Columbia Tech Engineering Takes Part in Team Building Event at Kimball Farm

The Columbia Tech Engineering (CTE) group participated in a team building event on Friday, September 30th that proved to be both informative and entertaining!  Although engineers on a project team get to know each other quite well, there isn’t always an opportunity to get to know co-workers that are not on your team.  This outing provided a forum to do just that!  It was a fun-filled day with lots of activities and great food.  Although the weather was a bit cool, overcast, and sometimes drizzly, it certainly did not dampen the spirits of CTE! The team was excited to share their experiences.

“For me, the highlight of the day was the “get to know your co-worker” activity where associates were paired with someone whom they had not yet had the opportunity to work with or get to know well.  Pairs were then given the task of finding out about a professional highlight/experience from their partner’s career, as well as a personal hobby, talent or achievement.  Two by two, each pair shared what they had learned about each other in front of the entire group. The professional experiences that were shared solidified my belief that this is an extremely talented and capable group of engineers. The personal tidbits that were shared covered all aspects from inspirational to comical! Together this new found knowledge allowed all of us to have a new appreciation, understanding and respect for each of our co-workers.  We thank the Coghlin family for a wonderful day and look forward to carrying this team’s momentum into our daily activities and product development adventures!”

-Susan Beinor, Director of Engineering

“The Kimball Farm event hosted by Coghlin Companies was an excellent team building opportunity! The event allowed small groups of people with diverse work experiences to co-mingle and develop a sense of comradery with different people where none had existed before. The fun filled day was spent playing yard games and ended with a fierce tug of war. With something for everyone how could you go wrong! The savory food selection and scrumptious ice cream bar were sure to please. Thankfully the weather held out, allowing everyone to have a great time and ultimately allowing us to answer the great question of, ‘who we are? … CTE!!’. This chant resonated with a sense of passion for the work we do as a company and the group of people we have within the engineering department.”

-Josh Flanagan, Senior Mechanical Engineer

“It was a fantastic experience, being invited to the Engineering Event at Kimball Farm.  I was able to meet face to face with associates I may have never met otherwise.  The people that make up the Coghlin Companies interact and support each other like family, and it was great to see that outside of the Cogmedix walls. Myron, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Engineering, is building a fantastic team with great energy and common purpose.  The identity of CTE is distinct and healthy!  It was a true pleasure to be involved.”

-Peter Rizzo, Manager of Positive Client Relations, Cogmedix

“The CTE outing at Kimball’s was a blast, and very rewarding.  We had the run of the place (e.g. batting cages, zip line, and bumper boats), and also participated in various organized sports, such as horseshoes, volleyball and golf. The food was great, and afterwards we made our own ice cream sundaes (which were amazing). We then took part in a team building activity, in which each of us was paired with someone we rarely work with. After a brief discussion, we had to present each other’s most memorable career/personal achievement. This was a great way to get to know other people in the group. After Kimball’s, most of us drove to a nearby coal fired grill for drinks, appetizers, and conversation. This also served to increase our sense of comradery and team spirit. Even now, after excitement from the event has died down, our workday is more interesting and enjoyable, having a better understanding of the people around us, and a shared experience to bring everyone closer together.”

-Keith Ruenheck, Principal Software Engineer

“The CTE team chanting to the sun god Ra for almost a full week finally paid off and the team was gifted with a rain free Friday afternoon to close out the month of September at Kimball Farm. As part of the event, full access was granted to all the attractions that Kimball Farm has to offer – this made the opportunity for fun almost endless and at the discretion of each individual. It is my belief that the volleyball game offered up the greatest opportunity for bonding as it simultaneously engaged the greatest number of people for the longest period of time – and yes, we did laugh a lot at each other.  The unexpectedly pleasant surprise was the team bonding exercise – with everyone getting to know a new individual and sharing that new knowledge openly, we all came away with greater appreciation and insight into each other.  I believe it is likely we all came away with some open thoughts and/or questions about each other as well – for instance, will Keith obey the clear directive to abandon his passion for attempting to robotically put bass players out of business?  I for one hope so!”

-Dennis Doyle, Senior Program Manager

“Events such as the Fenway Park and the Kimball Farm outings do wonders for morale and I believe each and every one that attended would state the same.  We can all relate to the fact that getting up each morning and fighting traffic to get to work is quite stressful. You work hard all day only to face that same dreaded commute home, praying it’s a safe one. Many people then have to deal with life’s other stressors (children, parents, night school, shopping, dinner preparations, etc.) only to wake up the next morning and do it all again in the same order. It is no wonder that many times employees pass one another in the halls or run into each other at the coffee machine and there are no greetings or acknowledgement. It has nothing to do with being unfriendly, nor does it have to do with a person not liking the other person, it’s because we are so distracted. Most of us have been so busy with life and these distractions that we really never got to meet the people around us. The CTE outings provided those meetings and induce that much needed stress relief. During the last CTE outing and the exercise of pairing up with a coworker, employees got to know so many other people in the company that in the past were guilty of walking by or they would offer up a nod, just to rush back to their cube or leave at the end of the day to beat 10 minutes of extra traffic. Now, words are exchanged and conversations ensue, that is a whole lot better than a nod. There is an old saying that should resonate with everyone, ‘stop and smell the roses’, life is short.”

-Tom Robinson, Principal Mechanical Engineer

At Coghlin Companies, everyone is considered family!