Author: Finola Annibella

July Monthly Meeting: Life Lessons from a Colorado High School … Guests Welcome!

Finola Annibella

Platte Canyon High School in rural Bailey, Colo., doesn’t have a wood shop program. The town is landlocked and doesn’t have a lake. But the school has a yacht club. Kip Otteson will join us to share the story of how he and four other teachers helped students create the Platte Canyon Yacht Club. In 2018 teachers at Platte Canyon were wondering what kind of project could teach students about STEM, teamwork, and perseverance. Then they heard about a 70-mile open water ocean race that takes place over 48 hours off the coast of Washington State. They challenged students to design and build a boat from scratch that could compete in the race. The students embraced the challenge and built a huge boat that could hold 18 people. They trained and competed in the 2019 race and again in June 2021. Kip will share the lessons learned in challenging students to embrace a big challenge and how they overcame them as a team.

June Meeting: Boss or Babysitter? Guests Welcome!

Finola Annibella

Our very own Peter Melby will be presenting:

Boss or Babysitter?

Building a sustainable culture of success

Leaders shouldn’t have to babysit team members, but we all end up doing just that at some point. Teams encounter a conundrum: When we trust employees to act on their own, they often don’t do what we need them to do. When we micro-manage them, they don’t perform to their potential and everyone is miserable. We get burned either way. The ticket out of “The Babysitter’s Club” is surprisingly simple, yet nearly always overlooked.  Peter Melby, CEO of Greystone Technology, shares stories and experiences outlining the journey to deeply successful culture in an IT company with over 100 team members. He’ll share a simple, proven methodology for organizations at any stage to communicate effectively with team members and avoid the people problems that all successful IT teams must overcome.  Peter has shared these insights across the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia in an effort to redefine our global approach to company culture.

Bio

Peter Melby is the CEO of Denver-based IT service provider, Greystone Technology, a six-time Inc. 5000 honoree and a seven-time Top Workplace winner. Peter has been named one of Colorado’s Top 25 CEOs, 40 Under 40, Titan 100, and a ChannelPro 20/20 visionary. His leadership at Greystone has led to 17 consecutive years of growth and consistent recognition for market innovation. Peter speaks globally on topics related to scaling successful culture, disrupting traditional IT ineffectiveness, and common-sense cyber security.

May Meeting: Member Engagement, Guests Welcome to Join!

Finola Annibella

From Bob Dodge, Chair of our Member Engagement Committee:

Many of us enjoyed seeing one another in April and we look forward to seeing more DABBERs in person in May.  As we learned, via the survey, we clearly value relationships with one another, and it is to that end that we will use the bulk of our time in May doing just that.  We will sit at assigned tables with people who are not in our PAG, not on our committee and a mix of new and old members.  Rather than focus on what we do, we’ll share who we are.  Be thinking about this and come prepared to share who you are among your clients, peers, co-workers, and relatives.  Also come prepared to learn things about DAB members that you don’t currently know.

For in-person attendance, RSVP here.

Yes, Zoomers will get the same opportunity via assigned breakout rooms as fellow in-person members/guests.  If you plan to Zoom, please let Finola know.  Thank you!

April Monthly Meeting – Mental Health

Finola Annibella

Mental health and resiliency have become more important since the start of the COVID pandemic.  According to the Colorado School of Public health 23% of Coloradans met the criteria for major depressive disorder during the lockdown.  Pre-pandemic about 7% did.  While hope is on the horizon with the release of the vaccine it may be months before things feel more like normal.  Learning to deal with stress, loneliness, isolation, and feeling down can help us at work and at home with loved ones. 

Our April Speaker, Amy Morrison, will help us understand how we become stressed and depressed and how to deal with it in a constructive way.  Amy Morrison is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Wellness Consultant who specializes in educating others about the nervous system.  She is a co-founder of True Core Health and has worked with The Savory Institute, lululemon Athletica, Havenly, Cherry Creek Mortgage Company, and The Denver Design District.

If you need the Zoom details to join this meeting, please email finola.annibella@yahoo.com.