Two Days, Two Wheels, and 202 Miles of Road

July 16, 2010 — aspeyer

STP LogoA train ride from Seattle to Portland takes three and a half hours. By car, you might find yourself at the City of Roses in three hours. By bicycle, it takes a little longer. Try two days.

Expect to see many intrepid cyclists attempting the ride this weekend, as the Cascade Bicycle Club’s 31st Annual Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (STP) begins on Saturday, July 17. Procare Team Manager Josh Dand is looking forward to being one of many who pedal their way through 202 miles of valleys, farmland, and mountains.

Dand’s biking journey didn’t begin with STP, which is expected to draw 10,000 cyclists.

“When I [worked in] Seattle, I never biked,” he said; but when he was transferred to Cobalt’s Lynnwood office, and his coworker, Senior Account Advocate Raul Sedano, invited him to take a bike ride. They started cycling together at lunchtime around Edmonds and Lynnwood, which inspired Dand to start biking to work. He now averages around 120 miles every week, riding four days out of five, enough to “recognize coworkers by their bike racks.”

“The 30 mile road trip is a great way to begin my day,” he said. “[I can] decompress and work off stress.” Bicycling has helped bring him closer to his officemates. Dand, Sedano, and fellow first-time STP rider Robert Allen will be doing the STP together. Sedano is a veteran of the event; this year marks his seventh STP ride!

Josh Dand and his bikeParticipating in the largest, multi-day bicycle event in the Northwest, sponsored by Group Health, seemed to be the natural next step to Dand.

“It’s something I wanted to do for past couple of years,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m about to do it; I’m feeling pretty well on my way. I just had a bike tune-up, got a new chain, and [my] legs are feeling strong, nice and spry now.”

Spots go quick, with cyclists from all over America and the world vying for entry. Dand got extremely lucky with late registration and “wasted five minutes of company time” waiting in a virtual line.

Those five minutes paid off, as he now prepares to start at 7:30am on Saturday at the University of Washington. He and Sedano plan to bike around 105 miles before settling in for the night at a Chehalis campground around five or six o’clock. Every ten miles, rest stops with free food, water, bathrooms, and bike repair will be available. Along the way the bicyclists will cross rivers, climb 30 miles of hills, and ride in the shadow of Mt. St Helens.

“You can’t see it in a car. [The STP] is like a party on wheels,” Dand said in anticipation for the scenic beauty of Western Washington countryside

On Sunday, they will cross the finish line at Holladay Park and possibly attend the Finish Line Festival is at the end of each ride-day. Sedano and Dand will either stay the night, or drive back to Seattle that evening.

Dand is a machine that doesn’t seem to ever stop running. When asked if he would relax at all after this superhuman feat, he mentioned a massage on Monday and a little rest, quickly adding that he hopes this event “leads to more.”

The next time you drive down to Portland on business, imagine Dand doing it the hard way and scaling the same distance on two wheels instead of four.

Good luck to all three this weekend. Have fun, guys!

Margaret Kahn
Guest Writer
The Cobalt Group
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Cobalt’s President’s Club

May 17, 2010 — aspeyer

Each year Cobalt recognizes some of its best in the President’s Club, a selection of the best salespeople over the last year, and sends them to an exotic location. While there, they provide input into the company’s direction as well as relax and enjoy some well-earned luxury. For 2010, Cobalt sent 22 salespeople from both Cobalt and Dealix on a Hawaiian cruise in April, on the Pride of America cruise-liner. Two days of strategy workshops with executives were combined with recognition and recreation. Here are a few reactions from those who were there.

Cobalt President's Club 2010Bill, a Cobalt salesman based in the Seattle home office and a repeat President’s Club honoree, said “I am extremely fortunate to have made President’s Club four times and cruising the Hawaiian Islands was by far the best! Cobalt does a terrific job of making us feel appreciated, and the result is more focus and dedication. It’s also a great time to build relationships with other successful reps and company leadership… The Pride of America was awesome. They had to break down the door to my stateroom to get me off the boat.”

Cassie, a Dealix saleswoman, also enjoyed her experience. “Being a part of this year’s President’s Club was an honor and an experience I will never forget,” she said. “My favorite part of the trip was seeing everyone from Dealix and meeting the folks from Cobalt, being with the best of the best. I’d be lying if I didn’t agree that the views from the cruise ship and the experiences we all shared were fantastic. There were many times my husband and I sat on our balcony, looking at the view, talking Cobalt President's Club Hawaiiabout what an amazing opportunity it was for us to be there in that moment.”

Cami, a business operations analyst in Cobalt’s Seattle office, was selected specifically as the honorary winner for 2009, as someone who worked with Sales regularly and helped them throughout the year. “President’s Club was such a great experience, and I’d like to thank the 2009 President’s Club members for electing me in! I was so honored to be recognized by the team,” said Cami. “My husband and I had so much fun and enjoyed spending time with the President’s Club members and their spouses. All of the islands were beautiful (and warm!!!) but our favorite is still Kauai.”

The executives on the trip valued the opportunity to work directly with the company’s top performers to understand areas for improvement and opportunity.

Earning a place in the President’s Club is a goal that any Cobalt salesperson can achieve, and Cassie has some advice for those looking to meet the high standards. Among her recommendations, she says, “Don’t ever stop giving it your all!”

Being the best may not be easy, but for those who make it at Cobalt, it does have its rewards. Congratulations to this year’s President’s Club!

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Cobalt Has STAR Power

May 14, 2010 — aspeyer

TSIA STAR AwardCobalt’s Services Department has a new feature: the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) STAR Award trophy.

Cobalt is proud to be named the winner of the TSIA STAR Award for Best Practices in Value-Added Support in the SMB category. Cobalt’s own Dan Dorgan and Juli Howarth were there to receive the award on May 5 at the Technology Services World conference in Silicon Valley.

The STAR Awards recognize technology companies who display exceptional leadership, innovation, and commitment in developing and implementing best practices. This award recognizes Cobalt’s commitment and focus on developing and delivering support offerings designed to help customers increase or accelerate the ROI on their product or technology investment as well as help the company increase overall product sales.TSIA STAR Award Trophy

“We’re pleased to recognize Cobalt as a leading service organization that is setting the pace for the industry by pushing the envelope and delivering the strategies and tactics needed to help customers bridge the technology consumption gap,” said J.B. Wood, CEO of TSIA.

Since its inception in 1990, the STAR Awards have become one of the highest honors in the service and support industry, acknowledging the contribution of companies of all sizes to the continual improvement of service and support delivery industry-wide. Winning a STAR Award means that a company and their Support and Services Center have been acknowledged by their peers as being among the best in the business.

“I thank and congratulate each and every one of you for your contributions in making this award possible,” said Mark Dunn, vice president of services at Cobalt, in a message to the Services Team. “Let’s continue to do what we say we will do and exceed our customer’s expectations.”

Cobalt’s Services Team is happy with the addition of this prestigious award and looks forward to adding more to their collection!

Click for information on the STAR Awards.

The Cobalt Group
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A Morning of Inspiration: Lifelong AIDS Alliance Charity Breakfast

March 25, 2010 — digitalmileage

I got this email one day indicating that Cobalt was sponsoring a $125 per plate breakfast along with a chance to visit with our busy CEO, John Holt. The event featured Seattle KOMO 4 newscaster, Molly Shen, and other local bigwigs. Sounds great, right?

The only catch was that it was the Lifelong AIDS Breakfast. Yes, that AIDS. The one that killed Freddie Mercury, Easy E and Ryan White. The one that generations of young adults live in fear of. The one that I’ve grown confessedly ignorant of.Lifelong Aids Alliance Breakfast

Could I tolerate an hour and a half of stories about starving children in Africa whose lives are that much more terrible because they were orphaned by HIV/AIDS? Or my own Northwest neighbors, who suffer from the disease every day? The truth is, yes; this is a cause I believe in. But in 2010, I really don’t know what to do to support those affected by the disease. So I went to the event because I wanted to fill a seat, make a donation and do something.

At the event, there were stories of Seattleites who have been battling AIDS for a decade or more. But that was the also the miracle of it. It’s been more than ten years for some people! One thing that I learned is that Cobalt’s own Matt Browning, manager of technical support, sits on the Board of Directors for the Lifelong AIDS Alliance and organizes Cobalt’s AIDS Walk team. I had no idea! He’s such an unassuming guy around the office, but he’s a board member for a major cause in Seattle.

Aids Alliance AwardsWashington State Attorney General Rob McKenna also spoke, offering up some statistics and figures. He quoted Gandhi, “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” He added that those of us who attend Charity Breakfast Events like this one should adopt the phrase, “Lead the change that you want to see.”

During the event, the foundation awarded the annual Ned Behnke Award for the researcher who provided the most benefit to finding a cure. The recipient, Dr. King Holmes, spoke about advances in AIDS research that are not getting the kind of attention they should.

Current Lifelong AIDS Alliance Chair Maurice Jones also took the podium, making sure to let us know that 86 cents of every dollar donated to the Lifelong AIDS Alliance goes directly to their clients. Truly, this is a rare chance to maximize direct help.

The event included a video presentation that covered some of the current work and goals of the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. One patient featured in the video, Krystal, has had this disease since 1991. I remembered that AIDS was a death sentence back then, but here is Krystal, a 19-year survivor, who lives an active and contributing lifestyle.aids_alliance3

That’s what this is ultimately about. It’s not just about statistics versus cures and success stories. This is about “quality of life” and being able to contribute to someone’s life in a meaningful way, whether it’s a full day of work, delivering donated food or just the simple act of giving someone an hour of your time.

Lifelong AIDS Alliance is giving a better quality of life to individuals in a variety of ways every single day. I was humbled by the opportunity to help this organization advance that cause and that Cobalt would give me the chance to have that opportunity.

Donate to the Lifelong AIDS Alliance.

Photos taken by Ben Zheng, courtesy Lifelong AIDS Alliance Facebook Photos page.

Deb Thogersen
Account Advocate
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