The planning for Hallam-ICS Day 2018 began back in January. When the temps are in the teens and 20’s it is hard to imagine a perfect 72-degree, sunny June day in Vermont. Each year we review the purpose and goals surrounding a day like Hallam Day. Each year we receive the same feedback and come to the same conclusion that the time, effort, planning and expense involved is 100% worth it. How does that Mastercard commercial go?
Our day began together over breakfast and a few inspiring words from the founder of Hallam-ICS, Dave Hallam. Dave shared some thoughtful words of wisdom about how to be a more conscious individual:
- Tell the truth as you see it.
- Take full responsibility for yourself and your commitments.
- Become more self-aware, to know the truth about yourself.
- Become more aware of others, to be interested in what is truly going with other people.
- Become aware of the impact you have on others, and to see yourself as others see you.
- Become more aware of how the world works, to truly become interested in the truth of things rather than in your opinion of things.
- Create a clear Vision of who you would be if you were the person I’ve just described. And what that would mean not only in your life, but also to the lives of the people around you.
It takes hard work and dedication to meet the sometimes-overwhelming demands that life and a business requires, and it's easy to forget whom you are or where you're going.
That seemed like perfect advice to take with us and start our day. To SEIZE the day in fact! With a video crew in tow to capture our day, we broke into groups and headed out to participate in 11 different organized activities. These activities provided the opportunity for all our employees and guests to come together and get to know each other better.
The day could not have been more perfect for sailing. There were light winds of about 7-8 knots and the sky a perfect blue with billowy white clouds. Lake Champlain at its best. Most of the folks who signed up for sailing did so with the goal of learning something new and they did from understanding wind direction, boat direction, sail position etc. In addition to learning about sailing, new friendships were formed and old ones rekindled.
It’s totally fun! Our crew arrived at BTV Segway feeling a little uneasy. Remember when you were a kid and the neighbor kid down the street brings over unicycle? They ride it like a pro, and you have to demonstrate your skills riding a unicycle when you know that you have none. “It’s easy, there’s nothing to it! Go ahead and take that first step…”
The name of the escape room was The Gauntlet. It was spy themed with a cold war era vibe. We had 60 minutes to enter a code on a keypad in order to escape the room. A large LED display over the door counted down the time we had left.
The success rate for the Gauntlet is only 28%, despite groups being able to ask for four hints during the 60 minutes. We started slowly as we steadily examined every item in the room. With only 3 minutes left, we finally solved the puzzle! This was team work and creative thinking at its best!
Our group met down at the waterfront to board the Spirit of Ethan Allen for a lunch cruise. It was a beautiful sunny day with a very nice breeze.
After parking at the Sandbar State Park and trying to organize the group of 9 we quickly realized it was like trying to herd squirrels so we divided into smaller groups and started our ride. The breeze from the water was chilly (after all, the water is still 50F). Within the first mile, one of our rookies got a flat tire.
We all seemed to go into the painting activity with a bit of intimidation having no painting experience but that made us enjoy the time even more.
Then the group chatted about various things but weddings and wedding plans came up as two people in our group were getting married the following week. The studio was cute and comfy. We all learned that art should be a personal expression and you can see that a few of us went a little “off-script” …some choosing vertical rather than horizontal and some leaving out certain parts of the painting like the windmill. We learned that it’s each person’s unique take on life that makes us such a great team.
We learned that some folks are much better golfers than they claim to be! The course was beautiful. And the weather perfect.
We had a film crew (a one-man crew) with us for part of the day. After some coaching, one of our team members agreed to be interviewed. We chatted with the camera guy a little bit afterwards and asked him if he’d like to hit a ball or two and he took us up on the offer. Not bad form!
We had a cozy group of 6 who gathered at Sacred Mountain Yoga Studio for a custom-made yoga retreat. Our instructors were Jane Michaud and Jane Lanza. The day started with Immunity Boost Flow yoga. This warming vinyasa sequence was intended to raise a healthy amount of heat and energy to relieve stress, tension and fatigue. We broke for lunch and returned to Sacred Mountain for an afternoon of restorative yoga. It was an incredibly relaxing afternoon!
Part of what makes working at Hallam so great is that we are 100% employee owned. It seemed fitting that the annual ESOP Conference was held the same day as Hallam-ICS Day.
At the end of our action-packed day we came back together as a company for dinner. We all had stories to share about our day and general catching up to do. Days like this are what fuel us as a company and strengthen us.
About the author
Tricia works remotely from Florida (or wherever her motor home is currently parked) for Hallam-ICS in the role of Social Media Coordinator. She comes to Hallam with a background in Office Management and previously owned a small bakery specializing in custom decorated sugar cookies.
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About Hallam-ICS
Hallam-ICS is an engineering and automation company that designs MEP systems for facilities and plants, engineers control and automation solutions, and ensures safety and regulatory compliance through arc flash studies, commissioning, and validation. Our offices are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont and North Carolina and our projects take us world-wide.