Dear Zumiez

Zumiez 1996/1997 Cascade Mall Burlington, WA during the transition from former name “Above the Belt” to Zumiez - I was a Junior in high school, shopping with friends

April 9, 2025

Dear Zumiez,

It was around 5:00pm on July 17, 2001. My 21st birthday. I had ended my work day early, or rather they sent me home early, because my co-workers, including my Dad, took me out for lunch where they let me nurse a margarita over enchiladas. I rendered myself completely useless the remainder of the day. My roommate met me at our apartment where we tossed back a couple of Coronas. I was keeping my lunch time buzz elevated quite nicely. In my other hand was my Nokia cell phone which was ringing with a 425 area code number. I had been waiting to hear back on a job interview I had a week prior. Scott and I were only a month away from getting married and moving south about an hour and a half from our home town. My parents had purchased a lovely fitted suit for me from The Limited which I never had an opportunity to wear given that I had performed one interview so far and for that interview I casually wore a Roxy polo shirt, low rise cargo pants and studded belt. I was told that if I looked corporate I would be politely turned around and returned to the parking lot.

I slightly hesitated at answering, given my current state, but we were headed in to the weekend and I was anxious to discover my fate. I took a deep breath and composed myself.

“This is Melody!”

It was Ann. She had interviewed me for the admin position at Zumiez Home Office. Zumiez, the mall retailer. I shopped at Zumiez in high school, and now I was listening to a woman on the other end of the phone offer me this really cool job opportunity that, to be honest, felt TOO cool for me. But my childhood best friend had also begun working at the home office and talked me in to going for it!

I think my reply fell from my mouth in some sort of mumbled drunken garble. I do recall that it was filled with excitement and terror, and ended in tears. Happy tears.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be saying…. “23 years later….”.

On average, a person stays in a job for just about 4 years. A lot can happen over the course of 4 years. But 23 years? I began training for my new job about 2 weeks prior to my wedding. My sales code is evident of this as it still carries my maiden last name initial “H”. My relationship with Zumiez is officially longer than my marriage.

I do believe that your career or where you work shouldn’t necessarily be a part of how you identify or introduce yourself, but I’ve been so proud of my role and my years of contribution that it always finds a way to spill out in conversation. Funny to think I spent the first few months crying every day when I got home from work before I felt like I was over my head, didn’t know shit about retail (other than I loved to shop), and this small town girl wasn’t so sure she fit in.

My job has been my steady-eddy. Sure, there’s been huge peaks and valleys, but it’s something I’ve always been able to count on when or if life picked me up and tossed me around like a ragdoll. Zumiez has been there for me and my family through some of the biggest life moments:

Marrying my high school love, Scott, only 2 weeks after starting at Zumiez

September 11

Babies

The Great Recession

Buying our first house and almost losing it due to the economy

Co-workers who turned in to life-time best friends and raising our kids together

My first travel abroad which happened to be a work related trip

Co-workers turned friends getting married - and being lucky enough to be in the wedding of a former employee

Getting my first dog and bringing him to work with me

Covid Pandemic

Losing my Father to cancer

Losing friends to cancer

Losing co-worker friends suddenly

My Mother re-marrying

Selling our first home and moving

Becoming business owners in our home town

Saying yes to my next career….. and receiving nothing but support

Feeling pretty damn grateful,

Melody

The Early Days // 2001 - 2005

June 22, 2007

Dear Zumiez,

Leadership like this is unique. A group of us were invited to receive the Entrepreneur of the Year award on behalf of Tom. I think we were the rowdiest table at the event. Can’t remember much from that night other than a limo, walking Alki after the event, and a hangover. And feeling really proud.

Not all get to walk away from a career and call their leaders FRIENDS. But, I have that luxury and will not take that for granted. Brenda Morris was our CFO at the time we went public in 2005, which also meant we were to establish a Board of Directors and all the corporate fun that comes with becoming a publicly traded company. Brenda saw potential in me to support not only our home office as an Office Manager, but also our Board and Executive Team. I hadn’t a clue what it meant to be an Executive Assistant, but because she saw something I didn’t, meant I should dig a little deeper and find out. From there on, it’s been quite a journey getting to know and earn the trust of other leaders who have come and gone, and the ones who have led the charge. Little by little they’ve taught me about leading (not managing), adapting to change (which I normally loathe), and looking at challenges through a new lens of opportunity instead of pain.

Tom and Rick stand apart from other leaders in this industry - in any industry, really. They’ve shown that partners in business don’t have to think the same, want the same things, and have the same skills. It’s the juxtaposition that creates magic. Helping each other understand, talk thru, and form personal opinions, while challenging one another to think broader and deeper. But the end result is rich in shared values and mission. And people at the helm of it all.

Cheers to learning from the best,

Mel

The INBETWEEN YEARS // 2005 - 2019

January, 2005

Dear Zumiez,

So, I’m pregnant….

Jeff Clem took me and Amanda out for lunch as a thank you for our hard work at our first Zumiez 100k together at Copper Mountain in Colorado. It was the best experience I had ever had. It definitely was the first time I had had my mind fucking blown. I couldn’t believe I was a part of the behind the scenes of this incredible event.

My husband, Scott, had jumped in to help us build out little wooden couch award trophies. We were ballin’ on a budget back then. He build them and I spray painted each one gold. For the #1 sales person, I bedazzled a plastic goblet for them for their on-stage experience.

Our team spent 8 days in Copper leading up to the event getting everything ready. To which we partied every night, rallied by like 6am every morning, and still pulled off a killer event. I got a call from my brother towards the end of the week announcing the birth of my niece Alexis. I still recall where I was sitting in the conference center - staring out the floor to ceiling windows, grinning ear to ear at the falling snow. I was an aunt again!

At lunch, with Jeff, he handed Amanda and I each a Tiffany classic silver link bracelet with a thank you note. We cried. Neither of us had received a piece of Tiffany jewelry before and Jeff jumped at the chance. After wiping our tears of joy, I looked up from my Applebee’s salad and said “So, I’m pregnant!” Jeff responded with tears, naturally. I thought the elevation in Colorado was what had gotten to me. Scott and I were so excited to begin our family!

What a roller coaster - Love you JC,

Mel

July 17, 2023

Dear Zumiez,

I was in Hood River for a trip and texted Susi Huxtable.

My first Manager, Susi, was the kindest, cutest, smartest five foot nothin’ sweet gal and I just adored her and looked up to her! She taught me about what it meant to be a Buyer (no… it didn’t mean going shopping everyday which was a shock to me). It was mainly numbers driven, but you had to have your pulse on trends too. While I had slow days at the front desk with the phones she tasked me with assisting her in writing skus, POs, and printing markdown tickets in the warehouse. I LOVED IT. I weaseled my way in to assisting with buying Manic Panic hair dye, socks, tights, incense (omg, never again iykyk), and Jones Soda. Susi was always first to compliment a new outfit of mine, and questioned my choices when I sprung for those $250 Citizens jeans as a young newly married broke-ass 21 year old. I now understand….

Sus was also the first person I’d run to when a customer would call and yell profanities at me regarding an in-store experience they had. Tom always told me I could hang up on them if they disrespected me. It was a waste of my tears…. and boy did I cry a lot in the beginning. Being called a c*nt was my least favorite. Sus was so kind and helped used her experience as a store employee to de-escalate the call for me while I rocked back and forth in a corner. Tom and Susi gently taught me to thicken my skin. Not to be hard or cold, but to remember that I’m a person too and am doing my job to support our customer the best way I can and know how to. It wasn’t about ME, but maybe they were having a hard day and I was the punching bag. Orrrrr, maybe they were a terrible human. But in any case, I took that with me every day and it shifted my reaction to challenging conversations in both personal and professional experiences.

Susi, now, resides in Hood River, Oregon. She and her husband Adam hold a special place in my heart for my early Zumiez days. Their relationship I looked up to. So when I was on a girls trip to Hood River in 2023, I looked Susi up. She met up with us at a brewery and my heart swelled! I’m so grateful my friend Sarah captured our brief time visiting. She and Adam invited us over for limoncello straight from Italy while we took in serene view of Hood River from their backyard oasis. We laughed, told Zumiez stories, travel stories, and it was so special.

Thanks Sus - Love ya!

Mel

Zumiez HI-5 at Stevens Pass

Dear Zumiez,

You’re like family. It’s not just about me. Zumiez has been a huge part of my kid’s lives. They’ve grown up within Zumiez just as much as I have. Days off from school or summer break meant days hanging out with me at the office, lounging on the big orange lobby couch, shopping the “sample closet”, taking a nap in the giant bean bag in Marketing, ordering up a grilled cheese from Jamie in the cafe, and helping with office events.

Holland eventually picked up a part time job at the Alderwood Mall Zumiez. She caught the retail bug. Savannah talks about the day she’ll be old enough to work for Zumiez!

I made fellow mom friends. We walked laps around the office, decompressing and confiding in each other in between meetings. Sometimes we met up on the weekends for play dates, shopping, or walks.

I watched co-workers find their forever partners. Scott and I witnessed them walk down the isle - in some cases I was even a bridesmaid and Savannah a flower girl. I saw them raise babies of their own. We threw office bridal showers and baby showers. When you spend a solid part of each day with your co-works, they become more than someone you share a workspace with. They take up a part of your heart.

When my Dad was diagnosed with cancer, they wrapped their arms around me, loaded my desk with flowers and cards, and genuinely cared how I was holding up. When he passed during 2020, they carried me through.

And that just scratches the surface,

Mel

February, 2018

Dear Zumiez,

Angelika and I went for lunch break tattoos. We’d both been chin deep in some heavy life stuff and on a whim we decided the only cure was to tattoo it out. Ang had lost her father suddenly in 2017 so she got a tattoo in honor of him. I needed a firm reminder to “breathe” once in a while as I had been experiencing anxiety quite heavily during this season of life. Forever a bonding moment.

Thank you for your friendship Ang,

Love Mel

October, 2013

Dear Zumiez,

We brought kittens in to the office. Over a decade ago, we caught wind that Uber was doing a “kittens and cupcakes” day where you could sign up on the Uber app to have them bring kittens and cupcakes to your workplace in Seattle. We tried profusely to make this happen for our office, to no avail. So, we decided to do our own “kittens and cupcakes” day thanks to an employee who had a mama cat that just had kittens. We closed down a conference room for a couple of hours and let about 8 kittens run free! They offered a bit of therapy to staff that day and were all adopted! Including our old lady cat, Pearl Grey. On that same day, I had received a call from our childcare provider that Savannah had vomited. So, I packed up our new kitten and head home to surprise the kids.

Allowing our pup friends to join us each day at work made for such a special atmosphere. Each dog had their favorite human or favorite fellow pup. Sure, the occasional accident in the office or bark fest wasn’t ideal, but most days it provided a little therapy during the work day. Our dog Brutus spent most days lying behind my chair, with a scenic view of the pond from my window.

Thank you for including our fur babies!

Mel

August, 2017

Dear Zumiez,

We went to Austria! It was my first time ever experiencing Europe. We held our board meetings in Vienna and in Schladming at the HQ for Blue Tomato, a retailer Zumiez acquired, and ended our trip in Munich. It was incredible and ignited my love for travel ever since. I never thought my job would bring me here…. to think, I almost gave up after three months back in 2001.

I was so nervous being tasked with this trip and responsible for a group of about 17, having never traveled internationally other than Canada and Mexico. My manager, our CLO Chris Visser, told me he’d support me each step as he was a savvy world traveler. And he held up to that promise. Once the trip had wrapped and we were at the Munich airport, Chris gave me a hug and said he was proud of me for fighting through my insecurities and coordinating one hell’ofa trip!

During the tail end of the trip, I was sitting in an empty dining room at the hotel, eating a late breakfast while the board members met in a room nearby. My cell rang and it was Angelika, one of my long-time employees. The part that alarmed me was that I was 9 hours ahead of her. It was around 2 a.m. her time. Her dad passed away, suddenly, at home. She was spinning with emotion and the coroner had just left. We sat on the phone and cried together. I didn’t know it yet, of course, but I’d be leaning on her 3 years later when my own dad would pass away.

This trip strengthened me in quiet ways that took me years to really understand.

Feeling grateful,

Mel

March, 2020

Dear Zumiez,

We’re locking the doors for a few weeks. What we thought would be a few weeks turned in to a few months. The uncertainty, the uncomfortable, the uncontrollable. It was…..

But wow, did we push and pull, challenge and test. It ended up being our best couple of years following. I still get asked today how we did it - how did we survive when so many others collapsed, laid off employees, and haven’t recovered? That, to me, is easy to answer. Because we have the right people in the right places, and understand our customer.

2020 was a blur for many reasons. April to September my dad was bed ridden and cancer was taking him slowly. I flexed between home, my parents home, the office a day or two a week, and homeschooling my kids. When I think about this time, the lock down was oddly a huge blessing for my family to allow me the opportunity to work from my parents home and support my mom with my dad’s care. I took virtual meetings from my parent’s kitchen while I cooked meals for them or met with hospice. By September, my dad gained his wings. It was the first week of my kids returning to online school. Zumiez never waivered at showing their support and care as I navigated this loss, while we were still very much also navigating how our business was drastically changing due to the pandemic.

We all just did the best we could.

2020 changed and shaped me, and when I thought I had lost my footing, I was actually growing new roots - I just didn’t know where I was about to be planted until now. I’d like to thank my pops for helping write the story.

Changed,

Mel

April 9, 2025

Dear Zumiez,

My heart is full. There isn’t much else I can say, but thank you.

and, continue to BLOW FUCKING MINDS!

Thanks for the memories,

Mel

MH39 logging off…..

Love, Mel

friendship, workMelody Toddzumiez, open letter, career, tenure, work lifeComment