Huntsville's 'Best Places to Work' recognized

Company executives with their "Best Places to Work" awards.

Today is a celebration of business in Huntsville. A day that honors the city's "Best places to Work."
The annual Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County ceremony also recognized "Most Valuable Employees." In all, 12 company and 12 individual winners of the Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 Best Places to Work were announced to a sold out crowd today.
First Commercial Bank was the presenting sponsor of the sixth annual event at the Von Braun Center and the North Alabama Society for Human Resource Management was the host.

For Susie Vaughn of People Tec and Modern Technology Solutions this was getting to be a habit. Vaughn was named "MVE" for the fourth straight year while Modern Technology Solutions is a five-time winner, but MTSI competed for the first time in the "Large Company" category, moving up from "Medium."

Winners of the "Most Valuable Employees" award.

“Despite facing numerous challenges locally while dealing with a still-recovering economy, our business community still continued to be recognized as one of the nation’s leading places to launch, sustain and grow a business,” said Kim Lewis, the Chamber’s vice chair of Small Business and Events.

According to a press release from the Chamber, Quantum Workplace measured and selected companies based on the following criteria: Team effectiveness, retention probability, alignment with goals, trust with co-workers, manager effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, feeling valued and work engagement.

Once nominated, Quantum - a company that specializes in measuring workplace satisfaction around the country - administered a survey to employees and tabulated the results. Winners were based exclusively on the outcome of the employee surveys.

The Company winners (in no particular order) were:

Micro: (10-20 employees) - Five Stones Research Corp.; TriVector Services and Adams Homes.

Small: (21-35 employees) - Nesin Therapy Services; QTEC and Troy 7.

Medium: (36-149 employees) - Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa; PeopleTec and Willbrook Solutions.

Large: (150 and more employees) - Modern Technology Solutions Inc.; Intuitive Research Technology Corp. and URS.

The Most Valuable Employee winners (in no particular order) were:

MVE Micro: (10-20 employees) - Jo Ann Eddy Davis, Strategic Innovations; Eliza Kitchens, ADS Security; and Chasitie White, LEAN Frog Business Solutions.

MVE Small: (21-35 employees) - Mike Arthur, Iron Mountain Solutions; Serena Forbes, Trideum Corp.; and Terrie Pung, GATR Technologies.

MVE Medium: (36-149 employees) - Jennifer Broom, QuantiTech; Susie Vaughn, PeopleTec; and Mark Pepper, Canvas.

MVE Large: (150 and more employees) - Kathy Cagle, Modern Technology Solutions; Sandra Manning, ERC; and Jennifer Veal, Intuitive Research.

A special remembrance for Mother's Day

It's true, you don't realize what you've got until it's gone.
This is the second Mother's Day since my mom died but this one seems to be a little tougher than last year.

Maybe it's because of some major changes in my life over the last several months - positive and negative.
Usually, I would call her for updates on what's happening in Pennsville or - as was most of the time - she would call me to find out what's going on in Huntsville and let me know what's going on in Pennsville. Usually, she said, it was just " the same ol' same ol'."
Well, there won't be any phone calls tomorrow and that is a sad reality.
I can't tell her about Lance, Stephanie and Natalie, who is growing up so fast; or that Shane and Amber are expecting a baby in August and that Shane made the Dean's List at West Alabama and Amber received her nurse's pin. Or that Bo is about to finish his junior year at Madison Academy and is making college plans.
However, I have a feeling that she knows what's going on - which she always did anyway. You couldn't put anything past her.
There's supposed to be a special bond between a mother and daughter. Well, I believe there's a special one between mother and son.
She was the first girlfriend.
She was the woman who loved him unconditionally and, in many cases, the only woman who loved him no matter what. Granted, it was a mother's love, but he knew there was always someone who loved him.
She was a confidant on girl-related issues - which came in handy during the turbulent teen years. After all, a guy couldn't talk to his dad about why girls said this and did that. Mom could offer tips.

That's what I think I miss the most: The chats we had about different things in both of our lives.
I still occasionally find myself going through phone messages that I saved on my cell, hoping that somehow I had saved one from her with the chance to hear her voice one more time.
Just one more chance to hear "Well, hi Buddy. How are you?"
I'm OK, Mom. I miss you but I'm OK.

Over 50 and unemployed

There's a generation of unemployed people out here, ready and willing to work. To do whatever it takes to bring home a paycheck and support their families.
I'm a member of that generation. We're over 50 and unemployed.
In fact, sadly, we have been labeled "the unemployable."
Why?
We worked in high school; worked our way through college; and most of us worked at the same job for years.
So, why are we scorned and our resumes overlooked when applying for jobs? Why are we denied "entry-level" positions?
We want to work. "Entry-level" is just fine. A lot of us still have children at home so we're not ready for retirement - early or otherwise.
We are dedicated, as shown by how long we stay at our jobs. Today, especially in this town, younger people stay with one company for maybe five years before moving on to another company.
We don't. We are loyal to a company. We will give you everything you want ... and more.
I've been out of work for seven months, as have several of my former newspaper colleagues. We're educated; skilled; experienced; and willing to do what it takes to work. Heck, we're not asking for a big salaries. After all, we worked for newspapers and didn't go into journalism for the money.
Fortunately, some of us have found jobs, but a lot of us are still searching. And a government report doesn't give us much hope.
According to the Labor Department, unemployed people ages 55 to 64 are out of work an average of 11 months. Meanwhile, for those in the 25-36 age range, the average time is eight months.
Again, why?
Bring us in for interviews. Give us a chance. That's all we ask.
You may be pleasantly surprised.

Get it right or when first is worst

The journalism industry may need to replace its long-held mantra "get it right" with a new saying, thanks to the "get it first" phenomenon that has overtaken the news media industry in the last several years.
"No one will remember if you got it first by a few minutes (or seconds), but they will remember if you got it wrong."
And that's what CNN has ahead of it. The "most trusted" network has become a running gag ("According to CNN, Col. Mustard was found holding the candlestick in the parlor") thanks to reporting this afternoon that there was an arrest made in the Boston Marathon bombing.
In its exuberance to be first, CNN failed to second- and third-check the information. It went with a "reliable source" who turned out to be not so reliable.
There is a journalism saying that applies in this case: "If your mother tells you she loves you, check it out."
To top it off, AP quickly followed suit, adhering to the new aggregating/collective style of journalism. The news cooperative also apparently just took CNN's reporting as the gospel. To AP's defense, CNN is mostly reliable but the AP reporter still shouldn't have assumed the report was credible. But AP may have simply been aggregating, the new journalism word for "posting what everyone else is reporting" on your website. AP did pull the story from its feed. However, just as you can't pull a bullet back after you pull the trigger, you can't bring a story back once you push "send."
And this leads to where one news source reports something which leads others to play "Little Sir Echo," with  some crediting the original source and others not, misleading their readers/viewers into thinking they had come up with the report.
The CNN report no doubt drew a lot of "clicks" and "visits" to cnn.com, which is good news for the digital advertising model: Every click is revenue.
Which could lead to a frightening trend in journalism: Forget the real stories, the stories that have real meaning and importance to society. Go for the story that will get the biggest bang or, rather, the most hits.
I dread that day because that's when journalism - and society - will take the biggest hit, and it won't be in a good way.

Swallow your pride ...

Bill Withers' classic "Lean on Me" has more meaning now to a lot of us than it did when it was released nearly 40 years ago.
We shouldn't be afraid to borrow our friends' shoulder when we have problems. Talk to someone if you're down or upset.
I've learned - and am learning - who my friends are. And this is in a good way.
Friends are there for you in times of trouble as well as times of joy. If someone came to you with a problem, you wouldn't deny them. You'd give them your shoulder to cry on or "lean on."
"Lean on me, when you're not strong
"And I'll be your friend,
"I'll help you carry on.
"For it won't be long
"'Til I'm gonna need
"Somebody to lean on."
So, don't deny yourself the same thing when a friend offers counsel, consoling or even their shoulder.
"Swallow your pride," as Withers wrote.
Friends are doing this for you because they want, as much as you would like a friend to lean on you.
After all,
"Sometimes in our lives
"We all have pain
"We all have sorrow.
"But if we are wise
"We know that there's always tomorrow."

Out with the old ...

Back row (l-r): Mary, Natalie, Stephanie, Bud, Ben and Amber.
 Front row (l-r) Lance, Bo and Shane

As 2012 winds down, many of us are looking for better things in 2013.
This was a Christmas to remember for me, though, for mixed reasons.
For the first time, my dad came down to spend the holiday with us. It was a wonderful visit and we spent a lot of time together.
He also got to spend time with his Alabama family: Shane and Amber came up from Livingston; Lance flew in from Fort Sill and he, Stephanie and Natalie had a great time; and, of course, Bo. For those who didn't know, my dad is Bernard Joseph McLaughlin III, I am Bernard IV and Bo is Bernard V.
Our emotions were mixed because this was also the first Christmas since my mom died in January.
Dad came down to relax and "kick back," as he said. We made sure he did just that, too.
This is also the first Christmas in more than 35 years that I haven't had a job of some sort.
Some have said this is a new adventure and I should embrace this search for a new job. I thought the same, too, for the first few weeks.
Now, though, it's been three months and the adventure, which sounded exciting at first, has become more of an odyssey, fraught with emotional ups and downs with more than a handful of rejections.
So, I am glad to see the end of a year that began with the loss of my mom and ended with me without a job.
This is why I believe - and hope - 2013 should be better.
My emotional well-being is tested with each passing jobless day but I have to believe that there is something out there with my name on it.
I must keep the faith ...

Huntsville Havoc owner reaches out to Newtown

The recent massacre at Sandy Hook School touched just about everyone of us.
Those of us with children; those of us who teach; those of us with a heart.

On Saturday, the Huntsville Havoc reached out to Newtown with a special jersey auction.
Team owner Keith Jeffries donated the proceeds of the auction of his jersey to The Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund at the University of Connecticut.
The fund was established to help support the college costs for siblings of those killed, the dependents of the adult victims and students at the elementary school who are accepted to attend UConn.
"We wanted to do something more than a moment of silence," Jeffries said after the game, which was a 4-1 win by the Havoc over Mississippi RiverKings. "We heard about the scholarship fund and thought that was a way to help."
Jeffries' jersey brought $525 and was purchased by a couple who are season ticket holders, he said.
"They kept bidding because they wanted to do their part," he said.
For information about the fund, visit www.friends.uconn.edu/sandyhook. Or to make a donation by mail, the address is UConn Foundation, 2390 Alumni Drive Unit 3206, Storrs CT 06269-3206. Please note on the check the gift is for the Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund.