Cindy Knight
Now let’s be honest with each other. Would the following phrases “strategic planning”, “sales techniques”, and “12 trends that define the new normal” excite the average person? Probably not, but DECO is not a division comprised of average people. So when we all convened for DECO’s 2010 Annual Staff Retreat, we were positive and excited.
Steve Peck
Last Tuesday (December 7th) our team gathered for the annual retreat. We kicked-off our day with a key-note address from Steve Peck. Steve, a Senior Vice President with SAP, gave an energetic presentation on sales cycles. The words of wisdom I walked away from his presentation with were “Never take No from someone that can’t say Yes to begin with…” simple, but brilliant.
After Steve’s presentation we took time to learn about each other. We participated in a fun and revealing exercise led by Joyce Hoebing which uncovered unique and unusual things about everyone. We found out:
- Tim Brooks had obtained an autograph from every member of the 91st Congress;
- Sharyn Kuczka had moved 12 times in 12 years;
- Nichole Schiraldi has the same birthday as her father; and,
- Christine Tennies is an expert marksman on a M-16 automatic rifle.
After this exercise we were ready to get down to business. VP Brasington set the tone with her State of DECO address and charged each of us with staying a sharp course, building new partners and new relationships, embracing our entrepreneurial spirit, and of course business development. The Directors followed and gave their visions for their respective areas in 2011.
Dyan presents the State of DECO
Following a delicious lunch, we focused our afternoon on the new strategic plan: TU2016. The new strategic plan, which will mark the 150th anniversary of the institution, was just launched and includes 5 themes and 22 goals to propel Towson forward. Our task for the afternoon was to brainstorm action items to support those goals. After an interactive and robust discussion we ended our day with celebrating our staff’s accomplishments during the year.
Click here to see the list of DECO’s marriages, births, graduations, and celebrations!
We walked away knowing that we are good at what we do, getting better is our goal, and the potential for new clients and partners is our future as we strive to reach out and expand opportunities. Of course the day wouldn’t have been possible without lots of support, especially from our Executive Assistant Donna Guillott.
Cindy Knight is the newest addition to the Vice President’s Office. As the Policy & Operations Manager, Cindy serves as a liaison with the Office of Human Resources, manages the DECO intranet, and develops internal and external reports for the Vice President.
Guest Blogger
Bobbie Laur
Sharyn Grove
Jeremy Monn
Raquel Frye
Clay Hickson
Dawn Bott
Lindsey Meyer
Allie Pyzik
Daraius Irani
Past Bloggers
Jenn Lake
Kelsey Beckett
Timothy Brooks
Ashley Buzzeo
Matt Michels
Nicole Schiraldi
[...] Our entire leadership team was so excited to welcome Cynthia Knight to our team just a few months ago. Cynthia is our new Policy and Operations Manager and to sum up her job in a few words—she’s here for our employees! Cynthia serves as an advocate for our employees and ensures our Human Resources policies and procedures are in line with the University, University of System of Maryland, and State of Maryland’s policies. I personally get to work with Cynthia often on projects like the DECO intranet, divisional reports, and our strategic plan. She also was a recent guest blogger! [...]
[...] Yes, in case you haven’t guessed, I am a gamer. I play Lord of the Rings online (at our recent DECO Retreat I divulged my status as a Level 57 – now 58 – Minstrel) and I’m a member of several “Rock [...]