Tell us about your role and how long you’ve been with Woople?
I’ve been with Woople since January 2010. After working one year as a staff accountant, I was tapped to be the CFO, a role that I’ve filled since January 2011.
How did you get involved with this line of work? Is it something you had studied in college?
Upon graduating high school, my first full-time job was a kitchen aide in a nursing home. Eventually I became a cook, and then decided I didn’t really enjoy institutional cooking (meaning scrambled eggs and toast, chicken and mashed potatoes, and more chicken and mashed potatoes) for 130 people on a daily basis. I transferred to the front office of the same nursing home. I’ve worked in accounting ever since, working my way up the ladder from receptionist, secretary, bookkeeper, office manager, internal auditor, staff accountant, to CFO! In addition to the nursing home, I’ve worked in a variety of industries: heavy construction, automotive, manufacturing, and now Woople!
What is a typical workday like for you?
To most people my typical workday probably looks pretty boring since I spend most of my time buried in a computer screen, accounting software, and spreadsheets. I guess I’m a little twisted in that I enjoy creating spreadsheets and comparing data. The more formulas, color, and linked cells I have, the better!
What do you enjoy most about your job?
No thought about it, the most enjoyable aspect of my job is the interaction with my teammates. I’m truly blessed to be surrounded by such talented, knowledgeable, and dynamic personalities. The Woople team is truly my away-from-home family!
What challenges do you face? Do you feel that Woople prepares you to handle these situations?
As a married parent of 4, half of which are grown and on their own, I would suppose I have the same challenges as anyone. There’s not enough time in the day, and it’s hard to be everywhere for everyone all the time. You have to realize what’s most important and prioritize your life accordingly. Attending Woople’s Sustaining Excellence retreat in Wildwood, GA, was an excellent tool, which helped me improve this aspect of my life –not only professionally, but personally as well. I’m very fortunate to have daily access to the learning segments on Woople, which serve as a great reinforcement tool to the lessons I learned at the retreat. I wish I had half the knowledge I’ve gained through working at Woople when I began my work career over 25 years ago!
How would you describe the culture at Woople?
The culture at Woople is very different from your typical place of business or office. We most definitely have our serious “git ‘er done” side, but we also know when to take some time as a team to cultivate the culture that we’ve worked so hard to develop. We encourage dancing, laughing, scaring (as in Boo!), and team-building activities, such as barbeques and chair races. I would never hesitate to ask anyone in our office for help with anything – that is, if I could get the question out of my mouth BEFORE someone jumped in and did it! I’d give them a key to my house, no questions asked, if they needed it and I’d trust any of them with my kids. I think this speaks volumes of the people and culture at Woople!
Tell us one fun fact about you.
I’m a boring accounting person. I used to play in a competition horseshoe league, and in 2010, I received the Rookie of the Year patch for the league (yawn!). I have a small portion of wall in my husband’s man cave (a.k.a. garage) dedicated to my league trophy plaques!
Copyright 2013 Woople, LLC.
