My New Work Position + Grand Opening!

Late last month I was promoted to a newly created position at MarketStar. The company now knows Crystalee Beck as Social Community Manager for our company of 3,500+ employees, and I'm leading the charge on ushering in our new social intranet. We've called it "MarketStar Connect," and it's a robust, interactive place for all employees to connect and collaborate, no matter where they work. It's really cool technology, somewhat a cross between Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter that's exclusively for our employees.

With the enterprise launch only three weeks away from my sign-on date, I knew I was jumping into very sharp learning curve - and honestly, the first week I felt very overwhelmed. Thank goodness for my Ryan, who's been a true cheerleader at home. He's been understanding when I'm working late and exhausted. He's left me sweet little notes like, "You're so capable," that have boosted my spirit more than he knows.

If I was an accountant (like my talented sister), this would be the crux of last minute tax season. It's been an intense couple of weeks, and I'm thrilled all the meetings and planning and trainings will come to fruition tomorrow! Today alone I led four different trainings, and over the past business week I've busted out:

• 342 emails answered (ay ay ay!)
• 250 t-shirts distributed for the event
• 48 donuts for the Champs in today's meeting
• 7 Manager kickoff trainings
• 5 parties planned for locations across the country
• 2 Team Champion kickoffs
• 1 Senior Executive training

With that, Grand Opening... let's hit it tomorrow!

P.S. You better believe I'm sleeping in this Saturday... :)

MarketStar's 25th Anniversary

It's not every day you hit 25 years in business, and it's definitely not every day you're 27 years old, planning a party worthy of a quarter-of-a-century celebration.

Perhaps it's the student government party planner in me. Or maybe I'm just really blessed. I found myself with the unique opportunity to plan MarketStar's 25th Anniversary Gala, and I absolutely loved it!

I spent many months nailing down the details, writing scripts for the videos we debuted, and even teaching our executives a dance to go with the Beatles song, "Come Together," which happened to be our theme...and don't mind me saying so, but the event really did come together.

Nearly 800 employees attended the event here in Ogden, at Peery's Egyptian Theater - a historic and gorgeous venue that dates back nearly 100 years. We heard from our founder, Alan Hall, our CEO Dave Treadway, and many other MarketStar leaders. We honored stellar employee teams with Treadie Awards (named after our CEO), and ate the world's largest orange asterisk cake. 

You can see our "History of MarketStar" video here.

One my proudest moments came when the party was winding down, and the founder, Mr. Alan Hall, pulled me aside and put his arm around me. He told me he was proud of me, and said, "You're like a daughter to me and Jeannie" (his wife). Aahh...what a nice thing to say. It was definitely a highlight of my career so far. One of those days I wish I could put on repeat.

Happy 25 years, MarketStar!

Life Lessons at age 2, 6, or 26

We often learn and re-learn lessons from childhood. (I say adults are really just kids in bigger bodies - with more expensive toys.) In my trek of life, recent workplace happenings echoed the experience of a blonde bubbly 2-year-old across the country. 

His mom, my beautiful friend Kim, shared on her cute blog a painful moment of motherhood: seeing her darling son Julian be rejected by older girls who wouldn't let him play with them. I hope she's okay with me quoting how the two older girls ran away from her sweet boy:

"They went into a crooked house, and Julian caught up to them and tried to come in, but the girls were pushing on the door so he couldn't get in, laughing hysterically. Then they ran out, leaving Julian in the dust, and scrambling to keep up. He couldn't understand why they wouldn't let him play. As he ran after them, he pled so sadly in his little 2-year-old voice: "but I'm a nice boy! I'm a nice boy!"  

By this time I was in tears (behind my sunglasses)...Julian turned to me with tears in his eyes and yelled "but I wanna play with those girls!" My sweet boy's feelings were legitimately hurt. That hurt so badly.  It was the first time I've seen his feelings hurt/ him be flat-out rejected and it truly crushed me.Oh, my sweet boy.  

Julian's tender story resonated with me this week. For the sake of creating a more "lean, efficient operation," at my marketing job (which I was thrilled to land last August)  it was announced a couple weeks ago they were dissolving five of our positions and turning them into four. We had the option of applying. You can imagine the resulting feelings of anger, hurt, rejection, sadness and frustration.

Like Julian's plea, I wanted to say, "but I'm a valuable employee! I do great things here! I'm a nice girl!" 


The most painful part has been the Hunger Games-esque office atmosphere between friends - knowing we won't all come out with our job. To say it's been a "morale buster" would be sugarcoating. The verdict will be out this week and we will know who stays and who will be let go. (Meanwhile, if you know of other Ogden/Salt Lake marketing opportunities, I'm open to suggestions.) Despite the heartache, I know this will pass, and good things will come of it.

Keeping things in perspective, I've had the recent honor of becoming acquainted with an inspiring little girl named Millie Flamm. As a 6-year-old, she's making the most of painfully dealt hand: she's facing her second fight of leukemia. Here'smy blog post/KSL article about her. Millie's cheerfulness in the face of gloomy circumstances reminds me I have nothing to worry about.Ryan and I would love to see you at the 5K benefit for this little princess next Saturday, June 30. Get to know the Flamm family and/or donate to them on their blog.You'll be glad you did.

Whether 2, 6, or 26, I believe we're here on Earth to learn and grow. Just as it was painful for Kim to see her sweet boy be left out, for Millie's parents to see their daughter face a life-threatening disease, and my sadness about the job I was so excited about; I believe we are watched over by a Father in Heaven who feels divine empathy when we're hurting. He loves us enough to let us progress, even when it's painful. I truly believe we choose how we'll respond to our circumstances, and they can be for our ultimate good.


Note on 6/28: The day after I write this post, I was interviewed for a position. The next day - a full three nail-biting weeks after the initial headcount-cut announcement - I was offered a position. My best thoughts and wishes to my colleagues who are no longer here. You are missed, and another company/opportunity will be oh-SO-lucky to have you.

Dead last in March Madness brackets? Yep, that’s Crystalee

In sports they say, "go big or go home." In that case, my NCAA bracket scores are home wearing pjs, snuggled in bed, eating gluten-free pretzels.

As you can see in this picture, for my first-ever March Madness bracket, I ranked right above non-participators. Although a sister-in-law of a professional sports writer, I had no method for my selections – just picked whatever team names I liked best.

Eh, whatev … somebody’s gotta be last.

While I'm technically 523/523 (as the bottom three didn't do brackets), the Grand Prize 42” plasma TV is beyond my reach. The cool part? Maybe MarketStar will award the biggest loser something ...

Update on 4/3/12:

Yep, I was officially just declared the Biggest Loser in an email to 3,000 + employees. Still no word if I'm getting a prize ... we shall see ...

Update on 4/6/12: I AM GETTING A PRIZE! Blu-Ray player, baby. Thank you, MarketStar! I'll be Biggest Loser any day ...

9 Reasons Why We're Loving Ogden

Note from Crystalee: This poor family blog has been neglected long enough. We went on a first anniversary Maui getaway, moved to Ogden, I started a new job, Ryan's in full-time school and started a new internship, I've been getting closer to my 50 states while 25 goal. It's time to catch up.

We've been in Ogden now for over two months and really like it. We'd heard all kinds of horror stories, but surprise! Ogden's great! We're in a wonderful location, close to the hot spots. Here's the TOP 9 so far:


1. Ogden is new to both of us, and it's fun to explore it together. We feel very blessed to be here, and for all the opportunities we've found in this town with an urban hub and outdoor recreation galore. Did you know that National Geographic ranked Ogden in the top adventure towns? It called it the "Disneyland for adrenalized adults." Now THIS is a place we belong.

2. MarketStar
Four blocks away is this gem of Washington Avenue. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new Marketing Writer position at MarketStar. They've let me jump right in, helping contribute to the corporate blog, internal magazine, and writing for client projects. With my passion for word-crafting, it's an ideal job for me. Being so close, I walk or ride my bike pretty much daily. I work with ridiculously talented people, and enjoy getting to come home for lunch with Ryan.



2. Weber State University

The primary reason we came to Ogden was for Ryan to be closer to his school, and I'd decided to apply for their Master of Professional Communication program (turned out I got a great job too) Ryan's jumped right in, becoming the president of a contractor's club - he's studying Construction Management - and being awarded a full scholarship for the year. (Yeah, so I'm a proud wife, I know, I know) It's a 12 minute drive, and 30 minute bike ride, as Ryan can testify.





3. Historic 25th Street runs on the south side of MarketStar, and it's such a neat street! Years ago it used to be a scary, R-rated area, but it's been successfully transformed into a family-inviting row of quaint shops, lovely boutiques, and yummy restaurants. I love just walking along it, window shopping, and am fortunate to get to eat there with co-workers.






4. The Ogden River Trail is nearby, and I've loving having such a special place to bike and run. Just tonight I ran along it, admiring the fall colors. It's not a place I feel safe at night, but it's sure a blast in daylight.

5. Along the river trail is the Lorin Farr swimming pool, a very special place because the classic all-American movie The Sandlot had a pivotal scene filmed there. Yes, you know what I'm talking about. Wendy Peffercorn! And Squint's never-forgotten line:

"I've been coming here every summer of my adult life, and every summer there she is oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling... smiling. I can't take this no more!"

Filmed blocks from where we live, that's where Squints pulled the moves on the lifeguard.
I love that movie. "For-ev-ER!"


6. Farther down the trail is the Ogden Botanical Garden, a lovely spot for picnics and rose-smelling. It's really an enchanting little place, and I love that it's walking distance away.







7. I recently discovered this incredible place, Rainbow Gardens, which is where the river trail starts. They call it Western America's Largest Gift Emporium, and I tend to believe them. It's HUGE and has such unique, incredible gadgets and gismos. I could spend hours and hours in there, I think any female could.





8. Our LDS church building for the Pioneer Ward is also walking distance, and it's a historic building, uniquely built with intricate design and stained glass windows. We live in a low income, slightly sketchy neighborhood, but this is the most beautiful LDS church building I've attended, and we have good people in our ward.



9. We see the Ogden temple everyday. Unfortunately, it's being completely renovated for the next couple years, but it will be beautiful when it's finished. Ryan likes seeing the construction process. It's being very delicately taken down.