It seemed from the moment that we were all greeted by the group representing Bow and Concord we felt at home. Our days and evenings were planned perfectly and we all had great vocational trips during our stay.
We spent time as a group on Saturday which saw us walking along sandy beaches, getting sunburnt over a relaxing lunch, going into a Submarine, experiencing New Hampshire Ice Cream and Kayaking on Steve’s Lake!!
The time at Bow and Concord confirmed to each one of the team what an excellent moth this was going to be and that we would meet people that we would develop lifelong friendships with.
Hayley
During my stay in Corcord I met with Gail Garceau who had been in the fundraising business for many years and had so much experience! The time we spent talking flew by as we compared notes on fundraising activities and best practices.
Gail had previously worked for United Way and looked after the development of Major Donors; an area that in the UK that could do with development. I learnt about the tax implications and the motivations behind charitable giving from her experience. These were some of the most interesting hours I have spent gaining experience and advise from a true pro!!
Richard
My first visit on Friday was at the head branch of Merrimack County Savings Bank. I had four fascinating meeting. I gained a really good understanding of the banking industry and this bank’s structure and strategy from the Manager. Had a very informative session with the Marketing Director and I learned that social media marketing is much more prevalent in the US. I also learned about methodologies for conducting research to enable evidence-based marketing planning and we had some useful dialogue about the importance of sales and marketing activities being aligned. With the Compliance Manager I discussed tactics for ensuring business opportunities arising from regulatory changes are identified and acted upon. With the Operations Director I was pleased to learn that they are making the same shift Maybo is towards digitalising all records and using technology to streamline processes.
After the bank I visited Act One Creative – a marketing, advertising and website design firm. I spent an hour with the owner, Nancy Brownstein. We compared the approaches to marketing in the UK and US, and what works and what doesn’t in each country. Overall there were few differences, but as with the bank she emphasised how important social media marketing is in the US. We debated it’s value for companies that operate purely business to business and Nancy assured me that in the US it is at the core of all marketing strategies, and no less so for business to business companies. This provided a lot of food for thought as Maybo continues to expand overseas and is something I will continue to discuss in future vocational meetings.
Abi
Another fantastic vocational visit. This time I had the opportunity to spend time at Concord Hospital and Health South Rehabilitation Hospital. The latter is a purpose built, 50 bedded rehab centre for patients suffering from different neurological problems such as spinal cord injuries and stroke and following orthopaedic surgery. The physios get to spend 3 hours a day with each patient!! As well as that, we got to tour the new state of the art simulation lab (picture attached) which they use for training. I wander if the NHS has anything like that? Thank you to Christina Ebbs for organising it all.
Charlotte
I spent time with Dr Dean Cascaden, the Superintendent of the Bow School District. He has responsibility for the elemantarty, middle and high school in Bow. (He oversees the principals). I then met with a school social worker and a "School to Career" co-ordinator. Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) is a fairly new initiative whereby a student can make a proposal to the school for something they would like to study and how they might be assessed on it. The high schools here do appear to be more flexible than our national GCSE and A Levels etc in the UK.
The schools seem to be mostly funded by property taxes. Local people have much more input into the school system. Important decisions are often taken to town meetings.
I have learnt more about how the education system is structured, but is does seem to differ from one town to another. I loved talking about all the difference and similarities - I could have stayed chatting with them for a long time!
Ruth
Abi and I were taken by John and the ‘van’ to Concord Hospital where we were met by Christina Epps, Nurse Educator, who is also Abi’s host. We were made so welcome and had a tour of hospital departments particularly Physical Therapy and the simulation lab. Abi’s eyes positively lit up at seeing some of the equipment and techniques used. I had an interesting discussion on complementary medicine. We are looking forward to returning on Wednesday – Abi to Rehab and me to Hospice House.
We spent time as a group on Saturday which saw us walking along sandy beaches, getting sunburnt over a relaxing lunch, going into a Submarine, experiencing New Hampshire Ice Cream and Kayaking on Steve’s Lake!!
The time at Bow and Concord confirmed to each one of the team what an excellent moth this was going to be and that we would meet people that we would develop lifelong friendships with.
Hayley
During my stay in Corcord I met with Gail Garceau who had been in the fundraising business for many years and had so much experience! The time we spent talking flew by as we compared notes on fundraising activities and best practices.
Gail had previously worked for United Way and looked after the development of Major Donors; an area that in the UK that could do with development. I learnt about the tax implications and the motivations behind charitable giving from her experience. These were some of the most interesting hours I have spent gaining experience and advise from a true pro!!
Richard
My first visit on Friday was at the head branch of Merrimack County Savings Bank. I had four fascinating meeting. I gained a really good understanding of the banking industry and this bank’s structure and strategy from the Manager. Had a very informative session with the Marketing Director and I learned that social media marketing is much more prevalent in the US. I also learned about methodologies for conducting research to enable evidence-based marketing planning and we had some useful dialogue about the importance of sales and marketing activities being aligned. With the Compliance Manager I discussed tactics for ensuring business opportunities arising from regulatory changes are identified and acted upon. With the Operations Director I was pleased to learn that they are making the same shift Maybo is towards digitalising all records and using technology to streamline processes.
After the bank I visited Act One Creative – a marketing, advertising and website design firm. I spent an hour with the owner, Nancy Brownstein. We compared the approaches to marketing in the UK and US, and what works and what doesn’t in each country. Overall there were few differences, but as with the bank she emphasised how important social media marketing is in the US. We debated it’s value for companies that operate purely business to business and Nancy assured me that in the US it is at the core of all marketing strategies, and no less so for business to business companies. This provided a lot of food for thought as Maybo continues to expand overseas and is something I will continue to discuss in future vocational meetings.
Abi
Another fantastic vocational visit. This time I had the opportunity to spend time at Concord Hospital and Health South Rehabilitation Hospital. The latter is a purpose built, 50 bedded rehab centre for patients suffering from different neurological problems such as spinal cord injuries and stroke and following orthopaedic surgery. The physios get to spend 3 hours a day with each patient!! As well as that, we got to tour the new state of the art simulation lab (picture attached) which they use for training. I wander if the NHS has anything like that? Thank you to Christina Ebbs for organising it all.
Charlotte
I spent time with Dr Dean Cascaden, the Superintendent of the Bow School District. He has responsibility for the elemantarty, middle and high school in Bow. (He oversees the principals). I then met with a school social worker and a "School to Career" co-ordinator. Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) is a fairly new initiative whereby a student can make a proposal to the school for something they would like to study and how they might be assessed on it. The high schools here do appear to be more flexible than our national GCSE and A Levels etc in the UK.
The schools seem to be mostly funded by property taxes. Local people have much more input into the school system. Important decisions are often taken to town meetings.
I have learnt more about how the education system is structured, but is does seem to differ from one town to another. I loved talking about all the difference and similarities - I could have stayed chatting with them for a long time!
Ruth
Abi and I were taken by John and the ‘van’ to Concord Hospital where we were met by Christina Epps, Nurse Educator, who is also Abi’s host. We were made so welcome and had a tour of hospital departments particularly Physical Therapy and the simulation lab. Abi’s eyes positively lit up at seeing some of the equipment and techniques used. I had an interesting discussion on complementary medicine. We are looking forward to returning on Wednesday – Abi to Rehab and me to Hospice House.
Hey team!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see an update of your adventures. Glad you enjoyed your time here on "the lake". Hopefully you got the pictures that I took.
Steve Puderbaugh