KCR COVID-19 Research Heroes Awards Announced!
As we enter our fourth month of alternative working solutions as the result of the pandemic, KCR leaders decided to take time away from business operations to focus on celebrating our incredible team. Last week we celebrated KCR COVID 19 Research Heroes Awards! The online award ceremony took place virtually on June 25th, and was hosted by KCR CEO, Mike Jagielski accompanied by the Chairman of the organization, Marek Kiecana.
While dozens of KCR team members were recognized by their managers, peers and friends for their dedication, enthusiasm and unique abilities — there was also a lot of unexpected laughter and fun.
Here are our “top 10” happy moments that captured the true essence of KCR’s spirit.
1. The tuxedo: KCR CEO, Mike Jagielski surprised us all by hosting the virtual award ceremony in his most formal attire — a full tuxedo. He felt his appearance should match the importance of the awards but mentioned that his neighbors were watching him surprised — as they noticed him leaving the house on a Thursday morning with a bowtie on.
2. Leadership Love: we were all happy to see ALL department heads give kudos to another hardworking team during the awards ceremony. This shows how truly intertwined all our incredible departments are, we could not survive without each other!
3. The mountain man: To introduce and congratulate the Commercial Project Support department on their recent efforts and success, KCR Chief Financial Officer, Piotr Blonski travelled down a mountain (being on vacations) to hop on the WebEx session. A+ effort
4. Surprise!: A true highlight of the day was the complete shock that some award recipients exhibited when their names were announced. Because the nominees were all kept secret, we all got to witness their excited reactions in real time. Some were even speechless or could not turn the camera on cos of too casual outfit…
5. Tongue twisters!: As we are an international company, our employees’ names are not always easy to pronounce given certain regional accents. Bryan Katz, our Chief Commercial Officer from the US, was challenged with a long list of European surnames — in which he respectfully announced with his best effort.
6. A round of applause: Each of the awardee was recognized with a massive (virtual) applause — however the recording was not always on time… causing a lot of laughs.
7. Pay it Forward: Some ceremony participants took over the microphone to extend a big “thank you” to the CEO for leading us through uncertainty and taking care of our work/life balance. There was a major outpouring of appreciation throughout the entire ceremony.
8. Hollywood?: To formally announce the awards ceremony, Natalia Kowalczyk — PR & Marketing Specialist, created a full KCR movie trailer complete with suspenseful music and special effects. It was a major hit and was a fun way to introduce a special event.
9. The Atmosphere: The celebration and elevated atmosphere was in the air for the whole event.
10. Staying together despite social distancing: It was first fully digital KCR event that kept both KCR spirit and social distancing restrictions.
There are so many people who have embraced KCR values and gone above and beyond to support our mission and business operations during this difficult, demanding time and it was time for them to receive well deserved recognition. For their efforts and their commitment to each other and the development of clinical research, it is our turn to say, “thank you”.
