Hi All,
We just returned from a wonderful visit to Connecticut to see family. And on the way we stopped in Virginia. In fact, it's the same exact mileage between home and my parents and my parents and Dana's family. Pretty wild!
Our drive home south was beautiful set against the universe - on the horizon, Jupiter and Venus, laying just above the horizon of the earth. The highway actually went right in between them. It had to be a sign saying that "you are headed the right way"!
Now we are back in Tennessee and letting the winter take us. The mountain air is clear and clean - the only time of year to appreciate it. The mornings are beautiful and the streams are chilly reminders of the precipitation at the higher elevations.
That's all for now. Welcome Winter and Snow!
12.05.2008
12.09.2007
9.16.2007
Save the date because we're getting married!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Cosby, Tennessee
Cosby is just outside of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, about 20 miles from Gatlinburg, TN, one hour east of Knoxville, TN and one hour west of Gatlinburg, TN. Camping will be available on our land at the wedding and reception site. There are mountain cabins within 5 miles and we'd love to help arrange for our friends to share them. Within 10 miles, there are motels and hotels. The closest airport is Knoxville, one hour away. And we will be arranging an airport shuttle from Charlotte, NC, 3 hours away. With the Great Smoky Mountain National Park right next door, this is sure to be a destination wedding you won't want to miss!
Please send us an email with your mailing address so that we can send you a formal invitation with all of the details.
8.30.2007
I applied to a number of companies in Knoxville that are hiring environmental professionals. I tried calling them today to follow up on my resume submittal. The first place I called was my last choice. The operator answered, "Shaaawww Environmental"
and I said "Good Morning. May I speak with a recruiter?"
"We don't have one."
"May I speak with Human Resources or someone you can recommend?"
"Ok."
"Hello"
"Good Morning, may I speak to someone about my resume submittal last week?"
"Uh.......... "What position?"
"Engineering Technician"
"The person you need to talk to does the hiring for the Engineering and he's in California"
"Ok, I understand, what's his number?" .....
Left a message with some guy in California about a position in Knoxville advertised on their website.
Next place, a place recommended by colleagues.
"Arcadis Environmental"
"Good Morning, may I speak with a recruiter?"
"There's no Human Resources in this office."
"Ok. Can you forward me or suggest a phone number of who I might contact?"
Put on hold.
She comes back on the phone "You might try calling the corporate office."
"Ok. Where are they located?"
"Mariaville, PA"
"And what is the number?"
I called there. "Hello, I understand this is the Human Resources for Arcadis?"
"No, this is the Corportate Office."
"I understand. Is there someone I can talk to about submitting my resume online if possible?"
"Are you online now?"
"Yes"
"On the website you can submit your resume"
"I already have. I'm calling to follow-up and learn more about the position."
"There's no one to field your phonecall."
"I understand. Have a great day"
and I'm thinking, that's why I left in the first place. I want to tell them, if this is how you treat your prospective employees, I can only imagine how you treat your clients. Large corporations are so horrible to work for, now I remember why I tried a different aspect of geology. But that didn't prove much good either. Guess I'll try the National Park Service. I'm just looking for something for a couple of years while we get Soul 11 off the ground.
On another note, I read about EPA grants today and it look like there are a number of grants we qualify for with Soul 11 related to conservation and sustainability. Just need to get the non-profit established. Fortunately, with the government grants, Dana's friend was working for a consulting group that's established a rating system for business plans. Once a rating is determined, they help improve the business plan to get a higher rating, up to 5. This system is being used to help grantors know which plans are solid. She helped on a contract with the US Navy and they rated 2! But since working with them, they have made some changes and now they are rated 4. To apply for a rating, it costs $15,000. Some grants are only being awarded to groups with ratings of 4 or higher. That's out of our league but she gave us the paperwork to do our own rating. So we might not have an official rating, but atleast we'll have a solid plan which is the most important of all. But it is difficult. It's very tedious. I'm in the process of writing our business plan and using this tool.
and I said "Good Morning. May I speak with a recruiter?"
"We don't have one."
"May I speak with Human Resources or someone you can recommend?"
"Ok."
"Hello"
"Good Morning, may I speak to someone about my resume submittal last week?"
"Uh.......... "What position?"
"Engineering Technician"
"The person you need to talk to does the hiring for the Engineering and he's in California"
"Ok, I understand, what's his number?" .....
Left a message with some guy in California about a position in Knoxville advertised on their website.
Next place, a place recommended by colleagues.
"Arcadis Environmental"
"Good Morning, may I speak with a recruiter?"
"There's no Human Resources in this office."
"Ok. Can you forward me or suggest a phone number of who I might contact?"
Put on hold.
She comes back on the phone "You might try calling the corporate office."
"Ok. Where are they located?"
"Mariaville, PA"
"And what is the number?"
I called there. "Hello, I understand this is the Human Resources for Arcadis?"
"No, this is the Corportate Office."
"I understand. Is there someone I can talk to about submitting my resume online if possible?"
"Are you online now?"
"Yes"
"On the website you can submit your resume"
"I already have. I'm calling to follow-up and learn more about the position."
"There's no one to field your phonecall."
"I understand. Have a great day"
and I'm thinking, that's why I left in the first place. I want to tell them, if this is how you treat your prospective employees, I can only imagine how you treat your clients. Large corporations are so horrible to work for, now I remember why I tried a different aspect of geology. But that didn't prove much good either. Guess I'll try the National Park Service. I'm just looking for something for a couple of years while we get Soul 11 off the ground.
On another note, I read about EPA grants today and it look like there are a number of grants we qualify for with Soul 11 related to conservation and sustainability. Just need to get the non-profit established. Fortunately, with the government grants, Dana's friend was working for a consulting group that's established a rating system for business plans. Once a rating is determined, they help improve the business plan to get a higher rating, up to 5. This system is being used to help grantors know which plans are solid. She helped on a contract with the US Navy and they rated 2! But since working with them, they have made some changes and now they are rated 4. To apply for a rating, it costs $15,000. Some grants are only being awarded to groups with ratings of 4 or higher. That's out of our league but she gave us the paperwork to do our own rating. So we might not have an official rating, but atleast we'll have a solid plan which is the most important of all. But it is difficult. It's very tedious. I'm in the process of writing our business plan and using this tool.
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