Staff Bytes
Dooley Meets Scott Swann
Dooley and Scott Swann (Scott is on the right).
I was on my way to the Woodruff Library for a project meeting with some UTS – ATS people when I saw Dooley and his entourage walk by. They saw me fumbling with my cell camera to take a picture and stopped to ask if I wanted them to pose for a picture.
Once I took the picture they offered to take a picture of Dooley and me with my camera. Dooley never speaks and he was true to form this day. They were all very nice and it was a great way to start my morning.
He is only out for one week each year in the spring and one of the things he can do is dismiss a class to go have fun. Here are links to a site that quotes an article about Dooley that Gary Hauk wrote in his book and a video that introduces our renowned mascot to incoming students: http://www.emory.edu/home/about/history/dooley.html.
- Scott Swann, Project Manager, PMO
Second Dart Title For Moricle
The Euclid Avenue Yacht Club Championship team (R to L): Chris Harden, Neil Bronstein, Justin Stewart, Wade Moricle (not pictured: Gus Glaw, because he's standing in the back, and Brian LaHue)
Last month, a team captained by Wade Moricle (Integration) won the Atlanta/Decatur Dart Association's ADDA Cup, which is a city-wide darts championship.
In a field of over 20 teams, Wade's team won their second title in 23 seasons in the league (there are three dart seasons in a calendar year). The team plays out of the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club in Little Five Points and consists of six players playing multiple rounds of Cricket and '01.
Entering the tournament as the #1 seed, the team (named Yacht Yacht! for some reason) dispatched its opponents 12-1, 11-0, 12-1 in three decisive matches.
The ADDA Cup, which weighs over 75-pounds and cost nearly $3,000 to construct, is called the "Stanley Cup of Dart Trophies." The ADDA Cup will be on display at the Yacht Club, where it will hopefully remain for many years to come.
For league information, go to http://addarts.com/.
Marisa Benson Thanks OIT
"Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet." - Jeremy Bentham
Thank you to all my OIT colleagues for the lovely flowers sent on your behalf to me and my family.
On Friday, April 6, my father unexpectedly passed away at home in northern Minnesota. After years of dealing with a kidney transplant and subsequent failure, he had been feeling and doing very well. This meant his death was both a surprise and somewhat of a relief.
Just before my husband and I rushed away that night to make the 24-hour drive back home, I dropped an email to the PMO and UTS Director listservs. I didn't expect that short note would result in such a lovely gift and thoughtful reminder that I have an Emory family as well as a Minnesota family.
Whether or not you knew what had happened last week, you should still know how much your camaraderie and thoughtfulness mean to me on a daily basis - not just during these more dramatic and difficult times. Many thanks to all of you.
- Marisa Benson, Director, PMO
Where is John Wang? HOME!
The Great Wall of Emory being enjoyed by Integration team members (L to R) Kevin Chen, Mark Eisert, John Wang, Kelly Bray, and Peter Day.
John Wang (Integration) and his family have finally returned after a year in China. Returning to work on April 24, John was greeted by his happy compatriots.
So that John would not miss his homeland too much, members of the Integration Team decorated his cubicle. The Great Wall of Emory proudly stands in the 1762 building, but cannot be seen from outer space.
John truly stretched the limits of "cloud computing" over the past year, working successfully from China to perform well in his role as a developer for OIT. According to John, there was only one instance where he lost connectivity to Emory (during an important change, of course) but he was able to quickly restore his connection by borrowing the access of a colleague in his office in China.
John, we know you enjoyed your adventure but we are glad to have you back in Atlanta!
Toastmaster's Unplugged Available To All of OIT
"There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars" - Mark Twain
A recent decision by IT F&A allows OIT employees to utilize Toastmaster's Unplugged, OIT's official Toastmaster's International group, as part of their professional development.
This means that the cost of materials for the public speaking group will be covered by Emory. As a result, attendance at meetings will be monitored and a report will be given to each member's manager.
Toastmaster's Unplugged has also expanded to include members at the Oxford Campus. Members of the officer team attend each meeting on the satellite campus to make sure that it is being run correctly and to offer advice about improving their public speaking skills.
In other news regarding Toastmasters Unplugged, officer elections will be held in May to determine the new leadership structure. Past officers may run for new positions but cannot reprise their old roles. The past officers were Lamar Kelly (Enterprise Services) - President, Christina Mazzella (IT F&A) - Education, Kathy Hayes (Academic Technology Services) - Membership, Kim Comstock (IT F&A) - Secretary, Wade Moricle (Integration) - Public Relations, Keith Rooks (Enterprise Services) - Sergeant-at-Arms, and Celeste Hermida (IT F&A) - Treasurer.
If you are interested in running for an office or just joining the group, contact Lamar at lamar.kelly@emory.edu for more details.