Berkshire Hathaway 2014 Annual Report Download - page 22

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At about 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, we will have our fourth International Newspaper Tossing Challenge. Our
target again will be a Clayton Home porch, located precisely 35 feet from the throwing line. When I was a teenager
– in my one brief flirtation with honest labor – I tossed about 500,000 papers. So I think I’m pretty good. Challenge
me! Humiliate me! Knock me down a peg! I’ll buy a Dilly Bar for anyone who lands his or her throw closer to the
doorstep than I do. The papers will run 36 to 42 pages, and you must fold them yourself (no rubber bands allowed).
I’ll present a special prize to the 12-or-under contestant who makes the best toss. Deb Bosanek will be the judge.
At 8:30 a.m., a new Berkshire movie will be shown. An hour later, we will start the question-and-answer
period, which (with a break for lunch at CenturyLink’s stands) will last until 3:30 p.m. After a short recess, Charlie
and I will convene the annual meeting at 3:45 p.m. This business session typically lasts only a half hour or so.
Your venue for shopping will be the 194,300-square-foot hall that adjoins the meeting and in which
products from dozens of Berkshire subsidiaries will be for sale. If you don’t get your shopping done on Friday, slip
out while Charlie’s talking on Saturday and binge on our bargains. Check the terrific BNSF railroad layout also.
Even though I’m 84, it still excites me.
Last year you did your part as a shopper, and most of our businesses racked up record sales. In a nine-hour
period on Saturday, we sold 1,385 pairs of Justin boots (that’s a pair every 23 seconds), 13,440 pounds of See’s
candy, 7,276 pairs of Wells Lamont work gloves and 10,000 bottles of Heinz ketchup. Heinz has a new mustard
product, so both mustard and ketchup will be available this year. (Buy both!) Now that we are open for business on
Friday as well, we expect new records in every precinct.
Brooks, our running-shoe company, will again have a special commemorative shoe to offer at the
meeting. After you purchase a pair, wear them the next day at our third annual “Berkshire 5K,” an 8 a.m. race
starting at the CenturyLink. Full details for participating will be included in the Visitor’s Guide that will be sent to
you with your credentials for the meeting. Entrants in the race will find themselves running alongside many of
Berkshire’s managers, directors and associates. (Charlie and I, however, will sleep in.)
A GEICO booth in the shopping area will be staffed by a number of the company’s top counselors from
around the country. Stop by for a quote. In most cases, GEICO will be able to give you a shareholder discount
(usually 8%). This special offer is permitted by 44 of the 51 jurisdictions in which we operate. (One supplemental
point: The discount is not additive if you qualify for another discount, such as that available to certain groups.)
Bring the details of your existing insurance and check out our price. We can save many of you real money.
Be sure to visit the Bookworm. It will carry about 35 books and DVDs, among them a couple of new
titles. Last year, many shareholders purchased Max Olson’s compilation of Berkshire letters going back to 1965,
and he has produced an updated edition for the meeting. We also expect to be selling an inexpensive book
commemorating our fifty years. It’s currently a work in process, but I expect it to contain a wide variety of historical
material, including documents from the 19th Century.
An attachment to the proxy material that is enclosed with this report explains how you can obtain the
credential you will need for admission to both the meeting and other events. Airlines have sometimes jacked up
prices for the Berkshire weekend. If you are coming from far away, compare the cost of flying to Kansas City vs.
Omaha. The drive between the two cities is about 2
1
⁄
2
hours, and it may be that Kansas City can save you
significant money, particularly if you had planned to rent a car in Omaha. The savings for a couple could run to
$1,000 or more. Spend that money with us.
At Nebraska Furniture Mart, located on a 77-acre site on 72nd Street between Dodge and Pacific, we will
again be having “Berkshire Weekend” discount pricing. Last year in the week surrounding the meeting, the store did
a record $40,481,817 of business. (An average week for NFM’s Omaha store is about $9 million.)
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