Another year has come and gone, and we are now celebrating the holidays at WorkBright. Here are some highlights from 2020. We were able to:
- Snag a spot on Outside Magazine’s 50 Best Places To Work In 2020.
- Deploy some amazing features, including our new Remote I-9 verification software.
- Add several people to our team across many of our departments.
- Collaborate with several companies to host webinars (like our back to business series) and interview on podcasts.
- Release a new eBook all about remote onboarding best practices.
We are so proud of our accomplishments this year! Our WorkBright pets have had a ball being our official officemates since March. Today, we wanted to shine a light on our WorkBright pets that make us happy every day. We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season!
1) Aspen: Chief Relaxation Officer
Aspen’s human is Ben Fraser, the brand manager at WorkBright. As the Chief Relaxation Officer, Aspen helps WorkBright by reminding us to stay calm, take a nap, and wholeheartedly do things that bring joy to our soul (which may or may not include playing in the mud.)
Here’s what Ben had to say about Aspen:
“Aspen is a rambunctious two-year-old poodle mix that loves humans, long games of fetch, and will do anything for a snack. She spends her days napping on her mom’s pillow, playing with her best friend next door named Eggs, and guarding her house from mail-bearing intruders. She also spends a lot of time in the bath since her fur is a mud & mulch magnet!”
2) Atom: VP Of Quality Control
Atom’s human is Gina Dooley, a business development representative here at WorkBright. As an official VP Of Quality Control for WorkBright, Atom is responsible for ensuring quality in everything we do at WorkBright, but especially in the food that we cook while working from home.
Here are a few words that Gina shared about Atom:
“Atom is a sheepdoodle that LOVES his family. He is also very into quality control of what we eat – he likes to sample everything just to make sure that our food is of good quality. 🙂 He carries around a BIG stuffed animal that we refer to as his baby. If we ask where his baby is, he goes and finds it. He’s just an overall amazing dog!”
3) Barry: Head Of Mail Security
Barry’s human is Chapelle Ryon, our Director Of Growth. As Head Of Mail Security for WorkBright, Barry keeps area mail carriers on their toes, especially during the holiday season.
Here’s what Chapelle had to share about Barry:
“Barry is our crazy boy. Always getting in trouble, chewing up slippers, toys, anything he can get his hands on – we call him Dennis the Menace. But for all his naughty behavior, he also has the biggest heart making sure to never miss bedtime for the kiddos and giving all the love to each family member.”
4) Izzy: Resident Weatherdog
Izzy’s human is Patrick Navarro. Patrick serves our organization as the Director Of Engineering. As Resident Weatherdog for WorkBright, Izzy is responsible for ensuring that we all stay safe and cozy, even during the Colorado winters that some of our employees face. (Luckily, we went fully remote in 2020, so we now have employees in some warmer states like Arkansas and Florida!)
Here’s what Patrick had to share about Izzy:
“Izzy is a 10-year-old long-haired chihuahua. She was born in Texas, so she doesn’t love the winter weather here in Colorado very much, but her fluffy white coat helps keep her warm. She mostly likes to keep to herself but will entertain new friends when necessary. Her favorite human snack is grilled chicken, and every time we grill, she knows where to find it.”
5) Kingston: Director Of Counter-Intelligence
Kingston’s human is Brian Eisemann, a senior engineer at WorkBright. As the Director Of Counter-Intelligence for WorkBright, one of Kingston’s main duties is to eat food off the counter when Brian isn’t looking.
Brian shared the following about Kingston:
“Kingston Cornelius Fuzzy Wubble Fabio Eisemann: Chaser of birds, balls, and mice. Yard watchman, announcer of news. Fearless family defender from moose, coyotes, and bears. Non-shedding mess maker. Shotgun riding, food thieving, loud yawning, pillow loving, couch surfer. Fence jumping, bringer of fuzzy over-exuberance.”
6) Kuyper: Chief Fetch Officer
Kuyper’s human is Connor Jackson. Connor works with our potential clients as a business development representative. As the CFO or Chief Fetch Officer, Kuyper is responsible for making sure that the company prioritizes wellness, in the form of lots of one-sided fetch playing.
Here’s what Connor shared about Kuyper:
“Kuyper is named after an old Dutch Theologian. While he was given a very stoic name, he is a total goof who loves people TOO much. Like he cannot calm down when he interacts with people. His favorite hobby is playing fetch. He is very good at getting the ball but not so great at being it back. He is a year and a half old.”
7) Larry: Director Of Siestas
While Larry didn’t make the official holiday card this year, we still wanted to shed a spotlight on Barry’s counterpart. Larry is Chapelle Ryon’s other sweet dog, and we couldn’t help but share him on this holiday post. As Director Of Siestas for WorkBright, Larry doesn’t turn down a good afternoon nap, and he encourages all of us to create and track our sleep habits throughout the week.
Chapelle shared the following about Larry:
“Larry is our big boy who doesn’t ask for much and doesn’t give much. He pretty much does his own thing, which is much needed in our crazy house with 2 dogs and 2 kids under 3! He’s always down for a good snuggle, though, if you can handle all 80 lbs of love sitting on top of you like a lap dog.”
8) Lyra: Cuddling Coordinator
Lyra is the most recent addition to the WorkBright family. She’s been keeping Sara Meier, one of our customer success representatives, very busy during these past few weeks. As the Cuddling Coordinator at WorkBright, Lyra is responsible for teaching us all about the art of cuddling by sharing cute pictures and cuddle facts in our #random Slack channel.
Here’s what Sara had to share about Lyra:
“Lyra is just a little baby at 10 weeks old! Recently rescued here in CO! She’s so sweet and so cuddly! She loves cuddling up to me and falling asleep in my lap while I’m working! Lyra has the floppiest ears and softest pink pot belly! She truly makes my life so much better. I don’t know what I did without her before?!”
11) Moose: VP Of Goofball Operations
Moose’s human is Mark Daviau, another fantastic business development representative here at WorkBright. As the VP Of Goofball Operations at WorkBright, Moose is responsible for ensuring that we all take ourselves a little less seriously.
Here’s what Mark had to say about Moose:
“Moosey is the sweetest goofball. Always charging forward to an unknown finish line where there is no prize to be won. A bit nervous around new people and dogs, but once you’re in, he’s all love.”
9) Ollie: Senior Meeting Planner
Ollie’s human is Tracy Hall, our digital marketing manager at WorkBright. If you’ve been in a meeting with Tracy, you’ve probably seen Olivia Lolly Pop (also known as Ollie) in the background. As the Senior Meeting Planner at WorkBright, Ollie now understands all of our meeting times, and according to WorkBright legend, she might even be planning them.
Here are a few fun facts about Ollie shared by Tracy:
- Does not understand social distancing.
- Is big on sharing office space.
- Makes sure I don’t forget to take regular breaks.
- Will sit with a baby carrot balanced on her nose without moving until I say ok (literally minutes on end.)
- Is a true catdog who sits on ledges, desks, lands on feet, balances on hind legs, but plays fetch and happily greets everyone with her tongue out and a wagging tail.
10) Penny: VP Of Scratch Therapy
Penny’s human is Dan Sharp, a software architect at WorkBright. As the VP of Scratch Therapy at WorkBright, Penny is responsible for ensuring that all the WorkBright pets get an adequate number of scratches and pets every day.
Here’s what Dan had to share about Penny:
“Penny is the life of the family… part Golden Retriever and part English Shepherd… she loves being with people and keeping the herd in close. Penny particularly likes her daily walks and cuddling by our feet. She has this funny tendency to walk backward toward you because the place she likes being scratched best is right above her tail. And if you scratch her back there, she’ll be your best friend for life!”
12) Woodruff: Associate President Of Cuteness
Woodruff’s human is David Secunda, the CEO, and founder of WorkBright. As the Associate President Of Cuteness, Woodruff helps us build a more cute environment at WorkBright by doing adorable things like holding his Santa hat in his mouth.
Here’s what our CEO David had to share about Woodruff:
“Woodruff is a pandemic puppy that we got a few months ago. Named after Judy Woodruff, the PBS Anchor as she has been in our living room each evening through COVID. He is a total love bug and just wants to cuddle all day long.”
