Devo Retreat: January 23, 2015

In light of the Devo Retreat for 2016 earlier this week, I remembered I hadn't share notes and pictures from a year ago - my first all-day working off-site retreat with my department since rejoining Caramoor. I had been invited to the 2014 session, but as I was in the last weeks of my Big J tenure and that department's first week of a new leader, I didn't think it was prudent to take off to go to Caramoor.

re·treat

rəˈtrēt/ 

noun

noun: retreat; plural noun: retreats

a quiet or secluded place in which one can rest and relax;

a period of seclusion for the purposes of prayer and meditation.

This was the second year in a row that Caramoor had rented a Pond House at Bailey Farm in Ossining for the day. Apparently it is used for groups like ours quite often.

 One side of this old farm house is a bit more modern, with conference capabilities, room for yoga, etc.

It overlooks the woods, a deserted greenhouse, and other scenic vistas.

But we liked the cozier, older side of the house, with vintage touches, such as:

We always pack in a variety of brain-stimulating snacks, as we worked through the day.

Of course no department gathering would be complete without food. One of our brain-break activities was decorating birthday cupcakes for Daria whose birthday was the day of the retreat. She took lots of notes so she really deserved her cupcakes.

Each of us had leadership roles throughout the day, leading discussion groups, brainstorming, identifying department goals, values, discussing possible professional and future fun activities, etc. It was intense. (These are our "thinker" poses.)

Being the introvert that I am, I strategically intended my sessions to be more introspective. Since we had been talking all day, I led writing exercises; 1) a drawing of a colleague's name for "notes of affirmation" to be distributed throughout the upcoming months, and 2) a quiet 15-20 minute of writing time for "letters to our future selves." These latter letters were saved and then distributed the week in June that we opened the Gala.

It was fun to see the flurry of affirmation notes that initially went out in the wake of the retreat. Some people maintained the practice for a month or so, while others maintained it throughout the year. The "future selves" letters also seemed to have struck a chord. A few people chose to share their letters with the department when they then opened them in June.

(I may share mine in a latter post.)

Every retreat is different. Every different location has an ambiance which affects the output. Every session leader brings something new to the mix. Every time we have one of these, there is a different dynamic, intent, and intended outcome. It's good to have them, to learn, and grow. I just wish we able to implement all our good ideas.

If there are a few things we can share, without giving away all our company secrets:

• Write anonymous letters of affirmations to your colleagues;
• Always have chips/snacks;
• Have a goals partner and check in;
• Identify non-work "do a fun thing" activities as Festival survival incentives;
• Make professional personal goals (one of mine was to write more - with mixed results);
• and ...
• Laughing/Laughter Yoga - is RIDICULOUS and you should try it.

Hohooohoooooo HAHAHAAAAA

None of us won the PowerBall to wave our magic wands to solve the biggest issues of all, so we may need to retreat and regroup and reassess, some more and more and more.



~photos by iTouch

Photos of the Day: Rural Retreat of the Rich

 The moon was rising and the sun was setting 

when we left our annual winter work retreat today.

We threw around a lot of ideas. 

It was a pretty Herculean amount of talking and planning. 

Now to keep practicing and refining our techniques.

Fundraising is not a sprint, or a marathon.

It's like a decathlon:

lots of different skills, honed over time;

you have to cross-train;

 and while you may medal in one thing --

it's the combined total of all the events which wins you the gold.

Backyard of the guest house of a Trustee

In Greenwich, CT.

~photos by iPhone

Here We Go Again: Mondays after Vacations

pic.twitter.com/rMV40YRbxH

— Shelf Awareness (@ShelfAwareness) January 4, 2016

I'd rather be reading. Reentry - especially after such a fun weekend - is hard.

Toasting to the End of 2015!

Here's a toast to the end of 2015.

Somehow, some way, we made it through.

We made some work goals happen.

We hashtagged.

We spent time with family.

And we spent time with friends.

Here's hoping you find a spark to light your way into 2016.

~ via iPhone, because yeah...
Finally I paid off my grad school student loans and I could afford it. Finally!

Nice camera, huh?

'Tis Time for Tea, Holiday Tea

I have mentioned earlier, for the first time in my tenure at Caramoor and for probably the first time in over 30 years, the Music Room of the Rosen House was cleared of its wooden risers and chairs. This opened up entertaining options, not only for the fancy folks, but so that the company could almost double it's capacity on the very popular tea excursions. It's a tradition now, spring teas, Mothers & Others Teas, autumnal "Spooky" Teas, and the very popular Holiday Teas.

As a way to experience this seasonal treat in the new configuration, and to toast to the Team, the department treated us all to Holiday Tea.

It was lovely, and not at all awkward (she says sarcastically), when it came to the sing-a-long portion.

In the Formal Dining Room's Breakfast Nook, they had set up a static display of what tea may have looked like, oh lo - those many years ago.

Watch out for the HR nightmare of mistletoe leading into the Music Room.

Apparently ONE of the senior managers who should know better, was really into it.

Isn't the Room lovely? (This was a tea earlier in the week.)

 Matt, our lovely volunteer, pretended he didn't really know us and ushered us to our seats.

  I do love this china pattern. It's a shame to put food on it.

 Thanks, boss.

 Performance by the Avalon Jazz Band.

   Tea-time

 (or in my case, 'still water and sipping herbal tea guiltily' time)

 Two tiers of this were sandwiches; one was sweets

 Have I mentioned? This group is NOT into sweets.

I just ... *shakes head*

Even though December is our busiest "dialing-for-dollars" / "beating the bushes" time of year, with 

mailings, sign- and phon-athons, mailings, mailings, and more mailings,

it is still important to have bonding time and celebration surviving the Festival and year.

Cheers!

"pinkies up"

(I "should" apologize to Alex for the photo above, but ... HO HO HO!)

~ photos by iPhone