HIS Sign Team 2025 Reflections & 2026 Goals

Christina (President / Owner) & Brian Hammrich (CEO)

When you are the owner and CEO of a business, the lines between personal and professional are sometimes blurred…well, most of the time they are blurred!

We pray that you enjoy the upcoming holidays, having a very merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year!

Please enjoy learning about how our lives and the lives of those we work with went in 2025, and as always, feel free to reach out to any of us should you have questions or would like to learn more!

 

Status of our 2025 Goals, Plans and Dreams

It is always interesting to look back to review our goals, plans and dreams for the year we just lived. The crystal ball we use always seems to fail. 

• We did spend more time together in 2025 and this summer was spaced out better, …but it wasn’t “resting”. It seems we are destined to remain busy!
• We were successful in Diving in 2025, and we already have plans to dive in 2026 so one goal met!
• I also noticed that we’d celebrated the wedding of our daughter in 2024 and now we celebrated the wedding of our son in 2025…Wow! 2 years in a row! But we’ll get back to that!
• In last year’s video we said that 2024 was the “Most Challenging year ever!”. We’ll also talk about how 2025 compares later…

Looking back, we tried, sometimes we cried. Here are some things that happened in 2025!

Wins and Losses of 2025

1. At the time we were writing this last year, our son, Matthew, had begun dating. She was a lovely girl and we liked her. Matthew’s two girls LOVED her. She fit nicely into his family and on Sunday, November 30th, they were married. We could not be happier!
2. In November of 2024 we migrated to Usked. Our first month on Usked saw us increase our average monthly hours by 1,000 and by October of 2025 we grew another 34%! This was achieved with the same number of staff scheduling as we had in 2023 … remarkable! Kudos to the “A-Team” at HIS Sign for handling all of that!
3. On Friday, October 3rd, our daughter, Mikayla and her husband, Zachary, left HIS Sign to start their own business, Chaotic Goods, Cards and Games! And then, on Thanksgiving Day, they called to let us know they were pregnant! So exciting! Grandchild #3! Sad that we won’t have business interactions with them but so happy that they are pursuing their dreams!
4. We did have a personal shock in 2025. The morning after we arrived in Bonaire for the diving trip we’d scheduled, we received a phone call and were informed that my (Brian’s), 57-year-old sister had passed the night before in her sleep! I still can’t quite believe it. I know I will see her one day as she is the one that brought me to the Lord when she invited me to a Christian Retreat back in 1985! Going back to South Dakota to visit will never be the same!

Goals, Plans and Dreams for 2026

So, what are we thinking about for 2026?

1. One of the 2025 goals was to celebrate Christina turning 60! That will be happening in 2026! It boggles my, mind that Christina and I have lived this much life together (over 37 years) and I could not be happier or more grateful! I cannot imagine being with anyone else! 
2. After those travels, we will once again attempt to “Slow” down and relax. We already have a lot on our plate so we will see how that goes! We’ve already begun to minimize our visitors over the summer, so we will continue to work on that.
3. Our 2026 dive trip is set up.
4. On the business front, we are planning to re-start our ASL Interpreter Town Halls.
5. Oh, and with Grandchild #3 scheduled to arrive in July of 2026 we will be traveling to Memphis, TN a couple times this year!

Another year has passed, and we continue to be blessed by our family, those we work with and those that work with us. 

May your lives be as blessed as ours!

– Christina and Brian Hammrich

Owner and CEO of HIS Sign

 

 

 

Ilene Breneman – VP of HR

As 2025 comes to a close, I’m filled with gratitude for the many milestones this year brought. The biggest joy is that my children both bought their forever homes and they chose to settle close by, which means Craig and I get to stay in our home! This is where we raised our children and made countless memories, and I’m so happy to now share this space with our grandchildren.

We’re also planning some renovations to refresh our home, which is very exciting to us.  In 2026, I’ll also be recovering from hip surgery, which will slow things down a bit, but I’m looking forward to spending more quiet time with my grandkids.

I’m so thankful for my health, my family, and my HIS Sign family.

Kathleen Gregory – Accessibility Supervisor

If you’d told me a year ago that I’d move to Florida, get accepted into graduate school, and end up back with HIS Sign, I probably wouldn’t have believed you… but here I am! 

Coming back to HIS Sign has honestly been one of the best parts of my year. Being welcomed back so warmly and stepping into my new role as an Accessibility Supervisor has reminded me how much I appreciate this team and the work we do.  

This year taught me that sometimes the best things happen when you take the leap and just go for it!

Matt Peev – Chief Operating Officer

1. At HIS Sign, we have seen lots of growth, and we continue to support many organizations and work with many providers to support the deaf and interpreting community. This is a very rewarding job, even after 10 plus years of being at HIS Sign.
   On a personal note. I was grateful for the opportunity to coach our son’s soccer team. Nice to see the kids grow and grateful that almost all of them returned for a second season, so I must be doing at least something right.
2. There are always some assignments that we are just unable to fill. I try to focus less on the negative and more on the positive of the nearly 100,000 hours we were able to fill this year. 
3. The forever optimist says 2026 looks to be a big year for HIS Sign and us personally. Always exciting to see what vacations we have planned for next year, and we do have some, and to see our kids grow.

Monica Lee – Support Coordinator

As I look back on 2025, my heart is absolutely overflowing with gratitude. This year brought such a joyful milestone as we celebrated my daughter’s college graduation from Virginia Tech. Two down, one more to go! I’m still in awe that we’ve been able to guide not just one, but two children through college. And with our last set to graduate in Spring 2026, it feels amazing to know the tuition chapter is almost officially closed!

More than anything, I’m thankful for my loving family and this fun “boomerang” season we’re in, where our grown kids find their way back home. It feels like the best kind of confirmation that we did something right, proof of the closeness we’ve built and the comfort they feel returning to us. Knowing we’re such a strong, tight-knit family warms my heart every single day. 

And now, as we head into the New Year, I’m excited, hopeful, and ready for all the new moments, milestones, and blessings that 2026 will bring!

Lisa Smith – Compliance Manager

It’s hard to believe 2025 is coming to an end, but as always, I look forward to all the holiday festivities with family and friends. It warms my heart that even though my boys are now 20 and 22, they still look forward to all the traditions we’ve had since they were little boys. My oldest, Connor, graduated from Brown in May and will be attending medical school fall of 2026. And my youngest, Aidan, is a sophomore at W&M majoring in finance and economics and planning to study abroad this summer. 

I’m proud of my contributions to HIS Sign this year and have really valued the chance to collaborate with other departments. Experiencing different aspects of the business has given me an even greater appreciation of everyone’s individual roles.

In 2026, I hope to say yes more, be present, and make the most out of every day.

Chris Stein – IT Manager

I am so grateful to work another year with HIS Sign, this year marked my 9-year anniversary milestone working with an amazing team. I plan to celebrate many more years with HIS Sign. We as a company really thrived in 2025, there was some projects and tasks that IT could not see light at the end of the tunnel, but we overcame the struggles and hit all of our goals and deadlines! It was a very good productive year Outside of work I have been becoming a handyman, and thanks to YouTube, I have been able to do some repairs around the house.

I started out the year going to the gym but that declined quickly. I regret paying monthly on a gym membership that has not been fully utilized – 2026 will be back to the drawing board to find a workout schedule to stick with. My New York Knicks lost in the Semi-Conference Finals – that was a huge let down after such a great season, better luck this season hopefully.

My goals for 2026 are to learn something new and apply it, whether it be for work or my personal life. I also want to spend lots of time with my wife and son, maybe travel a bit.

Kegan Moore – IT Coordinator

2025 Accomplishments

1. Improved Spreadsheet Mastery
   1. Continued improving skills with Excel and knowledge of data manipulation to create helpful tools and reports to assist the team with their needs.
2. Learned Automation & Scripting
   1. Learned how to create automation and scripts outside work and used it for several projects and fixes including managing our new scheduling system, Usked.

2025 Grateful

I’m incredibly grateful to work with a team of professional, hard-working, and reliable people on a daily basis. I’m grateful to the HIS Sign team for giving me opportunities to work on fulfilling projects and tasks that make me happy to come in and take on the week and help me grow on a professional level. It’s never a boring day working at HIS Sign and I look forward to all of the new opportunities 2026 has in store for myself and the team!

2026 Goals

1. Learn More About Virtual Machines to Improve Automation
   1. This will assist us in managing recurring tasks and help with scheduled maintenance and audits while reducing manual work so we can focus on new projects and tasks.
2. Find Helpful Ways to Implement AI Solutions
   1. To better improve efficiency, we’ll invest time and effort into researching and implementing AI solutions.

Melanie Blue – Project Manager

This past year was one of meaningful personal and professional growth. I made a conscious effort to prioritize physical wellness, and I am proud not only of what I accomplished, but of how I feel as a result. This focus was made possible by the supportive culture and emphasis on work–life balance at HIS Sign. I am grateful for the opportunity to travel to Portugal, which was absolutely beautiful, and I closed out the year in Cancun, Mexico, celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary.

Professionally, I am especially proud of the progress our team made in strengthening project management processes. Through collaboration, adaptability, and a shared commitment to service excellence, we accomplished a great deal despite challenges. These efforts have helped create greater consistency and clarity for our customers, clients, and service providers. Looking ahead to 2026, I am optimistic about what we can achieve together and look forward to working closely with my team to implement thoughtful service enhancements that reflect HIS Sign’s mission and values.