ReSource Ropes Course

In the office, we are constantly researching innovative ways to improve customer service. When the idea of a ropes course was presented we thought, why not? The objective of a ropes course is to enhance trust, communication, and efficiency as a team. If we could improve how we work as a group and apply that to office life, then that would definitely benefit our customer. With our tennis shoes and worn out jeans in hand, the entire ReSource staff headed to The Heard Museum in McKinney, TX to face the challenge.

When we first arrived, the facilitators went over the necessary safety precautions and asked us to go into our team building experience with an open mind by accepting different roles and trying new things. Then they had us partner up with someone that we don’t work with on a regular basis and we were off to a fun start. They gave us a blindfold to put on our partner, and then asked us to lead them down the trail to our first challenge. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. We were not allowed to speak to our partners. It was the mute leading the blind down a treacherous path that included stairs, rocks, tree limbs, brush, and more. Those who weren’t blindfolded thought they got off easy, but half way down the trail they had to switch with their partner. This exercise broke down our barriers of personal space and showed us non-verbal ways to communicate.

After we hiked through the trail we came to an opening in the woods where all of our challenges would take place. Then it was time for our first real challenge of the day. We partnered up again and had to come up with nicknames for each other, for example Bonnie and Clyde, Goose and Maverick, or any other humorous pair that fit our need for silliness. They separated us and placed each of us on opposite sides of a field. Then we had to close our eyes and find our partners, using only the sound of our voice.

Next came one of the more comical challenges. The field that previously separated Bonnie and Clyde turned into a chocolate river. The facilitators then turned everyone at ReSource into Umpa Lumpas and separated us off into teams. The goal was to make it across the chocolate river in order to save everyone in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory from a perilous fire! The catch was we couldn’t swim in the chocolate river, so we were given “marshmallows” to use as stepping stones to get across the river. We had to have a body part touching the marshmallow at all times or a marshmallow eating monster (the facilitators) would come and steal it.

No body part could touch the chocolate river or we “lost” that body part.

One by one the teams started to work their way down the river of chocolate and some made it across successfully, while other teams’ strategies failed miserably. Umpa Lumpas were losing legs left and right, one poor little Umpa Lumpa even fell into the chocolate river. With our marshmallow supply dwindling, the task was beginning to seem impossible.

We then decided to start working as a whole team, instead of individual teams competing against each other. We combined all of our marshmallows to create one long path of stepping stones and eventually got all of our Umpa Lumpas across the shore to safety.

We went on to several other challenges that pushed our limits in trust, problem solving, communication, and personal space. Our last and final challenge was the Team Wall. The objective was to get all of our team members over the wall. The belay was only there for safety and we could not use the rope to climb the wall. Our teammates had to hoist us up to get us to the top. We used our strongest men and started hauling people over the wall.

Our numbers started getting smaller and we needed to come up with a plan to get the last few members over. We decided to build a ladder with our harnesses and would have one of our light and agile members climb their way to the top!

That concluded our fun-filled day of staff development and team building challenges. We learned some very powerful lessons on effective communication and working together towards a common goal, which in this case is to better serve our customer. To see more pictures from the Ropes Course, visit the ReSource Facebook page!

ReSource and Mardi Gras

Here at ReSource we truly enjoy being a part of the community. From participating in charities like Toys for Tots, helping out at the local women's shelter, or participating in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, we truly enjoy getting out of the office and being a part of something more.  So when the invitation got extended to participate in the Mardi Gras Upriver 2011 Parade in Jefferson, Tx who were we to refuse?

The first priority was a plan.  This was our first time participating in a parade and we had no idea what we were doing!  We decided that the first step was to secure transportation.  This is where Chris Brown, one of our managers, came in handy.  You see Chris (being the automotive nerd that he is) has a bit of an obsession with collecting cars, and in his collection is one 1982 Pierce Fire Truck.  A Fire Truck seemed like the perfect vehicle to jump right into a parade, so step one was complete!

Step two: Beads.  No Mardi Gras celebration would be complete without bead throwing.  Now I know what you are thinking, and trust me there is no topless celebration in the quaint East Texas town of Jefferson.  The beads are for the kids of all ages that line the streets just looking for a good time.  So, we needed beads!  We found out from some folks that over in Shreveport, LA, there is a Mardi Gras supply distributor who sold beads by the pound!  We secured several pounds of beads and loaded them up on the fire truck.  Step two was a success.

Step three: We have our vehicle, we have our beads, we figured all that was left was to decorate the truck and ourselves and we would be complete.  The same Mardi Gras Distributor sold us streamers, flowers, masks, flags and just about anything else you could think of putting on a fire truck in Purple and Gold!  After finding some Purple and Gold clothes we believed we were set  (Check out Sam's Yellow shoes in the above picture!)  To complete Step three we met up with all of our parade goers as we lined up in our parade spot (#15) 2 hours before take off.  We decorated the truck on the spot, jazzing it up with every decoration you can think of.  We strategically placed beads in the prime location for throwing.  After a good solid hour of decorating we stepped back and look at our final creation, we were proud!

The rest they say, is history.  We had a very successful parade, pleasing kids of all ages with our bead throwing abilities.  Any time that we can be involved in the community we truly enjoy it.  Like I have said before there is a Fun Side to ReSource and we believe just like our jobs if you aren't having fun, what's the point in doing it?

What do the Brown's do for fun?

If you didn't already know, ReSource is a company that resembles more of a tight knit family than Corporate America on any given day.  We are a close group of folks that works together to get the job done every single day. This leads us to Chris and Amanda Brown.  You see Chris and Amanda are a little closer then your average co workers, they are married to each other!  If you think you spend too much time with your significant other, try spending 24 hours of every day together! :-)

Luckily for Chris and Amanda their jobs do not interact very often, as they are in two separate divisions of ReSource.  Chris is the Manager over our Evaluation Team here at ReSource, while Amanda handles anything and everything involving purchasing product.  This allows the working and personal relationship of these two people to remain intact on a daily basis. :-)  But what do Chris and Amanda do for fun once they leave the greatest Insurance Replacement company in the world?  Why they go offroad!

Now you might ask yourself what does ReSource mean by "go offroad"?  Are we talking like driving off the highway into a ditch?  While that would in fact be going off the road, Chris and Amanda enjoy an extreme version of Motorsports called "Rock Crawling".  Wikipedia defines "Rock Crawling" as "an extreme form of off road driving using vehicles anywhere from stock to highly modified to overcome obstacles. In rock crawling, drivers drive highly modified four-wheel-drive vehicles such as trucks, Jeeps, and "buggies" over very harsh terrain. Driving locations include boulders, mountain foothills, rock piles, mountain trails, etc."

This Blog will include articles that will document the various adventures of Chris and Amanda as they explore their hobby across our great country.  They will report in to us with blog trip reports outlining the crazy situations they get themselves into and how they manage to escape.  Stay Tuned for a report on their trips to both Canyon's Offroad Park and Bridgeport OHV Park.  Just one more way we have fun here at ReSource.  

Welcome to the Fun Side of ReSource!

Welcome to our new blog site!  Please get comfortable, kick your shoes off for a while, and sit a spell.  "The Fun Side of ReSource" is going to be just that, FUN!

You are probably wondering what this is all about, huh?  Why would ReSource, THE Premier Insurance Replacement Company, want a blog?  Because frankly we felt like letting loose a little!  We had a little idea a while back, every day we talk to our adjusters and it is just work, work, work.  Why not, we thought, show a little bit of our personality, our fun side if you will?  We want to use this space to tell everyone what kind of cool stuff we like to do in our spare time.  The more our customers know about us, the more they know what makes us tick.

Whether it is participating and giving back to the community, or just enjoying our passions and hobbies, this blog will be the place to check in and find out what we are up to.  You can also check us out on Facebook  or on our webpages, replacementsource.com and replaceonline.com.