Changes

Hello Friends and Family,

I hope that this post finds you all doing well and enjoying this beautiful holiday season. I am sure that you noticed that I took down the blog for awhile, sorry for the delay, but I truly appreciate your continued warm thoughts and prayers sent our way.

The Hanson family has endured many changes in the past few months. Courtney has retired from work at Nucon Steel and is now enjoying his days at home. He has done this so that he can concentrate on his health. Courtney is continuing chemo both in IV treatments and in pill form. His CEA (tumor markers in his blood) levels remain stable and we are encouraged. The weeks that he has chemo are tough, and he tires easily, but we continually marvel at his strength. At the end of this post, I have added a letter sent out to Nucon steel, the company that Courtney worked for. It was sent by Don Moody, Courtney's long time friend and co-worker. It is a tribute like no other, and touches on the life journey of an amazing man. I thought you would all enjoying reading it.

Tyler and Courtney have been spending a few mornings on their car projects. They are both enjoying spending time with one another and seeing Tyler's old Spitfire come back to life.

Tyler and I spent Thanksgiving Day with my family in East Texas and then came back that evening to spend the weekend with the Hanson's. We had a shrimp boil and watched the Husker game on Friday. Of course, I studied for finals during the cheers of the game.

We are planning on spending a white Christmas in Nebraska this year. Jean, could you please order some snow for our arrival? This will be my first Christmas in Nebraska, and Tyler's first in a long time. We are super excited to be spending time with the family at the Johnson Lake with the Weber family. Courtney's oncologist has given him an extra week off of chemo during Christmas, so hopefully he will be feeling well on our trip.

We hope that you all have a blessed Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Love,

Ashley

Letter written by Don Moody...

By now, many of you know that last Friday (9/11) was Courtney Hanson’s last day

at Nucon.  He has decided to go out on medical leave to concentrate his full

attention and energy on his on-going battle with cancer. 

As you might imagine, this was an extremely difficult decision for Courtney.  He is

passionate about Nucon.  He is passionate about being a part of this team.  He is

passionate about contributing.  He is proud of being part of Nucon.  To make a

decision to leave Nucon, even in the face of cancer, was hard for him.

Courtney and I have worked together for much of the last 25 years.  All of the

times we did work together were in the light gauge load-bearing steel framing

industry in one way or another.  Over the years, side-by-side we made sales, ran

rollformers, fabricated trusses and walls, loaded trucks, made deliveries, and

framed buildings.  He was lots better at most of those things than I was.  Along the

way we evolved into our natural roles as we worked together with each of us doing

what we were better than the other at.  That is one reason I believe we were a good

team for so many years – we were good at different things.  We grew to effortlessly

understand each other.  Also along the way, we became very good friends.

When Nucor was looking for ways to enter the load-bearing CFS business

Courtney was the first person I called to help me put together a plan. Since then he

has been involved in every major Nucon event and initiative.  We have benefitted

from his solid thinking and his incredibly wide range of knowledge and abilities.

His contributions are too numerous to elaborate upon in this Green Sheet.  His

absence will be felt for a long, long, time here at Nucon.

I have received comments from many of you admiring the way Courtney has

waged his difficult battle with cancer.  I couldn’t agree more.  It has been inspiring,

but to me and I’m sure to many of you, not surprising.  We already know what he

is.  We already know the depth of his character.  We already know the internal

strength he possesses. 

Now he will focus all of that and more on beating cancer.  Please keep him in your

thoughts and prayers.