A Family of Friends – Fall Retreat 2013

Every year at Career Path Services, we have a reunion of sorts. Employees working across the state of Washington gather in Spokane for our Annual Fall Retreat, a two-day event focusing on our employees and their accomplishments throughout the year.  With each yearly retreat improving upon the last, we were treated to an abundant share of food, fun, and fellowship by our DVR team, spearheaded by the DVR Program Director, Jodi DeCesari.

Events kicked off on day one with a 7:30 breakfast and a State of the Agency address by CEO George Iranon, both made more enjoyable by the great food provided by Twigs and a lively atmosphere that invited questions and feedback from everyone.  An employee favorite, “Ask Senior Management” followed after a great brief on retirement planning from Bruce Pedey of DA Davidson.  Our senior management team (George Iranon, Marie Bjork, and Cami Hanson) unabashedly answered all questions put to them for 45 minutes in a refreshing display of openness that, while common at Career Path Services, is not always found everywhere in the corporate world.

One of the most talked about events of the day was the video of a particular individual performing his first ever bungee jump.  While we can’t tell you the name of our CEO  the person who made the jump, let’s just say it lived up to the hype; 400+ feet is a long way to go when you’re looking at the ground coming up quickly beneath you.  This video was followed by a tamer presentation: a video of the Admin Team in downtown Spokane sharing one of their work days and how they put a human touch on it (see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KHkUKydcoA).

The afternoon of day one was filled with congratulations to those receiving longevity awards (ie how long they’ve worked at Career Path Services) and our Employees of the Year for each team.  We stretched our legs with the Passport In The Park activity for the remainder of the afternoon, which led us to the antique carousel, a Skyride over the waterfalls of the Spokane River, a train ride, and more!

During dinner on the end of this first day, winners of the raffles were announced for the marvelous gift baskets put together by each team.  Tickets were collected throughout the day for various activities, and the prizes ranged from gift cards to chocolate to bath soaps.

The second day, though more focused, was equally as enjoyable with training on The Influencer by David Maxfield.  In the training, we learned how to become more effective at communicating with everyone – those we work with, live with, and meet on a daily basis.  The training was truly engaging and shed a volume of light on how we can effect change in our lives.  As many of us had been reading the book prior to the training, David’s presentation helped put into focus some of the information we’d previously read.

Not all would be well unless we took a minute to thank the DVR team for their fantastic efforts in ensuring the entire organization enjoyed one of the best retreats we’ve had to date.  To all those who took part in and supported this congregation of  a “family of friends”, thank you for your efforts!  We’ll see you all in 2014!