Rest & Relaxation Weekend

Here at K2 Consultants we have a ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality, which is why our management team takes a long weekend once every year to enjoy a Rest & Relaxation conference in a tropical locale.  The term ‘conference’ is used lightly as there is more R&R than work done during these annual trips.

Last year our management team enjoyed traveling to sunny Phoenix, Arizona while this year our event planners have managed to snag a trip to the world class Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.  We are very excited to get the chance to enjoy such attractions as swimming with dolphins, gambling in the Atlantis casino, enjoying the underwater slides in the Water Park, and restaurants with views of sea life including aquariums housing sharks and a variety of tropical fish.  More importantly our management team will be taking time during this trip to network with other professionals in the Consulting field as well as to build stronger working relationships among themselves.  We feel that building strong relationships is the basis for a successful business and that building strong business relationships is often more effective when having a good time.  So this fall we will be enjoying the Bahamas, where will you be?

Management training expands beyond K2's office walls!

Work hard, play hard still held true with some practice
 putting in between sessions.

        Atlanta, Georgia was the host city of this year’s Assistant Managers Training Program Conference.  Assistant managers from K2 Consultants got a chance to travel down to one of the biggest cities on the east coast to meet with some of the country’s top business consultants.  Topics included best practices for effective managers, company branding, multimedia, web design, time management, financials and team building activities. 

       “The information and skills that I walked away with from just three days of meetings was immeasurable, not to mention getting to network with business professionals who are at a level that I aspire to achieve,” words from Derek Chard currently an Assistant Manager at K2 Consultants.  Conferences such as these are how K2 continues to perform on a high level for their clients.  Sales and marketing is just the beginning, training strong leadership and management is K2’s ultimate mission.  K2 does the majority of their development and training in house, but they are definitely not afraid to reach out to other resources to make sure they stay ahead of the curve.

K2 Consultants "Stache Bash" for Movember

It is Movember time at K2 Consultants!  What is Movember you ask?  It is the time when men put their razors down, let their facial hair grow, and girlfriends everywhere ask, “Why?!”  To answer the why’s, Movember, also known as “No Shave November”, is all about raising awareness about men’s health.  This includes awareness about prostate and testicular cancer, as well as mental health awareness.  There are many reasons for the low quality of men’s health ranging from men not wanting to talk about it to lack of awareness about the issue.

            Instead of throwing scary facts about men’s health at people to motivate them, Movember puts a fun twist to it. That twist is the Mustache, also known as “The Mo.”  Those at K2 Consultants participating in Movember will grow a mustache for 30 days starting November 1^st where they will trim and groom their “Mo’s” for the entire month!

            Don’t worry ladies, you can participate too!  The “Mo Sisters” at K2 Consultants are helping by getting the men in their lives involved in Movember, making them aware of the problems with men’s health, and getting men to talk about their own health.  They also might rock their own mustache! 

So get ready! K2 Consultants will be getting their “Mo Bros” and “Mo Sisters” together this month to participate in Movember and raise awareness about men’s health!

 

Recently K2 consultants held their first ever "Stashe Bash" in order to raise money for men's health. Chicago Sam’s in Cromwell was kind enough to host the event while the music was provided by the resident DJ who goes by the name of Devon "Noved" Marino.

Many great mustaches and beards of all styles were present, including a more unique type of mustache called "the monkey tail" donned by none other than K2s own, Derek Chard. The night was spent with good tunes and the more than willing donations from the sleuth of patrons who packed the normally spacious venue.

 The Monkey Tail

Our Managers Dad wanted one too, so we made him a Monkey Tail with Stick-on Staches!

 



We had to capture every angle of these gems!

Through the purchase of raffle tickets, the fundraiser was a huge success, raising $520 towards a noble cause, half of which went to the winner of the raffle who happened to be K2s own, Aicha Diaby. But yet another plot twist has surfaced itself! In an act of good faith, Aicha returned the money to the donation envelope, seeing it as an opportunity to further men's health above her own pocket, good job Aicha!

The night was a great success, not only was a good amount of money raised but much fun was had as well. Games of darts and pool were had in addition to mountains of buffalo drenched wings. Until next year!

Team work in the office and in the rapids: K2 takes their skills to the white water of the New River in West Virginia!

Paddle five, paddle two, two more....are a few of the commands a hand full of K2  Consultant's finest heard as they fought through some rapids on the New River.  The New River that winds through West Virginia holds some of the countries finest level 1-5 rapids as well as a lot of history of the coal rich region.  Lead by guides that are know to be the best in the white water industry K2 filled an eight person white water raft and worked together to make it through miles of river.  Photos and videos were included to make sure the epic adventure would always be remembered!

During the rest of their four day stay, they stayed at the Glade Springs resort which touts, 700 acres of both outdoor and indoor fun. Including bowling, three golf courses, pools, paintball, fishing and more. The trip included long fun filled days and memorable nights, one of the many trips that the professionals of K2 consultants have gotten to enjoy during their career with the company.

Extreme Paintball for the Extreme Team That is, K2 Consultants!

K2 Consultant has become one of the top marketing and sales firms across the country. To celebrate their success Kylah Allen the President of the company decided to treat her office to a paintball battle on the terrain of Extreme Paintball in Waterbury, CT.

The terrain included large wooded and lakeside arenas as well as more compact areas ideal for hiding out and sniping your opponents. The group received their own private arena where they battled in three different styled games; capture the flag, center flag and elimination.  K2 carried their competitive nature onto the course and enjoyed hours of game-play full of laughs and a couple yelps from the paint-balls that traveled at speeds of up to 200 mph.

Group "Shot!"

Getting down low!

Sniper!

Freedom

      Every week a top leader from our office is chosen by everyone in the office and this week Andre was selected. Andre has really stepped up his game this week as a leader, trainer, and employee. He gave an inspirational speech on what Freedom means to his parents' generation and to him. Defined as the ability to do what one wants when one wants, freedom has no limits. Although freedom is a fundamental right, most don't have full freedom.

     To Andre's parents freedom constitutes having a stable profession that will pay the bills. The job must be either salary or hourly pay, have benefits,  paid vacation, and takes place Monday-Friday from 9-5. However, freedom comes with a huge cost! These costs usually consist of being micromanaged, confined to a cubicle, and usually busy or menial work. Yet, these are the jobs that tend to have the highest amount of layoffs each year!  Not very stable and secure at all! 

    For Andre having any of the above is not his priority. He doesn't mind working long hours because he knows if you work hard now you can play even harder later. With most businesses cutting back on benefits, which of those benefits will be left? With salary and hourly pay, you're capped no matter how hard you work or try. Hence, to Andre, freedom is the ability to love one's work, to have fun at work, and independence. Luckily, for him, he has this 'freedom' in his current position. Ultimately, his goal is to one day own his own business. At the pace he is going, he is not far from his goal.

This blog was written by Li and posted by Kylah Allen

Operation Smile Success

 K2 Consultants hosted their first annual Volleyball Tournament for Operation Smile.  We raised well over $500!  That puts us halfway to our pledged goal of $1,000.  We will be hosting more events to raise money for Operation Smile this year.  The money is donated directly to the cause; helping kids in third world countries to fix their cleft lips.  The surgery only is $240 per operation...so we helped two children!!!!  

Thank you for everyone who came out on Sunday, September 9th to show their support.  Thank you also to Chili's and Hanafan's of Glastonbury for donating gift cards for our winning team!  

 Group Shot!

Congrats to the winning team!!!! Thanks for coming out to show your support!!!

For more information on K2 Consultants, check out our website:

www.k2consultants.biz