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Pride of Bay is excited to announce a new fundraising event! One of Bay Alarm’s core values is community, which is something that we, as an LGBTQ+ focused ERG, appreciate and rely on. For many LGBTQ+ people, our community is often our family, which is why we wanted to create a fundraiser to run during Pride month to give back in a meaningful way. So, for the entire month of June, Pride of Bay will be running a silent auction with all proceeds going to The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth by providing crisis services, peer support, research, public education and advocacy. This year they are celebrating their 25th year of saving LGBTQ+ youth. This theme is very important to us and we are looking forward to coming together and contributing to such an essential cause.
The Women of Bay Employee Resource Group would like to celebrate this Women's History Month by sharing information about this year’s theme #EmbraceEquity and the ways in which you can get involved, learn more or be supportive. First and foremost, we would like to start by recognizing all of the incredible women who represent the various departments and positions that have helped to shape Bay Alarm into what it is today. From our C-Suite to our field technicians, central station operators, department managers, sales reps, admin teams and more. Women make up every area of this company and help drive its success. As March comes to a close, the Women of Bay would like to invoke a call to action by encouraging you to continue reading, listening and sharing what this month is all about all year long. The only way to drive change and really promote gender equity is to get those conversations going and #EmbraceEquity.
The importance of Veteran’s Day is widely recognized at Bay Alarm, especially within our ERG that is dedicated to those who have served and their families, the Veterans of Bay. This year, VOB hosted two Veteran’s Day events for their members, one in NorCal and one in SoCal. SoCal hosted an outdoor barbecue complete with all the essentials: hamburgers, hot dogs, and cornhole – along with some beautiful sunny weather. In NorCal, VOB members congregated at the Corporate office in Concord for lunch, games (yes, more cornhole), and prizes! Additionally, OCB chose to commemorate Veteran’s Day their own way, by hosting a blood donation drive at their branch office. Veterans of Bay continues to put in hard work to support their members, and we appreciate their contributions to both our country and our company. Thank you, Veterans of Bay!
Bay Alarm has launched their first Shared Interest Group (SIG) and it is centered around a mutual love for Disney! In this group, we chat about the different theme parks, share personal experiences, and exchange pictures of trips we take. We also talk about the following: - Favorite theme park rides (any theme park, i.e. Knotts Berry Farm) - Favorite theme park seasons - Favorite foods - Favorite movies - Basically, anything Disney related you want to share and/or talk about! The creation of and involvement in SIGs keeps our day to day fun and allows employees to meet others with similar interests. Thank you to all our employees who have put together groups and chats to keep us all connected!
The COB leadership team put together over 700 bags of specialty candies to promote goodwill and cultural diversity for our hardworking employees. This was a labor of respect and honor to support awareness of the different nationalities that support The Bay Way. In September, COB celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month which began on the 15th and ended on the 15th of October. The theme for the month was Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation. The observation began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period. We celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success. COB will be acknowledging the achievements of Cesar Chavez and the role he played in American history. Cultures of Bay about celebrating our differences to strengthen our cultural awareness as an organization and as individuals. When you are aware of those subtle variations, you find we are more alike than not.
We are excited to announce the launch of Bay Alarm’s new employee recognition and social media platform, Bravos @ Bay! This platform will support our culture of recognition by reinforcing and rewarding employee achievement and performance. It’s always been our practice to reward employees when they have gone above and beyond and we have partnered with Achievers to uphold that practice. Bravos @ Bay will also allow us to extend congratulations and recognitions for service milestones, birthdays, and other achievements. Bravos @ Bay will go live this Thursday, September 22nd and we are looking forward to connecting the company in a new and engaging way.
Every day, 22 veterans lose their battle to post traumatic stress on American soil. That is 1 veteran every 65 minutes. The Veteran Administration's statistics confirm 22 Veterans a day are succumbing to suicide. The total number of those losing their battle grows larger with each day research and treatments are not available. In observance of Suicide Awareness Month, members of the ERG, Veterans of Bay, have organized a movement challenge for Bay Alarm employees. Each participant is asked to complete 22 miles throughout the month of September whether that's in steps, while cycling, or by hiking. For those that are interested in the full event can also carry 22lbs while traveling. Raising awareness about the challenges our soldiers face is important to support and protect those who have protected us. We appreciate everyone's participation.
Q2 saw a boom in the launch of 3 new ERGs: Pride of Bay (PoB), Grillmasters of Bay (GMoB), and RISE of Bay (RoB)! PoB is a new ERG focused on bringing education and support for and about our LGBTQ+ community; and increasing visibility for our LGBTQ+ employees. As we strive to embody our core value of Inclusion, PoB's goal is to help us cultivate a workplace where everyone can feel valued and comfortable to be themselves. GMoB aims to bring people together through the universal language of food. In the company of other Grillmasters, they plan to share recipes and photos of their grill mastery, host grill-off competitions, and feed their branches with some TLC. (Terrific Local Cooking.) They also have some ideas on how to use their talents to give back to the community! RoB (Retirement, Investment, and Saving Empowerment) is dedicated to encouraging and educating employees to develop a plan for financial wellness now and for the future, and to connecting like-minded employees, providing financial mentorship, and providing opportunities to share thoughts, experiences, and strategies.
Please join us in congratulating Sal Castro on his promotion to Branch Manager for the South Bay Branch in Gardena, California. Sal joined Bay Alarm in 2017 as a Commercial Sales Rep in the South Bay Branch. He quickly became a top producer and leader among his peers. After showing his ability to lead and positively impact his teammates in SBY, he packed up his NetOne and Bullseye awards and headed to our Greater Los Angeles Branch (GLA) where he was promoted to Sales Manager. Sal made an immediate impact on the GLA Sales Team. His desire see his team reach their maximum potential is what motivates his success. I am excited to see Sal head back home to SBY and take the helm as the new Branch Manager. With Sal’s leadership and SBY’s extremely talented team, I am confident they will be reaching new heights into the future! Congrats Sal!
Please join us in congratulating Christa Steele as the new CEO of Bay Alarm. She is looking forward to furthering the great business model built under the leadership of Jack Unroe, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Christa initially became associated with the Bay Alarm family as a member of the Board of Directors in December 2020. She has an extensive background of being a senior advisor and/or board director within the financial services industry and has led the execution of strategic initiatives, streamlined operations, implemented technology, led digital transformation, underwrote, structured and managed retail and commercial credit functions, grew new markets, and oversaw M&A activity. She is a recognized expert in corporate governance, finance, and emerging technologies and was named by the San Francisco Business Times as a “Most Influential Leader in Bay Area Business”. While we are sad to see Jack go, the future of Bay Alarm remains very bright with Christa stepping in to fill his shoes.
