After a busy and eventful 2016 …
We thought we could trust 2017 to be a little …easier, relatively speaking. HA!
2017 has been a whirlwind year and we can’t quite believe that 2018 is right around the corner, however, 2017 has been one of our best years. More changes have happened, and we’ve all come together as a more cohesive unit. Let’s take a look back at our highlights for the year.
Settling In.
After many issues and delays in 2016, we finally got into our new office space at the end of 2016, but since most of the staff were away, we don’t really count it as a 2016 highlight.
Our last office was too cramped, and we all felt like we were intruding on one another. The additional space and feeling of fresh and new seemed to influence us all positively. Sean finally got the closed in corner office he very much deserved by far, and a boardroom we could all fit into again 🙂 Said boardroom has enough space for all employees and dogs, and may just have a wine fridge for those “emergencies” or for days that need to be celebrated.
The gym downstairs is a bonus and very much appreciated. Weights, treadmill, elliptical and a guy named Bob. He’s a kickboxing dummy that Ashley oh so begged and pleaded for to be in the gym. Let’s just say future boss Joel is a fan of letting Bob know what he thinks of him!
Staffing Changes.
Unfortunately, we saw our shipping/receiving guru Justin leave us. He had a pretty far commute and wanted to be closer to home. We were sad to see him go, but in the midst of searching for someone to manage downstairs, one of our employees had a brilliant idea – Mandy wanted to take over the shipping/receiving/inventory management that we were searching for downstairs. She is definitely in her zone down there and is very efficient with all that has to be managed down there.
What to do, what to do. We found Kane to take over her position and he started in July. Kane has made a wonderful addition to the team, and is more or less known to be the guy coming up with all sorts of corny jokes to entertain you. We love having Kane on the team – he rounds us out!
A few exciting …announcements.
In June, Ashley came back from a whirlwind trip to London, Brugge and Amsterdam with an engagement announcement. Well, not exactly an announcement right away – she waited to see how long we took to notice. Everyone failed and she made the announcement at a staff lunch that following Friday. Little did we know, she had a plan up her sleeve to throw a surprise wedding mid July. It’s like we didn’t even know her anymore!
This fall, Mandy came back from a huge trip to China to see family to give us an announcement at a staff party. Mandy is expecting and is due in May 2018. Yay for a MyBadges baby! The last MyBadges baby was Joel aka future boss so I’m sure he’s happy to pass the torch. We’re all so excited for Mandy, although we’re sad to lose her for a year while on maternity leave. Let the shopping begin!
Traveling, meeting, experiences.
We had the opportunity to travel from the West Coast to the Atlantic Coast of Canada as a sponsor for CUCCOA 2017 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. We had the opportunity to meet more of our clients, and meet new connections, all while learning and networking for three days. You can read more about CUCCOA here and what an amazing experience we had. #blessed
Not long after getting back from CUCCOA, we sent Ashley to the PCMA Spark event in Vancouver for a busy half day of learning and networking. This was super close, and got us out and reconnecting with some of our local clients. We love getting out to see those we work with in this industry. Upcoming is the MPI/PCMA/ILEA Holiday Event right before Christmas and Ashley is excited to bring out Kane and get him interacting with all of our local #eventprofs. We hope to see you there!
How we roll.
Sean does the little things to keep us all pumped and happy to come to work. I mean, some staff have long commutes, and we all work early in the morning to work on a somewhat East Coast and West Coast hybrid schedule and sometimes you can really feel the effects.
Some can work from home on occasion (working from home + snacks = yikes!), some have flex hours, and when we are all in the office together, Sean makes sure to treat us to a lunch celebration once a month. We love to catch up over some food and wine when time allows and we love any reason for a party (e.g. quirky holidays). We are allowed to bring our dogs to the office and albeit they don’t work as hard, they make everyone feel pretty good day in and day out.
2017 has been a trying year, all while growing and not skipping a beat, so we all took advantage of the relaxing and fun night out for our annual Christmas party dinner. Everyone brings a gift, and do an exchange. The stealing was pretty tame this year though – what’s happened to us?!
POP QUIZ – someone always spills a drink at the Christmas party. Name that person!
Ready for 2018!
2017 has been very busy behind the scenes, and although some projects are taking longer to launch than others, that just means more good things are coming in 2018. Stay tuned to our social media channels, and this blog, for exciting announcements forthcoming! Have a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, holiday season, and a happy and safe New Year!
