11 Jul 2019
Special Feature - A Family of Movers

Special Feature – A Family of Movers

Last week, we moved MOUNTAINs! Well, we moved MOUNTAIN offices from our location in Meridian, ID to a new office in Boise, Idaho. In 2016, we opened the office in Meridian to handle a new project that MOUNTAIN took on for one of our biggest clients. The project, over time, got bigger and bigger, and thus our need for more project managers and engineers to work on-site increased dramatically. We outgrew the old space and needed something that would suit our 50+ employees that now work in that office.

Two members from MTN HQ, Angela Blackington (Office Manager) and Adam Cummiskey (Director of Project Services) flew out to assist with the move. Angela was kind enough to chronicle the trip and share some photos. Check out the feature and the video at the end of the article.

The new office address is 6074 N. Discovery Way, Suite 125 in Boise, Idaho.

A Family of Movers
Written by Angela Blackington

Idaho Office - Full Crew Ribbon Cutting
Idaho Office – Full Crew Ribbon Cutting

I often joke with my husband that he is the master of useless knowledge, so when we arrived in Meridian Idaho to help move MOUNTAIN, LTD.’s second largest office to the new location site in Boise, he quickly stated the average person moves 11.7 times in their life. If you have worked at MOUNTAIN any length of time, you will understand my laughter at his fact, because we have all moved several times from one desk to another desk, one floor to another floor and one team to another team as our skill sets change. The fact is MOUNTAIN is a family of movers. We do not settle. We pride ourselves on our grit, commitment, and supportive network of co-workers, managers, and administrative teams.

We started preparing for our move months ago when we finally reached a point that no one else could fit in our current location. Every corner, nook, tabletop had been taken by employees declaring they had made that area their home. Ethernet cables stretched to switches providing the lifeline to complete their daily task, but deep down, they all dreamed of light, windows, space, and more.

At last, the day came, and we had found a new office that would make all those desires a reality. Engineers, electricians, plans, and internal members were motivated into action to make a “Move In” date of July 1, 2019, a reality. As the Office Manager for our headquarters in Maine, I had requested to be part of transition with Adam Cummiskey, Director of Project Services. Together our skill sets would make the move as seamless as possible when asking 54 people to pack up and go from one location to another with new IT equipment in play. The boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and labels had been ordered, and when we arrived on June 26 to start putting our Action Plan to the test, the team was ready for the challenge. At 9:30 that morning everyone huddled into the dimly lit conference room at 1471 Commercial Street eating Krispy Kreme donuts and waiting to meet us and learn what the next days would hold for them to reach our new home at 6074 N. Discovery Way, Suite 125 in Boise, Idaho.

MOUNTAINeers Making Moves in Idaho
MOUNTAINeers making moves in Idaho

I wanted to create that spark, energy, a curiosity, a community that would imitate my enthusiasm for making this move fun and simple. I wanted the laughter as we packed and worked to be a part of the happiness I knew would be experienced in the new office. We asked all our employees to give more on Wednesday, a push to meet client and staff request before deadlines and to position themselves to have the following day as a ½ day of work. If you ask me to visit your office, you will have to expect food, fun, and laughter as part of any trip I make.

Thursday employees arrived early with their heads down pushing to get the permits, field notes, CAD drawings, and more to the point of being completed. At noon we took a break for a Baseball themed lunch to celebrate with Maine red “Snapper” hotdogs & buns, nachos, Big League chewing gum, Cracker Jacks and cookies. We learned what shape people thought they were as they adhered name tags to their shirts in preparation for some Minute to Win it Games. Then we headed outdoors, we laughed as we looked about to see who had selected which shape from the 5 provided: Triangles (Power People), Squares (Rule Followers), Rectangles (Procedural People aka: Buzz Light Year), Circles (The Lovers, who want to support and sure up our weaknesses) and the Squiggly Lines (People that march to their own drum and are solution finders.) Quickly we recognized several triangles had appointed themselves as Team Leaders for the games, standing at the front of the line, they were ready to do one thing Win! We quickly learned that those with the squiggly lines were our fiercest cheaters, always finding a solution that would allow them to win the activity quicker. We laughed, we made a mess, we built a community, and we had fun! When the games were over, we cleaned up, packed up our boxes, put our belongings in the necessary numbered & colored zones for the moving company the next day. This was it, we were leaving for a new home with bigger dreams, and there would be no looking back.

Friday morning arrived and it was officially moving day. All My Sons Moving and Storage would be arriving at 9:30 to start loading and packing all our belongings for the short drive to Discovery Way. Adam was prepared and ready at the new address. He had tested the connections, ensured the electrical needs were met, awaited the new furniture trucks and their deliveries, and prepared for all those boxes, desk and chairs to arrive from the old location. At that hour, before the building started to fill up the possibilities looked limitless. We could only stand grinning at what it would be like to work in this location with floor to ceiling windows all the way around, bigger bathrooms in their own hallway, authentic dishes in the cabinet and the smiles on the faces of everyone coming in on Monday.

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It was an exhausting and exhilarating day on Friday, on average Adam, Neil, and I had walked over 8.5 miles each picking up boxes, emptying them in their new locations and moving others over to their owner’s modern desk and spaces. We were tired but determined to have everything in place and put away over the next two days for the employees. We worked all day Saturday and Sunday, moving desk to their final areas, hanging the new conference room TV, washing and putting away all the new dishes, installing coat racks, medicine cabinets, HR bulletin boards, assembling new shelving for the storage of IT equipment and supplies.

Monday arrived, and everyone started to come, carrying in their laptops and items that were taken home, they quickly found their new stations and began to set up, offering to help those around them when they had finished the office was back up and running smoothly by 9:00. By 10:00 a.m. the 80’s and 90’s music was playing, and you could hear the Karaoke singing of the ladies on the other side of the wall enjoying the space and freedom they now had to express themselves. You heard laughter and comments it was too bright now and the hushed words under their breath when they forgot to take their fobs with them when they exited the building or went to the bathroom and had to knock to re-enter.

People headed out the door to walk down to lunch at Burger King or across the street to the YMCA for a workout, and I just smiled to myself and thanked my lucky stars I got to be part of this. The move was seamless, but more importantly, I got to meet more of our MOUNTAINEERS talk to them, to discuss what they enjoyed about the position they worked, and outside of work what they were passionate about. I learned of new granddaughter being born, a CAD system that might be a good move for us in the future, what tools could make some jobs more manageable and lastly they got to meet all of us from Headquarters that want to see them thriving and determined to continue on this journey with MOUNTAIN. I took over 250 photos and videos of the people, move, spirit, and teamwork I experienced. I hope you can take a moment to imagine and create the world I got to immerse myself in this past two weeks and understand why I now love Idaho!

Thank you for your contribution, Angela!