZMAX®ridge rafter connectormudsill anchor, framing angleangle, medium embedded truss anchor, hurricane tie, panel sheathing clippost cap, decorative star and decorative washer. 

Simpson Strong-Tie Parts
Simpson Strong-Tie Parts

We emailed pictures of the ornaments to our colleagues in the McKinney office and people voted for their favorite ornament.  

The top three vote-getters were the following: 

First Prize: Sheree Wood’s “Lumiere” — The Nutcracker

“Lumiere” — The Nutcracker 
“Lumiere” — The Nutcracker

Second Prize: Michael Minton’s “Eddie”  — The Skier

“Eddie”  — The Skier 
“Eddie”  — The Skier

Third Prize: Cara Fraser’s “Rudolph” — The Red-Nosed Caribou (er, Reindeer)

“Rudolph” — The Red-Nosed Caribou (er, Reindeer) 
“Rudolph” — The Red-Nosed Caribou (er, Reindeer)

We had a total of eleven entries for the contest. Three of the participants made two ornaments — each completely different from the other. Our employees had so much fun creating these ornaments that they just wanted to keep going!   Take a look at the rest of these wonderful creations (in no particular order).

4. Elf Ornament

Elf Ornament
Elf Ornament

5. Snowflake

Snowflake
Snowflake

6. Copenhagen Ornament

Copenhagen Ornament
Copenhagen Ornament

7. Cube Ornament

Cube Ornament
Cube Ornament

8. Star Ornament

Star Ornament
Star Ornament

9. Reindeer Ornament

Reindeer Ornament
Reindeer Ornament

10. Christmas Tree Ornament

Christmas Tree Ornament
Christmas Tree Ornament

11. Flying Snowflake Ornament

Flying Snowflake Ornament
Flying Snowflake Ornament
  1. Here’s a bonus picture of the top three vote-getters with their fabulous creations.  

Sheree Wood  — Associate Sales and Training Coordinator, with the Nutcracker 

Michael Minton  Inside Sales Representative, with the Skier 

Cara Fraser  Strategic Account Representative, with Rudolph

R to L: Top 3 Winners; Sheree Wood, Michael Minton, Cara Fraser
R to L: Top 3 Winners; Sheree Wood, Michael Minton, Cara Fraser