I&TS Staff Retreat Follow-Up

As the photo gallery in the previous post shows, the retreat was a lot of fun. There's a whole range of emotions on display in those pictures, particularly those featuring cookies on (or off) faces.

Anyway, a couple of activities generated non-photographic material that we may want to review as well. In the morning we all wrote a word that we would like to describe our workplace and hang it up on the wall. Here is a word cloud of our thoughts (larger version):

Additionally, Carol Bowser's staff put together this document based on what the different groups put on their flipcharts in response to the prompts during her presentation.

Thank you again to everyone for coming and participating, and if you haven't provided your feedback yet, please do so here.

I&TS 2013 Staff Retreat

In case you weren't able to attend the recent I&TS staff retreat, you haven't missed out completely! The rumors you've heard...are mostly true. We laughed. We cried. We bonded. As proof of all this, make sure to view the complete photo gallery. And if you haven't yet, please give your feedback by participating in the survey.



View the complete retreat photo gallery here. 

Notable Quotes of the Day: 

"Throughout mankind’s history that are single moments that define us. Achievements that represent entire nations. Since the first games were held in 776 BC, they were dedicated to the Olympian gods. Today, we dedicate these games to Frank."

“Celebrating the I Olympiad of the modern era, I declare open the Olympic Games of I&TS. And now, for the releasing of the doves.”

“James B. Connolly, winner of the hop, step, and jump in the 1896 Olympics, was the first champion of the modern Olympic Games. We will now commence with the read, draw, and scream...also known as Pictionary.”

“The five rings of the Olympiad symbolize the colors of all nations. The cookie, also circular, is the closest representation of the “oneness” of I&TS. We will now commence with Face the Cookie.”

“As the ancient Greeks constructed such marvels as the Parthenon and the Acropolis, so shall we proceed with our own epic monuments. We will now commence with building a tower out of marshmallows.”

“The rigors of Gymnastics...or Gymnazein...literally translated to “naked sports”, do not compare with sheer complexity of removing a penny from a pantyhose. We will now commence with Penny Hose.”

“While tabulating ancient Olympic scores and rankings, the organizers played a TED talk in the background. We will keep to this tradition.”

“And now, a word from our sponsor.”