GFM's Flu Team Strikes Again!

The bad news: It’s flu season again (groan). The good news: Last Saturday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment provided the public with free flu vaccines as part of the largest mass vaccination exercise in the country. And GroundFloor Media was there – at the Denver County “dispensing site” in a parking lot near Coors Field and at the state health department’s command center – to lend a helping hand.

About 12,000 people in Colorado received a free flu vaccination as every public health agency in the state tested its plans to vaccinate a large number of people in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza. The National Guard and Blackhawk helicopters helped deliver some of the vaccine stockpile to the southern-most corners of the state. (Ramonna tried to hitch a ride, but she couldn’t pass security clearance.) It was a well-oiled, three-day event that was three years in the making.

Amy and Katherine were on hand to facilitate media interview requests with Dr. Ned Calonge, the state’s chief medical officer – and ODd on peanut butter cookies.

The good news: Coloradoans rose to the challenge and came out in droves to help emergency workers prepare for a health pandemic. The bad news: We don’t know where to find more of those good cookies!

The Real World - GFM Style!

Nine strangers. Picked to live in a house in downtown Denver. And have their lives taped for three days. To find out what happens when an emergency strikes – and you’re not properly prepared.

“Reality TV producer” is another title GroundFloor Media can now tout. Don’t believe us? Check out www.WhatIfColorado.com/episodes.asp to watch all the fun – and meet Bob, Cameron, James, Julia, Kary, Ken, Matthew, Michael and Sophie, our good-spirited contestants!

The reality competition was part of “What If? Colorado,” a statewide campaign launched in July 2007 to educate Coloradoans about the need for emergency preparedness. Sponsored by the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the campaign invited Colorado residents to submit an audition video to participate in the “What If?” reality competition. We asked applicants to answer one question in their video: “In an emergency, what five items could you not live without and why?”

Boy, did we get some interesting (and in some cases, entertaining) answers! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3BrbU_TfpQ] More than 120 adventurous people from across the state auditioned for the show, and after our team of experts at the health department helped whittle down the contestant pool to 31 semi-finalists, the public voted online for their favorite finalists – and the rest is history!

Do you know what items belong in a home emergency preparedness kit? Could you rustle up a tasty and nutritious meal if you couldn’t go to the grocery store for several days or weeks? Could you survive a night without power, water or outside communication? What would you need to bring in the event of an evacuation? How can you help prevent the spread of influenza? We put our contestants to the test, and without spoiling the surprise, the overall winner received a cash grand prize of $2,500.

And how did GroundFloor Media fare? Well, after a week of hauling props and designing “emergencies,” we all felt a bit like walking disasters ourselves! But the competition turned out better than any of us ever anticipated – and the laughs we shared throughout the process made all those sleepless nights worthwhile. Now, we’re excited and ready for the sequel!

The Best Place to Work!

What an awesome honor to have our employees exclaim that GroundFloor Media is the best small company in Denver to work for! That’s what happened this morning when GroundFloor Media accepted the #1 Best Place to Work honor (small company category) at the Denver Business Journal’s annual awards breakfast.

The award is based on a confidential “Employee Engagement” survey that measures items across 10 different themes including team effectiveness, people practices and trust. And the survey was conducted during September 2007 – the busiest month yet in our growing company’s history!

We’re proud to have survived five new baby boys, the media relations surrounding the move of one of the nation’s most prestigious children’s hospitals, the launch of a reality competition for the State of Colorado and several new product and service launches throughout the past year. Our team members are truly amazing, and their hard work, dedication and penchant for laughter really do make GroundFloor Media the best place to work!

~Ramonna

Thanksgiving is in the air…

There is a great a deal to give thanks for this holiday season so today we celebrated with an early Thanksgiving lunch. I personally give thanks for my great group of co-workers who collectively survived a reality competition, an Ancho Chile Barbeque Sauce launch, a massive hospital move, a client product launch that was rescheduled twice, several pancake pitches “on the fly,” and an office move in 48 hours – all within 30 days. Now we can move into the holiday season and celebrate new arrivals, new engagements, new clients and a new office that is starting to feel a lot like home.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone - Laura